CHAPTER V PART 2
CHAPTER V
PART 2
"Hey, Gin."
Percy plopped himself down beside his sister. They are currently in the common room, a few hours before the curfew.
"Hey. Long day?" She said, leaning into him.
"Absolutely. Feel free to a hire a lawyer in any case I murder Oliver Wood." A throbbing pain immediately enveloped his head with just the mention of his roommate's name. "I feel like I would launch a bloody bludger on his head anytime now."
Ginny giggled at his misery.
"I think I could defend you just fine. What's the reason for the could-be homicide?"
"Annoyance due to incessant yapping of the victim about quidditch, even at 4 bloody o'clock in the morning."
The little girl now bursts in laughter. It's a relief to see her slowly come back to her own person. The possession last year took a very hard blow on her. It's still haunting her, but she's healing. Percy's heart ached for his youngest siblings. Here they are, suffering from most things children should never face, and he couldn't do anything about it. Some brother he is.
"Oh, Merlin. That was funny."
"Oh yes? Super kind of you to laugh at my suffering."
And she's rolling while laughing again. Other students started looking at the two of them.
"I -hoo- could really imagine Wood doing that." She inhaled large amounts of air.
"Who's doing what?"
"That kind of laughter is music to my ears, Gin."
A pair of twins emerged from the entrance door.
He told them again what he said to Ginny, and a few moments later, he had three gingers rolling on the floor in laughter.
"Wait, really?"
"He recites quidditch drills in the shower?"
The twins are having a field day tomorrow. Wood will probably end up dead.
"He bloody sings, too." Oh well, the git deserves it. Serves him right, for having a damn concerto in the shower. Every. Single. Morning.
It took a very long time for them to calm down after that. When a comfortable silence settled in, he spoke.
"We have something to talk about. And you three will have to listen." He tried to make his voice stern, but a quiver must have escaped. Fred and George are taking him seriously. They never take him seriously when he's speaking with authority.
"What something?" Ginny said, also feeling the stiff atmosphere that suddenly enveloped them.
"Don't we have to call Ron?"
"No, because what we're talking about is Ron."
They all sat straight. They have a really bad feeling about this.
"What about him?" Fred asked, worry masked over a haughty voice.
"Did something happen to Ron? And Harry and Hermione?" George said, more gently than his twin.
"No, nothing happened. Not yet, anyways." He took a deep breath. These are the times he hates being the eldest brother in the castle. He has to be strong, stronger for the sake of the younger ones. "I suppose you have noticed his health for the past few months?"
George furrowed his eyebrows. "Not really. He's always with the other two so I didn't notice anything."
"He said his head was hurting before. When the dementors attacked the Express." Ginny said, tilting her head sidewards.
"That was months ago, Gin." Fred told her. "And besides, that must be because of the dementors. Nasty buggers don't really make you see rainbows and sunshine."
"He said his head was hurting last night." He took off his glasses as he rubbed his eyes.
"Still?"
"Until now?"
"Yes. And he was pale. And trembling." Percy let out a deep breath.
"Was he having a fever?" Ginny asked, concern etched in her face.
"No, but it's only a matter of time before he does. I'm afraid the fevers will come back. The symptoms certainly are. So," He took a look at his siblings. "can I ask you to take a look at him from time to time?"
He was only answered by a heavy silence.
"Hey."
"I- I just don't understand. I thought it was gone for good. Merlin, it's already what, 3 or 4 years? Ronnie hasn't had any illness since then." Fred voiced out his thoughts. The very thought of what happened four years ago still brought up a shiver in their spine. There is also a palpable fear, fear of losing someone so dear to them. "Except when he's gone all bruised up with his adventures with the two. The little imp's practicality black and blue last year, and last last year!"
'Ah.' Percy thought. 'They didn't know.'
He bit his lip. He doesn't really know how to proceed. Does he say something? Does he tell them the truth? A sigh escaped from his lips. He'll keep it to himself, for now. He already penned Bill. Hopefully, his eldest brother finds something helpful to Ronnie's case.
"Just do as I say for now, alright? We'll get through this, like always."
