A/N: Just something fun that I whipped up when I was bored at work one day. I hope you enjoy.
"No. No. No, you've used too much. We don't want them shagging on the spot." George took the bottle from Fred and poured some of its contents into a glass of ice cold pumpkin juice. "There. Now toss that other one away before someone drinks it." George continued to pour some more into another glass of pumpkin juice leaving a spoonful of the potion left at the bottom of the bottle.
"And what are you two doing?" An inquiring voice came from the direction of the back doorway. The twins looked up to see the messy black hair of Harry Potter.
"Nothing," they said in unison.
"I'm offended Harry?" Said Fred
"Deeply," said George.
Harry just shrugged and made his way over to the counter in the kitchen. It was hot outside and he was all sweaty from de-gnoming the yard. He looked warily at the glasses of pumpkin juice that were already poured on the counter. The six glasses all seemed harmless enough, but he knew better than to trust either of the twins.
Fred held out a glass to him and instead of taking the proffered glass Harry chose the one at the end.
"Harry," Fred put down the glass he was holding and tried to grab the glass away from him, but it was too late, Harry took it all in one gulp. The twins eyed each other, but neither of them dared to say anything lest someone suspect.
They heard a bustle at the back door and decided to move away from the counter slowly, then in came Hermione, Ginny and Ron. All of them looked sweaty and tired and seeing Harry with an empty glass in his hand looked around for something to drink.
Not paying much attention Hermione grabbed one of the glasses off of the table followed by Ron and Ginny. It all happened so quickly that neither Fred nor George caught who grabbed which glass. They all sat around the table sipping their cold drinks and enjoying the coolness of being inside.
The twins tried to covertly dump the other two glasses, not knowing which one of them held the remaining potion, but Fred accidently let the glass slip from his hand and spilled the pumpkin juice all over the floor. Hermione looked up and laughed at Fred's red face, with a flick of her wand the spill was all cleaned, the glass was repaired and sitting atop the counter.
George patted Fred on the shoulder and they made their way to the table. They joined in the conversation which was mainly about how hot this summer had been so far, and tried to act as normal as possible, all the while sneaking glances at Harry and trying to see if they could discover who else might have had some of their pumpkin juice cocktail.
They continued to scan their family and friends to see who, if anyone, the lucky second drinker might be. The potion wasn't intended to work instantaneously; it would be a gradual process, which is why George had made sure to not pour too much in.
Their plan had definitely gone awry; Harry was not supposed to drink any of the potion at all. Of the people who were intended to drink, only one of them would have had a chance, and they weren't sure if they had. It was going to be a bit of a problem, but on the other hand it could prove to make this summer quite entertaining.
'God it is hot out here' Harry thought to himself after he flung one of the gnomes over the garden gate. He wiped the sweat from his brow and seeing that they were almost done, Ginny and Hermione were grappling with the last one while Ron was giving one a wind up over his head, he headed into the house.
"And what are you two doing?" He asked as he spotted Fred and George pouring some pumpkin juice into a glass.
"Nothing," they said in unison, something which always made him nervous. They were up to something and he eyed them warily.
"I'm offended Harry," Fred said with mock hurt on his face.
"Deeply," chimed in George. They were definitely up to something.
Harry walked to where they were and when Fred held out a glass of pumpkin juice to him Harry instinctively went for the glass furthest away from him. Taking something one of the Weasley twins handed you was a dangerous move at the best of times.
"Harry," he heard Fred say, but he didn't listen, he downed the entire glass in one go. It felt cool and sweet at it wet his throat. He waited for a moment to see if anything weird was happening to him, he didn't see a tail sprouting out anywhere and it tasted fine.
Harry turned his head toward to the door when he heard his friends making their way through. Hermione was first and he noticed that even though she was hot and sweaty there was a warm glow about her. Ginny followed which caused a slight pang to enter his heart as he thought about how much he cared about her and how badly he had hurt her, then came Ron, who was cursing under his breath, and Harry noted the bite mark on his finger.
They all grabbed their pumpkin juices and made their way to the table to sit and talk. He heard a glass drop on the floor behind him and he watched as Hermione cleaned up the mess. Harry thought about telling them not to drink but his curiosity about what the twins might have done got the better of him and he waited hoping to see someone with some feathers. To his disappointment nothing happened, and he felt a little bad for suspecting the identical red heads.
