Hello, everyone! I know that it's been almost literally forever, but I'm finally updating once again for you all… and this time with an actual chapter! I've finally settled down with moving and working and so on, so my updates will be more frequent from here on out. Thanks to all of you that have stuck around in waiting for this! You're all absolutely wonderful! 3 Biff

Chapter Seven

"Veritaserum is the most powerful truth serum known to the Wizarding World. Anyone who drinks it will confess their most deeply hidden secrets on command."

"Veritaserum, huh?" Fred mumbled more to himself than to his twin as they walked down the corridor.

"Sounds like it." George replied softly, glancing towards Fred every now and again as they headed towards the Common Room.

"I wonder what exactly it's done… to him, I mean." The last thing that Fred wanted was to have somehow messed up Draco's head. What if all of this was permanent? What if it didn't wear off? Granted, he hadn't been too gung-ho about Malfoy before (he was a right git), but he didn't want to be the one responsible for any of this. Maybe he wasn't exactly a rule abiding individual, but he wasn't this terrible either.

"Well, it appears as though he's become infatuated with you." George stated, snorting faintly. Upon Fred's look of disapproval, however, he became serious once more. "I'm sure he'll be perfectly fine. Hermione is a bloody genius, you know? She'll have something worked out, and before you know it, Malfoy will go right back to loathing each and every one of us." Or at least he hoped as much.

"Do you think he'll forget everything that's been happening?"

"I really hope so."

"Fred! George!" The twins turned around at the sound of what was hopefully their saving grace. Hermione stopped as the two Weasleys faced her and waved them along after her, now heading in the direction of the abandoned women's bathroom. She knew from experience that they were highly unlikely to be disturbed so long as they were there. Well, that was if you didn't count Moaning Myrtle.

"You decide to talk to us here of all places?" Fred asked, his nose wrinkled up slightly in disgust.

"You're going to start sounding like the old Malfoy soon, you keep that up." George said, a taunting grin spreading across his face.

Fred simply narrowed his eyes at the comment.

"Alright, enough out of the two of you. We've actually got important business to discuss here." Hermione stated in a tone that suggested she'd already become annoyed with the situation. Or rather she'd never stopped being annoyed with it at all.

"You've figured something out then?" George asked rather hopefully.

"You could say that." The bushy-haired witch began, pulling out a piece of folded up parchment. "You see, I've done some digging around and it turns out that something of this sort has happened once before." She handed the paper to Fred, who took it almost hesitantly. "This isn't your run of the mill love potion.

Fred's eyes scanned the article as Hermione spoke. "… a potion gone wrong, Amorteserum is a combination of two already dangerous potions, Amortentia and Veritaserum. It causes the drinker to not only fall into an extraordinarily obsessive state, but it also…" He trailed off as a frightening realization hit him.

"What? What else does it say?" George asked, trying to steal the paper away from his twin.

"Malfoy's feelings aren't falsified solely because of the potion you accidentally happened to give to him." Hermione began, watching Fred intently as he spoke. "In fact, his feelings aren't false at all. He's simply given into feelings that have been hidden deep within him. This mistake of a potion has him being honest, but in a terrible fashion."

"Wait… I'm not sure I'm following you." George said slowly. "You're saying that Malfoy isn't under a spell?"

"He is, but only in a sense." Hermione replied, her head tilting to the side slightly. "The potion he's been given has caused him to be extremely honest about any feelings that he's ever had for Fred."

"So… Malfoy… is in love with my brother?" George asked, his eyes darting towards Fred and then back to Hermione.

"In love, I wouldn't be able to say. However, he does appear to feel something for him. In any case, he's highly unstable at the moment. We've all got to watch how we handle this, or it could end very poorly for everyone involved."

Fred looked highly uncomfortable with the conversation as a whole. "What am I supposed to do then? Isn't there a way to fix all of this?"

"There is… but I'm not sure you'll enjoy the prospect of either option..." Hermione said, her expression suddenly becoming wary.

"They can't be that terrible."

"Well, you can either allow Malfoy to continue on the way he is until the effects completely wear off." Hermione began, although she looked displeased with this option. "It could be weeks before the potion is entirely out of his system, however. To make matters worse, he'll remember everything that's happened to him during that time."

"That doesn't sound pleasant for any one." George said, looking less than happy with option one.

"Alright, then. What else have we got?" Fred asked, running a hand through his red hair.

"You've got to give Malfoy whatever it is that he wants from you." Hermione said, gingerly taking the paper from Fred's hand as she spoke. "The article states that the potion wore off once the drinker had been given precisely what he'd been wanting, and too afraid to ask for."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Fred asked, although he had a feeling about where this was going.

"If he has feelings for you, Malfoy more than likely is hoping that he'll have a chance with you." Hermione replied. "You'll have to give him that chance. This would require that you spend a lot of time with him, just as you would if you were actually dating him. This isn't something that will be fixed overnight, even if you decide upon this route. It will simply end things more quickly than waiting it out." She looked very seriously at Fred. "Personally, I would recommend that you get it all out of the way as quickly as possible. He won't remember anything if you do."

"So, basically if Fred dates Malfoy, Malfoy won't remember it happening?" George asked, chuckling at the idea of it. "I can't help but find this a little amusing."

"None of this is funny." Fred said, glaring at his brother.

"Not to you."

"Git."

"Nutter."

"Well, do whatever you'd like." Hermione said, gathering her things and heading towards the bathroom's exit. "I've got other things to attend to. Like my class work. Good luck with everything, and let me know how it goes I suppose." With that, she turned and left.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure it'll go fantastically." Fred stated, rolling his eyes. "What could possibly go wrong?"