Birthday Surprises (HBP)
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Birthday Surprises is the eighteenth chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
This chapter summary is not done yet. Please be patient.
Harry and Ron run upstairs. Peeves has blocked a door in the fourth floor, refusing to let students who don't put their pants on fire pass.
They take a shortcut and sooon arrive at the common room. They unsuccessfully look around the Marauder's Map for Draco; Malfoy is in the Slytherin common room with Pansy, Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle.
Harry vows to keep an eye on Draco. Neville enters the room, smelling of singed material, and changes his pants.
Contents |
Disappointment
Harry has no luck for the next two weeks. He sees Crabbe and Goyle on their own more often, but he can never see Malfoy in odd places of the map—sometimes he cannot see Draco at all, which greatly puzzles him.
Ron is disappointed to see that the Hogsmeade visit scheduled for his birthday is cancelled. Harry is not surprised, considering what happened to Katie Bell (HBP12), who has not yet returned from St. Mungo's.
The Daily Prophet continues to report more disappearances, some of which regarding the families of Quidditch students.
Ron complains that the only reason he has to look forward to his birthday is the fourth Apparition lesson, which have been a disaster until now: some more people have succeed in Splinching themselves, but the fast majority hasn't—new nicknames for Wilkie Twycross include Dog-breath and Dung-head.
Saturday, March 1
It's Ron's seventeenth birthday. Seamus and Dean leave noisily for breakfast. Harry throws his present (a pair of Quidditch Keeper's gloves) on the pile (probably delivered by house-elves) near Ron's bed, and fetches the Marauder's Map.
Harry sees that Draco is not in the Slytherin dormitory, or the Gret Hall, or the hospital wing.
Ron is overjoyed at the present he received from his parents: a heavy gold watch with strange symbols around the edge and moving stars in the place of hands.
Ron offers Harry some of his box of Chocolate Cauldrons. Harry refuses, still mulling over Malfoy's disappearance. The two boys get ready to go have breakfast.
Potion
Harry walks towards the door; he then sees Ron, staring at the rain-washed window with an odd look on his face, announce that he is not hungry. "Well, all right, I'll come down with you, but I don't wan to eat."
Harry asks whether Ron's just eaten half a box of Chocolate Cauldrons. "It's not that," Ron sighs. "You ... you wouldn't understand."
Harry shrugs it off and turns to leave.
"Harry!" Ron calls him. "Harry, I can't stand it!"
"You can't stand what?"
"I can't stop thinking about her!"
Harry gapes at his best friend, not believing his ears. He hopes Ron will not start calling Lavender "Lav-Lav".
"I don't think she knows I exist."
Harry points out that she and Ron have been snogging for a while. Ron is lost; Harry realises that Brown is not whom he is talking about.
"Romilda Vane," Ron says softly, his face shining. "I think ... Harry, I think I love her."
He praises Romilda's black and silky hair, and her big, dark eyes. Harry unsuccessfully tries to get Ron to stop joking around. Ron punches him for thinking his love is a mere joke; before he can strike again, Harry uses Levicorpus against him.
Harry, positively bewildered, now realises that the Chocolate Cauldrons his best friend ate came from his trunk—Romilda had given them to him for Christmas, and they are spiked with a Love Potion. Ron is oblivious to his friend's deduction, and only infers the fact that Harry knows Romilda from the entire conversation.
Harry thinks fast: he tells Ron that Romilda is in Slughorn's office, taking extra Potions classes. Ron cheerfully agrees to go meet her, and Harry lets him down.
Lavender is waiting beside the portrait hole. She complains that "Won-Won" is late, but Ron impatiently pushes her out of the way ("Leave me alone, Harry's going to introduce me to Romilda Vane."). Lavender is clearly offended.
Antidote
Slughorn answers his office door soon after Harry knocks; he wears a green velvet dressing-gown and a matching nightcap. Looking sleepy, he complains that he generally sleeps late on Saturdays.
Harry explains the situation, as quietly as possible. Ron is anxious to get inside the office, and is restrained with difficulty.
Slughorn interestedly asks whether the potion was within date; they stengthen then longer they're kept. Harry begs Horace for help, pointing out that it's Ron's birthday. The teacher acquiesces.
Ron stumbles when he enters ("She didn't see that, did she?"), and nervously worries about his appearance while Slughorn prepares the antidote. The teacher smoothly assures him that Ron is very handsome; he recommends that he drink a "tonic for the nerves", a glass of clear potion that Horace has just made.
Ron complies. He beams at the two for a second, and then seems absolutely mortified. Harry is relieved to have him return to normal.
Poison
Horace offers the boys a 'pick-me-up' to celebrate Ron's birthday ("Nothing like a fine spirit to chase away the pangs of disappointed love."): Butterbeer, wine, or some oak-matured mead he'd planned on giving to Dumbledore for Christmas.
Slughorn proposes a toast, and Ron quickly empies his glass.
Harry immediately realises that something is wrong. Ron drops his glass, half-rises from his chair and crumples; he has a seizure. Slughorn is paralysed by shock.
The boy then runs to the teacher's potion kit and seizes a bezoar. He shoves it inside Ron's throat.
Ron shudders, gasps; then his body becomes limp and still.
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