"Well, that was just depressing," Ron said when they'd gotten back to the Common Room. He threw himself onto the couch in front of the fire.
"You weren't the only one that couldn't do it yet." Harry said sighing. He felt like bruised and beat up after that lesson, probably because he'd fallen a few times while turning around.
"Erin did it first try though!"
"It's not the first time for that either." He reminded him eyes closed. "Isn't your birthday coming up?" He asked changing the subject.
"Yeah, Friday," he admitted. "Ginny invited me over to hers and Donovan's in Hogsmeade to celebrate on Saturday."
"That's something to look forward to."
"Yeah, I guess." He sighed.
On Friday Harry was in the library with Erin trying to get some of his homework done. He was swamped, but that wasn't too unusual. What with Quidditch and school it seemed like they weren't spending as much time together as he would have liked. Hermione was spending time with Viktor. Dumbledore had hired him to help out with guarding the castle. That still left plenty of time with Hermione though. It just meant that now Ron was jealous because Viktor was back. It gave Harry a headache to even try and figure out what was wrong with those two, so he just stayed out of it.
"Harry?" He blinked and looked up at Erin. He had been writing an essay on the differences between mind-ensnaring spells and potions and how to tell the affects of each. "You've started listing the differences between Ron and Hermione and how they're acting."
"Oh," he sighed looking back over it.
Erin took out a large eraser. "Here, take out the parts you don't want in it."
"Thanks. I can't seem to concentrate to well today."
"I know what you mean. It seems the teachers are conspiring to have all our essays and work due on the same day. I cannot wait until Easter break. I'll need that week to try and get things done and maybe even get ahead on some things. I'm a bit behind on my Field Guide, not that Hagrid minds really, but I have a dozen sheets of rune translations to get done, essays for Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I have readings to do for almost every class and to top it off Filch gave me Detention for scaring him half out of his wits when I used my Time Turner in a broom closet where he happened to be getting some cleaning supplies."
"He actually gave you detention for that?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Yes, fortunately for me it's with Snape."
"That's fortunate?"
"Yes, he's going to let me help him set up the maze for our finals. This is only the practice maze though. It's being set up in the castle so we can practice for our final. There will be creatures and Dark stuff in it and we have to get through it using our wits and everything we've learned through the years to protect ourselves. He says that we'll have to go through alone, in pairs, and a small group. I'm pretty excited about it. He won't let me help with what's in it, that would be cheating, but just helping him map it out is okay, because it will be moving and changing while you're in there."
"Sounds a bit like the maze in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. That hadn't been very fun."
"No, but in this one you can't die."
"I'm thankful for that."
"Nah, the worst that can happen is you fail."
That wasn't very reassuring to Harry and he couldn't get it out of his mind when he went to go find Ron after dinner that night. He hadn't seen him all day. He found him in their room staring out of the window at the night sky. "It's beautiful isn't it? Breathtaking, really."
"Yeah, sure," Harry said wondering what Ron was getting at.
"Almost as beautiful as she is."
"That's nice, Ron. How did you like your presents?"
He got up. "How can you talk about presents when she's out there right now?"
"I guess I'm just not that interested in whoever 'she' is."
"Of course you're not, you can't see passed your face. And it's terrible…I don't think she even knows I'm alive."
Harry blinked sitting down on his bed. "I would hope she would. You've been snogging her all year." He assumed he was talking about Lavender…if not Ron just might have gone off the deep end.
"Snogging? Who are you talking about?"
"Well, who are you talking about?"
"Romilda, of course…Roooooomilda Vane." He said sighing and looking all dreamy again. "I love her, Harry." He got up on Harry's bed beside him.
Harry sort of inched away from him. "Do you even know her, Ron?"
"Know her? No…Would you introduce us?"
Harry spotted a heart shaped box of chocolates and realized he'd forgotten to give them to Crabbe and Goyle. That explained everything, they had fallen off his bed one night and had probably gotten kicked over to Ron's bed without anyone noticing. "Did you eat all of these, Ron?"
"They were my birthday present," he nodded eagerly.
He groaned. "Come on, Ron, let's go introduce you to Romilda."
