𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗘

ACT ONE, CHAPTER SEVEN
learning to apparate & being
poisoned.

PENELOPE DIDN'T KNOW what Ron had said to Brown after they parted ways at the Gryffindor common room. She hoped that whatever it was would shock her a little more because it was actually coming from Ron this time, but she couldn't be too sure. Brown was awfully persistent.

The new term started that next morning with a new surprise for the sixth years. Penelope, grumbling about how it was too damn early, walked down the steps to the common room with Tracey and Daphne. Once they arrived, they saw a large crowd around the notice board. The group of three walked closer to it, only to see a large sign had been pinned there overnight.

APPARITION LESSONS
If you are seventeen years of age, or
will turn seventeen on or before the 31st August next, you are eligible for a twelve-
week course of Apparition Lessons from a Ministry of Magic Apparition instructor. Please sign below if you would like to participate. Cost: 12 Galleons.

"Apparition, huh?" Tracey asked as they joined the line to sign up.

Penelope shrugged. "I've done it before with Dora, Aunt Andy, and Uncle Ted — not that big of a fan. It kind of makes me feel seasick." She pulled out her quill and signed her name in cursive on the parchment. "Not to mention Fred and George wouldn't stop doing it when I was around them that one summer. It was so bloody annoying."

"I think it'd be useful," Daphne admitted once they all finished signing and started to make their way up to breakfast. "Like, oh, wanna go to Paris for the day? Let me just Apparate."

Tracey pointed to her. "Now we're talking. We could just, I don't know, hop on over to Italy for some pasta."

Penelope laughed slightly at them, making her way towards the Slytherin table as they entered the Great Hall. "I would love to travel different places just for food. But I'm afraid we've got to wait a little while. We can't take the test until we're seventeen."

The talks of Apparition did not settle for the rest of the day. Everyone was extremely ecstatic over the fact of being able to vanish and reappear at will. People were asking others if they had Apparated before, and Penelope was shocked to see that people were awed when she told them how uncomfortable it was.

She didn't get to see Ron much that day, only in passing in the corridors. However, she didn't spot Brown lurking around him once. Maybe he had finally knocked some sense into her. At least the next day they had Potions together, and the two of them kept sneaking glances at each other from across the room. Penelope could feel the obvious stares from Draco and Theodore, but like always, she decided to ignore them.

"Settle down, settle down, please!" Slughorn called. "Quickly, now, lots of work to get through this afternoon! Golpalott's Third Law . . . who can tell me—? But Miss Granger can, of course!"

"Golpalott's-Third-Law-states-that-the-antidote-for-a-blended-poison-will-be-equal-to-more-than-the-sum-of-the-antidotes-for-each-of-the-separate- components," Hermione recited, and Penelope blinked at how fast she said it.

Slughorn beamed. "Precisely! Ten points for Gryffindor! Now, if we accept Golpalott's Third Law as true . . ."

This is where Penelope zoned out. The words Slughorn was saying made absolutely no fucking sense. Nobody seemed to be following what he said either — well, except for Hermione.

". . . which means, of course, that assuming we have achieved correct identification of the potion's ingredients by Scarpin's Revelaspell, our primary aim is not the relatively simple one of selecting antidotes to those ingredients in and of themselves, but to find that added component which will, by an almost alchemical process, transform these disparate elements—"

Penelope had absolutely no idea what was going on. She looked over to the other side of the classroom. At that same moment, Ron looked up from his parchment. He sent her a wide-eyed look — it was obvious that he was just as clueless as she was. Penelope laughed slightly to herself and smiled softly at him.

". . . and so, I want each of you to come and take one of these phials from my desk," Slughorn finished. "You are to create an antidote for the poison within it before the end of the lesson. Good luck, and don't forget your protective gloves!"

Penelope got her phial and got to work. And by work, she means that she had no clue what she was doing. Slughorn's words had flown right over her head. She was nowhere even close to an answer when Slughorn called that they had two minutes left. Penelope glanced over at Theodore, who was just sitting there staring into his cauldron.

"What the fuck?" Theodore was muttering to himself.

Blaise looked at him helplessly. "Dude, I have no idea."

Penelope then looked at Draco, who seemed to have something that looked like cat throw up on him. "Merlin, what happened to you?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Draco respond, making Penelope laugh slightly to herself.

