In the hospital ward, Harry was added to the bed across from Neville. After Madam Pomfrey concluded that he had a bad reaction to toxin and would be awake in just a few minutes, Ron reluctantly recounted the story to Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape – who was in the area and was asked to stay – and Dean and Seamus who were still there as witnesses. Neville was sitting up on his bed looking on and overheard the conversation also.
"Don't know why he did it," Ron said in the end, still blushing furiously and wiping at his mouth. "I'm not any pouf, and neither is Harry!"
"I'd beg to differ," chuckled Seamus and Dean hid his smile behind his hand.
"Shut up you two! Harry dated Cho last year, remember? And we talk about girls all the time!"
"That's enough, boys! We're just going to have to wait for Harry to wake up and tell his side of the story," said Professor McGonagall.
"This must be some mental thing with his scar. Or that toxin Nurse Pomfrey said," concluded Ron adamantly. "Anything else…"
"I bet you Harry is a fairy," Seamus whispered loudly to Dean.
"He rarely talks about girls, yeah. And he's always looking at Ron when he turns his back."
"And he pulled him out of the lake during the tournament."
"Shut up!" Ron roared.
"All of you shut up!" Professor McGonagall demanded. "Mr. Weasley, it is perfectly fine if your friend is gay; there is nothing wrong with that. And you two! Don't think I hadn't heard the rumor about what Miss Abbott and Miss Patil dared you two to do!"
Seamus and Dean went very quiet then.
"Or this could all be just a misunderstanding because of the toxin," Dumbledore said wisely. "Mr. Weasley, might I ask what Harry was doing when you walked in the room?"
Ron shrugged. "He was just standing by the window looking at Neville's plants."
Everyone looked at quiet Neville sitting on his bed opposite Harry's. He was looking quite guilty.
"Mr. Longbottom?" Probed Headmaster Dumbledore.
"I asked him to water my plants while I was in here," Neville said in a shaky voice. "I think…but he would have had to swallow the pollen for something to have happened!"
"What are you growing in your room, Mr. Longbottom?" Snape asked sternly and gave Neville his best menacing face. Even his worst menacing face had Neville cowering.
"It was…for a final project for Professor Sprout! She gave me the seeds for – for –"
"For what?!"
"Lovewart Splenda, Villa Hoska, and – Evening Dew."
There was a moment of silence between the teachers that had the other three Gryffindor boys waiting for an explanation.
"What sort of project are you doing for Professor Sprout that would require these three plants to grow in your dorm room?" Snape demanded.
"I'm – we're – I'm - studying the potency of – desiderium!"
"Wait!" Seamus said and was looking like he was trying to remember something very important. "You were growing Evening Due? That's used in love potions! You were growing love plants in our room and didn't tell us! I thought we were friends!" Shouted Seamus, offended for all the wrong reason.
"You need special permission to grow those!" Said McGonagall.
"And I got permission! Professor Sprout gave me the seeds and everything like I said! Ask her!"
"You should have informed your roommates. And me!"
Neville looked away sheepishly. "I couldn't. They'd go picking the leafs and hurting the research…"
"So," Dumbledore said a bit more amused than the situation called for. "Harry went mad with desire for Mr. Weasley."
Ron looked abashed and a new and brighter shade of red than ever before.
"That isn't surprising," Dean said, and Seamus nodded. "No offence, Ron," continued Dean, "really, I don't mean anything bad by it. But Harry loves you."
"It's obvious," Seamus agreed.
"He'd definitely go mad for you before Seamus or me first."
"What about me?" Asked Neville, a little offended.
"You're more like his brother." Seamus said.
"I'm not like his brother!"
"You look the most alike, and you practically have the same birthday."
"We look nothing alike!" defended Neville.
"Stop talking!" shouted Harry, and they all jumped. Harry pulled his pillow over his head and rolled over, trying to tune them all out.
"He's coherent," informed the nurse, stepping back as the three adults and Seamus and Dean circled around him.
"You kissed Ron!" Seamus shouted at him excitedly.
"Do you remember doing it?" Dean said.
"Did you like it?"
"Well, did you?"
