Title: Beware of Potions
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Summary: Fred and George create a new product in the summer before their 6th year, but when one of them samples it, they find that it has far different effects than they'd hoped for.
Runeaglerun – I'm so happy you found the story! Thank you for reviewing! I hope your brothers don't think you're too crazy – that's why I had to start reading fanfics in my room. I read one at Starbucks once and started bawling and the baristas thought someone died… in retrospect, it was pretty hilarious. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this!
Crystalclearwaterzinmoonlight – hehe your "dancing drops" idea gave me a really terrible one… I'm so excited!
Lucy – lol I was so happy to see your review! I missed you! I'm glad you liked Fred's reaction in the last chapter – I was kinda worried how it turned out, but your review really made me happy with it! :)
TeamGredandForge – More from Georgie this chapter, just for you! :)
Chapter Thirteen
The next day was as hectic as all the other days that involved large shipments of Weasleys to ancient castles in Scotland. This was also known as the day that they left for Hogwarts, but Molly and Arthur often compared it to something much more involved.
George came downstairs in time to hear Percy boasting about going to work at the Ministry. George scoffed at him but followed him out of the house nonetheless. When the door shut behind them, Percy turned to look at George with an expression of concentration, as if he was trying to read his younger brother's mind. After a moment of speculative silence, Percy spoke.
"If you need anything, let me know," Percy offered, and though George knew he was trying to say more without actually saying it, he pretended to take it at face-value and joke about it.
"Sure, Perce," he replied, smiling. "If I find myself in the need to know which thickness of cauldron to purchase, I'll send you an owl straight-away."
In a move that was decidedly unlike Percy's normal behavior, his older brother rolled his eyes and said, "You know what I mean."
George nodded and said quietly, "You'll hear from me, don't worry. You can't get rid of me that easily."
Percy nodded along and then turned to leave. George didn't stop him in an effort to prolong the conversation – they both knew that such an interaction between them was unusual, no matter how well they had gotten along in the last few days. George stood outside for a moment after Percy left and considered the trip to Hogwarts that they'd all be taking today. He really didn't want to go without Fred. He almost felt as if he was betraying his brother by continuing on without him.
He turned back towards the house and sighed. It didn't matter how badly he felt about going back, since there was no way that his mum would let him skip his sixth year. 'Besides,' he thought, 'I need to stay caught up on what we do this year so that Fred won't be behind when he comes home.'
Trying to keep that hopeful thought at the forefront of his mind, George stepped back into the Burrow, only to find most of the household gathered around the fireplace. It seemed his father was having a conversation with someone that had flooed over. Interested, he crept up behind them to see what was so captivating and overheard the tail-end of a conversation involving someone named "Mad-Eye" and jinxes before his mum stuffed the visitor's mouth with a piece of toast. His dad hurriedly got ready to leave, wishing them all a good term as he made his way towards the door.
George wasn't entirely sure who Mad-Eye was, though he'd heard quite a few interesting stories that tended to paint the man in a very strange light. He shook his head and listened as Bill and Charlie tried to describe Mad-Eye to Harry. Unfortunately, Mad-Eye had the sort of appearance and personality that couldn't just be described with words. George rolled his eyes as Charlie attempted to pull off the old Auror's expression and leaned over to help.
"There, Harry, look at George. That's more of a Moody expression than I can ever do," Charlie said with a laugh. George grinned and then donned the strangest face he could manage, at which point his mum turned around to look.
She huffed with either amusement or exasperation, no one could tell which, and then said, "Now then, Moody is a very well-respected Auror. There's a lot that he could teach you." With that, she left the room to check on Ginny and Hermione, who were currently dragging their trunks down the stairs. George and Charlie traded "Moody expressions" for a few minutes before their mum came back in to tell them that it was time to leave already.
The trip to the train station was ridiculous, to put it bluntly. Eight people, five trunks, two owls, and a cat weren't designed to fit in the small spaces that were known as muggle taxi cabs, no matter that they had three cabs to share. Nevertheless, the group made it in time and the kids let themselves be herded into the train station by their mum, Bill, and Charlie.
George found a compartment on the train and stowed his trunk above it before heading back to say goodbye to his mum and older brothers. He moved quickly through the train, hoping that people wouldn't come up to comment on the fact that Fred wasn't here with him. He didn't see Lee nearby and hoped that his fellow Gryffindor would find the compartment that he'd picked out.