"Time's . . . UP!" Slughorn announced. "Well, let's see how you've done! Blaise . . . what have you got for me?"

Slughorn slowly moved around the room to examine the various antidotes. No one had finished the task whatsoever, but the only one who managed to get praise from Slughorn was — surprise, surprise — Harry. He had gotten a bezoar, which Penelope recalled was a stone taken from the stomach of a goat. Both Hermione and Draco looked absolutely livid that Harry was able to get away with it. Penelope, on the other hand, was just impressed. Ten points were awarded to Gryffindor, and Penelope left the dungeon with Ron's hand interlocked with her own.

February arrived with cold, dreary, wet weather. Grey clouds that were tinted purple hung low over the castle and a constant fall of cold rain made the lawn outside slippery and muddy. It was absolutely dreadful, but the upside to it was the sixth years' first Apparition lesson. The lesson was scheduled for a Saturday morning so that no normal lessons would be missed and it was to take place in the Great Hall instead of in the grounds due to the rain.

Penelope walked into the Great Hall that morning with Tracey and Daphne, trailed by Blaise because apparently he didn't want to deal with Theo today. She saw that the four House tables had disappeared so it was one big empty space. Rain beat against the high windows and the enchanted ceiling swirled darkly above him. They all assembled in front of McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout along with a small wizard Penelope assumed to be the Apparition instructor from the Ministry. He seemed to have all the color drained out of him and looked like a single gust of wind could blow him away.

"Good morning," the Ministry wizard greeted once all of the sixth years arrived and the Heads of Houses told them all to be quiet. "My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry Apparition Instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition test in this time—"

"Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!" McGonagall scolded.

Penelope frowned and glanced over. Sure enough, Draco's pale face had flushed pink and he looked absolutely furious. He stepped away from Crabbe, with whom he had apparently been having a whispered argument with. Penelope looked back to Blaise, who merely shrugged as if to say I have no idea.

"—by which time, many of you may be ready to take your test," Twycross continued as if there hadn't been an interruption. "As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The Headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try. I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."

There was a great scrambling and jostling as people separated, banged into each other, and ordered others out of their space. Penelope rolled her eyes and fought her way through the crowd to find a space that her, Tracey, Daphne, and Blaise could all use. Meanwhile, the Heads of House moved along the students, putting them into position and breaking up arguments.

"Quiet!" the Heads of Houses then shouted at once.

"Thank you," Twycross told them. "Now then . . ." He waved his wand, and old-fashioned wooden hoops instantly appeared on the floor in front of every student. "The important things to remember when Apparating are the three D's! Destination, Determination, Deliberation! Step one: fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination. In this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."

Penelope looked right into the center of her hoop. She concentrated on the spot on the floor that her hoop circled and thought of nothing else.

"Step two, focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body! Step three, only when I give the command . . . turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation! On my command, now . . . one — two — THREE!"

Penelope spun, but she stumbled and almost fell before she caught herself. The whole Hall seemed to be about the same. Some were even on the floor, including Neville, who Charlotte was trying to help up while laughing hysterically.

"Never mind, never mind," Twycross stated, who did not seem to have expected anything better. "Adjust your hoops, please, and back to your original positions . . ."

The second attempt wasn't much better, and the third was just as bad. It only took four tries for something exciting to happen — well, Penelope wouldn't call it so much exciting, more like horrifying.

There was a sudden horrible screech of pain. Penelope's eyes widened and she whirled around to see Susan Bones of Hufflepuff wobbling in her hoop with her left leg still standing five feet away where she had started. Her hand flew to her hand in shock as the Heads of Houses went to Bones. There was a great bang and a puff of purple smoke, which cleared to reveal Bones sobbing. She had her leg back, but she looked utterly terrifying.

"Splinching, or the separation of random body parts, occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined," Twycross explained. "You must concentrate continually upon your destination, and move, without haste, but with deliberation . . . thus." He stepped forwards, turned gracefully on the spot with his arms outstretched, vanished in a swirl of robes, and reappeared at the back of the Hall. "Remember the three D's and try again . . . one — two — three—"

An hour later, Bones' Splinching was still the most interesting thing that had happened.

