They followed Professor McGonagall past the silent figures of Neville, Dean, and Seamus, out of the dormitory, down the spiral stairs into the common room, through the portrait hole, and off along the Fat Lady's moonlit corridor. Harry was so weak that he and Ron frog marched him. They passed Mrs. Norris, who turned her lamplike eyes upon them and hissed faintly, but Professor McGonagall said, "Shoo!" Mrs. Norris slunk away into the shadows, and in a few minutes, they had reached the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"Fizzing Whizbee," said Professor McGonagall.
The gargoyle sprang to life and leapt aside; the wall behind it splitin two to reveal a stone staircase that was moving continuously upward like a spiral escalator. The four of them stepped onto the moving stairs; the wall closed behind them with a thud, and they weremoving upward in tight circles until they reached the highly polishedoak door with the brass knocker shaped like a griffin.
Though it was now well past midnight, there were voices comingfrom inside the room, a positive babble of them. It sounded as thoughDumbledore was entertaining at least a dozen people.Professor McGonagall rapped three times with the griffin knocker,and the voices ceased abruptly and the door opened of its own accord and Professor McGonagallled Harry, Percy and Ron inside.
The room was in half darkness; the strange silver instrumentsstanding on tables were silent and still rather than whirring and emitting puffs of smoke as they usually did. The portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses covering the walls were all snoozing in theirframes. Behind the door, a magnificent red-and-gold phoenix the size of aswan dozed on its perch with its head under its wing.
"Oh, it's you, Professor McGonagall . . . and . . . ah."
Dumbledore was sitting in a high-backed chair behind his desk; heleaned forward into the pool of candlelight illuminating the paperslaid out before him. He was wearing a magnificently embroideredpurple-and-gold dressing gown over a snowy-white nightshirt, butseemed wide awake, his penetrating light-blue eyes fixed intentlyupon Professor McGonagall.
"Professor Dumbledore, Potter had a . . . well, a nightmare,"said Professor McGonagall. "He says . . ."
"It wasn't a nightmare," said Harry quickly.
Professor McGonagall looked around at Harry, frowning slightly. "Very well, then, Potter, you tell the headmaster about it."
"I . . . well, I was asleep. . . ." said Harry "But it wasn't an ordinary dream . . . it wasreal. . . . I saw it happen. . . ." He took a deep breath, "Ron's dad —Mr. Weasley — has been attacked by a giant snake."
There was a pause in which Dumbledore leaned back and stared meditatively at the ceiling. Ron lookedfrom Harry to Dumbledore, white-faced and shocked.
"How did you see this?" Dumbledore asked quietly, still not looking at Harry.
"Well . . . I don't know," said Harry, rather angrily "Inside my head, I suppose —"
"You misunderstand me," said Dumbledore, still in the same calmtone. "I mean . . . can you remember — er — where you were positioned as you watched this attack happen? Were you perhaps standingbeside the victim, or else looking down on the scene from above?"
Harry gaped at Dumbledore;it was almost as though he knew . . ."I was the snake," he said. "I saw it all from the snake's point ofview. . . ."
Nobody else spoke for a moment, then Dumbledore, now lookingat Ron, who was still whey-faced, said in a new and sharper voice,
"Is Arthur seriously injured?"
"Yes," said Harry.
Dumbledore stood up so quickly that Harry jumped, and addressed one of the old portraits hanging very near the ceiling.
"Everard?" he said sharply. "And you too, Dilys!"
A sallow-faced wizard with short, black bangs and an elderly witch with long silver ringlets in the frame beside him, both of whomseemed to have been in the deepest of sleeps, opened their eyesimmediately.
"You were listening?" said Dumbledore.
The wizard nodded, the witch said, "Naturally."
"The man has red hair and glasses," said Dumbledore. "Everard,you will need to raise the alarm, make sure he is found by the rightpeople —"
Both nodded and moved sideways out of their frames, but insteadof emerging in neighboring pictures (as usually happened at Hogwarts), neither reappeared; one frame now contained nothing but abackdrop of dark curtain, the other a handsome leather armchair.
"Everard and Dilys were two of Hogwarts's most celebrated Heads,"Dumbledore said, now sweeping around Harry, Percy, Ron, and ProfessorMcGonagall and approaching the magnificent sleeping bird on hisperch beside the door. "Their renown is such that both have portraitshanging in other important Wizarding institutions. As they are free tomove between their own portraits they can tell us what may be happening elsewhere. . . ."
