Ron just sat there, mouth ajar, staring at Harry in utter disbelief. They were playing wizard chess in the Gryffindor common room and it was slowly rounding on midnight. They hadn't talked much about Hogsmeade since they got back. Laurel explained to them that they should get together again soon for more progress, but that was it. Harry had just told Ron that he was under the window of the shed with Laurel when Hermione and himself were locked inside.

            Ron ceased to blink. "So…You heard and saw everything?"

            Harry nods. "Don't get me wrong. Laurel and I were just listening in at first. Can't blame us for being a little bit curious. When Hermione started to cry, Laurel stood up and peered inside. I just followed."

            Ron slowly nodded. "Look, Harry, I'm really sorry. I didn't ask her to…"

            "Kiss you?" Harry finished for him.

            "Yeah." Ron said quietly.

            "That's okay. You don't need to apologize to me for anything." Harry says. His voice was still quite dull and dry. "I just can't help but wonder."

            "About what?" Ron asks.

            Harry hesitates. "If I was the first one to 'give it a go', as Laurel said, would that have happened to me?"

            "Who knows?" Ron replies very quietly.

            Harry tries to lift the mood a little bit. This was way too much pressure. "Well, I doubt that any guy would complain if they just came out of that shed."

            Ron laughs a short bit. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

            Harry shrugs and continues. "Just look at Hermione. She's pretty, smart, witty. Who wouldn't enjoy a kiss from her?"

            "Unless she was a bad kisser." Ron replies.

            He took Harry by surprise. "Was she??"

            Ron leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. He turns his head away so he didn't have to look at Harry. "I'm not saying it was horrible. It started out one-sided so,"

            Harry cut him off. "One-sided?" Ron flushes deep scarlet and Harry chuckles. "Don't worry about it. I won't tell anybody it happened. Unless you want me to spread the word."

            "No!" Ron said in a rush.

            "Don't worry." Harry repeats. "I won't. I promise. Anyways, after Laurel and I left the window…"

            "So you weren't watching the entire time." Ron butts in.

            Harry didn't answer right away. "What else happened that we should know about?"

            "Nothing!" Ron said truthfully. "Just you said you saw everything."

            Harry just ignores that and goes on. "Laurel was talking to me about Malfoy's potions. Did you know anything about the victims and how he chose them?"

            "Why would I know that?" Ron asks.

            "Dunno, just asking." Harry says. "Nevertheless, Laurel told me something quite important."

            "And what was that?"

            "We all knew that there had been other victims before us." Harry points out. "You know how Laurel said that she didn't have any other friends other than us?"

            "Yeah, I remember." Ron nods. "Then again, what was with that Adam kid?"

            "That's part of my point. He apparently had been a friend of hers since her first year at Hogwarts."

            "What's the big deal? Her and Adam were friends, your point is…?"

            "There had been one other boy. I think his name was Joel, not sure." Harry says.

            "I don't quite see where this is going." Ron replies. "Nobody said that we had to be her only two friends."

            "I know, I know." Harry answers. "What I'm trying to say is that maybe we should be helping Laurel too. She's done so much for us and we didn't really do anything for her."

            "And what does that have to do with Adam and Joel?" Ron asks.

            "Joel has been in the hospital wing since the last week of September, poisoned by one of Malfoy's potions." Harry finally says. "Laurel says Madam Pomfrey won't let them in because she doesn't know how much longer he's going to hang on."

            "So that's what her and Adam were talking about before breakfast." Ron nods to himself. "But what can we do? Not even wizards can reverse the effects of death if we don't have a sufficient spell. What had Pomfrey been doing to help this kid?"

            "She says there's nothing she can do but wait it out. There is no antidote. The bad part is that he's just getting worse and worse." Harry says. "There's a pretty good chance he's going to kick soon."

            "Why are you so determined to help this kid, Harry?" Asks Ron.

            "Just something Laurel said."

            Ron leans forward. "And you can't tell me?"
            "Fine, I'll tell you. Just don't laugh at me." Harry says.

            "I won't." Ron pretends to seal his lips.

            "When Hermione first kissed you, I got jealous. That's why I left the window. Laurel followed me. She said it was nothing to be upset over and she should know because she's had experience. I yelled at her asking how could she have any experience, without any friends. That's when she told me about Joel, Adam, and herself." Harry pauses for a second. "That's when she said, that's what happens in a guy-guy-girl relationship. You love them both to death, but one ends up being more like the twin-brother. The other turns out to be your other half. That's why she was so teary. She was afraid Joel was going to die and she'd never get the chance to tell him how she truly felt."

            Ron just stares at Harry. "That all came out of Laurel?"

            Harry lifts his eyebrows to think for a moment. "Yup, I was surprised myself."