He only half listened when everyone started moaning about the weather, Hermione had a bit of dirt on her cheek and he couldn't stop staring at it.
"Ginny! Help!" The gnome was wiggling out of her grasp. She thought that de-gnoming was cruel when she first saw it, but now that she had gotten to see how mean the little buggers could be she didn't feel bad in the slightest for tossing them out of the garden. She had tried to stun the beast but it kept evading her spells.
Ginny came over and took the left side while Hermione took the right and they tried to trap the gnome in between the two of them. He was able to run through Ginny's legs and Hermione dove to catch him. She landed face first into the ground, but she managed to grab its ankles. Ginny stunned him and they were finally able to toss him over the fence.
Hermione brushed off her robes and tried to wipe the dirt off of her face, but without a mirror she couldn't be sure if she got it all. She led the way into the house, stopping at the door to wipe her shoes before going in.
Upon entering the kitchen she saw that Mrs. Weasley had laid out some glasses of pumpkin juice. Her body was aching for something cool and refreshing to drink. She got over to the counter and picked up one of the glasses right before she was shoved aside by both Ginny and Ron trying to get at one. She plopped herself onto the bench at the kitchen table and took a long sip of her drink.
She kept her eyes on the juice, as if by looking at it she would be become refreshed as well. CRASH she jerked her head up to see Fred looking down at a broken glass on the floor. His face had turned the bright red that was inherent among the Weasley's. She laughed lightly and flicked her wand; the glass repaired itself and rested safely on top of the counter, while the spilled juice disappeared.
She could feel the dirt and sweat that was covering her body and wanted to get up to bathe but she was so exhausted from their day's efforts that she couldn't move. She sat and listened to everyone complaining about the heat and added a few comments of her own, but she was really more focused on how gross she felt and must have looked.
"I know, we could swim in the pond?" Ron grinned at his brilliant idea.
"That actually sounds great." Hermione joined in and was pleased to see Ron's face flush slightly.
They all agreed that it was the best idea of the day and headed up to get changed into their bathing suits. Hermione felt a bit nervous about wearing hers because it was new and quite a bit revealing for her, but she also had an edge of excitement about the boys seeing her in it, especially Ron. Her crush for Ron had not waned at all but she was starting to get frustrated that he hadn't done anything about it. She was pretty sure that he liked her but since he had never actually made that known she began to doubt herself. Hermione in her bikini could be the push that Ron needed to take some action.
She heard the boys scramble past the doorway to get to the pond and she looked over at Ginny who obviously had the same intentions in mind, though hers were in regards to Harry. They smiled at each other and made their way downstairs. When they got to the pond Harry, Ron and George were already in the water. Fred stood on the tiny dock that they used for diving and looked like he was about to cannon ball right on top of the three boys.
Hermione watched Fred as he ran to the edge of the dock and pulled his knees up in the air. The splash was so large that even Ginny and Hermione felt some of the sprinkles and they were still a few feet from the edge. She couldn't help but appreciate Fred's muscle-y build, and she had to admit that he was a rather attractive looking bloke. Not as cute as Ron she reminded herself as she looked in his direction to see him trying to dunk Harry under the water. She laughed, at which Ron turned to see her, he lost his hold on Harry, and Harry used that opportune moment to dunk Ron instead.
Hermione watched Ron spluttering and trying to get out from under Harry's grasp. Eventually Harry seemed to notice the girls at the edge of the water as well and he let up on Ron's flailing form. Ginny and Hermione both giggled at the way that Harry's eyes seemed to bug out of his head.
"That should show him, wont be long until you two are snogging all over the place." Hermione whispered to Ginny.
At that Ginny grinned and ran herself down the dock and into the pond with Hermione not far behind. They all swam and splashed around with one another all wearing huge smiles on their faces. Then they decided to have a 'biggest splash' contest, each person had to jump off of the dock and into the water and whoever made the biggest splash, hence the name, won. Hermione and Ginny were to be the judges which suited them fine. She watched as George went in for a grandiose belly flop that left his stomach as red as his hair, but did not achieve the splash factor that he had desired.
