This chapter will have dialogue from my fic Harry Potter and the Other Side.

Chapter 176: Back To Normal

I woke up in my yard. How the hell did I get to The Burrow? Wasn't I just in Slughorn's office?

I stood up and looked around. It looked like a calm summer day. One that I very much would have enjoyed, had it not felt so strange.

"Ron? Oh Roooooon!" I heard in the distance. I turned and looked out towards the pond. Hermione, I a very nice red bikini, was emerging from it, looking happy to see me.

"Hermione? I whispered. How did she get here?

I ran up to her. As I was running, she continued to smile at me and stuck her arms out. When I got in front of her, I wrapped my arms around her, and felt nothing but warmth and comfort.

"Hermione, Hermione..." I whispered into her hair. I wanted to bury myself in it.

Hermione laughed and pushed me a bit off of her. She sat down on the ground, holding my hand and bringing me with her.

"Hermione?" I whispered again. "What going on?"

"You're sleeping, love." she said, the sound of her calling me such an affectionate pet name sent a shiver up my spine. "You've had a very rough day."

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you! But we're together now!" said Hermione, running her fingers through my hair.

"Hermione," I whispered again," I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you a long time ago."

"Shhhhhh." said Hermione gently, her index finger against her pillowy lips. "Rest now. And you can tell me when you wake up."

I laid down and place my head on her thigh. I sighed deeply as she ran her fingers through my hair, the sensation she gave me felt like a hundred Quidditch wins.

"Hermione." I whispered over and over. I couldn't help but say her name, it felt like every time I did it, life was entering me. As if her name and presence was all that I needed to sustain me.

I watched as the sun moved behind her head, making her look like an angel. My angel. I would go anywhere she wanted me to go, I would do anything she wanted me to do. I would have died for her if she asked me to.

"Hermione, I have to tell you..."

"Rest..." she repeated. "Just...rest..."

I woke up feeling like I got hit in the face by the bloody Knight Bus.

I opened my eyes and looked around. White ceiling? Where was I, this wasn't the dorm. I tried to sit up but my chest felt like it had a small weight on it. I looked down and seen a bunch of bushy brown hair and a face that almost brought tears to my eyes.

"Her...Hermione?" I croaked out.

She opened her eyes and looked at me. She sat up quickly, wiping her face.

"Ron! Oh you're awake! I'll go get Madam Pomfrey" she gasped.

"No no.. Stay here a minute." I croaked, forcing myself to sit up and just stare at her. I didn't really mean to. I just had to come to the realization that she was actually in front of me.

"How did I get in here? Last thing I remember is being with Harry in Slughorn's office."

Hermione gave me a small smile. "You had eaten cakes that had love potion in them put there by Romilda Vane intended for Harry. Harry took you to see Professor Slughorn and you accidentally ingested poison. How do you feel?"

I slowly digested the story. Sounded like something my bloody ass would do.

"I feel terrible, but fine at the same time." I said, my eyes stilled fixed on her. "What day is it?"

"It's the second."

"Damn. Missed my entire birthday." I said with a shrug.

"I'm sorry. I didn't get you anything."

"You being here is the best present you could have ever gotten me." I said. "Hermione, why are you here?"

She looked down at the sheets on my bed. "Oh. I...I can leave if you want."

"No!" I said almost desperately. "I mean no...I didn't think you would ever speak to me again"

Hermione started tearing up. "I'm so sorry. I should have never stopped talking to you. I almost lost it when Harry told me what happened to you. I could have lost you. You're my best friend"

My heart felt as if it was going to leap out of my chest. "I...I am? I'm you're best friend again?"

"Of course!"

"Your favorite?"

"Always. I'm so sorry. Can we please go back to being friends again?"

"Mione, I never stopped being your friend. You're fucking stuck with me weather you like it or not."

She smiled and gave me a hug and kissed my cheek. I took her hand and kissed it.

"Your family came by." said Hermione, nodding towards my right. I looked over and seen some chocolate frogs and a wrapped gift.

"I think I'll hold off unwrapping shit for one more day." I sighed.

"Language, Ronald."

"I missed that so much Hermione." I said as I ran my thumb against the top of her hand.

"You missed me getting onto you about your language?" she giggled.

"I miss everything about you. This whole situation was doomed from the beginning, and I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too. I allowed my anger to cloud my better judgment. You're allowed to snog whoever you want."

I was about to all her did she count, when I heard a scream that sounded like a banshee.

"WON-WON? WHERE'S MY WON-WON?!"

Shit.

I closed my eyes quickly and played like I was sleep.

I didn't want to leave Hermione hanging but I also did not want to talk to Lavender right now.