He walked back to where his mum was standing but was sidetracked by Bill and Charlie, who stopped him before he got within Mum's reach.
"George, we were wondering if we could ask a favor of you," Bill said with a low voice, obviously not wanting their mum to hear.
He nodded in response and said, "Sure, anything, as long it isn't anything that would be detrimental to my character, such as to study more this year."
Charlie smiled but Bill didn't, so George just waved his hand so that Bill would say what he'd meant to say.
"There's a lot planned to happen at Hogwarts this year," Bill said vaguely, "and I know how hard the last few days have been…"At that, George's expression darkened, knowing that he'd only be getting more of this same sentiment the second he got around his classmates and teachers.
Charlie cut in to finish what Bill was saying, "Basically, we want to make sure that you don't do something stupid like running after Death Eaters all by yourself."
Bill sighed and threw Charlie a look before clarifying, "What he meant to say was that we'd like it if you at least let someone know before you go and do something like that. I know there's no point in telling you not to do it, because you won't listen," at that, George smiled, knowing it was true. "But don't go running after a possibility without at least letting someone know and thinking it through."
George knew it made sense, though he decided to joke about it anyways, since it was against his nature to take too many things seriously in any given day. "So, basically, I solemnly swear to not get caught?" He asked, grinning as he held up the wrong hand. His older brothers chuckled and then laughed as George was swept into a tight hug from his mum.
"Oh, George," she said quietly, holding onto him. George hugged her back and then pulled away, even though she obviously didn't want him to. He knew it would only be a matter of time before she started to cry – it usually happened when she dropped off her children at the Hogwarts Express, and he knew this time would be worse without having Fred to drop off as well.
Not knowing what else to say, George smiled at her and then pushed Ginny back toward her, hoping that she'd forgive him for using her as a sacrifice. With one last glance to his older brothers, he stepped back onto the train and made his way back to the compartment. This time, the looks coming from the other students reached him and almost broke through his concentration, which was centered on the floor until he reached the door to his compartment. He pulled it open and sighed in relief when he noticed that Lee was the only other one in the small room.
Lee looked up and gave a small smile as he asked, "Holding up alright?"
George shut the door tightly behind him and dropped onto the opposite bench heavily. He shook his head and said bitterly, "It's not right." Neither of them needed to clarify what wasn't right about the entire situation that they were in. It was obvious both by George's mood and the fact that he didn't have a mirror image sitting right next to him that would have probably been rambling on about how soon they could wreak havoc at the school this year.
"I read about it in the paper…" Lee said, glancing out the window as the train started to pull away. Though he knew Lee wouldn't have taken any offense at it, George cringed at the thought that he'd forgotten to write to Lee to tell him about it. The two spent the next hour discussing what had happened over the last few days. When George's tale caught up to where they were, the boys grew silent as they thought it over.
Lee looked up and asked, "So now what?"
"What do you mean?" George asked.
"Well, what are we going to do to get him back, or find him, or… something?" Lee clarified, gesturing with his hands that they should already be doing something.
Seeing what he meant, George sank back into the cushions sullenly and said, "Well, what can we do? We'll be stuck at Hogwarts for the foreseeable future. Not to mention the fact that I've practically promised to keep myself out of it so as to spare everyone else a headache."
Lee stared at him for a moment and asked incredulously, "How could you promise something like that?"
George turned away slightly. Though Lee hadn't said it outright, the promise did seem like he was giving up in a way, which was completely unacceptable. Across from him, Lee shook his head as if to clear the thought and spoke again.
"Well, if it were me that had been kidnapped by that great blonde git, then what would you and Fred do?"
"Oh, I suppose we'd have to go rescue your sorry arse…" George responded, smirking slightly.
"So let's make a list of suspicious people and then cross them out when we eliminate them as potential suspects," Lee suggested, pulling out a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink.
The two proceeded to make a very detailed list, including Draco Malfoy and his entire family, as well as the entire Slytherin Quidditch team. They also started to add any Slytherin that passed by their compartment, since the sneaky snakes were probably out spying anyways. After an hour of so-called meticulous list-making, the two looked at it and laughed as they realized that they had written the name of just about every Slytherin in the school, as well as several that had already graduated.
