You ever get so much information thrown at you all at once that you go into shock?
That's how I feel right now, dragging my unconscious, smouldering sister out of the Room of Requirement.
Now that's a sentence.
Literally what the fuck is my life at this point?
Hey Ophelia, what did you do after potions class?
Oh the usual, watch my sister start physically smoking and totally fucking destroy a room without a wand and then drag her unconscious body out into the corridor to find some help, what about you?
"Oi! You! Get your thumb out of your arse and find me a professor!" I shout at a passing student as I get both myself and Cassiopeia out of the Room of Requirement.
I lay Cass down on the stone floor and just look at her. She's paler than usual, and there are beads of sweat on her forehead. Not to mention the black smoke coming off her skin. That's definitely not normal. It's like all the energy that she's ever had has drained out of her. I know she's still alive though cause she's breathing and shivering; like she's cold or something.
"Merlin's beard!"
I turn around and Professor Mannix is rushing down the corridor towards us.
"You gonna just stand there or are you gonna help me get my sister to the hospital wing?" I sort of snap at him.
He takes out his wand and carefully levitates Cassiopeia off the ground. She's as stiff as a board but she's still breathing, still shivering. It takes everything in my power not to cover her with my robes to make her warm but I'm scared to touch her. I've got to tell Mum and Dad.
Yeah, I know what you're going to say, 'Ophelia you just told her that you weren't going to tell Mum and Dad.' But that was before she passed out right in front of me. Sudden fainting spells after a mental breakdown deserve a call home.
I follow close behind Professor Mannix and Cassiopeia as the three of us walk... well the two of us walk and one of us floats towards the hospital wing.
We run into Theseus on the way, he's no doubt heading to the great hall for lunch when he sees us. I'm so worried that my dumbass sister actually did something bad to herself that I've nearly forgotten that she admitted her feelings for Theseus to me.
Nearly.
I make eye contact with the boy and he looks distraught seeing Cassie unconscious and floating along in the air like a sad helium balloon. Now under different circumstances, I would make fun of Cassie right about now, seeing the guy she fancies in the corridors. But it won't be very funny given the very obvious fact that she wouldn't be able to hear it.
We get to the hospital wing pretty fast and instantly Madam Pomfrey gets Cassie into a bed and bombards me with a hundred questions.
"Are you injured?"
"What happened?"
"Where was she?"
"She's your sister correct?"
It takes me a few seconds to register that Madam Pomfrey is actually talking to me and not Professor Mannix. I do my best to word it so that Cass won't get in trouble, but her health is more important than that right about now. I tell her everything that I know, how she was having what looked like an emotional break and there was this black steam or smoke that looked like it was literally coming off of her skin. And when she screamed, white light came out of her in a circular motion like she was an atomic bomb and destroyed nearly everything in the room.
Madam Pomfrey listens carefully as she pours different liquids in vials and mixes things together, "Overcharge of magical ability. I haven't seen a case this bad in years." She mutters under her breath. Then she looks over her shoulder at me, "You have other siblings at Hogwarts right now, correct Miss Weasley? Why don't you go find them so they can be here when she wakes up. It might take a few hours."
"But she's going to wake up?" I say staring at the back of Madam Pomfrey's head.
She picks up a vial that is full of a bright red liquid, so bright that it's almost glowing, "Yes, she's going to wake up. I have never lost a student and I don't plan on starting now. She'll wake up soon, but when she does, she's going to be a little loopy."
I nod before stepping out of the room and out into the corridor. As soon as I'm alone tears start falling down my face. I didn't realize how scared I was for her till Pomfrey said that she would be fine.
It's suddenly hard to breathe. I press my hand against the wall to stabilize myself.
"Hey, heyheyhey, Ophelia?" Uncle Fred comes out of nowhere, "Are you alright? What happened? All of us ghosts felt a serious shift in the castle and I figured it was one of mine."
"C – Cass. S – she... I – I..."
"Take a breath, it's alright. Take a breath for me, Ophelia, in through your nose out through your mouth."
Uncle Fred breathes with me, and it's not long before my head clears and I can explain what happened to Uncle Fred.
He listens carefully, and lets me get emotional when I need to, "I'll round up the other Weasleys before next period starts and send them up here. You should get in contact with Vi and G."
