Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 15:
Complications
A couple of the worst weeks of Ron's life were over at last. Even seated as he was between Harry and Hermione in Double Potions with the Slytherins, Ron was hard pressed to keep from smiling. Nothing could sour his mood, not even the torment of an extended class with Snape and the rest of his least favorite people.
He and Hermione had finally made up after two horrendous weeks – not that he could really remember what they had been fighting about in the first place. Only that it had begun a relatively bad day, the only high point being Malfoy's absence in Transfiguration that morning, and that both his and Hermione's moods had been at a low point.
Well, that was all over now.
Ron turned his eyes on the girl seated next to him for a moment, watching her fondly as she studiously scribbled down every word that came out of Snape's mouth, admiring the way the torchlight bounced off the gold in her hair. As if she had felt the weight of his gaze Hermione looked up suddenly. She smiled at him – she really did have a dazzling smile…
Of course a moment later she gave a nod that encompassed his empty parchment and the quill in his motionless hand, indicating that he ought to be taking notes. He could only grin sheepishly and pretend to pay closer attention to whatever the bloody hell Snape was blathering about.
Hermione shook her head and turned back to her notes, squeezing his hand once beneath the table.
Yeah, this was how it was supposed to be.
Beside him Harry gave a subtle, comedic gag. Ron elbowed him in the side, chuckling in spite of himself. Harry must have had a rough time of it too these past couple weeks and a pang of guilt struck Ron suddenly.
It wasn't fair to Harry when he and Hermione put him in the middle of their arguments. It wasn't a common occurrence, as most of their arguments were stupid and inconsequential, but he knew it bothered Harry. Ron made a mental note to keep any future spats strictly between him and Hermione.
Well, even if Harry had been as miserable as he had been, he also seemed to have made the same excellent recovery. He appeared to be in high spirits, at any rate, grinning and making jokes at the expense of the Slytherins and their potions master and that eased Ron's sense of guilt.
Hermione was happy, Harry was happy, he was happy.
All in all, things were looking pretty good just about then.
Now, if only we could find a way out of double Potions it would be perfect, Ron thought as he leaned his head heavily in his hand. There was little chance of that happening. Draco Malfoy would drop off the face of the planet before they would get out of Potions class…
There was a thump nearer to the front of the room and, as one, the class (Ron, Harry, and Hermione with it) turned towards the noise. It was with shock and surprise that they realized Draco Malfoy – the epitome of everything that was Slytherin – had hit the desk head first and fallen asleep in the middle of Potions. Absolutely unheard of.
Ron struggled to contain his laughter. He heard Harry muffle a snort next to him and decided it would be prudent not to meet his eyes.
If Malfoy wasn't going to drop off the face of the planet, certainly dropping off in the middle of his head of house's class was the next best thing. Even Snape couldn't possibly let this one slide.
It took a considerable amount of will-power not to cackle as Ron watched the Slytherin sitting next to Malfoy prod the sleeping boy's shoulder, an unexpectedly amused expression across his face. The urge to laugh faded into confusion as Malfoy remained unconscious even through his neighbor's shaking and shouting. Ron frowned. The bloke was all right, wasn't he?
Snape's anger seemed to have dissipated as well and that cinched it for Ron. He was left with an uncomfortable bit if guilt squirming in his stomach. He had practically wished for something like this to happen, but… he hadn't really meant it…
The Slytherins and Gryffindors alike watched Malfoy float out of the room with the assistance of a mobile-corpus spell, as if he were asleep on an invisible bed. Snape followed him out, directing the spell presumably towards the hospital wing.
There was a long moment of silence before the class realized they had been left unattended and the room broke out in excited chatter.
"What do you think happened to him?" Ron wasted no time in asking.
Harry just shrugged. "I dunno – fainted, maybe? Kids used to do that in my school once in a while when it got too hot…"
"Well, he was obviously unconscious," Hermione put in factually. "It could have resulted from any number of things."
"I was wishing he'd drop off the face of the earth a few minutes ago – do you think that could have done it?" said Ron skeptically. He didn't believe he'd had anything to do with the situation, but he felt a bit guilty all the same. Sure he hated Malfoy, but it wasn't as if he would try and do him any harm – any lasting harm, anyway.
Harry snorted. "Not bloody likely, mate. Sorry to disappoint you."
"Why would you wish a thing like that?" asked Hermione, raising a brow.
