All in the Family

Chapter 157: Sectumsempra

They all sat up sopping wet, clothes clinging to them in a mutually unattractive way. It was eerily familiar to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, dimly lit with the candles splashed out, the stalls were destroyed, there was a leaking tap and several broken mirrors, but they all screamed murder as their eyes fell not on the ghost, but blood pooling in rivulets amongst them.

Remus startled so hard it looked like he was trying to climb the walls, landing in a toilet and getting his shoes any kind of soiled without a drop of care as his chest heaved in disgust for the red still dripping from his form.

James' voice snapped a command they all adhered to from somewhere just out of sight, "roll call, now!"

The other six managed some kind of response back amongst their worry, he stuttered something that was a passable attempt as his nails dug into the stone walls, fighting back the urge to strip as the maroon sweater hung off him with a squelch and reeked of rust. Naked was worse though, he kept chanting in his head, unclothed meant he'd wake up and really been the one to do it.

Evans' voice was just on the edge of a scream as she whispered what they were all thinking, "is, is it Harry's?"

He heard the desperation in Prongs's voice as he summoned the book to him and read the chapter title, but that didn't give much.

"Is that a spell, or an item?" Longbottom asked with concern, but it was hard to concentrate on, the growing noise of them all moving about in the filmy substance.

"Sounds like a curse," Regulus said with far too much confidence for his liking. "Sectum means to-"

"Moony? Where you at?" Sirius clearly hadn't been listening, and it only just occurred to him the others voices sounded semi-close together while he still hadn't moved.

"I'm fine!" The crack in his voice was laughable and he knew it, but he was not getting back in that pool of blood, he'd let mold grow between his toes for his wet shoes first. "Keep going James!"

There was a horrible sloshing noise and he squeezed his eyes shut rather than watch it all wave across the floor. He felt more than saw Sirius and James now standing in the stall door just watching him and cared nothing if they laughed at him, they could tell all the stupid jokes they like so long as it got them out of here faster!

"Ripped his pants." His eyes snapped back open to see James turning back to the book with such a pale face, it could have been his life being drained out as he lied for him. "Nobody else needs to see that indecent exposure, sorry mate," and he started reading at top speed to find the fate of his son as well as get him the hell out of here.

Sirius stayed exactly where he was, but he somehow looked worse than he felt now as Padfoot watched him. With one last cautious look at James, he took a slow step in, kicking the water around as little as possible for Remus's every heaving breath and hands held up in surrender like he was fixing to talk someone down from leaping off the castle.

He wanted desperately to hold him and thank him every way he knew how for Padfoot's blatant consideration, but even his black hair was dripping a slightly darker tinge than it should. He was starting to shiver from revulsion and cold still being ankle deep in the toilet, and as he glanced down he finally retched to see a miniature puddle of their surroundings. Little pink tear droplets were smearing the surface of the now identifiably clean water.

Prongs hadn't managed to get too far, catching Ron and Hermione up to speed while all the breakups were announced, but he stopped in surprise to hear the spell that Remus only just understood under his pounding head, "siccitas."

Evans' charms were as up to scratch as ever, the large puddle of water made a suctioning noise like someone had finally found a drain, and then it simply vanished into the marble ground as if it had never been there, blood and all.