"But Mr. Weasley could be anywhere!" said Harry.
"Please sit down, all four of you," said Dumbledore, as thoughHarry had not spoken. "Everard and Dilys may not be back for severalminutes. . . . Professor McGonagall, if you could draw up extrachairs . . ."
Professor McGonagall pulled her wand from the pocket of herdressing gown and waved it; four chairs appeared out of thin air,straight-backed and wooden. Rather uncomfortable to Percy's likings.
Dumbledore was now stroking Fawkes's plumed golden head with one finger.The phoenix awoke immediately. He stretched his beautiful head highand observed Dumbledore through bright, dark eyes.
"We will need," said Dumbledore very quietly to the bird, "awarning."
There was a flash of fire and the phoenix had gone.
Dumbledore now swooped down upon one of the fragile silver instruments and carried it over to his desk, sat down facing them again, and tapped it gently with the tip of his wand.
The instrument tinkled into life at once with rhythmic clinking noises. Tiny puffs of pale green smoke issued from the minuscule silver tube at the top. Dumbledore watched the smoke closely, his brow furrowed, and after a few seconds, the tiny puffs became a steady stream of smoke that thickened and coiled in the air. . . . A serpent's head grew out of the end of it, opening its mouth wide. Percy wondered whether the instrument was confirming their story: He looked at Dumbledore for a sign that he was right, Dumbledore looked at him gravely.
"Naturally, naturally," murmured Dumbledore apparently to himself, still observing the stream of smoke without the slightest sign of surprise. "But in essence divided?"
Percy couldn't understand the question. The smoke serpent, however, split itself instantly into two snakes, both coiling and undulating in the dark air. With a look of grim satisfactionDumbledore gave the instrument another gentle tap with his wand: The clinking noise slowed and died, and the smoke serpents grew faint, became a formless haze, and vanished.
Then there was a shoutfrom the top of the wall to their right; the wizard called Everard hadreappeared in his portrait, panting slightly
"Dumbledore!"
"What news?" said Dumbledore at once.
"I yelled until someone came running," said the wizard, who wasmopping his brow on the curtain behind him, "said I'd heard something moving downstairs — they weren't sure whether to believe mebut went down to check — you know there are no portraits downthere to watch from. Anyway, they carried him up a few minutes later.He doesn't look good, he's covered in blood, I ran along to ElfridaCragg's portrait to get a good view as they left —"
"Good," said Dumbledore as Ron made a convulsive movement, "Itake it Dilys will have seen him arrive, then —"
And moments later, the silver-ringletted witch had reappeared inher picture too; she sank, coughing, into her armchair and said, "Yes,they've taken him to St. Mungo's, Dumbledore. . . . They carried himpast under my portrait. . . . He looks bad. . . ."
"Minerva, I need you to go and wake the other Weasley children."
"Of course. . . ."
Professor McGonagall got up and moved swiftly to the door; Harrycast a sideways glance at Ron, who was now looking terrified.
"And Dumbledore — what about Molly?" said Professor McGonagall, pausing at the door.
"That will be a job for Fawkes when he has finished keeping alookout for anybody approaching," said Dumbledore. "But she mayalready know . . . that excellent clock of hers . . ."
Dumbledore was now rummaging in a cupboard behind Harry andRon. He emerged from it carrying a blackened old kettle, which heplaced carefully upon his desk. He raised his wand and murmured"Portus"; for a moment the kettle trembled, glowing with an odd bluelight, then it quivered to a rest, as solidly black as ever.
Dumbledore marched over to another portrait, this time of aclever-looking wizard with a pointed beard, who had been paintedwearing the Slytherin colors of green and silver.
"Phineas. Phineas."
And now the subjects of the portraits lining the room were nolonger pretending to be asleep; they were shifting around in theirframes, the better to watch what was happening. When the cleverlooking wizard continued to feign sleep, some of them shouted hisname too.
"Phineas! Phineas! PHINEAS!"
He could no longer pretend; he gave a theatrical jerk andopened his eyes wide.
"Did someone call?"
"I need you to visit your other portrait again, Phineas," said Dumbledore. "I've got another message."
"Visit my other portrait?" said Phineas in a reedy voice, giving along, fake yawn (his eyes traveling around the room and focusingupon Harry). "Oh no, Dumbledore, I am too tired tonight. . . ."
