There's this awful and horrifying feeling where you physically can't move. You're so absolutely petrified and you've convinced yourself that if you move, you just crumble.
I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
We all stared at Katie in shocked silence. My chest heaved as my breath puffed out in a cloud in front of me. Dean put an arm around me, pulling me into his side as he breathed heavily.
Ron, Harry, and Hermione came thundering down the hill behind us, stopping short when they saw the scene. Of course they were there, they were always there.
I took one step towards Katie when Hagrid yelled out.
"Get back, alla ya!" He said it so forcefully that we all immediately obeyed, taking one collective step backwards.
He effortlessly picked up Katie's thrashing body and presses her close to him as if soothing a scared animal. She goes limp in his arms.
"Now, don' touch that but by the wrappins." Hagrid nodded darkly towards the torn package that laid in the snow a few meters away.
Harry kneeled over it, taking off his scarf and wrapping the package up. We all looked back at Hagrid when he huffed and turned around.
"C'mon, 'm sure McGonagall will be wantin to talk to you lot."
With Dean's arm still around my waist, we walked up the path to the castle.
"You're sure, Katie did not have this in her
posession when she entered the Three Broomsticks?" McGonagall questioned Leanne. Hermione, Ron, Harry, and I stood behind her, waiting for questions to hit us at rapid speed when Leanne left. Dean had already been dismissed.
"It's like I said." Leanne shrugged. "She left to go to the loo, and when she came back she had the package. She said it was important that she deliver it."
"Did she say to whom?"
"To Professor Dumbledore." She squeaked.
I swallowed thickly. Some one was out to get Dumbledore, and I had an inkling suspicion.
McGonagall dismissed Leanne, who quickly scurried from the room. The Professor immediately set her eyes on us.
"Why is it when something happens it is always you four?" She sighed tiredly, her voice slightly shaky.
"Believe me, professor, I've been asking myself the same question for six years." Ron chuckled to lighten the mood.
I heard shuffling behind me as someone else entered the classroom. I looked back to see Snape before turning back around in disappointment.
"Oh Severus." McGonagall greeted. "What do you think?"
"I think," He drawled, "Ms. Bell is lucky to be alive."
"She was cursed, wasnt she?" Harry spoke up. I look towards him with concern. "I know Katie, off the quidditch pitch she wouldn't hurt a fly."
"If she was delivering that to professor Dumbledore she wasn't doing it knowingly."
"Yes, she was cursed." McGonagall said, her back to us as her and Snape examined the cursed object.
"It was Malfoy." Harry nodded. I blinked, just staring at him. My eyes slipped towards Snape, who was already looking at me.
I hated that. I hated that he looked at me like I knew anything when in actuality I was trying to pretend to be clueless. I hated that people assumed I had something to do with any bad thing that happened.
"That is a very serious accusation, Me. Potter." McGonagall sputtered.
"Indeed." Snape nodded slowly. "Your evidence?"
"I just know." He said. I screwed my eye shut tight.
I pressed my lips together, rolling them between my teeth. I had one hand one the cool pendant of my necklace to keep myself calm.
"You just... know." Snape repeated. "Once again, you astonish me with your gifts Potter. Gifts mere mortals can only dream of possessing. How grand it must be to be the chosen one."
I tried to take a deep breath when I found extremely hard to do so. I'm sure everyone else heard the shaky breath shutter in my lungs.
"I suggest you go back to your dormitories." McGonagall spoke up. "All of you."
I nodded, looking at the ground as I started to follow Hermione outbid the room.
As I started to the hall towards Ravenclaw tower, I was stopped again.
"You guys believe me, right?" Harry said. We hadn't even had the chance to split up yet, me only a few feet away from them. We all stopped, looking at each other.
Since no one else was talking, I decided to.
"Harry," I ran my hand up and down the side of my arm. "I feel like the grounds of 'I just know' isn't really solid. I mean, do you have any other reason to think that Draco actually did something besides the reason of you hating him?"
I thought I had made a good point but I guess that wasn't the right move to make.
"So you don't believe me?" He clenched his jaw. I opened my mouth to respond but didn't have anything to say.
"Of course." He scoffed slightly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I crossed my arms and stood a little straighter.
"I just think Harry-" Harry cut Hermione off.
"I don't know why you've taken to defending that git all of the sudden." Harry said accusingly.
"I'm just not one to blindly accuse people." I shrugged.
Harry stared at me while Hermione and Ron looked on.
"So what, you two are buddy buddy all of the sudden, what happened to you hating him?"
"It's not like that," I rolled my eyes. "There's a lot of evil wizards, I just don't think some guy that we don't like at school should be the first one we point fingers at."
Harry crossed his arms, annoyed with me for not being on his side. Why does he always expect me to be on his side?
"Especially not my cousin. That's not what's going on here, alright? So just don't."
"Are you being serious?" Harry tilted his head down slightly, looking at me in disbelief. "I've heard about them. Everyone's heard about them. About the Blacks, and the Malfoys, and your dad-"
"Don't talk about my father." I shook my head, taking a step towards him. "Bloody hell, you don't know what you're talking about."
"Hold on, was I not there all the times that you were upset because he didn't answer your owls, or wasn't there when you were home, or cursed you for not doing something right?"
"Yes, but you weren't there when he would read me stories, or make me breakfast, or tuck me in." I said. "You didn't have that, so don't talk."
He swallowed. I ran my tongue over my teeth, my cheeks burning as I realized what I said. I looked over at Hermione and Ron.
"I'll see you guys later."