Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Thanks to all those who read the first chapter and liked it! I hope this chapter is satisfactory =)

"Spattergroit?" Harry read from a list of ailments he had made.

"No." Hermione shot it down.

"Vanishing sickness?"

"No."

"Scrofungulus?"

"No."

"Dragon pox?"

"No."

"Cursed?"

"By who?"

"Good point. Wizard's Flu?"

"Possible. Don't forget, he could've come down with a Muggle sickness."

Hermione and Harry sat amidst piles of books and numerous pieces of parchment that had been scribbled on.

"What kind of Muggle sickness?"

Hermione shrugged.
"I don't know. Could have been something he ate or drank. He could be having an allergic reaction to something."

"He's not allergic to anything. I've seen him eat everything we've had in the past month before and been fine."

"Okay. What if the fish was bad?"

"We all ate the fish and you and I aren't puking everything up."

"Did you catch the fish at the same time?"

Harry thought back to when he was fishing in the forest they had been camping in. There had been many tiny swamp-like ponds. He remembered that fishing trip clearly because it had been during that excursion that the rain had begun.
"All at the same time but at different ponds."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember how many little ponds there were there? Well, I caught two fish in one and then the third was in a different pond."

Harry's words seemed to peak Hermione's interest and she quickly pulled a book from the stack, causing several to fall to the floor in a loud thud.

"Who's there?" Ron's voice wafted weakly through the tent.

"It's nothing, Ron. Go back to sleep." Harry called as he picked up the books.

"Here it is! Giardiasis…it's an infection you get it from drinking unclean water or eating bad food. Ron must've eaten the one fish from the different pond and I'll bet anything that the water of that pond was contaminated. That's why we're not getting sick."

"What are the symptoms?"

Hermione scanned the page quickly.
"Fever, abdominal pain, headache, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting – just about everything Ron described."

Harry had to admit that it did seem to fit.

"So how do we treat it?"

Hermione continued down the page.

"There's not much we can do, given that we don't have any medicines, magical or Muggle. It says here that the biggest risk is dehydration so it's important to make sure he drinks a ton of water, even if it comes right up again."

Hermione looked up to see that Harry didn't look convinced.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that…" Harry's voice trailed off as he tried to find the words. "It's just that that doesn't seem like a lot to help him. I mean, he's miserable in there, Hermione! And all we can do is just 'give him water'?"

Hermione smiled slightly, although she hid it very well. Harry's concern was touching.

"There are other things we can do."

"For example?"

"Well, for his fever we can use a cool cloth to bring it down. Or we can make him sweat it out – ginger is good for that, but I don't think we have any ginger. We could just pile on the clothes … that might work. I know a couple of good remedies for an upset stomach and I think I have enough to make them. We should make him more comfortable – that bed isn't that comfy and leaning over to the side to throw up every few minutes has to be sore on the back. We'll do all we can to help him, Harry."

Hermione's speech seemed to have convinced Harry that Ron was going to be okay and he felt the need to apologize for his lack of knowledge on the subject.

"Sorry, I'm new at this. Somehow, I've always managed to be the one being taken care of."

"You do have a funny way of always ending in the Hospital Wing." Hermione had to agree with a chuckle.

"But most of those were not my fault!" Harry protested.

"Still, you always seem to manage it. Come on, let's pack all this up and then check on Ron."

Having a wand made cleaning up a breeze and the two of them made their way to Ron's bed. Hermione sat on the edge and Harry stood a few feet back, unsure what to do. Hermione laid her slender hand on Ron's forehead.

"Her'ione?" Ron mumbled.

"It's me. How do you feel?"

Ron raised his head from the pillow a few inches, just enough to look around before deciding his head was too heavy and let if fall down again. He groaned.

"That good, huh?" Harry asked.

"What is wrong with me?" Ron asked after being sick suddenly. Hermione had rubbed Ron's back soothingly until he was finished.

"We think that the fish that you ate has something to do with it. We think the pond it was living in was contaminated."

"How do you know that?" Ron grimaced and laid a hand on his stomach, applying a slight pressure that seemed to ease the pain.

