Never Is Our Always

A Poisoned Weasley

(March)

(Minnie pov)

"Min!" I turn around as I almost put the key into the lock so I could close the shop for the night before going to bed, Fred and George looked frantic.

"What's wrong?" I ask, confused at the two of them.

"Ron—"

"—he's in hospital." My eyes widened as I take the key out straight away and look at them properly, "we need to go."

"Of course!" I reply, worried for Ron.

"Gimme your hand, let's go," I nod as I took Fred's hand and we disapparated.

Crack!

We were now in Hogsmeade, George was carrying the present we got for Ron as we looked around.

"We can't go in yet, but while we're here..." George said slowly, "Zonkos."

"Oh, George!" I cry, swatting his arm, "your brother is sick, now is—"

"To buy it, you numpy," George replies. "We were going to come here earlier— er, we actually did come up here earlier..." George said, shaking his head, "you know, to see if we wanted to buy it."

"In case Hogwarts kids can't come to Diagon Alley," Fred told me, then his lips pursed.

"Happy birthday... Ron," I said awkwardly and we all shake out heads before I let a small awkward giggle out. "Why did I say that?"

"Dunno." The boys replied before we all kept walking to Hogwarts.

-

"So, all in all, not one of Ron's better birthdays?" Fred said, I looked around the hospital wing, it feels weird being back here.

It was evening; the hospital wing was quiet, the windows curtained, the lamps lit. Ron's was the only occupied bed. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were sitting around him; I saw the clock and realised it was ten past Eight at night.

"This isn't how we imagined handing over our present," George said grimly, putting down a large wrapped gift on Ron's bedside cabinet and sitting beside Ginny.

"Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious," Fred said, then he glanced at me as I watched over Ron with eyes full of worry.

"There we were in Hogsmeade, waiting to surprise him—" George said.

"You were in Hogsmeade?" Ginny asked, looking up.

"We were thinking of buying Zonko's," Fred said 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 drew up a chair beside Harry and looked at Ron's pale face.

"How exactly did it happen, Harry?"

Harry retold the story he had already recounted.

"...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 in a low voice.

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

Hermione gave an almost inaudible sniff.

"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..."