𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗢𝗬

ACT TWO, CHAPTER ONE
grimmauld place & st. mungo's.

VENUS BLACK HAD fallen asleep with a feeling of bliss in her heart. The thought of kissing Harry had been swirling throughout her mind and she could barely wipe the smile off of her face. Maybe the other girls in her dormitory thought she was going insane, but Venus didn't care. She had kissed Harry Potter, and he had told her he liked her, and he had called her darling . . .

However, that feeling of peace had shattered at about two o'clock in the morning.

"Miss Black," McGonagall's frantic voice said from above her. Venus blinked a couple of times and looked up to see McGonagall standing above her. "Miss Black, we must leave, now."

"What?" Venus asked groggily, sitting up in her bed.

"Mr. Potter has asked specifically for you. He saw a dream of Mr. Weasley being badly hurt. We will explain more in the headmaster's office . . . come, Miss Black."

Venus didn't need to be told twice. She sprung up from her bed and put on her shoes before following McGonagall out of the dormitory. Ginny was waiting in the hallway, and the three of them descended to see the twins waiting at the bottom. None of them said a word as they exited the Gryffindor common room and went into the corridor.

Her mind swam. Mr. Weasley was hurt? Harry had seen it in a dream? He had asked specifically for her? It was all a little too much information for being woken up suddenly in the middle of the night. However, the one thing she felt for sure was concern.

Finally, after a long while of walking, they made it to a statue of a Gargoyle.

"Fizzing Whizbee," McGonagall told it.

The Gargoyle instantly sprang to life and leaped aside, making Venus blink in surprise. The wall behind it split in two and revealed a spiral staircase made of stones that was continuously moving upwards. All five of them stepped onto the staircase and allowed themselves to be taken up in tight circles until they reached a highly polished oak door with a brass knocker shaped like a Griffin. McGonagll didn't even bother knocking and just opened the door.

Venus was instantly met with the sight of the headmaster's office, which was half dark and had a lot of strange silver instruments on the tables and portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses covering the walls. However, Venus wasn't focused on that. She zoned in on Dumbledore, Ron, and more specifically, Harry, who looked completely freaked out.

"Harry — what's going on?" Ginny asked. "Professor McGonagall says you saw Dad hurt—"

"Your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore explained. "He has been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I am sending you back to Sirius' house, which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there."

Suddenly, knocking was heard at the door. Venus looked over to see Penelope Lestrange enter with Snape. She made a comment about something Grimmauld Place — which, Venus guessed, must've been Sirius' house.

"How're we going?" Fred asked. "Floo powder?"

"No, Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched," Dumbledore responded. "You will be taking a Portkey." He indicated to the old kettle lying innocently on his desk. "We are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back. . . . I wish to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you—"

There was a sudden flash of flame in the middle of the office. Venus watched as it left behind was a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor.

"It is Fawkes' warning," Dumbledore revealed as he caught the feather. "She must know you're out of your beds. . . . Minerva, go and head her off — tell her any story — Severus, you too—"

With a swish of a tartan and a swirl of a black cloak, McGonagall and Snape were gone.

"He says he'll be delighted," a bored voice stated, and Venus looked over to see an old headmaster in his portrait standing in front of a Slytherin banner. "My great-great-grandson has always had odd taste in houseguests. . . ."

"Come here, then," Dumbledore instructed to everyone. "And quickly, before anyone else joins us . . ." All of them gathered around Dumbledore's desk. "You have all used a Portkey before?"

Venus shook her head. She had always used the Floo or the train to get back and forth to Ilvermorny, never a Portkey. Nevertheless, she followed everyone's lead and placed a hand on the blackened kettle.

"Good. On the count of three then . . . one . . . two . . . three."

Venus resisted the urge to gasp as she felt a powerful jerk in her stomach. The ground suddenly vanished from underneath her, and all she could do was hold onto the kettle as she slammed into the others. They continued to speed forwards in a swirl of colors and a rush of wind until her feet landed on the floor again. She fell to her knees, not quite used to the sensation, before grabbing onto the nearest chair and pulling herself up.

"Never again," Venus muttered.

