Chapter eight
The Petrified Wake
Goldie's POV:
"Goldie? Can you hear me?" A muffled voice said. I opened my eyes and my vision was fuzzy. "Goldie, it's Madame Pompfrey and Professor Sprout. Can you hear me?" "I hear you." I replied weakly. I blinked a few times, trying to get my vision back to normal. "There she is." I rubbed my eyes and said "Madame Pompfrey? How'd I get here? What happened?" "You were petrified, dear. The last student to be exact. Do you remember? The other kids getting petrified?" I nodded, remembering when I stopped at the bathroom. I gasped and said "I was in the bathroom. And I saw the yellow eyes. In the mirror." "You're alright now. Finish drinking this and you can go back to your common room. And by the way, that Weasley boy was here almost every day." "Who?" "Which one was it?" Sprout said. "Fred. Fred was the one who was always here." Pompfrey replied. "He was here?" I asked. "Yes. Asking me questions about when you were going to wake up. Constantly." The two elder women walked away. "Goldie!" Colin said as he rushed over. I sat up and gave him a hug. "Oh, Colin, you're ok." "Yep! Madame Pompfrey fixed me up! How are you?" "I'm ok. I feel a bit groggy but I'm ok." All I wanted to do was get up and go and see my friends. I finished the drink Madame Pompfrey gave me and Colin and I left the hospital. "Turns out we were all petrified by a basilisk! And Alta Ginny were under a spell of some sort. Which they didn't mean to hurt us. Alta got me another camera! Isn't that great?" Colin kept going on and on. I wanted to see Alta and hear the full story from her. But, I really wanted to see Fred and George. I assumed they were fine without me. Boy, was I wrong. I watched the twins step out of a classroom. Fred stared at the ground as he walked, not bothering to look where he was going. George's shoulders slumped as he followed his brother, the two of them silent as can be. "Fred! George!" I said trying to get their attention. Kids began to flood the halls and I desperately tried to make my way to them. "Fred!" I know he had heard me cause I watched his body stiffen as if he didn't want to turn around. He reluctantly turned around and the fakest smile was plastered on his face. Then his eyes widened. George turned to his brother, wondering why he wasn't saying anything. George noticed me and his lips parted in shock. "G-Goldie?" Fred stuttered. "Hi, Fred. Hi, George." I replied. Colin still stood next to me, smiling as I reunited with the twins. "Y-You're awake." Fred started. He grabbed my wrist and touched my hand. "You're not cold anymore. You're back to normal." I nodded and said "yep." Out of nowhere Fred threw his arms around me, engulfing me in a hug. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back. He lifted me off the ground and spun in a circle, making me giggle. "Goldie, you're back! Goldie, you're back!" He said excitedly. He set me down and I smiled really big at him. George took a step forward and I said "hi, George." He hugged me tighter than Fred had, leaning his head on my shoulder. "I'm glad you're back." He whispered. He pulled away and Fred couldn't stop smiling. "Wanna ditch?" I nodded and the twins began pulling me with them. "Guys, can I come too?" Colin asked. "Get lost, Creevey!" Fred and George said in unison. "Sorry, Colin. I'll see you later." I said to him. The three of us went to the hideout we always hung out in. Fred gave me a big hug once we got inside. He swayed us back and forth slowly, a sigh leaving his lips. I nuzzled my face into his chest, not wanting to let him go. "I really missed you, Dee Dee." "I'm sorry, Freddie. I didn't mean to." "I know. It's not your fault." I pulled away from him and sat on the couch in between the twins. "School's almost out. We have like a week left." George said. I gasped softly and said "oh no." "What's so bad about that?" "I'm pretty sure I failed everything." "No way, they have to pass you. You didn't deliberately get petrified." "I'm so glad you're back." Fred said. I smiled and said "did I miss anything?" "No." They replied in unison. "What have you guys been up to? Since I've been gone?" Fred looked down and frowned. George shifted his body and sighed deeply. I furrowed my eyebrows and Fred said "we haven't really been up to anything." "We were a bit too sad. We didn't really pull pranks or anything like that. We barely came here cause..." George didn't finish as he looked at Fred. "It reminded me too much of you." He said almost inaudibly. "How long was I out?" I genuinely had no idea. It must've been a while considering there was a week of school left. "You got petrified a week after Hermione so...that was in March. It's June." My eyes widened. "I was out two months?" "Almost three." "I can't believe that. You guys have been sad like this? All this time?" They nodded. I wrapped my arms around them both and said "I'm sorry." "Don't apologize. It's not your fault. Alta will explain everything to you when you see each other." Fred said. George yawned and leaned back against the couch. He rubbed his eyes and I said "tired?" "Yeah. Fred hasn't been sleeping much. I've been up with him most nights." "I couldn't really sleep knowing you were laying in the hospital petrified. Your skin was freezing. You were cold. Like you were dead." Fred replied sheepishly. I covered my mouth as I yawned and the twins looked at me. "What?" I said as I removed my hand from my mouth. "There's no way you're tired." Fred began. "Yeah, you've been asleep for three months." George added. "No. I was petrified. I feel like I took an hour nap and got interrupted. I'm actually quite tired." I said. I leaned back against the couch getting comfortable. "Let's just stay here. For a while." George suggested. I felt sleep creeping up on me and I nodded. "Ok." "Sounds good." Fred and I answered.

