Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 26

By the end of the night, most of us were still standing around Ron's bed in the hospital wing waiting for him to regain consciousness. Although the members of the staff hadn't returned, we had gained the company of Ginny who had been informed of what happened shortly after we found out. Of course, she was just as confused and worried about the entire situation as all of us and had no theory on what happened other than it must have been a complete accident on Slughorn's part.

"The man's about as threatening as a Pigmy Puff," Ginny snorted as she gazed down at her brother. "Going on that alone I know that there is no way that Slughorn, of all people, would try to poison a student for no reason whatsoever."

Unfortunately, family and friends were not the only people that received the news of Ron's poisoning. We had all managed to forget about the one person that would make the biggest production of all: his girlfriend. Just as the sun was starting to outside of the windows, Lavender Brown stormed into the hospital wing with tears streaming down her face as she hysterically searched for the "love of her life."

"Where's my Won-Won?" she asked Madam Pomfrey.

"Ronald Weasley is perfectly fine," the nurse answered after a moment, most likely considering who Lavender was referring to as Won-Won. "He is just resting over there."

She raced over to Ron, forcing Ginny to step out of the way so she wouldn't get run over, and wrapped herself around his neck as he lay asleep. Madam Pomfrey's disapproving gaze was felt by every one of us as she did so and it only took one moment for the nurse to voice her thoughts.

"If you plan to disturb the patient then I must ask you to leave," she said irritably. "He needs rest. What part of that is not understood?"

Lavender back off of her boyfriend and wiped the tears off of her face as she lovingly looked down at the hospital bed. Just then she must have noticed that she was not his only visitor in the room as she looked around at each of us. Her look of sadness and relief was suddenly replaced with a look that could only be described as betrayal.

"When did you all get here?" she asked.

"We were here before you were," Harry said. "Didn't you notice?"

"How did you four receive the news before I did?" she demanded.

"Well, I am his sister," Ginny pointed out. "And these three happen to be his best friends."

"I am his girlfriend?" Lavender said. "Doesn't that mean anything to you all?"

"Well, I am so sorry that none of us wanted to abandon our sick friend to come looking for you," I said as I suppressed the urge to completely lose my temper.

No one else bothered to say anything to Ron's upset girlfriend as she held onto his hand and let more tears fall from her eyes. The rest of us just rolled our eyes at her and took our own seats around the room so we weren't all crowded around the bed. Madam Pomfrey seemed even more agitated when she noticed how many of us there were, but she kept her comments to herself since we weren't upsetting her patient.

About an hour later, some of us were starting to get tired and I was considering going to the kitchen to see if I could get some tea or coffee from some of the house-elves. Just when I was about to ask Hermione if she wanted to go with me, the door to the hospital wing opened and my heart began to flop around when I saw two redheads walk into the room.

"We just got the news," Fred said as he walked over to Ron's bed.

"How's he doing?" George asked as he stepped behind his twin brother.

"He's fine," Madam Pomfrey spoke for us as she organized some of the vials of potions at her desk. "He should be ready to leave in about a week if he gets enough rest."

Fred and George nodded as they took a seat on one of the beds next to Ron's. All of us were looking at them as if they were some kind of alien, but Ginny was the only one to speak up.

"How are you here?" Ginny asked.

"We walked," Fred said as if their appearance at Hogwarts was nothing out of the ordinary.

"We were just in Hogsmeade," George shrugged. "Talking to the Zonko's shop owner when we got the letter about what happened. We figured that it wouldn't be any trouble if we stopped by."

"McGonagall seemed pleased to see us," Fred said with a sly grin. "Her job here must be so bland without us causing trouble."

"Seems like we have enough trouble without you," Harry said glumly as he looked at his friend in the hospital bed.

"True enough," Fred shrugged. "Had to be on his birthday, didn't it?"

"Ron's never been the lucky one," George shook his head. "Is it true that Slughorn poisoned him?"

All of us took turns going through the story of what happened again. As we all expected, they seemed to agree with us on saying that the poisoning wasn't meant for their brother, but for an attempted assassination of Albus Dumbledore.

We were only allowed to talk a little more before the nurse silenced us all and made us step out of the room saying that visiting hours were over. I strongly suspected that we could have had more time with Ron if it weren't for the crowd that we had created around him. Nonetheless, we planned on visiting him again the following morning to see if there would be any improvement.

Thankfully Lavender didn't stick around with us much longer and retreated to the Gryffindor Tower after a sorry attempt of trying to persuade Madam Pomfrey to allow her to spend the night with Ron. Not that it was unexpected, but she was denied this allowance and was told to leave the patient to rest.

