Chapter six
Petrified
Goldie's POV:
As time went on, everything began to get worse. Colin ended up petrified a few nights ago, we had to be escorted to class and quidditch was canceled. Oliver was so enraged nobody approached him for hours. I walked into the hospital, going to Colin's bed. I felt absolutely horrible. I wish I would've known where he was so he hadn't ended up this way. I sat down and said "Colin, I'm sorry." My lip quivered and I touched his arm. He was freezing. "Goldie." Alta's voice said. I turned around to look at her and she said "are you ok?" I shrugged and said "I guess. I wish I could've done something. If only I knew where he would've been. I could've helped him." Alta rubbed my back and said "it'll be ok. Don't worry about it." I sniffled and Madame Pompfrey walked over to check on Colin. "We'll figure something out. Don't you worry." She told me. I nodded and looked back down at Colin. I noticed his camera that was next to his bed, it was broken. Colin had his hands up as if he were taking a picture. "Madame Pompfrey?" She nodded to me. "How do you get petrified?" "Well, whatever is attacking our school, you have to see it's reflection. Colin must've saw it through his camera." I bit my lip and Alta said "hey, we gotta go to class." I stood up and followed her. Once we got to class I barely focused. My mind was racing. I wanted Colin to wake up and I wondered why someone would attack him. People were saying Harry had done it. I didn't believe that. There was no way. I figured I'd go find him after class, I'm sure he'd have an idea of what was going on. "Goldie. Goldie, wait up." Fred said but i ignored him as I went to find Harry. I had found him sitting with Hermione and Ron. "Harry, I need to ask something of you." I said. He looked up and said "yes?" "You've heard about Colin I assume?" Harry nodded and I said "do you have any ideas? As to why he would be petrified." Ron looked at Harry and he said "we do. Not sure if you want to hear it though." "What do you mean?" Hermione huffed and said "we figured out that whatever is going on, is only going to happen to muggle born students. Colin is a muggle born which is why he was attacked." My eyes widened and Ron said "we don't know everything yet but there it is. We're going to try to spy on Draco. See if he's the one doing all of this." I nodded and Harry said "Goldie, we'll figure it out." I left their table and made my way through the halls, going to the secret passageway Fred and George showed me. I sat down on the couch inside, tears welling up into my eyes. Muggle born students were being attacked. That could be me. It could be Hermione. I was terrified. "Goldie, I've been trying to find you all day. Why are you ignoring me? What did I...do?" Fred stopped as he noticed me crying. I turned away from him and he said "Goldie? What happened?" I sniffled and said "Colin's been petrified and whoever's doing it, is going after muggle born students. It could happen to me." Fred didn't say anything. I put my head in my hands and cries left my lips. I felt a hand on my back and jumped. "Hey, it won't happen to you. I promise." Fred said. He made me face him and I said "Fred, they got Colin. Why would they go after him? Why would someone go after me? Fred frowned and said "I don't know, Goldie. But I promise, I won't let anything happen to you. I'll walk you to class every day and to your common room if you want. Me and George will make sure you're never alone." I sniffled and he said "Goldie, don't cry." "I'm scared, Freddie." He half smiled at the nickname and said "I know, Dee Dee." I looked at him in shock. "Can I give you a nickname?" I nodded and he reached for some tissues that were on the floor. "You just keep a box of tissues in here?" Fred shrugged and said "I always have a stuffy nose." I giggled at him and wiped my face. Fred smiled and said "you'll be ok." I wrapped my arms around his neck, giving him a hug. "Thanks, Fred." I felt his hand pat my back softly. "You're welcome, Goldie."

