The title for chapter eighteen is from…Whistle Down the Wind. A lot more people got it that I thought would…Congrats to X-Kate-X, thedivinemissk, Yank2324, Easterly Winds, CardboardCreative, and RECblue8.

CardboardCreative: I know you wanted more fluff, so I attempted to put some in this chapter, but there'll be more in the next chapter. Mara says that shopping and romance should be intertwined, apparently.

Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked. I don't own Harry Potter. End of story.

Chapter 19: Steppin' To the Bad Side

Madame Pomphrey shot a look at Harry, Elphaba, and Glinda as they walked into the Hospital Wing. "Mr. Potter, are you corrupting others to barge into the Hospital Wing now? First Dumbledore thinks that Thropp can just go wandering around England after being knocked out for two days-"

Apparently, Pomphrey still hadn't forgiven me for going to Snape's trial back in November, Elphaba thought, amused.

"-and now, you come barging in to bother patients that are still recovering?" Pomphrey finished.

"It's fine," Hermione said hoarsely. "I want to talk to Fae, anyhow." Upon hearing this, Elphaba hung back slightly. Although Harry and Glinda had reassured her that Hermione would definitely not blame her for the events that had led her to be in the Hospital Wing, Elphaba was still insecure and unsure of what Hermione's reaction would be.

"Go on," Glinda pushed Elphaba forward.

Elphaba stumbled forward and stood facing Hermione. "Look, Hermione," Elphaba said before Hermione even opened her mouth. "I'm sorry that I gave you that water. I didn't know that it was poisoned, and I feel really bad that-"

"Fae Thropp!" Hermione cut Elphaba off mid-apology. "Why in the world are you apologizing to me? Or course you didn't know it was poisoned; did you want to poison yourself? And besides, I should be thanking you for saving my life. Snape told me what happened."

"So…you don't blame me?" Elphaba asked hesitantly.

"What do you think?" Hermione replied with a sarcasm that was not normally present. "I couldn't blame you for this, Fae. Now, sit down. I never did find out about the Grimmerie and yours and Dumbledore's findings."

"Oh, that." In light of the recent events, Elphaba had all but forgotten about the first reason that the major Order members had been having a meeting in the first place. "Harry, would you care to show Hermione?"

Before Harry could begin casting the one spell that he had memorized, Pomphrey turned around to yell at him. "There is to be no spell casting in the Hospital Wing, Potter," she ordered. "Especially when said spell is in a foreign language and has no guaranteed consequence."

"It's just a levitation spell," Harry sighed. "Nothing's going to happen."

"On the contrary, Potter, you don't know what will happen. May I remind you that you've only been practicing this new language from Oz for a short while?" the Hogwarts nurse warned. "You haven't mastered it yet, I assume?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Exactly. What if you mispronounce something?" Pomphrey said.

Harry turned to Elphaba. "Fae, if I somehow manage to blow something up, you'll take care of it, right?"

"Perhaps," Elphaba answered seriously. "Or maybe I'll just sit back and let Pomphrey yell at you."

"And I call you my friend," Harry muttered jokingly.

"Wait, Harry!" Hermione's eyes lit up as she was finally able to follow this very strange conversation. "Are you actually able to read and perform the spells from the Grimmerie? I know Fae said that it held the key to defeating Voldemort, but she didn't say anything about you reading the spells."

"We think that this is the power that Trelawney spoke of in the prophecy," Harry replied.

"And there's a spell in the Grimmerie that can defeat the Dark Lord?" Hermione frowned. "Can you read the whole book?"

"No to both questions," Elphaba answered for Harry. "We're working on it; we meet once a week in the library. And I look for spells sometimes as well, but I haven't been able to find anything."

"Harry," Glinda suddenly spoke up. "You need to help me tell Elphie to make sure that she remembers to eat when she researches spells from the Grimmerie."

Harry furrowed his brow. "Why? What do you mean?"

"Elphaba conveniently 'forgets' to eat when she's studying the Grimmerie," Glinda said. "I've tried bringing her food, pestering her, threatening her…nothing works."

Elphaba opened her mouth to defend herself, but Harry spoke first. "Again? I thought we'd gone through this two years ago when you exhausted yourself to the point of fainting. Are you trying to collapse in another class, Fae?"

"I don't see why this is such a big deal," Elphaba snapped, shooting an annoyed look at Glinda. "I'm not starving myself, nor am I not sleeping."

"It's a big deal to me," Glinda sighed in exasperation. "I can honestly see your ribs protruding from your skin at times. It's not healthy to skip meals, Elphaba."

"Miss Thropp, if you come in here again due to another case of severe exhaustion, I can personally guarantee you a lecture that won't even begin to compare with the lectures I've given you thus far," Pomphrey cut in.

