UNBREAK | D.M (UNRAVEL BOOK 5)

[ 36 ]

"W- Wh- What did you say?" Aine stuttered, the slice of green apple sliding out from her fork before she drops it, causing a loud clatter. Heads around her whipped over to her table nosily, wondering what was the commotion about. She could see Ginny's face slowly losing its colour as she froze at what Hermione had just said.

"Ron has been poisoned. He's in the hospital wing now recuperating, Harry is keeping him company at present," Hermione told them, her voice still shaking with worry. She picks on her fingers under the table, troubled by the news.

"Poisoned?!" Ginny exclaimed, slamming her goblet on the table. "How— What..." she stammered in shock. "Is Harry alright?"

Hermione nodded in response, she went on explaining. "Harry brought him to Professor Slughorn last night to get him cured for a love potion," she said and Ginny puts a hand up to stop her.

"Hang on, didn't he say it was because Ron was drunk?" she inquired. Aine kept awfully quiet from the side, she knew he wasn't intoxicated from alcohol since there wasn't any alcohol smell on him and Harry had divulged to her that Ron drank his love potion.

"Apparently Ron had taken a love potion meant for Harry by accident," Hermione replied, she sighed. "Anyways, they went to Professor Slughorn so that he could get him cured for it. That was when they were both offered a mead to celebrate Ron's birthday and to help him get over the effects of the love potion."

A tight knot formed in Aine's stomach when the revelation hit her. Her hands fall to her lap and she anxiously plays with her bracelet. "M... Mead?" she pointed out. Her heart dropped to her stomach when Hermione nodded.

"What mead?" Ginny demanded and Aine feels herself diminishing away.

It can't be...

"It was a poisoned oak mead," the brunette revealed, causing Ginny's shoulders to slump as she cursed under her breath. Aine lets out a shallow breath, trying to compose herself but her mind was screaming and she found herself getting battered up by her past actions.

It was the mead she had poisoned. The same mead that Draco had confounded for the Christmas Party that Slughorn had organized. The exact bloody mead that was meant for Dumbledore! The deadly mead— 

How could this happen? Aine thought to herself, pondering about what and where did it all go wrong again. It was like with Katie Bell once more, she endangered another innocent soul that had nothing to do with her task of murdering their headmaster. He wasn't even supposed to drink it! She remembered that they bewitched the alcohol so that her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would give it to Dumbledore, not share it with one of his students!

"How is he?" Aine questioned and Hermione chews on her bottom lip, staring at the remaining carrot on her plate sadly. Her silence made the two other girls uneasy and Aine was fearing for the worse.

Even a single sip was fatal to whoever had drunk it, that was the whole point she had purposely poisoned the mead. It was so that when Dumbledore devoured it, the poison will spread before he could realize something was wrong.

"Harry said that Ron hasn't regained consciousness yet," Hermione said, almost close to tears. "I'm planning to go visit him."

As if already decided on what to do, Ginny pushes herself out of her seat and stood up. "Let's go," she said to her friends.

"What? Now?" Hermione asks, she was hoping her friend would finish her meal first. She barely even ate anything besides sipping on her juice. Ginny's plate was still piled with food, untouched ever since she learnt of the news of her brother.

"You don't expect me to finish eating my breakfast with a peaceful mind now, do you, Mione?" Ginny questioned, as if eager to see the state of her brother. Jeez, it was supposed to be his birthday today too! She gave an exasperated sigh, "My brother has been poisoned, I can eat later when I see that he is living!"