She looked around. They must have landed in a kitchen, but it was very dark and was only illuminated by a fire and one guttering candle. It also revealed the remains of a dinner.

A very old House-Elf then came up, wearing a very dirty loincloth. "Back again, the blood traitor brats, is it true their father's dying . . . ?"

"OUT!" a second voice demanded after Penelope told the creature, which was named Kreacher, to go away. Venus turned to see the familiar face of Sirius — whom she had met through the fire many times — hurrying towards them all with an anxious look on his face. "What's going on? Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured—"

"Ask Harry," Fred cut in.

"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself," George added.

Venus slowly looked over to Harry. The boy was slightly trembling and his mind seemed elsewhere, making her frown in concern.

"It was—" Harry began shakily. "I had a — a kind of — vision . . ."

He then told them all about Mr. Weasley getting attacked by a snake. Harry had been watching from the sidelines in his dream. Venus felt her heart sink. Harry had to see that, and the Weasley children now had a weight on their shoulders about their dad being seriously injured . . . God, this was awful.

Fred turned to Sirius. "Is Mum here?"

"She probably doesn't even know what's happened yet," Sirius answered. "The important thing was to get you away before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's letting Molly know now."

"We've got to go to St. Mungo's," Ginny voiced urgently. She looked around at her brothers, seeing how all of them were still in their pajamas. "Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything—?"

"Hang on, you can't go tearing off to St. Mungo's!"

"'Course we can go to St. Mungo's if we want, he's our dad!" Fred replied.

"And how are you going to explain how you knew Arthur was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?" Sirius questioned.

"What does that matter?" George said hotly.

"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away! Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?"

Fred and George looked like they could not care less about what the Ministry made of anything. Ron was still very pale and was holding onto Penelope's hand tightly. Venus then felt a hand slip into her own. She looked down to see Harry interlocking their fingers together. Venus squeezed it, letting him know that she was here.

"Somebody else could have told us . . ." Ginny responded. "We could have heard it somewhere other than Harry . . ."

"Like who?" Sirius demanded impatiently. "Listen, your dad's been hurt while on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it seconds after it happened, you could seriously damage the Order's—"

"We don't care about the dumb Order!" Fred shouted.

"It's our dad dying we're talking about!" George yelled.

"Your father knew what he was getting into, and he won't thank you for messing things up for the Order!" Sirius replied angrily. "This is how it is — this is why you're not in the Order — you don't understand — there are things worth dying for!"

"Easy for you to say, stuck here!" Fred bellowed. "I don't see you risking your neck!"

All the color from Sirius' face drained, and looked for a moment like he wanted to hit Fred. Penelope then calmly interrupted saying they shouldn't argue and how they should take a step back. Venus agreed. Things were just a little too tense to have more arguments break out.

Sirius then sighed. "Penelope's right. I know it's hard, but we've all got to act as though we don't know anything yet. We've got to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother, all right?"

The twins still looked furious. Ginny, on the other hand, went over to the nearest chair and sunk into it. Penelope and Ron then sat down, and Venus led Harry over to the table and sat them next to each other. Fred and George glared at Sirius for about another minute before taking seats on either side of Ginny.

"That's right, come on, let's all . . . let's all have a drink while we're waiting," Sirius suggested encouragingly. "Accio Butterbeer!"

He raised his wand as he spoke, and eight bottles of butterbeer came flying towards them from the pantry. They skidded along the table — which scattered the remains of Sirius' dinner in the process — and stopped neatly in front of each of them. Venus let go of Harry's hand for the time being to open her butterbeer.

Venus decided to give Harry some space for now. It was obvious that he was feeling incredibly guilty, and after learning how much he could snap easily, she didn't want to provoke him in this state. Especially since he had set his bottle down so hard that he managed to slosh some liquid onto the wood.

For a while, it was silent. The only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the soft thud of their bottles on the table. But then a burst of fire — just like in Dumbledore's office — appeared in midair. It illuminated the dirty plates in front of them. Venus gasped as the others gave out cries of shock. A scroll of parchment then fell onto the table with a single golden Phoeniz tail feather.

