Chapter 24
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, it all belongs to JK Rowling…I'm merely an obsessed fan with ideas stuck in my head.
… … … … … …
"Leila, its Ron…something's happened…he's in the Hospital Wing." Hermione cried, out of breath.
Leila reached for Draco's hand, her thoughts were all jumbled. What possibly could have happened to Ron? Especially on his birthday. Was it a twin's birthday present gone wrong?
"Leila, come on, we need to go." Hermione cried.
"Draco." Leila whispered.
Leila looked to Draco, whose eyes averted hers. Leila closed her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose. She wished she knew what he was thinking; but from the looks of it, he was furious.
"Leila." Hermione sniffled.
Leila stood up to go. She took one last look at Draco, whose jaw was set and was staring across the courtyard. She bent down to kiss him on the cheek, but he backed away.
"Fine, be that way; just know that she's hasn't said anything yet, nor is she going to." Leila whispered harshly.
She stepped out of the fountain and walked out of the courtyard with Hermione. Leila's clothes and hair were drenched. She was about to complain when she noticed Hermione's red-rimmed eyes.
"Is he going to be all right?" Leila asked.
"I don't know. All I know is that Ginny said he was in the Hospital Wing, but I…I couldn't bring myself to go down there yet, so I decided to find you." Hermione said.
"Well, I'm…" Leila began.
"Don't even say it. I know what you're dying to say." Hermione snapped.
"What was I going to say?" Leila asked.
"That I deserve this because I've been so cruel to him." Hermione rushed.
"Hermione, I would never say that." Leila said.
"But I deserve to hear it." Hermione cried.
"Ron's an arse sometimes, especially when he's fawning over Lavender. He's even been getting on my nerves lately." Leila said.
"And now you're trying to make me feel better, why?" Hermione asked.
"Because that's what friends do, isn't it? Believe it or not, you're probably the best friend I have right now. You've been there for me with my Draco mess, so I owe it to you to be there for you." Leila conceded.
"I'm scared for him." Hermione whispered.
"I know you are; but as one of his best friends, no matter how estranged; you have to stay strong. We both do. So brush away the tears and let's go be there for Ron." Leila said.
"You're right, you're right." Hermione said brushing away the tears.
"Never thought I would hear that phrase come out of your mouth." Leila teased.
Hermione shook her head. They were almost to the Hospital Wing, when Leila began shivering. She was still drenched.
"I'll be right back." Leila commented.
Hermione nodded, while Leila took a brief detour. She performed a drying charm on her clothes and ran to meet up with Hermione. She was standing rigidly outside the Hospital Wing, leaning against a wall. Ginny and Harry were also there talking.
"What's going on?" Leila asked.
"Dunno, we're not allowed in." Ginny said.
"What happened?" Leila asked.
"Someone poisoned Ron." Harry muttered.
Leila gasped, throwing her hands over her mouth.
"How?" Leila asked.
"The short story is that we were in Slughorn's office. He gave us some mead meant for Dumbledore. Ron drank some, he fell over, and his mouth started foaming…" Harry said.
"But luckily, Harry knew to use a bezoar." Ginny added.
"Wait a minute, why were you in Slughorn's office with Ron?" Leila asked.
"Because he was in love with Romilda Vane." Harry said.
"Romilda Vane, isn't she the one who…" Leila began.
"What about Lav?" Ginny asked cutting Leila off.
"He accidentally ate some Cauldron Cakes, which Romilda Vane gave me at Christmas. They were spiked with a love potion." Harry said.
"So she actually did smuggle you the love potion. Well, the longer the love potion has been sitting around, the stronger the effects are. It was probably one of Fred and George's potions, no doubt." Leila commented.
"Anyways, I took him to Slughorn's office to get an antidote. We gave him the antidote, but he was feeling rather down, so that was the reason for the mead, and you know the rest." Harry finished.
"What a memorable birthday." Ginny commented.
"If he remembers it." Leila said soberly.
Hermione sighed in the corner. Leila could tell that Hermione was trying to be strong, but the whole situation still bothered her. When Leila turned back to Ginny and Harry, she found Ginny staring at her.
"Why's your hair all wet?" Ginny asked playing with Leila's damp, curling hair.
"Late shower." Leila lied.
Ginny shrugged as if she believed the lie. Hermione, Harry, and Leila skipped their apparition lessons waiting outside the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey bustled out of the door.
"Madam Pomfrey." Ginny called out.
"Not now, Miss Weasley, I'm busy." Madam Pomfrey said.
Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Leila watched as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley rushed inside to be with Ron. Mrs. Weasley was frantic with tears, while Mr. Weasley looked worried. It was eight o'clock before they were finally allowed to see Ron. They caught Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who were on their way to go see Professor Dumbledore. Mrs. Weasley greeted each of them in tears with a hug and kiss on the cheek. She then followed her husband out the door. Ron was the only patient in the Hospital Wing. He looked rather pale, but appeared to be sleeping peacefully, probably a Dreamless Sleep Potion. Ginny ran to her brother and hugged him. Hermione silently walked in, but kept her gaze on Ron the entire time. Harry and Leila slowly walked in. Harry sat in one of the chairs beside Ron's bed, while Leila sat at the foot of the bed next to Ron's.
The four sat there in silence, watching Ron, until the twins showed up. Fred poked his head inside first, and then walked inside followed by George. They somberly walked to Ron's bedside.
"So, all in all, not one of Ron's better birthdays?" Fred said.
Leila nodded in agreement as Fred took a seat next to Leila.
"This isn't how we imagined handing over our present." George said grimly.
George set the wrapped present on Ron's bedside table and took a seat beside Ginny.
"Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious." Fred said.
"There we were in Hogsmeade, waiting to surprise him…" George began.
"You were in Hogsmeade?" Ginny asked.
"We were thinking of buying Zonko's." Fred began.
"But we're not allowed in Hogsmeade anymore." Leila commented.
"We originally thought a Hogsmeade branch would be good, until we realized it won't do any good because you're not allowed out on the weekends. But never mind that now." Fred said.
"How did it happen, Harry?" George asked.
Harry sighed and retold the story for the twins. Leila could tell her twin was frustrated telling the account numerous times, but there was something else bothering him that she couldn't place her finger on.
"Blimey, it was lucky you thought of a bezoar." George said.
"Lucky there was one in the room." Harry said somewhat bitterly.
Leila looked at her brother. He had his hands clenched in fists, staring at the floor. She knew that he was picturing what would have happened had he not found the bezoar. She could tell Harry was imagining his best friend lying dead on the floor in Slughorn's office.
"Harry, you can't dwell on the what-if's." Leila said.
"Well, what would have happened to him if there hadn't been that bezoar, Leila?" Harry whispered harshly.
"I doubt Slughorn could have even come up with the proper antidote, so stop blaming yourself. Madam Pomfrey said that Ron will make it through, so why don't we focus on that." Leila said.
"You couldn't possibly understand, Leila." Harry whispered coldly.
An unspoken tension hung in the air. Leila was usually the one to bring Harry out of his moods. If she couldn't do it, there was little hope anyone else could. Fred, noticing the tension between the Potter twins decided to break the silence.
"Do Mum and Dad know?" Fred asked.
"They've already seen him. They're talking with Dumbledore as we speak, but should be back soon." Ginny said.
Ron mumbled something inaudible in his sleep. Hermione brushed some hair off Ron's face and sighed.
"So the poison was in the drink?" Fred asked quietly.
"Yeah, Slughorn poured Ron a glass and handed it to him." Harry replied quickly.
"Do you think he slipped something in Ron's glass?" Fred asked.
"Maybe; but why would Slughorn want to poison Ron?" Harry asked.
"No idea." Fred mumbled.
"You don't think he could have mixed up the glasses do you?" Leila asked.
"Meaning what?" Harry asked.
"Meaning that the glass Ron drank was meant for you." Leila said.
"Why would Slughorn want to poison Harry?" Ginny asked.
"Perhaps, Slughorn's still upset about that one day after class." Leila said.
"I dunno if it's that specifically, but it makes some sense. There must be loads of people who'd like to poison Harry. He is nicknamed "The Chosen One" after all." Fred said.
"So you think Slughorn's a Death Eater?" Ginny asked.
"Anything's possible." Fred said darkly.
"He could be under the Imperious Curse." George added.
"Or he could be completely innocent. Maybe the poison was already in the bottle." Leila said.
"Meaning that the intended target was Slughorn." Ginny said.
"But who'd want to kill Slughorn?" George asked.
"Dumbledore reckons Voldemort wanted Slughorn on his side. Slughorn was in hiding before coming to Hogwarts. Maybe, Voldemort wants to get rid of his loose ends." Harry said.
"I thought you said earlier that the bottle was supposed to be for Dumbledore?" Leila asked.
"He did! So the poisoner could just have easily been after Dumbledore." Ginny commented.
"The poisoner obviously didn't know Slughorn very well." Hermione finally spoke.
