Jessica had woken up at 5 am that morning to see her bed in the hospital wing completely cornered off by teal curtains, and when her little murmurs caught Madam Pomfrey's attention, she alerted both Snape and Dumbledore immediately. Apparently, no one had been allowed either in or out of her bedside except the two since the attack, and Dumbledore had requested only he and Snape be notified of Jessica's immediate wake.
They had rushed to her bedside, Dumbledore's purple bejewelled nightgown just as extravagant as his day robes, and asked her to tell them everything that had happened. She told them everything from the moment she stepped outside the pub, slightly lying about why she had been at the Hogs Head in the first place and what she had been doing beforehand. She said they had all been there trying to blag a drink, which was hardly as abnormal as starting a student army.
Once she had finished, neither of them said anything. The only thing Dumbledore could manage was to tell her that she hadn't been asleep for a day, but instead for two weeks. The shock of it almost sent her back into a coma.
"I think it's time we change direction Headmaster," said Snape. The little colour he had in his face had drained entirely and he was essentially a living piece of chalk with long matted black hair. "We know what this means."
"Yes unfortunately I agree," Dumbledore told Snape quietly, patting Jessica on the leg subconsciously, "this could very well be the work of him."
"Of who?" Jessica asked whilst propping herself up on her cushions to sit up straight. She was still wearing the grey roll neck she had been wearing in Hogsmeade, and it was catching on her back. "Who do you think sent those men after me?"
Dumbledore sighed, looking down at the floor in deep thought. No one had been admitted that night, so they were able to talk freely. "Our suspicion given your description, though we don't know how accurate, is that they were a few of Voldemort's followers. And if they wanted your necklace, we may be right to assume that he was the person you have yet to see in your vision with your aunt."
"Voldermort?" Jessica spluttered, looking at them both wide-eyed, "but what would he want with me? With the necklace? He's after Harry isn't he?"
"He may want to look to the future, to see how he could be defeated," said Snape, "he's obsessed with success, and he will do anything for power."
Dumbledore nodded. "Jessica, do you now understand why Severus had to come and get you when you went out of grounds? Imagine if this had happened then, we could've had two casualties and the power of your necklace would've been exposed. We need your help to protect people, not put more of them in danger."
Jessica let out a big breath. She had to admit he was talking sense, and her vision before the attack had already put doubts in her head. This was something she never thought she'd have to do, she always thought she could maintain the balance.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked, lifting the hair off of her neck to allow air to it. She was becoming quite feverish.
"I think you know what you need to do," said Dumbledore meaningfully, "It has become far too risky. We can not risk Harry getting prematurely closer to those who want him, and you are just one more draw. We can protect you separately, but not together."
"I assume you mean the others as well then," Jessica asked, not really wanting the answer.
"Unfortunately, yes," said Dumbledore, "knowing these people they will kill anyone to get to you. It will even be a bonus for them if one of those people in their way are those who they deem 'less worthy'."
"Blood traitors and Mudbloods you mean," Jessica said sarcastically.
"Exactly," Snape replied with little detest, "will you be able to handle it or shall I do it for you?"
"Yes I'll do it, but I'll find the right time," Jessica mumbled flatly, "it's better if it comes from me."
"Good, and in the meantime, we will look into that new power that caused those two men to fly backwards," said Dumbledore, half-smiling, "it seems like an extremely powerful protective charm was placed on it for anyone that touches it with negative intentions."
At that moment the door to the hospital wing opened and Madam Pomfrey came running in, her nurses dress scrapping against the floor. "Now I'm sorry Headmaster but the Aurors have just arrived to interview her and the witness who found her," she announced, "they are ready and waiting."
"Aurors?" Jessica asked. She wasn't ready to be investigated and she wasn't sure she could lie under that pressure.
"Bring them in," Dumbledore told Madam Pomfrey brightly. He then turned back to Jessica and whispered under his breath, "Jessica I think it's best that you just tell them about the robbery, no embellishing details just yet."
