Madame Pomfrey examined Ron as soon as he was brought up to the hospital wing, Hermione and Harry standing by anxiously. Ron's eyes were still open, and he was shaking terribly but didn't seem to be conscious. It looked as though he was having some sort of seizure.

"What happened to this boy?" she asked Harry and Hermione.

"He…fell in the lake." Harry said. Madame Pomfrey regarded him shrewdly. "Is that all?' she said.

"Well…he fell in it twice…" Harry added helpfully. Madame Pomfrey shook her head.

"He's got poisons in his system, and that couldn't have come from the lake. Are you sure he wasn't bitten by anything? No intake of unidentified substance? Anything phosphorus touch his skin?"

"Oh!" Hermione cried suddenly. "The giant squid! It pulled him out of the lake!"

Madame Pomfrey nodded "ah!" She regarded Ron and put her hand to his forehead. "The squid touched him with its tentacles?" she asked, and Hermione nodded. "Where?"

"Around his waist," Harry said. Madame Pomfrey unbuttoned Ron's soaking robes up his stomach so that his jeans were visible, and Hermione gasped. Violent red rings, the shape and size of the suckers on the underside of the squid's tentacles, had appeared on Ron's pale stomach. Already the marks had blistered and were tinged with green. Harry felt sick at the sight. Hermione clutched Harry's arm, putting a hand up to her mouth. "No wonder he seemed so panicked when the squid was trying to lift him out of the lake," she said. "Oh no…poor Ron!" She seemed close to tears. Harry was alarmed at how upset Hermione was. Surely the giant squid's poisons couldn't be that strong? He looked at Madame Pomfrey, but her face was very grave.

"Madame Pomfrey…" said Harry, feeling his insides knot up. "Is that…really bad? Is he going to be okay?"

"Of course he will," Madame Pomfrey said snappily, but underneath her tone there was a suggestion of anxiety. "You children will have to get out of here with I treat him for a while. Out, out!"

Harry started to protest, but Madame Pomfrey was serious. She herded them bossily to the door and shut it behind them. Harry and Hermione exchanged fearful glances. Harry felt a great knot of anxiety in his stomach. "He'll be okay," he said, facing the door Madame Pomfrey had just closed. "It's going to be okay."

Hermione didn't say anything. She looked once again, like she was going to burst into tears. Professor Snape suddenly swooped down on them, at that moment, and took ten points from Gryffindor because they were loafing around the corridors and told them to "get back to class or it will be twenty."

Harry and Hermione didn't go back to class, however. They returned to the Gryffindor common room where they found the rest of their Care of magical creatures class. Hagrid had cancelled the rest of the lesson, apparently too upset himself to continue. The Gryffindor fifth years seemed quite perturbed about what had happened.

They weren't able to divulge much information from Harry or Hermione however, as both didn't really want to talk about it. They sat next to the fire, avoiding conversation with anyone.

Harry was busy pondering what Ron had said to Viktor. He had actually accused Viktor of tripping him up so he would fall in the lake. It seemed stupid somehow…why would Viktor do something like that? He replayed the moment in his mind. Ron had gone to help Viktor…he reached the spot where Viktor was kneeling, and then he'd fallen in. Harry recalled the resentful look Viktor had given Ron. Could he have really tripped Ron into the lake just because Ron had accidentally squirted ink all over Krum's face?

Soon the bell rang to signal the end of class and the common room filled up with Gryffindors of other years. "Harry," said Hermione softly, interrupting his train of thought. "It's been a few hours now…shall we go back up to the hospital wing?"

"Yeah," said Harry, getting to his feet at once, a little surprised to hear it had been a couple of hours. "I want to see if he's awake."

They scurried the corridors up to the hospital wing, up the staircase, along a fourth floor corridor, behind a painting, and up another flight of stairs, all the while looking over their shoulders for Professor Snape. No doubt he would send them back to the common room after taking off another ten points. They reached the door of the hospital wing, and Harry knocked on it gingerly. No one answered. He creaked the door open a little. "Madame…Pomfrey?" he called, opening the door a little bit wider. "She went out for a moment," said a sleepy voice from inside the room.