The portraits on the surrounding walls broke into a storm of protest.
"Insubordination, sir!" roared a corpulent, red-nosed wizard, brandishing his fists. "Dereliction of duty!"
"We are honor-bound to give service to the present Headmaster ofHogwarts!" cried a frail-looking old wizard whom Percy recognized asDumbledore's predecessor, Armando Dippet. "Shame on you, Phineas!"
"Shall I persuade him, Dumbledore?" called a gimlet-eyed witch,raising an unusually thick wand that looked not unlike a birch rod.
"Oh, very well," said the wizard called Phineas, eyeing this wandslightly apprehensively, "though he may well have destroyed my picture by now, he's done most of the family —"
"Sirius knows not to destroy your portrait," said Dumbledore, andHarry realized immediately where he had heard Phineas's voice before:issuing from the apparently empty frame in his bedroom in Grimmauld Place. "You are to give him the message that Arthur Weasleyhas been gravely injured and that his wife, children, Percy Jackson and Harry Potterwill be arriving at his house shortly. Do you understand?"
"Arthur Weasley, injured, wife and children, Percy Jackson and Harry Pottercoming to stay," recited Phineas in a bored voice. "Yes, yes . . . verywell. . . ."
He sloped away into the frame of the portrait and disappeared fromview at the very moment that the study door opened again.
Fred,George, and Ginny were ushered inside by Professor McGonagall, allthree of them looking disheveled and shocked, still in their nightthings.
"Harry — what's going on?" asked Ginny, who looked frightened."Professor McGonagall says you saw Dad hurt —"
"Your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix," said Dumbledore before Harry could speak. "Hehas been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I am sending you back to Sirius's house, which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet yourmother there."
"How're we going?" asked Fred, looking shaken. "Floo powder?"
"No," said Dumbledore, "Floo powder is not safe at the moment,the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey."
He indicated the old kettle lying innocently on his desk. "We are just waitingfor Phineas Nigellus to report back. . . . I wish to be sure that the coastis clear before sending you —"
There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leavingbehind a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor.
"It is Fawkes's warning," said Dumbledore, catching the feather asit fell. "She must know you're out of your beds. . . . Minerva, go andhead her off — tell her any story —"
Professor McGonagall was gone in a swish of tartan.
"He says he'll be delighted," said a bored voice behind Dumbledore; the wizard called Phineas had reappeared in front of hisSlytherin banner. "My great-great-grandson has always had odd tastein houseguests. . . ."
"Come here, then," Dumbledore said to Harry, Percy and the Weasleys."And quickly, before anyone else joins us . . ."
Everyone gathered around Dumbledore's desk.
You have all used a Portkey before?" asked Dumbledore, and theynodded, each reaching out to touch some part of the blackened kettle."Good. On the count of three then . . . one . . . two . . . three"
He felt a powerful jerk behind his navel, the ground vanished frombeneath his feet, his hand was glued to the kettle; he was banging intothe others as all sped forward in a swirl of colors and a rush of wind,the kettle pulling them onward and then —His feet hit the ground so hard that his knees buckled, the kettleclattered to the ground and somewhere close at hand a voice said,
"Back again, the blood traitor brats, is it true their father's dying . . . ?"
"OUT!" roared a second voice.
They had arrived inthe gloomy basement kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place.The only sources of light were the fire and one guttering candle,which illuminated the remains of a solitary supper. Kreacher was disappearing through the door to the hall, looking back at them malevolently as he hitched up his loincloth; Sirius was hurrying toward themall, looking anxious. He was unshaven and still in his day clothes;there was also a slightly Mundungus-like whiff of stale drink abouthim.
"What's going on?" he said, stretching out a hand to help Ginny up. "Phineas Nigellus and some random house-elf said Arthur's been badly injured —"
"Ask him," said Fred jerking his head towards Harry.
"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself," said George.
The twins and Ginny were staring at him. Kreacher's footsteps had stopped on the stairs outside."It was —" Harry began. "I had a — a kind of — vision. . . ."
And he told them all that he had seen, though he altered the storyso that it sounded as though he had watched from the sidelines as thesnake attacked, rather than from behind the snake's own eyes.
When Harry had finished, Fred, George, and Ginny continuedto stare at him for a moment. Ron, who was still very white, gave them a fleeting look, but did notspeak.