"Who says I'm-" Elphaba began hotly. Then, she closed her mouth again.

"I'm glad we have an agreement, then," Harry grinned. "You are to eat three meals everyday, Fae. Or you'll face the wrath of our nurse here."

"Fine," Elphaba grumbled half-heartedly. "I'll eat, then. If it pleases Your Majesty."

There was a silence. Then, Hermione spoke up. "You really care about Fae, don't you, Glinda?"

"Of course I do!" Glinda exclaimed. "After all, Elphie is-"

"Your girlfriend. I know," Hermione finished. "Harry told me."

"You did what?" Elphaba almost shouted at Harry. "I thought I told you not to tell anyone!"

"Hermione found out first! I swear!" Harry threw his hands up, hoping to placate the murderous looking Elphaba. "She had pretty much guessed before I even found out for sure! I only confirmed what she already knew."

"And how many other people's beliefs have you 'confirmed'?" Elphaba asked through gritted teeth.

"Only Hermione," Harry breathed. "She's the only one I told."

"Not even Ron?" Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell your best friend?"

"Well, Fae…about that…" Harry sat down, wondering how to best phrase this new problem.

"Yes? Did you and Ron get in a fight or something like that?" Elphaba guessed.

"No…or at least, I don't think so," Harry said hesitantly. "It's just that…Ron's gotten so distant lately. He's never around when I go to his flat to visit him. Mrs. Weasley says that she basically hasn't heard from him since the Christmas party. I tried talking to him about a week ago, but he brushed me off."

"Weird," Elphaba muttered. "I thought he only did that to me. Have you seen him lately?"

"No, not since that two minute chat a week ago," Harry answered. "I'm getting worried about him. It's not like Ron to disappear for days at a time."

"Well, people change," Elphaba reasoned. "Perhaps he'll come back to his senses after time. If he had any to begin with, that is."

"Maybe," Harry said doubtfully. "It's just…strange. That's all."

"And, anyway," Elphaba continued, "why should you care if Ron is disappearing?If he keeps brushing you off all the time, perhaps he doesn't want help."

Glinda noticed Harry's back muscles tense at Elphaba began to rant about his best friend. With a stressed smile, she whispered, "Elphie."

But Elphaba didn't notice, "What's the point of trying to care for someone who keeps disappearing on you? Maybe he doesn't want any help, Harry."

"Elphie!" Glinda said as Harry flinched.

"And if he doesn't want help, then why do you keep trying? You'd just be wasting time and effort on-"

"ELPHABA!" Glinda elbowed her girlfriend in the side, but Elphaba ignored her and kept getting rid of all her pent-up frustrations about the red-headed Order member. Throwing up her arms in annoyance, Glinda muttered, "Oh, for Lurline's sake!" Then, she pulled Elphaba around so that they were facing each other.

Elphaba scowled. "Glinda, I wasn't do-"

Instead of answering the annoyed green witch, Glinda grabbed Elphaba and pressed her mouth against Elphaba's so hard that Elphaba's eyes widened at the raw passion in the kiss. After a moment of shock, Elphaba settled into the kissing. The two girls pressed up against each other, furiously kissing each other with so much enthusiasm that Hermione shut her eyes, "Get a room, you two!"

Harry, on the other hand, was watching Elphaba and Glinda's tongues intertwine with keen interest, "Yeah, save this for the bedroom, Fae," Harry said, although it was clear he didn't really mean it.

Elphaba broke the kiss and smiled at Harry. "Oh it gets much more heated in the bedroom. You're just jealous, Harry."

"Didn't need to know that," Hermione said.

As Elphaba opened her mouth to answer Hermione, the door to the Hospital Wing opened again, and Ron came storming in. "I should have known you were trouble, Thropp!" he yelled, going up to Elphaba.

"What are you going on about now?" Elphaba sighed, disentangling herself from Glinda's arms.

"You poisoned Hermione! That's what!" Ron snapped. "And now, to top it all off, you've gone and become a lesbian as well."

"Wait one minute here, Ronald." Hermione sat up and gave Ron her fiercest glare. "How dare you come in here and accuse Fae of 'poisoning me' when you don't even know all the facts? Do you even know what happened?"

"Of course I do," Ron said in a gentler voice, turning to look at Hermione. "Thropp gave you a glass of water that was poisoned. Didn't you, Thropp?"

Elphaba was about to retaliate, but Hermione beat her to it. "Ronald Weasley! You are just so…infuriating sometimes. Fae was merely giving me a drink of water. She didn't know that it was poisoned. It could as easily have been her that was poisoned at that meeting."

"And what a great loss that would be," Ron muttered.

This was the final straw for Glinda. She was not going to sit around and let Ron insult Elphaba in front of her. "What problem do you have with Elphaba, Ron? Why do you keep trying to undermine her?"

