Chapter 17
Harry woke up the next day early, so early that it was still dark. For a moment he thought the roaring of the wind had woken him, then he felt a cold breeze on the back of his neck. He immediately sat up – Peeves the Poltergeist had been floating next to him, blowing hard in his ear.
“What did you do that for?” said Harry furiously.
Peeves puffed out his cheeks, blew hard and zoomed backwards out of the room, cackling.
Harry fumbled for his alarm clock and looked at it. It was half past four. He turned his body to check on Ron, a habit he developed recently, only to find it empty. Harry panicked for a moment, before remembering that his friend spent the night at the hospital wing. Again.
Harry sighed and tried to go back to sleep, but no avail. Apprehension and doubts crept up in his mind. About Ron. About the game against the Hufflepufs. He thinks about the sessions of potion-drinking that his friend is about to go through. He hears the harsh wind, blowing against the castle walls not so gently, and the fact that he is about to brave through that in a couple of hours. So much for trying to sleep.
He got up and got dressed before heading out to the common room, picking his Nimbus Two Thousand on the way. ‘Maybe I’ll visit Ron for a sec,’ he thinks. ‘Give him a bit of encouragement.’
The thought of him, personally, needing an encouragement and assurance that everything will be fine sat quietly at the back of his mind.
The noise of the storm was even louder in the common room. Harry knew better than to think the match would be cancelled; Quidditch matches weren’t called off for trifles such as thunderstorms.
Nevertheless, he was starting to feel very apprehensive. Wood had pointed out Cedric Diggory to him in the corridor; Diggory was a fifth-year and a lot bigger than Harry. Seekers were usually light and speedy, but Diggory’s weight would be an advantage in this weather because he was less likely to be blown off course.
To be completely honest, he’s not really sure about attending the game today. Not only because of the less than stellar weather, but also because of Ron. He was contemplating of supporting Ron instead. He’s also aware that the twins are currently sharing the same predicament.
He was about to cross the Gryffindor threshold when a voice stopped him.
“Madam Pomfrey said that we’re not allowed to disturb Ron for the time-being.”
Hermione groggily flipped through her book, eyes half-asleep. Crookshanks was resting in her lap, flicking his tail lazily.
“Morning, Hermione.” He said, heading to sit with her.
“Good Morning.” She said as she closed her book and opted out to pet Crookshanks instead. “I tried to visit Ron earlier, since we won’t be able to visit him for the rest of the day, but Madam Pomfrey was there and said that Ron needs all the sleep he could get.”
“Today’s the first dose, right?” Harry pulled his knees unto his chest, feeling sleepiness come up to him now that there is a familiar presence near him.
“Mn.”
“D’you think he’ll be alright?” Harry whispered after a moment of silence.
“…I honestly don’t know, Harry.” She whispered back, voice soft and also full of uncertainty. “But no matter what happens, we’ll be there for him. Just like always.”
“Yeah. Just like always.”
The two of them stayed there, listening to the roaring thunders. They whiled away the hours until dawn in front of the fire, and headed to the great hall for breakfast.
He has a long day ahead of him.
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Ron could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Professor Snape is there, along with Madam Pomfrey, Healer Saqr and his parents. Professor Yousef and Bill would have been present too, but both were called back in the site they were working on because of some issues.
Professor Snape and Healer Saqr were talking about the potion, about the intended and expected effects of the said concoction to him and whatnots. Ron more or less tuned them out as he eyed the yellow liquid in the sulky professor’s hands.
Madam Pomfrey was hovering over him, monitoring his vital signs. Mum and Dad are in the corner looking anxious. Ron can’t really blame them. He’s about to vomit his heart out of nervousness himself.
The healer and the professor turned to him after they finished talking.
“Now Ron, if you could put up your legs on the bed, please.” Healer Sa- Aeson instructed him as he took a serious look at the diagnosis spell that showed his vitals. “If everything goes as expected, you will feel an extreme desire to sleep. You follow that desire, alright? The sleep will help in healing you.”
“Healer Aeson?” Ron called reluctantly. “I… I understand that some ingredients are almost fictional and you were unable to acquire them. I just want to ask, what did you-“
“Substitute for them? I’m afraid I’m not the one who could answer that, Ron.”
“The only ingredients we were… unable to find is the main ingredients. The first is an ounce of sap from an ash tree dwelled upon by Druids. As you know, druids no longer exist in our times and their kind mostly had oak trees as their home.” The one who gave him an answer was Prof. Snape, checking the vial.
“The substitute was a ladle of a water from an underground lake in the Forbidden forest, unperturbed by human hands for nearly a millennia. The magical water kept an ash tree root and a stem from an oak tree for a full week.
The other was a tear willingly given by a Baba Yaga. I decided that you would not want to know what stood as a substitute for it.”