When Harry had finished, Fred, George, and Ginny continuedto stare at him for a moment. Ron, who was still very white, gave them a fleeting look, but did notspeak.
"Is Mum here?" said Fred, turning to Sirius.
"She probably doesn't even know what's happened yet," said Sirius."The important thing was to get you away before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's letting Molly know now."
"We've got to go to St. Mungo's," said Ginny urgently. She lookedaround at her brothers; they were of course still in their pajamas. "Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything — ?"
"Hang on, you can't go tearing off to St. Mungo's!" said Sirius.
" 'Course we can go to St. Mungo's if we want," said Fred, with amulish expression, "he's our dad!"
"And how are you going to explain how you knew Arthur was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?"
"What does that matter?" said George hotly.
"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact thatHarry was having visions of things that are happening hundreds of milesaway!" said Sirius angrily. "Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?"
Fred and George looked as though they could not care less what theMinistry made of anything. Ron was still white-faced and silent.Ginny said, "Somebody else could have told us. . . . We could haveheard it somewhere other than Harry. . . ."
"Like who?" said Sirius impatiently. "Listen, your dad's been hurtwhile on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enoughwithout his children knowing about it seconds after it happened, youcould seriously damage the Order's —"
"We don't care about the dumb Order!" shouted Fred.
"It's our dad dying we're talking about!" yelled George.
"Your father knew what he was getting into, and he won't thankyou for messing things up for the Order!" said Sirius angrily in histurn. "This is how it is — this is why you're not in the Order — youdon't understand — there are things worth dying for!"
"Easy for you to say, stuck here!" bellowed Fred. "I don't see yourisking your neck!"
The little color remaining in Sirius's face drained from it. Helooked for a moment as though he would quite like to hit Fred, butwhen he spoke, it was in a voice of determined calm. "I know it's hard,but we've all got to act as though we don't know anything yet. We'vegot to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother, all right?"
Fred and George still looked mutinous. Ginny, however, took a fewsteps over to the nearest chair and sank into it. Harry looked at Ron,who made a funny movement somewhere between a nod and shrug,and they sat down too. The twins glared at Sirius for another minute,then took seats on either side of Ginny.
"That's right," said Sirius encouragingly, "come on, let's all . . . let'sall have a drink while we're waiting. Accio Butterbeer!"
He raised his wand as he spoke and seven bottles came flyingtoward them out of the pantry, skidded along the table, scattering thedebris of Sirius's meal, and stopped neatly in front of them.
Everyone drank and for a while the only sounds were those of the crackling of the kitchen fire and the soft thud of their bottles on the table.
Then a burst of fire in midair illuminated the dirty plates in front ofthem and as they gave cries of shock, a scroll of parchment fell with athud onto the table, accompanied by a single golden phoenix tailfeather.
"Fawkes!" said Sirius at once, snatching up the parchment. "That'snot Dumbledore's writing — it must be a message from yourmother — here —"
He thrust the letter into George's hand, who ripped it open andread aloud, "Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Staywhere you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum."
George looked around the table.
"Still alive . . ." he said slowly. "But that makes it sound . . ."
Still exceptionally pale, Ron stared at the back of his mother's letter asthough it might speak words of comfort to him. Fred pulled theparchment out of George's hands and read it for himself, then lookedup at Harry, who felt his hand shaking on his butterbeer bottle againand clenched it more tightly to stop the trembling
They sat in silence around the table, watchingthe candle wick sinking lower and lower into liquid wax, now andthen raising bottles to their lips, speaking only to check the time, to wonder aloud what was happening, and to reassure one another thatif there was bad news, they would know straightaway, for Mrs.Weasley must long since have arrived at St. Mungo's.
Fred fell into a doze, his head sagging sideways onto his shoulder.Ginny was curled like a cat on her chair, but her eyes were open;Percy could see them reflecting the firelight. Ron was sitting with hishead in his hands, whether awake or asleep it was impossible to tell.
And then, at ten past five in the morning by Ron's watch, thekitchen door swung open and Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen. Shewas extremely pale, but when they all turned to look at her, Fred, Ron, Percy and Harry half-rising from their chairs, she gave a wan smile.
"He's going to be all right," she said, her voice weak with tiredness."He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with himnow, he's going to take the morning off work."
