Undecided

My eyes burst open and I shot up in bed as lightning struck the school grounds in the distance. My forehead was covered in sweat. I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead as another round of lightning struck the grounds. I could hear the rain beating against the walls of the castles along with George’s light snores on the other side of the room.
Silently, I pulled my sheets back and slipped my feet down to the floor. The carpet felt soft and comforting between my toes, but there was a chill to it. My arms instinctively wrapped themselves around my waist as Goosebumps appeared on my skin.
“George, are you awake?” I asked as I shuffled over to the window.
Another round of light snores greeted my ears and I sighed. I stared out the window, but it seemed pointless because it was too dark outside to even see the outline of the lake. There wasn’t a light to be seen anywhere on the grounds, not even the low glow of a fire going in Hagrid’s hut. It seemed strange that it was so dark and so stormy but I guess nothing could ever really be considered that strange anymore.
I clasped a hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming as a bright light appeared over the lake. It illuminated the whole vicinity of the grounds, and I watched in amazement as the waves in the lake increased in size. It was mesmerizing and terrifying all at the same time.
“George, wake up!” I yelled out as one of the waves grew to nearly the size of one of the castles towers.
“What’s going on?” he asked and bolted up in bed as his head shot around the dark room in anticipation, “Is it time to go to breakfast?”
“No George, I think Cat’s back!” I explained as it all fell into place in my head.
The large storm, the raging lake, it was all due to Cat’s return. This was her return home. Her return to normal life. Her return to me.
“Where is she then?” he questioned and stood up as he turned a lamp on.
Without another word, I bolted towards the door and ran out of the room. I could hear George’s protests behind me but it didn’t matter. Cat was back and that was all I could bring myself to focus on. It surprised me that Draco hadn’t woken up for this, but I didn’t stop to ponder that thought either. I had one goal and that was to reunite with my sister.
“Wait up!” George yelled behind me but I didn’t slow my pace as we raced through the castle corridors.
Peeves floated through the wall a few yards in front of me. As he spotted us a large smirk crossed his pale, transparent face.
“Students! Students out of bed!” his voice echoed off the walls as he floated above my head and followed us, “Filtch! There are students out of bed, Filtch!”
“Shut up you wanna-be Casper!” I yelled out angrily as I nearly fell down the stairs that led to the Great Hall.
“Casper? Who’s Casper?” he cackled and slid effortlessly down the banister next to me, “Is that some muggle friend of yours?”
I huffed loudly before ramming my body into the door that led out the grounds. It opened with a loud creak.
“Cat!” I called out as I slipped out into the night, “Catherine, where are you?”
“Mollie, wait up!” George called after me.
My chest was burning, my legs begged for me to stop, and my body temperature was dropping with every bare foot step I took in the dewy, nearly frozen grass, but I didn’t dare to stop. If she needed me and I stopped to rest my own body, I’d never forgive myself.
I could see the lake in the near distance. The waves had returned to normal, and the storm was beginning to subside. The rain was still pounding against the castle windows and my skin, but the wind was non-existent and the lightning had ceased its reign of terror. The storm had served its purpose. It had brought Cat back to me, and now it had no reason to stick around.
“I see her!” I called out to George as I spotted a figure lying next to the lake.
The white of her hair shown in the darkness as I continued to run towards her.
“Cat!” I nearly cried as I dropped to my knees beside her.
She didn’t move and I felt my heart skip a beat. What if they gave her back just because she was dead? After all, hardly any of the warriors before her had survived.
“I don’t think she’s alive,” I whispered as George kneeled down next to me, “I don’t think she could survive it.”
George silently took Cat’s wrist in-between his fingers.
“She has a pulse,” he assured me after a few moments, “She’s alive.”
“Then why isn’t she moving?” I demanded as the tears began to escape my eyes.
“She could be in a coma,” he replied before gently scooping her up into his arms, “Come on, we need to get her to Madame Pomfrey.”
“No,” I sighed and stood to my feet.
“What do you mean no?” he questioned with a slight harshness to his voice, “We can’t very well just take her back to the room and expect her to be fine.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” I shot back with a heavy glare, “Madame Pomfrey won’t know what’s been going on or what’s wrong with her. We have to take her to Professor Dumbledore.”
“And where exactly do you suggest that we look for Professor Dumbledore?” he questioned as he began walking back to the castle.
I pursed my lips before following after him. George may be my protector and my best friend, but sometimes all I want to do is punch him in the face.
“Well, look what we have here,” a hoarse voice scoffed as we entered the castle.
“Mr. Filch, would you happen to know where we could find Professor Dumbledore?” I questioned as sweetly as I could manage.
“Why would I share that information with the likes of you?” he answered and eyed me up, “Especially when McGonagall is the one I’ll be taking you to.”
“Does it look like we need Professor McGonagall, sir?” I nearly spat at him as I gestured to Cat.
He observed her silently for a moment before spitting on the tile flooring and then gesturing for us to follow him. George and I exchanged a quick glance before silently beginning to follow after him. I wasn’t sure if he was turning us in to McGonagall or if he was showing us where to find Professor Dumbledore.