            "So, you think that it might be the same way with Hermione?" Ron dares to ask Harry.

            Harry smiles at Ron with a hint of evilness. "You're hopes are high, aren't they?"

            Ron flushes furiously once more. "I…"

            "Aw, hell, get off it." Harry finds himself sighing. "I'm not jealous anymore. It was more of a surprised jealousy than pure jealousy." I still have Cho, Harry thinks to himself.

            "Damn, Harry." Ron mutters. "This is one bloody mess we're in, isn't it?"

            Harry just nods. "I think I'm gonna go to bed."

            "Okay." Ron takes his king and knocks over all of Harry's pieces. "I'll go too. I win."

"Fine with me." Harry groans from the tiredness and heavily climbs the steps to the boys dormitories, followed by Ron.
*****

            Harry and Ron woke up the next morning and slowly got dressed to go down to breakfast. Ron was moaning to himself about being so groggy and that he felt hung-over. Harry just replied that that is how you feel if you go to bed with too much on your mind. He often felt like that when Voldemort was close and his scar would burn. He'd stay up and think about it before falling asleep and his head would feel so heavy in the morning.

            They go into the Great Hall and sit down at the usual spot along the long wooden bench. Harry helped himself to some cereal while Ron piled bacon onto his plate. After a while, Hermione passed and looked at them shortly before walking on. Harry noticed that she had a different look in her eyes than before. That potion was slowly turning her brain around again. It was a very good sign.

            "I don't see Laurel at the Ravenclaw table." Ron said. "Nowhere."

            Harry turns around in his seat as well and scans up and down the table. He spotted Cho, like always, and he also saw that Adam Baker. Adam was looking around feverishly as if trying to find someone as well. Harry couldn't think of any place that Laurel would be. She never oversleeps and she would be in the library anymore, unless she had homework that she had to make up. But in the homework area, Laurel was very similar to Hermione. She had things done before they were even assigned, it seemed.

            Harry pondered. "Maybe she finally got into the hospital wing."

            "Maybe." Ron says. "Hey, look. That Adam kid is getting up too. Should we follow?"

            "Might as well." Harry quickly finishes the last of his cereal and grabs a piece of toast to go.

            The two leave the Great Hall and walk in the wake of Adam who, as they expected, was heading toward the hospital wing. When they get there, they let Adam go in first. They could hear the muffled voice of Madam Pomfrey talking to him. They lean in closer to see if they could make anything out.

            "I'm sorry, Mr. Baker, but I'm not sure." Madam Pomfrey was saying.

            "Please, Madam Pomfrey?" Adam begged. "Could you at least tell me if Laurel is in there?"

            "I wasn't going to let her in myself, but then Headmaster Dumbledore stopped by and said she could." Madam Pomfrey explained. "I don't want to cause any disturbances."

            "I won't be bothering anybody." Adam says. "I just want to sit for a while, and if Laurel is there, I want to talk with her."

            "It's alright, Madam Pomfrey." Came Dumbledore's voice. "Let Mr. Baker in for now."

            "Oh," Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Alright, off you go. Just don't make too much noise!"

            "Thank you, Headmaster…Madam Pomfrey." Said Adam and his footsteps faded into the patient's room.

            "Well, we know where Laurel is." Ron said.

            "Let's try to get in." Harry suggests and the two boys round the corner and bump right into Dumbledore, who was leaving.

            "Good Morning." He says.

            "Professor Dumbledore." Harry replies, surprised. "Morning."

            "Harry," Ron whispered. "Dumbledore!"

            It hit Harry just then as well. Through out this whole time, Harry and Ron were bumbling around with Laurel trying to find a cure for Hermione, and they had not even gone to Dumbledore. They had known where the lair was where all the potions were being made. They knew who was making them and who was giving them out. This whole time, and it didn't even occur to them to go and see Dumbledore. Their mouths hung open with the shock.

            "Professor Dumbledore!" Ron quickly shouts. "We know where the lair is!"

            "The potions! They…" Harry tries to back up his friend when Dumbledore holds up his hand for them to stop talking.

            "I am well aware that you two know where the lair was." Dumbledore replies.

            "What?" Ron asked rudely.

            "Well, we know who's making them as well." Harry says.

            "Yes, I know that as well." Dumbledore smiles. "And don't you two fret, we are taking this situation into our own hands. We're just going at a much slower pace than usual. We don't want to attract do much attention, now do we?"

            "Um, no sir." Harry agrees.

            "I suppose that some might say we are wasting time, but we aren't." Dumbledore continues. "I guess you could say that I'm letting the person responsible for this think they are getting away with it for a little while longer. Now, if you two boys will excuse me. I have to go to the fifth floor. I have to see a certain Poltergeist who had bewitched a particular urinal in the fifth floor washroom."