"Won-Won I...what are you doing here Granger?" I heard Lavender say, her voice smothered in attitude and dislike.

"For your information I've been here since I found out he was poisoned." said Hermione, her voice sounding equal to Lavender's.

"No one told me what happened. I don't see how you found out before me, his GIRLFRIEND"

"And why wouldn't I know? He's my best friend!"

"Don't make me laugh! You haven't spoken to him in weeks! I supposed you'll want to make up with him now, now that he's so interesting."

"He's been poisoned, you melodramatic little shrew! And got the record I've always found him interesting." Hermione said, sounding insulted. It took everything in me not to laugh.

"Well I'm here now. You can leave. There isn't any need for you being around messing with his poor innocent head"

"I can come and go whenever I please. He's just taken something to help him rest, so there really isn't a need for neither of us to be here."

I didn't want her to go. I had so much I wanted to say to her. But I didn't want to be greedy with things. I wanted to take it slow, so that we could make sure that we were really okay.

"He's always sleeping when I visit" said Lavender, sounding gloomy. I wasn't really clear on what she was talking about. She must have came by when I was actually sleeping.

"Again genius, he's been poisoned. He has to regain his strength. Although...he was awake when I came to visit."

And with that, I heard Hermione's familiar steps and the door shut. I heard Lavender stomp her foot and walk out the door seconds later.

Hermione was so bloody brilliant.

The news that I had been poisoned spread quickly next day, but it did not cause the sensation that Katie's attack had done. People seemed to think that it might have been an accident, given that I had been in the Potions master's room at the time, and that as I had been given an antidote immediately there was no real harm done. In fact, the Gryffindors were generally much more interested in the upcoming Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, for many of them wanted to see Zacharias Smith, who played Chaser on the Hufflepuff team, punished soundly for his commentary during the opening match against Slytherin.

Poor Harry was starting to be dogged wherever he went by Cormac and Lavender. McLaggen kept up a constant stream of hints that he would make a better permanent Keeper for the team than me and that now that Harry was seeing him play regularly he would surely come around to this way of thinking too; he was also keen to criticize the other players and provide Harry with detailed training schemes, so that more than once Harry was forced to remind him who was Captain.

Meanwhile, Lavender kept sidling up to Harry to discuss me, which Harry adamantly reminded me over and over how annoying it was to have her harping in his face. At first, Lavender had been very annoyed that nobody had thought to tell her that I was in the hospital wing ("I mean, I am his girlfriend!") but unfortunately she had now decided to forgive Harry this lapse of memory and was keen to have lots of in-depth chats with him about my feelings, something that I know Harry wanted to pull his hair out on.

On the morning of the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, Harry dropped in on the hospital wing before heading down to the pitch. I was very agitated; Madam Pomfrey would not let me go down to watch the match, feeling it would overexcite me.

"So how's McLaggen shaping up?" I asked Harry, quickly remembering that I had just asked him that same question ten minutes prior.

"I've told you," said Harry, "he could be world-class and I wouldn't want to keep him. He keeps trying to tell everyone what to do, he thinks he could play every position better than the rest of us. I can't wait to be shot of him. And speaking of getting shot of people," Harry added, getting to his feet and picking up his Firebolt, "will you stop pretending to be asleep when Lavender comes to see you? She's driving me mad as well."

"Oh," I said, feeling a hint of guilt. "Yeah. All right."

"If you don't want to go out with her anymore, just tell her," said Harry.

"Yeah... well... it's not that easy, is it?" I said. "Hermione going to look in before the match?"

"No, she's already gone down to the pitch with Ginny."

"Oh," I said, feeling disappointed. "Right. Well, good luck. Hope you hammer McLag-I mean Smith."

"I'll try," said Harry, shouldering his broom. "See you after the match."

I laid back and looked over on the table beside my bed. Hermione had been bringing me homework to do. When I had first told her to do this, I figured it would just be a reason to get her to come. After a day, I regretted it.

However, I didn't have anything else to do, so I picked up my Charms book and started looking up things for an essay I had to write.

"And that's Smith of Hufflepuff with the Quaffle," said a dreamy voice coming through the window. I recognized it as Luna's. I was suddenly intrigued. "He did the commentary last time, of course, and Ginny Weasley flew into him, I think probably on purpose, it looked like it. Smith was being quite rude about Gryffindor, I expect he regrets that now he's playing them. Oh, look, he's lost the Quaffle, Ginny took it from him, I do like her, she's very nice."

I couldn't help but smile. I had a feeling this would be extra fun.

"... but now that big Hufflepuff player's got the Quaffle from her, I can't remember his name, it's something like Bibble-no, Buggins -"

"It's Cadwallader!" I heard Professor McGonagall say.