"Ron!" Harry and Hermione cried, flinging open the door.

Ron was sat up in a bed, leaning against a few pillows. He was still pale, but dry, now, and wearing clean pyjamas. His long, freckled nose was red, and there were several used tissues on his bedside table, sitting next a bottle of green potion. Harry and Hermione hurried over to him, grinning.

"You're okay!" Harry said, voice cracking with relief.

"Yeah," said Ron drowsily, and in a thick voice that sounded like he had a head cold. "I was wondering if you two'd come up here." He yawned hugely. "Madame Pomfrey gave me some sort of potion to stop me shivering…s'made me really sleepy." He yawned again.

"Does it hurt much?" Hermione asked, sitting down on the chair by his bed.

"It feels a bit better now," Ron said. "But it did hurt a lot before." He screwed up his face suddenly and let off a couple of violent sneezes. Sniffling terribly, he pulled another few tissues out of the box.

"Bless you," said Hermione.

"Thanks," said Ron, wiping his nose.

"So, you remember what happened, right?" Harry asked. Ron nodded. "Wasn't it scary?"

"Well I was more cold than anything else…" Ron said sleepily. "I knew what was going on, but. Could feel the tentacle around me….felt like I was being squeezed to death…'n then when it dropped me on the shore, I just wanted to ask Krum why he tripped me up…but then my arms felt like they were frozen stiff…then my legs….'n I couldn't move. I could see ev'rything and hear all you lot talking… I just couldn't move." He yawned once again. "Madame Pomfrey says that was the squid poison spreading 'round my system….makes you freeze up, aparrently."

"You looked like you were having a seizure or something, Ron!" Hermione said breathlessly, squeezing his long, skinny arm. "Everyone was so scared!"

"'M alright…" Ron slurred, letting his eyelids droop. "Mind you, I was a little worried…Charlie once told me' bout this kid who got stung by the squid when he was at Hogwarss…nearly had to get his arm cut off, it was hurt so bad…" He reached out his arm, grasped another tissue and blew his nose. "I'll be okay, s'long as Madame Pomfrey keeps giving me the medicine…all that's really wrong is I gotta cold…"

"Perhaps we'd better let you sleep, Ron?" said Hermione, looking at him anxiously.

"Nah, stay…" said Ron, closing his eyes. "'S boring up here…no one to talk to an' all…." He opened his eyes halfway and looked up at them. "You two alright, then? You look a bit pale…Hermione? Whassa matter?"

For tears had started to run down Hermione's cheeks. "I'm sorry Ron!" she wailed suddenly, and buried her head in his pillow.

"What?" said Ron. "What're you talking about?"

"It's all my fault!" Hermione sobbed. "It must be! I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, Hermione!" said Ron and Harry at the same time.

"What are you talking about?" Harry said.

"I told you to go and help- I didn't know you couldn't swim, Ron!"

"Don't be stupid…" muttered Ron. "It wasn't your fault, Hermione…I'll tell you whose fault it wa-was…." He was interrupted by another huge yawn. "It was bloody Viktor Krum, thass who it was…stupid git, tripping me up like that…"

"You can't possible believe Viktor would trip you up!" Hermione said, sniffling and gulping. "Why would he do something like that?"

"How'm I s'posed to know?" Ron said, frowning at her.

"Er…" said Harry, "maybe it's because-"

But he was interrupted by the arrival of Fred and George Weasley. They burst noisily into the hospital wing, with Ginny Weasley at their heels, panting hard. They looked as though they had run all the way from the Gryffindor common room. They looked wildly around, spotted Ron and ran towards him.

"Ron!" gasped Fred, leaning on the bed. "It's true, then!"

"Are you okay?" cried Ginny, who was in tears. She grasped one of Ron's big hands. "What happened Ron?"