Ron came next with a jackknife, due to his tall frame and long legs the splash was quite intense and Hermione, though already wet, was re-soaked. Then it was Harry's turn, he went with the trusty cannon ball and made a nice indention in the water's surface, but not enough to top Ron's. Last but certainly not least was Fred, seeing the splash he had made earlier Hermione was certain that he would be a contender. He did not go with the cannon ball though and instead seemed to make up a jump of his own. To describe it would be impossible, but it was sort of like a back flop with a twist. The splash was large, but still did not hold a candle to Ron's. Just as Fred was emerging from the water Hermione noticed something bright yellow floating in the water. She busted out laughing when she realized that it was Fred's swim trunks, something which Fred had apparently not realized yet as he was still exiting the pond. No one else noticed either as they were in a heated debate about who came in second. Just as the water hit the top of Fred's buttocks he realized his lack of clothing. He looked around to see if anyone else had seen and saw Hermione looking at him with a huge grin on her face.
Hermione saw his whole body blush in embarrassment and tried to hold back her smile but all she could focus on was how fit he looked.
He was holding on for dear life as Ron kept trying to push his head under water. He finally felt a bit of reprieve and took his shot. Ron went down faster and easier than Harry had expected. He was so excited by his obvious triumph and looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. There on the grass were Ginny and Hermione, to say that he was stunned to silence would be an understatement. He was hit hard with their beauty; they were both gorgeous, and half naked. He had never seen Hermione look as appealing as she did now, even when she was all dressed up in fourth year for the Yule Ball. He was a bit surprised about the way it hit him, she was like a sister to him and he had never entertained any thoughts of her on more than a platonic level.
Of course he had to shake these thoughts out of his head. Ron would kill him if he ever knew; besides he loved Ginny. She was everything that he had ever wanted in a girl and now that the war was over he was hoping to take this summer to build on their relationship. He tried to keep his focus on her, and only slightly acknowledged when Hermione's body rubbed against his while they were messing around in the water. His body tensed only the smallest amount when he felt her warm breath in his ear as she whispered a plan of attack on Ron. His mind registered just a hint of her heady fragrance when she was nearby.
He was relieved for the distraction of the splash competition because it placed Hermione farther away from him; a part of him also enjoyed the idea of her, and Ginny, watching him as he ran down the dock. It wasn't the best cannon ball ever, Fred's earlier had definitely topped it as well as Ron's jackknife, but it made a pretty big splash. He went towards the edge to await Fred's jump and was pleased to see that it definitely didn't beat his own. He turned to Ron and George and they proceeded to get into an argument about who came in second, since Ron had obviously come in first. Ginny came over to enjoy the debate, and though he was paying close attention and enjoyed her nearness, he couldn't help but notice Hermione out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to be enjoying herself.
Fred couldn't believe his trunks had come off, normally he wouldn't have been that embarrassed but he saw the way the Hermione was looking at him and it made him a bit nervous. He thought he might know who had had the other drink. If it was Hermione then things could get very uncomfortable to say the least. Under normal circumstances he would have been a bit flattered by her attentions, but he knew that this was Ron's girl even if she didn't. He also knew that her feelings, whatever they might be, were not real.
He and George hadn't really tried to come up with an antidote; they didn't think that they would need one. It was a fool proof plan, or was until some real fools got a hold of it. He also noticed the way that Harry seemed to always be aware of where Hermione was; another really bad slip up. If it had only been Ginny that he had noticed first then there would have been nothing to worry about. Damn-it!
After the minor bathing suit incident Fred decided it would be best to go inside. He left Hermione standing on the shore, still giggling, and headed towards the house, swim trunks now in place. He heard the yells of both of his brothers asking him where he was going but Fred continued on. He had to think of some way to fix this, and soon. He was glad that they had moved most of their stock to the Burrow after deciding to stay there for the summer. He would come up with the cure and he would do it as quickly as possible. It might also help him to be locked in his room where no one (i.e. Hermione) would be able to get to him. He had a feeling that once the potion really started to kick in he might not be able to resist. Once he was safely hidden in his bedroom that he shared with his brother he started work.
She couldn't keep the giggles from coming; it had been too funny and a bit sexy. She was shocked at herself for thinking anything of the sort, especially about Fred Weasley of all people. She felt that someone was watching her and when she turned her head she noticed that it was not the blue eyes that she had been hoping for, shocking green eyes stared back at her. His gaze made her a bit nervous; Harry had never ever, ever looked at her that way. It was unsettling to say the least. She had never looked at Harry as more than a fried, he was like her brother. Sure she could admit that he was rather good looking, but she had never really paid much attention to his looks, he was just Harry.
