Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Chapter 19 Part 1

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Chapter 19 Part 1

“So, all in all, not one of Ron’s better birthdays?” said Fred. It was evening; the hospital wing was quiet, the windows curtained, the lamps lit. Ron’s was the only occupied bed. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were sitting around him; they had spent all day waiting outside the double doors, trying to see inside whenever somebody went in or out. Madam Pomfrey had only let them enter at eight o’clock. Fred and George had arrived at ten past. “This isn’t how we imagined handing over our present,” said George grimly, putting down a large wrapped gift on Ron’s bedside cabinet and sitting beside Ginny. “Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious,” said Fred. “There we were in Hogsmeade, waiting to surprise him —” said George. “You were in Hogsmeade?” asked Ginny, looking up. “We were thinking of buying Zonko’s,” said Fred gloomily. “A Hogsmeade branch, you know, but a fat lot of good it’ll do us if you lot aren’t allowed out at weekends to buy our stuff anymore. … But never mind that now.” He …