In the afternoon, Fred and George brought a huge bag of candy to the hospital wing to visit Ron.
Kael accompanied them.
At the hospital wing's entrance, two groups of people stood like gate guardians on either side of the door.
On the left were the robust Gryffindors led by Oliver Wood, and on the right were the Slytherin Quidditch team members led by Marcus Flint.
They came to visit, but because there were too many of them and they were noisy, Madam Pomfrey didn't let them in at all.
So they could only stand at the door, glaring at each other fiercely, trying to kill each other with their eyes.
The arrival of Kael and the Weasley Brothers immediately drew attention. Under the watchful eyes of a dozen people, they cautiously knocked on the hospital wing's door.
"Why are you still here!" Madam Pomfrey opened the door, displeased as she glared at Wood and Flint after seeing the crowd outside.
Quidditch players often get injured during matches or training, so both are frequent visitors to the hospital wing and have a natural respect for Madam Pomfrey.
After her scolding, the two didn't dare to stay longer and quickly led the others away from the hospital wing corridor.
As for Kael and the Weasley Brothers... thanks to their family connections, Madam Pomfrey eventually allowed them inside.
"No loud talking and don't disturb others..." she advised, "if you break any rules, you can forget about visiting the hospital wing again."
"Of course," Fred replied with a smile, "we're just here to check on our brother, we promise we won't be loud."
"It better be," Madam Pomfrey pointed to a bed against the wall on the left, "Weasley is over there."
"Thank you."
The three followed Madam Pomfrey's direction to the bed, lifted the curtain, and there was Ron.
The entire hospital wing had only two occupants,
and the adjacent bed was also curtained off, so it was probably Malfoy.
After all, they were the only two patients, and the rest of the place was empty.
Whether by design or by accident, Ron and Malfoy ended up side by side.
If it weren't for the curtain, they wouldn't be so quiet right now.
Inside the curtain, besides Ron, were Harry and Hermione.
The atmosphere was a bit strange.
Hermione and Harry were both looking down, thinking about something, while Ron, his head wrapped in bandages, was comforting them.
"It's okay, it's just a jinx that caused a horn to grow... it's nothing."
"Malfoy had it worse than me, he spent the whole morning vomiting slugs... haha, it was the first time I cast a spell so successfully. If it were an exam, I'm sure I'd get an 'O'."
"Too bad, Hogwarts doesn't have a jinx class..." Fred pulled the curtain aside and walked in.
George followed him, "You missed your only chance to get an 'O'."
"Fred, George..." Ron was a bit surprised, "Why are you here."
"How can you say that?" Fred said disapprovingly, "Our dear brother got admitted to the hospital wing, we certainly have to check on him."
"Yeah, as soon as we heard about it, we returned from Hogsmeade immediately..."
"Do you think we wouldn't come to see you?"
"No..." Ron quickly explained, "I didn't mean that... sorry."
"Wait, Hogsmeade?"
At this moment, Harry suddenly raised his head, "Weren't you feeling sick, and told Wood you were going to the hospital wing? I thought you had already been discharged and were resting in the dormitory!"
"Uh..." Fred and George's expressions froze.
They had forgotten about it.
"Don't worry about those details."
Fred quickly said, "We went to Hogsmeade after coming out of the hospital wing."
"That's right."
George pulled out the large bag of candy, "They're all the most popular products from Honeydukes, we bought them specially for Ron."
"For me?" Ron was even more surprised.
But looking at the big bag of exquisite candy, he thought for a moment and then shook his head, "I... I don't need them, you keep them for yourselves."
Saying this, his throat moved slightly.
He saw Fang Mint Candy inside, his favorite.
But what can be said... since last year, the things Fred and George gave him were rarely normal and always came with some side effects, Ron was cautious to take them.
Fred seemed to see what he was thinking and laughed, "Don't worry, there's absolutely nothing wrong this time, we promise."
"If you don't believe us, you can ask Kael, he can vouch for us."
Kael nodded.
These candies were a reward for Ron having the courage to raise his wand against Slytherin, so naturally, nothing else was inside.
But even if there was, it wouldn't matter... Ron had been pranked several times before, one more wouldn't hurt!
Harry, standing nearby, frowned, as if he had something more to say.
But George spoke before him, "Oh, right, Harry, I heard you were giving out autographed photos, how come Fred and I didn't get one."
"I did NOT, and never did!"
Harry said furiously, forgetting immediately about their excuse,
"It was all Lockhart spreading rumors, I never gave out any autographed photos!"
"Ha, that's such a pity," Fred winked, smiling.
One had to admit that Fred and George were experts at lightening the mood.
Once they arrived, the previously heavy atmosphere was quickly dispelled.
Even Hermione, who had a complicated mood, was attracted by the ghost-detecting glasses they brought out.
It was purchased from Dervish & Banges, a glass orb about the size of a Golden Snitch, designed to find Howling Banshees disguised as ordinary people.
Hermione had almost no resistance to novel magic items.
Kael also took out the automatic ink spray quill he had prepared in advance.
Initially, he planned to present it to Hermione as a Christmas gift, but now was just as good.
As for Ron, he also got a waterproof emblem similar to Harry's.
...
They didn't stay long at the hospital wing, maybe because laughter kept coming from behind the curtain, they got reported.
"Malfoy told me you were disturbing his rest."
Madam Pomfrey said sternly, "So I must ask all of you to leave!"
"Wait... his side was louder!"
Ron protested discontentedly, "Ever since I got here, that Pansy Parkinson's sharp voice hasn't stopped for a second."
"So they'll have to leave shortly too."
Madam Pomfrey stated with a stern face, "Actually, visiting time is over, if you wish to see him again, you all need to go out now!"
No choice, since Madam Pomfrey had said so, they could only bid farewell to Ron and leave the hospital wing.
When they reached the Clock Tower Courtyard, they coincidentally ran into Lucius Malfoy, just coming out of the castle.
But his face didn't look too good, seeming like his anger hadn't subsided yet.
Lucius also noticed them...
"Oh... Weasley."
He stopped, looked at Fred and George, and drawled, "You Weasleys may have some wits, but trust me, 'Weasley' won't be so lucky forever."
With the latest incident adding to the skirmish at Flourish and Blotts, Lucius couldn't even be bothered to hide his disdain as he looked at Fred and George, his eyes filled with malice.
"Thanks for the warning..."
Fred and George put away their smiles as well.
"But you should take care of your own affairs."
"I never knew, Malfoy's manners could be so... lacking?"
"It's truly eye-opening!"
Lucius instinctively tightened his grip on his cane.
To prevent him from making an unreasonable move against Fred and George, Kael also became tense, discreetly placing his hand on his wand.
But fortunately, Lucius hadn't lost his head to rage, knowing this was Hogwarts, with Dumbledore nearby... he might be watching them at this very moment.
Under such circumstances, he naturally didn't dare to act out.
"Hmm... we'll see!"
After delivering these harsh words, Lucius left without turning back.
...