Fred fell back into his chair with his hands over his face. Georgeand Ginny got up, walked swiftly over to their mother, and huggedher. Ron gave a very shaky laugh and downed the rest of his butterbeerin one.
"Breakfast!" said Sirius loudly and joyfully, jumping to his feet."Where's that accursed house-elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!"
But Kreacher did not answer the summons."Oh, forget it, then," muttered Sirius, counting the people in frontof him. "So it's breakfast for — let's see — seven . . . Bacon and eggs,I think, and some tea, and toast —"
Percy jabbed Harry and gestured at the stove. Indicating help. They both stood up and are taking plates from the dresser when Mrs. Weasley lifted Harry out of his hands and pulled him into a hug.
"Oh, Sirius, I'm so grateful. . . . They think he'll be there a littlewhile and it would be wonderful to be nearer . . . Of course, thatmight mean we're here for Christmas. . . ."
"The more the merrier!" said Sirius with such obvious sincerity thatMrs. Weasley beamed at him, threw on an apron, and began to helpwith breakfast.
"Sirius," Harry muttered, unable to stand it a moment longer."Can I have a quick word? Er — now?"He walked into the dark pantry and Sirius followed leaving Percy alone. He set up the table, dishes, cutler except the frying pans which were cooking bacon by themselves.
After eating, everyone spent the rest of the morning sleeping. They woke up early and their trunks arrived from Hogwarts while they were eatinglunch, so that they could dress as Muggles for the trip to St. Mungo's.
Everybody except Harry was riotously happy and talkative as theychanged out of their robes into jeans and sweatshirts, and they greetedTonks and Mad-Eye, who had turned up to escort them across London, gleefully laughing at the bowler hat Mad-Eye was wearing at an
angle to conceal his magical eye and assuring him, truthfully, thatTonks, whose hair was short and bright pink again, would attract farless attention on the underground.
Tonks was very interested in Harry's vision of the attack on Mr.Weasley, something he was not remotely interested in discussing.
"There isn't any Seer blood in your family, is there?" she inquiredcuriously, as they sat side by side on a train rattling toward the heartof the city
"No," said Harry
"No," said Tonks musingly, "no, I suppose it's not really prophecyyou're doing, is it? I mean, you're not seeing the future, you're seeingthe present. . . . It's odd, isn't it? Useful, though . . ."
Neither did not answer; fortunately they got out at the next stop, astation in the very heart of London, and in the bustle of leaving thetrain he was able to allow Fred and George to get between himself andTonks, who was leading the way. They all followed her up the escalator, Moody clunking along at the back of the group, his bowler tiltedlow and one gnarled hand stuck in between the buttons of his coat,clutching his wand
"Not far from here," grunted Moody as they stepped out into thewintry air on a broad store-lined street packed with Christmas shoppers. He pushed Harry a little ahead of him and stumped along justbehind; "Wasn't easy to find a good location for a hospital. Nowherein Diagon Alley was big enough and we couldn't have it undergroundlike the Ministry — unhealthy. In the end they managed to get hold ofa building up here. Theory was sick wizards could come and go andjust blend in with the crowd. . . ."
"So it's just like any muggle hospital?" Harry asked.
But he was so wrong. They had arrived outside a large, old-fashioned, red brick department store called Purge and Dowse Ltd. The place had a shabby, miserable air; the window displays consisted of a few chipped dummieswith their wigs askew, standing at random and modeling fashions atleast ten years out of date. Large signs on all the dusty doors readclosed for refurbishment. Percy heard a large womanladen with plastic shopping bags say to her friend as they passed, "It'snever open, that place. . . ."
Percy rolled his eyes. Of course it's not supposed to be open.
"Right," said Tonks, beckoning them forward to a window displaying nothing but a particularly ugly female dummy whose false eyelashes were hanging off and who was modeling a green nylon pinaforedress. "Everybody ready?"They nodded, clustering around her; Tonks leaned close to the glass, looking up at the very ugly dummy and said,her breath steaming up the glass, "Wotcher . . . We're here to see Arthur Weasley."
The dummy gave a tiny nod, beckoned its jointed finger, and Tonkshad seized Ginny and Mrs. Weasley by the elbows, stepped rightthrough the glass and vanished.
Fred, George, and Ron stepped after them and melted into thinair in front of them. It was Percy, Harry and Mad eye.