"And Harry Potter's now having an argument with his Keeper," said Luna. "I don't think that'll help him find the Snitch, but maybe it's a clever ruse."

I was starting to get annoyed. That arrogant tosspot was going to mesa it up for everybody.

"Seventy-forty to Hufflepuff!" came Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Is it, already?" said Luna vaguely. "Oh, look! The Gryffindor Keeper's got hold of one of the Beater's bats."

"What the hell..." I mumbled. I really wished I had Hermione in here to talk to about this barmy ass game.

Suddenly, I didn't hear the crowd nor Luna anymore. Something had happened. I got up to foolishly look out the window, but even though I could hear what was going on, I couldn't see what was going on.

There came a huge amount of boos. No one was cheering, not even the Hufflepuffs nor Slytherins.

Ten minutes later, Madam Pomfrey came through the doors of the hospital wing with Harry floating behind her on a stretcher. He looked a right state.

"Harry?! Harry! What happened to him?!" I asked frantically.

Pomfrey let him down on a bed that was two away from mine.

"One of your teammates cracked his skull with a bludger." she said as she began summoning supplies.

"Who?" I asked.

The stout one I believe."

Fucking Cormac. I made a mental note to hex him when I left here.

As Pomfrey patched Harry up (after assuring me over and over that he would indeed be okay), I tuned into the rest of Luna's commentary. Ginny had taken over the snitch position and it seemed like the yeah was doing less than great without Harry's direction. Cormac was causing a lot of problems apparently.

After about an hour, the final score was called. I looked over at Harry and sighed. He was not going to be happy when he woke up.

After the game, Ginny came in to check on Harry and told me how Cormac was probably somewhere nursing his nose after a very nasty Bat Bogey Hex. She left to give the rest of the team a status report on Harry, and a couple of hours later, he had came to.

"Nice of you to drop in," I said, grinning at him as he woke.

Harry blinked and looked around. He raised a hand, felt his stiff turban of bandages, and rolled his eyes.

"What happened?"

"Cracked skull," said Madam Pomfrey, bustling up and pushing him back against his pillows. "Nothing to worry about, I mended it at once, but I'm keeping you in overnight. You shouldn't overexert yourself for a few hours."

"I don't want to stay here overnight," said Harry angrily, sitting up and throwing back his covers. "I want to find McLaggen and kill him."

"I'm afraid that would come under the heading of 'overexertion,'" said Madam Pomfrey, pushing him firmly back onto the bed and raising her wand in a threatening manner. "You will stay here until I discharge you, Potter, or I shall call the Headmaster."

She bustled back into her office, and Harry sank back into his pillows, fuming.

"D'you know how much we lost by?" he asked me through clenched teeth.

"Well, yeah I do," I said apologetically. "Final score was three hundred and twenty to sixty."

"Brilliant," said Harry savagely. "Really fucking brilliant! When I get hold of McLaggen -"

"You don't want to get hold of him, he's the size of a troll," I said. "Personally, I think there's a lot to be said for hexing him with that toenail thing of the Prince's. Anyway, the rest of the team might've dealt with him before you get out of here, they're not happy. I know Ginny did."

Harry laid back and stared up at the patch of light on the ceiling, looking as if he wanted to rage war.

"I could hear the match commentary from here," I said, chuckling. "I hope Luna always commentates from now on... Loser's Lurgy ..."

Harry glares at me as if to say he didn't find anything funny. I stopped laughing and changed the subject.

"Ginny came in to visit while you were unconscious. She reckons you only just arrived on time for the match. How come? You left here early enough."

"Oh..." said Harry. "Yeah... well, I saw Malfoy sneaking off with a couple of girls who didn't look like they wanted to be with him, and that's the second time he's made sure he isn't down on the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the school; he skipped the last match too, remember? Wish I'd followed him now, the match was such a fiasco..."

"Don't be stupid," I said sharply. "You couldn't have missed a Quidditch match just to follow Malfoy, you're the Captain!"

"I want to know what he's up to," said Harry. "And don't tell me it's all in my head, not after what I overheard between him and Snape -"

"I never said it was all in your head," I said with a frown, "but there's no rule saying only one person at a time can be plotting anything in this place! You're getting a bit obsessed with Malfoy, Harry. I mean, thinking about missing a match just to follow him."

"I want to catch him at it!" said Harry in frustration. "I mean, where's he going when he disappears off the map?"

"I dunno... Hogsmeade?" I suggested as I yawned.

"I've never seen him going along any of the secret passageway on the map. I thought they were being watched now anyway?"

"Well then, I dunno."

