Snape and Lily's daughter

Poisoned drink

"So, all in all, not one of Ron's better birthdays?" Fred said.

It had been a while since the holidays. After the students had returned from winter break, the students from sixth year had started their Apparition class, and according to what Harry had told Grace, since he had started visiting Dumbledore periodically to learn more about Voldemort, he had been assigned a mission to uncover a memory of Professor Slughorn that had been altered.

During this time, a girl in the same year as Grace, Romilda Vane, sent Harry a box of chocolates with a love potion, but instead of Harry eating, Ronnie saw the box and ate before Harry did. The two of them went to Slughorn's room to ask the professor to give them some potion that would break what Ron had just eaten, but Ron took a drink that had been poisoned.

So Grace, Fred, George, Harry, Ginny and Hermione were in the Hospital Wing at night.

"This isn't how we imagined handing over our present," George said, leaving a package on the bedside table and sitting down next to 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?" asked Ginny, looking up.

"We were thinking of buying Zonko's," said Fred gloomily. "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."

He pulled up a chair and sat down next to Ron.

"How exactly did it happen, Harry?" Grace asked.

He told about the chocolates and that he took Ron to Professor Slughorn.

"... and then I got the bezoar down his throat and his breathing eased up a bit, 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..."

"Blimey, it was lucky you thought of a bezoar," George said.

"Lucky there was one in the room," said Harry.

Hermione gave an almost inaudible sniff. She was the only one there who didn't say anything.

"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..."

Everyone was silent watching Ron.

"So the poison was in the drink?" George asked.

"Yes," said Harry at once. "Slughorn poured it out —"

"Would he have been able to slip something into Ron's glass without you seeing?" George asked.

"Probably," Harry said. "but why would Slughorn want to poison Ron?"

"No idea," said Fred, frowning. "You don't think he could have mixed up the glasses by mistake? Meaning to get you?"

"Why would Slughorn want to poison Harry?" Grace asked.

"I dunno," Fred said, "but there must be loads of people who'd like to poison Harry, mustn't there? 'The Chosen One' and all that?"

"So you think Slughorn's a Death Eater?" said Ginny.

"Anything's possible," said Fred 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."

"Who'd want to kill Slughorn?"

"Dumbledore reckons Voldemort wanted Slughorn on his side," Harry said. "Slughorn was in hiding for a year before he came to Hogwarts. And... And maybe Voldemort wants him out of the way, maybe he thinks he could be valuable to Dumbledore."

Grace was now very quiet, for she knew almost for sure who had put the poison in the bottle, but for Draco's sake, she decided to remain silent.

"But you said Slughorn had been planning to give that bottle to Dumbledore for Christmas," Ginny reminded him. "So the poisoner could just as easily have been after Dumbledore."

Before anyone else could say anything, Ron began to speak very softly.

"Er-my-nee," croaked Ron.

Everyone was quiet, trying to understand what he was saying, but after mumbling incomprehensible words, Ron snored again.

The door to the Hospital Wing opened, it was Hagrid.

"Bin in the forest all day!" he panted. "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?"

"Not bad," Harry said. "They say he'll be okay."

"No more than seven visitors at a time!" said Madam Pomfrey, hurrying out of her office.

"Hagrid makes seven," George pointed out.

"Oh...yes..."

"I don' believe this," said Hagrid hoarsely. "Jus' don' believe it... Look at him lyin' there... Who'd want ter hurt him, eh?"

"That's just what we were discussing," said Harry. "We don't know."

"I think there's a connection between the attacks," Hermione said.

"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. And for another, neither the poison nor the necklace seems to have reached the person who was supposed to be killed. Of course," she added broodingly, "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."

Before anyone could say anything else, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley entered the Hospital Wing.

"Dumbledore's told us how you saved him with the bezoar," she sobbed. "Oh, Harry, what can we say? You saved Ginny... you saved Arthur... now you've saved Ron..."

"Don't be... I didn't..." muttered Harry awkwardly.

"Half our family does seem to owe you their lives, now I stop and think about it," said Mr. Weasley. "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."

Grace decided to get out of there, made an excuse about homework, and left.

On the way to the Common Room, she bumped into Draco and Blaise.

"Sorry, I was distracted." she said to both of them.

"No problem. Where were you? We've looking for you." Draco asked.

"Ah, I was in the Hospital Wing, Ron is unconscious." Grace said, both of them looked at her confused. "Long story. Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"We were curious to know why your father is being all weird with Draco. You had to see it in Defense Against the Dark Arts class-" Blaise started to say, but Grace interrupted him.

"How weird?" she asked worriedly.

"He ignored me during the whole class. And when I tried to talk to him or ask him anything about the subject, he took point from Slytherin!" Draco said. "It must be serious because Snape has never taken points from our House before..."

"Draco... my father knows." Grace said, muttering the last part.

"Knows what?" he asked, still very confused.

"He found out where I was the day Katie Bell touched the necklace." Grace said, trying to make him understand.

For a few seconds he still didn't understand, then it hit him.

"G-Grace. He must want to kill me." Draco muttered.

"Try not to make eye contact or communicate with me when he is near, okay? At least for now..."