“Mr. Filtch, it seems a bit late for you to be roaming the corridors of the castle,” a familiar whimsical voice said from around the corner.
“Students out of bed, sir,” Filtch responded with a sharp nod over her shoulder, “They were asking to be brought to you.”
“Were they now?” Professor Dumbledore asked as I came into his line of sight, “Ah, Miss Sheehan, what is it that you’re in need of?”
“We didn’t know who else to go to,” I whispered as George appeared behind me with Cat still draped lifelessly in his arms.
“I see,” he sighed and nodded silently, “Mr. Filtch, you’re assistance has been much appreciated but you may go.”
“Would you like me to report the incident to Professor McGonagall, sir?” Filtch persisted.
“There will be no need for that, Mr. Filtch, I can handle the situation from here,” Dumbledore assured him as he motioned for George and me to follow him.
He led us silently through a maze of castle corridors. I had lost track of what part of the castle we were in long before Dumbledore had appeared, but things were starting to look familiar again.
“Do you think she’ll be okay, sir?” I asked as we turned down another corridor.
“I have every belief in the world that she’ll be just fine, Miss Sheehan,” he answered and led us into a room, “Set her on the couch in the corner, Mrs. Weasley.”
“What’s wrong with her, Professor Dumbledore?” George whispered as he set her down on the couch.
“It appears to me that she is simply unconscious, Mr. Weasley. She should come to soon,” he replied calmly, “The body can only take so much before it slips into unconsciousness after all.”
“So she’ll be okay?” I probed.
“I believe that she’ll be just fine once her body rests properly,” he assured me.
I sighed in relief. I could feel my muscles start to relax again and that was when I realized how cold I was.
“Are you okay?” George asked as he sat on the floor next to me.
“Cold,” I answered simply and wrapped my arms tightly around myself.
The night gown that I had worn to bed last night was soaked through and sticking to my skin. My feet were covered with wet grass and felt numb. Goosebumps covered my entire body.
“Do you mind if I start a fire, sir?” I questioned and motioned to the fire place in front of me.
“By all means,” he waved me forward with a bright smile as he spoke.
I scooted a few inches closer to the fireplace. The logs inside were charred and half burnt away but they would hold up for a decent amount of time. I rubbed my palms together to try and force some warmth back into my hands. I could feel the fire building in the pit of my stomach and it began to warm my entire body. A warmth spread through my veins and the flame slowly developed in my palm.
“What are you laughing at?” I whispered as I heard George Chuckle.
“You’re steaming,” he laughed.
I looked down and say that the heat of my body was causing the water in my clothes and my skin to steam.
“Well that’s awkward,” I chuckled as I dropped the small ball of flames into the fire place.
The logs quickly caught fire and heat immediately began to flood out of the fireplace.
“You can go change your clothes if you want,” George suggested, “I’ll stay here in case she wakes up. Then when you get back I’ll go change.”
“I can warm myself, you should go change first,” I protested, “You’re more likely to get sick.”
“Just go,” he laughed, “We both know that you won’t argue for long.”
I sighed and silently stood to my feet. There was no real point to arguing with him, he’d only end up winning and rubbing it in my face.
“I’ll be back in fifteen minutes,” I yawned, “Come and get me immediately if she wakes up.”
“Will do,” he promised and smiled gloatingly as I walked towards the door.
“We’ll see you when you get back, Miss Sheehan,” Professor Dumbledore smiled and nodded his goodbye, “Good luck.”
“Thank you, sir,” I replied with slight confusion as I exited the room.
There was an underlying layer of knowledge in his voice that I couldn’t quite decode. It was like he knew something but refused to outright tell me what he knew. I guess this is how Harry felt all the time when trying to talk to him about his parents.
But why had he said good luck? Did he think I’d run into a troll or an ogre on the way back to our room? It was a five minute walk between the two spaces; I doubted that very much could happen in the course of five small minutes.
Go to the woods.
The thought repeatedly rang through my mind. I tried to push it away and focus on getting back to Cat in an orderly fashion, but my feet carried me past the room. Nyx smiled as I passed and bowed her head in respect. I thought that I heard her say something about telling the others what had happened, but I couldn’t tell. It wasn’t making sense. Why was my urge to go to the woods so intense? Why couldn’t I fight it?
Hurry.
The voice inside my head nearly yelled. I began my light jog back out of the castle and pushed open the front entrance for the second time that morning. That’s when I understood.
The sun outside was too bright and high in the sky for it to be normal. It was like it was noon and not six in the morning. I was being pulled to the woods just like Cat had been pulled to the lake. This was my test, my journey. This was my chance to prove myself. Was I ready though?
I stopped short of the woods and took a few deep breaths. I knew that I had no choice in the matter, but I still secretly hoped that the sun god would realize he instilled his powers into the wrong baby and take them back.
“You are strong,” I assured myself before taking my first step into the woods since I had found out that I was the reincarnation of the sun.
The trees sparkled oddly around me and I felt them pulling me to them. Their leaves reached out and wound around my wrists, my feet, and my waist. The light from the sun illuminated tenfold and engulfed me completely before everything went blank and I was lost in a sea of light.