-

A boy named Justin ended up getting petrified. The majority of the school was terrified of Harry, thinking he had something to do with it. I looked at the ground as I walked, not wanting to interact with anyone. I felt someone grab my hand and I tried to shake them off. "Woah, what's wrong?" Fred's voice said. I looked up at him and said "F-Fred I'm so sorry." "It's alright. What's got you in a mood?" I just looked at him, not answering him. It must've clicked because he said "oh. Right. I told you not to worry about that." "How can I not worry about it? It's happening and most of you have no fear because you're not muggle born. I'm absolutely terrified. I wanna go home. Muggle born's were practically ignored and now we're getting petrified. What happens when one of us dies?" I said. "Hey, just cause I'm not muggle born doesn't mean I'm not scared for the ones that are. Nothing is going to happen to you because I will always be by your side. I'm going to protect you. And that doesn't make you matter any less. And you're not gonna die. I won't let that happen." Fred told me. I just stared up at him. "I won't let that happen, Dee Dee." His thumb ran over the back of my hand. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I looked at him in shock. "Let's ditch. I'll get George and we can go to the hideout." I nodded, not being able to speak. "Wait here." He went into the classroom to get George and I leaned against the wall. I know forehead kisses aren't really a big deal but it's a huge deal to me. The twins came out and Fred grabbed my hand, the three of us running down the hall. "Hurry up before Filch sees us!" George said. Fred laughed and pulled on my arm, pulling me up to where he was. We made it to the passageway and the three of us panted. "Now, we're going to make sure you have a day free of stress." George said. We sat down on the couch, Fred setting my legs in his lap. I was leaning against George's chest and Fred said "tell us about some muggle stuff." "Really? I thought muggle things bored you guys." I said. George shook his head and said "not if it comes from you. Tell us things that muggles do in school. Do they ditch like we do?" "Do they live at school?" Fred asked. The two of them began to bombard me with questions. "Have you ever gone to a muggle school?" "Are muggles as dumb as they say?" "What's a mall?" I giggled at them and said "muggles do skip school. They only live at boarding schools. Yes, I went to muggle schools up until I got my Ilvermorny letter. Some muggles are dumb. Not all. A mall is a place that has a lot of stores in it. You go shopping." "Like Diagon Alley?" George said. I bit my lip and said "yeah. It's a bit like that." "You'll have to take us to a mall one day." I smiled and Fred said "you should come to the burrow one time." I furrowed my eyebrows and George said "oh, right. You've never heard that term. The burrow, is the name of our house. Where we live." I looked at him and said "what's it like?" "A bit cramped but it's really nice. Mum and dad are amazing and even though we can't afford most things, we find things to make up for it. Fred and I share a room." "It must be nice to have siblings. It's just me and my dad. I've never had someone my age that I can just talk to. I've always had to go my dad and he's the most awkward person ever." The twins laughed at that. "I'm serious. He makes every conversation so awkward. I wish I had a brother. Or a sister." I looked down and Fred said "who needs one of those when you've got me and George." George poked my side which made me jump. I looked up at him and said "George, don't." Fred then poked me. "Freddie!" I said. "She wants you to stop, Freddie." George taunted. Fred poked me again and I jumped again, giggling. He held my legs down so I wouldn't kick him. "Guys, don't!" George continued to poke me and I was now laying on the couch, the twins hovering above me. I stared up at them, wondering what they were going to do next. I panted, out of breath from giggling. "Out of breath?" Fred asked. I nodded and George tickled my side. "Don't!" I whined. Fred chuckled and did my other side. George held me down and I squirmed, trying to get out from under him. I continued to laugh as Fred tickled me. I ended up accidentally kicking him in the chest. He fell back onto the couch and George let go of me. I sat up, panting once again. "You're strong." George said. I noticed the hand marks on my arms from him holding me down. "You were holding me a bit tight there, George." "Erm, sorry. You're strong." I looked at Fred and said "I didn't mean to kick you." "Didn't hurt. Like George said. You're strong. I've been hurt worse." "Are you sure?" He nodded and said "you're little kick was nothing. You're quite small." "You've told me." Fred winked and George said "what time is it?" "I dunno. I'm kinda hungry." Fred replied. "Let's go get lunch then." I said as I stood up. The three of us left the passageway and headed to the Great Hall. It was lunchtime and I sat down next to Alta. "You know that girl? The really tall one?" She said. I nodded and said "yeah." "I found out her name. She told it to me the day of the quidditch game. I meant to tell you but forgot." "What's her name?" "Yelena. Yelena Parker." "Did she say anything to you? I don't think I've ever heard her speak except for that one day in class where Snape yelled at her and Woody was terrified sitting next to her." Alta laughed and said "that's right. He looked like he was about to piss his pants." "He's terrified of her. She's so tall and it scares him." Alta shook her head and said "I'm sure. One day I'm gonna ask her how tall she is." Fred chuckled and said "good luck with that." Alta looked at him with a quirked eyebrow. "Be careful. She could kill us all with her height." George added. "You two are tall aren't you?" Alta quipped. Fred shrugged and said "yeah. We're about..." He made a face as he thought about it. "5'10." George said. Fred nodded and said "yeah 5'10." "That's tall for two fourteen year olds." I said. "And how tall are you?" Fred asked me. I rolled my eyes at him, not wanting to play his games. "I'm about 5'5 at the moment. But I'm getting taller." I replied. "That's rubbish, you're not getting any taller." George said. "Goldie and I have a bet. We'll see if she gets taller when we come back to school next year." Fred nudged George who shook his head. "I'm gonna win the bet, Fred. Prepare to lose." "We'll see, Goldie. We'll see."