"We can't be sure but it sounds exactly like what you've got. The fever, headache, nausea, vomiting; it all points to Giardiasis. Unless…have you had any other water at some point that we didn't boil first? Did you eat something strange?"

Ron's eyes shifted from Hermione to Harry.

"'Couple days ago." he muttered before leaning over the side of the bed again. Hermione turned to Harry, who looked shocked before turning back to Ron, rubbing his back and helping him sit back up.

"What did you do?" Hermione's voice was serious and she stared intently at Ron, who shifted uncomfortably.

"'Couple of days ago." Ron repeated, panting a little. "I was wearing the horcrux and remember I stormed out? Well, I found a little creek and I was thirsty. It looked clean enough so I had a drink."

Hermione sighed and Harry couldn't tell if she was annoyed or relieved.

"I'm sorry…I didn't know this would happen." Ron sounded like he was about to cry.

He hung his head in shame and Harry hoped Hermione would say something comforting so he wouldn't have to. Inside he was having an internal battle about how stupid Ron had been and that he deserved every bit of this versus he should be feeling really sorry for his best friend and he had been under the control of the horcrux when it happened. Either way, Harry did not trust himself to open his mouth.

"Ron," Hermione looked Ron straight in the eyes again. "It's okay. At least now we know for sure what's making you so sick. And now we can fight it."

Ron looked as though he didn't know if he should believe Hermione or not. Maybe he was having his own eternal battle, Harry thought.

"Just don't do it again." Hermione said with a smile and her face relaxed. "You scared us. We were really worried about you. We still are, for that matter. This is serious stuff we're dealing with and we don't want anything to happen to you."

Ron looked at Harry, who nodded truthfully. Deep down, Harry felt bad for his friend.

"But how do we get rid of this…what did you say it's called?"

"Giardiasis. It's an infection that you get from parasites living in contaminated food or water. They begin to live in your intestines. That's what makes you so sick."

Ron looked rather green at the idea of having parasites in his intestines and Harry quickly cleared his throat.

"To answer your question Ron, we don't have any medicine that will get rid of it and in a sense, it's just a matter of being sick enough times so that the bacteria clears out. But Hermione had some ideas to make you more comfortable."

"Like what?" Ron looked to Hermione.

"I think I have enough stuff to make some stomach-friendly foods, we can try them. Also, we can try to get your fever down with a compress."

"I'll look stupid." Ron protested at the idea of having a cloth laid across his face.

"We don't care what you look like." Harry said quickly. "Trust me; we've seen you in the morning. This won't be nearly as hard on the eyes as that."

"Besides, isn't it worth it if you feel better?" Hermione asked and Ron shook his head defiantly.

"Well, we could always make you sweat it out."

"Fine. I'm not doing the other thing though."

Hermione rolled her eyes but truthfully, she had expected no less from him.

"Come on, let's get you sitting more comfortably."

Harry and Hermione used extra pillows, blankets and sweatshirts to prop Ron up and Hermione placed the basin on the bedside table.

"There. This was you won't have to lean over every time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to see if I can find some ginger but don't get your hopes up. I can't imagine why I would bring ginger but maybe there's some in one of the cupboards in the kitchen or something."

Hermione left but Harry stayed where he was.

"That was a stupid thing to do, Ron." he said flatly, lacking Hermione's compassion.

"I know."

"Do you have any idea how scared we were? I mean, first I come outside to find my best friend retching all over the place and then the smartest witch I know doesn't have a clue what's wrong with you. That's not exactly a comforting thought."

"I know." Ron repeated and Harry felt better having vented out some of his feelings and he softened his voice.

"Hermione was crying, you know."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. She didn't know how to help you at first. She was worried about you."

Ron's ears turned red.

"I don't know what to say besides I'm sorry and I promise I won't do it again."

"You don't have to say anything else. Just work on getting better."

"Let's hope Hermione finds some ginger. I refuse to wear one of those cloth things."

Harry rolled his eyes and he could see that Ron was beginning to gag. He hurried to the side of the bed and handed the basin to Ron.

"It's not so bad," Harry said, trying to sound encouraging. "Just think of all those little parasites coming up and you'll be better in no time."

Ron's only response was to throw up again.

I feel quite bad for Ron…of all the things I hate, throwing up is the worst! A review might help him feel better…