Severus Snape drawled, a surprisingly teasing tone laced on his voice. Ron scowled and eyed the vial of his potion with even more suspicion.
“Ready?” The kind voice of Sir Aeson asked.
Ron looked at his mum and dad, who looked ill with worry. Molly was gripping his father’s hands, who was collecting her closely.
Ron gave a nod and accepted the vial. The little thing has a shiny yellow liquid in it, with glitter-like things swirling inside. He tilted his head as he poured all of it down in one quick moment.
Everything seemed fine at first, aside from the suspiciously tasteless potion. All of the adults looked at him with anticipation as he started to feel incredibly sleepy.
“That’s right lad. Give into the sleep. We’ll be watching over you,” said the healer. He could see Madam Pomfrey at the peripheral of his vision, casting diagnostic charms, listing all the significant changes in his body.
Everything’s going alright. Ron’s eyes starts to close slowly, and his consciousness also fades away.
Since it was the first session, he was given a smaller dose for good measure. He’s not going to overdose with an unknown potion.
It was supposed to be all right, a start of a long-awaited cure.
Until it’s not.
Everything hurts. His insides feels like tearing up, an inexplicable heat bubbling at the surface of his skin. His chest – his heart feels like it’s being squeezed and ready to pop.
“Ronnie?! What’s happening?” Ronald could hear his mother frantically ask. His father is not too far behind, simultaneously expressing his concerns and holding the matriarch back.
“Molly, stand back! Let us do our jobs!”
Ron tried to break free from the bed, but he was held up by the healer.
“Heart rate is sped up, organs failing. By Merlin, his lifeline is burning up!” Healer Aeson listed off his observation. “Professor, please bring me a goblet, a drop of a calming draught, and the most effective numbing potion you have. Madam Pomfrey, cast healing 02G5. We need to give some space for his magical core, it’s threatening to break.”
Everything’s happening all at once, but Ron couldn’t notice any of it.
“H-hurts… please… take it away,”
“I’m sorry, lad. Just a little bit longer.”
The pain continued to away every fiber of his being. Ron could not do anything but squirm, as if any movement will ease the awful sensation in his body. The adults were all over the place, making him drink another batche of potions and casting spells on him.
At some point, his Mum and Dad instilled kisses on him, saying words that he could not decipher. That was the last thing he knew before the pain subsided and the darkness swallowed him whole.
----------------------------------
It was one thing to see your honorary brother plunge to death from fifty feet high to the ground, surrounded by blasted dementors. Fred felt his heart drop as he witnessed Harry rapidly falling, his broom straying away. At the very last minute, the boy slowed down just enough to prevent him from dying.
“Harry!” several voices called out. The next thing Fred knew, everyone was hovering Harry, including Diggory who only witnessed the spectacle just now.
“Harry! Come on, mate, wake up!” Wood was frantically checking the seeker out. Fred felt George arrive beside him, also sending Harry a worried look.
And then, the whole pitch a very angry, mighty growl. When Fred turned his head, he saw a very terrifying Headmaster, waving his wand at the dementors, a corporeal, silver wisps shooting out of it. The monsters all scurried away, not even looking back.
The crowd parted as the headmaster made a way towards them, specifically to Harry.
“Is Mister Potter alright?” he said, voice grave.
“We- He’s breathing, Sir. But I’m not really sure about his overall state.” The Gryffindor Captain answered.
“The match is already done, yes? It would be better if everyone is to go back and rest. I will take Mister Potter here to Madam Pomfrey, although he might be looked over after a while.” The headmaster then conjured a stretcher and gently levitated Harry on it. “Messrs.’ Weasley, you might also want to head towards the hospital wing after this.” The headmaster gave them a meaningful look before walking away.
As everyone dispersed, Diggory approached Wood.
“Wood, I think we should consider the game off.” The Hufflepuff said. “We can just ask Madam Hooch to schedule us a rematch.”
“What? No!” Wood answered. “You guys won fair and square, mate. We were having trouble about the snitch and the weather even before those cursed dementors came.” Wood was saying that, but there was a suspicious pinch in his voice.
“Are you sure? We’re totally f-“
“Yes. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a seeker to visit. Good game, Diggory.”
That was all that was said and everyone headed to the hospital wing.
It was one thing to see your honorary brother almost plunge to death, but learning that your actual baby brother’s failed healing session was another.
George immediately spotted his mother in the corner of the hospital wing, silently crying in his father’s arms. Any thoughts suddenly left him, anxiety blooming at the pit of his stomach. His head felt like underwater, with all sorts of sounds muting out.
George felt like heaving for air, but his arms were suddenly held very tightly. And Fred was there. Flabbergasted as he is, and probably also shaking, but there.