"Oh, what the hell?" George said, smiling while shaking his head. He grabbed the quill and wrote Professor Snape's name at the bottom of the parchment, causing Lee to start laughing loudly. The two threw a couple of names around as more of a joke than anything else before they reached the school.
Lee threw the parchment into his bag and the two boys opened the compartment door and followed the other students out to the carriages. As they stood to wait for an open horseless carriage, George couldn't help but listen to the comments circulating around him.
"Hey, it's one of the Weasley twins…"
"Did you read that article, that one of them…"
"Yeah, I did. Which one was it again?"
George clenched his fists so tightly by his side that he figured he'd probably cut his palms with his nails if they were long enough. Lee looked over and glared at the group of younger girls – Hufflepuffs, it looked like – until they sheepishly walked away. A few moments later, the two friends boarded a carriage and began heading up to the castle.
Neither Lee nor George commented on what the girls had said. George knew people would be saying things like that until Fred came back, and he found himself selfishly hoping that Fred would return soon so that he wouldn't have to endure Hogwarts without his twin.
While George had been discussing possible suspects with Lee, Fred was being set to work with three potions that were brewing. Wormtail was currently standing on guard outside the door while Fred watched over the potions and added ingredients as they were needed, referring to Snape's overly meticulous notes and instructions that were laid out on the counter before him.
Fred felt thoroughly exhausted, and it wasn't due solely to the fact that he hadn't slept at all the night before. He felt sick in more ways than one from the effects of what happened the night before, as well as from not having eaten in too long a time. He kept hoping that he'd dreamt the events that led to the death of the Ravenclaw graduate, but nothing could make those memories seem less real at the moment.
In between moments of feeling sick to his stomach and wanting to forget everything, he attempted to adopt a sense of rebellion that he liked to think mattered. He'd argued with Snape earlier, hoping that it would lead to the older man leaving him down in the dark instead of making him come up to help with potion making. Fred had even tripped Wormtail, though the idiot was naturally clumsy to the point that he didn't think anyone else was responsible except for himself.
He stared into the potion before him, knowing that he needed to add three iris petals shortly. Looking at the box of preserved petals, he got an idea of how to easily get out of doing this work. Fred grabbed a handful of petals and made to toss them into the cauldron when a cane smacked into his arm, making him drop the petals with a yelp of pain.
Fred looked up to see slate-gray eyes peering at him in distaste before the cane was thrust forward to effectively shove him off his stool and to the floor. Fred looked up at the elder Malfoy, attempting the send a glare of equal intensity back at the man, though it was hindered by his position on the floor of the dirty little room.
Malfoy sneered at him before saying coolly, "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you were attempting to sabotage one of the Dark Lord's potions…"
Before he could reign in the words, they escaped him. "Maybe we'll be lucky and my little mistake'll do away with the bloody bastard," Fred retorted.
He didn't have time to prepare himself for the violent pain of the Cruciatus which hit him almost instantly, making it seem as if molten bits of steel were being dropped into his veins to burn their way through his whole body. He didn't fully register it when the pain stopped a moment later, the effects dulling to a fierce throbbing beneath his skin as he lay on the floor.
Snape's voice seemed to be coming from a great ways away, though in reality the man was standing directly in front of him as he talked to Malfoy. "-think you're doing? He'll be of no use to me if he is unable to grip the ingredients enough to add them to the potions, or would you rather do the work yourself?"
Malfoy lifted up his nose at Snape and responded, "Oh, he's being quite useful, trying to sabotage the Dark Lord's potions. But, by all means, go ahead and allow him to do so, Severus. It'll be your neck on the line, not mine…"
"If such a thing happens, then I will deal with it. He is under my purview, not yours, Lucius," Snape said with a silky voice meant to both calm and warn others engaged in the conversation.
"Very well," Lucius said, putting away his wand for the moment. "I need to speak with the Dark Lord about the events that are taking place soon…"
Fred rolled his eyes at the blonde's word choice and felt yet another idiotic comment leaving his lips. "Yeah right, we know what you're really up to," he said smirking as the two older men turned to him again. Fred ignored the pointed glare coming from Snape. "I heard about how much you love to dance nowadays – I bet you're off to dance with –"
Luckily for Fred, Snape grabbed Malfoy's wand arm before the enraged man could curse the teen again. After a few unspoken words between the two men, Malfoy straightened his cloak and left the room with his head held high in the air. Both Snape and Fred held still for a moment before it sounded as if the coast was clear, and then Fred started to get up from the floor.