She knew that Ginny was still in love with him and she thought that he was still in love with her, but the way that his eyes soaked in her body made her question everything that she thought she knew about him. She had to get away. She followed the footpath of Fred who had left just moments before, she tried not walk away too quickly as she didn't want anyone to notice, but she couldn't help but run once she was in the house up to the room that she shared with Ginny, she shut the door and charmed it locked right away. She leaned back on the door and slid down onto the floor confused by everything that she was feeling and everything that she had noticed others might be feeling.
He couldn't look away, after he had noticed her from the corner of his eye, he kept his gaze steady. She was so beautiful, why had he never noticed before? Sure he had never thought of her as bad looking, but now she seemed electric somehow, it scared and excited him all at once. He forgot about Ginny, George and Ron who were still talking about the stupid splash contest and stared openly at the vision before him.
She must have felt his piercing stare because she slowly turned and met his eyes. He felt a jolt of electricity pass through him when the beautiful brown orbs met his. She appeared to be nervous and a bit antsy and he wondered if he was the cause of that, if she felt it too. He watched as she walked towards the house, her body moving like it was performing a graceful dance. He was knocked out of his reverie by Ginny who poked him slyly in the ribs.
He couldn't tell if she had noticed anything, her face was impassive, but he felt guilty all the same. Sure they weren't officially back together, but he knew that she wanted to be and up until this morning he knew he wanted her as well. What could have happened to make him question his love for her? No, he still loved her; he just wanted, no, needed Hermione.
He had to talk to her about this. Without a word to any of them he left the pond and went into the house.
After a moment Hermione got off the floor and looked out the window, she wanted to see Ron, to see if her feelings for him had gone with her new infatuation with Fred. She had figured out that that was what she was feeling, ever since this morning little thoughts of him had flitted through her head, and then once she saw him, almost in the buff she couldn't get his image out of her mind. She looked down upon Ron and the familiar pang and butterflies entered her stomach, but then fear clenched at her heart because she saw Harry coming up the pathway.
She could stay locked in the room, but Harry was just as good at locking charms as she was, she needed to escape. Faster than she thought possible she flew out of the room and went into the first door that she saw. She tried to pull it open but it was locked, she hurriedly performed 'alohamora' and quickly pulled the door open and shut it quietly behind her. She didn't want the possibility of him hearing her slamming doors. She stared at the door for a moment longer until she heard a little poof coming from behind her. She jumped and turned to see Fred diligently working on a potion at his desk.
So many different feelings came rushing through her at once; fear of being caught by Harry, guilt about Ron, and most prevalent was desire. It was creeping upon her and it felt like invisible strings were pulling her towards him. He hadn't until this point noticed her in the room, but upon the rush of emotions she sighed and Fred turned around.
Their eyes met, and the heat from his gaze sent goose bumps all over her body. Her mind was racing and she knew that she should leave before she did something that she might, no would, regret. She couldn't move her feet, she willed them to budge, but they would not.
Fred seemed to be as immobile as she was. Then they heard knocking on a nearby door. It broke Hermione out of her trance and made her remember why she was there in the first place. Harry was trying to find her.
"Hide me," was all she could manage to say, and Fred seemed to understand her apprehension and moved quickly. He searched through the boxes that were all over the room and then flung a hat and cloak over to her, they looked familiar and upon donning the cloak she remembered the hat that Fred and George had made in their fifth year, the one that made the wearers head invisible.
The knocking ceased, but Hermione was too nervous to risk removing the cloak and hat, it was a good thing too because moments later Fred bedroom door swung open, almost knocking her over. She moved and tried to back out of its way as quickly as she could but she felt the door knock her elbow. She wanted to cry out in pain, but bit her lip instead, squelching the scream that was building in her throat.
"Hey Harry," Fred said in that husky voice of his, which sent shivers up her spine.
"You seen Hermione?" His eyes seemed to search the room franticly.
"Sorry mate?" Fred shrugged his shapely shoulders, more shivers.
Harry took one last sweep of the room and then closed the door behind him.
Hermione waited there for a bit more, not trusting that he was really gone.
