WARNING:THE WORLDS LONGEST CHAPTER ALERT (Well, in actual fact it's probably not, but it just SOUNDS so much better than 'kinda long', so I thought...ok fine, I'll hush now.)

With a look of triumph, Harry pulled out the glass container and watched Ginny's thought process as she examined the clear liquid. Curious, then confused, followed by a look of realisation and then-

"That's BRILLIANT, Harry! Where did you get it?"

Although it was such an obvious question to ask Harry hadn't been prepared for it. His gut clenched horribly, his mouth went dry, and a sudden undesirable hot prickling feeling in his eyes emmerged until he was forced to turn away. ' Not now,' he thought desperately, ' not infront of Ginny. Just answer her.'

Ginny had been observing him closely, and shrewdly perceiving he was in difficulty became suddenly fascinated with a moth on the ceiling.

"His... will. Dumbledore left me tons of...stuff." Harry croaked finally, still not trusting himself to face Ginny, not until he'd distracted himself from thinking about...it.

Seeing his desire to move away from such a subject whichshe knew must haunt him constantly, Ginny said in the brightest voice she could muster, "We'll only use a little bit of the potion though, it might be useful in the future.Only enough for fifteen miutes or so- and we can do it now, Mum and Dad went to visit Lupin for the afternoon... ooh this is going to be so very plesant to watch!"

"Do my ears hear something to do with mischief making?" George questioned, his head appearing around the corner.

"Without our aid too, George! That hurts Ginny, such betrayal- you've wounded my soul." Fred said dramatically, clasping his chest.

"Oh, shut up!" Ginny grinned, "Who says we're being mischevious?"

George raised his eyebrow, it was only then Harry realised that could have been taken the wrong way.

"What she means is, er, 'who said we're planning something?', not that Ginny and I were doing things or anything... we were just...planning..." Harry trailed off, his face now a violent shade of crimson.

Ginny gave him a look that seemed to say, 'They don't know anything about us, don't worry-" but even if they hadn't known before, Harry's face was now resembling a sunburnt tomato, and this appeared to have made them somewhat suspicious.

The twins exchanged an evil grin, but to Harry's relief it was followed only by "So, what is it you're scheming then?"

Ginny and Harry glanced at each other, and made a mutual, silent agreement. After all, it seemed far too cruel to deny Fred and George of such a treat.

"Well..." Ginny began slowly, phrasing her words carefully, "You may have noticed odd things occuring between Hermione and Ron recently-"

Fred opened his mouth in exaggerated shock, "Our ickle Ron and Miss Granger? But that's absurd, whatever gave you that idea? Surely it's perfectly normal to have screaming matches-"

"Break down doors-" interjected George.

"Kiss after almost killing each other at someone else's wedding..." Fred continued,

"...Then cry continuously about it for weeks afterwards..." George rolled his eyes.

"You mean that was her crying?" Fred gasped in amazement, "I thought she was trying to make her own manual swimming pool up there."

"Alright, alright!" Harry grinned, pulling up the bottle again from under the table for them to see. Both identical eyes widened immediately.

"Veritaserum! Ahh, Harry- we've taught you well-" George patted him proudly on the back, then moved closer to examine the potion.

Fred had his eyes closed, as if he was savering this moment, "the possibilities..." he whispered gleefully.

"It's just we're bored of this whole... thing now, so we thought a little truth potion couldn't hurt to speed things along a bit-" Harry began, but it appeared the twins had deduced this already, seeing as they were now in a frantic whispered discussion. Eventually George removed the potion from Harry's grip, and turned to Ginny-

"Go get Hermione. We'll be ready when you come back. Just Hermione, ok?"

This simple instruction appeared harder to tackle than first thought. Hermione was still firmly incased amongst an array of locks, bolts, and repelling spells that only she could release. Harry doubted if even Nearly Headless Nick would be able to float through walls so highly protected.

" She certainly won't come out by just asking-" Ginny muttered to Harry, standing outside Hermione's door, "-So I'll have to use more persuasive techniques. Then again how do I do that without Ron hearing?" She seemed engrossed in her own thoughts, until a grim smile formed across her face.

Moving closer towards Hermione's door, without warning she took a large intake of breath, and then screamed.