A little stream of light entered the hospital wing as sunrise came, and in walked Kingsley and Tonks in its golden rays. Kingsley was wearing grand majestic robes of royal blue and gold, matching his earring, and Tonks now had bright pink hair again that reflecting off of her favourite red leather jacket. Jessica's fear of meeting the Auror's suddenly evaporated, and she felt a great sense of comfort.
"Hey Je-"
Kingsley nudged Tonks in the arm as she reached forward to hug her. Someone could be watching after all, and they weren't supposed to know each other.
***
"I need to ask you, Jessica, can you remember what they looked like?" Tonks asked her, a quick quotes quill ready to start writing at her side.
Jessica thought hard to remember any details she hadn't yet said, but nothing new came to mind. "All I saw was two men, one tall, one short. They were in long black cloaks that covered their whole body, and their hoods hung over their face. I didn't get a good look."
The quick quotes quill started scratching on the floating pad frantically.
"Did they take anything?" Kingsley questioned, "you said it was an attempted robbery."
"I don't think so," said Jessica as she reached for her necklace under her jumper out of habit and looking directly in Dumbledore's direction, "They weren't finding anything and that's why they knocked me out. So they could run away."
"And you don't know who they were?" Tonks asked.
"No," Jessica insisted. She knew it wasn't their fault, but she was getting tired of answering the same old questions. "As I said. They had their hoods up."
"Is there anything else you can remember?" Kingsley asked.
"No, I've only been up for like an hour, I'm sorry," Jessica replied, feeling slightly pressured from trying to say the correct things, "something might come to me in a while but that's all I can remember right now, my heads a mess."
"It's completely okay Jessica," Tonks told her with a wink, "we're just trying to catch whoever did this as quickly as we can, get em' in Azkaban where they belong. Any little detail can lead us to them."
Jessica smiled at her softly. Oh, how she had missed her non-judgmental big sister presence.
They were obviously pressing on to see if it was connected to her aunties murder but couldn't be explicit given the witness sitting next to Jessica. She had forgotten the Order was still on the case, and she was desperate to hear what they had found so far. They hadn't mentioned it in their letters, and Tonks's one was filled with semi-permanent hair dye so that they could match the next time she saw her.
She had to remind herself to use that at some point.
"And you," Kingsley said as he looked down at the person sitting on the chair at Jessica's bedside, "would you like to add anything to your original statement from two weeks ago?"
"No," said Draco, appearing his best to look serious and encasing Jessica's hand with his. He was wearing his school shirt and jumper, but his green tie hung undone around his open-buttoned collar. "As I said before, I was walking back to Hogsmeade because I lost my ring in the snow. I heard the scream and I ran over through the back alleys to find her lying there unconscious. There was no one else there so whoever it was must have run off. Jess had mentioned to us that she had felt ill earlier and was on her way back to the castle, so at first I thought she might have just fainted. Only now do I know the real story."
"Thank you Draco," said Tonks as Kingsley gave him a questioning look, "you did the right thing by bringing her straight to Madam Pomfrey."
"Yes, thank you," Jessica whispered to Draco as she placed her free hand on his. Though she imagined someone else finding her first, she had to give thanks where it was due. He could've just left her there after finding her, as that's what she would have expected him to do.
"No I will not bloody wait my turn, we've waited two fucking weeks!" someone was heard shouting behind the hospital wing doors. There was a muffled scuffle and a minute later Fred, George, Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny stormed into the ward in their uniforms. They must have heard of her waking up at breakfast, as Ron still had crumbs of toast on his jumper and Fred and George's shirts were hanging out of their trousers.
Snape immediately rose from the group and formed a barricade at Jessica's bed so that they were all stopped in their tracks. Jessica and Draco slipped their hands away from each other, though they still laid very near on her blanket.
"She's in a very delicate state, you can't just barge your way in!" shouted Madam Pomfrey as she rushed to Snape's side. She hated her patients being disturbed, and her frowned brows told them this was no exception.
