Scratches (Fred Weasley)

(190) I've Got You

"Fred, you aren't allowed to close your eyes," Bill chastised his younger brother, who was falling asleep as he leaned against one of the pillars. Fred always thought that missions like these were always filled with action with every second, but he found himself waiting for most of the day. He didn't ignore the fact that there might be danger around the corner, but he never knew waiting for danger to come could put someone to sleep.

His mind lingered to Florence. He had not seen her in a couple hours but knew that she was safe. After all, she was stationed with Moody and Julien. He was sure that they would be able to protect her when needed. If ever danger actually came, though he'd prefer it if they could go home without a single scratch on them.

The sixth floor hallway was eerily quiet, that he could hear the ticking of Tonks' pocket watch from where he stood. They had been on several rounds across the right wing of the whole floor, not finding anything out of the ordinary. So they had been waiting for any instructions to come.

Tonks' eyes snapped up from where they were focused on the floor as they heard a tapping noise, Bill immediately spotting a black barn owl hovering outside a closed window. Bill let the owl in, and unclasped the roll of parchment that had been secured on its leg. His eyes skimmed through the contents, a frown dawning on his face, "That's odd..."

"What is it?" Tonks inquired, Bill shaking his head, "Kingsley says Dumbledore and Harry aren't back yet. They should be right now, though, right?"

Tonks fished her pocket watch out, glancing at it, "They should have been back several minutes ago. Its thirty minutes to eleven." she said worriedly, "I have a feeling that something is wrong."

From where he stood, Fred was able to spot a faint green glow from outside one of the windows. He rushed towards it, throwing it open to find the sky dimly lit in a green haze. His stomach dropped, "Bill, Tonks... Have a look at this..."

Bill stuck his head out of the window, trying to get a better angle at what was causing the green glow, but to no avail, "Whatever that is, doesn't look good, either."

Tonks looked over, instantly recognizing it, "It could be the Dark Mark. If it is, it means Death Eaters are in the castle."

A worried look dawned on Bill's face, "We better tell Kingsley, then. I don't think he can see this from his office. We better alert the others, Tonks, send out a patronus to Sloan and the rest... We have to find out where they came in from and stop it. There might be more coming."

"Do you think they went through the forbidden forest?" Fred asked, worry now brewing at the pit of his stomach, "I know Florence, Moody and Julien were guarding the covered bridge. I should go check—"

"No, I need you to go get Professor McGonagall and ask her to rouse the staff." Bill said, "We need reinforcements. I'm sure the people stationed at the grounds are already seeing this."

"But what if they came through the Covered bridge, what if they need—"

"That's why they stationed Aurors there. They'll be fine. Now go get McGonagall."

Fred ran to the nearest stairwell, running down as fast as he could. The stairwell was barely lit, him doing his best not to trip on his own feet. He was just about to turn another hallway when he heard footsteps running toward him, Fred drawing his wand out and racking up his brain for any defensive spells he could use to defend himself.

He was just about to shoot a stunning spell when he came face to face with Julien and Moody, his heart slamming against his ribcage as he looked around and saw that Florence was not with them. Julien saw the question in his eyes, and answered even before the query could leave his mouth, "She's still downstairs. Someone had to stay at our post."