15Disclaimer: OKAY, I ADMIT IT, THIS IS ALL MINE. I OWN HARRY POTTER. ... ... ... ... No, not really. I only take the idea and twist it a little. Nothing's mine. Boo hoo.
Author's Note: Alright, I know this is late. Like, way late. But it may surprise you to find that I am beginning to develop a wonderful life... Full of revision and homework. Yay. My GCSE mocks are coming up (don't know the term, then there's a wonderful thing called Google), and I find myself buried under a huge ton of work to do. So I'm going to upload as much as possible, but be prepared for less chapters. Sorry. :(
Chapter 11:
"You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."- Albus Dumbledore, Order of the Phoenix.
Gee spent the week dashing between her lessons and the Common Room. It seemed that Ravenclaw's workaholic vibe was really getting to her- she spent the majority of her time bent over a book. Her fingers ached with cramp from all the writing she did.
Friday came around quickly and Gee was glad to find it was Care of Magical Creatures first thing, with the Hufflepuffs. She trooped down to the Black Lake where their lesson was taking place. Luna held her hand and skipped all the way across the school grounds with her. Gee rather felt like a mother holding back a small, energetic child.
The massive, hairy half-giant Hagrid was waiting for the class by the vast lake. He had a huge grin on his face and was petting a slimy tentacle which flopped around on the beach in lazy contentment.
"'Ello! I've something excitin' fer yer today- we're examining the Gian' Squid!" Hagrid said to his class once they had all assembled in front of him. He was bouncing around on the balls of his feet, he was so enthusiastic.
His class groaned. Poking around a slippery squid was not exactly their idea of "exciting". They gathered around the wiggling tentacle and grimaced. A Hufflepuff nudged it with her foot and it retracted slightly. An eye surfaced and gazed around, coming to rest on the Hufflepuff girl who had prodded it. It swam closer and closer. The group slowly edged back, but the girl was frozen in place.
"Saffy!"
The girl didn't respond. The eye leisurely swam nearer until it reached the shore where its mouth rose, yawning, revealing a huge, cavernous hole in the grey, fleshy skin. Saffy was completely stationary, shaking in terror. Many students looked to Hagrid in a plea for him to help, but he simply stood there, smiling jovially.
The gust of air as the Giant Squid breathed blew Saffy's hair backward. A sudden sharp noise cracked the air and the students flinched. A foul stench permeated the air and globules of mucus were splattered all over the ground, and hung in Saffy's hair. The Giant Squid had burped.
"Chuff chuff chuff chuff." The Squid sank below the water, echoing Hagrid's hearty laughs.
"That'll teach yer, Saffy! The Giant Squid don' need messin' 'round with, he's a sensitive guy! 'E needs pettin', not proddin'."
The class spent the rest of the lesson stroking the Squid's tentacles and giggling as it squirmed when they tickled it. Suddenly it recoiled, drawing all its body into the water. In the shallows, there was quite clear water and everyone could see the Squid huddled under the water, retreating backwards into the lake's depth. A plume of red fluid drifted to the top of the lake.
"'E's bleedin'! What 'appened to 'im?" Hagrid protested loudly.
All eyes turned to a pale, dark-haired boy intently examining a vial of deep red liquid. He shook it a few times, watching the viscous fluid drip down the glass. He looked up at his classmates and shrugged his thin shoulders.
"Nobody has yet discovered the properties of squid blood. I hope to be the first to reveal these secrets to the world."
"Adam! These are sensitive creatures and they don' like the interferin' of you lot!"
Bubbles rose in the lake, popping as they reached the air. As each bubble burst, a whining sound pierced the air. The Giant Squid was crying.
Gee's fingers clenched. She needed to help it.
Taking a few steps back, Gee breathed in deeply. She measured the distance between her and the Lake and ran fast toward it, diving at the last second. She swam down, reaching for the injured squid. She pinched the wound together and rubbed it, pushing a little bit of herself into the creature. The Giant Squid keened and flicked her face with another tentacle, reprimanding her.
Gee suddenly realised something important. Something very important.
She couldn't swim.
She held her breath for as long as she could, attempting to paddle upwards. Her arms wind-milled desperately in the water. She just kept sinking despite her best efforts. The light of the sun shining through the water got dimmer and dimmer. Gee's hand extended up, fingers stretching, elongating.
Gee was starved of breath. Her natural reflexes made her gulp in a huge lungful. Of water. Choking, her hands going to her throat instead of focusing on swimming to the surface, Gee sank even further.
Something wrapped around her waist and threw her up, into the air. She flew quite high, so landed with a thump on the soft grass.
She coughed up the volume of water she had inhaled, and gave her deprived lungs oxygen. Gee had never breathed in so deeply. The air had never been so delicious.
xxXOXxx
Gee woke in the hospital wing surrounded by curious face. She looked around. Each of her visitors were Ravenclaws, except Hannah Abbot from Hufflepuff who stood at the foot of her bed, holding a large bouquet of pink flowers. The rest of them had either clipboards, stopwatches or thermometers. She had been woken by a auburn girl prodding her with said thermometer.
"You've been out for a day. The squid threw you approximately five meters above the water surface and so you landed with the force of a small falling boulder."
"That's relatively fast, so it's no surprise you broke both legs on impact. Madam Pomfrey fixed those within an hour though, so you're fine now."
Gee raised her eyebrows at the cold, analytical tone of a Ravenclaw brother and sister.
Hannah grinned awkwardly. "What they are trying to say is that we all hope you're okay and that you recover fast! I brought you some flowers to brighten up your bed, it looked a bit grim."
Gee was touched by her thoughtfulness. She took them from the girl and placed them on her bedside table, smiling warmly in thanks.
The Ravenclaws nodded to her, and left abruptly. Hannah patted her shoulder and also walked away, glancing back with a smile.
Well, that was Friday over, Gee mused to herself.
A small cough alerted Gee to another's presence. She looked to her side and saw a tall, red-headed boy lying on the bed next to her. he was staring morosely at the ceiling, heavily bandaged hand lying next to him limply.
"Hello, I'm Gee."
"George." He didn't even turn to answer her.
"Hey. Are you alright? You seem a little down."
"Now that is the understatement of the century."