"C'mon," growled Moody and together they stepped forward through what felt like a sheetof cool water, emerging quite warm and dry on the other side.
Percy knew what it was like to enter St Mungo's. His mother works here so there is a small chance he might meet her here.
"Are they doctors?" Harry asked Ron quietly.
"Doctors?" said Ron, looking startled. "Those Muggle nutters thatcut people up? Nah, they're Healers."
"Wotcher Liz" Percy asked at the inquiries desk. "How's work?"
"Boring as ever Percy" Liz signed. "Are you visiting your mum?"
"Nah, we're visiting Arthur Weasley. You know red hair and freckles?"
"Arthur Weasley said Liz, running her finger down a long list in front of her. "Yes, first floor, second door on the right, DaiLlewellyn ward."
"Thank's Liz," said Percy. "Come on, you lot."
They followed through the double doors and along the narrow corridor beyond, which was lined with more portraits of famous Healersand lit by crystal bubbles full of candles that floated up on the ceiling,looking like giant soapsuds. Percy casually greeted fellow healers he passed by.
"You know them?" Ron asked.
"Course I do!" said Percy with an odd cheerfulness in it. "St Mungo's was practically my second home."
"Where's your mother?" Harry asked.
"Third floor. Potions and plant poisoning." said Percy. "There we go!"
They entered the "Creature-Induced Injuries" corridor, where thesecond door on the right bore the words "dangerous" dai llewellyn ward: serious bites. Underneath this was a card in a brass holder onwhich had been handwritten Healer-in-Charge: Hippocrates Smethwyck, Trainee Healer: Augustus Pye
"We'll wait outside, Molly," Tonks said. "Arthur won't want toomany visitors at once. . . . It ought to be just the family first."
"We'll wait outside, Molly," Tonks said. "Arthur won't want toomany visitors at once. . . . It ought to be just the family first."
Mad-Eye growled his approval of this idea and set himself with hisback against the corridor wall. Percy steeped back and so did Harry but Mrs. Weasley reached out a hand andpushed them through the door, saying,
"Don't be silly, Arthur wants to thank you. . . ."
The ward was small and rather dingy as the only window was narrowand set high in the wall facing the door. Most of the light came frommore shining crystal bubbles clustered in the middle of the ceiling. Thewalls were of panelled oak and there was a portrait of a rather viciouslooking wizard on the wall, captioned urquhart rackharrow, 1612–1697, inventor of the entrail-expelling curse
There were only three patients. Mr. Weasley was occupying the bedat the far end of the ward beside the tiny window. He was propped up on several pillows and reading the Daily Prophet. Helooked around as they walked toward him and, seeing whom it was, beamed.
"Hello!" he called, throwing the Prophet aside. "Bill just left, Molly,had to get back to work, but he says he'll drop in on you later. . . ."
"How are you, Arthur?" asked Mrs. Weasley, bending down to kisshis cheek and looking anxiously into his face. "You're still looking a bitpeaky. . . ."
"I feel absolutely fine," said Mr. Weasley brightly, holding out hisgood arm to give Ginny a hug. "If they could only take the bandagesoff, I'd be fit to go home."
"Why can't they take them off, Dad?" asked Fred.
"Well, I start bleeding like mad every time they try," said Mr.Weasley cheerfully, reaching across for his wand, which lay on his bedside cabinet, and waving it so that six extra chairs appeared at his bedside to seat them all. "It seems there was some rather unusual kind ofpoison in that snake's fangs that keeps wounds open. . . . They're surethey'll find an antidote, though, they say they've had much worsecases than mine, and in the meantime I just have to keep taking aBlood-Replenishing Potion every hour. But that fellow over there," hesaid, dropping his voice and nodding toward the bed opposite inwhich a man lay looking green and sickly and staring at the ceiling."Bitten by a werewolf, poor chap. No cure at all."
"A werewolf?" whispered Mrs. Weasley, looking alarmed. "Is hesafe in a public ward? Shouldn't he be in a private room?"
"It's two weeks till full moon," Mr. Weasley reminded her quietly."They've been talking to him this morning, the Healers, you know,trying to persuade him he'll be able to lead an almost normal life. Isaid to him — didn't mention names, of course — but I said I knew awerewolf personally, very nice man, who finds the condition quiteeasy to manage. . . ."