Now, Harry had heard some pretty awful screams throughout his life, but Ginny was obviously extremely talented in the art, for hers was amongst the most piercing he had ever had the misfortune to hear. He staggered back in suprise, amazed that someone so small could make that much noise, and clamped his hands firmly over his (now surely burst) ear drums. She finally stopped almost casually, as if she had merely yawned, and waited.

Within seconds Ron burst from Percy's room, looking wild- "Whats going on?" He said in alarm, moving towards Ginny with considerable pace.

"I lost Arnold." She replied simply, without a trace of embarassment, causing Ron to stare at her in disbelief for a moment before exclaiming angrily, "You screamed because of that stupid Pygmy Puff?" He snarled, "One more stunt like that Gin, and I'll- I'll-"

"You'll what? Slam more doors?" She snapped. Ron gave a colossal grunt, then stormed back towards Percy's door, and without thinking, slammed it shut. Within seconds he opened it again, gave her a look to say 'Don't even think about commenting on that' and closed it, carefully making sure it made no noise this time.

The silence followed by Ron's departure was short lived. Several clunks and whirring sounds indicated Hermione was trying to depart from her room, and finally she wrenched it open, gasping "What's wrong Ginny? I heard you screaming!"

Harry turned to witness Ginny's explaination, and was astounded to see in the few short seconds between Ron's departure and Hermione's arrival, Ginny had made herself cry at a staggering rate. Hermione rushed over immediately to console her, Ginny sobbing softly-

"It's- it's Arnold!" Ginny wailed, winking at Harry over Hermione's shoulder, "I saw Crookshanks chase him down the stairs, and Pygmy Puffs get tired easily, Crookshanks has obviously-" She paused for dramatic effect, "EATEN HIM!" and with that she burst into a fresh round of tears.

Hermione made soothing noises, and spoke quickly "No! Honestly, it'll be fine- you didn't exactly see Crookshanks eating-"

Ginny wailed again for good measure, causing Hermione to stare dispairingly at Harry, before trying to speak over Ginny's racket. "We'll go down and try and find Arnold- I'm sure Crookshanks wouldn't of- been near him. Come on, now- it's OK-" and, leaving Harry absolutely amazed behind them, Ginny was led down the stairs, giving the occasional sniff as she went.

When they reached the kitchen, Fred and George were sitting innocently at the table, sipping casually at pumpkin juice.

"Ah- just in time- Ginny, Harry, we've poured you each a drink." Fred explained, indicating to two Goblet's on the table, "and Hermione too! I think we've got some spare, haven't we George?" With a nod, George got up and poured an extra goblet, placing it directly infront of Hermione. She was, out of anxiety for Ginny, distracted however, and looked as though she was going to decline until-

"LOOK! HE'S ALIVE!" Ginny gave an uncharacteristic squeal, and pointed to the floor. Bumbling from side to side was Arnold, who Harry noted moved so slowly he would have done well to outrun a cat which had been the victim of a leg-locking curse, let alone a fully mobile Crookshanks. Hermione however, was looking too relieved the fluffy bundle was mobile at all to be aware of it's speed.

"I think that calls for a celebratory drink!" Fred suggested, clearly having no idea whatsoever of what Ginny was talking about, yet he seemed remarkably keen for Hermione to have some pumpkin juice, and Harry suspected he knew why.

Sure enough, within seconds of Hermione taking a gulp of her drink, her expression loosened until she stared blankly infront of her. George tested she was truly affected by the potion by poking her in the eye a few times (she didn't even blink), then turning to Harry he whispered "We haven't got long- go get Ron..."

Harry didn't need to be asked again. Sprinting up the stairs, he arrived panting at Percy's door. He thought for a minute, then deciding he would never possess Ginny's creativity, opted for a less complex method of extracting Ron. Thrusting open the door, he grabbed the object of his mission, who was looking amazed at this suprise invasion,and started pulling.

"Oi! Harry! Gerrof me-" Ron struggled to remain in Percy'sroom, and scrambling forward managed to clutch a bedpost. After several tugs, kicks and even bites, Harry doubted all the Quidditch training in the world would have given him enough strength to remove Ron from the bedpost, and he gave in.

"What's so important you want to drag me out?" Ron snapped, nursing the bruises Harry had just provided him with.
A stroke of inspiration suddenly came to Harry, and he pondered for a split second whether Ginny had sent him subliminal messages.

"You've got a gift from your Aunt downstairs,a signed picture of the whole Chudley Cannons team!"

Ron's eyes widened in momentary suprise, then he narrowed them again- "Why would she send me a present?"