"Fawkes!" Sirius announced at once as he snatched up the parchment. "That's not Dumbledore's writing — it must be a message from your mother — here—"

George ripped open the letter after Sirius thrust it into his hands and began to read aloud. "Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum." George looked around the table. "Still alive . . . but that makes it sound . . ."

There was no need to finish the sentence. That letter made it sound that Mr. Weasley was hovering somewhere between life and death. Venus let out a deep breath and looked back over to Harry. His hand was clenching the butterbeer bottle tightly, obviously trying to get himself to stop trembling.

The group went silent again, and the long night continued on. Sirius even suggested once that they should try and go to bed, but the answer to that was given with the looks of disgust from the Weasley children. They mostly just sat, watching the candle wick sink lower and lower into liquid wax and now and then taking another sip of butterbeer. The only words spoken once in a while were the ones asking what time it was and how if there was bad news, they would've known straight away because Mrs. Weasley was bound to have arrived at St. Mungo's by now.

Fred soon fell into a doze, his head sagging sideways onto his shoulder. Ginny was curled up on her chair like a cat with her eyes wide open. Ron had his face in his hands and Penelope was rubbing his back comfortingly.

Venus then looked over. Harry's gaze was intent on her, like she was the most interesting thing in the room. She offered him a sad smile and held out her hand to him. He took it again and rested their interlocked hands in his lap. Venus gently traced her thumb against his knuckles to try and at least give him some sense of security.

Finally, at five ten in the morning — according to Ron's watch — the kitchen door swung open. Venus saw a very plump woman with red hair — quite obviously Mrs. Weasley — enter the kitchen. She was extremely pale but gave them all a wan smile as everyone turned to look at her.

"He's going to be all right," Mrs. Weasley revealed, her voice weak with tiredness. "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now, he's going to take the morning off work."

Fred fell back into his chair with his hands covering his face. George and Ginny stood up, walked swiftly to their mother, and pulled her into a tight hug. Ron let out a very shaky laugh and downed the rest of his butterbeer in one sip.

"Breakfast!" Sirius exclaimed loudly and joyfully, jumping to his feet. "Where's that accursed House-Elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!" Kreacher didn't answer, and Penelope told Sirius to forget him, so then Sirius began to count the people in front of him. "So it's breakfast for — let's see — nine . . bacon and eggs, I think, and some tea, and toast—"

Harry let go of Venus' hand and hurried over to the stove to help. Venus stood up as well and passed him and Mrs. Weasley hugging before going to gather some plates. She grabbed a stack and brought them over to the table to set them up.

"You must be Venus," Mrs. Weasley suddenly voiced, making Venus turn to her. "I'm Mrs. Weasley, it's so nice to meet you, dear. My children speak very highly of you."

"It's very nice to meet you, too," Venus told her. "They've all made me feel very welcome at Hogwarts. Also, I'm very sorry to hear about Mr. Weasley. I'm glad he's going to be okay."

"That means a lot, dear. Now, let's get breakfast done . . . Merlin knows you all need sleep . . ."

They did indeed get breakfast done, and after they ate, Ginny and Penelope took Venus back up to the room that they had apparently used in the summer. Venus used the bed Hermione had used, and all three of them along with everyone else in the house took a nap for a little while. They awoke just in time for lunch. Venus got up, feeling much better than she had before.

All of their trunks had arrived from Hogwarts as well. They all had to dress as Muggles in order to blend in. That was no problem for Venus, she had dressed up as a Muggle in New York City her entire life. She put on a pair of jeans, a light blue sweater, and her white Converse. Venus conversed happily with the others of the house, but her heart only deflated upon seeing Harry not as talkative as everyone else.

Two Aurors then showed up to escort them across London — Mad-Eye Moody, who was wearing a bowler hat to disguise his magical eye, and Nymphadora Tonks (who preferred to be called Tonks, except Penelope called her Dora because they were cousins) that had short hair that was a shockingly bright pink color.

Venus had just descended down the stairs with Harry right behind her when she saw two very familiar people standing in the hallway. They were talking excitedly with Sirius before they noticed her there.

"Mom," Venus let out, her tone filled with delight. "Dad."

Mary Black laughed and held out her arms. "Hi, baby."

Venus instantly ran into her mother's arms. After a couple moments, she threw her arms around Atlas Black and hugged him tightly as well.

