Rosabella's Point of View:
"So, all in all, not one of Ron's better birthdays?" Fred said.
It was evening. The hospital wing was quiet, the windows curtained, the lamps lit. Ron's was the only occupied bed. Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Michael and I were sitting around him. We had spent all day waiting outside the double doors, trying to see inside whenever somebody went in or out. Madam Pomfrey had only let us enter at eight o'clock. Fred and George had arrived at ten past. Winter kept nudging Ron's arm gently with her head, trying to get him to wake up.
"This isn't how we imagined handing over our present." George said grimly, putting down a large wrapped gift on Ron's bedside cabinet and sitting beside Ginny.
"Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious." Fred said.
"There we were in Hogsmeade, waiting to surprise him -" George said.
"You were in Hogsmeade?" Ginny asked, looking up.
"We were thinking of buying Zonko's. A Hogsmeade branch, you know, but a fat lot of good it'll do us if you lot aren't allowed out at weekends to buy our stuff anymore . . . But never mind that now." Fred said gloomily as he drew up a chair beside Harry and looked at Ron's pale face.
I sat on Harry's otherside.
"How exactly did it happen, Harry?" Fred asked.
Harry retold the story we had already recounted, it felt like a hundred times to Dumbledore, to McGonagall, to Madam Pomfrey, to Hermione, and to Ginny and then to Michael.
". . . and then I got the bezoar down his throat and his breathing eased up a bit." Harry said.
"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 . . ." I finished.
"Blimey, it was lucky you thought of a bezoar." George said in a low voice.
"Lucky there was one in the room." Harry said.
Hermione gave an almost inaudible sniff. She had been exceptionally quiet all day. Having hurtled, white - faced, up to Harry and I outside the hospital wing and demanded to know what had happened. She had taken almost no part in Harry's, Ginny's, Michael's and mine's obsessive discussion about how Ron had been poisoned, but merely stood beside us. Clench - jawed and frightened-looking, until at last they had been allowed in to see him. I gave Hermione's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"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 . . ."
There was a pause while ee all watched Ron mumble a little in his sleep.
"So the poison was in the drink?" Fred said quietly.
"Yes. Slughorn poured it out -" Harry said at once.
"Would he have been able to slip something into Ron's glass without either of you seeing?" Michael asked.
"Probably, but why would Slughorn want to poison Ron?" I said.
"No idea. You don't think he could have mixed up the glasses by mistake? Meaning to get you?" Fred said frowning.
"Why would Slughorn want to poison Harry?" I asked.
"I dunno, but there must be loads of people who'd like to poison Harry, mustn't there? The 'Chosen One' and all that?" George pointed out.
"So you think Slughorn's a Death Eater?" Ginny said.
"Anything's possible." Fred said darkly.
"He could be under the Imperius Curse." George said.
"Or he could be innocent." Ginny said.
"The poison could have been in the bottle, in which case it was probably meant for Slughorn himself." I said.
"Who'd want to kill Slughorn?" Michael said.
"Dumbledore reckons Voldemort wanted Slughorn on his side. Slughorn was in hiding for a year before he came to Hogwarts. And. . . maybe Voldemort wants him out of the way, maybe he thinks he could be valuable to Dumbledore." Harry said.
"But Slughorn said he had been planning to give that bottle to Dumbledore for Christmas. So the poisoner could just as easily have been after Dumbledore." I reminded Harry.
"Then the poisoner didn't know Slughorn very well." Hermione said, speaking for the first time in hours and sounding as though she had a bad head cold.
"Anyone who knew Slughorn would have known there was a good chance he'd keep something that tasty for himself." Hermione said.
"Er - my - nee." Ron croaked unexpectedly from between them.
My eyes widened and I looked at Ginny we smirkedcat each other as we glanced at Hermione.
We all fell silent, watching Ron anxiously, but after muttering incomprehensibly for a moment he merely started snoring.
The dormitory doors flew open, making us all jump. Hagrid came striding towards us, his hair rain - flecked, his bearskin coat flapping behind him, a crossbow in his hand, leaving a trail of muddy dolphin-sized footprints all over the floor.
"Bin in the forest all day! Aragog's worse, I bin readin' to him - didn' get up ter dinner till jus' now an' then Professor Sprout told me abou' Ron! How is he?" Hagrid panted.
"Not bad. They say he'll be okay." Harry said as I wrapped both of my arms around Harry's arm and lay my head on his shoulder.
I felt Harry place a quick kiss on the top of my head.
"No more than eight visitors at a time!" Madam Pomfrey said, hurrying out of her office.