"I almost feel bad for her," Ginny sighed once Lavender was out of sight. "She puts on a good show of acting like she's a wreck."

"I take it that you don't like her," Fred guessed.

"It's difficult to explain," Ginny said. "I like her as a person, but I'm not so sure that I like her dating Ron. It just seems...awkward."

When we stepped into the Entrance Hall, I noticed that George had been looking at me for a good while. I wanted to say something to him, but I felt like it was too awkward given our previous encounter with each other.

"How have you been?" George asked while the others continued talking about Ron in front of us.

"I've been better," I shrugged. "But I suppose that I'm doing all right. What about you?"

"I think I'm doing okay," he said as if he were trying to convince himself that it was the truth. "I've been staying busy because there's been a lot of work with the shop. We've been considering branching out again, so that's what we were doing in Hogsmeade. It's more of a plan for the future, but we figured that we could just look around."

"That's wonderful," I smiled. "Everyone loves your shop here. You should hear the students talk about it."

"I'm glad to know we're still causing trouble in the hallways of Hogwarts," George smiled.

"None of them will be as great as you two were," I pointed out.

"Of course not," he winked. "There's no competing with the Weasleys."

When we got to the front entrance of Hogwarts, all of us knew that the Weasley twins had only come to make a brief appearance on their brother's behalf. This thought was confirmed when we met Professor McGonagall who seemed to be waiting for the boys to arrive.

"Thank you for letting us see Ron," Fred thanked the Transfiguration professor.

"Thank you for not setting the place on fire," McGonagall smiled.

"There's still time," George commented.

Professor McGonagall threw him a look and everyone started laughing. Although I knew that Fred and George were responsible for the majority of her anxiety for the past years, I suspected that we were not the only ones that missed having them around. Ever since their departure from the castle the previous year McGonagall seemed to have grown a deep respect for the boys that caused Umbridge so many problems. Maybe it was because she was happy to see that their nonsense could be put to good use...or perhaps it was simply because she was happy that it wasn't her that was effected.

"Safe travels, you two," McGonagall said as she patted them both on the shoulders. "Do me a favor and stay out of trouble."

"You know that isn't in our nature," Fred winked.

She smiled as Fred and George walked out of the door. Just as the door was closing behind them, I saw George look back at me and give me a weak smile. My heart clenched once he was out of sight and I instantly wished that they could have stayed a moment longer.

The next few days only seemed to make Ron's time at Hogwarts more miserable as he remained confined to the hospital wing. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had dropped by the day after Fred and George and they couldn't have been more relieved to see that he had made it out okay. Before they left, the made sure to smother Harry with thank-you's for saving Ron before it was too late.

Even with all the visitors showing up at the door, Ron couldn't have been more restless and eager to get moving as quickly as he could. Madam Pomfrey was determined to make sure that he did the complete opposite as she made sure that he remained in the bed for the majority of the time and constantly was shoving more potions at him with each coming day.

"I don't know why she wants me to stay still all the time," Ron complained. "I am perfectly fine..."

"Ron, you were poisoned," I rolled my eyes. "She just wants to make sure that you are completely healthy before she throws you out."

With Ron not being out and about, it was no shock to see that people seemed to notice his absence and there was one person that seemed particularly delighted that he was confined to the hospital wing. That one person happened to be Cormac McLaggen who seemed to jump for joy when he realized that the position for Keeper was vacant at the moment.

"I'll take over for him, right?" Cormac asked the day before our final practice before the game. "There's no way he'll be in good condition for our game."

"Try not to sound so happy that he's been poisoned," I told him as he beamed at Harry.

"I'm not happy, I just - " Cormac began.

"You will have to take Ron's position as Keeper," Harry interrupted him. "Just remember that this is only temporary. He'll be more than ready to get back in the game once he's released from the hospital wing."

"Excellent," Cormac said cheerfully. "You won't be disappointed."

He ran off from where I was standing with Harry and looked like he had already won the Quidditch cup for us. He must have been waiting for an opportunity to prove himself since he lost the position to Ron at the beginning of the year.

"Can't wait to work with him," I muttered sarcastically.

"He's not too bad," Harry said. "I just hope he doesn't lose his temper when I give the spot back to Ron."

"I wouldn't count on that," I said.

Cormac wasn't the only one that had gotten word about what happened with Ron and it seemed like the entire school had figured out what happened by the end of the week. Thankfully I had managed to keep out of the way of the people bombarding us with questions, but Harry hadn't been so lucky. Lavender, knowing that I wasn't one of her biggest fans, had taken to talking to Harry a lot more lately since she didn't have her boyfriend to snog and he wasn't very thrilled about that. With each day Harry became even more twitchy and the upcoming Quidditch game was only making things more stressful on his part. At the end of our last practice, Harry went off to talk with Ron and I got the chance to have a word with our newest replacement as I approached the castle.

