Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.
Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. This fic also includes a child having a severe allergic reaction to a candy and then having an over-reaction to the dose of (in-verse) antihistamine he is given. Said child does not react emotionally to either of these things and likens the feeling to a canon-typical event for him (which is child abuse to the point of attempted murder). Feel free to back out if you can't handle this.
Author's Note: Despite the warning, this is actually rather fluffy? It's a better bonding scene for Harry and Ron than fighting Draco and arguing with Hermione, at least in my opinion. Oh, and shout out to Trish (starspangledpumpkin) for the idea to use "peppermint candy" as my something mundane & innocent that causes harm. Also, her birthday was the 19th, so go love on her fics as a belated b-day present?
Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A
Individual Challenges: Misunderstood; Black Ribbon; Black Ribbon Redux; Feast; Sett to Destroy; Fall Leaves; Unaccompanied Minors; Ways to the Heart; Interesting Times; Golden Times; Old Shoes; Everyone's Cousin; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Letter of the Day; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Gender? Who That?; Short Jog; Click Bait It; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!
House: Hufflepuff
Assignment No.: Term 11 – Assignment 07
Subject (Task No.): Folklore (Task#9: Write about being harmed by something [not someone] mundane and innocent.)
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Insane Prompt Challenge [17](Humbug); 365 [18](Polite); Galleon Club (Pumpkin Pasty)
Space Address (Prompt): Fa Bingo [2D] (Pumpkin)
Representation(s): placeholder
Bonus Challenges: Sitting Hummingbird; Second Verse (Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Zucchini Bread; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Deadliest Catch; Lovely Coconuts; Lyre Liar; Corvid Brain; Hot Apple); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Delicious Lie; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Abandoned Ship; Turtle-Duck); Demo (Gingersnap); Demo (Queen Bee)
Tertiary Bonus Challenges: T3 (Thimble); SN (Rail; Spare); FR (Satisfaction; Liberation); TY (Enfant); RoIL (Satisfaction; Exuviation)
Word Count: 1231
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His Baudelaire is Showing
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Harry listened as Ron started another story about life in the wizarding world. This one was about the twins that had helped Harry with his trunk. Apparently, they were pranksters. The story wasn't really all that interesting, given that it was the sixth story about the twins that Ron had told since they had met just a few hours ago. Harry wasn't about to stop the red-haired boy from talking, though, because every story gave Harry a few more clues about this new world he was joining.
The way that the twins had changed Ron's teddy bear into a spider did make Harry wonder if children raised in the wizarding world all had such early access to wands. Having read all his textbooks in the month he had them no longer seemed enough to make up for not knowing about magic until he had gotten his letter. He must be woefully behind the wizarding-raised children.
Maybe he should see about continuing his habit of reading random shelves in the library. Did Hogwarts even have a collective library? Most public schools did. Access to them was usually one of the boasted perks of attending the institutions. Well, among other things like all the stuffy values and pride that Uncle Vernon liked to lecture Dudley about when Aunt Petunia was at her book club. Harry didn't know much about the school other than what Hagrid had said. It sounded like a public school, though, with how that kid with the pointy face in the robes shop had talked.
Speaking of something that the boy had mentioned…
"What's a Hufflepuff?" Harry asked without thinking. He bit his tone as he realized that he had interrupted Ron. Thankfully, the boy didn't seem upset about it.
"It's one of the Houses of Hogwarts," Ron explained with a shrug. He reached for one of the bottles of squash that they had gotten along with the slew of candy and pastries off the trolley. With an absent movement, Ron popped the stopper out of the bottle before drinking half the bottle in one go. "It's where they sent the duffers—well, not really. It's supposed to be the House of hard work and dedication, but it's also where everyone goes when they can't be sorted anywhere else. I think I've got a cousin on Mum's side who was a Hufflepuff. His name's Throckmorton or something like that. Most of Mum's family were Gryffindor like all of Dad's."
