The next morning, when the four met up for breakfast in the Great Hall, it seemed like no one got a wink of sleep. Oliver took notice of this when he saw his friends practically dragging themselves to their seats. He, too, could also feel his feet sliding along the floor as he walked this morning.
During breakfast, everyone was quiet. It was strange, but given the circumstances, it made sense as to why no one wanted to speak. Emotions were still running high from the night before, the suspense of what Jacob and Ron's condition would be this morning was all they could think about.
"Both of them are fine," Violet spoke up in a reassuring tone. "If they were both stable last night, then surely they're okay this morning."
Let's hope that's the case, Oliver thought. He had hope, but still, anything could happen overnight.
The rest of breakfast went by quickly, then the group of friends headed out of the Great Hall and hurried to the Hospital Wing. Harry and Hermione were already there, along with Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Professor Snape, and Professor Slughorn.
"Are they okay?" Andrew asked. "Jacob, is he--"
"He's fine," Professor Sprout told him. "He's sleeping right now."
They looked over to see a sleeping Jacob, his breathing even, looking peaceful. A wave of relief went over Oliver and his friends, happy to know that Jacob would be okay.
Violet pulled up a chair and stared at her boyfriend, gently placing her hand on top of his. "Thank Merlin you'll be okay," she muttered.
"Quick thinking on your part, Harry, using a bezoar," Dumbledore praised him, then turning to the Potions teacher. "You must be very proud of your student, Horace."
"Oh, yes, very proud," he replied, nodding his head.
"Wait, you saved them?" Eliza asked Harry.
He nodded sheepishly in response. "Yeah, I did."
Andrew's expression turned into a surprised one. "Bloody hell," he added in a mumble.
"I think we agree that Potter's actions were heroic," McGonagall commented. "The question is, why were they necessary?"
"Why, indeed?" He paused, observing the bottle. "This bottle appears to be a gift, Horace. You don't remember who gave it to you? Which, by the way, possesses remarkably subtle hints of licorice and cherry. But when not polluted with poison."
"I had intended to give it as a gift myself," Slughorn confessed.
"To whom, might I ask?"
He paused for a moment, looking up at Dumbledore. "To you, Headmaster."
While everyone was processing this information, all of a sudden, among the quiet, the sound of Lavender's voice broke it. "Where is he?! Where's my Won-Won?! Has he been asking for me?!" She looked at Hermione. "What's she doing here?"
Hermione looked offended. "I might ask you the same question!" she snapped, shooting up from her chair.
"I happen to be his girlfriend!"
"I happen to be his...his friend."
Lavender scoffed. "Don't make me laugh! You two haven't spoken in weeks! I suppose you want to make up with him now that he's all interesting!"
"He's been poisoned, you daft dimbo! And for the record, I've always found him interesting!"
Ron started to stir in his sleep, causing everyone to focus their eyes on him.
"Ha! See? He senses my presence!" Lavender said. "Don't worry, Won-Won! I'm here...I'm here..."
Ron began to mumble something. It sounded like someone's name. "Uh...Hermione...Hermione...Hermione..."
Lavender gasped in shock and ran out of the hospital wing, sobbing.
"Oh, to be young, and to feel love's keen sting," Dumbledore said.
Hermione went to sit back down next to Ron's bed, clasping her hands in his. Harry shot her a grin, to which she reacted the same way. "Shut up," she told him.
Oliver could see it now, what Hermione was feeling towards Ron. By the way she held her gaze at him, the way she had a soft touch to his hands, he understood why she picked him, and Oliver was okay with that. So he gave her a small smile.
"Maybe we should leave the lovebirds alone, yeah?" Andrew suggested, talking about not only Ron and Hermione, but Jacob and Violet as well.
Oliver looked at the next bed over and watched as Violet helped Madam Pomfrey with getting Jacob's blankets more comfortable for him. The trio merely watched the two of them, with the Ravenclaw girl sighing in content.
"If you would stop staring, that'd be lovely," she said, not looking up, though a grin came across her face.
So Oliver motioned Andrew and Eliza to go ahead and leave them be, which they obliged. However, they stopped in front of the entrance to the Hospital Wing, finally being able to breathe once more.
"They're both okay, so that's good," Oliver stated.
