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Chapter 674 Poison!!
So they immediately rushed to Slughorn's office.
Ron kept calling out for Draco the entire way, which made Romilda—who had been preparing to kiss him—look utterly horrified.
"If he likes boys, then don't accept my confession in the first place!"
Romilda Vane finally ran off in anger.
Neither Darren nor Harry had the heart to tell Ron that his girlfriend had just dumped him.
Besides, with Ron still shouting Draco's name, neither of them wanted to stand too close to him.
They almost felt like pretending they didn't even know him.
At last, they reached Slughorn's office.
Slughorn looked at Ron with great interest.
"It's the effects of an Ecstasy potion… fascinating. But I think Darren and Harry should be perfectly capable of brewing the antidote themselves."
He said this with a cheerful smile.
Darren shook his head.
"There isn't enough time… I'm afraid that by the time we finish brewing it, Ron will have already gone to find Malfoy… and today is his birthday…"
Slughorn laughed softly.
He took out a ready-made antidote and handed it to Ron.
"What is this?"
Ron still looked suspicious.
Harry could only coax him.
"Just drink it. Calm down. He'll be here soon."
Ron gulped it down.
There was a bit of caution, but not much.
For a few seconds, Ron was still muttering Draco's name.
Then suddenly, the expression on his face turned to horror and disgust. He looked as if he was about to vomit.
"Back to normal?" Harry asked hopefully.
Ron couldn't even speak.
Slughorn, seemingly relieved, pulled out a bottle of wine.
He poured a glass each for Harry, Darren, and Ron.
"Come on, have a taste. Excellent wine—someone gave it to me… well, never mind who. Drink up, it'll steady your nerves."
Darren intended to pretend to sniff it first and then say something was wrong.
But Ron simply grabbed the glass and drank it in one go.
The very next second, Ron tried to stand up—
Then he slid straight off the chair.
His body began to convulse, foam bubbling at his mouth.
Harry looked at Slughorn in panic.
"Professor!"
Slughorn cried out in terror,
"I didn't poison him!"
Harry glared at him.
"Then do something!"
By now Ron's throat was making horrible choking sounds.
Darren waved his wand.
A bezoar flew in through the open window.
Darren pointed at Ron, and the bezoar shot straight into his mouth.
At last, Ron stopped convulsing.
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"All things considered, Ron's birthday really went terribly."
Fred said helplessly.
Harry didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Who would have thought that going to Slughorn for a drink would end in poisoning?
"Luckily Darren reacted fast—he used the Summoning Charm to get the bezoar. Otherwise…"
Harry shook his head.
Ginny was sobbing nearby.
"So the poison was in the wine?"
"Yeah. Sounds like someone gave it to Slughorn to pass on to another person, but he kept it for himself instead…"
"Then he probably isn't a Death Eater, and he wasn't under the Imperius Curse either. Dumbledore has already questioned him…"
They spoke in low voices.
Then the door was pushed open.
Hagrid entered, carrying a large snakeskin bag.
He walked over to the hospital bed and sighed.
"I've been in the forest all day… staying with Aragog. He's gotten even worse…
Professor Sprout told me what happened. Who would do something like this to Ron?"
Hagrid looked truly heartbroken.
Not long after, the Weasleys arrived.
They visited Ron first, then embraced Harry and Darren tightly.
"They told us it was Darren who forced the bezoar into his mouth and saved him, and Harry who called Madam Pomfrey in time…"
They cried loudly.
This embarrassed both Harry and Darren.
Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey appeared and announced that only six visitors were allowed in the ward; everyone else had to leave.
Harry and Darren quickly used this as an excuse to slip outside with Hagrid.
"It's terrible… Dumbledore never says it aloud, but I know he's worried sick. He's put so many protections in place, and still students get hurt…
The school governors even suggested closing Hogwarts, but Dumbledore refused. He said sending everyone home would be even more dangerous.
At least while he's here, he can protect most of the children. But now this has happened… no wonder he was so angry with Snape…"
Hagrid suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth.
Harry caught the key words at once.
"Wait—what did you say? Dumbledore was angry with Snape?"
"I didn't say anything… don't poke your noses into adult matters!"
Hagrid tried to escape.
But Harry stepped in front of him.
"If you don't tell me, I'll come and bother you every single day—you know I will!"
Hagrid glared at him.
In the end he had no choice.
"I shouldn't have heard it at all… I was heading into the forest and overheard Snape saying he didn't want to do it anymore…
Sounded like… like he thought the task was too heavy… that's all I know!"
Hagrid looked uneasy.
"He doesn't want to do it anymore? Do what? Be a double agent?"
Harry asked suspiciously.
Hagrid looked at him sternly.
"I know you don't trust Snape, but I do. And more than that—I trust Dumbledore."
With that, he strode away.
Harry was left staring after him.
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For several days after, Harry's mood was worse than ever.
Ron was still in the hospital wing, so Harry had to recruit McLaggen as Keeper. But McLaggen refused to listen to any instructions.
His skills were poor, yet he talked endlessly, trying to command everyone else.
Harry could barely stand him.
And whenever Ron woke up, he kept looking at Harry with terrified eyes, as if afraid Harry would replace him forever. That only made Harry feel worse.
Then, on the very day of the Quidditch match, Hagrid told them that Aragog had finally died.
Well—
Hagrid didn't use the word finally.
That was Harry's private thought.
Darren had been waiting for this news.
He had expected it a few days later, at least after Harry's match.
He hadn't imagined it would happen on the exact same day.
Hagrid invited them to come.
Harry had to play Quidditch, Ron was stuck in the infirmary, so the decision fell to Darren.
He told Harry he wanted to try one last idea—if he could bring Slughorn to Hagrid's hut, there might be a chance to obtain Slughorn's memory.
Harry felt ashamed.
To be honest, if Darren hadn't mentioned it, he would have forgotten about it entirely.
Only now did he realize that while he had been obsessing over Snape and Malfoy, Darren had been thinking solely about completing the task Dumbledore gave them.
The guilt weighed heavily on him…
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