Seeing Fred

A Muggle in the Castle

"Hermione Granger?" Minerva asked surprised.

"They got the hots for each other." Leah snickered.

"The hots?" Minerva looked at her an eyebrow cocked.

"Oh, sorry. I mean they like each other." Leah explained. "This place is amazing! I think I would have never skipped school in a place like this." She said as she looked around in amazement.

"Minerva." A woman called over with big round spectacles on.

"You haven't seen nothing yet. There is a giant squid in the lake." Fred whispered as the teachers spoke.

"From around all the castle, you want to show me a squid?" She asked frowning.

"I- uhm..." Fred stuttered. Before he had a chance to reply, Minerva turned.

"Sybil, this is-"

"Adaline?" The woman named Sybil asked, her eyes turning even bigger behind her glasses.

"This is Leah, Sybil."

"You knew my grandmother?" Leah asked surprised, her heart stammering in her chest.

"You are the spitting image of her. I haven't seen her in... thirteen years. How is she doing?"

"She passed away, a little over a year ago."

"I'm so sorry dear."

"Sybil? How did you know Adaline?" Minerva asked, looking from the teacher to Leah.

"I met her when I visited my Grannie Cassie. I was about 15 years old at the time. My great-great-grandmother died 5 years later, at the young age of 111."

"111?"

"It's not unusual with us." George shrugged.

"Please continue, Sybil." Minerva urged her on.

"She wasn't a witch but there was magic in her, old magic. That ran through the bloodline for centuries, sometimes skipping several generations. She could speak to the dead."

Leah's breath started to quicken as a panic attack flared up. She grabbed her chest and leaned against the wall.

"Minnie?" George said looking worried from her to the headmistress. Minerva saw her, shaking on her legs and turned quickly to Sybil.

"Sybil, can you write down everything you know about Adaline?"

"Is she alright?" Sybil asked, looking next to Minerva's shoulder.

"Sybil."

"Right, I'll get right to it." Sybil nodded and sauntered away. Minerva turned and quickly kneeled as Leah's legs gave out.

"Leah, breathe." She instructed. Minerva and George were kneeling next to her, trying to calm her down. Fred stood behind them, feeling utterly useless.

"She needs to go to the hospital wing!" He cried out, both of course couldn't hear him. Anger welled up in him and he slammed his arm against a suit of armour, which to his shock crumbled down to the floor. George and Minerva quickly looked at the rubble on the floor.

"Freddie?"

"Let's get her to madam Pomfrey. Fred, stay close."

George picked her up, one arm under her knees and the other on her back. "Breathe, Leah."

Leah couldn't hear a thing. She couldn't hear George and Minerva talking to her, trying to calm her down. She could only hear buzzing and her own fast heartbeat. She didn't feel George lift her off the ground, or that George and Minerva were practically running down the corridors. But then she heard a voice, Fred's voice right next to her ear.

"Leah. Please, just take a deep breath." And that she did. She took in a deep breath filling her longs, when she breathed out, she was succumbed to darkness.

"Please be okay, please." She heard a voice close to her. Everything was still dark, but she could hear the voices around her become clearer. She noticed she was lying on something soft, a bed perhaps. She slowly opened her eyes, but quickly shut them. The room they were in was particularly bright.

"The curtains are closed, open your eyes, love." Fred whispered. She tried again but now she wasn't blinded by the light. The first thing she saw was Fred's head, hovering above her. His piercing blue eyes fixed on hers, he was so close she could almost count his freckles. They smiled at each other, before a frown came on Fred's face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." She shifted and pulled herself up in a sitting position. Fred sat down on the edge of her bed. "I just had a minor panic attack."

"Just?!" George exclaimed. "Minor? You started hyperventilating, you even passed out. You had us worried sick! Fred even tossed a suit of armour to the ground."

Leah's head snapped back to Fred. "You did?"

"I was afraid. I was angry they couldn't hear me." He waved his hand towards his brother. "And then I just slammed my hand against it."

"You're getting stronger." She gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare any of you. It all became too much. My Nan hid so much from me, maybe even my parents. I don't know what to believe. It's been years since I had a panic attack." She glanced around the room and saw several hospital beds. "Where am I? And where is Minerva?"

"We're at the hospital wing, madam Pomfrey gave you something to calm down. Minnie is already down at the library, she wanted to get a start on things."

"Let's go then." She swung her legs of the bed and hopped off. George was next to her in an instant as she swayed on her legs.

"Sit back down, you need to eat first." George picked up the tray of the nightstand and placed it on the bed. There was a banana, a chocolate chip muffin and a bottle of orange juice on it. "Madam Pomfrey said you couldn't leave until everything is gone."

"Fine." She grabbed the banana from the tray and peeled it open before she took a bit. All the while she glared at George, but he wasn't fazed. He just nodded in contentment, grinning.