Lifeline - 1

"So you're just going to walk away?" Professor McGonagall asked incredulously.

"I didn't say that. I can't concentrate with all that caterwauling. I need to go somewhere quiet to think. I'll get back to you," he said, raising the Romanian Dark Arts book in his hand as if to show he was going to read it.

"There wouldn't be such a fuss if you hadn't shocked them like that," Professor McGonagall said sternly. "They are the girl's parents, after all."

"That poison is slowly shutting down her internal organs. Without the snake, it's hard to find the exact potion that can counteract the venom. If you want my help, stop throwing a wobbly and let me get to it," Aberforth said cantankerously.

"What are you on about? D'you mean Ginny?" Ron asked, unable to contain his emotions any longer. He leaped to his feet, blood rushing to his face. "What did you say to my mum?"

"Bloody hell," Aberforth said, throwing his hands in the air. "How many of them are there, anyway? Place is crawling with you red-headed lot."

"What are you saying about Ginny?" Ron asked, hunching his shoulders and glowering at Aberforth, who didn't appear cowed in the least.

"What I said is the bald truth. Your sister is being poisoned from the inside out. There isn't a lot of time if you expect to have a chance to save her. How much of it do you want to waste here?" Aberforth asked.

"Ron! Let him go," Hermione said, grabbing Ron's arm and pulling him back. She rested a soothing hand on his back, whispering softly in his ear.

Ron took a deep breath, his shoulders slumping. Aberforth turned on his heel and walked away. Professor McGonagall glanced at them all, her eyes suspiciously bright before turning and re-entering the hospital wing.

Harry sat through it all unmoving. His world had tilted on its axis when Aberforth announced Ginny's imminent death, and he'd yet to get his bearings. His chest ached with pressure, and he sat stock-still trying to control his heart rate. As his thoughts raced, a fierce determination settled over him.

No.

Not again.

He wasn't going to lose Ginny, too.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, and he suddenly realized he was on his feet with no recollection of moving.

"Library," he said shortly.

"The library?" Hermione asked, clearly stunned.

"What was that Golpy's Law?" he asked. "From Potions last year."

"Golpalott's Third Law," Hermione said automatically. "But it won't help, Harry. It's designed to find an antidote for Blended poisons, not snake venom."

"How d'you know what it was?" Ron asked, seizing on the hope Harry offered. "It wasn't even a real snake."

Hermione shook her head, grasping both Ron and Harry's arms as if she was caring for small children. "It's a wonderful idea, Harry, but we don't even have anywhere to begin."

Harry felt frantic. He had to make her understand that he needed to do something. Sitting here and waiting was making him barmy. He jerked his arm away, feeling it slap on something hard in his pocket. Furrowing his brow in confusion, he reached down and pulled out the tattered copy of the Half-Blood Prince's Potions book.

Grasping it as if he'd found hidden treasure, he returned to his chair and began frantically flipping through the pages.

"That's not going to help you, Harry," Hermione said.

Although he didn't look up, he could hear the disapproval in her voice and knew she was frowning. There was nothing written in the book about antidotes except for the note to use a Bezoar, which had already been discounted.