"I think you're safe now." Fred whispered in her ear. How had he known that she was there? In her escape she had moved significantly closer him, but if he couldn't see her then…
She shivered, and then got a hold of herself before she removed the invisibility items. Fred stepped away from her and took a seat on the end of his bed.
"Sorry…" Hermione searched for an excuse for her actions.
"It's okay. I think I know what's going on."
"You…you do?" Even she didn't know what was going on.
"Well you see…" but she stopped listening, all she could focus on were his beautiful lips as they moved. She stopped thinking at the point, which is the only excuse she could come up with for what happened next.
"Well you see George and I were trying to test out a new potion that we concocted and we thought that…" he never got to finish what he was saying because at that point all he could feel were Hermione's warm lips on his. He hadn't been expecting that, he knew that the potion had been working on her, and he knew that he was her object, but he still was surprised. It took him a moment to really grasp what was going on, his mouth was moving automatically in time with hers, but he had to stop it; it wasn't right. It was nice though, and it was with hesitation that he finally managed to pull her off of him.
She sat back on the other side of the bed, hair a bit tussled, eyes glazed over. He should have stopped their kiss sooner, but he had been so shocked at first, and then he had been enjoying it. He shook his head of these thoughts, this was Hermione, Ron's Hermione, and he knew that it was just the potion that she had inadvertently taken, thanks to him.
She made another lunge towards him, but he held her back at arm's length.
"Look Hermione, we can't."
Tears started to well in her eyes, "w-why not?" She was pouting, a look which would have been hard for any man to say no to.
"Because, like I was saying, you took a potion."
"No I didn't" she stated adamantly.
"Yes you did."
"No. I. Did. Not."
"Yes. You. Did. Too. Now shut up and listen." At his brusque tone Hermione closed her mouth.
"Good, now as I was saying…George and I made this potion, and we wanted to try it out so we poured some into a couple glasses of pumpkin juice.' He was focused on the bed sheets, but at this he heard a loud gasp. "It wasn't supposed to turn out this way…"
"What do you mean? I took your potion by accident?"
"Well sort of, see you were supposed to drink it, but so was Ron. You were supposed to toast with Ron, but you guys were in such a hurry to have something to drink that our plan kinda backfired on us."
"I was supposed to drink it with Ron? Why?"
"Can't you see, it was a sort of love, well no not love, lust potion?"
"I don't understand."
"Isn't it obvious, you drank the potion, but instead of looking at Ron right after, as we had intended you looked at me."
Comprehension became etched on her face. "So what you are saying is that I only am lusting after you because of some potion I took? Some potion that you gave me? What about Ron? He doesn't seem to be having any problems keeping his hands off of me."
Fred fidgeted a bit with the sheet in his hands, "another little mistake was made." And Fred had the decency to look a bit sheepish.
"What other mistake?" Hermione ground her teeth, and Fred could feel the anger rolling off of her.
"Um…er…Harry accidently took the other glass." He ducked, just in time to feel the lamp on his nightstand go flying over his head. It crashed to the floor in the corner by a box of Fever Fudge. "I said it was an accident, we tried to give him a normal glass, but he didn't seem trust us…"
"Hm…I wonder why?"
"It was an honest mistake, and I am trying to fix it, that's what I was doing in here before well, you know."
"Why were you trying to give me and Ron a lust potion in the first place?"
"We thought you guys might need a little nudge in the right direction, and since we wanted to test it out anyway…" He shrugged and finally looked up the from the bed sheets, which was not a good idea.
She might have been calm enough during the questioning, but the moment their eyes met again he could see the desire in them. He broke his eyes away and went back towards his cauldron. He heard movement from her side of the room and then felt her hands gliding down his back and towards his stomach. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and Fred had to use excessive strength to get her off of him again. He turned around and held her hands at her sides.
"Now Hermione, I know you find me irresistible right now, and I can't blame you honestly, but I need you to get a grip on yourself. Please just sit there quietly while I try to figure this out." He led her back over to the bed and sat her down.
He knocked repeatedly on her door, he knew that she must be in there, but when he didn't hear anything he figured he would look elsewhere. He entered the twins room to see Fred standing there, he pushed the door with a little more strength than he had intended and it bounced back a little after knocking into one of the many things piled into the room. Harry didn't have time to figure out what, he was frantic at this stage; he needed to see her, talk to her, touch her.
