Chapter Twenty-Five

So There is no Cure?

"Have you tried to wake her?" asked Madam Pomfrey.

"Of course!" said Ron. "We have tried everything! Yelling at her, slapping her, we even tied a rope to her and dragged her around the Great Lake!"

Harry looked at Madam Pomfrey "Can you help her?"

"I'm afraid not. She has been administered the drought of living death."

"Is there a cure?"

"It's the drought of living death!"

"What's your point?"

"Living DEATH! You know, the thing that happens to people when their bodies stop working."

"So there isn't a cure?" asked Ron.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Even if the only cure would require one of us to donate our spleens?"

"For the last time! There is no cure! Viewing time is over."

"But we just got here!"

"GET OUT!"

Harry and Ron ran for the exit.

Voldemort sat in transfiguration class. He was talking to Nagini.

"I still don't know how I'm going to kill Harry." said Voldemort.

"Why don't you corner him in a dark room and then when he is totally helpless, show him that you're Voldemort. It will make him scream like a girl."

"Ha ha ha. That's how I want to remember him dying. But what if while I'm trying to kill him, some random object moves in my way?"

"Then try to kill him again! I don't care if you have to burn down the whole castle, just do it!" said Nagini.

"Mr. Riddlen," said Professor McGonagall. "why don't you be so kind as to show us how to turn a chicken egg into a fork."

"Shut up you old hag!"

"Why I have never- Fifty points from Slytherin!"

"Please! Is that all you can do to me?"

"Detention!"

"Yawn!"

"With Dumbledore."

Voldemort gasped. "Please, don't put me in detention with Dumbledore! He's the only wizard that I've ever feared!"

"Really? What about the He-who-must-not-be-named?"

"What him? He's a push over!"

"What about the Minister of Magic?"

Voldemort's voice became very deep. "Fudge is my puppet!"

"Who might have done this?" asked Harry.

"Well, when did she start acting weird?" asked Ron.

"Last night at dinner."

"Yes, it was sometime after she had eaten a bowl of pudding."

"Who passed her the pudding?"

"George."

"George!" cried Harry.

At that moment Fred and George came around the corner. "Did someone call me?" asked George.

Ron ran at George and tackled him.

"Oi! What are you doing that for?" said Fred as he pulled Ron off of George.

"You, little, evil, friend poisoning, money scheming,-" Ron said as he tried to get free of Fred.

"Someone gave Hermione the draught of living death. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this?" asked Harry.

Fred and George looked at each other.

"Martin." said George.

"Martin?" asked Ron.

"Yes, Martin." said Fred. "Ever since he got back together with Hermione, he's been trying to kill her."

"But why?" asked Harry.

"That's easy." said Ron. "Because, she's a genius, and she thinks that everyone else is an idiot. Oh and she can be very cruel."

"I never imagined that Martin could be so violent." said Harry.

Fred and George chuckled. "You should duel him as revenge." said Fred.

"Duel him? He's a first year, what could he know?"

Fred and George broke out into laughter.

Voldemort set his school bag down and knocked on Dumbledore's door.

"Come in Martin." said Dumbledore.

"What is it that you want me to do?" asked Voldemort.

"Lines."

"Lines?!"

"Yes. You must write I will not yell at teachers or poison students or kill students or crash parties or send valentines under other people's names or be a dark wizard one thousand times. I will watch you and laugh at you from time to time."

"That's torture!" cried Voldemort.

"There are two Ls,"

"What?"

"-in the word 'yell'. Some students only put one L"

Voldemort groaned and started writing.

Harry and Ron walked to the stone gargoyle that stood in front of the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Are you sure we should tell Dumbledore?" asked Ron.

"I think that he might want to know if one of his students is poisoning other people." replied Harry.

"Well make it quick!"

Harry turned to the stone gargoyle. "Nosebleed Nougat."

The stone gargoyle moved aside. Harry walked up the staircase. Just as Harry reached up to knock on the door to Dumbledore's office, he noticed a school bag sitting on the ground, and sticking out of the top was-

"The Marauder's map!" cried Harry as he reached for it.

Just as Harry touched the map though, Nagini shot her head out and tried to bite Harry's hand. Harry reacted quickly. He grabbed a book, and bashed Nagini on the head with it. She sort of looked around dazed for a second, then sank back into to the bag. Harry ran down to Ron to show him the map.

"Look what I found in Martin's bag!" said Harry proudly.

"The Marauders map!" said Ron. "Who put it in Martin's bag?"

"No idea." said Harry as he unfolded it. "Look. There we are, there's Dumbledore, and standing near him is-"

"Harry!" said Colin. "I found these scissors, and I need you to look at the wall for a second."

"How dumb do you think Harry is?" asked Ron. "Your plan to get hair clippings will fail!"

"I can't see anything." said Harry, who was looking at the wall.