"Hey Emily - wait up!" Cormac called from behind me.

I slowed down my pace as Cormac caught up to me and I couldn't help but notice how pleased he looked with himself. This newfound role that he had on the team seemed to have brightened his mood significantly.

"Good job at practice today," he told me as we walked. "Slytherin isn't going to have a chance against us as long as you have a bat in your hand."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at him suspiciously. What was he up to? We hardly if ever spoke before and now he feels the need to attempt a compliment, what was that about? Maybe he was just trying to be nice, but something about this encounter just seemed a bit off.

"You did pretty good too," I replied after a moment, not knowing what else to say.

"It's a real shame about Ron not being able to play this game," Cormac sighed. "But maybe it's good to have a fresh face on the field for once."

"It's only for one game," I said. "Ron should be up and ready for the next one."

"No doubt, but don't you think the team could use a new player every now and then?" he suggested. "I don't know, maybe switch me into the other games now and then. I'm sure that Ron would appreciate a break every now and then."

So that was it. Cormac was trying to talk to me about getting a better position on the team, but I couldn't quite understand why convincing me would do any good for him. It wasn't like I was the captain.

"You know as well as I do that the decision isn't up to me," I told him.

"What would you do if it was?" he asked. "You know that I'm a good player - maybe even better than the Keeper we have now."

"Ron's a good Keeper," I said. "He got the spot at tryouts for a reason."

We were on the seventh floor, just a corridor away from the Fat Lady's portrait, when Cormac stopped me in the hallway. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes in frustration as he started talking and tried my best to not loose my temper. It was obvious that he was just trying to use me to get to my brother so he could have a permanent position on the Quidditch team and that irritated me more than ever.

"Can't you just talk to your brother about letting me have a better spot," Cormac begged. "The team needs me there and I think you know that too."

"No, I really don't know that," I said. "If you have a problem with the team, then you're just going to have to talk to Harry about that."

"He won't listen to me," he said.

"And you think that I will?" I snorted.

"Harry is too blinded by the fact that Ron is his best friend," Cormac went on. "It doesn't matter how good I've done in practice or how good I do in the game tomorrow, he'll always choose his friend over me. He can't see that I'm better for the team."

"You aren't better for the team," I said bluntly. "You are intolerable and pushy - that's why he won't let you on the team. Don't try to convince yourself otherwise. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

"I'm not finished here," he said angrily.

"Wow, it's amazing how much I don't care," I muttered.

"Can't you see what your brother is doing to the team?" he continued. "He's only letting his friends join and that is not fair to everyone else."

"I'm pretty sure that you're just bitter because he didn't pick you," I said. "You were at the tryouts and you know that the people that are on the team deserve to be there."

"Not all of them," he said.

"You know, insulting my brother and his decisions isn't really helping your case," I said. "I have no interest in speaking to my brother about keeping you as a permanent player because no one wants you there. I would rather have a team of people who couldn't fly a broom than see you on the field every game."

"I don't even know why I bothered talking to you," he scoffed. "I thought that you would be more reasonable than your brother, but you're just as bad as he is."

"I'm glad we've finally come to an understanding," I said with a forced smile.

"You're such a b-" he started with a red face.

"I suggest not finishing that remark."

There were footsteps coming from behind me and I was surprised when I turned around to see Draco Malfoy walking toward us. His eyes were narrowed and he was giving Cormac a menacing glare that only he could pull off. For once, he actually seemed to be fairly threatening.

"What do you care, Malfoy?" Cormac scoffed.

"Because, although that name is fairly suitable for her most of the time - " he said.

"Hey!" I said defensively.

"I do not believe that she deserves to be called it by someone like yourself," Draco continued as if he didn't just indirectly call me a bitch.

"That's hardly your concern," Cormac said.

"It is now," he said. "Now I highly suggest you going back to your common room unless you would rather be in the hospital wing tomorrow instead of that game that you are so determined to be apart of."

"Is that a threat?" Cormac said.

"It's a promise," Draco said bluntly.

"What makes you think that I'll listen to you?" he asked.

"How about this," I said. "If you don't leave right now, then I'll make sure to have a nice little chat with Harry, the Quidditch Captain, about what you have to say about his judgement. Something tells me that he won't take too kindly to what I have to say about our replacement Keeper."

Cormac narrowed his eyes and then stormed over in the direction of the portrait hole without another word. When he was out of sight, I let out a sigh of relief.