"I told her I wouldn't, I said I wouldn't tell Mum and Dad," I say.
Uncle Fred shakes his head, "They have to know, especially since Cass said that Vi was one of the reasons she had a break."
"Yeah... but the shops open right now. They can't just drop everything like that."
"They will though. Get that muggle talking box out of your pocket and contact your parents. I'll be back." Uncle Fred doesn't leave till I have my phone in my hand and I'm searching through my contacts for Mum's number.
She picks up after one ring.
"Ophelia? Are you okay?"
I sniff my nose, "I'm alright. But I don't think Cass is... She had a sort of, emotional breakdown? And Madam Pomfrey says that she overcharged or something? I dunno."
"Madam Pomfrey? She's in the hospital wing?"
I can hear dishes and things clattering in the background, she's probably doing the lunch dishes which means that Dad was cooking today.
"Yeah, I just brought her in. Uncle Fred is getting everyone else to come by. He said I should tell you."
"Okay. I'll get in contact with McGonagall and see if we can stop by the castle."
I debate with myself for a second, Mum sounds worried enough, I don't want to upset her any more than I have to. But Uncle Fred said that she should know.
"Mumma?"
"Yes, darling?"
"Cass said that you're one of the reasons that she flipped out. The other one was because she found out I'm an animagus."
Silence. The only thing I can hear on the other line is my Mum's breathing. I leave out the fact that Cass was freaking out over a boy too. That's the least of our problems at the moment.
It's rare for Mum to be at a loss for words but I can tell that she hasn't got the faintest idea what to say right now. I know that it hurt to hear what I said. And I know she's bloody pissed that I'm an animagus.
"Okay. Dad and I will be by as soon as we can." Mum says. She sounds like she's either on the brink of tears or she's already crying. If I could I would reach through the phone and hug onto her.
"Okay."
"And Ophelia?"
"Yeah?"
"An animagus? Seriously?"
"Yeah..."
"Your father and I will have to have a conversation with you about that later. But don't for a second think that you're off the hook young lady."
"I know..."
Mum promises to be here as soon as she can and I hang up the phone. As soon as I do, Theo, Lucy, Gilbert, Jordan, and Annie turn the corner and rush towards where I'm standing.
They bombard me with a million questions all at once, it's overwhelming. "She's going to be fine. Mumma and Dad are coming as soon as they can." Is all I can manage to say. I don't really bother answering most of their questions.
We all head into the hospital wing together, Lily, Hugo, Darcy, and Laurie all come in shortly after. We all gather around Cassie's bed waiting for her to wake up I guess. I can't help but think that this is what they all felt like when it was me in the bed.
I still can't hear out of my one ear, and the headaches that I get sometimes are so bad I can't even get up out of bed or open my eyes. I know Cass is strong and she could handle it if she has to deal with things like headaches and hearing loss from this, but I really don't want her to. She's been through so much I don't want her to go through anything else. She deserves to just be a happy go lucky teenager and I'm one of the people that ruined that for her.
After the lunch bell rings everyone but me and Annie head to their respective classes. I don't have anything for the rest of the day and Annie claims that she has a spare right after lunch but I don't know if I fully believe her or not. Nevertheless, it's nice to have company.
"She's gonna wake up soon right Leah?" Annie says in a soft whisper.
"Course she is Banana, when have you ever known Cass to sleep in?" I say, doing my best to lighten the situation.
Uncle Fred has been floating in and out of the hospital wing, but Madam Pomfrey keeps shouting at him to get out, how ghosts are allowed in here. I know that technically he's only a few years older than me right now but he's a lot more mature than your average 20 year old (looking at you James, Lou, and Freddie) and I wish that he was allowed to come in here and say things to make Annie feel better.
Cause I suck at that, making people feel better. I have a habit of making everyone feel so much worse.
Once the next bell rings it's just me and Cass in the hospital wing. Sure Pomfrey is milling about and checks Cassiopeia's temperature and feeds her more of that potion stuff but it's pretty much just us.
"I told Mum." I whisper to her, "I told her that you were in here and you had a breakdown. I know I said I wouldn't but christ Cass you were steaming... you fucking fainted..."