Harry paused, then without thinking spurted out- "Your birthday!"

Ron looked confused, "My birthday's months away, Harry-"

"Well.. yes, it is," began Harry, his brain searching desperately for an explaination, "...Ginny did mention however, that her mind was a bit messed up, maybe she got confused... anyway, come down and see!"

"But-" Ron continued, and Harry gave an inward groan, " Which brain-addled Aunt do I have who has contact with the Chudley Cannons?"

Harry, having little knowledge of Ron's vast collaboration of relatives, tried fervently to remember any from the Wedding that had seemed even slightly odd.

"Your Aunt Paula, ofcourse!" Harry replied unconvincingly-knowing perfectly well no such Aunt existed.

Miraculously however, Ron seemed convinced at last. "She must have been the one with the purple hair who kissed me twice" He thought aloud, with a twinge of disgust in his voice, and he finally began down the stairs, Harry following him with sigh of relief.

"Wait!" Ron suddenly stopped abruptly, his eyes fixed upon Hermione's open door, "She's not there, is she?"
Harry, who was by now very tempted just to punch Ron, knock him out, and heave him downstairs just to avoid anymore questions, replied quickly-

"No, ofcourse not. She went with your parents to visit Tonks and Lupin." Ron seemed suprised, but to Harry's immense relief asked no more questions.

As Fred spotted Harry coming down the stairs he grinned widely- the complete opposite to Ron's reaction when his eyes settled upon Hermione. He turned accusingly to Harry, "Thanks alot, mate" He sneered, and began storming back up the stairs, when George, who seemed to have anticipated this move, said calmly, "So Hermione, how do you feel about Ron?"

Ron froze, looking horrfied.

"I'm so confused about him." Replied Hermione's detached, emotionless voice.

Fred rolled his eyes, "wow- what a revelation- we'd never have guessed that one. Be more specific George, otherwise we'll have run out of time before she's managed a complete paragraph..."

Ron seemed to have joined reality again- "Run out of time? Have you got her under some kind of spell or something? Because that's not funny, it's obvious she's lying..."

"I'd wonder how, seeing as it's Veritaserum- unless ofcourse like some people, Hermione can't tell a love potion when she sees it, and we've dosed her with it. Then again, noone would be so stupid to take that potion, eh Ron?" George sniggered.

Ron merely scowled and settled himself down on the bench, staring oddly at Hermione, as if he were afraid she would suddenly jump up and attack him. Harry vaguely observed how Ron had a full glass of Pumpkin juice by his place on the table too, before George spoke again-

"Hermione, is there anything concerning Ron Weasley you would like to tell us? Any confession to make?"

Hermione didn't speak from a moment, then she opened her mouth automatically and stated " Every morning whilst she was going out with Ron I'd bewitch Lavender's hair to make it look absolutely awful, because I thought that's one of the things Ron didn't like about me, my ugly hair. I hoped he might go off her a bit because of it."

Harry was uneasy. That was probably the most un-Hermione-like comment he'd ever heard, it was so strange to hear her inner thoughts, and for the first time he felt slightly uncomfortable with the whole idea. She was by no means finished however-

"I realised I liked him in the third year, when Sirius Black pulled him into the Whomping Willow. Sirius Black turned out to be innocent though, although he'd been put in Azkaban for-"

"Yes, yes-" Fred interrupted impatiently, "We know- what was it you were saying about Ron?"

Hermione paused briefly again, then- "When he disappeared I was sick with worry- I would have been for anyone ofcourse, but my vision went kind of blurred and all I could think about was what I couldn't tell him if he died, and the answer was that I liked him. Ofcourse, at 13, I didn't know it was any more than like- but that was the first time I realised." There was a short silence, but Hermione had one final thing to declare- "Then recently, Ron was stuck to the ground with loads of arrows from this Cherub he'd angered," A small smile creeped up the sides of her face, "I knew exactly the spell to lift them without touching Ron... but I just wanted to see his boxers..."

Ginny gaped, Fred and George burst into roaring laughter, yet Ron had reached an all-new level of red, and Harry was tempted to throw his Pumpkin juice over him just to cool him down, for fear he might melt from embarassment. Yet behind the mask of deep red, Ron's eyebrows were raised in shock- and uncontainable joy.

Seeing this as a good sign, Harry pressed her- "Hang on, you just said you didn't realise at the time it was 'more than' just liking him- what does that mean?"