"Really? Right now? How do I look?"
"Fine, you look fine."
He led him all the way to Slughorn's office and knocked on the door. The peep hole opened. "Harry, what are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Professor, but it's rather an emergency…"
"What's wrong with Weatherby?"
"Love potion," Harry admitted.
Slughorn opened the door. "Yes, best bring him in."
"Where's Romilda? Is he hiding her?" Ron asked.
"She's inside, Ron, don't worry, you'll see her soon." Harry promised bringing him inside. He set him on the couch and went to talk to Slughorn.
"Do you know when the love potion was mixed, Harry?"
"They were in chocolates. The girl gave them to me when we got back from the Christmas Holiday. I knew better than to eat them and I planned on getting rid of them, but forgot about it."
"The more they age the more concentrated they become, unfortunately. I'm surprised you couldn't mix one up yourself."
"Well, I thought it best to come to the master, Professor."
"How flattering, Harry, thank you. We'll get him back to normal soon enough—" The sound of something falling made them both turn to see Ron had disappeared. Harry went and found him behind the couch and sat him down again. Slughorn came over with a cup. "Here, my boy, a tonic to calm your nerves. You want to be at your best when you met your lady."
Ron eagerly downed the cup grinning and then the grin faded. "What's going on?" He looked around. "What happened?"
"Love potion, powerful one at that." Slughorn told him.
"The chocolates, Ron, the ones Romilda gave me at the start of term? When we got back from holiday? You ate all of them."
"Oh, right…they were right next to my presents…I guess I ate them without thinking."
"Well, you're all right now."
"Yes, and to celebrate let's have some of this, eh?" Slughorn brought over three cup of some mulled wine. "I was going to give it as a Christmas present, but I forgot. Ah well. Cheers, boys."
Ron drank from the cup before the other two could and he went down convulsing onto the floor. "Professor!" Harry was down beside Ron. "What do we do?"
Slughorn just stood there staring mumbling something still clutching the bottle. Harry got up and hurried to the ingredients chest and scrambled through it before he found a bezoar and got back putting it in Ron's mouth. After a few moments Ron came to and Harry helped him sit up. "These girls are going to kill me."
Ginny ran into the Hospital Wing with Fred and George right behind her. "Ron?" She called seeing the others at the end of the Wing. "Ron? Is he all right?" She asked seeing him looking pale and asleep in the bed.
"It's all right." Louisa said trying to calm her. "He's going to be all right."
Ginny calmed down a little before Erin let her sit next to Ron. Louisa had seen Ron initially and sent for Madam Pomfrey, who would be there soon. Fred was holding onto baby Xenus, who was sleeping despite the commotion. He sat down on the bed beside Ron's near Ginny in the chair.
The doors opened again and Dumbledore and Snape came in. Slughorn was holding the bottle and staying out of the way. "Miss McCormack, what have you found out so far?" Dumbledore asked her.
"He was definitely poisoned." She told him. "Harry's quick thinking with the bezoar saves his life, but he'll need to stay here for several days until the poison is entirely out of his system. I've given him the first potions to counteract. I was waiting until someone could help identify which poison it is to see what the next potion should be."
"I think we've identified it," Snape said leading the girl away to discuss the specific course of treatment for Ron.
Arthur and Molly got there a little later and listened to what happened thanking Harry profusely for saving Ron's life. Lavender ran in after that. "Where's my Won-Won?" Everyone sort of rolled their eyes at that. "What are you doing here?" She asked Hermione.
"What do you think?" Hermione asked her. "I happen to be his friend."
"Don't me laugh, you two haven't spoken in weeks. You're only interested now because he's all interesting."
"Interesting? He's been poisoned you daft bimbo!"
Ron made some noises. "See? He senses my presence. Don't worry, Won-won, I'm here."
He mumbled some more and then, "Hermione…"
Erin clapped a hand over her mouth to stop from laughing. Lavender, however, looked stricken and turned wailing running from the room. Harry glanced over at Hermione. "Oh, shut up…" she said smiling just a little.
"Ah, the sting of young love," Dumbledore said.