Ron shrugged. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Oh, come now. What's he done to you?"
Two sets of incredulous eyes – one green and one brown – turned on her.
"I mean recently," Hermione amended.
"Well… I can't think of anything at the moment, but –"
Ron was cut off by a first year Hufflepuff. "You're Ron Weasley?" the smaller boy asked, almost timidly.
"Um… yeah…"
"Madame Pomfrey sent me – she wants you in the infirmary."
Ron blinked. What could Madame Pomfrey possibly want him for? He sent a glance at Harry and Hermione, seeking some sort of help, but they just shrugged, looking as surprised as he was.
"You'd better go then," Hermione said. "I'll fill you in on what you've missed later."
Ron only nodded helplessly as he followed the first year out of the classroom. It belatedly occurred to him that he had received both his wishes. And that neither was quite what he had expected.
Ginny opened her eyes only to promptly snap them shut at the sunlight pouring through the window. She tried again, lifting her lids slowly as the world – more specifically, the hospital wing – came into focus. Hospital wing? The last thing she remembered was…
Divination… did I fall asleep? She frowned pensively. Under other circumstances falling asleep in Divination wouldn't be much to wonder at, but she was hardly sleeping in her own bed and if she had in fact fallen asleep during class, why was she in the hospital wing? Why not just wake her up and slap her with a detention?
That's what they should have done… unless… there was something wrong with her? The infirmary was for the ill, after all. But she didn't feel particularly sick, just bloody tired, and that had become the norm as of late.
Ginny rolled over onto her side, tugging the crisp white linen that the infirmary beds always employed with her. Then she blinked. The occupant of the bed next to hers was staring at her. So she stared back, and after a moment a slow smile spread across her face.
Draco gave a half-smirk in response.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, sitting up in bed.
"Hello to you too," said Draco flatly. Ginny just giggled at him. "I don't know what's going on – I was in Potions and then…" he trailed off, frowning into his lap. "I don't remember."
Ginny's brows flew up. Well, that sounded uncannily familiar. The same thing that had happened to her had happened to Draco, it seemed. Was there something going around? No one else had gotten sick that she knew of. She glanced around the room; it was empty but for her and Draco.
"And you?" Draco's voice cut into her thoughts. "What happened? Finally managing to hurt yourself instead of innocent bystanders?" he teased, arching a brow in her direction.
Ginny blinked. "Innocent bystanders? If you're referring to yourself, don't bother – I was there." She paused before adding, "And besides, you wouldn't know innocent if it bit you in the arse."
"My heart bleeds."
"Yeah, I'll bet –" she made a face, shifting uncomfortably in her wrinkled uniform "– Ugh, I need a shower."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Draco said, waving a hand before his nose. The remark was met with a flying pillow.
"Oh, shut up," Ginny grinned in spite of herself. "You're one to talk!"
She thought she caught the hint of a smile on Draco's face, but before it could bloom into something more someone cleared their throat in the corner of the room, and they both turned towards the noise. It was Professor McGonagall. Ginny wondered how long her head of house had been standing there, a little miffed that the moment had been spoiled.
"I see you're awake," said McGonagall primly, "I'll alert Madame Pomfrey."
The professor's words brought another question to Ginny's mind: How long had she been out? She could remember feeling particularly exhausted just before her memory lapsed into nothingness, but now she felt fairly rested, more so than she had in days, though that wasn't saying much. She didn't have long to contemplate the situation before Madame Pomfrey bustled into the room.
"So, you're finally up, are you?" the nurse commented, as she made herself busy checking their energy levels and vital stats.
"F-finally?" Ginny echoed, not sure of what to expect. "What do you mean? How long have we been out?"
Madame Pomfrey turned her eyes on Ginny, brows raised. "Why, just over an entire day now – though I suppose I can't expect you to know."
"W-what!?" she and Draco gasped in unison. They exchanged a glance before they both turned their attention back to Madame Pomfrey.
"An entire day…" Ginny mused, trying to get accustomed to the idea.
"What the hell happened?" asked Draco, his voice hard. Ginny sighed inwardly. Not a patient bone in that boy's body…
Astonishingly Madame Pomfrey didn't reprimand him for his language, though she did send a frosty glare in his direction.
"It's not my place to answer that – I can say what happened was largely due simply to exhaustion, but it has been made known to me that there were other acting factors. I don't doubt that the headmaster will want to see you after this; I believe your families have been called in as well."