Everyone stopped laughing, and turned to Hermione expectantly. Ron waited with baited breath, a look of daring hope covering his face, and finally she spoke-

"I-I..." but confusion was etched into Hermione's countenance now, which could mean only one thing-

"She's coming out of the potion!" Fred announced, and then turned to Ron, studying him, "Unless you want her to see she's just pronounced her undying affection for a betroot, Ron, I'd drink some liquid and cool down."

Ron suddenly came to his senses, and obeying Fred's orders he downed the full goblet next to him.

Hermione sat in stunned silence for awhile, before finally mouthing "Oh my goodness" , and looking absolutely mortified. Guilt surged over Harry, he would have hated the same treatment... to have all his thoughts spilled out to his closest friends, it made him feel sick. He met Ginny's eyes, and knew she was feeling the same- but Fred and George seemed insensitively unmoved.

"If you work in the buisness Harry, you've got to learn to stop getting emotionally attached-" George explained seriously.

"You make it sound as though you work in killing house elves" - Hermione had recovered her voice apparently. Along with her anger. Picking up her goblet, which was still quite full, she tipped it's contents forcefully over George's head. She then turned to Ron, her voice a deadly whisper-

"You let me say that! Infront of everyone- I- I can't believe I-"

"Yes, I did." Ron replied, his voice oddly distant. On closer examination, he was sitting with a dazed look on his face.
Realisation dawned on Hermione, as her gaze fell upon Ron's empty goblet. She turned to Fred, who looked extremely relieved Ron had drank it all, otherwise it might have now be covering his head.

"Have you- to Ron- have you?" Hermione spluttered with fury. In response, Fred leaned in towards Ron and asked,

"So Ron, how did you feel about what Hermion just said?"

"I wish she hadn't come round at that point, I wanted her to finish what she had to say."

"Why?" Asked George, a grin sliding accross his face.

"I hoped she might say the same about me that I think about her."

"Which IS?" Fred was looking decidedly impatient.

Harry on the other hand, now believed that feelings of the level he thought Ron was on the brink of declaring were best confessed when the person was truly aware of it. Therefore, before Ron could answer he jumped in with another question- "Have you ever done anything stupid because of Hermione?"

The twins looked scandalised, but Ginny gave Harry an appreciative smile.

A faint grin appeared on Ron's face. "Yeah. I used to deliberately get tons wrong so she'd have to do my homework, an innocent reason to watch her..." Harry cringed onRon's behalf,"and in our second year I tried cursing Lockhart to make his face covered in pimples, just after he'd erased his own memory- she'd sent him a valentine's card..."

Hermione produced a small squeak.

"-And everytime I play Wizard's Chess I imagine the opposite side is Krum, getting smashed to pieces... She's in love with him or something... I hate that- she said I had the emotional range of a teaspoon once. I remember that. That hurt." The grin faded and was replaced by a definate frown.

"You've liked her since our second year?" Harry said incredulously, amazed he hadn't recognised it until the forth.

"Yeah," Ron began, still frowing, "When she got petrified. It was such a weird feeling, like-"

"Enough." Hermione said quietly, and Harry agreed with her inwardly. They sat in silence, Fred and George seemed to be bursting with questions-

"Can we ask him ones that aren't directly about you?" George pleaded, "Like where he keeps his box of unsent love letters or something-"

"Under the floorboards in my room." Ron replied automatically. Fred had darted halfway accross the kitchen, heading it seemed for that hidden floorboard,before Hermione commanded him to stop. Although as she turned away Fred exchanged a look with George that seemed to represent they wouldn't forget it in a hurry.

Minutes passed, and finally Ron returned to normal, wearing an expression identical to Hermione's when she was in the same situation. Neither spoke, but they stole glances at one another. This time however, they seemed to want to speak, just had forgotten how to work their voice boxes. Harry had hopes they soon might not object to respiring in the same room.

Optimistic at this sight, and unaware of the fact Fred and George were looking at him intently, Harry took a long, satisfied gulp of his own pumpkin juice.

Then all at once, a calm peace descended on him, and his mind went blissfully blank..

AND TO THINK, I'd said "Only one chapter to go". GAH! It's just that I suddenly think of something ridiculously unimportant to put in, but I slot it in anyway... madness!

REVIEWERS! I WISH YOU JOY!(Ok... I just make a strange noise of glee and my sister walked by... hmm.)