"SHUT UP!" Harry hollered and tossed the pillow out behind him and it went flying onto the floor by Ron's feet.
"Yeah, shut up, you tossers! Leave him alone!" Ron said angrily in defense of Harry. He was standing furthest away, between Harry's and Neville's beds out in the middle of the floor. He didn't want to get too close in case Harry attacked him again; he really didn't want that to happen again.
"Mr. Weasley, boys, that's entirely enough!" Said Professor McGonagall about ready to blow up and take away twenty points each.
"You had us worried," Dumbledore said with a tone to his voice to match the wrinkle in his brow and the stress around his eyes.
"I'm really sorry, Harry," said Neville in a small voice, and Harry groaned, still with his face plastered flat on the mattress.
Madam Pomfrey, standing just behind Dumbledore and Professor Snape, mentioned, "There have been documented cases of the pollen from love plants causing permanent altercations to certain people with sensitivity to it."
Harry groaned.
"Do you feel any different?" Professor McGonagall asked.
Harry thought about it, then shook his head. "Everything smells a little sweeter. That's about it."
"In situations like this, it takes more than scent to trigger an episode." Snape said. "You'll have to look at someone, Potter. Just don't look at me." With that, Snape took a step back from the bed.
"Everyone, take a step back," said Dumbledore. "Harry, start on your left and go around the room. Slowly, one person at a time."
"This can't be happening to me," he moaned.
"I'm really, really sorry, Harry," said Neville again.
Harry sighed and rolled over onto his side, yet still kept his face flat and his eyes closed. He said, "It's not your fault, Neville! Stop apologizing."
"Well, it sort of is his fault!" said Ron indignantly.
"It was my fault for getting so close to the leafs," Harry said with certainty.
"Look at someone, already," Seamus said. "We don't have all day to determine if you're mental faculties are still intact."
Harry slowly rolled over and peaked one eye open at a very nervous Professor McGonagall. He would never have been able to set foot in her classroom if he pounced on her like he'd pounced on Ron. The memory of that was still fresh in his mind, and still made his pulse race.
"Anything?" She asked, and Harry shook his head and moved on – still very slowly – to Dean, yet nothing happened again.
"Got the hots for him at all?" Seamus joked.
"No," Harry said and his gaze was brought towards him.
Next, Harry knew, was Ron, with Neville right behind him. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and rolled over into a sitting position. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"You better not kiss me again," Ron said a little weakly, nervously taking a step further away.
"Ron…" Harry said, loving the teasing way his senses lit up when he faced him even with his eyes closed. He took another deep breath and opened his eyes. There stood Ron, beautiful and red and freckly. Harry's blood pressure shot through the roof and adrenaline kicked in like a freight train. Then – quick as a fox – he leapt off the bed straight at Ron.
"AAAHHHHH!" Screamed Ron, back peddling and crashing into Neville's bed, knocking him off. No one had a chance at catching Harry he was so fast, but they chased after him a little too late. He was on Ron, wrapping his arms around his neck, locking their lips together, sucking to make them stick, and throwing him over onto his back onto Neville's bed once again. He locked his knees around Ron's hips and held as tightly as he could.
"Get him! Get him!" Professor McGonagall shouted, and everyone else was shouting too. They all lunged to extract Harry from Ron – all except for Seamus and Dean, who burst out laughing and doubling over, holding their ribs which were about to break in half.
The story spread like wildfire thanks to those two, and Ron had to live with it on the front lines. Harry was confined to the infirmary until his symptoms cleared up and wasn't allowed visitors at all.
That first day in the hospital ward after Ron was sent away (and soon after Neville was given an early discharge), Harry's daze abated and he was left with all his faculties – as Snape had called them. Although, truth be told, his pulse still quickened when he thought about his tall, strong, red-haired friend. He wasn't even ashamed of his secret desire, which probably was a sign of the toxin, and so he made a point of telling Pomfrey whenever she asked that he really hated what was happening to him. He had a feeling her medical knowledge knew the truth of the matter, though. He really did especially hate the shower in a magical sanitization potion, and the full examination by Madam Pomfrey she conducted three times that first day, but he felt he deserved whatever discomfort went his way.