"Hagrid makes eight." George pointed out.
"O. . . yes . . ." Madam Pomfrey said, who seemed to have been counting Hagrid as several people due to his vastness.
To cover her confusion, she hurried off to clear up his muddy foot prints with her wand.
"I don' believe this. Jus' don' believe it. . . look at him lyin' there. . . who'd want ter hurt him, eh?" Hagrid said hoarsely, shaking his great shaggy head as he stared down at Ron.
"That's just what we were discussing. We don't know." I said.
"Someone couldn' have a grudge against the Gryfinndor Quidditch team, could they? Firs' Katie, now Ron. . ." Hagrid said anxiously.
"I can't see anyone trying to bump off a Quidditch team." George said.
"Wood might've done the Slytherins if he could've got away with it." Fred said fairly.
I let out a short, humourless laugh.
"Well, I don't think it's Quidditch, but I think there's a connection between the attacks." Hermione said quietly.
"Definitely." I agreed instantly.
Hermione and I shared a grim look.
"How d'you work that out?" Fred asked.
"Well, for one thing, they both ought to have been fatal and weren't, although that was pure luck." Hermione said grimly.
"And for another, neither the poison nor the necklace seems to have reached the person who was supposed to be killed." I said broodingly.
"Of course, that makes the person behind this even more dangerous in a way, because they don't seem to care how many people they finish off before they actually reach their victim." Hermione finished in a dark voice.
Before anybody could respond to our ominous pronouncement, the dormitory doors opened again. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hurried up the ward. They had done no more than satisfy themselves that Ron would make a full recovery on their last visit to the ward. Now Mrs. Weasley seized hold of Harry and hugged him very tighty. I had to quickly move so I would be suffocated.
"Dumbledore's told us how you saved him with the bezoar. Oh, Harry, what can we say? You saved Ginny from being possessed . . . you saved Arthur. . . now you've saved Ron. . ." Mrs Weasley sobbed.
"Don't be . . . I didn't . . ." Harry muttered Harry.
"Nearly half our family does seem to owe you their lives, now I stop and think about it." Mr. Weasley said in a constricted voice.
"Well, all I can say is that it was a lucky day for the Weasleys when Ron decided to sit in your compartment on the Hogwarts Express, Harry." Mr Weasley said.
Harry could not seem to think of any reply to this and seemed glad when Madam Pomfrey reminded them that there were only supposed to be eight visitors around Ron's bed. Harry, Hermione, Michael and I rose at once to leave and Hagrid decided to go with us, leaving Ron with his family.
"It's terrible. All this new security, an' kids are still gettin' hurt. Dumbledore's worried sick . . . He don' say much, but I can tell . . ." Hagrid growled into his beard, as the three of them walked back along the corridor to the marble staircase.
"Hasn't he got any ideas, Hagrid?" Michael asked desperately.
"I spect he's got hundreds of ideas, brain like his." Hagrid said.
But he doesn' know who sent that necklace nor put poison in that wine, or they'd've bin caught, wouldn' they? Wha' worries me," Hagrid said, lowering his voice and glancing over his shoulder (Harry, for good measure, checked the ceiling for Peeves),
"is how long Hogwarts can stay open if kids are bein' attacked. Chamber o' Secrets all over again, isn' it? There'll be panic, more parents takin their kids outta school, an nex' thing yeh know the board o' governors . . ." Hagrid said and then stopped talking as the ghost of a long-haired woman drifted serenely past, then resumed in a hoarse whisper,
". . . the board o' governors'll be talkin about shuttin' us up fer good." Hagrid finished.
"Surely not?" Hermione said, looking worried.
"Gotta see it from their point o' view. I mean, it's always bin a bit of a risk sendin' a kid ter Hogwarts, hasn' it? Yer expect accidents, don' yeh, with hundreds of underage wizards all locked up tergether, but attempted murder, tha's diff'rent. 'S no wonder Dumbledore's angry with Sn -" Hagrid said heavily.
Hagrid stopped in his tracks, a familiar, guilty expression on what was visible of his face above his tangled black beard.
"What?" I said quickly.
"Dumbledore's angry with Snape?" Harry said quickly.
"I never said tha'. Look at the time, it's gettin' on fer midnight, I need ter -" Hagrid said, though his look of panic could not have been a bigger giveaway.
"Hagrid, why is Dumbledore angry with Snape?" Harry asked loudly.
"Shhhh!" Hagrid said, looking both nervous and angry.
