3/1

verbicide

[ vur-buh-sahyd ]

noun

the willful distortion or depreciation of the original meaning of a word.

Hermione was visiting the Burrow the summer into her Fourth year, and the Twins' Sixth, and while she was great friends with Fred and George, and starting up a tentative friendship with their younger sister Ginny, Ronald always rubbed her the wrong way. It was one thing if he was lonely and trying to get social interaction in, however he was off playing Quidditch with Seamus and Dean nearly every single day she was there to visit. The one day it was too rainy for the boys to head outside, Ron was nearly attached to Fred and George's hips, and by association Hermione's, and it was hard trying to shake him. At the moment, the three were trying to brainstorm new ideas, with the twins going wilder and wilder, and Hermione having the sense to rein them in where she could.

Ron, however, kept interjecting and scoffing at their ideas, trying to drag Hermione into taking his side.

She didn't appreciate him talking over her, either.

"So, a potion based prank, to turn students' hair into different colors based upon what colors people around them say," George had suggested and Fred eagerly wrote it down.

"How would you deliver the potion?" Hermione had asked and the two twins had exchanged looks.

"We could ask the elves?" Fred offered.

"The elves could work. They would be able to put a few drops in the bottom of every goblet at breakfast," George continued. Ron scoffed at the idea.

"Why would they help you two? They're too busy making food and cleaning," Ron pointed out. He turned to Hermione. "Have you heard of House Elves before? They're handy little things," he said. Hermione merely blinked at him in surprise.

"Sounds like slave labor to me," she replied and Ron shrugged at her.

"It's just what they've always done," he said and she turned her scowl on the twins.

"After talking with House Elves this past year after finding the kitchen, which we will totally show you when we're back at Hogwarts, by the way," George started.

"No, Ron, we're not showing you. You'll terrorize them for extra food before the end of the first week!" Fred interrupted upon seeing Ron open his mouth to interject.

"We found out that House Elves have a symbiotic relationship with Wizarding Magic. House Elves wait on wizards, hand and foot, and in exchange, have unlimited access to family magic, which is their main source of sustenance," George continued.

"While House Elves do eat, and do have their own brand of magic, it's a wild magic that is stabilized with Wizarding Magic. Whether the Elf bonds with an individual or with a family doesn't matter, but the stronger the wizarding magic, the stronger the Elf will be," Fred added, causing Hermione to grow pensive.

Ron took that moment to interject once more, ranting on how the little blighters enjoyed their work, and that there really wasn't much more to it than that. He continued to rant, ignorant of the dark looks his brothers shot him, and the alarm that appeared on Hermione's face.

Hermione listened in abject horror as the youngest Weasley boy tried to butt in on their conversation once again, his verbicide of the most simplest of words causing a vein to tick in her forehead. She exchanged a look with the twins over Ron's head as the boy attempted to scoot closer to her, and Hermione had to physically stop herself from cringing away.

It was a good thing they weren't at the dinner table, because she felt she would have run away screaming if she had to see him talk with his mouth full one more time.

"Oh Ronniekins, what's that in your hair?" Fred asked with a grin, leaning forward after sharing a look with George. Hermione saw nothing in the youngest Weasley boy's hair, but stayed silent, knowing her protectors had come to her rescue again.

"What is it?" Ron asked, lifting a hand and coming away with a realistic plastic spider Fred had planted in his hair. One shrill shout later, and Ron was sprinting from the room, the door to the Twins' room slamming shut after him. It took them barely a moment before all three of them burst out laughing.

"Anyway," George said, as he calmed first, "we can have the House Elves put a few drops in all of the goblets, and then it can be diluted with whatever liquid they put in it."

"That would help with longevity. The more drops would mean a longer lasting solution," Hermione added. "And if the solution is diluted by other means, it would help make it shorter too, so it can wear off in less than a day."

The three continued to plan for a few more minutes before they heard Molly coming up the stairs, the door flying open a moment later.

"What did you do to Ronald?" Molly demanded at the twins, who shared a look before answering her.

"He was being rude, and then ran away after Fred pulled a spider out of Ronald's hair. It must have fallen on him from the ceiling. The room does feel drafty, after all," Hermione said before they could speak, and Molly turned to her, her expression softening.

"That boy neglected to mention that," the Weasley Mother mumbled. "Be nice," she then warned before turning and heading back downstairs, leaving the door open again. Hermione let out a small giggle before turning back to the twins, large grins on their faces.

"So, where were we?"