"He's a bit dramatic, wouldn't you say?" I asked.

"Just a little bit," Draco said sarcastically.

"Wait a minute, what are you doing here?" I asked, suddenly realizing where we were.

"Just taking a walk," he said as his eyes shifted to the floor.

"On the seventh floor?" I asked.

"I get bored," he shrugged.

He was lying. There was no doubt in my mind that there was a legitimate reason that he was up here and it made me uneasy. His usual band of Slytherins weren't with him and that made me suspicious that he was doing something that he shouldn't be.

"So what was that about anyway?" he asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

"He was just irritated that I wouldn't talk to Harry about him taking over for Ron permanently," I sighed.

"Has he even played in a game yet?" Draco asked.

"No, but he figures that he proved himself enough in practice," I rolled my eyes. "It's really annoying actually - the boy completely goes out of his way to show off."

"So how did he think that calling the captain's sister a bitch would improve his chances?" Draco asked.

"No idea," I shrugged. "Apparently I wasn't going along with it like he wanted me to. He just can't get over the fact that Ron is the official Keeper."

"He's still in the hospital wing, right?" he asked too casually.

"Er...yeah," I said. "I'm sure that you heard he was poisoned and Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep him for a while to make sure he recovers properly."

"Right, of course," Draco nodded. "It's a shame that it happened to him, but it's just bad luck that he was the one that got it, I guess."

He started scratching his head and looking around at the area as if he was trying to find something to distract himself. Then he clapped his hands together and wiped the suspicious look off of his face.

"Well, I should let you go to bed," he said. "You have a game tomorrow and I'm sure you'll need the rest if you want to do good."

"You do realize that the game is Gryffindor against Slytherin, right?" I asked.

"Which is why I said that you'll need the rest," he said. "You'll need all the help you can get if you want to beat my team."

"Don't mock me," I laughed. "I guess I'll see you around."

"Sure," he said. "See you later."

With that, I took off toward the Fat Lady's portrait. It took a minute before I heard Draco's footsteps fade off in the distance and I took a moment after I said the password to look back before I stepped through the portrait hole. Something about that conversation gave me an uneasy feeling, but I couldn't tell what it was. What had Draco been doing up on the seventh floor? He could have just been out for a walk, but it didn't really seem like that was the case.

When I got into the common room, I saw that Harry was the only one in the room and was looking down at a piece of parchment. I only took a few steps in there before he looked up at me as if he was accusing me of some sort of crime.

"What?" I asked as I took a seat across from him.

"What were you talking to Malfoy for?" he asked.

"He was just - wait a minute," I said. "How did you know that I was talking to Draco?"

"That's not important," Harry said. "And what did you say to McLaggen? He came through here a little while ago and he didn't look too happy."

"Why are you assuming that I'm the reason for Cormac's anger?" I asked.

That's when I finally noticed what Harry was really holding in his hands. It wasn't just any normal piece of parchment - it was the Marauders' Map. He only knew that I had been talking to those two boys because of that map which made me wonder why he was looking at it in the first place.

"Were you spying on me with that thing?" I asked, suddenly irritated.

"Not you in particular," he shrugged as he began folding the map up.

"Then what are you doing with it?" I asked.

"It's no concern of yours," he said.

Then it dawned on me what he was doing. Harry had said before that he wanted to keep an eye on a particular Slytherin boy, but I couldn't believe that he had taken it this far to watch his every move.

"You've been using the map to spy on Draco?" I said in disbelief. "Harry, are you completely mad?"

"I told you that he's been up to something," Harry said. "You can't tell me that you didn't think it was weird that he was walking around the seventh floor just now."

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" I asked. "He was probably just bored - I walk around the school all the time for the same reason."

"Yes, but - " he started.

"Did you even find anything against him?" I asked.

"No, I only saw him walking around this floor," he sighed as he shoved the map into his pocket. "If only I had been here earlier."

"You're out of your mind," I rolled my eyes. "He hasn't done anything to give you reason to spy on him."

"What does it matter to you anyway?" he asked. "If he really isn't up to something like you're trying to make yourself believe, then me spying on him isn't going to change anything."

"Fine, do what you want," I threw my hands up. "It's just funny that you're accusing him of acting strange and then you go and do something as odd as this."

Feeling like this conversation wasn't going to change Harry's actions at all, I said goodnight and went up to my dormitory. Nothing would change Harry's hatred toward Draco Malfoy and there wasn't anything that I could do about it. I just had to hope that I was defending the right person in this matter.

Thanks for reading! The next chapter should be up next week. Also, since today is July 31, I would like to wish a special happy birthday to J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter! Have a great day everyone!

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