Elf Tails (HBP)

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Elf Tails is the nineteenth chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Hospital wing

Fred, George, Harry, Hermione and Ginny are at the hospital wing visiting Ron. Madam Pomfrey only allowed them to enter very late; all but the twins had been waiting all day.

The pair grimly leave a present on Ron's bedside cabinet. They claim to have been at Hogsmeade—they were thinking of buying Zonko's to make it a branch of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, but the idea is no longer appealing, because Hogwarts students are not allowed to go to the village anymore.

Harry tells them the full story of the day's events (HBP18), which ended with Pomfrey and McGonagall's arrival to help Ron. Pomfrey has decided to keep the boy under her care for a week, taking essence of rue.

Hermione has been quiet all day. Arthur and Molly came an hour earlier, and have now gone to Dumbledore's Office.

The twins discuss possible reasons for their brother's poisoning with Harry and Ginny, and theorise that perhaps Slughorn meant to affect Harry—there certainly are plenty of people who would love nothing more. It is always probable that the teacher is a Death Eater, or under the Imperius Curse. Another possibility is that the poison was in the bottle, and meant for Horace himself.

Ginny points out that Slughorn had intended to give the oak-matured mead to Dumbledore for Christmas—perhaps the victim was supposed to have been Albus. Hermione replies that whoever made such a plan did not know Horace very well.

Unexpectedly, Ron calls "Er-my-nee," but he soon resumes snoring.

The doors fly open, and Hagrid enters, announcing that he's been in the Forbidden Forest all day because Aragog is getting worse. Sprout told him about Ron. Pomfrey shows up, randomly telling them off for being more than six; she leaves after realising that there are only six people there.

The children continue to debate the connection between the attacks; Hagrid suggests that something has it against the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but Hermione doesn't think so ("Wood might've done the Slytherins if he could've got away with it," points out Fred): both were nearly fatal and didn't succeed due to sheer dumb luck, and neither seemed to have reached their intended destinations.

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