"Don' shout stuff like that, Harry, d'yeh wan' me ter lose me job? Mind, I don' suppose yeh'd care, would yeh, not now yeh've given up Care of Mag -"
"Don't try and make us feel guilty, it won't work! I'm the queen of guilt tripping and manipulation! You're not going to distract us!" I said forcefully.
"She's not wrong." Michael said, shuddering at painful memories.
"What has she -? You know what I don't want to know." Hermione said.
"What's Snape done?" Harry insisted.
"I dunno, Harry, I shouldn'ta heard it at all . . . well, I was comin' outta the forest the other evenin' an' I overheard 'em talking - well, arguin'. Didn't like ter draw attention to meself, so I sorta skulked an tried not ter listen, but it was . . . well, a heated discussion an' it wasn' easy ter block it out." Hagrid said.
"Well?" Harry urged him, as Hagrid shuffled his enormous feet uneasily.
"Well . . . I jus' heard Snape sayin' Dumbledore took too much fer granted an maybe he - Snape - didn' wan' ter do it any more -" Hagrid said
"Do what?" I pressed.
"I dunno, Ro, it sounded like Snape was feelin' a bit overworked, tha's all. Anyway, Dumbledore told him flat out he'd agreed ter do it an' that was all there was to it. Pretty firm with him. An' then he said summat abou' Snape makin' investigations in his House, in Slytherin." Hagrid said
"Well, there's nothin' strange abou' that! All the Heads o' Houses were asked ter look inter that necklace business -" Hagrid added hastily, as Harry, Hermione and I exchanged looks full of meaning.
"Yeah, but Dumbledore's not having rows with the rest of them, is he?" Harry said.
"Look, I know what yeh're like abou' Snape, Harry, an' I don' want yeh ter go readin' more inter this than there is." Hagrid said and twisted his crossbow uncomfortably in his hands.
There was a loud splintering sound and it snapped in two.
"Look out." Michael said tersely.
We turned just in time to see the shadow of Argus Filch looming over the wall behind us before the man himself turned the corner, hunchbacked, his jowls aquiver.
"Oho! Out of bed so late, this'll mean detention!" Filch wheezed.
"No it won', Filch. They're with me, aren' they?" Hagrid said shortly.
"And what difference does that make?" Filch asked obnoxiously.
"I'm a ruddy teacher, aren' I, yeh sneakin' Squib!" Hagrid said, firing up at once.
There was a nasty hissing noise as Filch swelled with fury. Mrs. Norris had arrived, unseen, and was twisting herself sinuously around Filch's skinny ankles.
"Get goin'." Hagrid said out of the corner of his mouth.
We did not need telling twice. Michael, Harry, Hermione and I all hurried off. Hagrid's and Filch's raised voices echoed behind them as they ran. We passed Peeves near the turning into Gryffindor Tower, but he was streaking happily toward the source of the yelling, cackling and calling,
"When there's strife and when there's trouble! Call on Peevsie, he'll make double!"
"Hagrid's right." Michael said turning to look at me and Harry.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
"About what?" I asked.
"Don't go reading too much into the argument between Snape and Dumbledore. It could be about anything so don't go jumping to conclusions." Michael said sternly, reminding me of Lucas.
"We have a reputation as investigators to uphold." I joked.
Michael didn't seem to find it funny. He narrowed his eyes at me.
"I'm serious, Rosabella. First Katie, now Ron. The last thing I want to see is you in a hospital bed barely clinging to life because that's what Katie was like. She's lucky to be alive. Do you really think Jay could handle seeing you in that position not long after Katie came out of it? None of us would be able to handle it. I don't want to lose a sibling, Ro. So for the love of Merlin will you just leave it alone." Michael said and turned back to wake up the snoozing Fat Lady.
My mouth was hanging open slightly. Harry and Hermione were looking at me.
The Fat Lady was not pleased to be woken up, but swung forward grumpily to allow us to clamber into the mercifully peaceful and empty common room. Michael went straight up to his dorm.
It did not seem that people knew about Ron yet. Harry and I were both very relieved. We had been interrogated enough today day. Hermione bade us good night and set off for the girls' dormitory. Harry and I, however, remained behind, taking a seat beside the fire. Harry was looking down into the dying embers.
I watched him as it seemed a thousand thoughts were going through his head. I grabbed Harry's hand after we had sat in silence for awhile. I was about to sat his name but someone beat me to it.
"There you are, Potter!" An obnoxious familiar voice said.
Harry jumped to his feet in shock, his wand at the ready. I glared at the hulking figure that was rising suddenly out of a distant chair.