"We're her friends!" George said and he pointed straight at Draco, "you let him in and they're not even close!"
"He is a witness," Snape told him coldly.
"Yeah and who's to say it wasn't him that did it!" Ron accused angrily, joining his brother and pointing at Draco.
"I think we've got all we came for, let's go," said Kingsley to Tonks. The pair of them had just been watching intently.
"No Kings, we need to listen...for research," Tonks whispered back. Jessica suppressed a laugh, Tonks was terrible for a bit of gossip.
"Say that again," Draco warned Ron, leaning forward in his chair and rubbing his jaw with his hand. Jessica noticed that his crested ring was in fact missing from his finger. Ron had the same reaction to his stare that Jessica always did, and he was frozen to the spot. He couldn't retaliate.
"We just want to know if you hurt her," Fred said to Draco calmly when Ron went quiet, "because we'll find out if you did."
Jessica was surprised he said it so normally. Normally Fred would be raging. He must have controlled his anger, or he was actually too angry that he was ready to lash out at any moment.
"You honestly think I would do something that like that?" Draco asked back. There was an almost taunting tone in his voice, knowing that Fred had to tread very carefully when accusing Draco in front of two Aurors, a teacher and the headmaster.
"Given your past, I wouldn't put it past you," Fred shrugged casually but gave Draco a death stare that was silently convicting him of being guilty, "or one of your jumped up friends. We've noticed you've been upping the bullying more now Umbridge is letting you off punishments. Funny how your victims are always smaller than you. Not content with scaring first years anymore? Gone on to girls now?"
"Well if I didn't know the truth that it was two men who tried to rob her, I would say that I wouldn't put it past you," Draco laughed and he leant back on his chair, "Easily drawn to losing your temper aren't you Weaslebee? We all know you can't control your jealousy. Is that how you did that to your hand? Hitting a girl for breathing in my direction?"
Jessica looked down at Fred's hands as Kingsley and Tonks did the same. The others were preoccupied with taking in the information she had been attacked in a robbery, this being the first time they had heard of it.
She was shocked and instantly looked away out of repulsion and horror. Fred's hand was wrapped up in ripped up rags, in a cast that was clearly not given to him by Madam Pomfrey. The rags were red, but the original colour of the material must have been cream. He had used a pillowcase to cover up whatever wound was underneath.
Fred shook his robe sleeves down to cover it up in reaction to everyone looking and narrowed his eyes down on Draco. "You know exactly how I got this you piece of shit," he snarled, "you told Umbridge I was trying to sneak in here to see her."
Jessica's heart fluttered, he still cared.
But it wasn't a satisfying feeling. She couldn't be happy he still cared for her after their fight if it meant he was to become a target for Draco. That wound would never close if he kept getting punished.
"Ten points off Gryffindor for swearing Weasley," said Snape, though neither he or dumbledore were doing anything to stop this interaction.
"Because you weren't allowed in here, you were breaking the rules," Draco told Fred proudly, "anyway why did you want to get in? Feeling guilty because I was the one that found her and you didn't? You were ten seconds away in the Hogs Head, so why didn't you help her?"
"That's unfair Draco we didn't hear!" Hermione intervened strongly, shifting her eyes to Jessica to see if she agreed with him. Jessica just looked down. She knew what she would have to do, and Draco may have just gifted her a way out without even realising.
"Well I did," said Draco, "and I was further away than you so what's your next excuse?"
No one had an answer, and Jessica was disappointed. She didn't blame them at all for what happened, because how could she, but she would've expected them to have an answer.
"Call yourselves her friends," Draco tutted tormentingly, "It's just like you all to only save people when it suits you."
"Why don't you go and have Pansy suck you off or something instead of sitting here and talking shit," said George. He was showing visible signs of anger now, his face turning a violent shade of red, and Jessica thought that this may have been pent up anger from something else because they had managed Malfoy's taunts before.
Ron and Ginny had to hide their pleasure at George being the more confrontational twin for once.
