𝟏.| ✬ 𝒟ℯ𝒶𝓇 ℬ𝒾𝓁𝓁, ✬ {ℬ. 𝒲ℯ𝒶𝓈𝓁ℯ𝓎}

\𝓉𝓌ℯ𝓃𝓉𝓎-𝓉𝓌ℴ\

They raced through the halls, not even bothering to check the map. The three students hurdled around a corner, sprinting down the corridor towards the staircase that led to the third floor. They had almost reached the first step when Professor McGonagall stepped out from a hallway to the left, cutting them off. They all jumped and George shrieked, "Professor!" Eleanora would've laughed if she wasn't so worried.

"What are you three doing out of bed?" McGonagall snapped. For once in a lifetime, all three of them were speechless. There was no way to explain the map or how they knew Harry, Ron and Hermione were in trouble, or anything without hitting trouble. They didn't need to say anything though. McGonagall's face had softened. "You'd all best come with me," she said, leading them in the opposite direction.

Fred, George, and Eleanora stayed silent, not wanting to get themselves into any more trouble. They were all secretly relieved McGonagall was leading them back through the castle, away from the three headed dog and whatever other dangers lay on the third floor. Worry spread through them, though, as they got closer and closer to the hospital wing.

Finally, Fred spoke. "Professor? Where are we going?"

"Your brother and his friends have had quite an ordeal tonight. I'll let them explain it."

Nobody spoke until they'd arrived in the hospital wing. Ron was sitting up in one of the beds, Hermione in a chair next to him. They were both looking worriedly at the bed on the other side of Hermione. When the door opened and the twins and Eleanora stepped in, they looked up. "What are you doing here?" Ron asked.

"I found them in the halls and thought they ought to know. I'll leave you all to talk," McGonagall said, and hurried out of the room. Eleanora strode over and sat down on the bed on the other side of Ron. The twins joined her.

"What's happened?"

~

It took until almost sunrise for Ron and Hermione to explain everything that had happened that night. There was a bit of confusion when the twins and Eleanora didn't seem alarmed at the prospect of a giant three headed dog in the castle, but it was quickly cleared up with a short explanation.

"And then Harry and I both drank our potions and I ran back to get Ron, and it took him forever to come around-"

"Because I'd just been knocked out by a life sized chess piece," Ron protested.

"Yes- anyways, once I woke him up, we ran to get Professor Dumbledore, but he already knew! He just said 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and ran off," Hermione finished, staring up at her audience with wide eyes.

Fred was the first to break the silence. "That's brilliant. I mean, that you knew to do all of that with the potions and the chess board, that's- wow."

"Did they say when Harry's going to wake up?" Eleanora asked, looking worriedly over to the bed on the other side of Hermione.

"Nobody knows," Hermione said, biting her fingernails. "He's been out cold ever since Dumbledore brought him in."

They hung out in the hospital wing for awhile after that, talking to Ron and Hermione, for a long time after, only leaving when it was time for breakfast. "We'll bring some food down," Fred promised. "We'll be right back."

Instead of heading straight for the great hall, Eleanora and the twins turned and climbed a staircase, arriving at the statue of the one eyed witch. "Dissendium," George said, tapping the hump. It swung open and they all clambered down.

"Make sure you close it this time," Eleanora said, giving both of the twins a pointed look. Once the door was secured, the three of them dashed down the passageway and listened at the door before pushing it open, climbing into the basement of Honeydukes like it was second nature. "Grab everything you think Harry will want, I'm going up to leave money in the register," said Eleanora, creeping up the stairs to the still-dark store. She checked to make sure there was no movement before dashing to the register and whispering the charm to unlock it. It sprung open and she emptied the little bag of coins she always carried around with her into it. She didn't know how much was in there, but she hoped it was more than enough. When she got back to the basement of the shop, Fred and George had bags of candy ready to go. "Ready?" she asked, picking one up.

They scrambled back through the passage and helped each other up through the hump of the witch, tumbling into the hallway. They raced back towards the hospital wing. Fred kept an eye on the map to make sure no teachers caught them lugging bags of sweets towards the hospital. They were almost there when they turned a corner and came face to face with Dumbledore himself. They all froze like deer in headlights, staring at the headmaster, who gave them a puzzled look.

"We- um, -we left money... sir," Eleanora stammered, reaching into the bag she was carrying and pulling out a chocolate frog, which she handed to Dumbledore with a shaky hand. The headmaster's eyes twinkled as he took the frog, winked at the trio, and disappeared down the hallway. Eleanora and the twins looked at each other, and then burst into laughter.

When they entered the hospital wing for the second time that day, Fred dumped his bag of sweets at the end of Ron's bed, telling Ron and Hermione to have at it. Ron dug in, but Hermione seemed hesitant until Fred tossed her a pumpkin pasty, her favorite. George and Eleanora pulled a table over to the end of Harry's bed and started stacking the remainder of the sweets on top of it. "He'll be hungry when he wakes up, you know," George said, arranging a tower of Bertie Botts boxes.

"Yeah, and we've got to give him a variety," said Eleanora, piling more chocolate frogs onto the already humongous pile. As they worked, Ron and Hermione relayed the latest bit of information to them. Professor Quirrel was gone.

Eleanora dropped a handful of licorice wands when Ron said this, not bothering to pick them up. "Gone? What d'you mean gone?" she asked incredulously.

"Dunno," Ron said through a mouthful of fizzing whizzbees. "We just heard Dumbledore talking to Madam Pomfrey. Just said he's gone."

"No more Quirrel," Eleanora said slowly, mulling the idea over. "Who's going to teach defense?"

"Don't care," said Fred. "Anyone's better than Quirrel."

They stayed until Madam Pomfrey kicked them out, claiming Ron needed to rest before he could leave. Hermione was allowed to stay because, well, because she wasn't as loud and disruptive the other three.

"So, what now?" asked Fred as they walked back towards the rest of the castle. He stumbled a little, leaning on George's shoulder. They were used to not getting enough sleep, preferring to roam the grounds for long nights, but they'd been awake over twenty four hours now and it was getting to be a bit much.

Eleanora sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I dunno about you, but I'm off to find Oliver. I'll catch you later."

"We could come with you to find Oliver," Fred said with a lazy, teasing grin. "We like him too you know. In fact, I think he likes us even more-"

"Shut it, Weasley." She turned and walked down a hallway, leaving the Weasley twins to their own devices.