A closer look showed that it was Cormac McLaggen.
Harry then offered a hand out to me. I took it and he helped me up.
"I've been waiting for you to come back. Must've fallen asleep. Look, I saw them taking Weasley up to the hospital wing earlier. Didn't look like he'll be fit for next week's match." McLaggen said, disregarding Harry's drawn wand.
I clenched my fists, not liking where this going. He could at least act like he was concerned and nit glad that he gets to play now. It took Harry a few moments to realize what McLaggen was talking about.
"Oh . . . right . . . Quidditch. Yeah. . . he might not make it." Harry said, putting his wand back into the belt of his jeans and running a hand wearily through his hair.
"Well, then, I'll be playing Keeper, won't I?" McLaggen said, smug.
"Yeah. I suppose so . . ." Harry said reluctantly and I bit back a groan.
He could not think of an argument against it; after all, McLaggen had certainly performed second-best in the trials.
"Excellent. So when's practice?" McLaggen said in a satisfied voice.
"What? Oh . . . there's one tomorrow evening." Harry said.
I continued to glare at McLaggen.
"Good. Listen, Potter, we should have a talk beforehand. I've got some ideas on strategy you might find useful." McLaggen said and all I could think about was how I wanted to punch him in his obnoxious face.
"Right. Well, I'll hear them tomorrow, then. I'm pretty tired now . . . see you . . ." Harry said unenthusiastically.
I kissed Harry's cheek and then went up to my own dormitory, Winter walking next to me.
I got ready for bed and hugged Winter as I fell asleep.
The news that Ron 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 he had been in the Potions master's room at the time, and that as he 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. I would happily abliage as would Ginny.
Harry, however, had never been less interested in Quidditch. It was unnerving how rapidly obsessed he was becoming with Draco Malfoy. Still checking the Marauder's Map whenever he got a chance. He sometimes made detours to wherever Malfoy happened to be, but had not yet detected him doing anything out of the ordinary. And still there were those inexplicable times when Malfoy simply vanished from the map. . .
But Harry did not get a lot of time to consider the problem. What with Quidditch practice, homework, and the fact that he was now being dogged wherever he went by Cormac McLaggen and Lavender Brown.
We could not decide which of them was more annoying. McLaggen kept up a constant stream of hints that he would make a better permanent Keeper for the team than Ron, 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 Ron, which Harry and I found almost more wearing than McLaggen's Quidditch lectures. At first, Lavender had been very annoyed that nobody had thought to tell her that Ron was in the hospital wing.
"I mean, I am his girlfriend!" Lavender has exclaimed.
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 Ron's feelings, a most uncomfortable experience that Harry would have happily forgone. As I was always with Harry, I was forced to endure them too and to be honest I was hopeful for Ron and Lavender's relationship to end because my loyalty was to Hermione who seemed a better fit for Ron then Lavender. Ron and Lavender's relationship seems to be based on just physical attraction and they didn't have much in common.
"Look, why don't you talk to Ron about all this?" Harry asked, after a particularly long interrogation from Lavender that took in everything from precisely what Ron had said about her new dress robes to whether or not Harry thought that Ron considered his relationship with Lavender to be "serious."
"Well, I would, but he's always asleep when I go and see him!" Lavender said fretfully.
"Is he?" I said, surprised, for Harry and I had found Ron perfectly alert every time we had been up to the hospital wing.
All three of us were highly interested in the news of Dumbledore and Snape's row and keen to abuse McLaggen as much as possible.
"Is Hermione Granger still visiting him?" Lavender demanded suddenly.
I glared defensively at Lavender.
"Yeah, I think so. Well, they're friends, aren't they?" Harry said uncomfortably.
"Friends, don't make me laugh," said Lavender scornfully. "She didn't talk to him for weeks after he started going out with me! But I suppose she wants to make up with him now he's all interesting. . ." Lavender said scornfully.
"Some friendships aren't easy to break. Nearly dieing has a way of putting grudges and arguments aside. Take it from the people with plenty of near death experiences." I said with an annoyed look at Lavender.
"Would you call getting poisoned being interesting?" Harry asked.
"Anyway - sorry, got to go - there's McLaggen coming for a talk about Quidditch." Harry said hurriedly, grabbing my hand and we dashed sideways through a door pretending to be solid wall.
We sprinted down the shortcut that would take us off to Potions where, thankfully, neither Lavender nor McLaggen could follow us.
