Faith .|. H. J. POTTER ✔

Chapter ninety-eight

"So, all in all, not one of Ron's better birthdays?" Fred said.

It was already evening when they sat around Ron's bed. Harry, Faith, Hermione and Ginny had been sitting outside the hospital wing all day, waiting for a chance to see Ron. Madam Pomfrey had only let them in around eight o'clock and Fred and George had arrived ten minutes later. 

"This isn't how we imagined handing over our present," George nodded, tossing a big wrapped present on the foot of Ron's bed. 

"Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious," Fred said. 

"There we were in Hogsmeade, waiting to surprise him -" George said with a sigh. 

"You were in Hogsmeade?" Ginny asked surprised. 

"We were thinking of buying Zonko's," Fred told her. "A Hogsmeade branch, you know, but a fat lot of good it'll do if you lot aren't allowed out at the weekends to buy out stuff any more ... but never mind that now," Fred then looked up at Faith. "We met Alex, though, nice bloke,"

Faith felt Harry's grip around her hand tighten so Faith squeezed his hand twice as hard. 

"How exactly did it happen?" George then asked Harry and Faith and they started to explain the story for the tenth time at least. 

"... and then Faith threw me the bezoar, I stuck it down his throat and his breathing eased up a bit. Slughorn ran for help, McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey turned up, and they brought Ron up here. They reckon he'll be all right. Madam Pomfrey says he'll have to stay here a week or so ... keep taking Essence of Rue ..."

"Blimey, it was lucky you thought of a bezoar," George breathed. 

"Lucky there was one in the room," Harry mumbled. He looked up to Faith when he felt her give his hand a little squeeze. She gave him a reassuring smile, trying to convey the message that he should stop being so modest and give himself a little credit. The fact that he thought about the bezoar saved Ron's life. 

"Do Mum and Dad know?" Fred asked Ginny. 

"They've already seen him, they arrived an hour ago - they're in Dumbledore's office now, but they'll be back soon ..."

They all paused when Ron started to mumble and mutter in his sleep but after a couple of seconds, he silenced again. 

"So the poison was in the drink?" Fred asked.

"Yes," Harry nodded, relieved to start discussing it again. He had talked about the possibilities with Faith and Ginny outside the hospital wing, Hermione wasn't very involved. She had been sniffing about the whole situation with a pale face and shaking hands. "Slughorn poured it out -"

"Would he have been able to slip something into Ron's glass without you two seeing?"

"Probably," Faith shrugged, "but why would Slughorn want to poison Ron?"

"No idea," Fred said. "You don't think he could have mixed up the glasses by mistake? Meaning to get either of you?"

"Why would Slughorn want to poison us?" Faith asked. 

"I dunno," Fred answered with a shrug, "but there are loads of people who'd like to poison Harry, and you too with the curse and all, mustn't there? The 'Chosen One' and all that?"

"No one knows about the curse, though," Faith said.

"So you think Slughorn's a Death Eater?" Ginny asked.

"Anything's possible,"

"He could be under the Imperius Curse," George suggested. 

"Or he could be innocent," Ginny spoke. "The poison could have been in the bottle, in which case it was probably meant for Slughorn himself,"