"Thanks for –" Fred started to say, but was cut off as the Potions Master's strong arms picked him up by the arms and pushed him against the wall, holding him in place and at eye level with the angry man, meaning that Fred was a few inches off the ground. Knowing that resistance would only further anger Snape, Fred remained as still and quiet as he could while the man snarled at him.
"Do you have a death wish, Weasley? Because if you do, inform me now so I can either make use of you or get rid of you," Snape growled out quietly enough that his voice wouldn't be heard by Wormtail, who was still outside.
Fred stared at him and stuttered out a few words that were supposed to be 'What do you mean?' Snape's glare intensified and he shoved him into the wall harder, effectively putting an end to his meager response.
"It's a yes or no answer that I want, Weasley. It's not so hard a question that an idiot Gryffindor like yourself can't figure out. Do you wish to die here?" Snape repeated, his grip on Fred's upper arms tightening painfully.
Fred shook his head and said, "I – no, no I don't…"
Snape huffed angrily and let go of him, causing Fred to almost loose his balance, though he somehow managed to remain standing. Snape went back to the brewing table and calmly added three iris petals to one of the potions while stirring the other. He didn't say a word or look at Fred at all while the teen leaned against the wall trying to catch his breath. He wondered idly if this was what classes would be like if Snape and Filch had their way.
Shaking slightly from the encounters with both Malfoy and Snape, Fred made his way back to the table, keeping his eyes on the parchments in front of him. Nothing was said for a few moments and then Snape slid two pieces of parchment across the table.
"These are the instructions for the last two potions. This one here," he said, motioning to the one that he'd just added the iris petals to, "is finished and needs to simmer, undisturbed, overnight. You are to follow the instructions completely without adding or detracting anything unless it is stipulated on these papers. Do you understand?" Snape finished, glaring at Fred as if he was an idiot. To be honest, Fred agreed that he probably was an idiot after the stunt that he'd just tried to pull.
He nodded in response and looked over the instructions to make sure he understood them. The potions were fairly straightforward, so long as the correct ingredients were added at the right time and in the right amounts.
"When you have finished, you may go back downstairs. I will not be back for two days, since classes are resuming at Hogwarts," Snape explained in the same tone as before. Fred bit his lip lightly at the thought that he would be missing the Welcome Feast, as well as seeing all his friends again. Fred thought about George and wondered how he was doing throughout all of this.
"Are you listening, Weasley?" Snape asked abruptly. Fred shook his head to clear his thoughts and refocused on the man before him. "I have a remedy for that potion that you took, and it should be ready to test by this weekend. With any luck, it will cut down on the number of idiotic utterances that keep escaping you."
Fred nodded in response and quietly thanked the man before Snape stood and left the room. Fred noticed Wormtail peek in after Snape left but he didn't pay the rat any mind. Instead, he focused on completing the potions so that he could go back downstairs and rest. The exhaustion hit him again and he stood quickly, pushing the stool away. He knew that if he kept sitting on it that he would fall asleep and the potions would end up getting ruined.
After stirring one of the potions twelve times, Fred walked around the room to keep himself awake, wondering what George was doing now. As he walked, he tried to picture the feast at Hogwarts and the sorting ceremony, and everything else that made the first day back wonderful. He tried not to let it get to him that he wouldn't be there to experience it again with his twin.
George couldn't sleep. It wasn't completely unusual for the dorm on this particular night, however, since none of the boys were sleeping, even though it was nearing one in the morning. The Welcome Feast had been very enlightening. With the arrival of Mad-Eye Moody (whose facial expression was far more interesting than George could ever aspire to mimic) and the announcement of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, it was no wonder that everyone would want to be up late talking about it. The conversations ranged from complaints about the age limit, to speculations about what was included in the tournament, to ideas of how to get past the age line.
These weren't the things on George's mind though. It had bothered him and relieved him more than he wanted to admit when he'd stepped into the familiar dorm room and found the same number of beds in the area. Though he appreciated the fact that no one disturbed the seemingly extra bed in the room, it made Fred's absence grow, especially at night, when they would lean over and talk about whatever happened to be on their minds.
