The Dark Mark (The Girl Who Lived part II)

Scarlet Fever

So for those of you who have not read Romeo and Juliet (you'll see why this is relevant later in the chapter), Paris is engaged to Juliet and is the person Juliet's father wants her to marry

We returned to the Burrow a day later. I hadn't felt too well on the trip back. I didn't say anything because the last thing the Weasley's needed on their plate was to care for me. I sat on the couch in the living room, Ron's bleached pants on my lap, and a blue permanent marker in my hand. I had decided to fix Ron's jeans by coloring in the white spots. "Scarlet dear, you're looking rather pale". Said Mrs. Weasley. "I'm just naturally pale". I said. I had thrown several blankets over me. The Burrow felt like an ice box. The living room of the Burrow seemed to spin around me. I placed my hand on my forehead as if to prevent my head from spinning. But for now, it seemed to have had done the trick. Mrs. Weasley placed her cool hand to my forehead. "You're burning up".

"Don't you move a muscle and let us take care of you. Would you care for some soup?" She asked me. "I'm not hungry". I answered. She was already in the kitchen. "Well, I'm making you some anyway". She said. "She screamed for Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron. "Scarlet's in there right now, and she's sick. Nurse her back to health. You've got to go to Hogwarts tomorrow. So there's no time to waste". She instructed as she began cooking a stew. Ginny sat on the other side of the couch. She told me of all the gossip and dirt she had on everyone. "This is just a rumor, but all the girls in the Gryffindoor house think this. I heard from Lavender, who told Cho Chang, who told, Luna, who told Moaning Myrtle, who told Hermoine, who told me. So the rumor is that Draco is in love with green apples. He has no real relationship with anyone besides his two goons and Pansy. And we know what a piece of work Pansy can be. So it'd make sense that he'd bond with an inanimate object. It'd be much easier than dealing with Pansy Parkinson on a daily basis. We totally ship the couple of Draco and an apple. We call it, "Drapple"". She said to me. It seemed as though she hadn't taken one breath as she said this. "Draco.... and just an apple? Why couldn't it be any other fruit? Like a cherry? It'd be Drarry". 

This was something that I had never heard of before. But I guess you learn something new everyday. "We saw him kissing an apple". She said. "Couldn't he just have had been eating the apple?" I asked her. "I suppose..... but then we couldn't spread it around like a wildfire. It's a great conversation starter". She said to me. I wasn't one for gossip. It just didn't appeal to me since a majority of it was fluff and stuff. Almost all of it was lies. Rumors were like the game telephone. Each time the message is passed, it's altered by the teller little by little. And then eventually to the point of not having even a pinch of truth in it.

"Alright Scarlet. it's time for dinner". Said George who walked quickly towards me with a steaming hot bowl of whatever concoction. He came to an abrupt stop when he was a foot away from me, causing a quarter of the stew to slosh out of the bowl and onto me. I bit my lip, trying my best not to scream. Fred came to the rescue with an arm full of napkins. I dabbed the area where the soup had splattered. So as not to smother the brown soup over my clothing which would result in an irremovable stain. I held out my hands to accept the steaming bowl. My hands were only filled with air. George held the bowl while Fred held a silver spoon up to my mouth. "You're not feeding me". I stated. "Mum said that you shouldn't move a muscle. We're only doing as we were told". They said. I gave them a look. "You know that's not what she meant". I said. "Here, Scarlet. I'm sorry my brother's are idiots". Ginny snatched the bowl and spoon from the twins which she then handed to me. "Thanks, Ginny". "You want some crackers?" George and Fred asked me. They both held out the same type of cracker. Saltines. George who saw this, slapped the cracker out of Fred's hand. When Fred was about to do the same exact thing, Ron entered the room. 

"How are you feeling, Scarlet?" He asked me. I could see that what he really wanted wasn't to see how I was doing, but if he could have the rest of my soup that he had been eyeing since he had entered the room. "You can have it". I held up the bowl to him. "Nice. Ooh, crackers! Mum only takes them out on special occasions. Anyone want it?" He noticed the cracker laying on the floor that no one had bothered to pick up. No one claimed the cracker on the floor. Ron dusted the light layer of dirt on the cracker and held it up to his mouth and paused. "Wait, how long has this been on the floor?" He asked to no one in particular. "Three minutes". I answered him. "Good. It fits in my five minute rule". He said before carelessly throwing the cracker into his mouth, not even taking into consideration of the amount of dirt molecules that were on the cracker. Ron then took the bowl of stew from me, using the same spoon, ate it.