Silence fell between us as night began to fall. I wanted to stay up a bit more for Harry's sake, but the potions Pomfrey had given me had made me drowsy. I laid my head back on my pillow and fell asleep, not dreaming about anything.

I woke up to a loud ass crack in the room.

"What's going-?"

Harry pointed his wand hastily at the door of Madam Pomfrey's office and muttered, "Muffliato!" so that she would not come running. Two house-elves were rolling around on the floor in the middle of the hospital wing, one wearing a shrunken maroon jumper and several woolly hats, the other, a filthy old rag strung over his hips like a loincloth. Then there was another loud bang, and Peeves the Poltergeist appeared in midair above the wrestling elves.

"I was watching that, Potty!" he told Harry indignantly, pointing at the fight below, before letting out a loud cackle. "Look at the ickle creatures squabbling, bitey bitey, punchy punchy -"

"Kreacher will not insult Harry Potter in front of Dobby, no he won't, or Dobby will shut Kreacher's mouth for him!" cried Dobby in a high-pitched voice.

"- kicky, scratchy!" cried Peeves happily, now pelting bits of chalk at the elves to enrage them further. "Tweaky, pokey!"

The whole scene would have been extremely hilarious if it wasn't in the middle of the night.

"Kreacher will say what he likes about his master, oh yes, and what a master he is, filthy friend of Mudbloods, oh, what would poor Kreacher's mistress say-?"

Exactly what Kreacher's mistress would have said they did not find out, for at that moment Dobby sank his knobbly little fist into Kreacher's mouth and knocked out half of his teeth. Harry and I both leapt out of our beds and wrenched the two elves apart, though they continued to try and kick and punch each other, egged on by Peeves, who swooped around the lamp squealing, "Stick your fingers up his nosey, draw his cork and pull his earsies -"

Harry aimed his wand at Peeves and said, "Langlock!" Peeves clutched at his throat, gulped, then swooped from the room making obscene gestures but unable to speak, owing to the fact that his tongue had just glued itself to the roof of his mouth.

"Nice one," I said, lifting Dobby into the air so that his flailing limbs no longer made contact with Kreacher. "That was another Prince hex, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Harry, twisting Kreacher's wizened arm into a half nelson. "Right-I'm forbidding you to fight each other! Well, Kreacher, you're forbidden to fight Dobby. Dobby, I know I'm not allowed to give you orders -"

"Dobby is a free house-elf and he can obey anyone he likes and Dobby will do whatever Harry Potter wants him to do!" said Dobby, tears now streaming down his shriveled little face onto his jumper.

"Okay then," said Harry, and he and I both released the elves, who fell to the floor but did not continue fighting.

"Master called me?" croaked Kreacher, sinking into a bow even as he gave Harry a look that plainly wished him a painful death.

"Yeah, I did," said Harry, glancing toward Madam Pomfrey's office door to check that the Muffliato spell was still working; there was no sign that she had heard any of the commotion. "I've got a job for you."

"Kreacher will do whatever Master wants," said Kreacher, sinking so low that his lips almost touched his gnarled toes, "because Kreacher has no choice, but Kreacher is ashamed to have such a master, yes -"

"Dobby will do it, Harry Potter!" squeaked Dobby, his tennis-ball-sized eyes still swimming in tears. "Dobby would be honored to help Harry Potter!"

"Come to think of it, it would be good to have both of you," said Harry. "Okay then ... I want you to tail Draco Malfoy."

I threw my hands up in the air

Great. Now he was going to have house elves join him on his stalking adventure?

"I want to know where he's going, who he's meeting, and what he's doing. I want you to follow him around the clock." said Harry.

"Yes, Harry Potter!" said Dobby at once, his great eyes shining with excitement. "And if Dobby does it wrong, Dobby will throw himself off the topmost tower, Harry Potter!"

"There won't be any need for that," said Harry, shaking his hands.

"Master wants me to follow the youngest of the Malfoys?" croaked Kreacher. "Master wants me to spy upon the pure-blood great-nephew of my old mistress?"

"That's the one," said Harry. "And you're forbidden to tip him off, Kreacher, or to show him what you're up to, or to talk to him at all, or to write him messages or ... or to contact him in any way. Got it?"

Kreacher looked as if he was struggling to see a loophole in the instructions he had just been given. After a moment or two, Kreacher bowed deeply again and said, with bitter resentment, "Master thinks of everything, and Kreacher must obey him even though Kreacher would much rather be the servant of the Malfoy boy, oh yes..."

"That's settled, then," said Harry. "I'll want regular reports, but make sure I'm not surrounded by people when you turn up. Ron and Hermione are okay. And don't tell anyone what you're doing. Just stick to Malfoy like a couple of wart plasters."