"She's abnormal, for Merlin's sake. When was the last time you saw a person with green skin?" the red-haired Order member shouted.

"Is that your problem with me?" Elphaba hissed, glaring at Ron. "You hate me because of my skin? Merlin, you're even more immature than I originally thought. How is having green skin any different than having dark skin? You don't have a grudge against Kingsley, do you? Grow up, Weasley. You're not hurting anyone but yourself with your hatred."

"Shut up," Ron shot at Elphaba. "Not only do you have freakishly colored skin, but you're just…sick. You're having sex with another girl, Thropp, if what I heard before I came in here was correct. And that's just wrong."

"I don't believe that my sex life is any of your business," Elphaba said, her voice chilly. "What gives you the right to dictate what is right and wrong?"

Ron ignored Elphaba's question. Instead, he turned to Harry. "Harry, mate. Can't you see my point? I told you the first day we met her that she's trouble. Now, she's completely poisoned your mind."

Harry shook his head. "You're wrong," he whispered, a hint of sadness in his voice. "What's happened to you, Ron? You're the one whose mind has been poisoned. You can't see past Fae's skin to the wonderful person that she really is. What does having green skin or her choice of lovers have anything to do with her personality?"

Ron's mouth dropped open. He had expected at least Harry to back him up.

"Close your mouth, Weasley," Elphaba ordered coldly. "Unless you want to catch flies."

"Do you know why I hate you, Thropp?" Ron snarled. Harry, Hermione, and Glinda watched helplessly as Ron and Elphaba finally faced off in the hospital wing. Harry tensed up incase he needed to intervene in the case of a physical fight.

"Do tell," Elphaba said sarcastically. "I'm dying to know."

"You show up here five years ago, and everyone immediately accepts you. You didn't have to work for what you have. Harry immediately becomes all friendly with you without a second thought and everyone else was pushed aside. And you think that you're so powerful because you can read that stupid spell book from Ox or Oz or wherever you come from. But you know what?

"People only get hurt because of your idiotic stunts. Nothing good comes from your presence in the Order. You're a danger to everyone around you. I'm sure that the people in Oz were glad that they were rid of you." Shooting a last hateful look at the green witch, Ron swept out of the Hospital wing and slammed the door behind him.

Everyone looked at Elphaba, who was still staring at the space where Ron had occupied a moment ago. She didn't speak.

"Elphie?" Glinda asked softly. "Elphie? Talk to me," she pleaded.

Elphaba glanced at Glinda for a moment before turning away. "So it's true," she whispered. "What I was saying all along."

"Fae, no," Hermione said forcefully. "Ronald is-" Before Hermione could finish her sentence, Elphaba had rushed out of the Hospital as well and disappeared.

Harry and Glinda jumped up and ran after the green witch. "Elphie, wait!" Glinda screamed as they chased after Elphaba's fleeting figure. "Come back!"

Lord Voldemort was currently in a rage. "Send him in!" he yelled at the quaking Death Eater by the door. With a slight nod, said Death Eater opened the door and ushered the spy into the room.

"My Lord, I-" the spy began before getting hit with a Cruciatus Curse.

"How dare you fail me?" Voldemort yelled over the spy's screams. "How dare you fail in the attempt to kill Elphaba Thropp? How dare you use such a risky way of killing her? I wanted a clean job. Now, she'll be on her guard."

"W-wait! Wait!" the spy panted as the curse was finally taken off. "I have news about her. I know how you can capture her. Perhaps you will be able to turn her to our side."

"If this plan involves storming Hogwarts-" Malfoy began in a drawling voice.

"Silence, Malfoy!" Voldemort ordered. He looked at the spy, silently telling him to continue.

"I've caught wind of the fact that some of the Order members, including Thropp and Upland, plan to go to Diagon Alley next week to purchase supplies. It's the perfect chance to capture them both. Thropp will tell you anything if you have Upland to hold over her head."

"And you know for sure that Thropp cares for Upland that much?" Voldemort hissed. "Remember that I don't tolerate failure."

"Yes, my Lord," the spy nodded. "In fact, Thropp and Upland aren't merely friends. They're lovers and are currently in a relationship."

"Ah. I see," Voldemort whispered. "Lovers? That could work to our advantage. Thank you, my precious spy. If you are able to bring Thropp to me alive, you shall be rewarded. Who knows? I've heard of your hatred of Thropp. Perhaps you will even be allowed to…play with her a bit."

Ronald Weasley gave a small smirk behind his Death Eater mask. "Nothing would please me more, my Lord. You are most generous."

Coming up: An innocuous shopping trip turns into so much more…and due to CardboardCreative's request for more fluff, a whole lot of fluff as well.

-Wolfie