CHAPTER 11: IN THE HOSPITAL
Harry opened his eyes. There was complete silence and very little light, wherever he was. Harry tried to sit up. He was in a bed. He looked around and recognized his surroundings to be the hospital wing at Hogwart's. Harry looked around him. To his left, in a bed about 10 feet away from him, lay Hermione, still and silent. Beyond her was Madeline. To Harry's right was Ron.
"'Oy, Harry!" Ron's voice sounded relieved. "You're awake, then. Don't know about the girls… been here for nearly five days, you know. I woke up just about two hours ago. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was here about a half hour ago."
Harry still didn't know why the four friends were where they were.
"Er… Ron?" Harry asked, "What am I doing here?"
"I didn't remember, either, Harry. Think about it. The door, You-Know-Who…" Ron stared at Harry expectantly.
"Oh!" Harry exclaimed. The entire experience was beginning to come back to him. "I remember. The room! The ice room. Curses, Ron, have you ever known such a cold?"
"Never," Ron responded, shaking his head in a definitive 'no'. "Madam Pomfrey said that the ice wasn't made from water but liquid Slumberjuice. It was a spell cast by You-Know-Who."
"Is Voldemort still here?" Harry was aghast.
"They don't think so… they haven't-" Ron was cut off as the door to the hospital wing was opened.
In walked Sirius, looking concerned at first, then relieved when he saw Harry sitting up in bed. "Oh, Harry!" Sirius cried. "You're all right. I knew you'd pull through." Sirius continued over towards Harry and sat at a chair next to Harry's bed. "Ron, you're well, too, I see. Excellent. But…" He gestured at the girls' beds, but gathered composure and cleared his throat when he turned back to Harry and Ron. "They should be fine. Just fine." Sirius said, sounding falsely confident.
"Sirius, I'm glad to see you, but will you please explain to me what exactly is going on here? Did someone try to kill me?"
"As a matter of fact, Harry, yes." Sirius looked grave. "Voldemort, in all actuality. Would you like the entire story, then?"
Harry nodded anxiously. "Begin at the beginning."
"Well, first, you didn't show up to my class. About fifteen minutes into class, I inquired as to your whereabouts. No one answered, but a boy in the front row looked as if he were uncomfortable telling me… as if someone had instructed him not to tell." Sirius shot Harry a severe glance.
"I didn't tell anyone anything! If it was Neville, he never wants to tell." Harry said helplessly.
Sirius carried on. "I asked again at the end of class if anyone knew where the four of you were, and I was approached by a very worried-looking student, by the name of Neville Longbottom." Neville was a Gryffindor boy, always concerned about Harry, Hermione, and Ron and their welfare. It was usually he who gave the tip to the teacher that wound up saving the mischievous others. "And," Sirius continued, "He told me that he had seen you and the others before class, following something that you all seemed quite intent on catching. He stated that he hadn't wanted to report this to me because 'every time they go on an adventure, I somehow end up being the tattletale.' Well, I asked Neville which way you had gone. He pointed and said you'd gone through a door. I followed the logical footsteps from the door and found myself on a roof in the pouring rain. There was no sign of the four of you, however. I peeked around the corner when I heard laughing. It sounded like the laughter was pained and difficult, as if the breathing took effort. I glanced around the corner and saw a small, crooked, hooded man."
"Voldemort!" Harry hissed.
Sirius nodded. "It was as if he sensed me. He looked around frantically and disappeared. I saw nothing more of him, but continued around the corner and saw a door. The man, Voldemort, had been standing in front of that very door. I attempted to unlock it with an Alohomora. I tried everything. Finally, in a desperate attempt to get it opened, I started a fire and burned the door down. I saw in front of me a room made entirely of ice. There was a subtle but familiar scent in the room, Harry."
"Slumberjuice." Harry whispered, remembering what Ron had told him. Sirius nodded again.
"It's a strange thing, Slumberjuice. It's icy cold, even in its liquid state. The ice in the room was frozen Slumberjuice, so you all got hypothermia and Slumberjuice poisoning. I recognized the smell and gathered you children up. I hauled you all outside and escaped getting poisoned myself. It was a trap, Harry, by Voldemort. If one is exposed to Slumberjuice long enough, it can be fatal. The heart stops beating. Luckily, we rescued you all in time to save you. Hopefully…" Sirius' voice trailed off and he stared solemnly at the girls' beds. "I called Madam Pomfrey. We brought you all down here and gave you the antidote. I immediately alerted Dumbledore. He came down here to see how you all were every day, even this morning. Your teachers are all worried. And… well, you can imagine the student reaction. We told them that you had been trapped in a locked room. Voldemort wasn't mentioned. We wouldn't want children sending owls home to their parents saying how 'You-Know-Who' was at their school and to send for them immediately." Sirius forced a laugh, and Harry tried to smile. "In any case, I think it would be best if you all stayed here for a few more days. I think-"
"'Arry?" A tired voice croaked. Ron, Sirius, and Harry looked over in the direction of the sound. Madeline was sitting up in her bed, looking immensely sleepy. "Ees everyone all right?" The story was explained to Madeline. While Sirius spoke, Harry examined the stack of get-well cards on his bedside table. The largest was from Colin Creevey.