Once he was sure that she wasn't hiding in there with Fred he went through all of the other rooms in the house. Where in the world had she gotten off to? He did not know what had come over him, but his need to be near her was manic and it scared him. He decided to go back to Ginny's room and try it again, it opened (something he hadn't actually tried the first time) and he went in. Nothing seemed out of place, and there was no one there. He was just about to leave when Ginny blocked his path.
"What are you doing in here?" The apparent anger in her voice shocked him. Did she know? How could she? The guilt that he felt earlier was all but gone; all he could focus on was his need for Hermione.
"Looking for Hermione," his brain didn't even think about trying to hide it.
"Why?" Her anger turned to hurt at this, and Harry felt a tiny pang of guilt, but it was gone a moment later.
"Because I need to talk to her. What's it to you?" He was the one who was angry now; she was getting in his way, trying to stop him from seeing Hermione. He didn't even notice as he pushed passed her the tears that were welling in her eyes.
Harry tore his way back down to the yard thinking that maybe she had gone back out for a walk. He grabbed his broom hoping to be able to cover more ground and find her. He could faintly hear Ron on the ground calling his name, but he just flew on.
Fred had pushed her out of his room after she hadn't been able to keep her hands off of him for the fourth time. She tried to get back in but he had used a locking charm that she was not able to break no matter how hard she tried. She sat in a heap on the floor in front of his door, aching to be as close to him as possible.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ginny leave her room, but she did not turn to face her.
"What have you done to him?" She shouted at Hermione.
"What have I done to whom?" Hermione still did not look up, focusing her thoughts on an image of Fred's glorious torso.
"Harry!" She stomped her foot right by Hermione's hand. "What did you do? Why are you taking him away from me?" She heard Ginny's muffled sobs as she covered her face with her hands.
Hermione snapped out of her daydream for a moment to look at her friend. "I don't want Harry." She tried to sound convincing, and even though it was the truth in her mind all she could picture was Fred and it came out in a breathy sigh.
"Liar!" Ginny stormed down the stairs and Hermione was left in peace with her thoughts of Fred's fingers running lightly down her…
"What's going on?" She heard Ron's voice coming up the stairs. Why did everyone have to interrupt her happy fantasies? She felt his warm body plop down next to hers and she could feel a small prickle run up her arm where he grazed it, nothing as big as what she felt when she touched Fred. Ah, Fred. She drifted off again.
"Hermione?" Ron waved his hand in front of her face.
"What?" She snapped at him.
"I said, what's going on?"
"What's going on with what?" She snapped again, but Ron never to be deterred kept on.
"With Ginny being angry, with Harry riding off on his broom, with you hunched up at Fred and George's bedroom door."
"I have no idea what you are talking about Ron." He tried to take her hand in his but she quickly pulled it away. Normally the hurt and bemused expression on his face would have made her want to hug him, but now all she could think about was how she was going to get into that room.
"FINE!" Ron stomped his way up the stairs and slammed the door to his room.
His search had been fruitless and he decided to make his way back to the Burrow, he must have just missed her. He could not fathom that she had been hiding from him; he knew that she seemed a bit worried, but hiding, no she wouldn't do that. He trudged up the stairs hoping to find her in Ginny's room.
There she was, sitting on the floor in front of Fred and George's bedroom door. Her eyes were unfocussed and she didn't seem to have noticed his presence. He took in the sight of her and his body shivered. He had to do something to ease his need. Before she had time to realize what he was up to he pulled her up off the floor and crashed his lips to hers. He was so engrossed in the sensation of her warm body against his that he failed to notice her efforts of pushing him away; he grabbed her tighter, clutching her around the waist.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL…" he slackened his grip on her slightly and in that moment of distraction she pushed him off of her. He looked to see Ron sanding on a stair in front of him, mouth agape, face flushed in anger. He didn't have time to react before he felt Ron's fist connect with his jaw. They fell down in the hall, rolling around, Ron trying to get in every punch possible while Harry was trying to defend himself. In the back of his mind he knew that he deserved this but that didn't mean he was going to take it.