Eventually, his dorm mates drifted off to sleep, though George still couldn't fall asleep. After another hour of staring at the ceiling, George stood and opened the door to go to the commons area. He found a couch in front of the fire and threw himself down onto it, pulling a blanket that he'd brought down over his head. Despite the move, it was still another hour before he managed to fall asleep.
George woke the next morning to find Lee standing above him holding the blanket that he'd brought down. George sat up and stared at him blearily for a moment before the other boy spoke.
"So, classes start in ten minutes, I thought you'd want to know," Lee said, smirking at George whose eyes widened as he jumped up hastily.
"Bugger it all…" George muttered as he ran upstairs to get his shoes and bag. He met Lee back in the commons three minutes later and the two walked quickly to get to class. "Which ones do we have today?"
"History of Magic, Transfigurations, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts with Moody," Lee answered, sounding excited about that last one.
George groaned, knowing he was going to fall asleep in History of Magic. Sure enough, ten minutes later found Lee nudging him in the side to keep him awake. As George rested his head on his hand, he figured that this class would probably be the best opportunity to get any decent sleep. Writing as much on his notes for Lee to see, he let his head drop and enjoyed undisturbed sleep for the rest of the hour.
McGonagall's Transfigurations class was a different matter entirely. Not only would McGonagall not let him sleep, but staying awake meant he had to put up with questions from classmates who hadn't gotten a chance to ask earlier. Thankfully, the strict head of Gryffindor saw this as a distraction to her teaching and effectively silenced anything non-class related until the end of the hour.
Finally, the class that everyone was looking forward to was next. After listening to McGonagall's description of how to transfigure non-organic items into organic items, the group of Gryffindor sixth years headed to Moody's classroom and waited impatiently outside the door.
George and Lee were thrilled when, after they'd seated themselves near the front, Moody said to everyone to put the books away since they wouldn't be needed.
"I could get used to this," Lee said excitedly, shoving his book in his bag without even looking to see what else he was crushing.
Moody picked up the class roster and started to call out names, unnerving most of the class as his normal eye stayed focused on the list while the magical eye swiveled around to see each student. George wasn't sure if it was due to the creepiness of the eye or not, but he felt as if it lingered on him a bit longer than necessary.
Once he finished taking roll, Moody leaned against his desk and stared out at the classroom full of expectant and, in some cases, nervous students. He waited and waited until one of the students made a move as if to ask what they would do, and that was when he barked out a single word.
"Curses!" The entire class was a bit startled at that, and some students couldn't figure out if he was cursing or trying to introduce the concept of curses.
"You aren't allowed to learn dark curses," Moody stated more calmly, "that much is understandable. However, how many of you would actually recognize them if they were used? How many of you have seen a dark curse in action?" The man's magical eye turned about, searching the students to see if anyone had such experience.
George thought back to the short battle that had gone so terribly in Knockturn Alley when Fred had been taken. Moody's eye swiveled and stopped on him before he moved on.
"You may have heard of some, or possibly, you have seen them be used. What's an example of such a dark curse… an illegal curse?" Moody asked, probing for answers.
One of the Slytherins smirked and raised his hand, replying as Moody inclined his head towards him. "The Unforgivables, sir."
"Ah, yes, the very worst of them all…" Moody agreed. "And can anyone name one of the Unforgivables?"
A Gryffindor answered this time, providing the Imperius Curse as an example. Moody smiled and reached behind his desk to grab a small cage that held an equally small grey mouse. "The Imperius Curse, a great choice…" Moody pulled the mouse out and set it on the table before everyone as he leveled his wand at it. "Imperio!"
The mouse seemed to freeze for a moment before it stood on its hind legs and began dancing in a circle. After a moment, Moody dropped a small ball next to it and the mouse actually began to balance it on its nose while dancing. The entire class laughed as the mouse began doing handstands and rolling in somersaults around the table.
"Yes, it's very amusing, isn't it?" Moody asked while making the mouse jump to one a student table and continue its dancing. "Would you like for me to try it on you? Perhaps we shall see if you too are capable of dancing in such a way," Moody said, and most of the class snickered at the thought of dancing around like the mouse was.
"Then again, what if I decided that dancing wasn't enough? That you should, perhaps, do my laundry for me?" The students all crinkled their noses at this comment. "The Imperius Curse isn't just used for fun. It can be used to humiliate and even hurt someone. Imagine that with a thought, I could make this mouse chew on its own leg until it ate itself. Or perhaps I could make it run under someone's foot as they walked to class."
