February of 1996

52

"George and I are thinking about buying Zonkos," Fred said, walking out of the restroom with only a white towel wrapped low around his hips. Irena looked at him, not able to get a few words out of her mouth. Fred chuckled, seeing her reaction. He walked up to her and kissed her head.

"Do you want to come with us? It's Rons birthday; we have a present for him." Irena blinked a few times. "Yes, let me just change, and Ill get Alek," Irena said with a wide smile.

Once they were at Hogsmeade, George, Fred, and Irena found out that Ron was in the hospital wing.

"So, all in all, not one of Rons better birthdays?" said Fred. Irena was standing next to him, carrying an almost four-month-old Alek.

It was evening; the hospital wing was quiet. Rons was the only occupied bed. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were sitting around him; they had spent all day waiting outside the double doors.

Madam Pomfrey had only let them enter at eight oclock. Fred, George, and Irena had arrived later.

"This isnt how we imagined handing over our present," said George grimly, putting down a large wrapped gift on Rons bedside cabinet and sitting beside Ginny.

"Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious," said Fred. "There we were in Hogsmeade, waiting to surprise him —" said George.

"You were in Hogsmeade?" asked Ginny, looking up. "We were thinking of buying Zonkos," said Fred gloomily. "A Hogsmeade branch, you know, but a fat lot of good itll do us if you lot arent allowed out at weekends to buy our stuff anymoreBut never mind that now."

Ron had been poisoned; the good thing was that Harry got a bezoar down his throat, and Rons breathing eased up a bit. Ron had to stay in the hospital wing for a week or so until he was better.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been there an hour earlier, and they were talking to Dumbledore.

The question everyone had was who tried to poison Ron and why him. Fred thought that maybe Slughorn mixed up the glasses and wanted to poison Harry and not Ron.

"Why would Slughorn want to poison Harry?" asked Ginny. "I don't know," said Fred, "but there must be loads of people whod like to poison Harry? The Chosen One and all that?"

George thought that maybe Slughorn was under the Imperius Curse, while Ginny suggested that maybe it was for Slughorn himself. 

Before they could continue talking more about what happened, the doors opened, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked in.

Molly hugged Harry, thanking him for saving Rons life.

Madam Pomfrey walked up to them reminded them that there were only supposed to be six visitors around Rons bed; there were eight visitors, nine including Alek.

Harry and Hermione left, leaving Ron with his family.

Irena watched Rons pale face and wondered who would do something like that to Ron.

"Er-my-nee," said Ron weakly, his family around him watched anxiously, but after whispering incomprehensibly for a moment, he simply began snoring.

After being in the hospital wing for a bit longer, Fred, George, and Irena decided to leave. Irena got Alek from Ginny, who was carrying him.

Before they left, Madam Pomfrey got closer to Irena and Alek. "Oh, dear, look at you," she said to Alek; it was the first time she had seen Alek. Since Irena left Hogwarts last year, Madam Pomfrey had not seen her.

Alek smiled, getting a hold of Madam Pomfreys finger. "Congratulations to both of you; he's beautiful," Madam Pomfrey said, looking at Irena and Fred.

Irena smiled, and Fred thanked her.

"He is handsome like his father," Fred said, looking at Alek.

"Can't disagree with that," said Irena, smiling at Fred.

"Lets go, you love birds," said George, walking up to them.

"It was nice seeing you again, Madam Pomfrey." "You too dear, take care."

Bigger things were coming that Irena didn't have a clue about.

As George, Fred, Irena, and Alek made their way back to Hogsmeade, there was a sixth-year Slytherin student in the room of requirement standing in front of a vanishing cabinet.