"That's all that matters, really," Eliza added. "I hope they find out who poisoned the mead, though."
"Yeah, they will," Andrew said. He huffed a sigh. "Jake and Vi really care for each other, don't they?"
Oliver nodded his head. "Yeah, they do, mate."
Andrew groaned. "I guess I should apologize to them for how I reacted when they told us. I've been a terrible friend for waiting this long to do so."
"You had other things going on," Eliza pointed out. "Wait until Jacob gets better. Then you can talk to them."
The Gryffindor boy rubbed the back of his neck and agreed. "You're right. I'll do that."
Before the trio could head off, Harry came out of the Hospital Wing, looking relieved yet stressed all at once. When he saw the three staring at him, he nodded. "Hey, guys."
"Hey," Eliza said. "Thank you for saving Jacob, by the way. We really appreciate it, especially with how much time you had to do something about it."
Harry tried to relax, but finally responded with, "You're welcome." He then turned towards Oliver. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Oliver looked surprised, along with his two friends, but he finally turned towards his friends. "I'll meet you two at the library later." When they nodded in assurance and headed off, Oliver focused his attention on Harry. "What's up?"
"It's about the American," he said truthfully.
"Mary," Oliver informed him. "That's her name."
He nodded. "Right. Well, I saw you two talking at Slughorn's Christmas party. You seem to be well-acquainted with her, yeah?"
Oliver shrugged in response. "Kind of. I mean, we've spoken a few times here and there, but that's it, really. Why?" He had a feeling that he knew where Harry was going with this conversation.
But Harry just shook his head in response. "I was just...I was just curious, that's all."
Curious to know if she's told me anything about what her and Malfoy are up to? Oliver wanted to say, but he bit his tongue, not one to cause any trouble, especially with the Chosen One. "Oh, okay."
So the boy with glasses, looking disappointed with Oliver's answer, nodded his head. "Well, I'll see you around, then." With that, Harry gave him an awkward wave and strolled off down the corridor.
While he was a bit confused by their encounter, Oliver had a feeling that now Harry was onto something about Draco and Mary, something that Jacob also knew about. That was when an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach.
Oh, Merlin...
*******
The taste of syrup stayed on Mary's lips as she kissed Blaise, her back pressed against the wall in the middle of the corridor. He was gentle, yet firm with his lips, taking his hands and placing them on the stone walls. Mary liked this, being able to finally be with someone.
Although, as much as she hated to admit it, she wondered if Blaise was now a distraction from what her and Draco did the night before.
Poisoning Ron Weasley and William Scamander. How the hell did that happen?
The news of them being hospitalized came to Draco and Mary's attention immediately by Professor Snape. Once again, due to them being so careless, the mead did not make it to Dumbledore, resulting in two more students getting hurt in the process. It was reckless of them to make the same mistake twice, Mary admitted.
So now, kissing her new boyfriend really helped with blocking out everything else going on. Could anyone blame her?
"You know..." Blaise began, after a long session of snogging. "I think now that we're official, I should take you on a proper date."
Mary raised her eyebrows, grinning. "A date sounds nice. Where were you thinking, exactly?"
"Hm, possibly Hogsmeade? We can take a walk around the village, go to the Three Broomsticks and grab a drink."
"That is a good idea, Blaise," Mary replied. "I wonder when we can arrange that."
"The next trip," Blaise said firmly. "We'll go then."
Mary smiled. "Okay. Yeah, the next trip."
So Blaise took her hand in his and led her down the hall, where Mary let him do so. While she was smiling on the outside, she wondered if it was enough to convince Blaise that she was content at the moment.
"Something's wrong." Well, she thought she was off the hook. Blaise stopped walking, facing Mary. "What is it?"
Mary sighed, swinging their intertwined hands back and forth. "Nothing important. I've just got a lot on my mind, with exams coming up soon and such."
He nodded. "Yeah, well, let's not worry about that right now." Blaise pulled Mary closer towards her. "We've got our date to deal with."
The girl forced a small laugh. "Yeah, you're right." Little did Blaise know that Mary had more to deal with than he could ever imagine.
A/N: Here's another chapter! We're so close to the end of part one! What are you most excited for?
Song above is Another Story by Nicholas Hooper.
Comment, vote, more to come soon!
-A