On the morning of the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, Harry and I dropped in on the hospital wing before heading down to the pitch. Ron was very agitated. Madam Pomfrey would not let him go down to watch the match, feeling it would overexcite him.
"So how's McLaggen shaping up?" Ron asked Harry nervously, apparently forgetting that he had already asked the same question twice.
"I've told you, 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." Harry said patiently.
"And speaking of getting shot of people, will you stop pretending to be asleep when Lavender comes to see you? She's driving us mad as well." I added as Harry and I got to our feet and picked up out firebolts.
"Oh, yeah. All right." Ron said, looking sheepish.
"If you don't want to go out with her anymore, just tell her." Harry said.
"Yeah . . . well . . . it's not that easy, is it?" Ron said.
"Yes, actually. If you're not into this relationship then tell her so neither of you waste anymore of your time. It's not fair to her if you string her along. She'd prefer you to be honest and you should respect her enough to do so." I said sternly.
Ron looked thoughtfully.
"You're probably right, Ro." Ron said, quietly.
"When is she not?" Harry said.
"I'll remind you of that if we ever have an argument." I said, smirking.
"The power couple of Hogwarts? An argument? Certainly not." Ron said, sniggering.
I hit Ron with a pillow and the three of us laughed.
Ron paused.
"Hermione going to look in before the match?" Ron added casually.
"No, she's already gone down to the pitch with Ginny." I said.
"Oh. Right. Well, good luck. Hope you hammer McLag - I mean Smith." Ron said, looking rather glum.
"We'll try." I said, shouldering my broom.
"See you after the match." Harty said as he shouldered his own broom.
We hurried down through the deserted corridors. The whole school was outside, either already seated in the stadium or heading down toward it. Harry was looking out of the windows he passed, trying to gauge how much wind we were facing, when a noise ahead made us glance up. We saw Malfoy walking toward us, accompanied by two girls, both of whom looked sulky and resentful. Understandable.
Malfoy stopped short at the sight of Harry and I. I didn't miss the quick glare he gave to Harry's and mine's entwined hands. Malfoy then gave a short, humorless laugh and continued walking.
"Where're you going?" Harry demanded.
"Yeah, I'm really going to tell you because it's your business, Potter. You'd better hurry up, they'll be waiting for the Chosen Captain - the Boy Who Scored - whatever they call you these days." Malfoy sneered.
One of the girls gave an unwilling giggle. Harry stared at her. She blushed. Malfoy pushed past Harry and I and she and her friend followed at a trot, turning the corner and vanishing from view.
Harry stood rooted on the spot and watched them disappear. Harry looked torn and obviously wanted to skip the Quidditch match.
"Absolutely not. You're the bloody captain. Now let's go or so help me I will push you down the lawns and watch you roll to the Quidditch Pitch." I threatened.
That got Harry moving.
"Where have you two been?"Ginny demanded, as Harry and I sprinted into the changing rooms.
The whole team was changed and ready. Coote and Peakes, the Beaters, were both hitting their clubs nervously against their legs.
"We met Malfoy," Harry told her quietly, as he pulled his scarlet robes over his head.
I quickly went to get changed.
"So?" I heard Ginny demand.
"So I wanted to know how come he's up at the castle with a couple of girlfriends while everyone else is down here. . ." I heard Harry say.
"Does it matter right now?" Ginny said as I came back over to them with my firebolt.
I left Winter with Ron in the Hospital Wing
"Well, I'm not likely to find out, am I?" Harry said, seizing his Firebolt and pushing his glasses straight.
"Come on then!" Harry called to the rest of the team.
Ginny gave me an exasperated look and I nodded.
Without another word, we marched out onto the pitch to deafening cheers and boos.
There was little wind. The clouds were patchy. Every now and then there were dazzling flashes of bright sunlight.
"Tricky conditions!" McLaggen said bracingly to the team.
Ginny and I shared an annoyed look. I did a rude impressions of McLaggen when he turned his back causing Ginny to fight a fit of giggles. Dean was also fighting laughter.
"Coote, Peakes, you'll want to fly out of the sun, so they don't see you coming -"
"I'm the Captain, McLaggen, shut up giving them instructions." said Harry angrily. "Just get up by the goal posts!" Harry said angrily.
"If Ron's not better by our next match I'm going to convince Michael to play Keeper. I don't care what I have to do." I whispered to Ginny.
"Oh please do! I can't stand much more of him! He criticises me one more time, I'm sending him to the hospital wing!" Ginny whispered back to me and we both glared at McLaggen.
"I wish Harry didn't stop me punching him during practise. Just one good punch." I whispered.
