Harry summarized the last half hour, but left out the part where he saw the Slytherin badge; he couldn't fathom letting that information out – it was just too personal. Draco Malfoy – he assumed, anyway – had taken Polyjuice Potion of Ron, then he came in here and got him into bed. But that couldn't possibly be right, because Malfoy hated him more than anyone.
The first thing McGonagall did after Harry told the story was curse Neville's name.
"Longbottom…That stupid, careless, idiotic boy! His plants have done this!"
Harry was hugging his arms around him, and Hermione sat by his side.
"I need to do a few tests to make sure you're alright…" Pomfrey said, her voice more caring than any of them had ever heard.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, unable to imagine what sort of tests she would do and what sort of things she would find.
"Do you want me to stay?" Hermione asked, and McGonagall said, "I'll give you some privacy, and we'll find who did this, Harry! I promise you."
She left out into the hall where everything stood waiting to see what they could do.
"What's happened, Minerva?" Headmaster Dumbledore asked.
Ron waited with a bated breath – hoping she would take back what Hermione had said.
She took a deep breath and said, "He was – raped – by someone using Polyjuice Potion."
Everyone let out their breath. It was confirmed, then, and there were things to be done.
"That can't be…" Ron whispered in shock.
McGonagall gripped his shoulder and looked sullenly around at the others. "This information cannot get out to the school. Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley both have been the victims of foul gossip all week, and we all need this to stay between us. We'll need to contact both their families immediately."
"Why? Why my family?" Ron asked.
"Because…the person using Polyjuice – he looked like you."
Ron was speechless and weak. Dumbledore patted his shoulder sagely.
"Who really did it?" Professor Sprout asked.
"We don't know. By the time Harry realized it wasn't Mr. Weasley…it was too late. He couldn't prevent it."
Ron pulled away and looked horrified. "But he's the best dueler at this school! And he's strong! He's escaped You Know Who a dozen times! Why couldn't he stop it?!"
"I'm sure he tried his best…"
Ron's voice dropped, "It wasn't me – I'd never do that!"
"We know that. Harry knows that, too. Believe me – he knows it wasn't you." She looked around again, "But we need to find out who it was, and we must be subtle about it! This is the reputation of two young men; this cannot get out for as long as we can help it!"