"Why's that?" Fred asked.
"Anyone who knew Slughorn would know that there was a good chance he'd keep something like that for himself." Hermione sighed.
A silence hung over the group as Ron groaned Hermione's name in his sleep. All of them were hoping Ron would wake up, but those hopes were dashed when Ron's snores drowned their thoughts. The doors to the Hospital Wing flew open and in walked Hagrid. Hagrid worriedly asked how Ron was doing, having been in the forest all day; but there conversation was cut short.
"No more than six visitors at a time!" Madam Pomfrey yelled.
"Hagrid makes…" George began.
"Seven. It's fine; I'm supposed to patrol with Malfoy now anyway." Leila said.
"Malfoy." Harry repeated, as if putting something together.
"Don't you dare drag him into this too, Harry James Potter!" Leila reprimanded.
"It makes sense." Harry continued.
"Harry, can you drop your Malfoy obsession for one moment?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Fine." Harry grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.
Leila nodded thanks in Hermione's direction and headed to the common room to meet Draco. But she was stopped shortly outside the Hospital Wing.
"Leila, wait!" Fred shouted after her.
Leila stopped where she was and turned to face Fred.
"Yes?" Leila asked.
"Erm…thank you." Fred said.
"For what?" Leila asked.
"For being there for Ron, for Ginny….and for me." Fred said, whispering the last part.
"It's not a problem, really. Your family practically is my family." Leila said.
Fred caught her off guard with a hug. Leila hugged him back, but Fred held on a little longer than necessary.
"Fred, I need to go patrol." Leila whispered, pushing him away.
"Sorry." Fred mumbled.
"Have a nice night, Fred." Leila said, trying to make the moment less awkward.
He nodded and she returned on her journey to the common room. When she returned to the common room, Leila looked at Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini, who were lounging in front of the fireplace.
"Have you seen, Malfoy?" Leila asked.
"What's it to you, Potter?" Zabini asked.
"We're supposed to patrol. So have you seen him or not?" Leila hissed.
"I'm right here, Potter." Draco growled.
Draco had seemingly just entered the Slytherin common room from the entrance in the corridor. Draco watched her coldly.
"Are you coming or not?" Draco sneered.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Leila said.
Draco quickly walked out of the common room, forcing Leila to run to catch up with him.
"Draco." Leila whispered.
"When exactly were you planning on telling me about Granger?" Draco demanded.
"I don't know." Leila said.
"You don't know?" Draco scoffed.
"That's what I said." Leila sighed.
"I thought you trusted me." Draco sneered.
"I do." Leila argued.
"But not enough to tell me that our cover had been blown?" Draco demanded.
"I was scared you would want to break things off." Leila muttered.
"Do you really think that little of me, Leila? Do you know how long I waited for this? Six bloody years, Leila. I wouldn't let a Mudblood like Granger come between us." Draco hissed.
"It was selfish of me, I know; but I find it ironic that the most selfish guy I know is yelling at me for doing something selfish." Leila said coldly.
"So now I'm selfish?" Draco hissed angrily.
"You've always been selfish you arrogant prat!" Leila yelled.
"Is that so?" Draco sneered.
"Yes, it is! But for reasons unknown to me, I fell in love with that arrogant prat." Leila said on the verge of tears.
Draco stopped where he was walking and turned to her.
"Draco, I feel that all we've done recently is bicker and fight, constantly. But this morning everything seemed perfect, until…" Leila sighed.
"Until Granger." Draco finished.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Hermione. I'm still not fully sure why I didn't." Leila said gazing into Draco's icy eyes.
"What about Weasel?" Draco asked.
"He should recover. He drank poisoned mead, which Professor Slughorn was intending for Professor Dumbledore." Leila said.
Draco tensed at the mention of the poisoned mead, because he had given it to Slughorn.
"Not that one, the other one." Draco said quickly.
"Which one?" Leila asked.
"The one I saw hugging you earlier." Draco growled.
"Fred? What about him?" Leila asked.
"He likes you, I can tell." Draco said.
"Doesn't matter. I'm in love with someone else. So in love with you, I sometimes wonder if you've smuggled me a love potion." Leila whispered.
Leila face was mere inches from Draco's. Her exquisite emerald eyes met his icy grey eyes. For a moment, Draco let his guard down and Leila could almost see through him. He was worried about them, but he was willing to fight to keep her his. Leila tangled her fingers in his hair. Draco couldn't resist anymore, so he pressed his lips on hers. Leila gasped at the kiss, but then returned his kisses. Leila eventually tore her lips away.
