Anyone But Me

Chapter Fifty-Two

Disclaimer: This chapter is another one where a bunch of stuff is taken from The Half-blood Prince. More specifically Chapter 19 (Elf Tails) HP&tHPB but shown from our girl's view. All the props must be given to J.K.R. for creating it first.

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The strange cold numbness from that morning had morphed into an even stranger glacial-like fury. As the minutes had ticked by and they waited for any news from beyond the doors, Harry and Ginny had become consumed with hypothesizing possible assailants and their motives. Along with the ever-worrying solution to how someone had managed to pull the attack off in the first place...

While she had stood to the side, unwilling to partake in the useless venture. Not when some of the greatest minds in the european magical community were already on the task. Instead, she chose to stare at the inanimate slabs of wood, memorizing the embossed grain as she hoped for them to part. That way someone, anyone, could come and tell them he was going to be alright.

It had been well after dinner time when Professor McGonagall had delivered the merciful reassurances that he would be. The tearful arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley meant Harry was yet again hastily pressed for answers he did not have. After another hour of standing around ineffectually passed, they were finally allowed to see him.

Even with Madam Pomfrey's warnings, the sight of Ron was startling at first. He was so pale that it was hard to distinguish his skin from the sheet that covered the lower half of his body. A green-tinge had settled around his lips and contrasted horribly against the smattering of freckles across his long face. Most noticeable was the newly acquired gauntness to his features that had not been there the night before at dinner. From the poison itself or the subsequent fight for his life, she couldn't be sure.

Her knees buckled signaling that she had reached her limit and needed to sit down. The physical manifestation of just how close they had come to losing him was too much for her exhausted mind to bear. Thankfully the interruption of Fred and George's arrival distracted Pomfrey from sticking her in the bed next to Ron and a chair was conjured right behind her with a flick of the older witch's wand. With some help from Harry, she sat back and stayed quiet through the welcoming of the twins.

A much easier endeavor than trying to talk while tears fought to fall down her cheeks. She found herself grateful for the choice of silence when the conversation inevitably wound from an explanation of events around to speculation. As much as she would have liked to completely zone it out, she kept an ear on the conversation. There was no way she could forgive herself if she missed something important. Not when the stakes were so important and people's lives hung in the balance...

The conversation switched from Slughorn (the only other person in the room at the time of the attack) possibly being a Death Eater, to who would have reason to target him as a victim.

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

"But you said Slughorn had been planning to give that bottle to Dumbledore for Christmas." Ginny reminded him of the detail he had told them earlier in the day. Her eyebrows lifted as a new theory sprung from her lips. "So the poisoner could just as easily have been after Dumbledore."

"Then the poisoner didn't know Slughorn very well." Hermione interrupted, using her voice for the first time since that morning. She winced at how obvious her struggle not to cry was but didn't let it stop her. "Anyone who knew Slughorn would have known there was a good chance he'd keep something that tasty for himself."