After successfully managing to get poison onto Hermione's food during the trip to Hogsmeade, Harry and Ron just had to sit back and see how things played out. They'd been thrilled to see her collapse in the pub, but they'd had to fight their natural curiosity not to go chasing after the Slytherins when they whisked Hermione back to the castle. Instead, they enjoyed a few more hours in Hogsmeade before returning to the castle. Upon arriving back at Hogwarts, they'd been ushered into The Great Hall, where all the students remained for several hours.
When Voldemort arrived, everyone was shocked and both Harry and Ron began to have doubts about their actions when the dark wizard threatened to get to the bottom of things. Although, it hadn't really help that they'd had no idea what sort of state Hermione was in. The Slytherins had obviously been concerned, but they were hardly in a position to ask them how Hermione was. As it was, they'd still had no idea if Hermione was still alive when they'd headed to bed that night.
The following morning provided the pair with a bit more of a clue as the Slytherins were all present and while there was still an air of concern around the group, it didn't look as though they were grieving for the loss of a friend. By the end of breakfast, Harry and Ron had decided that Hermione had somehow survived. They'd risked everything for nothing. It looked like their plan had failed, and Hermione was still alive and kicking.
It was until after lunch that the pair got the full story when Dumbledore approached them and asked if he could have a word. Since Ginny was with them, he also let her accompany them to the head's office. When they arrived in the head's office they found McGonagall and Kingsley were both sitting in Dumbledore's office, concern etched on their faces.
"Is everything alright?" Harry asked as the three teenagers sat down in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore answered with a dramatic sigh. "Obviously the three of you know what happened to Miss Granger yesterday."
"The whole school knows what happened," Ginny snorted. "Her father made sure of that when he threatened us all."
"There was a lot of threats issued yesterday," Dumbledore said. "Whoever did this has created a lot of problems for the wizarding world."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked with a frown. He didn't think Dumbledore was accusing them of anything, but he was wondering why he was letting them know what was happening.
"I mean, Voldemort is now angry and out for revenge," Dumbledore explained. "Up until now he's been keeping to himself. To be honest, from what he said yesterday I think he intended not to cause any trouble until his daughter had left school."
"Only now that's all changed," Kingsley said. "I think it's safe to say his plan of avoiding trouble has come to an end. He's fuming, and I'd bet my house that he's going to retaliate."
"Not that we want you three to worry about that," Dumbledore added, giving the trio a reassuring smile. "The Order can cope with whatever Voldemort and his Death Eaters throw at us. We just want you three to be careful around Hermione. She'll also be likely out for blood, and my guess is her focus will be on you three."
"But we didn't do anything," Ginny protested.
"We know that," McGonagall reassured the teenagers. "Whoever did this was probably some idiot that didn't think through the consequences of their actions. However, it doesn't change the fact that it happened, and given your past history with Hermione, her anger is likely to focus on you three."
"If you have any problems with her, come straight to one of us and we can deal with it," Dumbledore advised. "You never know, I might even be able to convince the Minister that she's not safe to have in school."
"I take it this means she's okay," Harry remarked, trying not to sound too disappointed.
"An antidote was administered yesterday and this morning," Dumbledore explained. "She's going to be just fine."
"Who the hell saved her?" Ron queried. "Why wasn't she just left alone?"
"As much as it would have been easy to let her die, it was the wrong thing to do," Dumbledore said with a sigh. He thought it best not to tell the trio how close he'd come to doing just that. "Saving her was what was right. Professor Snape made the antidote and administered it to her."
"I thought he was supposed to be on our side?" Harry grumbled. Personally he didn't believe the Potions Professor was on their side, but for some reason Dumbledore was adamant that he was.
"He is, but he does still have a front to keep up," Dumbledore replied. "He's our eyes and ears in the enemy camp, and saving Voldemort's daughter can only help increase his standing in the Death Eaters."
"I still don't think we can trust him," Ron muttered and Harry nodded in agreement.
"Don't you worry about Snape, I've got my eye on him," Kingsley assured the teenagers.
"I think that's all, so the three of you can run along and enjoy the rest of your weekend," Dumbledore said. "Don't forget, be careful and we're here if you need us."
Agreeing to be careful, the three Gryffindors got to their feet and exited the headmaster's office. Not wanting to stay cooped up in the castle, Harry and Ron decided to have a walk to get their heads around what had happened. Originally Ginny was going to join them, but then she remembered she still had a Potions essay she needed to finish for the next morning.
"Sorry but I don't want to risk Snape's wrath," Ginny apologised. "I know what Dumbledore says, but I still don't like him."
"He's not to be trusted Gin, I think we all know that," Harry said. "You go and finish your homework and we can catch up later."
Ginny threw Harry a smile, before turning and heading in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Ron rolled his eyes as Harry watched his little sister leaving with a dopey grin on his face. Even though the pair weren't a couple, he knew it was only a matter of time before it happened. Ginny had fancied Harry since she met him, and just lately Harry had started to notice Ginny as more than Ron's little sister.
Once Ginny had disappeared around the corner, and Harry was no longer distracted by her, the pair set off to go outside for a walk. However, they didn't get very far before they were accosted by Pansy. The Slytherin girl popped out of a classroom just as they were passing, and not wanting to be seen with her, Harry and Ron wordlessly followed her into the room.
"What are you doing? Spying on us?" Ron spat.
"Something like that," Pansy replied with a shrug. "We need to talk?"
"Don't worry Parkinson, we won't drop you in it," Harry replied with a roll of his eyes. "Everyone's convinced someone in Hogsmeade poisoned Hermione, there'll be no come back on us."
