“Ha, ha-ha, ha-ha-ha!” The Emperor laughed. “Only joking!” And he pulled his eyepatch across his beak and covered his new black eye. “There we go!” he said. “Ha, ha-ha, ha-ha-ha!”
Everyone burst with relief and laughed uncontrolably.
“What’s so funny?” said Ron, responding to the doctor’s smelling salts.
“Take him to the infirmary,” said the doctor. “I’ll need to check he hasn’t broken anything.”
“I’ve broken everything,” said Ron, briefly feeling sorry for himself, before falling unconscious again. He was put onto a stretcher and carried away.
Benny wasn’t allowed to follow Ron to the Imperial infirmary as it was well after visiting time, but Fred sneaked in afterwards and kept an eye on Ron (actually two of his four eyes).
Benny spent the night in a luxurious suite with a jacuzzi and a four-poster nest bed, a minibar stocked with serious-looking miniature bottles of vodka and fire-water, a magic lantern with three channels, a chandelier made of icicles and a golden rope with a purple velvet tassle, which Benny was told to pull on if he needed anything.
While Benny pranced about in his suite, Ron slept, and dreamt he was flying. He flew over the garden. He could see Percy and his friends having a picnic and he zoomed low over their heads shouting
“Look, I’m flying!”
Percy and his friends looked up and waved.
“I can fly!” he declared.
He zoomed in again and Percy threw him a cheese and pickle sandwich, which Ron caught in his beak. On the next flypast, Puff launched a fruit scone up into the air and Ron swallowed it without missing a wing-beat.
“This is great!” shouted Ron, as he continued to devour airborne treats: a bunch of grapes, some chocolate biscuits, a straw pie, a slice of pizza, even a handful of peanuts, which he rapidly and skilfully pecked out of the air one-by-one. Eventually there was nothing left to consume and he decided to land, aiming for the picnic cloth, which sent Percy and his friends scurrying for cover. He landed safely slap-bang in the centre of the stripey picnic cloth. It felt nice and soft and he was quite full so he decided to have a quick nap.
“Look, I’m flying!”
Percy and his friends looked up and waved.
“I can fly!” he declared.
He zoomed in again and Percy threw him a cheese and pickle sandwich, which Ron caught in his beak. On the next flypast, Puff launched a fruit scone up into the air and Ron swallowed it without missing a wing-beat.
“This is great!” shouted Ron, as he continued to devour airborne treats: a bunch of grapes, some chocolate biscuits, a straw pie, a slice of pizza, even a handful of peanuts, which he rapidly and skilfully pecked out of the air one-by-one. Eventually there was nothing left to consume and he decided to land, aiming for the picnic cloth, which sent Percy and his friends scurrying for cover. He landed safely slap-bang in the centre of the stripey picnic cloth. It felt nice and soft and he was quite full so he decided to have a quick nap.
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