Draco smirked and spread himself openly in a relaxed position on the bedside chair, "Oh I'm not leaving. You'll have to make me."
"Guys, please," Jessica spoke out, rubbing her forehead and closing her eyes. Her head was pounding, and after seeing Fred's hand she didn't want George to do something stupid so that Draco would go and tell Umbridge on him too. "I can't have you arguing around me," she continued.
"Actually, Draco, we just have a few more questions for you alone if you don't mind," said Tonks, translating Jessica's signal. She and Kingsley stood up, Dumbledore and Snape standing aside to let them both through.
Draco looked at Jessica and she glanced back out of the corner of her eye, not moving her head. He got up and he touched her hand as he leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"I knew you were lying about being ill," he whispered, "so you better be prepared to tell me why you were all meeting in the Hogs Head, otherwise your little boyfriend will suffer even more."
Jessica squashed the need to cringe as he smiled and walked away with Kingsley and Tonks, staring at Fred and George on his way out.
"We better be on our way too," said Dumbledore, "a student needs to be questioned with their Headmaster and Head Of House present. Enjoy your Monday."
Snape took twenty more points from Gryffindor for George's foul language and then he followed Dumbledore out, the large hospital wing door closing behind them. Madam Pomfrey suddenly remembered a potion she was brewing for Jessica and ran to check on it, leaving them all on their own.
Jessica took a deep breath as she stared at the glimpse of Fred's cast she could still see from under his sleeve. This was the right time. But she just had to know one more thing before she did it.
"Did anyone else get punished by Umbridge?" she asked them plainly, her eyes fixated on Fred's hand.
"Jessica that doesn't matter," said Harry as he pushed his glasses up his nose, "how are you doing? Trust me I know exactly how you're feeling, in my third year I blacked out because of dementors and-"
"I said did anyone else get punished by Umbridge. For coming to see me or any other reason related to me," Jessica repeated, looking up at each and every one of them in the eye. She may have looked crazy, but she didn't care. She had to know.
All of them looked at each other awkwardly, awaiting who was going to spill the secret they all held. Their efforts to remain silent were futile, it told Jessica everything she needed to know.
"Hands," she demanded, "show me, now."
One by one, each of them except Fred lifted up the sleeves of their robes to expose a faded red scar on their writing hand. Jessica felt a pain in her stomach with every one revealed, and though she couldn't read them, she could guess what they probably said.
"Things have changed since you've been...asleep," Hermione told her cautiously, resting her hands at the end of her bed, "Umbridge has taken over a lot of the punishment at Hogwarts. It used to be Head of Houses, but now it's just her."
The rest of them then started spilling the story after Hermione's admission.
"Someone must have seen us come out of the Hogs Head after your attack and ran and told her we were near," Ron added before he groaned and crossed his arms, "two guesses as to who that could be."
"So Umbridge then called all of us up into her office and made us write lines," Harry told her.
"She was very inventive, she made us write 'I did nothing' over and over again," Ginny scoffed, "as if we didn't feel bad enough already."
"We did two nights in a row that first week so luckily they've started to heal now," said George, "but Fred, well...he's been in there every night since Draco told on him. The wound has sunk into his skin."
Jessica wanted to look at Fred badly, but she had to refrain. She had to stay strong and the wound made her want to vomit out of remorse.
"We didn't go to anyone about it because, well everyone's afraid of her now, even the teachers incase she fires them," said Hermione, "I had to make that cast for Fred out of what I could find. The wound was so deep and it wouldn't keep bleeding-"
"Guys just stop," Fred interrupted and Jessica felt confident enough to flutter her eyes to him and back whilst he was distracted. He didn't look himself, he looked tormented and restless with dark bags under his eyes. "I'm fine okay, I told you it doesn't even hurt. Do you not see her face? This is clearly going to upset her."
Jessica wanted to tell them how sorry she was, that this was all her fault. She shouldn't have gone outside, she should've stayed in line instead of barging out.
