Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince | Sirius Black ✓

44. Eyes Open

"Looks like it's clear here. Look.." Regulus pulled the book away from her grasp before she could read further. "..I'll go and get a professor, you stay here okay? I trust you can look after this much?"

"Guess I'll watch over Ronan over there," she agreed reluctantly when she realised Regulus wasn't going to hand the book back to her. With a nod, he left. 

The restricted section was empty now. She wasn't imagining it because even Regulus seemed to have heard someone. So whoever it was must have run away. He would be back with a professor soon enough.

More importantly, how did he find her? And what had he meant by reinforcements? The answer evaded her as she walked back to the unconscious body. Her belongings were now scattered on the floor making her sigh as she bent to pick them up, keeping one eye trained on the unconscious boy.

She could...but she shouldn't..she was tempted to unmask him. It would be just like Fred Jones in Scooby-Doo. It was a shame she didn't have a dog. The thought made her giggle before becoming upset by it: Sirius.

Had they really just thrown that away?

She heard the faint sounds of footsteps scurrying behind her making her turn. It was too soon for Regulus to be back.

"I really wish you had stayed away, Jones," Peter Pettigrew came into sight and walked over to her. "Now, where's the book?"

Kelsey wished she felt vindicated over Pettigrew's involvement but was instead left with a sick feeling in her stomach. 

"This time, I'm not letting you go, you rat," she spat, ignoring his question. Regulus had taken the book with him and she hadn't even gotten a chance to check it out properly.

"Please just tell me where the book is. I-I don't have a choice," he was both, terrified and anxious. His patience was wearing thin.

"You'll have to fight me for it," she lied.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Sectumsempra!"

Kelsey didn't recognise the spell Pettigrew threw her way and wasn't able to dodge it. She saw Pettigrew's wand fly from his grip the same time the spell hit her.

"Kelsey!" Just in time, she saw Sirius' horrified face appear behind Pettigrew as she fell to the floor in pain. There was a lot of blood. As her eyes closed she saw a bright flash of a tall man appearing next to her.

"I think you've done enough Mister Pettigrew."

'WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!"

The voices grew fainter as she heard a rough smack. She heard Albus Dumbledore mumble incantations. Someone charmed makeshift bandages to wrap themselves around her. It was becoming too heavy for her to stay conscious. 

ϟ

When Kelsey came to eventually, her head was in someone's lap and everything hurt.

Her eyes opened and she saw Peter Pettigrew and Atticus Mulciber restrained in a corner. Pettigrew was shivering while Mulciber was knocked unconscious still. She put two and two together.

She tried to get up but someone harshly pushed her back down. "Stay still Miss Jones, I am still fixing your gashes. Some were quite deep," Madame Pomfrey chided her sounding displeased. Kelsey looked at the nurse's face upside down but even she could make out the frown. The anger with which the nurse was treating her wounds would make anyone think that she was the one who did this to herself.

"Irresponsible," muttered the nurse. "Can't believe they didn't bring her straight to the hospital wing...the amount of blood she has lost..unbelievable!" The nurse waved her wand furiously closing up the last remaining wounds although it still left Kelsey in pain.