Author's Note: Written for…

QLFC Daily Prophet Competition. Season 1, Round 9. Captain's task: What if Remus Lupin had bitten a student upon his transformation on the night Pettigrew escaped in PoA?

What If: Remus bit Percy during PoA?

Jinx

There had been a lot of times Ron had felt out of place in his life. It was a constant feeling when he was growing up – always second best compared to his brothers. He thought he'd finally found his niche at school. He'd helped to save lives; that had to be worth more than a prefect.

Maybe he'd gotten too cocky. He'd forgotten that he was only a schoolboy in hand-me-down robes, and now he was responsible for the destruction of his brother's life.

He should've known someone would come looking for him. There was a curfew for a reason, and he'd been with Harry and Hermione and things had gotten carried away. He didn't know Percy was in the forest when Lupin transformed, not until both brothers were lying side-by-side in the hospital wing.

And so they stayed for the whole night. Merlin only knew where Harry and Hermione had gone, but Ron stayed put with his broken leg, trying to block out the sound of his brother's moaning.

Madam Pomfrey said there was nothing they could do; the toxin had already entered his bloodstream and by the following night Percy's transformation would be complete.

"I'm sorry," Ron choked out after she'd gone. He wasn't sure if Percy could hear him. The prefect seemed to be between sleep and wakefulness. For a few moments he would be still and wide-eyed, as if seeing a monster. He would just as soon writhe and moan in his sleep.

"I'm sorry," he said again, wishing desperately that he was able to hold his brother's hand, to do something. But then, he'd already done enough.

It was his fault Percy was so close to death. His fault that Percy would miss school; that he wouldn't get to be Minister like he'd always dreamed.

He'd fooled everyone into believing he had potential, but now they'd all see … he was a jinx.