The next morning, Fred woke up before his brother and sat for a while, watching the gentle rise and fall of the boy's chest. This didn't last long though, as a group of second years came crashing down the stairs and startled George awake. He sat blinking, trying to get his bearings, and eventually registered that he was in the common room, and that his brother was sitting staring at him. "Come on," said Fred, "We're going to get breakfast." George started to protest, but Fred ignored him, and shoved him through the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall. Despite his earlier protests, George ate enough breakfast to fill up 20 men.
The boys then returned to the common room to collect their books for the first lesson. George managed to find his before Fred, and sat on his bed, watching his brother throw his belongings all over the room in order to find his textbook. He then noticed the cursed book lying on the floor by his feet, and stood up. "I wonder how old this book is," he thought "I love the smell of old books." So he picked up the book, raised it to his nose, and inhaled deeply. Suddenly, everything went fuzzy, and he was vaguely aware of dropping the book before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, and everything went dark. Fred looked up sharply when he heard the book hit the floor, and seeing his brother's knees give way, he quickly caught hold of the slender boy, who went limp in his arms. He lowered George onto the floor, taking care not to smack his twin's lolling head onto the floor. He gently shook George's shoulders, and thankfully, his brother's eyes slowly flickered open, and focussed on his face, before widening in excitement. "I've been looking in all the wrong places, Fred," he exclaimed as he scrambled off the floor, "Don't you see? The book isn't cursed, it's poisoned! The reader inhales the poison when they open the book, and that's why I collapsed when I sniffed it!" He said excitedly, looking into his brother's bewildered face.
"Why were you sniffing the book?" his brother enquired with a snicker, but George didn't hear him, because he was already running out the door, shouting something about needing a new book.