"I'm not worried about that," Pansy tutted with a dismissive wave of her hand. She knew enough to know the blame for what had happened to Hermione was being placed on members of the Order, only the older members, not the teenage fraction in school. "I want to talk about our next attempt."
Harry and Ron gaped at Pansy, hardly able to believe what they were hearing. Even though they hadn't had a chance to discuss matters together, they were both pretty firm in their own minds that they'd made a mistake getting involved with Pansy's madcap scheme. Granted, if it had worked it could have been good, but it hadn't and all they'd succeeded in doing was making Voldemort angry.
"We're not interested, Parkinson," Harry said. "We got away with it last time, but we're not pushing our luck."
"Don't be such cowards," Pansy snarled. "Do you want rid of Granger or not?"
"You reckoned this would get rid of her," Ron retorted.
"It's not my fault Snape whipped up an antidote in record time," Pansy shot back. "Other than that the plan worked perfectly."
"We're still not interested," Harry said with a shake of his head. "If you want to try again, you'll have to do it by yourself."
"Pathetic," Pansy spat. "The Dark Lord will crush the pair of you. I don't know why I ever got involved with you losers. I can handle Granger myself."
"Good luck with that," Harry said, pulling on Ron's arm and edging towards the door.
"Losers," Pansy called as the pair exited the classroom.
"Do you think she'll manage it?" Ron asked as he and Harry carried on heading towards the ground floor.
"Who knows, but we're better off not being involved," Harry replied.
Ron nodded in agreement as the pair headed outside. If Pansy succeeded, it was great, but if she failed, they weren't going to get dragged down with her. They'd been lucky enough to avoid being caught this time, but they were smart enough not to push their luck. They were confident that in the end the Order would defeat Voldemort, and with him his daughter and then Hermione would no longer be a problem.
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Hermione was more than happy when Madam Pomfrey informed her she would be released first thing on Monday morning. Her friends had stayed for a few hours after lunch, before the Medi-Witch hurried them out of the hospital wing. However, Draco stayed for a while longer and he was still with Hermione when Madam Pomfrey announced she would be discharged in the morning.
"I can't wait to get out of here," Hermione whispered as Madam Pomfrey headed back to her office, after issuing Draco was an instruction to leave the hospital wing before dinner.
"I can't wait until you're back in the dungeons," Draco agreed. "Although I wonder if you'll get some time off lessons. You still don't look too great."
"Thanks," Hermione tutted, giving Draco a mock glare. "Some boyfriend you are."
"I'm just being honest," Draco chuckled. "You have had a near death experience, it's only natural you'll need time to recover."
"I'll make sure I get plenty of rest," Hermione said, leaning her head against his shoulder.
The pair lay on Hermione's bed for another ten minutes, before Draco reluctantly got up to leave. Madam Pomfrey had poked her head out a couple of times, and each time she saw Draco was still there she frowned a bit more.
"I better go before the dragon lady kicks me out," Draco muttered. Leaning down he gave Hermione a quick kiss.
Before Draco managed to even reach the bottom of the bed, a loud bang rattled the windows of the hospital wing. Draco froze and turned back to Hermione with wide eyes as Madam Pomfrey rushed out of her office.
"What was that?" she questioned.
"I have no idea," Draco answered.
"I think it came from outside," Hermione offered as she pushed the covers back and scrambled out of bed.
"Miss Granger, get back into bed," Madam Pomfrey ordered as she hurried over to the window.
Hermione ignored Madam Pomfrey as she turned to peer out of the window nearest her bed. Draco hurried over to Hermione's side and together the pair tried to see what was happening. Initially they couldn't see anything, but then Draco spotted a funnel of smoke in the distance.
"I think it's coming from Hogsmeade," he announced.
Turning away from the window, Madam Pomfrey hurried across the hospital wing. "You two stay here. I'll go and find out what's going on."
"Should we stay here?" Draco asked as Hermione turned away from the window and sat back down on the bed.
"We might as well," Hermione replied with a smirk. "I think it's just father having a bit of fun."
Draco chuckled as he realised what Hermione meant. Settling down on the bed beside Hermione, they discussed who would be helping Voldemort, until Madam Pomfrey hurried back into the hospital wing.
"Miss Granger, get dressed," she called, not stopping as she hurried to her office and grabbed a couple of first aid boxes. "The pair of you are going down to the Great Hall immediately."
Quickly pulling the curtains around her bed, Hermione stripped off the pyjamas someone had changed her into the previous night, and pulled on a fresh set of clothes that were sitting in her bedside table. When she was dressed, she took hold of Draco's hand and the pair followed Madam Pomfrey down to the Great Hall. As they went they found loads of panicked students hurrying to the Great Hall, while the staff were trying to keep things under control.
Entering the Great Hall, the pair made their way over to their friends. Draco grabbed a chair for Hermione and she sat down as they caught up on the gossip. She'd been right, and the disturbance down in Hogsmeade was thought to be Death Eater activity. Several of the Professors had gone down to help fight, while the rest of the staff were making sure the students stayed safe and the fight didn't reach the castle. Of course Hermione wasn't at all worried about that as she knew her father would never put her in any danger.
"Looks like Hogsmeade is paying for what happened yesterday," Theo remarked. "This seems like a warning to me."
"I think it is," Hermione replied as she let her eyes drift over to where Harry and Ron were sitting looking worried. She still thought the pair were involved in her poisoning, only now they might think twice before trying to come after her again.