This confirmed it, and she was now one hundred percentage onboard with dumbledore. She had to part ways with them. They couldn't be linked any longer, not give Draco or anyone any ammunition. She had to be shown to be on Slytherins side to gain their trust to stop her friends from getting punished like this any further.
Enough playing around, trying to be on both sides. The time had finally come, and she had to pick what was right instead of being selfish with her feelings.
Even if it meant losing more than just friendship.
"I want you to leave," Jessica ordered staring down at their legs. She couldn't bear to look at their faces.
"See I told you!" Fred muttered, and he hit Ron automatically on the back of the head. "You guys should create a bloody dramatics society with the way you lot tell a story."
"Don't be stupid Fred, she's obviously saying it because she's ill," snapped Ginny, walking around to Jessica's bedside and plumping up her pillows, "are you alright Jess? Do you need me to get Madam Pomfrey?"
"No I'm fine," huffed Jessica, waving Ginny's hand away to stop her bothering, "maybe I wasn't clear before. I want you all to walk out that door, close the door behind you, and leave me alone."
They all stood there, confused, their faces falling into different variants of frowns. Ginny slowly backed off to join them once Jessica successfully deterred her from fussing. Everyone started shifting their eyes to Hermione after a while, hoping that she would be the girl whisperer.
Hermione gulped and lowered her shoulders to stand up straight. "Jess if you're mad at us we totally understand-"
"I screamed before they silenced me," Jessica interrupted gravely, looking Hermione straight in the eye, "did you know that? I screamed for a good couple of seconds. You were right there, behind a very thin wall, and you didn't come and help."
"Jess none of us heard you," said Ron, coming to Hermione's defence, "you know that if we knew we would've come-"
"Do I?" she exclaimed to the group, saying anything that came to mind that would impact them, "Draco heard me from far away and you're honestly telling me not one of you heard anything?"
"Jessica I get why you're mad but you just need some rest," said George after observing her growing anger, "you're not meaning what you're saying. Maybe if we came back later you can have a sleep and feel better."
He was right, she didn't mean any of it, she knew what she was saying was completely wrong and unfair.
That didn't mean that it stopped her from saying it though if it meant it made them keep away from her.
"You!" she said in response and she gestured towards him and Fred, who had been speechlessly observing, "both of you! Don't you dare make out I'm overreacting when you both knew I was going outside and that I wasn't feeling well. Fred didn't come to check on me because he was being petty and that's a completely separate issue but when he said he wouldn't come after me did you offer to come with me George? No. You didn't. You just wanted to push the responsibility onto your brother because you were too busy worried about writing your sodding name down on a sodding piece of parchment!"
"Yeah, and I've got a scar to remind me of it, Jess," George argued shamefully back, "the guilt is literally written on me in case I forget!"
She ignored George completely, though she wanted to race over and hug him out of guilt herself. "I could've died guys, the men that attacked me threatened to kill me. Kill me!"
"Join the club," muttered Harry under his breath.
"Jess I'm so sorry," said Fred remorsefully as Ron ducked out of the way, thinking he was going to get hit for Harry's comment, "I've been trying to find a way to see you every-"
"Just get out," said Jessica. She couldn't afford to hear what he had to say, she knew he would melt her heart.
Taking a deep breath, she put the final nail in the coffin that she hoped would stick her point, "it looks like I'm just as protected by myself than with you guys here, and at least I know that if I'm alone I'm in company with whom I can trust to have my back."
She rolled onto her side away from them so she couldn't see their immediate reactions and pulled her pillows down with her. She closed her eyes shut to pretend to go to sleep and she stayed there still, slightly trembling from the fear of lying to them all so passionately.
Her performance was over, and now she awaited the audience reaction.
"Just walk away...walk away" she wished, after hearing the bewildered silence and scuffles of shoes and pockets.
"She clearly wants to be left alone," said Ginny quietly, "we shouldn't push her."
"With that attitude, I'm happy to," mumbled Ron, "does she seriously think we wanted to see her get killed for a laugh?"