-

I woke up on the couch in the hideout, I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep. I realized I was on Fred's chest, his arm wrapped loosely around my waist. My legs were in George's lap as he snored softly. Fred shifted his body and I sat up quickly. George rubbed his eyes as he slowly woke up. Fred blinked a few times and said "where are we?" "The hideout." I replied. George stretched and said "we'd better go. Someone might've noticed we've gone." I nodded in agreement and the three of us got up, leaving. I headed back to my common room and searched for Alta. She sat on her bed and I said "hi." "Goldie?" She said as she stood up. I walked over to her and small tears filled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was manipulated by Tom. I didn't think you'd be hurt. I hate that you were petrified. I wish I could take it all back."  I noticed Yelena in the corner of the room but paid no attention. I gave Alta a hug and said "I don't blame you. It's not your fault. And I'm alive. There's no reason for you to be upset with yourself. I'm ok." Alta sniffled and said "I know, it's just...I wish it didn't happen." I nodded and said "me too." "I helped Harry save her. From the chamber of secrets." Yelena said. I looked back over at her and said "thank you. Alta means a lot to me." Yelena nodded and said "you're welcome." Alta gasped and said "the twins! You have to let Fred know you're back! He was so mad when he found out it was me. You need to find him!" She began pulling me out of the dorm and I said "I already have." "You saw him?" I nodded. "He was the first person I went to find. Madame Pompfrey said he was at the hospital almost every day. Is that true?" "Ugh, yes. That red headed boy was there every single day! Alta and I could barely have a moment alone with you. And he would just glare. He never opened his big mouth though. He knew better than that." Yelena said. Alta turned to look at her and said "Yelena!" "What? He sure opened his big mouth the day she got petrified. As soon as he found out it was you, there was clear hatred in his eyes. I didn't even know it was you at the time but I'll be damned if I let him push you around." "He was mad at you?" I asked. Alta sighed and said "for a little bit. Then he was just sad all the time. You couldn't speak to him. It was weird. Not even Lee could cheer him up. And George just became silent. It was all because of you." I walked over to my bed and sat down. My cat sat on my bed and I smiled really big. "Hi." I said softly. "I took care of her up until I got petrified. And I assumed Dillie or Hannah did it while I was gone." Alta said. I petted her head and Yelena said "what's her name?" "Poppy." "Awe, that's cute!" Alta gushed at the Siamese cat in my lap. "Goldie, those obnoxiously friends of yours are here." Dillie said as she stepped in. I put Poppy on my bed and walked out of my dorm to see the twins in the common room. I furrowed my eyebrows and said "how'd you two get in here?" "We have our ways." Fred replied. I shook my head and George said "come downstairs!" I then walked into the common room to meet them.

Alta's POV:
"I never thanked you. For what you did. You didn't have to." I told her. Yelena looked at me and said "yes I did. Who else was going to do it. Harry was too caught up in wanting to rescue Ginny. Yes, he wanted to rescue you but there needed to be someone who genuinely cared about you there." She quickly stopped herself from speaking as she said that. "It's good to have moral support. Someone to look out for you. And I suppose that's my job." I shrugged and said "I guess. But, thank you. For someone who doesn't know me that well, risking your life for me, that means a lot. So, thank you." "You said thank you twice." "I meant to." Yelena quirked an eyebrow and said "ok." I shook my head at her and said "you're slightly strange." "Is that a good or bad thing?" "Good." Yelena nodded and her stoic personality quickly returned. "Do you ever smile? I don't think I've ever seen you smile." I said. "Occasionally. Depends on my mood." She replied. "I'm going to make it my goal next year to make you smile." "Good luck with that, pipsqueak." "Pipsqueak?" "You're awful short." "You're awful tall. You're one of the tallest people here." "And I take great pride in it." "You and Hagrid might as well be the same height." "He's a few inches taller than me." I noticed how the sun shone through the window, showing off Yelena's cheekbones and hair. She was pretty. I adverted my gaze and Yelena said "I have to pack. To go home." I nodded and said "oh, ok." "I'll see you around though." She left the dorm and I heard loud laughter from in the common room. As I stepped out of the dorm Colin was standing there with the new camera I gave him. "I wanted to thank you! This means a lot to me! Thank you!" He said as he gave me a hug. I hugged him back and said "you're welcome, Colin." I realized the laughter was coming from Goldie. I peered over the stairs, watching Fred spin her around in a circle. Colin's camera went off a few times and I said "he'll kill you if he knows you took those." Colin shrugged and said "they're for Goldie." Fred set her down and the two of them stopped spinning. I watched him kiss her forehead and she stared up at him. George pushed his brother out of the way which made Goldie giggle. George kissed her forehead and smiled down at her. "They really missed her." I nodded at Colin and said "yeah. They did. And I'm assuming you followed the twins to get in here?" "Yep! They had no idea I followed them." "Yes we did." The twins said in unison. Colin stuck his tongue out at them and I noticed Fred's eyes linger on Goldie as she looked towards Colin. By this time next week we'd all be at home, waiting until the next school year started. I was very excited to spend another year with Goldie. And Yelena, who was way prettier up close than she was afar.

Here's the update! Hope y'all like it!!
~skylar✨✨✨✨