Fred and George's bedroom door flew open and Fred stood in the doorway staring down at the scene in front of him. Then to Harry's shock and horror he saw Hermione fly into Fred's arms trying to kiss him the way that he had just kissed her. In his shock he stopped moving and Ron got another good punch in before he seemed to notice that something was wrong. Both boys stared on in wonder as Hermione grasped at Fred, all the while Fred trying to free himself from her grip.
Then there was a gasp from behind them that broke Harry from his astonishment. Ginny and George were standing at the top of the stairs, Ginny's face if possible even redder than Ron's. George was trying and failing to hold back a laugh.
"Well it looks like we know who drank the other bit of potion." Harry heard George say, Harry didn't know what he was talking about and he didn't care. All that he could register was the Hermione was trying to kiss Fred and he didn't like it one bit.
"What are you on about?" It was Ron, voice oddly calm considering.
Ginny gasped again, understanding glistening in her eyes. "What did you two prats do?" She crossed her arms and glared at George, who had the decency to look a bit sheepish.
"It was nothing really, just a bit of…well…lust potion." The last bit was said so low that Harry felt he must have misheard him. Fred who apparently managed to get Hermione off of him went over to George and whispered something in his ear.
"LUST POTION? What in the world did you give Hermione lust potion for?" Ginny was fuming and Harry started to fear for the twins.
George dragged Ginny into the bedroom that he shared with Fred and both of the twins entered and locked the door behind them. Ginny was as angry as they had ever seen her and all of the placating only added fuel to her fire. So they tried a different approach, honesty, it was a weird feeling for both of them but it seemed to work. After they had explained how Harry and Hermione had received the potion, and once Ginny understood their reasoning for trying it out in the first place she seemed to calm down. They both knew that she wanted Ron and Hermione to get together more than anyone and she only griped that she had not been in on it in the first place.
Now that they had settled that matter, there was the minor detail of reversing the effects. Normally they would have asked Hermione for her help, but she was completely useless to them in this state, so they employed the genius of their little sister. She wasn't as diligent of a student, but she was inventive and the three of them hoped that they would be able to get this little ordeal solved as quickly as possible. They also hoped that Ron would be able to protect Hermione from Harry's groping. The twins might have made the potion a little stronger then they had intended.
They worked diligently for three hours before Fred was certain that they had come up with the antidote. The potion was bright blue and fizzy, they were a little nervous to try it out, what it if it went wrong, but there were no other options. They started with Hermione first, figuring that Fred would be able to convince her to drink it more easily then they would Harry. Fred went out into the hall to see Ron pinning Harry on the ground while Hermione looked on in fear. When she noticed Fred standing there she lunged for him but because he had been expecting it she was not able to get closer than he would allow.
She gladly followed him into the room where they relocked the door. Ron had evidently let go of Harry because there came a violent pounding on the door. Fred placed Hermione on the end of the bed and had George bring the antidote to him.
"Now Hermione I need you to drink this for me." He brought a glass of potion to her lips but she kept them pursed. She shook her head adamantly and would not allow him to pour the potion into her mouth. He had to do something, and the only thing that he could think of was to somehow trick her into it.
Fred placed the glass on the bedside table and sat down next to Hermione. Ginny and George watched on in wonderment. Fred stroked Hermione's hair and then brought her face around to his. He kissed her lightly, pulling away just before she tried to make it deeper. She pouted at him, but he smiled back.
"My dear Hermione, wont you please take one little sip for me?" He whispered in her ear. Fred noticed her shiver at the feel of his breath on her neck and he smiled inwardly. She finally acquiesced and he brought the glass back to her lips. She took a hesitant sip, merely wetting her lips. He entreated her to take a bit more and she did, this time taking the liquid into her mouth. They all sat waiting with bated breath, minutes passed where Fred had to keep removing Hermione's hand from his leg, but finally she seemed to show a reaction.
Her eyes glazed over and she slowly drew back her hand from trying to touch Fred again, then she shook her head as if ridding herself of a nasty thought. Her eyes focused once more and she looked intently at Fred. 'Oh crap, it didn't work" he though, and just as he was about to ask Ginny to take Hermione out of the room he felt a hard SMACK on his right cheek. "Hallelujah" Though now his cheek stung and Ginny had to hold Hermione back from slapping Fred again. A part of him was a bit sad but he knew that this was for the best; it was Hermione for Merlin's sake.