"Dumbledore told us you were here," Atlas stated once the hugs were over with. "We decided to come see how you were doing — and, well, visit Sirius, of course. Your mother and I are going to keep him company in this wretched house while you go off to London." He sighed and glanced around the walls. "I remember all the family parties we used to have here. One time we even managed to lock Walburga up in the attic. Man, that was so funny—"

"Okay, okay," Mary interupted with a small laugh. "We can reminisce about the memories later. Oh, but there was that one time when we crashed that arranged marriage meeting between me and Regulus—"

Venus then gestured Harry to come over, and he walked up to them. "Mom, dad, save the memories for now. I wanted to introduce you to Harry. He's my . . ." Venus trailed off. What were they, exactly? "Um, friend. Harry, these are my parents."

"Merlin, I remember you when you were a baby," Mary breathed out quietly. She held out her hand. "Mary Black."

Harry shook her hand. "You knew my parents?"

"Of course we did," Atlas added, holding his own hand out for Harry to shake. "James and Lily, they were the best."

Their conversation was cut short, because they now had to leave. Once they were outside again, Venus held out her hand to Harry, who took it with a ghost of a smile on her face. She dragged him down the streets of London — the ones that she had gotten familiar with in the summer — as they went to go get on the underground.

"Come on, London boy," Venus teased.

"Easy, darling," Harry told her, making her face burn.

However, the happy moment was shattered due to Tonks being very interested in Harry's vision of the attack. Venus kept their hands interlocked upon noticing Harry get uncomfortable. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it. She could also tell Tonks didn't mean it in a mean way, she was definitely just curious.

"There isn't any Seer blood in your family, is there?" Tonks inquired on their train ride towards the heart of the city.

"No," Harry answered.

"No, no, I suppose it's not really Prophecy you're doing, is it? I mean, you're not seeing the future, you're seeing the present . . . it's odd, isn't it? Useful, though . . ."

Harry didn't answer, but they got out at the next stop in the very heart of London. Tonks led the way as they ascended on an escalator, Moody right behind them while keeping an eye out . . . literally.

"Not far from here," Moody announced as they stepped out into the wintry air on a broad-lined street packed with Christmas shoppers. "Wasn't easy to find a good location for a hospital. Nowhere in Diagon Alley was big enough and we couldn't have it underground like the Ministry — unhealthy. In the end they managed to get hold of a building up here. Theory was sick wizards could come and go andjust blend in with the crowd . . ."

Venus then pulled Harry back to prevent them from being separated by a crowd of shoppers. It was evident all of them were intent on not stopping so they could go into a nearby shop full of electrical gadgets. Harry sent her a look of gratitude, making her nod in response.

"Here we go," Moody said a moment later.

They had arrived outside of a large, old-fashioned, red brick department store that was called Purge and Dowse Ltd. The place had a sort of shabby, miserable air. Inside of the window displays were a few chipped dummies, their wigs askew, standing in random spots while modeling clothes that were at least ten years out of date. Large signs on the dusty doors all read CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT.

"Right," Tonks stated, beckoning them forwards to a window display that showed nothing but a particularly ugly female dummy modeling a green nylon pinafore dress and that had false eyelashes hanging off. "Everybody ready?" They nodded while clustering around her, and Venus pulled Harry forwards by his hand. Tonks leaned close to the glass, looking at the very ugly dummy. "Wotcher . . . We're here to see Arthur Weasley."

The dummy then suddenly gave a tiny nod and beckoned its jointed finger. Tonks seized Penelope and Ginny by their elbows, stepped right through the glass, and vanished. Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, and Ron then stepped through as well. Venus shrugged and stepped through as well, taking Harry with her with Moody right behind them.