Ginny snorted in an attempt to not laugh out loud.
"I would of loved to of seen that. Or when he caught you sneaking up to McLaggen with a Beaters bat. I really wished he hadn't stopped you." Ginny said and we were both consumed into a silent fit of giggles.
Once McLaggen had marched off, Harry turned to Coote and Peakes.
"Make sure you do fly out of the sun." Harry told them grudgingly.
Harry shook hands with the Hufflepuff Captain and then, on Madam Hooch's whistle, we kicked off and rose into the air.
As usual Harry rose higher than the rest of us, streaking around the pitch in search of the Snitch. Zacharias Smith was the first to grab the Quaffle and I wasn't going to have that.
"And that's Smith of Hufflepuff with the Quaffle. He did the commentary last time, of course. Ginny Weasley and Rosabella Black 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, Rosabella took it from him, I do like her, she's very nice. . ." Said a familiar dreamy voice, echoing over the grounds.
I flew off with the Quaffle after I had snatched from Smith's hands. I quickly glanced at the Commentators box and saw Luna Lovegood. Who in their right mind would have let Luna Lovegood commentate? I laughed. This will be entertaining.
Professor McGonagall was looking slightly uncomfortable, as though she was indeed having second thoughts about this appointment.
". . . 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 -" Luna commentated.
"It's Cadwallader!" Professor McGonagall said loudly from beside Luna.
The crowd laughed.
I cursed as the Hufflepuffs player took the Quaffle from me.
Moments later, Cadwallader scored. McLaggen had been shouting criticism at me for allowing the Quaffle out of my possession, with the result that he had not noticed the large red ball soaring past his right ear.
"Instead of critising me you pampered, stuck up, obnoxious twat. GO GAURD THE BLOODY GOALS! FOCUS ON YOU'RE OWN JOB!" I yelled furiously at him.
"McLaggen, will you pay attention to what you're supposed to be doing and leave everyone else alone!" Harry bellowed, wheeling around to face his Keeper.
"You're not setting a great example!" McLaggen shouted back, red - faced and furious.
"And Harry Potter's now having an argument with his Keeper. I don't think that'll help him find the Snitch, but maybe it's a clever ruse. . ." Luna said serenely, while both Hufflepuffs and Slytherins below in the crowd cheered and jeered.
Swearing angrily, Harry spun round and set off around the pitch again, scanning the skies for some sign of the tiny, winged golden ball. I glared at McLaggen and smacked him on the head before I zoomed off to get the Quaffle.
"Watch it, Black!" McLaggen shouted after me.
Ginny and I scored a goal apiece, giving the red - and - gold - clad supporters below something to cheer about. Then Cadwallader scored again, making things level, but Luna did not seem to have noticed. She appeared singularly uninterested in such mundane things as the score, and kept attempting to draw the crowd's attention to such things as interestingly shaped clouds and the possibility that Zacharias Smith, who had so far failed to maintain possession of the Quaffle for longer than a minute, was suffering from something called "Loser's Lurgy."
"Seventy-forty to Hufflepuff!" Professor McGonagall barked into Luna's megaphone.
"Is it, already? Oh, look! The Gryffindor Keeper's got hold of one of the Beater's bats." Luna said vaguely.
Ginny and I shared a wide eyed look at each other before we whipped round to see she was right.
I saw Harry spin around in midair. McLaggen, for reasons best known to himself, had pulled Peakes's bat from him and appeared to be demonstrating how to hit a Bludger toward an oncoming Cadwallader.
"Will you give him back his bat and get back to the goalposts!" Harry roared, pelting toward McLaggen just as McLaggen took a ferocious swipe at the Bludger and mishit it.
"Harry!" I screamed as the bludger made contact with Harry's head.
I raced down as Harry started to fall of his broom. I managed to grap him but it was hard to fly with an unconscious Harry. I managed to get us to the ground with no serious harm down. I turned Harry over. There was blood everywhere. I tried not to panic. Head wounds always look worse then they are. I didn't dare use Episkey on a head injury. Ginny had called a time out and retrieved Harry's broom. Harry was quickly taken up taken up to the Hospital Wing.
"MCLAGGEN!" I screamed and Ginny held me back.
"We can kill him later. We still have a game to play." Ginny said, glaring daggers at McLaggen.