"We're going to have to be more careful." Draco said.
"Yeah, we don't want to raise any more suspicions." Leila commented.
"I'm still not thrilled that Granger knows." Draco frowned.
"I'm sorry." Leila mumbled.
"About that love potion; I almost gave you one last year." Draco commented.
"I knew it!" Leila said.
"You did not. I was only tempted to put some in your tea when you were to be questioned by Umbridge." Draco said.
"That awful toad of a woman." Leila muttered.
"She wasn't that bad." Draco shrugged.
"Wasn't that bad?" Leila questioned.
She rolled he sleeve up a little so she could better show him her left hand with the faded scar "I must not tell lies" engraved on her hand.
"If you wouldn't have been so bloody stubborn you could have avoided that." Draco said.
"So I deserved this?" Leila asked.
"Don't twist my words, I saved your arse on more than one occasion if I recall correctly." Draco said.
"That you did, even if it was at the expense of my friends." Leila retorted.
"I'm not going to apologize for what I did." Draco responded.
"Of course you're not." Leila muttered.
Draco stopped and gently pushed Leila up against the wall, so he could look her in the eyes.
"You don't get it, Leila. I would do almost anything for you, if it means keeping you out of harm's way." Draco said.
"Anything?" Leila asked hopefully.
Draco didn't voice his answer, but again gazed into Leila's eyes. Was now the time to tell him that she knew of his Death Eater status? Could now be the time where everything was about to change? Could Draco Malfoy move to the Light side?
"Draco, I…" Leila began.
"Leila, come on, I think I heard someone out of bed." Draco said, cutting her off.
Leila sighed and followed Draco. Maybe there would be another time. When Leila, returned to check on Ron the next day, she found Lavender sitting at his bedside talking to him. Leila glanced at Ron, he was breathing normally. But, his face looked almost in pain. Was he fake-sleeping in front of Lavender? There was only one way to find out.
"Lavender, I think Pavarti's looking for you." Leila lied.
"What for?" Lavender asked.
"I dunno; you'll have to ask her." Leila said.
"I'll be right back Won-Won." Lavender cooed.
Lavender kissed Ron on the forehead.
"I'll have my eyes on you, Potter. You and Granger appear now that he's all interesting." Lavender said.
"By all means, go right ahead and watch me." Leila shrugged.
Lavender narrowed her eyes at Leila and left the Hospital Wing in search of Pavarti.
"She's gone." Leila whispered.
"Bloody hell." Ron moaned.
"I thought you were awake." Leila grinned.
"How could you tell?" Ron asked.
"Last time I saw you, you were peacefully asleep. Just now, you looked like you were about to be murdered." Leila said.
"More like smothered." Ron said sarcastically.
"When did you wake up?" Leila asked.
"Dunno, but Harry, Ginny, and I think Hermione were here when I did." Ron said.
"So when did Lav get here?" Leila teased.
"Dunno that either, but I'm glad to be rid of her for now." Ron said.
"Don't say such things about your girlfriend." Leila mocked.
"You don't understand." Ron said.
"No, I suppose I don't know how annoying it is to date Lavender, and luckily, I will never have to experience that torture." Leila teased.
"Shut up, Leila." Ron groaned.
"You'd better be nice to me otherwise; I won't give you your present." Leila said.
"Present?" Ron asked hopefully.
"Only because you're suddenly interesting." Leila teased, quoting Lavender.
"Well, what is it?" Ron asked.
"This month's issue of Quality Quidditch Magazine. I haven't even read it, and look a featured article on the Chudley Cannons." Leila said.
"You know you're awesome, right?" Ron smiled.
"So, I'm told." Leila smiled.
The sound of the Hospital Wing door shutting made Ron go back to fake-sleeping. Leila looked up to find Hermione walking through the doorway, not Lavender.
"It's only Hermione." Leila whispered.
"Thank Merlin." Ron mumbled.
Leila chuckled and set the magazine on Ron's bedside table.
"I think I'll just be going now." Leila said.
She gently hugged Ron, smiled at Hermione, and walked out of the Hospital Wing. Leila visited Ron every day he was in the Hospital Wing. Draco was too busy to notice that she was spending time with Ron, even though he had no reason to be jealous. Hermione and Ron were getting along now. Things seemed to be getting back in order, until the Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor match. Leila sat in the stands next to Luna, who was announcing. Luna made things interesting.
"…but now that big Hufflepuff player's got the Quaffle from Ginny. I can't remember his name, it's something like Bibble—no, Buggins,-Leila?" Luna asked.