After a peculiar sensation of stepping through cool water, they entered a crowded reception area where rows of witches and wizards were sitting upon rickety wooden chairs. Some looked perfectly normal as they read through outdated copies of Witch Weekly while others were . . . not normal. They had gruesome disfigurements, such as elephant trunks or extra hands sticking out of their chests. The room was about as loud as the street outside, because many patients were making some very peculiar noises. A sweaty-faced witch in the very center of the front row was fanning herself vigorously with a copy of the Daily Prophet was letting out a high-pitched whistle as steam came pouring out of her mouth. There was also a grubby-looking wizard in the corner that clanged like a bell every time he moved, but his head vibrated so horribly with each clang that he had to seize himself by the ears to hold it steady. Witches and wizards in lime-green robes walked up and down the rows, asking questions and making notes on clipboards. Venus then noticed the emblem embroidered on their chests: a crossed wand and bone.

"Are they doctors?" Harry asked quietly.

Ron looked startled. "Doctors? Those Muggle nutters that cut people up? Nah, they're Healers."

Penelope then admitted she wanted to be a Healer, because her mother had spent her life hurting people and Penelope wanted to spend hers healing them. Venus found that a little bit sad, but at the same time, she thought Penelope would make a great Healer.

"Over here!" Mrs. Weasley then called over the clanging from the wizard in the corner.

They followed her to the queue in front of a plump blonde witch whom was seated at a desk marked INQUIRIES. The wall behind her was covered in notices and posters that said things such as A clean cauldron keeps potions from becoming poisons and Antidotes are anti-don'ts unless approved by a qualified Healer.

There was also a large portrait of a witch with long silver ringlets. Venus' eyes trailed down to the label.

DILYS DERWENT
St. Mungo's Healer 1722—1741
Headmistress of Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry, 1741—1768

Dilys was eyeing the Weasley party like she was counting them. Venus smiled a little at the portrait. Dilys gave her a tiny wink before walking out of her portrait and vanishing from sight.

Meanwhile, there was a young wizard at the front of the queue who seemed to be doing an odd on-the-spot jig and trying, in between yelps of pain, to explain his predicament to the witch behind the desk. "It's these — ouch — shoes my brother gave me — ow — they're eating my — OUCH — feet — look at them, there must be some kind of — AARGH — jinx on them and I can't — AAAAARGH — get them off—"

"The shoes don't prevent you reading, do they?" the blonde witch questioned irritably, pointing to the large sign that was to the left of her desk. "You want Spell Damage, fourth floor. Just like it says on the floor guide. Next!"

He hobbled and pranced sideways out of the way. The Weasley moved forwards a few steps, and Venus took this time to read the floor guide.

ARTIFACT ACCIDENTS . . . . . . . . . . . Ground Floor
(Cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc.)

CREATURE-INDUCED INJURIES . . . . First Floor
(Bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc.)

MAGICAL BUGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Second Floor
(Contagious maladies, e.g., dragon pox, vanishing sickness, scrofungulus)

POTION AND PLANT POISONING . . . Third Floor
(Rashes, regurgitation, uncontrollable giggling, etc.)

SPELL DAMAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fourth Floor
(Unliftable jinxes, hexes, and incorrectly applied charms, etc.)

VISITORS' TEAROOM AND HOSPITAL SHOP . . . . Fifth Floor

If you are unsure where to go, incapable, of normal speech, or unable to remember why you are here, our Welcome Witch will be pleased to help.

A very old and stooped wizard with a hearing trumpet was now at the front of the queue. "I'm here to see Broderick Bode!"

"Ward forty-nine, but I'm afraid you're wasting your time," the witch answered dismissively. "He's completely addled, you know, still thinks he's a teapot . . . next!"

A harassed-looking wizard was holding his small daughter tightly by the ankle. She was flapping around his head using the very large, feathery wings that had sprouted right out the back of her romper suit.

"Fourth floor," the witch instructed in a bored voice without asking, and the man disappeared through the double doors beside the desk. "Next!"

Mrs. Weasley approached the desk. "Hello. My husband, Arthur Weasley, was supposed to be moved to a different ward this morning, could you tell us—?"

"Arthur Weasley?" the witch repeated, running her finger down a long list in front of her. "Yes, first floor, second door on the right, Dai Llewellyn ward."

"Thank you. Come on, you lot."

They followed Mrs. Weasley through the double doors and along the narrow corridor beyond. It was lined with more portraits of famous Healers and was lit by crystal bubbles full of candles that floated up on the ceiling. More Healers in lime-green robes walked in and out of the doors they passed. A foul-smelling yellow gas had wafted into the passageway as they passed one door, and every now and then they heard distant wailing.