We got back in the air. Ginny and I scored two more goals. Not that it mattered. McLaggen hadn't learned his lesson and kept leaving the goal posts to criticise the other plays. This made the finale score three hundred and twenty to sixty. I was relieved when the Hufflepuff Seeker caught the Snitch. I wanted to kill McLaggen. McLaggen started to descend to the ground, glaring angrily at us as if it was put fault. When McLaggen wasn't too far from the ground, far enough it would be painful but close enough it wouldn't be fatal, I kicked him off his broom with all the strength I could muster. The Gryffindors were all cheering me on and they yelled curses at McLaggen. I landed as McLaggen groaned and got back onto his feet. I glared furiously at me and was about to start yelling at me. But when I gave him the death glare I usually reserved for Snape he paled and stuttered. I pulled my arm back and McLaggen instinctively went to shield his face, exactly what I wanted him to do because it left his lower half unguarded. I grabbed McLaggen shoulders and kneed him, hard, in the balls. He howled in pain and dropped to the floor as the Gryffindors cheered loudly. I then started to punch McLaggen furiously that he had a split lip and a black eye was already forming. I didn't notice Michael had come marching over to me intill he had thrown me over his shoulder. The Gryffindors groaned as Michael started to carry me off the pitch. I thought to get back to McLaggen. McLaggen looked frantically around, clutching his face.
"I'M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU MCLAGGEN!" I yelled furiously and the Gryfinndors cheered at the promise he would suffer for causing this terrible defeat.
Michael took me to the changing rooms and waited for me outside so I wouldn't attack him again. I quickly got changed.
"Why did you stop me?" I demanded when I exited the changing rooms.
"I let you get a few good punches in didn't I?" Michael said, smirking.
"I'm going to check on Harry and then I'll deal with McLaggen." I said and I marched up to the Hospital Wing.
Harry was still unconscious by the time I arrived. His head wasn't bleeding anymore and he had been cleaned up of any blood.
"Is he going to be okay?" I asked Madam Pomfrey frantically.
"He'll be fine. Just a cracked school. Easy to mend. I daresay he's had worse." Madam Pomfrey assured me.
"How dead is McLaggen going to be?" Ron asked me eagerly.
"Pretty dead. I suck at gardening." I said and stormed out of the hospital wing.
"What do you mean?" Ron yelled after me.
I've always read ahead in Transfiguration. That's why I'm so good.
I hunted down McLaggen and luckily we were in a deserted corridor. McLaggen was about to run for it. I used my wand and I transfigured him into a single red rose. I picked it up and then went back to the hospital wing. When I got back Harry was awake.
"I could hear the match commentary from here. I hope Luna always commentates from now on . . . Loser's Lurgy . . ." Ron said, his voice shaking with laughter as I walked in.
I ran to Harry and pulled him into a hug.
Madam Pomfrey saw me and came out of her office.
"Miss Black it is past visiting hours – oh nevermind. You'll just sneak back in anyway." Madam Pomfrey said before she left again.
Harry moved over so I could curl up beside him on the bed. I placed the rose on the bed side table.
"What did you do to McLaggen? I know you beat him up before Michael dragged him away but what did you do to him after you left?" Ron asked eagerly.
I grinned.
"Let's just say he's a bit . . . prickly . . . at the moment." I said cryptically.
Ron looked confused.
"I'm promise you it's awesome revenge." I assured him.
Ron grinned.
"Ginny came in not long after you left Ro. She reckons you only just arrived on time for the match. How come? You left here early enough."
"Oh . . . 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?" Harry said and then sighed.
"Wish I'd followed him now, the match was such a fiasco. . ." Harry said as he absent mindedly played with my hair.
Don't be stupid. You couldn't have missed a Quidditch match just to follow Malfoy, you're the Captain!" Ron said sharply before I could shout it myself.
"I want to know what he's up to. And don't tell me its all in my head, not after what I overheard between him and Snape -" Harry said.
"I never said it was all in your head, but there's no rule saying only one person at a time can be plotting anything in this place!" Ron said, hoisting himself up on an elbow in turn and frowning at Harry.
"You're getting a bit obsessed with Malfoy, Harry. I mean, thinking about missing a match just to follow him . . ." I said softly.
"I want to catch him at it! I mean, where's he going when he disappears off the map?" Harry said, frustrated.
"I dunno . . . Hogsmeade?" Ron suggested, yawning.
"I've never seen him going along any of the secret passageways on the map. I thought they were being watched now anyway?" Harry said.
"Well then, I dunno." Ron said.
Silence fell between us.
Harry stared up at the circle of lamp light above him, evidently thinking . . .
I lay my head on his chest as Harry absent mindedly ran his fingers through my hair. We lay like that for awhile.