"Bloody hell, you two!" said George breathlessly to Harry and Hermione, leaning on Fred. "You might've bloody well told us that Ron was in the bloody hospital wing!"

"You okay, Ron?" said Fred, catching his breath a little. Harry saw that both he and George were pale behind their freckles. Ron looked at them sleepily.

"'Course I'm alright," he said. "What'd you expect?"

"I dunno," said Fred. "But we were told you were poisoned by the giant squid!"

"Were you really?" cried Ginny tearfully. "You weren't really, were you?"

"How'd you get poisoned by the giant squid?" said George.

"It was an accident," said Harry. "The squid was only trying to help. It lifted Ron out of the lake, and accidentally poisoned him."

George looked quickly at Ron. "The lake? You were in the lake, Ron?"

"What were you doing in the lake, you stupid great prat?" said Fred angrily. "You know you can't swim!"

"It's not like I was in there on purpose…" Ron mumbled, closing his eyes again.

"So how did you get in there?" asked Ginny, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. Suddenly, Madame Pomfrey came out of her office, holding a large glass syringe filled with purple liquid. She looked up and frowned when she saw Harry, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny crowded around Ron's bed. 'What are you all doing in here?!" she said, looking irritated. "The boy needs his rest! Get back to your common rooms, all of you, now!"

"Madame Pomfrey…" Fred started, smiling at her in a winning way. "You can't possibly want us to-"

"NO. Out! All of you!"

Hermione quickly squeezed Ron's arm again. Tears were still running down her face. 'You'll be okay, won't you Ron?" she sniffled. "You'll be alright?"

"Of course I will," said Ron. "Stop crying, Hermi'ne…"

Madame Pomfrey came and chivvied them out of the door, although not too sternly, after noticing Hermione and Ginny's tears. "You can see him tomorrow morning, after breakfast, but not a moment before!" she said firmly, pushing them all out the door. Fred rubbed his face with his hand wearily and addressed Harry and Hermione. "So, what happened? Why was Ron in the lake?"

"He fell in," said Harry. He looked at Ginny's tear stained face and added, "Twice."

"Well, obviously, Sherlock!" George snapped as they began walking back to the common room. "I mean, how did he fall in?"

"Just tripped over his own feet, I guess," said Hermione.

"Or tripped over Viktor Krum's feet," said Harry, taken aback at George's snappishness.

"What?" said Fred, George and Ginny.

"Oh Harry, you can't be serious!" said Hermione. "Viktor would never do anything like that!"

"You think Viktor Krum tripped Ron up so he would fall into the lake?" said Fred. "Why?"

"Well, Ron says he did," said Harry. He paused, looked at Hermione's dubious expression, and tried to explain. "And I think Krum was a little annoyed that Ron squirted squid ink all over his face. Maybe Krum was just trying to be funny, but…it got out of hand." Fred and George exchanged anxious glances. Harry realised he had never seen them both so serious. He supposed this was their concern for Ron showing through. Ginny, walking a few steps behind them, still had silent tears running down her face, and Hermione dropped back to comfort her.

"Gave us a fright, I don't mind telling you," George said, running a hand through his bright red hair. "Neville told us."

"Yeah, 'What's the time Neville,' I said, "seven o'clock Fred," he says, and "oh, by the way did you know Ron's in the hospital wing?'" Fred said, grimacing.

"Blimey," said George, shaking his head. "Lucky for Ron Madame Pomfrey knows what she's doing. Squid poison can be deadly, you know,"

"We heard," said Harry. He looked behind his shoulder where Hermione and Ginny were walking. Hermione had her arm around Ginny's shoulders, although she herself was still tearful. "Ron's going to be fine," he said firmly, to reassure himself as well as the girls. "Ginny, Hermione, don't worry, okay?"

"Yeah" said Fred slowly. "Yeah, you're right Harry. Ron's tougher than he looks."

"You hope," said George. But he cracked a smile at Harry, and Harry was glad to see he wasn't so pale any more. Seeing Fred and George so perturbed made him feel even more worried about Ron's situation.