After climbing a flight of stairs, they entered the Creature-Induced Injuries corridor. The second door on the right read the words "DANGEROUS" DAI LLEWELLYN WARD: SERIOUS BITES. Underneath that was a card in a brass holder that had been handwritten on, reading Healer-in-Charge: Hippocrates Smethwyck, Trainee Healer: Augustus Pye.

"We'll wait outside, Molly," Tonks offered. "Arthur won't want too many visitors at once . . . it ought to be just the family first."

Penelope then said she could wait outside with Tonks, but Ron was quick to say that she could come in. Venus suspected it was a lot more than allowing Penelope to see Mr. Weasley, but she didn't say anything. Mrs. Weasley said it was perfectly fine with a knowing glint in her eyes. Venus then took a step back, Harry doing so as well — she had never met Mr. Weasley, and Harry obviously didn't want to intrude.

Mrs. Weasley looked at the two of them. "Don't be silly, Harry, Arthur wants to thank you . . . and he would love to meet you, Venus . . ."

The ward was small and rather dingy, as the only window was narrow and set high in the wall facing the door. Most of the light in the room came from more shining crystal bubbles that were clustered in the middle of the ceiling. The walls were of paneled oak and there was a portrait of a rather vicious-looking wizard on the wall. It was captioned Urquhart Rackharrow, 1612—1697, Inventor of the Entrail-Expelling Curse.

There were only three patients. One with red hair — who was obviously Mr. Weasley — was occupying the bed at the far end of the ward by the small window. He was propped up on several pillows as he read the Daily Prophet, using the solitary ray of sunlight falling onto his bed. Mr. Weasley looked around to see who was walking towards him and beamed upon seeing whom it was.

"Hello!" Mr. Weasley greeted, throwing the Prophet aside. "Bill just left, Molly, had to get back to work, but he says he'll drop in on you later . . ."

"How are you, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley questioned, pressing a kiss to his cheek before anxiously looking at his face. "You're still looking a bit peaky . . ."

"I feel absolutely fine." He held out his good arm to let Ginny hug him. "If they could only take the bandages off, I'd be fit to go home." He then looked over to Venus. "Oh, we've never met before." Mr. Weasley held out his good hand after hugging Ginny. "Arthur."

Venus shook his hand with hers that wasn't still holding Harry's. "Venus Black. I moved here a couple of months ago from America."

"Why can't they take them off, Dad?" Fred inquired after the introduction.

"Well, I start bleeding like mad every time they try," Mr. Weasley revealed cheerfully. He reached across for his wand, which was on the beside cabinet, and waved it so that eight extra chairs appeared to seat them all. Venus sat down and allowed Harry to place their interlocked hands on his lap. "It seems there was some rather unusual kind of poison in that snake's fangs that keeps wounds open . . . they're sure they'll find an antidote, though, they say they've had much worse cases than mine, and in the meantime I just have to keep taking a Blood-Replenishing Potion every hour. But that fellow over there—" he dropped his voice and nodded to the bed opposite him, where a green and sickly looking man was laying and staring at the ceiling "—bitten by a Werewolf, poor chap. No cure at all."

"A Werewolf?" Mrs. Weasley echoed in a whisper, looking very alarmed. "Is he safe in a public ward? Shouldn't he be in a private room?"

"It's two weeks till full moon. They've been talking to him this morning, the Healers, you know, trying to persuade him he'll be able to lead an almost normal life. I said to him — didn't mention names, of course — but I said I knew a Werewolf personally, very nice man, who finds the condition quite easy to manage . . ."

"What did he say?" George asked.

"Said he'd give me another bite if I didn't shut up," Mr. Weasley responded sadly. "And that woman over there—" he indicated to the other occupied bed, which was right beside the door "—won't tell the Healers what bit her, which makes us all think it must have been something she was handling illegally. Whatever it was took a real chunk out of her leg, very nasty smell when they take off the dressings."

"So, you going to tell us what happened, Dad?" Fred urged, pulling his chair closer to the bed.