Twycross, however, didn't seem discouraged. "Until nextSaturday, everybody, and do not forget: Destination. Determination. Deliberation."

Penelope blew a piece of hair out of her face. Apparition was fucking hard.

・゜・。・゜。・。・゜★

RON'S BIRTHDAY.

PENELOPE was especially excited for this day. She had it all planned out — give him his present outside the Gryffindor common room (she got him a gold bracelet with a snake charm that had a green eye to match her crown necklace, how cute!), eat lunch with him, kiss him every time she saw him in the corridor, and bring him to the kitchens later so they could have some birthday cake. She was determined to make it a great day since the Hogsmeade trip on his birthday had been cancelled and they had another Apparition lesson.

But things went wrong. Horribly wrong.

Penelope was making her way up to the Gryffindor common room, Ron's present in her hand and a bright smile on her face. People were continuing to stare at her, obviously not used to her being this sunshiney. She was just about to go up the stairs when she ran into Venus, who looked a little stressed.

"Oh, Penelope!" Venus breathed out. "Just the person I was looking for."

Penelope's eyebrows knit in confusion. "Uh, morning, Venus." She held up the small box for the girl to see. "I was just on my way to the Gryffindor common room—"

"Ron's obsessed with me," Venus blurted out.

Penelope blinked, very taken aback. "I'm sorry?"

"Oh God, how do I explain this?" Venus whispered to herself for a moment before looking back to Penelope. "Okay, so Romilda Vane has this weird obsession with Harry and gave him chocolates filled with love potion. The love potion was basically supposed to make Harry so obsessed with me to the point where I'd break up with him. But this morning Ron got into them and, well . . . now he's obsessed with me?"

Penelope sighed and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "We literally just got Lavender Brown off our case, and now this?"

Venus winced. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Black. I don't blame you." She let out a deep breath. "Do me a favor and find me when it wears off, yeah?"

"Yeah, no problem. I'm sorry again."

Penelope nodded and turned back towards the Great Hall. She stared down at the box with a frown as she made her way towards Tracey and Daphne. Well, so much for that.

"What's up with you?" Tracey questioned as Penelope slumped down at the Slytherin table.

Penelope placed her chin in the palm of her hand with a frown. "Ron's in love with Venus."

Tracey's eyes widened. "Fucking plot twist."

"It's a love potion. He accidentally ate some chocolates that Romilda Vane gave Harry so that Venus would break up with him because he would be totally obsessed with her." She then sat up straighter. "But it's fine. The day will get better."

Daphne smiled. "That's the spirit, Penny."

The day did not get better.

Penelope was in the middle of her Apparition lesson when Hermione came rushing up to her, saying that Ron had been poisoned, and she was just informed by McGonagall.

"Poisoned?" Penelope repeated in shock.

At that very moment, she left the Great Hall without another word, Hermione trailing behind her. The look on her face must've been deadly, because as she led the way through the corridors, everyone there seemed to part for her.

Harry was already waiting outside. He informed that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let anyone in. Penelope ignored him and tried to walk inside, but Madam Pomfrey pushed her back out.

"I'm his girlfriend!" Penelope argued as she fought against Madam Pomfrey.

"You will stay out here, Miss Lestrange, and that is final," Madam Pomfrey ordered.

Penelope glared at the doors as Madam Pomfrey slammed them.

So there she waited with Harry, Venus, Hermione, Elijah, Charlotte, and Ginny until eight o'clock when Madam Pomfrey finally let them in. Once the doors opened, Penelope made a beeline to Ron's bed, which was the only occupied one. She took his cold hand in hers as she sat down on his bedside. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny joined her as well. At eight ten, Fred and George then arrived — Penelope would've been more excited to see them if she wasn't so worried.

"So, all in all, not one of Ron's better birthdays?" Fred inquired.

"This isn't how we imagined handing over our present," George voiced grimly as he put down a large wrapped gift on Ron's bedside cabinet and sat beside Ginny.

"Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious."

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

Ginny looked up. "You were in Hogsmeade?"

"We were thinking of buying Zonko's," Fred revealed 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 pulled up a chair next to Harry and looked at Ron's pale face. "How exactly did it happen, Harry?"

