He was about to give Luna the card when the doors burst open and Harry and Hermione rushed inside. Luna placed the candy back into the side table and picked up The Quibbler. Ron set the card face down on the counter.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked.
"I'm fine," Ron said truthfully.
"Oh, you're awake!" came a brisk voice that was Madame Pompfrey's.
"Yes, I am," Ron said with a smile.
She walked over and placed her hand on his forehead.
"You are still a bit warm," she said, "I'll give you some more coolant."
"You do that," Ron replied, then glanced at Harry and Hermione, "Hogsmeade okay?" he asked.
"It's raining," Harry responded, "So it's wet."
"Rain is wet?" Ron asked sarcastically, "Gee, who knew."
Luna let out a shriek of laughter, which Ron smiled slightly at. Hermione was too worried to smile.
"What are you going to do about the game tomorrow?" she asked.
"If his temperature is back to normal, he has permission to play," Madame Pompfrey said, handing Ron a glass of blue liquid, "Of course, it depends on the captain."
"You aren't playing," Harry said flatly as Ron took a drink of the blue liquid.
Ron choked, he swallowed the coolant and then gasped out,
"Why not? I want to play!"
"You have no energy to play," Harry argued, "Even if you slept last night. You keep getting sick and dizzy and I can't have you getting dizzy while you're on a broom, its dangerous!"
Ron glared at Harry, and something inside Harry made him feel very submissive towards Ron at that moment.
"Harry's right," Hermione said gently.
"I feel fine, though!" Ron snapped, "Just let me play in this game!"
Luna turned a page of The Quibbler. She scanned it for a moment, then put it down.
"Maybe you shouldn't play," she said, looking over at Ron, "You aren't well. You could hurt yourself."
Luna's voice seemed to calm Ron down a little. He leaned back huffily and polished off the rest of the coolant. He considered the game for a moment, then said,
"Fine. I won't play."
"Th-" Hermione started.
"But I'm not happy about it," Ron concluded with a small smile, glancing over at Luna.
They all laughed, except Ron, who shot a glare at Harry. Who shut up. Harry, Hermione, and Luna stayed until Ron's temperature was normal and he was allowed to leave the Hospital Wing after Harry went and got Ron's uniform so he could change.
"See you later, Luna," Ron said, waving at her as they split to go into different directions for the Gryffindor Common Room and the Ravenclaw Common Room.
"'Bye, Ron," Luna called.
Ron blinked, that was the first time she ever called him Ron. But as he turned to look back at her, she looked back at him and corrected herself,
"Ronald."
Ron grinned and turned back to his friends.
That night Ron went through his pockets that he had filled with Chocolate Frogs. He found the Bridget Wenlock card with a jolt of excitement that he had never felt before. He stuck it in his pocket again and, after everyone in his dorm was asleep, left and headed for the owelry with a piece of parchment and quill.
He sat in the owelry and scribbled out,
You only have one left.
-Ron (Ronald)
He waited for the ink to dry, then folded the parchment into fourths after tucking the card into it. He sealed the parchment and then tied it to Pigwidgeon's leg.
"Take this to Luna tomorrow at lunch," Ron said to Pigwidgeon.
But Ron suddenly didn't want to leave. So he stood and stroked Pigwidgeon, staring out the window at the full moon, which was half-covered by clouds. He sighed and suddenly stepped out of the way as an owl flew inside the room with a dead rat in his beak.
"See you, Pig," said Ron finally, then left the owelry.
Ron slept through breakfast, waking up just as the other students were leaving for classes. Ron decided to just skip his morning class and take a shower instead.
He only left the dorms when it was noon…lunch time. He sprinted to the Great Hall and sat down with Harry and Hermione.
"Hi," he said breathlessly.
"Hungry?" Harry asked with a smirk.
"No," Ron lied, glancing over at the Ravenclaw table, "Has the post come yet?"
"No…" Hermione began, but then owls began filling the room and she cut off.
Ron spotted Pig. The little owl flew down to Luna, she untied the letter with a look of surprise. She unsealed the note and Pig flew off. Ron watched her open it with a small smile, and felt such joy in seeing the look on Luna's face as she searched for Ron's amongst all the Gryffindors. And she smiled at him.
Ron grinned and turned back.
"You know what," he said, "I do think I'm hungry, actually."