"Well, you already know, don't you?" Mr. Weasley grinned at Harry. "It's very simple — I'd had a very long day, dozed off, got sneaked up on, and bitten."

Fred gestured to the newspaper that his father had cast aside. "Is it in the Prophet, you being attacked?"

Mr. Weasley's smile suddenly turned bitter. "No, of course not, the Ministry wouldn't want everyone to know a dirty great serpent got—"

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley warned.

"—got — er — me," Mr. Weasley finished hastily, but Venus was pretty sure that was not what he had meant to say.

"So where were you when it happened, Dad?" George questioned.

"That's my business," Mr. Weasley responded with a smile smile. He picked up the Daily Prophet and shook it open again. "I was just reading about Willy Widdershins's arrest when you arrived. You know Willy turned out to be behind those regurgitating toilets last summer? One of his jinxes backfired, the toilet exploded, and they found him lying unconscious in the wreckage covered from head to foot in—"

"When you say you were on duty, what were you doing?" Fred interrupted in a low voice.

"You heard your father, we are not discussing this here!" Mrs. Weasley whispered. "Go on about Willy Widdershins, Arthur—"

"Well, don't ask me how, but he actually got off on the toilet charge," Mr. Weasley continued grimly. "I can only suppose gold changed hands—"

"You were guarding it, weren't you?" George inquired quietly. "The weapon? The thing You-Know-Who's after?"

Venus had no clue what was going on.

"George, be quiet!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

Mr. Weasley raised his voice. "Anyway, this time Willy's been caught selling biting doorknobs to Muggles, and I don't think he'll be able to worm his way out of it because according to this article, two Muggles have lost fingers and are now in St. Mungo's for emergency bone regrowth and memory modification. Just think of it, Muggles in St. Mungo's! I wonder which ward they're in?"

"Didn't you say You-Know-Who's got a snake, Harry?" Fred asked, looking at Mr. Weasley for a reaction. "A massive one? You saw it the night he returned, didn't you?"

"That's enough," Mrs. Weasley interjected crossly. "Mad-Eye and Tonks are outside, Arthur, they want to come and see you. And you lot can wait outside," she added to her children, Harry, Venus, and Penelope. "You can come and say good-bye afterward. Go on . . ."

They all went back into the corridor. Mad-Eye and Tonks then entered the ward and closed the door behind them.

Fred raised his eyebrows and started to rummage through his pockets. "Fine, be like that. Don't tell us anything."

"Looking for these?" George guessed, holding out of what looked like a tangle of flesh-colored string.

Fred grinned widely. "You read my mind."

Penelope then asked what they were. Venus was also curious. She'd known about Fred and George's Skiving Snackboxes, but this seemed to be like another product of theirs.

"Extendable Ears," Fred explained. "One of our products. Let's see if St. Mungo's puts Imperturbable Charms on its ward doors, shall we?"

The twins then disentangled the string and separated seven Extendable Ears from each other. Venus took one of the strings and placed it in her ear like Fred and George had done.

"Okay, go!" Fred whispered.

All seven of the strings wriggled and snaked under the door. For a few seconds there was nothing but silence, but then Tonks' voice came through as clear as day.

". . . they searched the whole area but they couldn't find the snake anywhere, it just seems to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur . . ." Tonks revealed. "But You-Know-Who can't have expected a snake to get in, can he?"

"I reckon he sent it as a lookout, 'cause he's not had any luck so far, has he?" Moody responded. "No, I reckon he's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's facing and if Arthur hadn't been there the beast would've had much more time to look around. So Potter says he saw it all happen?"

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley confirmed, sounding rather uneasy. "You know, Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this . . ."

"Yeah, well, there's something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that."

"Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning.

"'Course he's worried," Moody growled. "The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake . . . obviously, Potter doesn't realize what that means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him—"

Venus' eyes widened and she felt her heart stop. She glanced over at Harry, who had pulled out his Extendable Ear and looked very red in the face. Venus felt his hand began to tremble in hers before he frantically let go. It was clear to see that Harry was extremely afraid at the aspect of Voldemort possessing him . . . and this time, Venus didn't know how to help.

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HEYOOOO WELCOME TO ACT TWO

also I am very sunburnt pls send help