Fourth Time's a Charm

xxxi. turmoil

Cassie's POV

By off, I meant it quite literally. "Harry, where's my hand?" I panicked, lifting my arm up to see a wrist with nothing attached.

"What do you mean your hand is right there." He stopped to look at me, staring in utter confusion. I returned the expression, blatantly seeing that my hand was missing.

"No, it's gone!" Upon looking down I gasped loudly. "My legs too!"

"Cassie I don't—oh it's the hex isn't it?" I didn't know what hex he was talking about. Perhaps something was wrong with him—I bet he was the one hexed. "Come on, let's get you to Madame Pomfrey."

"Oh, yes, I like her!" I exclaimed, thinking of all the times I had gone to get pain remedies for my bruising. Visits to her always yielded a good day. "But I can't walk without legs."

Harry put a hand on my elbow and guided me up the stairs. By some miracle, I moved. It must have been some sort of magic, like levitation! Yes, I was certainly levitating!

After a few flights of stairs, I began to feel quite faint. My stomach was churning and I could feel my breakfast starting to come back up.

"Harry I—I think I'm going to be sick." Before he could respond I rushed in the direction of the nearest bathroom, conveniently just a few steps down the hall. I didn't hear any footsteps following me, signifying that Harry had stayed outside.

I dropped to my knees in the first stall, bracing myself on the rim of the toilet. Funny, I noticed, my hand is back.

That thought passed quickly as my body started shaking as my gag reflex kicked in. Once the spell passed I became aware of hands holding my hair back. I looked up expecting to see Harry but was surprised when it ended up being a girl I had never seen before. Even more shocking was the fact I could see straight through her.

"Are you a—a—?" I stumbled over the words, still feeling a bit delirious from whatever spell had hit me.

"A ghost, yes. Surely you've seen one before." I nodded, feeling stupid. Ghosts were roaming all throughout the halls of Hogwarts.

"They aren't typically in the bathroom," I commented, leaning my head back against the wall of the stall.

"The only place I can go is the bathrooms." she sighed, her tone rising higher as she did. "You could be a little more grateful. You have no idea how difficult it is to become corporeal so I could help."

"Er—sorry? Thank you. I um—I don't believe I caught your name," she looked at me curiously, a high-pitched giggle echoing through the room.

"You don't know? I wouldn't think you were a first-year, and besides that everyone knows who I am." I shrugged, there was so much in Hogwarts to learn about, it seemed a ghost girl in the bathroom hadn't come up. "I'm Myrtle. Most know me as Moaning Myrtle."

"Moaning? Wherever did they get that name? You seem nice to me—" I was interrupted by another bout of sickness, this time much more conscious of the coldness that brushed across my neck.

"That might be the closest thing to a compliment I've heard in decades," she said as I moved back to sit on the floor, Myrtle moving to sit next to me. "Even so, I guess I do moan or wail occasionally. Wouldn't you if you were damned to live in bathrooms for eternity. Quite boring, and the smell is horrid!"

"I suppose so." I wondered how long she had been here but didn't think it polite to ask. Hey, when did you die? "Well, I'm Cassie. I just joined this year."

"Ah, so that's you. I've heard tons of gossip in some of the other bathrooms. You seem to have caused quite a stir."

"I've no idea how," I laughed hollowly. "I've hardly spoken a word to anyone."

"Sometimes the greatest creator of turmoil is silence," she looked off thoughtfully while getting up. "Is there anyone I can get for you or would you prefer to continue puking your guts out alone?"

Quite conveniently, before I could get out an answer I had to go back to kneeling by the toilet.

"Harry, Ron, or Hermione," I answered quickly before another spell of nausea could hit. "Harry should be just outside the door."

Myrtle chuckled as she floated out of the stall. "Of course you'd be friends with them."

How she planned to convey the message if she couldn't leave the bathrooms was beyond me, but she must have been successful. A few minutes passed before Harry came in, lifting me to my feet and putting one of my arms over his shoulder.

"Hey, Harry?" I whispered as we continued in the direction of Madam Pomfrey's.

"Yeah?" he glanced down at me but I struggled to bring my head up to meet his eyes. I gave up, staring down at our feet while we walked.

"I found my legs." I pointed down just before I slumped against Harry, everything around me blurring together until it was simply gone.