'Get well soon, Harry' it red in large, neon colours. 'I think you are brave for breaking into the locked room and I'm going to do it someday, too.'
Harry almost laughed. Colin had always taken after Harry, but following in his dangerous footsteps… Harry decided to have a chat with Colin when he got out of the hospital. But to be honest, Harry decided, he had no particular desire to see Colin until he had recovered.
Harry was very worried about Hermione. He kept vigil on her, even after Sirius left. That night, when he fell asleep, Harry had a dream about his book. He sprang awake. His book! Where was it?
Harry looked in the bedside table drawer and breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was in the drawer safe and sound, his books, including The Road to Nowhere, his quills and parchments, his cauldron; all was safe. Harry leaned back and shut his eyes. Just then, the sound of a heavy sigh reached Harry's ears. He cracked his eyes open and saw Hermione sitting up. Harry let out a delightful cry.
"Harry!" Hermione whispered, looking at Harry. Harry slowly stood and walked slowly to Hermione's bed. He took her hand and guided her over to the window. The two stared at the bright harvest moon and stars as Harry explained the story again to Hermione. Hermione sat in awe. She didn't seem to remember any of it.
"I really don't Harry," she said slowly. "The last thing I remember is following you over to a door."
"Well, you were the last one to wake up. Maybe the poison affected you the most."
Hermione walked over to the able beside her bed and picked up her stack of cards.
"Oh, look, Harry," she whispered, carrying a card over to the window. The card had an envelope with it, which had a scrawled address on it. "It's from Viktor Krum!"
Harry remembered Krum. The previous year, in the tri-wizard tournament, Krum had represented another school. He had been a seventh-year then, which meant he was out of school by now. Harry wondered how Krum had found out about the incident. Krum played for the Bulgarian Quidditch team. Harry had always been internally jealous of Krum, since he and Hermione had attended the Ball commemorating the tournament together. Harry stared at Hermione in the darkness. Her eyes showed no emotion as she read the card. Suddenly, she tore it up into tiny pieces, extracted her wand from the drawer in the table and whispered,
"Demolitium." The pieces withered and disappeared in Hermione's hand.
"What did it say?" Harry asked inquisitively.
"Nothing. Nothing important, anyway," Hermione insisted. "I'm glad I'm going to the dance with you."
Harry smiled. He wondered what the card had said. Hermione wasn't so random as to make a comment like that. The card must have either said something mean or dismissing.
"Yes, I am, too," Harry said. He paused, struck with an idea. "Let's get the book out, all right?"
Hermione nodded eagerly. The two walked over to Harry's bedside table and carried the book back to the window. Harry held the book in the moonlight so Hermione could see it, but Hermione was far more clever. "Lumos!" she whispered, and her wand illuminated itself into a reading lamp.
The next empty page in the book showed a horrific scene. Madeline was lying on her bed, silent and motionless. Her bright and lively face was white. Malfoy stood over her with his wand.
"Adava Kedavra!" Malfoy screamed, aiming his wand at Madeline. The picture stopped moving. Adava Kedavra was the worst spell one could possibly cast. It was a killing spell.
Hermione gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Well, that's just peachy-keen, isn't it!" she said angrily. "Something's got to be done, Harry. We can not let anything happen. I say we take this to Dumbledore."
Harry groaned. Why had the book come to him anyway?
Hermione's voice softened. "I'm sorry, Harry. I got you into this and I promise you, I'll help you out. But I swear," she said, her words sounding angrier and angrier with each passing moment, "I will not let one of my friends die because of some stupid Birthday Present."
Harry nodded slowly. He was thinking about everything. Thought rushed through his brain and he found it hard to process any one problem at a time. Harry thought about the book, the clue, the dance, Dumbledore, and especially how to break the news of the newest clue to Madeline.
"We're just going to have to get Malfoy," Harry said mischievously, raising his eyes to Hermione, "Before he gets one of us."