It was like awaking from a dream, or in this case a nightmare. She remembered everything and she could feel the anger start to well inside her. She looked over to Fred who was sitting next to her and stared into his eyes, trying to see any hint of remorse for what he had just put her through. Then as if her hand had a mind of it's own she slapped him. She could see the pink starting to form on his cheek and she drew her hand back to hit the other side when Ginny stepped in and held her back.
Fury would be too mild of a word to describe how she felt; she had been humiliated and taken advantage of. She remembered how she had gone after Fred, and how he had at first let her. It was despicable! Thoughts of revenge were floating around inside of her head when George broke the silence.
"I know your mad Hermione, but we need to cure Harry and soon. He is about to break down the door." She had blocked out the pounding but now the noise had hit her full force. He really was trying to break down the door. She nodded assent to George, and Fred moved to open the door.
Harry fell into the room and tripped over one of the many boxes on the floor. Ginny caught him before he actually landed and she brought him to the spot on the bed where Fred had just been. It was a dangerous move, but Hermione understood that only she would be able to get him to drink just as Fred had done to her.
Harry thankfully proved to be much easier to coax and all she had to do was ask in an overly sweet voice while running her fingers through his hair. He complied and drank the rest of the potion. He was just about to snake his arm around Hermione's waist when he got the same glazed expression that had been on her face moments before. He too shook his head and instead of looking at Hermione or either of the twins fixed his gaze on Ginny.
Harry tried to convey all the sorrow he felt in that one look. When he thought back on his actions of today all he could do was regret that it might have hurt the one person that he knew he loved. She seemed to understand him perfectly because she walked over and gave him the smallest kiss on the lips. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, this time more deeply. At first she was unresponsive, as if his kiss had surprised her, then she fell into it and matched his passion with her own.
The room fell quiet around them and Harry could hear nothing but the beating of their two hearts. When they finally broke away he noticed that they were now alone. She blushed slightly when he looked back into her eyes.
"I've missed you." He whispered to her, and they kissed again.
She had been the first to get the hint; she pushed George and Fred out the door and closed it silently behind her. There in the hallway stood Ron, a bit bedraggled considering the little fight he had had with Harry and trying to hold Harry back from her. She smiled at how he had tried to protect her. She noticed his ears go a bit pink upon seeing her smile and she blushed a bit herself. She motioned towards the upstairs and then made her way towards his room hoping that he alone would follow her.
Luckily the twins seemed to have gotten the hint as only Ron's red head came through the door behind her. With a non verbal spell she locked the door and placed a silencing charm on the room, there was no way she would let Fred and George hear this conversation. At first she didn't have anything to worry about because they just sat there in uncomfortable silence; Hermione on Harry's bed and Ron on his own. He seemed to be stewing and she couldn't take the silence anymore and had to say something.
"I'm so sorry," she said.
He shrugged.
"You're not going to say anything?"
What's to say? You kissed Fred and Harry." His expression was sour.
"You know that was because of a potion right?"
"Well you seemed to be enjoying it. Fred a good snog?"
"You are unbelievable Ron. Besides what do you care anyway?"
"I DON'T!" She could feel his anger now; it sent a stifling wave throughout the room. Why was he so angry with her? She couldn't control herself, she had tried. She could feel the tears well in the back of her eyes and she couldn't hold them back. They were spilling out like a rain spout and left trails of wetness down her cheeks. The sight of her tears seemed to calm Ron down and he came to sit on Harry's bed with her. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shoulder. Her heaving subsided along with the tears after a while. He continued to rub her back and hair whispering words of comfort and apologies in her ear.
When she finally seemed to have gotten a hold of herself Ron pulled back from their embrace and used his thumb to wipe away the wetness on her face. Then as if the world had stopped spinning and everything was in slow motion Hermione watched as he moved his face closer and closer to her own. She could feel his warm breath on her lips and it sent shivers of anticipation down her spine. The air was thick with electricity and this felt nothing like what she had been feeling earlier with Fred, this feeling superseded anything that that potion had been able to conjure.
Their lips met and Hermione was glad that she was sitting because she knew that at this moment there was no way that her legs would be able to support her now. It was the most amazing moment in her life to date and she didn't think that she would ever be able to forget the way that his tongue slid along her mouth. She had read about moments like this but even in books they could never capture the exact feeling of an amazing first kiss.
She had awoken from a nightmare and fell right back into the sweetest of dreams.