Chapter 3- A few facts
Ron was awake before the rest of his dorm mates the next morning; yet another rarity. Instead of going to breakfast right away, though, Ron veered off towards the hospital wing, knocking lightly when he arrived at the door. Madame Pomfrey answered quickly, and said at once that no visitors were permitted yet.
"I didn't want to visit," Ron said honestly.
"Are you feeling ill then?" Pomfrey asked.
"No," Ron said. "I wanted to ask you something about this mono business."
Pomfrey looked skeptical, but opened the door. "Quiet, until we get into my office," she said. "The other students are sleeping."
Ron followed orders, taking a quick glance to Harry's bed as they passed, though the curtains surrounded it. Ron wondered if Harry had been in this place as he looked around the office, filled with pictures and bottles. The pictures almost all had Pomfrey in them, and Ron figured some of these had to be patients. "Wow!" Ron said, seeing one photo of Pomfrey with the lead singer from The Weird Sisters.
"Shhh," Pomfrey said, closing the door behind them as she did so.
"You know Kirley Duke!" he exclaimed in an excited whisper.
"He had a bit of a chest cold when he came to play here a few years ago," she explained, sitting down. "Have a seat, Mr. Weasley," she added. Ron did so as Pomfrey took a deep breath. "Now, how can I help you?"
"I wanted to know," Ron said. "Who was the first to get this mono thing?"
Pomfrey looked highly amused at this question. "Why would you need to know that, Mr. Weasley?"
"Consider it a project," Ron said, leaning back. "I just want to know how Harry caught it."
"There are several methods in which a person could catch this."
"I know," Ron said. "Kissing being one of the most infamous, though sharing drinks is right up there as well."
"Very good, Mr. Weasley," Pomfrey said. "I think that deserves ten points to Gryffindor."
Ron's ears went red as he couldn't help but smile, finally understanding why Hermione was so keen on knowing things. "Point is," Ron said. "Someone had to start it, and perhaps I can find out from them who was second in line to catch it and so on."
Pomfrey took a breath. "That is information I'm not allowed to start handing out on leaflets."
"Come on, Madam Pomfrey," Ron said. "Maybe I can figure out who's at risk to catch it."
"Anyone who's sharing drinks or kissing is at risk now," Pomfrey said. "The time between exposure and symptoms can be up to—"
"Seven weeks," Ron said.
"Very good," Pomfrey said, very impressed. "Five more points."
"Thanks," Ron added. "There has to be some way to find out though."
"Not really," Pomfrey said. "And as I said, I can't be of help, since it would be against all ethics to provide people with information about patients," she said. "Even the ones who live in Hogsmeade," she said with a significant look before standing. "I hope you understand."
Ron smiled and stood as well. "I think so," he said, before being led out of the hospital wing.
Ron figured one thing at the very least: the epidemic had been started outside the castle… by someone who lived in Hogsmeade. Ron thought about this through breakfast, not even noticing when Hermione joined him. "What are you doing here still? Neville said you left before any of them were awake."
"Just thinking," Ron said.
"About what?" Hermione asked, picking a nice toasted muffin and buttering the top.
"This whole disease thing," he said.
"Still?" Hermione asked. "Why don't you talk to Madam Pomfrey if it's still worrying—"
"It's not worrying me," Ron said defensively. "Besides… I already went to her. She couldn't give me the information I needed," he said.
"I'm sure you can look it up," Hermione said.
Ron was about to retort that he had done that too, thank you very much, but something dawned on him. A smile started forming on his lips. "Perfect idea, Hermione," he said, standing and leaning over to give her a fast kiss before leaving the Great Hall, leaving a stunned Hermione at the Gryffindor table.
The one thing he hadn't bothered with—having assumed a student had started the disease—was looking through directories. He went to the library, looking at his watch to see how much time he had before Transfiguration started, and went straight to Madam Pince. "Do you have any directories for Hogsmeade?" Ron asked quietly.
Madam Pince looked taken aback for a moment. "Yes, we do," she said. "I'll have you know, if you're making any Zonko's purchases by owl, Mr. Filch won't have any of it," she said.
"No, no," Ron said. "Nothing like that," he said, grinning like mad at his own cleverness. "Can I see it though?"
"I suppose so," Madam Pince said, a look of skepticism as she guided Ron to where the directories were kept. "Let me know if you need any more help," she said, a look of curiosity still on her face.
Ron nodded, but started looking through the book. It was larger than he had imagined it would have been, though it included three or four other small villages that Ron suspected were at least partial wizarding communities within a certain distance of Hogwarts. He started with Anderson, and jumped back to Turret after getting bored with the 'A's. Before he was able to finish, Ron noticed he had two minutes to get to class. Jumping up, he took the directory to the front to check it out.
"That's not for taking," Madam Pince told him. "You'll have to come here to see it," she said, taking it from Ron.
Ron nodded and headed off to class.
A/N: Fun chapter! Okay... sorry, I find the concept of Mono spreading around Hogwarts to be overly entertaining. Anyway, hope you like the chapter! Reveiw! Please!
Thanks:
Divagurl277: I can't tell you that! That would give away the fun! hehehe I hope you're enjoying the ride, none the less.
Shading in Grey: lol Nope... never is in the books either. Notice every time he tries it's full of 'er's.
me: Thanks, I will ;)
Pinkpig: lol wouldn't that figure-- Voldy can't get to him, but one small bout of Mono and it's all over, though I love the idea of him moaning horribly.
mistress editor: I like keeping my readers on their toes hehehe... good to know I'm doing my job! I think in the long run, it's more about Ron than anything, and I'm starting to learn that as I go.
Pedagogie: Not quite soon, but I've updated :D Thanks for the review.
Countess Mel: No problem for breaking the streak. Really, I find my title amusing... more because every time I hear someone refered to as a 'lip slut' I get a kick out of it. Besides that, it works as an attention grabber. I think I had an idea for the title before the idea for a story ever came. So it went something like this: title... what if Mono ever occured at Hogwarts... I laugh for a bit... hmmm maybe I could make a story like that... oooo Harry could get Mono... and from there is the product to which you read ;) Thanks for your reviews... they make my days a bit brighter.
Speckled Bird: I must say that I find the stupid bickering the best thing to write... and read, when it's in the books. I hope I do justice to Rowling's version of the bickering.
So Desperately Obvious: lol nope! Never! I'm seeing your name on quite a few reviews these days... good to see a few people don't mind my writing ;)