-

Hermione. She was the next one to get petrified. Harry and Ron were hurting for their best friend. I approached the two of them as they sat in the great hall. "How are you guys?" I asked. Harry shrugged and said "we're ok. Ron and I figured out what's petrifying everyone." "What is it?" I sat down across from them and Ron said "a basilisk. It's the creature that lives in the chamber of secrets. Salazar Slytherin believed that only pure bloods should be allowed to attend Hogwarts so he built a secret chamber that only the heir of Slytherin could open it. That's why muggle borns are the only ones being attacked. And now with Hermione being petrified, I don't know how we're gonna figure this out. She's the smart one of the group. She always has the answers." "Well, what do you need help with? I could help you both." I suggested. Harry half smiled at me and Ron said "you'd help us?" "Of course. I'd like to get to the bottom of this too, you know." Harry nodded and began explaining everything they had. They mentioned something about spiders and I said "the forbidden forest has spiders. Maybe that's where you need to go." Ron whimpered and said "I hate spiders." "I hate them too, to be honest." Ron smiled at me and I said "well, you guys should check out the forbidden forest. If you guys need anything else. Let me know." Ron nodded and said "we will. Thanks, Goldie." I smiled as I left the two of them. I decided I'd use the restroom before heading back to the common room. I stepped out of the stall and walked to the sink, turning the water on. I splashed my face a few times before wiping it. When I looked in the mirror I gasped, two yellow eyes stared at me.

Fred's POV:
I shoved George at a comment he made. Lee laughed loudly and McGonagall came into the common room. "Mr. Weasley." She said. George and I both looked up at her. "George?" I said. "Or Fred?" George said. "The latter." I stood up and she motioned for me to follow her. "Have I done something wrong?" I asked. "For once, no, Mr. Weasley you have not. This concerns one of your friends. Who I think you need to be informed about." She replied. When we arrived at the hospital and I saw her, my heart dropped. "No not Goldie too!" I said as I rushed over. Alta sat next to her bed, tears in her eyes. "Goldie." I said softly, reaching out to touch her hand. She was freezing. "Why's she so cold? W-why is she so cold?" "It's what happens when you're petrified. I'll let you two have a moment. Then it's back to your common rooms. I'll escort the both of you." McGonagall walked away and Alta said "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know it'd get you. I'm sorry, Goldie." I looked at her and she had tears streaming down her face. "What did you do?" I said. She looked up at me, not saying anything. "What. Did. You. Do?" Alta whimpered and I walked over to where she sat. "Alta, tell me." She shook her head and a voice said "leave her alone." I turned around to see Yelena. She looked down at me and I moved away from Alta. Yelena took her away from Goldie's bed and I took the chair Alta was sitting in. "Goldie, I'm sorry. I should've protected you. I promised you I would." She had a look of fear upon her face. I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. My lip quivered and McGonagall said "come on, Fred. You can visit her tomorrow." I walked back to the Gryffindor common room, tears going down my cheeks. I stepped inside the portrait and wiped my face. "What'd you get in trouble for this time?" George asked as I walked into our dorm. Lee looked over and said "yeah, seemed pretty serious." "I didn't get in trouble." I said monotonously. "Well, what happened?" George sat up a bit and I said "Goldie got petrified." "What?!" George said as his eyes went wide. "Is she ok?" Lee questioned. "She's petrified. So, I don't know. I touched her hand and she was freezing. It's like she's dead. And the look on her face...." George looked down and said "how come they didn't let me see her?" "I dunno. You can go tomorrow." I went to sit on my bed. It took everything inside me not to burst into tears. "I'll be back." Lee said as he went to the restroom. I could feel the tears welling up into my eyes and George said "Fred, she'll be ok." "I promised that I'd protect her. And Alta had something to do with it but wouldn't tell me. I think she did." "Alta? Her best friend? That's a strong accusation, Fred." "You weren't there! You didn't hear what she said! I was supposed to protect her. And I failed. I f-failed, George." George stood up and walked over to my bed. He gave me a hug which I gladly returned. "Dumbledore will fix it. McGonagall will fix it. It's not your fault, Freddie. Goldie will be ok." I sniffled and said "she's not supposed to be petrified." "I know, Freddie. It'll be ok. I promise."

Here's the update!! Wowowow things are moving along!!
~skylar✨✨✨✨