The Potter Twins and the Half-Blood Prince {6}

12. Love that Discovered Sin

"Be as you've always been, be like a love that discovered sin, that freed the first man, would do so again. And lover be good to me. Be that hopeful feeling when Eden was lost, that's been next to our after since the master was crossed. Which side of the wall really suffers that cost, oh lover be good to me" - Be, Hozier

"Did you sleep at all last night, Haylee?" Harry asks the next morning on our way to the Great Hall. "You look horrible."

"Thanks," I shoot back, feigning a frown. "Such a lovely brother." I pause to smile and wave at the booing Slytherins as we enter the Hall, not sparing a moment to look for blonde hair amongst the sea of green and silver. "Anyway, I don't think I'm the one you need to worry about," I add quietly, motioning to Ron who had grimaced visibly at the Slytherin's torment.

The Gryffindor table, a solid mass of red and gold, cheers as we approach; once again, I see Ron flinch. I give Harry a pointed stare, my lack of sleep not helping me in hiding my loss of faith.

"Cheer up, Ron!" Lavender calls. "I know you'll be brilliant!"

Ron ignores her.

"Tea?" Harrys asks me. "Coffee? Pumpkin juice?"

"Anything," Ron says glumly, taking a moody bite of toast.

A few minutes later, Hermione, who has become so tired of Ron's recent unpleasant behaviour that she had not come down to breakfast with us, pauses on her way up the table.

"How are you all feeling?" she asks tentatively, her eyes on the back of Ron's head.

"Fine," says Harry, who is concentrating on handing Ron a glass of pumpkin juice. "There you go, Ron. Drink up."

Ron has just raised the glass to his lips when Hermione speaks sharply.

"Don't drink that, Ron!"

We all look up at her. She's now staring at Harry as though she can't believe her eyes.

"You just put something in that drink."

"Excuse me?" Harry says.

"You heard me. I saw you. You just tipped something into Ron's drink. You've got the bottle in your hand right now."

Riley looks at me with wide eyes, as if expecting me to reprimand Harry. But I shrug my shoulders; if Harry's really done this, there's nothing I could say to convince him otherwise.

"I didn't see any bottles," I lie, earning a grin from Harry. "And besides, Ron doesn't need to cheat to be good."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry continues, stowing the liquid luck bottle away in his pocket.

"Ron, I warn you, don't drink it!" Hermione says again, looking alarmed, but Ron picks up the glass, drains it in one gulp, and says, "Stop bossing me around, Hermione."

She looks scandalized. Bending so low that only Harry and I can hear her, she hisses, "You could be expelled for that. I'd never have believed it of you, Harry!"

"Who's talking?" he whispers back. "Confounded anyone lately?"

She storms up the table away from us, and we watch her go with little regret. She's never understood what a serious business Quidditch it. I then look at Ron, who is smacking his lips.

"Nearly time," Harry says blithely.

The frosty grass crunches underfoot as we stride down the stadium.

"Pretty lucky the weathers this good, eh?" I muse, earning a pained look from Riley.

"Yeah," Ron says, now looking pale and sick-looking.