"What?" Leila asked.
"Who is he?" Luna asked.
"Erm…steal by Cadawallader." Leila commented into the megaphone.
Luna continued her amusing commentary, with Leila adding her two cents on the actual match every now and then.
"Ginny scored! I do like her, she's very nice. Wouldn't you agree, Leila?" Luna asked.
"Yes…Hufflepuff leading Gryffindor sixty to thirty." Leila commented.
"Just look at those clouds will you? That one right there looks like a nargle, and the one next to it looks like two pixies dancing on a summer's day." Luna said without a care in the world.
"Goal for Gryffindor by Demelza Robbins, that was some fancy flying right there." Leila added.
"Zacharias Smith now has the Quaffle, wait Ginny took it again. I think he must have a very bad case of Loser's Lurgy." Luna smiled.
"What was that?" Leila coughed.
"Loser's Lurgy, you know, when you can't keep hold of the Quaffle for longer than a minute. It's a dreadful thing to have while playing Quidditch, you know. It's rumored to be started by Nargles, which is why Harry's lucky he's a Seeker…" Luna began.
"Seventy-forty to Hufflepuff!" Professor McGonagall barked.
"Is it already? Oh, look! The Gryffindor Keeper's got hold of one of the Beater's bats." Luna said vaguely.
Leila's eyes quickly focused on McLaggen, who was filling in for Ron. Harry yelled at him, and then he mishit a Bludger in Harry's direction. The Bludger came in contact with Harry's head. Leila screamed. She watched her brother, yet again fall from his broom hurdling toward the ground. Leila ran as fast as she could to her brother's limp body on the Quidditch Pitch. Leila hoped this wasn't as bad as it looked, but she knew her brother had survived worse. She watched as her brother was carried on a stretcher to the Hospital Wing. The game was to continue, but Leila felt her time would be best spent waiting for her brother. When she reached the Hospital Wing, she was yet again, not allowed in right away. She leaned against the wall outside the Hospital Wing and waited.
It was dark before she was finally allowed in. She had even managed to get Madam Pomfrey to agree to let her stay the night.
"Is Harry going to make it?" Leila asked.
"Yes, but it's going to be getting him to rest that's going to be the difficult part." Madam Pomfrey said.
"He's very stubborn." Leila commented.
"You both are; I swear you Potter twins are regulars here." Madam Pomfrey clucked.
"I agree. Hogwarts should add a fifth house for me and Harry, with its common room in here." Leila joked.
Madam Pomfrey shook her head and returned to her desk. Leila sat on the bed to Harry's right because Ron was on the bed to Harry's left.
"What are you in for?" Ron asked.
"A broken brother." Leila sighed.
"He should wake up soon, its Harry we're talking about." Ron said.
"I know." Leila sighed again.
Ron and Leila rested in the Hospital Wing for what seemed like hours, waiting for Harry to wake. The Quidditch team came into visit Harry, along with Luna and Hermione, but he was still unconscious. It was nearly ten o'clock before Harry began to wake. When he finally did, he turned to his left and found Ron grinning.
"Nice of you to drop in, we were just talking about you." Ron said.
"We?" Harry asked confusedly.
"I'm on your other side, loser." Leila commented.
Harry blinked and turned to Leila. His hand moved to the bandages on his head. He sat up in his bed.
"What happened?" Harry asked.
"Cracked skull." Madam Pomfrey said, bustling forth to keep Harry in bed. "Nothing to worry about, I mended; but I'm keeping you overnight. You shouldn't overexert yourself."
"I don't want to stay overnight. I want to find McLaggen and kill him." Harry said angrily.
"I'm afraid that would be considered 'overexertion." Madam Pomfrey clucked.
Harry crossed his arms in defeat as Madam Pomfrey left for her office again. Ron and Harry discussed McLaggen, Luna's commentary, and eventually the subject of Malfoy came up.
"Ginny reckons you only just arrived on time for the match. How come? You left here early enough." Ron said.
"Oh. Yeah…well, I saw Malfoy sneaking off with a couple of girls…" Harry began.
"Malfoy, with a couple of girls? Who were they?" Leila questioned.
"Does it matter? This is the second time he's made sure he isn't down on the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the school…" Harry continued.
Leila stood up and headed for the door.
"Leila, I thought you were staying the night?" Ron called after her.
"I just remembered I have something to take care of." Leila said.
"Miss Potter, you need an escort!" Madam Pomfrey called after her.
Leila ignored Madam Pomfrey and stomped all the way back to the Slytherin common room, stewing over Draco and those two girls.