Part Ten

"I see our younger brother has finally stopped puking slugs," Fred said, a wide smile beaming brightly across his face.

"Something hilariously ingenious as puking slugs and we didn't even cause it? It's a travesty," George replied, resting his arm atop of Ron's head and leaning down to pinch his cheek, pulling the skin tightly enough to leave a blemished mark.

"Bog off!" Ron yelled, slapping George's hand away and shuffling forward, not bothering to hide the laugh that erupted from his mouth as his brother stumbled forward, falling to the ground in an uncivilised manner.

"Eat slugs!" a voice shouted from behind Ron, causing him to jump and look around with a wide expression, his features twisting and his face losing all colour.

Laughter encircled him and Ron knew instantly who was having a joke at his expense. Fred did not even have his wand at hand.

"Git," Ron grumbled under his breath, the wild thumping in his chest slowing to a steady rhythm. Fred and George would be the death of him. Only those two would ever manage to have the whole Common Room laughing at him. Even Hermione had a small smile gracing her features but at least she tried to hide it, unlike Harry, who was laughing so hard he had to hold his stomach, eyes that clearly spoke the words "sorry mate, but it's funny".

The course of laughter only broke when Professor McGonagall entered the Common Room, her steely eyes circling the room slowly until they rested on the group of students that were cause of the ruckus.

"Fred and George Weasley, the Headmaster wishes to see you both right this instant," she said, her voice echoing around the room but revealing nothing. She turned to leave but stopped as she looked over the top of her glasses and stared at the two students in question. "Well, come on then!"

George pushed himself from the ground and looked to Fred for answers, who merely shrugged in response as he moved to followed Professor McGonagall, ignoring the hushed voices from the other students, quietly questioning what they could have done that would be bad enough to warrant an instant trip to the Headmaster's office.

"You don't think this is about - do you?" George whispered to his twin as they trailed after the teacher.

Fred shook his head, staring ahead. "I don't know. But I do know one thing: anyone who tries to pin this on us is in for it."

"Agreed," George replied, voice dropping an octave lower. "Percy may be a prat but he's our brother…"

They stopped when they reached a familiar gargoyle, its bull-like face contorted by an ugly grimace, teeth protruding up either side. The crouching statuette was cocooned by two large wings that would surly resemble thick leather if they were ever real and its talons digging deeply into the stone ground, securing it into place.

"Sherbet Lemon!" Professor McGonagall said, taking a small step backwards. Fred and George followed suit just in time as the stone creature let out a deafening growl as it sprung to life, its mighty wings snapping open to reveal its large muscular body. It growled once again and stared at those who stood in front of it before leaping into the air and using those demonic wings to lower its body to the ground with a soft sound that seemed almost impossible for such a gigantic stone beast to make.

The wall behind where the creature once stood now opened a reviled a circular staircase, the steps slowly starting to move as if they had just had a burst of life breathed into them. Fred took the lead after seeing McGonagall motioning them upwards, stepping onto the steps and allowing them to take him to the office upstairs. He heard another loud growl and knew that the gargoyle was now moving back to its original location, guarding the room that was forever hidden from sight.

Fred stepped off the stairs and waited in front of the huge oak door just as Professor McGonagall pressed passed him and rapped on the door, once again motioning for Fred and George to enter the now open door.

They were greeted with silence upon entering the room and the twins could instantly feel hundreds of eyes staring at them, followed by few hushed voices. The portraits knew what was going on and the way they stared sent a shiver down George's spine. Fred, on the other hand, paid no heed to the multitude of eyes that followed him. He walked forward with a purpose in his stride, seeing Headmaster Dumbledore standing next to his desk.

"Headmaster, you wanted to…" he began, pausing mid-sentence as he saw a familiar figure sitting on the stairs to the right of the desk.

"Charlie? What are you doing here?" George asked before Fred could finish, his brows furrowing in confusion.

The second oldest Weasley brother waved to his younger siblings, forcing a smile on his face as he spoke. "I'm here on Mum's request. Dad can't get away from work because of this inquiry and the Ministry are storming the house for anything remotely Muggle-like – they don't want a repeat of the car – so Mum is batting them away with anything she can find. Bill was busy at Gringotts so here I am." He sighed heavily as he leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand, a deep scar entwining around his forearm. "I think – had Mum know how serious this was, she would have come herself…"

Silence filled the room before Dumbledore stepped forward. "I'm sorry to have to bring you here under such terrible circumstances, boys," he began in a soft voice that would normally bring reassurance to students; however, to the Weasley siblings it did the exact opposite and only filled them with a deep-rooted sense of dread and fear. "What has happened to your brother is a shocking thing and we are aiming to get to the bottom of this, however, I must ask this: did either of you two slip anything into Percy's goblet prior to the incident?"

