A Parselmouth's Kryptonite

Last week...or when ever..., in Chapter Three:

“

“Exactly! Now all we need is a cure!”

Now, on to Chapter Four:

“Easier said than done,” Neville commented.

“What’s easier said than done?” Remus asked as he and Percy walked in.

“Whoa. Hold on a second. Harry was just cut with the knife! Why is that being poisoned?” Seamus asked. At all the stares he was getting, he scowled. “I can be smart sometimes!”

“He’s got a point.”

“Wait, though. Won’t serpentine affect him like kryptonite does Superman?” Dean asked the other muggle born.

“Oh! Why didn’t I think of that!” Hermione exclaimed. Thinking quickly, she transfigured one of her Knuts into a long steel box and placed the dagger in it. Immediately, a little colour returned to Harry’s pale pace.

“What’s kryptonite, and who’s Superman?” Oliver voiced everyone’s question.

“Superman was an alien superhero. Kryptonite was a rock from his home planet. It made him sick every time he got near a piece,’ Hermione rushed through the explanation.

“It’s just a story, though, right?” Neville asked.

“’Course. Just like Martin the Mad Muggle. I think it started out as a comic,” Dean grinned.

Hermione watched Harry, but the boy didn’t get any better than he had when she put away the dagger. “Harry got just a little better. There may be another piece really close to him, or even in him. And then the poison. Which brings us back to Seamus’s earlier comment. He was just cut with the dagger.”

“Maybe it’s like lead poisoning,” Percy spoke from Oliver’s side.

“Good point, Percy. I’ll get Madame Pomfrey to check that,” Hermione answered. “We still need to find out exactly what happened though. And we’d still need some kind of cure.”

“Dinner’s fixing to start soon. Why don’t you all go get something to eat, and I’ll have Madame Pomfrey check,” Remus told the group of Weasleys and others.

“Thanks Remus...er...Professor,” Ron grinned.

***

“POST! POST!” Ron shouted, running down the stairs to the common room. “I’ve got it!”

“What are you going on about?”

“Liquid serpentine! In Harry!”

“What?”

Ron nodded, taking big gulps of air like he’d just won a marathon. “It came to me while I was sleeping! Lucius injected liquid serpentine into Harry when he used the knife!”

“Holy flying monkey shit,” Hermione gasped.

Ron looked at her weirdly.

“Ron?” Neville’s sleepy voice came form the bottom of the stairs. “You jumped out of bed, running like Voldemort was after you.”

“S’okay, love. I had a dream and I needed to tell Post,” Ron looked proud as his boyfriend smiled at him.

Hermione pondered. “You said it came to you while you were sleeping?”

“Yeah! It’s like I was there. It was so weird. Like some of the dreams I have in Divination,” Ron replied.

“Tell me in detail what happened,” Hermione requested.

“Okay. Harry...was up in the air, hitting a Bludger. Then, out of no where came the other Bludger and hit him from behind. Knocked him straight off his broom. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. Then Malfoy went up to him and laid down that note and then took that dagger out. He slashed it across Harry’s wrist and wrapped Harry’s hand around the dagger. There’s a button on the dagger’s hilt that Malfoy pressed, and it put the liquid serpentine in him,” Ron said, with his eyes closed so he could try to recall more vividly. Neville hugged him as a tear slipped out of Ron’s eye on behalf of his best friend.

“I’ll go tell the Professors. There’s got to be someway to get it out of Harry,” Hermione spoke quietly, her own tears threatening to fall. She left the common room.

“Come back to bed Ron. There’s nothing more we can do at the moment, all right?” Neville kissed the redhead.

Ron gave him a teary smile. “You’re right, Nev.”

***

“Scream? You still awake?”

“Yeah,” Draco looked up. “D’you find anything?”

“Sort of. Ron told me about the dream he had a bit ago. Said it was like he was there,” Hermione told the blonde.

“The Weasleys come from a very long line of prophets and dream seers,’ Draco shrugged. “Did he see anything useful?”

“He saw how Lucius put the liquid serpentine in Harry. I’m still looking for something to draw it out. I need to look at the dagger, though.”

“It’s still in that box, over there,” Draco pointed, looking back down at Harry.

“Thanks,” Hermione smiled slightly, picking up the steel box.

“Find something. Please Hermione. Save him,” Draco pleaded, not taking his eyes from the sweaty, pale boy.

“I will, Draco,” Hermione whispered.

End Chapter Four