"What did he say?" asked George
"Said he'd give me another bite if I didn't shut up," said Mr. Weasleysadly. "And that woman over there," he indicated the only other occupied bed, which was right beside the door, "won't tell the Healers whatbit her, which makes us all think it must have been something she washandling illegally. Whatever it was took a real chunk out of her leg,very nasty smell when they take off the dressings."
"So, you going to tell us what happened, Dad?" asked Fred, pullinghis chair closer to the bed
"Well, you already know, don't you?" said Mr. Weasley, with a significant smile at Harry. "It's very simple — I'd had a very long day,dozed off, got sneaked up on, and bitten."
"Is it in the Prophet, you being attacked?" asked Fred, indicating thenewspaper Mr. Weasley had cast aside.
"No, of course not," said Mr. Weasley, with a slightly bitter smile,"the Ministry wouldn't want everyone to know a dirty great serpentgot —"
"Arthur!" said Mrs. Weasley warningly.
"— got — er — me," Mr. Weasley said hastily, though Percy wasquite sure that was not what he had meant to say.
"So where were you when it happened, Dad?" asked George."That's my business," said Mr. Weasley, though with a small smile.He snatched up the Daily Prophet, shook it open again and said, "Iwas just reading about Willy Widdershins's arrest when you arrived.You know Willy turned out to be behind those regurgitating toiletslast summer? One of his jinxes backfired, the toilet exploded, and theyfound him lying unconscious in the wreckage covered from head tofoot in —"
"When you say you were 'on duty,' " Fred interrupted in a lowvoice, "what were you doing?"
"You heard your father," whispered Mrs. Weasley, "we are not discussing this here! Go on about Willy Widdershins, Arthur —"
"Well, don't ask me how, but he actually got off on the toilet charge," said Mr. Weasley grimly. "I can only suppose gold changedhands —"
"You were guarding it, weren't you?" said George quietly. "Theweapon? The thing You-Know-Who's after?"
"George, be quiet!" snapped Mrs. Weasley.
"Anyway," said Mr. Weasley in a raised voice, "this time Willy'sbeen caught selling biting doorknobs to Muggles, and I don't thinkhe'll be able to worm his way out of it because according to this article, two Muggles have lost fingers and are now in St. Mungo's foremergency bone regrowth and memory modification. Just think of it,Muggles in St. Mungo's! I wonder which ward they're in?"
And he looked eagerly around as though hoping to see a signpost.
"Didn't you say You-Know-Who's got a snake, Harry?" asked Fred,looking at his father for a reaction. "A massive one? You saw it thenight he returned, didn't you?"
"That's enough," said Mrs. Weasley crossly. "Mad-Eye and Tonksare outside, Arthur, they want to come and see you. And you lot canwait outside," she added to her children, Percy and Harry. "You can comeand say good-bye afterward. Go on. . . ."
They trooped back into the corridor. Mad-Eye and Tonks went inand closed the door of the ward behind them. Fred raised his eyebrows.
"Fine," he said coolly, rummaging in his pockets, "be like that.Don't tell us anything."
"Looking for these?" said George, holding out what looked like atangle of flesh-colored string.
"You read my mind," said Fred, grinning. "Oi Percy does St. Mungo's puts Imperturbable Charms on its ward doors ?"
"They don't," said Percy smiling.
He and George disentangled the string and separated seven Extendable Ears from each other. Fred and George handed them around and Harry hesitated to take one.
"Go on, Harry, take it! You saved Dad's life, if anyone's got the rightto eavesdrop on him it's you. . . ."
Grinning in spite of himself, Harry took the end of the string andinserted it into his ear as the twins had done."Okay, go!" Fred whispered.The flesh-colored strings wriggled like long skinny worms, thensnaked under the door. For a few seconds Percy could hear nothing,then he heard Tonks whispering as clearly as though she were standing right beside him.
". . . they searched the whole area but they couldn't find the snakeanywhere, it just seems to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur.. . . But You-Know-Who can't have expected a snake to get in, canhe?"
"I reckon he sent it as a lookout," growled Moody, " 'cause he's nothad any luck so far, has he? No, I reckon he's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's facing and if Arthur hadn't been there the beastwould've had much more time to look around. So Potter says he sawit all happen?"
"Yes," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded rather uneasy. "You know,Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to seesomething like this. . . ."
"Yeah, well," said Moody, "there's something funny about thePotter kid, we all know that. "