The twins looked on, aghast at the words that Dumbledore spoke. How can such an accusation come out in such a calm and mild manner?

"How? We didn't do this!" George exclaimed, looking around the office, as if the answers he sought were just around the corner.

Charlie stood up but remained still, looking at his brothers with a sombre expression. "No one thinks that but … just think and answer the Headmaster's question."

Fred thrust his hands in his pockets, narrowing his usually sparkling eyes as he looked between his brother and Dumbledore. "How can you say that and then expect us to answer? You know the answer already!"

Charlie shook his head. "Please… this could…"

Fred was about to continue his argument but felt a hand on his arm, roughly pulling him back. He turned to question his twin but seeing the expression in George's eyes gave him the answers before he even voiced his question.

"Maybe we should? We know it didn't but?"

"Of course it didn't!"

"I know that, idiot," George growled, tightening his grip on Fred's arm.

Charlie watched his brothers as they interacted with one another. The small looks. The simple gestures. They knew what the other was thinking – they always did. They were two sides of the same coin, after all. Or perhaps they were both the same side. Who truly knew?

Fred and George nodded to each other.

"Headmaster, we did slip a voice suppressing potion into Percy's drink," George said.

"But, we've given them to him before and this has never happened," Fred finished.

The older wizard nodded his head towards Professor McGonagall, who had remained silent at the entrance of the office, and walked around the girth of his desk before taking a seat on the oaken chair. "It is as I suspected then," he said, more to himself than any of the other occupants inside the room.

George pushed forward, resting both hands flat in the cold wooden desk. "I swear, Headmaster, we didn't hurt Percy. Our potion didn't hurt our brother."

Dumbledore looked at the redhead with a small smile on his face. "On the contrary, I believe that is what is currently keeping your brother alive."

"What do you mean by that, Headmaster?" Charlie asked, slowly walking around so he was able to address the man clearly.

"I have reason to believe now that Percy has been poisoned, however, none of the conventional antidotes are working, which leads us to believe that this is a blended poison. Professor Snape is working on an antidote as we speak, but we need to consider Golpalott's Third Law when creating it. It is fairing to be quite problematic indeed.

"Now, as I was saying, your potion is the reason why the poison was not fully ingested into Percy's body. It activated before the poison had chance to run its course, creating a magical barrier or a blockage, if you will, around his throat – nothing was ingested beyond that point. That is why the most damage is around that area … can you imagine what could have happened had your brother fully ingested such a poison? I dare say Percy would not have lasted the night."

"Headmaster," George began in a soft voice, eyes avoiding making any contact. "What happens when our potion fades? It was only created to work for a couple of days at a time."

Dumbledore smiled, a slight twinkle in his eye as he interlaced his fingers together. "I am sure you have more brewed or if not, I am certain Professor Snape will be able to provide the ingredients … should you ask nicely, that is."

Fred and George smiled brightly for the first time since the accident happened.

"I dare say, the sooner the better," he replied.

"Right," they coursed together and rushed out of the office, tripping over one another as they went.

"Headmaster?" Charlie said after he was certain that his brothers were fully out of earshot. "Will Percy be ok? If I recall rightly, creating an antidote using Golpalott's Third Law is extremely difficult, even to the greatest potionmakers."

Dumbledore exhaled as he leaned forward, resting his elbows into the desk and lowering his head into his hands. "It will be difficult, but Severus is very resilient and I have no doubts that he will be able to create a suitable antidote. We will just need to keep this at bay until that time comes."

Charlie nodded. "Headmaster? Will it be ok if I visit my brother? I need to see for myself how he is."

Dumbledore looked up and smiled softly, eyes full of unspoken sympathy. "Of course you may. You remember where the Hospital Wing is, don't you? I recall you spending a great deal time there after a rather nasty Quidditch match."

"That I do," he laughed, recalling fully in his mind the moment he woke up in the Hospital Wing. At least they had won the match though. "Thank you," he said, bidding the Headmaster a farewell and leaving the office.

To be continued...

Here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed ans as always, thanks to those who reviewed and/or faved.

Also, thanks for the kind words for my Mum - they are very much appreciated and again, I thank you all :)