The twins looked at him suspiciously. They no doubt found something strange when he hastily changed the subject. It can't be helped. He'll just let Mum and Dad tell the young ones. He didn't have the heart to tell them that the cure for the curse is yet to be found.
"We'll have to tell Ron's friends, too. They're the one's he's with the most." Percy's gaze darkened at the misadventures the trio had faced with the past few years. "We can't let them drag him off to who knows where. That will just worsen his condition."
"Percy." Ginny gave him a contemplating look. "You know they don't want all those troubles. It's the troubles that find them. Especially Harry!"
"I know that! But you can't deny that those mere troubles put them in death's door every single year. First the troll, then the basilisk-" Ginny flinched. "-and now Sirius Black!"
"Just, listen to me please. We can't lose Ron."
He begs his siblings. He took their silence as a yes.
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Harry's pretty sure he's dying. He swears Merlin, Wood will likely kill him faster than any dark lord could-
"Come on, guys! This is our last chance to have the Quidditch Cup! Show me some energy."
-if the captain survives the murdeous gaze that Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet and many others are giving him first.
He shivered at their looks.
"Wood," Angelina's cold fury dripped all over jer voice. Even the Captain-keeper noticed it. "It's already dark here. And if you still don't dismiss us now, I swear, I will fucking castrate you."
Gulp. It's decided. Women are scary. Hermione, his teammates, and even Professor McGonagall are living proof of that.
It's effective, though. Oliver Wood indeed ended their training session, albeit reluctantly. It was a relief from the heavens. They have been training and doing quidditch drills for over hours now. And when he says hours, he meant i'm-pretty-sure-this-is-hell hours. And the first game is still ages away!
Harry slowly made his way to the locker rooms, groaning from time-to-time. He is set to meet up with Ron and Hermione, to do their assignments.
"Harrykins~"
Two voices simultaneously said, as a pair of hands dropped to his shoulders.
"Hey Fred, hey George."
The two also looked a worse for wear. The whole team does, actually. They still have the playful grin they always wore, but there's something he couldn't point on their expressions.
"Are you going anywhere, after changing?" Fred asked.
"Uh, yeah. I was going to meet with Hermione and Ron to work on some assignments," There's a mountain of them, but he doesn't say that.
"Perfect. Could you ask Hermione to come? And you, of course." Said George.
"And Ron?" He found it suspicious that his best friend, their brother wasn't mentioned.
"No!" Two voices said at once.
"No?" His eyebrows furrowed. Are the twins planning to pull a prank at Ron? Usually, that would be funny but, "You're not up to something, are you?"
"Can you, can you lay him off for a while, p-please?" He's still not comfortable turning away people, years of living with the Dursleys makes you feel undeserving to have a choice. But this is different. "Ron's not really feeling well these past few days. He might not, uh, take it up kindly."
The twins shared a look he couldn't discern. But then they shook their heads.
"No, Harrykins. We just need to talk to you and Hermione 'bout something. It concerns Ronniekins so, it would be a huge help if, you know, don't tell him about it?" George says, definitely George because he's more gentle than the other one. Ron says that George is the kinder one in the pair of twins.
"If he's with Hermione, we can just talk another time and if not, come to us."
There is a pregnant pause. Maybe it's something really important, Harry thinks. And I could prevent any pranks they might do to Ron.
"Alright."
"Thanks, Harry." And then they were gone. He also continued his way to the locker rooms. He is in for a long, long bath.
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"Sooo, we wanted to ask you both,"
"If there's anything strange about our dear Ronniekins that you've both noticed?"
Hermione just looked at the twins who are both interrogating - oh pardon, asking them - in an abandoned room. It was also strange that Ron, the subject of their queries, cannot be seen anywhere.
She was waiting for Harry and Ron in the common room, but only Harry turned up. She asked where Ron was, and a passing by Neville said that the ginger was in their room, napping.
"Well," she said, "I suppose we could wake him up. It's already dusk, he'll ruin his sleeping schedule at this rate! Come on, Harry."
Hermione was gathering her things in her bag and Merlin, it was heavy. Having almost all the subjects available certainly has its own consequences.
She was just about to march towards the boys' dorm when the two boys before her refused to go.