There was a low, rumbling snore from Ron's bed. After a while Madam Pomfrey came out of her office, this time wearing a thick dressing gown. It was easiest for both me and Harry to feign sleep. I listened to all the curtains closing themselves as she waved her wand. The lamps dimmed, and she returned to her office. I heard the door click behind her and knew that she was off to bed.
Harry suddenly sat bolt upright, nearly knocking me off the bed. I stared at Harry and I could basically see the light bulb at the top of his head. Evidently he had an idea.
"Kreacher?" Harry spoke quietly in the darkness.
"Kreacher?" I questioned, staring at Harry.
There was a very loud crack, and the sounds of scuffling and squeaks filled the silent room. I jumped and Ron awoke with a yelp.
"What's going -?" Ron started to say.
I pointed my wand hastily at the door of Madam Pomfrey's office.
"Muffliato!" I thought as I casted the spell.
Then Harry and I scrambled to the end of his bed for a better look at what was going on.
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!" Peeves told Harry indignantly, pointing at the fight below, before letting out a loud cackle.
"Look at the ickle creatures squabbling, bitey bitey, punchy punchy -" Peeves mocked.
"Kreacher will not insult Harry Potter in front of Dobby, no he won't, or Dobby will shut Kreacher's mouth for him!" Dobby cried in a high - pitched voice.
"- kicky, scratchy! Tweaky, pokey!" Peeves cried happily, now pelting bits of chalk at the elves to enrage them further.
"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 -?" Kreacher said.
Exactly what Kreacher's mistress would have said we 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.
"Oh my god! I didn't think he had it in him!" I gasped, torn between shock and pride.
Harry and Ron both leapt out of their 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.
"Langlock!" Harry said.
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. That was another Prince hex, wasn't it?" Ron said appreciatively, lifting Dobby into the air so that his flailing limbs no longer made contact with Kreacher.
"Yeah. I used it on Michael a couple months back to see what it did." I said as Harry was 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 -" Harry said.
"Dobby is a free house - elf and he can obey anyone he likes and Dobby will do whatever Harry Potter wants him to do!" Dobby said, tears now streaming down his shriveled little face onto his jumper.
"Okay then." Harry said and he and Ron both released the elves, who fell to the floor but did not continue fighting.
"Young Misstress. Kreacher has missed you." Kreacher said flinging himself at my feet.
"Please stand up." I said.
"Master called me?" Kreacher croaked, sinking into a bow even as he gave Harry a look that plainly wished him a painful death.
"Yeah, I did. I've got a job for you." Harry said, glancing toward Madam Pomfrey's office door to check that the Muffliato spell I casted was still working.
There was no sign that she had heard any of the commotion.
"Kreacher will do whatever Master wants because Kreacher has no choice, but Kreacher is ashamed to have such a master, yes -" Kreacher said, sinking so low that his lips almost touched his gnarled toes.
"Dobby will do it, Harry Potter! Dobby would be honored to help Harry Potter!" Dobby squeaked, his tennis - ball - sized eyes still swimming in tears.
"Come to think of it, it would be good to have both of you. Okay then . . . I want you to tail Draco Malfoy." Harry said.
I gave Harry a look of surprise. Ron gave him a look of mingled surprise and exasperation.
"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." Harry said.
"Yes, Harry Potter! And if Dobby does it wrong, Dobby will throw himself off the topmost tower, Harry Potter!" Dobby at once, his great eyes shining with excitement.
"Please don't do that!" I said frantically.
"There won't be any need for that." Harry said hastily.
"Master wants me to follow the youngest of the Malfoys? Master wants me to spy upon the pure - blood great - nephew of my old mistress?" Kreacher croaked.
"That's the one and you're forbidden to tip him off, Kreacher." Harry said, foreseeing a great danger and determining to prevent it immediately.
I caught on and helped him make sure there was no loop holes.
"Or to show him what you're up to, or to talk to him at all, or to write him messages or to contact him in any way. Got it?" I said.
I could see Kreacher struggling to see a loophole in the instructions he had just been given and we waited.
After a moment or two and to our great satisfaction, Kreacher bowed deeply again.
"Master thinks of everything, and Kreacher must obey him even though Kreacher would much rather be the servant of the Malfoy boy, oh yes. . ." Kreacher said with bitter resentment.
"That's settled, then. I'll want regular reports, but make sure I'm not surrounded by people when you turn up. Ron, Hermione and Ro are okay. And don't tell anyone what you're doing. Just stick to Malfoy like a couple of wart plasters." Harry said.
What's a wart plaster? I thought to myself.