"She probably hasn't processed it yet, it's the stages of processing shock, she's just blaming anyone she can," whispered Hermione, "it's a muggle psychology thing Ron if that's what that look is for."
"I still think someone should stay with her," whispered George, "in case anything does happen."
"I don't," Harry replied, "she looks really mad and I don't want her shouting at me. She's scary."
"Harry no offence but we've lived with two strong women for most of our lives," huffed George, "trust me on this. If you think she's scary now, she'll be worse if one of us doesn't stay."
"I'll do it," Fred suggested, "I've been trying to get in here for weeks so at least let all this blood be for something."
"Yeah and you still haven't told us why you wanted to get in here to see her every single night?" asked Hermione, "bit persistent isn't it? She wasn't awake so what were you coming in here to do?"
Jessica refrained from opening her eyes to watch them.
"So that she wasn't alone, I didn't want her to wake up without anyone there," said Fred and Jessica's heart broke into thin pieces, "but isn't a better question why didn't any of you try to get in? Isn't she all our friend? Or are me and George the only ones that care enough to dodge the rules?"
"Fred that's not true and you know it," said Ginny, "I did try once but Pansy got me. Don't get all high and mighty."
Jessica winced. They weren't meant to be fighting between themselves.
"Fine, you take the first watch," Hermione told Fred, "I'll take the lunch slot. We'll all rotate and leave the emotionally unavailable duo until last."
"Hey, you better not be putting me in the same category as Ron there," said Harry, oblivious to the fact that he and his best friend did have similar approaches to girls emotions.
Jessica heard footsteps as the majority of them walked out of the hospital wing, the brief chatter of students emerging when the doors were opened. Her breath tightened as she felt a presence come closer to her and sit down in the chair in front. Fred was now facing her and she felt his eyes on her like a laser. Heart pulses protruded out of her chest as she tried her hardest to keep pretending to be asleep.
Fred shifted in the seat quietly as he leaned forward to rest his forearms on her bedsheets, encasing her hands with his. They were almost twice the size of hers, and that was emphasised now she could only feel them.
"You do know I know you're not really asleep right," he whispered to her with a small laugh, "I perfected this trick by the time I was 5. Got me out of de-gnoming the garden loads of times, Percy was always so pissed mum believed me. He was always tried to bust me and George."
Jessica held in her laugh at the funny image she now had in her head of a younger Fred tricking his parents and annoying his brother. She couldn't slip into what her heart was telling her.
"Come on, look at me," he whispered.
"Fred you need to listen to me," she told him firmly, her eyes still closed to hide her true emotions, "walk away."
"Don't be silly, I'm not leaving you," he said and he squeezed her hands reassuringly, "I know we had a fight but that's what happens. I'm over it now, I know what's really important. We get over it and we move on, forgive and forget. It's going to take more than you telling me to walk away, I'm telling you that now."
It certainly was going to take more than that annoyingly, and she knew just how to drop the blow.
"Fred, you might have had time to get over it but I haven't," Jessica whispered, "I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me to hang out with other guys without accusing me of cheating. You don't get to decide if I forgive you, we can't carry on as normal."
"I know," said Fred, his voice portraying the deflation she was sure his expression was showing, "I know you won't forgive me right away and I deserve that."
He wasn't listening, so it came down to one thing.
I hope you can forgive me Fred...she thought.
"No, you don't understand," she said regretfully, "I just don't think this is going to work, it's best if we don't see each other anymore."
"Jess you can't mean that," Said Fred as he stroked her hair. It sent shivers down her spine and she wanted nothing more to just sit there and talk to him. He was always her comforter. "You're talking crazy...has Pomfrey given you a potion or something?"
It was against every impulse she had, and it was hurting her internally to even think of what she was about to say. The visions, the necklace, the inquisitorial squad...no burden was as big as this one.
"I do mean it Fred...we're over."
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Just as a pre-warning, the next chapter will contain mild violence and smut.
Lots of L,
K xx