"Uhm, Hermione? I think you should let Ron have a rest first." Neville reluctantly said. He seemed quite unsure how to proceed, which was not unusual, but there is a strange determination in his eyes.
"What let him rest first? Nev, I understand that you are concerned for Ron, but he'll feel more sluggish if he oversleeps. Not to mention if he's not sleeping properly!" She cares about Ron, too. She also notices the strangeness that surrounds him nowadays. But she really can't have him fall into bad health habits. It would likely worsen his condition.
"Neville's right, Hermione. Just let him rest first. Besides, the twins are asking if they could talk us." Harry says, patting her shoulders. There's also an unsure smile on his face.
"And Ron?" She asks. The twins are finding them, of course it would include Ron.
"They only asked for the two of us."
"Why, though?"
Harry sighed."I don't know, they just asked me to fetch you. And to not let Ron go. "
And that's how they came into their current situation.
"So?" The twins asked, anticipating for their amswer.
"Well," she says. "How weird are we talking about here? Because pretty much everything is weird in this castle if you do not specify."
"Like, anything health related?" George asked.
" Is there anything else?" Fred followed.
She and Harry shared a look. Something's not right here. It's very rare for the siblings to ask for each other's well-beings. Except for Percy, of course. That one is such a mother-hen. Ron's words, not hers. Besides, there was indeed some strangeness surrounding Ron.
"He's always tired these days."
All of them were startled by Harry's sudden words.
"Yes, and he's somewhat sluggish and pale, too." She hesitated as she asked, "Is there something that we need to know about? Because you two are baffling me."
"Do you know something about it? About Ron?"
Hermione could hear the anxiety and worry in Harry's voice. She could only imagine what's going on inside his head right now. All those incident with his aunt, the Hogwarts Express, Sirius Black, amd now this is ought to wear him down. This situation much more as it involved Ron, a friend they both cherish very dearly.
"Nah. That twit's gonna be alright in no time. But could we ask something though?"
"Yeah, this is very important."
" Of course." She and Harry both say.
"Can you look after him more? Just make sure he's doing fine."
Hermione sent them a serious stare after that.
"Tell me what's wrong," she said. "This isn't something trivial, I know."
"Nothing-" Fred amd George said at the same time.
"It's not 'nothing'!" She stomped her feet. Her hair seemingly standing out from the ends. "This concerns us as it concerns Ron. He is important to us, he's our friend!" Hermione is positively sure that she's bristling right now. The twins seemed alarmed and concerned. Harry- Harry looked mortified.
"He's fine! I swear. Listen, we just don't want him to go back as he was before." One of the twins said. She's not sure anymore who's who. The important thing is that they spill whatever they are trying so hard to hide.
"As he was before?" Harry is now confused. Is Ron really that different from when he entered Hogwarts? He couldn't imagine that. Ron's the type of person to wear his heart on his sleeve. His mate's not really good at hiding things
There's a murmur of a suspicious 'Ron's gonna kill us, Fred' filled the air.
Fred (or is it George?) sighed.
"Ronniekins' been pretty sick since he was young. It's just a year or two before Hogwarts that he slowly recovered. We just wanna make sure that the sickness won't come back."
Harry froze for a moment. He remembered when Ron was squirming and burning with a fever. Should he tell them that? But he promised Ron to not tell anybody. Especially his siblings.
"Um," he reluctantly says. "Ron was having an intense... headache on some nights. He says he's fine, and that it pretty much goes away quickly. He's been having trouble sleeping because of that, though."
He doesn't say anything about the fever because he promised Ron. But he also didn't promise anything about the headaches, so he told the twins freely.
The twins shared a look again -what's with people sharing looks now, anyway?- before he turned to them.
"Thanks for telling us, mate. We'll keep that in mind. But one more thing-"
"Please, for the love of Merlin, behave yourselves this year, yeah? We know everything's chaotic with Sirius Black and all but behave yourselves."
Harry felt a little offended. It's not like-
"Not like you're finding trouble on your own, we know."
"But Harry, Hermione. We'll ask you just this once. Please take more care this year. At least for Ron's sake."
There was only silence between the four of them.
... "Understood."