Fred came around with a stabbing pain in his leg. But this was nothing to the detached burning ache in all of his muscles that he felt flowing through the bond from Calliope. It was strange to feel such intensity from the bond as it had been near numb for so long in the past weeks. But this wasn't a good feeling, as it allowed Fred to have an insight into the injuries that Calliope had suffered and it told him that she was far away from him.

He opened his eyes and pushed himself upright, finding himself in the living room of the Burrow.

"Fred?" George rose from his perched position on the arm of the sofa that Fred was lying on.

"Where is she?" Fred demanded.

"She's at Hogwarts," said George, moving the crouch beside Fred, "she's f-fine." George stumbled on the word 'fine' clearly unable to form the lie fully.

"No, she's not, I want to go there."

"Nonsense," Fred's mother had entered the room, carrying a fresh bandage, "you won't be apperating anywhere for at least a day."

"Mum, I have to go-"

"You have to get this leg healed up," Molly told him sharply, "Calliope would want you to get yourself better. She is the one who charged headfirst into a death eater's lair for you."

Fred let out a groan of frustration at his mother.

"Mum I need to be-"

"You'll do her no good if you're worrying. I know full well how that bond of your's works if you're not better then I doubt she will be able to get better either." Molly began to unwrap the bandage around Fred's leg, making him wince, "now I will hear no more complaints from you, otherwise I will be forced to jinx you. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Fred mumbled.

********

It was a few days before Molly was ready to allow Fred to go anywhere, and her mind was mainly made up to let Fred go and see Calliope by the fact that he had begun to develop the beginnings of a fever, a clear sign to everyone that he needed to be with Calliope.

Molly would not let him apperate though, so along with George and Natalie, Fred reluctantly boarded the Knight Bus to head to Hogwarts.

They were met at the iron gates by a forlorn-looking Tonks, who was sporting mousy blonde hair and a rather tired expression.

"Hi Tonks," George greeted her, "hows it going?"

"Not so great," said Tonks, "haven't you heard what happened to that poor Katie Bell girl?"

"What happened to Katie?" demanded George.

"Someone tried to get her to smuggle a cursed necklace into Hogwarts after the first Hogsmeade trip of the year," said Tonks, "she's in St Mugo's at the moment, lucky to be alive based on what I've heard about the curse."

"That's awful," said Natalie, "I bet it was one of those Slytherins who walk around like they own the place, maybe that blonde ferrety one, what was his name?"

"Malfoy?" Offered George.

"Yes, I bet it was him."

"Harry has been very vocal about Malfoy as well," said Tonks, "we're doing our best, but whoever it was has covered their tracks very well."

"Well, you know what snakes are like, they can slip their way out of everything and anything!" said Natalie.

The group fell into silence as they approached the castle, they could all feel the crushing weight of Calliope's life hanging in the balance none of them more so than Fred.