“…Mum.” George called out.
“Oh George, Fred,” when she saw them, Molly reached out and held them closely.
“Wha- What happened?” Fred asked.
“The potion… backfired.” Arthur tried to explain.
“…what?”
“The potion backfired. It was given to Ron earlier this morning, as you know. It was alright at first, for the first few minutes at lease. Then all of the sudden he was shaking, and all his organs were failing… and, and…”
“Dad, it’s alright. It’s gonna be fine, you hear me?” George told him with every certainty he could muster. Seeing his father like that added a block unto his chest, like it is four years ago all over again. But no, their mother is already anxious as she is. They cannot have their father breaking down, too.
“We thought we would lose him, boys. It’s just- it was bad.”
“But he’s alright now, right? I know Ronnie, that little hellion won’t give up without a fight.” Fred said, although it was unsure of whether he was giving assurance to their parents or to himself.
“I- yeah, he’s out of danger for now. The healers and Professor Snape said the dose given to him was just too much for his body to handle.” Arthur said as he slowly regained his composure. “He’s sleeping now, but we think it might take him a bit longer than usual to wake up.”
“Can we see him now?” Fred asked.
“Not for a while, no. He’s still under close observation so we are still not allowed to.” Their father ushered their mum to the seat as he answered their questions. “Molly, dear, let’s sit for a while. There you go.”
“You two were right. Ron is a fighter. Now, all we can do is hope that everything goes well. It will be, I promise.”
They did not talked about the hesitation that lingered hours after.
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When Harry came to himself, he was surrounded by the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team sans the twins and Wood. They were all muddy from head to toe and muttering things that made no sense to him. Hermione was also there, looking extremely worried and distracted.
‘That was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.’ Scariest ... the scariest thing ... hooded black figures ... cold ... screaming …
Everything came back to him at a rapid pace. The snitch, the dementors, the grim…
He sat up immediately as his eyes were wide open.
“Harry!” It seems like his sudden movement also startled Hermione. “How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?”
“N-no, no, I’m fine. What happened?” Harry asked them as he massaged his temple.
“You fell off from your broom.” Alicia said. She was shaking slightly. “Good thing Dumbledore was swift. He slowed you down and chased off the dementors away.”
“You could have died, Potter.” Angelina chastised him as she lightly knocked his head. “You shaved a good chunk of our lives in there.”
“Sorry,” Guilt crept up once again in his chest. He doesn’t promise that we wouldn’t do it again, because who knows when the next surprise of life will greet him. “But what about the game?”
At everyone’s absolute silence, the horrible truth sank into Harry
like a stone.
“We didn’t – lose?”
“Diggory got the Snitch,” said Katie. “Just after you fell. He didn’t realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a re-match. But they won fair and square ... even Wood admits it.”
“Where is Wood?” said Harry, suddenly realizing he wasn’t there. “And the twins?”
The others looked around and were surprised to find the three’s absence.
“Well. Wood’s still in the showers.” Angelina answered. “That dolt looked like he was about to drown himself. Fred and George was just with us when we headed here. Didn’t notice them slipping out, though.”
Hermione moved to his side and answered in a lowered volume.
“They’re with Molly and Arthur outside the specialized room,”
Harry’s heart sank into his stomach. His face paled, which was then noticed by the team.
“What happened?” he asked, ready to bolt out running. There’s only one reason why the adult Weasleys are here, and he is not liking it.
“Ron’s session failed. They are currently putting him under close observation.” Harry could hear the faint quiver in her voice. She had a worried look and reddened eyes.
Then suddenly he could not hear anything else anymore. He tried to stand up but he was immediately stopped by everyone.
“Potter, what are you doing?!”
“You’re supposed to be resting!”
The three chasers of the team were all holding him down, angry and worried look at their faces.
“But Ron-!”
“Is not allowed to have visitors. Even his family was waiting for him outside! Besides, they said he’s fine now. We’ll be beside him in no time, alright?”
Harry wanted to protest, but Hermione’s gaze indicated that she isn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer. He reluctantly nodded, vowing to be right next to his best friend the soonest that he can.
Noticing the dark atmosphere surrounding them, Harry immediately tried to change topics.
“Has anyone seen my broom?”
“Well, about that…” Angelina prompted with an awkward face. “It got blown away when it collided with the whomping willow. We tried to salvage the rest of the pieces but…”
The rest of the team handed him a bundle of clothes. Upon closer inspection, there laid a bunch of splintered wood and wisps of the broom.
“Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around.” Hermione told him.
Many things whirled inside Harry’s head. First is their lost – his first ever lost in quidditch, the dementors and the screams he heard from them, the destruction of his trusty broom, and finally, the suffering of his best friend.
So much for a Saturday.