Harry recited his story once more, the same one he had told Penelope when she got to the hospital wing. ". . . 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 responded.

"Lucky there was one in the room."

Penelope's breath hitched in her throat. If Harry hadn't been able to save him . . . Merlin, she didn't even want to think about it.

"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 . . ." Ginny answered.

They all paused while they watched Ron mumble a little in his sleep.

"So the poison was in the drink?" Fred questioned quietly.

"Yes," Harry said at once. "Slughorn poured it out—"

"Would he have been able to slip something into Ron's glass without you seeing?"

"Probably, but why would Slughorn want to poison Ron?"

Fred frowned. "No idea. You don't think he could have mixed up the glasses by mistake? Meaning to get you?"

"Why would Slughorn want to poison Harry?" Ginny inquired.

"I dunno, but there must be loads of people who'd like to poison Harry, mustn't there? The Chosen One and all that?"

Penelope didn't move her gaze from Ron's face. "So you're saying Slughorn would join the ranks with my mother?"

"Anything's possible," Fred replied darkly.

"He could be under the Imperius Curse," George suggested.

"Or he could be innocent," Ginny offered. "The poison could have been in the bottle, in which case it was probably meant for Slughorn himself."

"Who'd want to kill Slughorn?"

"Dumbledore reckons Voldemort wanted Slughorn on his side," Harry told them. "Slughorn was in hiding for a year before he came to Hogwarts. And . . . and maybe Voldemort 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. "So the poisoner could just as easily have been after Dumbledore."

"Then the poisoner didn't know Slughorn very well," Hermione voiced. "Anyone who knew Slughorn would have known there was a good chance he'd keep something that tasty for himself."

"Pen-nel-pe," Ron croaked unexpectedly.

Penelope's heart beat against her chest. They all fell silent and watched him anxiously, but Ron started snoring again after muttering incomprehensibly for a moment.

The dormitory doors then flew open, making all of them jump and finally forcing Penelope to look away from Ron. Hagrid came walking in with rain in his hair, wearing his bearskin coat and holding a crossbow. He left a trail of large muddy footprints behind him as he walked in furhter.

"Bin in the forest all day!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Aragog's worse, I bin readin' to him — didn' get up ter dinner till jus' now an' then Professor Sprout told me abou' Ron! How is he?"

"Not bad," Harry answered. "They say he'll be okay."

"No more than ten visitors at a time!" Madam Pomfrey shouted as she hurried out of her office.

"Hagrid makes ten," George pointed out.

"Oh . . . yes . . ."

She seemed to have counted Hagrid as several people due to his vastness. To cover it up, she hurried off to clean up his muddy footprints with her wand.

Hagrid shook his head. "I don' believe this. Jus' don' believe it . . . look at him lyin' there . . . who'd want ter hurt him, eh?"

"That's just what we were discussing," Harry responded. "We don't know."

"Someone couldn' have a grudge against the Gryffindor Quidditch team, could they? Firs' Katie, now Ron . . ."

"I can't see anyone trying to bump off a Quidditch team," George stated.

"Wood might've done the Slytherins if he could've got away with it," Fred said.

Charlotte shrugged. "Fair point."

"Well, I don't think it's Quidditch, but I think there's a connection between the attacks," Hermione admitted quietly.

"How d'you work that out?" Fred asked.

"Well, for one thing, they both ought to have been fatal and weren't, although that was pure luck. And for another, neither the poison nor the necklace seems to have reached the person who was supposed to be killed. Of course, that makes the person behind this even more dangerous in a way, because they don't seem to care how many people they finish off before they actually reach their victim."

Before anybody could respond, the dormitory doors opened again and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came in. Mrs. Weasley immediately swept up Harry in a hug while Mr. Weasley placed a hand on Penelope's shoulder. She looked up and offered him a small smile. Madam Pomfrey then reminded them that there were only supposed to be ten visitors around Ron's bed, and at once, Harry, Venus, Hermione, Charlotte, and Elijah all stood up to leave with Hagrid. Penelope couldn't force herself to leave just yet, so she turned back and looked back down at Ron's face.

She let out a sigh. So much for a birthday.

☆ 彡

YEAHHHH WE LOVE ANGRY PENELOPE TRYING TO GET TO HER BOYFRIEND WOOOOOO