            "Professor Dumbledore! May we go inside as well? We want to visit Joel and Laurel." Harry says.

            "Ah, yes, Mr. Olestra. We are indeed keeping a close watch on him." Dumbledore reminds himself. "But I am afraid that you cannot go in right now."

            "But Laurel and Adam are in there!" Ron argues.

            "Yes, but I believe Miss DeGrope and Mr. Baker know him better than you do." Dumbledore replies. "Even though I do believe in the saying 'Misery loves Company', I do not enforce it. Now, classes start up again soon, so maybe you should get there a little earlier. Make a good impression. I have to be off before Peeves bewitches any more urinals. Good Day." He walks off.

            Ron chuckles. "Bewitched urinal. Feel sorry for the poor bloke who decides to take a wiz there."

            Harry stared after Dumbledore. "He knew all along. That's Dumbledore for you."

            "Oh yeah," Ron brakes Harry's train of thought. "Should we go in?" He points to the hospital wing.

            Harry shakes his head. "No. If Dumbledore left, I doubt Madam Pomfrey would let us in too."

            "I guess you're right." Ron gives in and him and Harry leave to go to class.

            On their way down the staircase, they see Hermione standing at the bottom. It looked as if she was waiting for someone. She looked up when she heard their footsteps and smiles slightly. "Hello."

            "Hi." Harry says back.

            "I was just wondering," Hermione asks sort of timidly. "If we were still planning on having a lesson this afternoon, or if you two are sick of it?"

            "I'm not sick of it." Ron says.

            "Another lesson is fine with me." Harry adds.

            "Great." Hermione smiles. "I'll see you after lunch. Until then, have a nice day, Weasley, Potter." She starts to walk away.

            "Wait." Harry says.

            "Yes?" Hermione turns around.

            "Did you just call me Potter?" Harry asks.

            Hermione shrugs but keeps that smile on her face. "Better than 'Hey You', though, right? See you."

            "This is really good, Harry!" Ron says hoarsely after Hermione turns the corner. "We're getting a lot closer."

            Things were just getting better and better as they day went on. In their first class, Transfiguration, Hermione 'accidentally' sat next to them for the lesson. She said that there were no more seats open, but there was still one right next to Parvarti. They were working on the Vanishing Spell. Hermione helped Ron and Harry along as they tried to make gerbils disappear. By the end of class, Harry still had a foot left and Ron, disgustingly, had the head left. Hermione, of course, had successfully made four gerbils vanish.

            Today was scheduled for double Charms, so the two had plenty of time to talk to Laurel. She sat in-between the boys but pointed out to them that Hermione, who was sitting in front of them, peered back at them occasionally. Harry and Ron told her of the small bits of progress made in Transfiguration and in the short meeting after they left the hospital wing. Laurel didn't talk much about Joel, even though Harry and Ron asked her about it. She just simply said that he was a bit pale. Towards the end of class, even Adam (who was sitting on the other side of the room) came and sat next to them.

            "So you two know about all this potion stuff?" He asked Harry and Ron.

            "Yes." Harry replied. "Our friend was forced to drink one. We saw her."

            "Now she doesn't remember us." Ron finished. "With a lot of help from Laurel, here, we made our own potion to help counter its effects."

            "Too bad ours doesn't have one of those." Adam says quietly to Laurel.

Laurel nods.

"So, if you saw her, you know who's been doing this?" Adam asks.

"Yup." Ron scowls but lowers his voice. "Malfoy."

"That Draco kid?" Adam curls up his nose in disgust.

Laurel nods again.

"Why would he be doing this in the first place?" Adam asks.

Harry shrugs. "Most likely for fun."

"Bastard." Laurel finally says.

Adam smiles and puts his arm around Laurel's shoulder. "That's my Lolly."

"You can drop the nickname." Laurel says.

"You used to like it." Adam replies in a playful voice.

Laurel just sits there with her eyes closed, blushing.

"Anyways," Adam straightens up and takes his arm away from Laurel. "If this ever all comes down to a fight, make sure I'm there. I want to give that Malfoy a good one-two."

"Sure thing." Harry nods.

Laurel speaks up. "Back up in the hospital wing, you said it was wrong for a guy to cry over another."

Adam makes a weird face. "It is. But there's nothing wrong with pounding the shit outta the person who did it and made you cry."

"Finally someone who wants to pound the living shit outta Malfoy too." Ron says happily. "I'm starting to like you, Baker."

"Because we agree on one thing?" Adam asks.

"If that one thing is beating Malfoy to a pulp, then sure." Ron nods.

Laurel just sighs. "Men."

Harry looked down at the row in front of him just in time to see Hermione turn around quickly. He smiled to himself for a short while before going back to the charm they were supposed to be working on. At least now they had two more fists on their side.