"Gryffindor?" Harry prompted when Ron seemed more interested in choosing between the little pasties or the little cakes shaped like cauldrons. The pasties were pumpkin. Between the juice and the pasties, Harry was honestly starting to think that the wizarding world was obsessed with Muggle Halloween and the related concept of witches. He picked up a candy labeled a Peppermint Toad to turn over in his hands.
"House of the Brave," Ron declared picking up a pumpkin pasty. "They also stand for chivalry, but I never seen that stop the twins from taking after Ginny if they're annoyed."
"Is this a lolly?" Harry asked instead of saying something that would give away his secret reading habit. He had already gathered from Ron's description of his brother Percy that volunteering extra information would not be welcomed. Ron nodded before taking a bite of pasty. Harry opened the package to see a toad-shaped humbug that was not animated like the chocolate frog earlier had been. "I don't think I've ever had a peppermint anything before. Now I'm going to eat one shaped like a toad."
Ron made a sound of acknowledgement that threatened to cover Harry with crumbs. Harry managed to keep any from landing on his toad by popping it in his mouth. For all that Ron was far nicer, his eating habits were a lot like Dudley's: messy. At least Ron wasn't laying claim to everything like Dudley would have. That was probably more out of habit from having so many siblings (Ron had six!), but Harry wanted pretend that it was because Ron genuinely liked him.
It was nice to have a friend, even if it was just Harry pretending for the train ride.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut. Peppermint was very strong. It also burned, which was strange because it was also cold enough that his lips and tongue were growing numb from it. He scratched at his cheek. The baggy shirt he was wearing suddenly felt tight in the collar.
"Uh, mate?" Ron asked sounding worried. Harry tried to open his eyes but only one responded. The other felt like that time Aunt Petunia had caught him with her frying pan, back before he learned to duck better. Swollen shut, that was the phrase. "Oh, bollocks. Harry, spit out the toad!"
Harry tried to do as Ron had told him, but all he could manage was opening his mouth. His tongue had gone numb enough that it felt swollen. It definitely wasn't responding like it should have. Ron grabbed Harry by the back of his neck and forced his head forward enough for the candy to drop onto the floor of their compartment. Harry's glasses landed next to it. Then Ron began to frantically dig at the pockets of his jeans as Harry watched with blurry vision.
"Yes," Ron cheered when he pulled out a small tin. He popped open the lid to reveal a tiny vial filled with a translucent violet potion that sparkled with heather specks. With the same habitual motion that he had used on the bottles of pumpkin juice, Ron removed the stopper.
Then he grabbed Harry's chin and poured the contents of the vial into his mouth. Harry sputtered a few times as he struggled to swallow the liquid that threatened to choke him worse than his shirt had been. Ron looked as apologetic as he was worried. He let go of Harry, holding both hands up where Harry could see them.
"Sorry," Ron said. His blue eyes kept roving over Harry's face. "I should have at least told you what I was giving you. That would have been polite. Mum would chew my ear off if she knew I had done that."
"Wha'?" Harry asked, still confused and now starting to feel both tired and dizzy. Ron caught him as he tried to pitch forward. Harry blinked rapidly. His vision just got worse. "Wha'?"
"Merlin's saggy shorts," Ron cursed as he helped Harry lie down on the seat. That was only slightly better for the dizziness. "You are reacting really strongly to the Allergy Elixir. Even Ginny didn't have this strong a reaction, and she's tetchy." Ron swallowed hard enough that Harry could hear it. "Yeah, you just lie down and rest—where's a bloody prefect when you need one? Of all the times for Percy to not be his nosy self!"
"Won?"
"It's okay," Ron reassured as his hands patted Harry's chest gently. It was nice, just like how Aunt Petunia would fret over Dudley. Maybe that meant that Ron was his friend? "Don't be daft, Harry. Of course, I'm your friend. If you want me to be, that is. I did just almost kill you."
"Isn't anything new," Harry managed. He was confident that he was speaking out loud that time.
Harry thought he heard Ron give a watery laugh as the blackness edging his vision managed to overwhelm him.