"Language Miss Weasley." Madam Pomfrey says from her desk on the other side of the room, "Don't make me take points from your house."
I cuss Pomfrey out under my breath before looking back at my sister. "... don't be pissed when they show up here. Mum and Dad that is. They had to know and if I didn't tell them than you know McG would or Uncle Charlie, or..."
"Would you shut up for a second?" Cassie whispers, "I feel like I'm on fire."
I half laugh, half sigh and smile really big, "I told Mum I'm an animagus by the way."
"I can't even faint without you taking all of the attention for yourself now?" She whispers.
My cheeks get hot, "No I didn't mean it like that..."
"I'm joking Leah." She whispers.
I look over at Madam Pomfrey who either can't hear me unless I'm swearing or is giving me time alone with Cass before she comes over and does an exam.
"Wanna promise me something?" I say to her.
"No, not really. I hate promises."
"Next time you feel like you're going to blow something up, talk to me instead? You were literally glowing dude. Pomfrey says that you were overcharged and your magic had nowhere else to go but out."
"Wicked."
I roll my eyes, "No you dummy, you could have seriously injured yourself."
"Yeah but I didn't." Cass weakly raises her arm and moves her wrist so it looks like she's waving a little invisible flag, "Woohoo."
"I've also been told that you're one of the most powerful wizards that Pomfrey has seen around here, cause apparently this type of shit only happens to super powerful wizards." I get off the chair that I've been sitting in and lie down in the hospital bed beside Cass.
"You jealous?"
I scoff, "Me? Jealous of an emotional breakdown and a hospital stay? Don't make me laugh."
"Oh come on, I can't crack jokes on my death bed?"
"You're not dying dumbass. Don't say shit like that."
"Who put a stick up your ass this morning?"
"Probably shot up there when you blew up an entire fucking room."
"Touché."
I stay with Cass for hours, talking about dumb shit and joking around. All the tension that has been building up between us ever since I asked her to keep a secret has faded away. It's like we're back to normal, or as normal as we can get with her in a hospital bed. The longer we talk, the stronger she gets. The colour comes back to her face, though she's always pale so it didn't make much of a difference. And her voice gets stronger, back to normal.
"Overcharging is very dangerous Miss Weasley." Madam Pomfrey says, "Learning to control your magic is essential so you don't end up back here after another spell. The more this happens, the more risk it has on your life."
"So you're saying my magical abilities could kill me from the inside out?" Cassie says to her.
"In short, yes." Madam Pomfrey pours more of that red potion into a glass and forces Cassie to drink it all.
"That tastes vile, you don't think you could add some cranberry juice or something to it?" She says. I snort but Madam Pomfrey doesn't find it as funny as I did.
I don't leave Cassie's side till the dinner bell rings and Madam Pomfrey tells me that she needs her rest and I have to leave.
"If you're still in here, I'll be back tomorrow morning," I say to Cassie as I get out of her bed and pick up my robes.
"Nah, I'll be back in full force tomorrow," Cassie says with a weak smile.
Madam Pomfrey clicks her tongue, "No, no you will not. You'll be in here for a week at least."
"I'm not missing that much class Madam Pomfrey." Cassie tries to sit up in her bed but immediately falls back down into her pillow.
"Just as stubborn as your mother." Madam Pomfrey says.
We both look at her, "Our mother?" we ask at the same time. We only do that on very rare occasions, talk at the same time.
"Your mother splinched herself learning how to apparate and refused to say here for longer than an hour. She wasn't planning on missing any classes."
"Neither am I, Leah get over here and help me up." Cassie groans. She raises her arms and makes grabby hands in my direction.
I look at my sister, then at Pomfrey, then back to Cass, "Sorry bruv, I'll be back tomorrow."
"Godric you suck so much," Cassie says, letting her arms drop back down onto her bed.
I roll my eyes and smile before responding,
"With that attitude, I should have just left you there smouldering away."
"Nah, cause where would you be without me?" Cassie lifts her head just a little and smiles at me before letting herself fall back into the pillows. "See you tomorrow fucker."
"Miss Weasley!" Madam Pomfrey gasps.
Ignoring her completely I respond,
"See you tomorrow fucker."