Ginny paled a few shades. They had owled her family… then it must be serious. She studied her open palms. What was wrong with her? And for that matter, what was wrong with Draco? They seemed to be displaying the same symptoms; maybe they were suffering from the same illness. It would make sense, she supposed, with all the close contact they'd had since their return to Hogwarts.
A transfer of diseases between them certainly wasn't too farfetched… but then, no one else seemed to have contracted it. What kind of sickness was this anyway? She felt perfectly fine.
"Madame Pomfrey, can you at least tell us if there's something the matter?"
Madame Pomfrey pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I don't believe it is anything fatal – there is nothing wrong with you, at any rate – outside of your unhealthy amounts fatigue, that is. As I said before: I'm not at liberty to say much else." When she caught sight of their frustrated expressions she added, "Not to worry, though. You will be filled in on all the details in short order, I'm sure – in fact, I ought to go inform the headmaster that you are no longer unconscious…"
"There will be no need for that."
Ginny turned towards the voice, half expecting to see Dumbledore himself, but knowing by the clipped tones that it was only McGonagall.
"I've informed him already," She continued, "You have an hour to make yourselves more comfortable; wash up, change clothes, things of that sort. After you've finished you will be directed to the headmaster's office."
For her part Ginny could only nod dumbly and follow Draco out the door, uncomfortably aware of the sense of uneasiness creeping up on her.
A/N: AH!! What's happening to me?? I used to be such a quick updater… well, sort of… At any rate, I think I have my inspiration back so the next chapter should be out shortly. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!!
Queen of Night: Bitterness??? In this fic? Huh… or… were you talking about something completely different? Well whatever you meant, thanks for the review! I enjoyed your song immensely ^^
Littlebluebanana: Finally!! Someone who thinks like I do ^_^! The original draft of the last chapter was a little less fluffy, but my beta made me change it… oh well, no one else commented on it so I guess its ok… it was only a _little_ too fluffy, right?
DRUIDGIRL: Haha – 'pleasingly peopled'!! That has to be one of the greatest phrases I've ever heard! Glad you liked the story so much – I aim to please ^_~
VirginiaMalfoy16: 0.0 you're criticizing my authors notes?? Wow… Haha ^^;;… sorry for being such a downer. I just write what I'm thinking of at the time… I think it's spawned by this strange embarrassment I have of anything I've written recently. While I'm scrolling down the page to get to the bottom where I write my a/n's I see what I've written and… yeah… -.- I have self-esteem issues – but don't worry, I won't let them show through in my author's notes anymore!!
Leena: Hehe – Draco is annoying, isn't he ^^? That's why we love him… Anyway, about the robe – she only wore it so she wouldn't have to walk back to her dorm in her pajamas. She changed to a Gryffindor robe when she got back to the dorm. Sorry if that wasn't clear -.-;
Lady-Thetis: Yay! Someone thinks my story is clever! I try so hard to make the characters sound witty… Thanks for the review!!
Freyliskat: Haha…I guess you don't have to wonder anymore ^^;
Grace: They make your day? I'm so touched ^_^!! Glad you like the story!
Bulma Greenleaf: You'll like this story no matter what? Even if I killed off Draco and paired Ginny with Harry?? *cringes in horror* Yes… terrible thought, that is… I don't think I could do it if I tried… Ginny and Harry… *shudders*
Stary eyez: Your excited for the next update? Sorry for the delay – even I don't know why this chapter took so long to get out… But I'm glad you're enjoying the story!
Emily22: Haha… looks like this was more than a little late in coming… but living arrangements should pop up next chapter… *laughs evilly*
Hplova4eva: You've reviewed almost every chapter and I just want to say that I really appreciate it. Even though you say pretty much the same thing every time, it's encouraging all the same – this way, I know you haven't lost interest in my story^^! Thanks for all the reviews!
Black_Dots: Not as much Draco/Ginny interaction as I would've liked in this chapter… but oh well – yeah, school is a killer… argh… no me gustan los clases!! Erm… sorry, just had an hour and a half of Spanish… anyway school just seems a lot harder this year… or maybe I'm just stupider -.-;; Oh well. At least I still have my temple ^^!
xXxmandyxXx: haha… Your muse has returned, eh? Then why haven't you updated your story?? *shakes head* Shame on you! Not that I'm much better with updating lately… ah well, glad you liked!