The students weren't sure what to make of this information. George suddenly didn't find it as amusing any more, and a glance at Lee told him that his friend felt the same way. After a moment, the mouse jumped over and climbed back into its cage, merry as could be, though the class knew better. Moody ended the curse and looked out at the students. "You will be learning techniques to fight that curse, though for some it is completely impossible. The best way to avoid it is to not get hit by it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" The entire class jumped at that point, throwing wary glances at each other to make sure that they weren't the only ones to get so startled by the strange professor's bark.
"Another curse, another Unforgivable, if you will," Moody asked.
Lee raised his hand almost nervously and answered, "The Cruciatus Curse?"
"Are you asking me or telling me?"
Lee stared back at Moody and asked, "Are you going to use it on that mouse?"
In answer to Lee's question, Moody turned and pointed his wand at the mouse as he called out, "Crucio!"
The mouse began squeaking loudly and thrashing about on the table, twisting its body in ways that seemed impossible. Everyone stared forward, almost in shock that Moody had cast the curse, as the mouse was thrown into violent spasms. George felt as if he'd be sick if it continued any longer. Before he could say as much, Moody ended the curse and, without turning to face the class, spoke quietly for a moment.
"The Cruciatus Curse… a curse to instill the greatest pain without needing anything other than a wand. If exposed to it for too long, the curse can severely damage the mind… This is another curse that you would do well to avoid," Moody muttered. "The last curse? The last Unforgivable?"
Someone on the other side of the room must have named it, but George didn't hear it. He was staring at the mouse that was twitching convulsively on the bottom of the cage, emitting tiny squeaks of misery as it lay there.
"That's right," Moody said to the class, "The Killing Curse."
The class watched in horrified anticipation as Moody once again leveled his wand at the pitiful mouse in the cage and spoke the curse that would end its life. The bright green light blinded them momentarily, but no one complained as the mouse went limp on the table.
George stared at the dead mouse and felt a terrible chill wash over him. Was Fred being subjected to this? Would he be, or had he already been? He wrapped his arms around himself slowly, feeling colder than he'd felt in a long time, despite how warm it had been in the classroom just a few minutes before. He looked up and tried to focus on what Moody was saying, but another part of him didn't really care. The loud bark of "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" forced him to listen though.
After a brief moment, Moody launched into a lecture about the Unforgivables and George slowly caught up with the rest of his classmates as he took out some parchment and attempted to take notes on the subject. His mind was elsewhere though, so it was no surprise to him that his parchment was mostly blank at the end of the lesson. The students stood to leave, but George lingered, feeling that Moody might be a good person to ask for advice. He motioned for Lee to go on ahead and walked to Moody's desk after the last of the students had left the classroom.
Moody looked at him curiously with his normal eye while his magical eye trailed after the last of the students. "You have a question, Mr. Weasley?"
George took a reassuring breath and then asked, "I was wondering if, since you have a lot of experience with, umm… dark wizards and, er…" at that he paused, wondering what it was that he had planned to say.
The professor stood up completely and looked at George with both of his eyes. George felt suddenly small under the old Auror's gaze and almost forgot why he'd stayed after class. A moment later, however, Moody narrowed his eyes and said, "Yes, I heard about what happened to your twin. And if you want to get to the bottom of it, I recommend that you do so on your own. Don't rely on others to do what they're supposed to, boy, because they'll invariably fail at it, leaving you with the loss."
The words were spoken calmly, though George heard both what he needed and wanted to hear. He never felt comfortable when someone else was doing a task that was important to him, and Fred was more important than anything else in his life. He nodded and thanked Moody before walking out of the classroom, the unnerving feeling of being watched following him all the way down the corridor away from Moody's classroom.
Since that was the last class of the day, George decided to meander through the halls and think. It was better than going back to Gryffindor Tower where people would continue to ask him about Fred. As he walked, he thought of ways that he could find information about Fred. The more he thought about it, the more he decided that spying on the Slytherins, Malfoy in particular, was the best course of action to take.
As he was wondering how he could best accomplish this, he stopped and looked around, surprised to see that he had wandered all the way down to the dungeons. Hearing voices coming up the corridor, George figured that he would go ahead and start out his new spying duties on unsuspecting Slytherins. He hid himself in a dark alcove and waited for the voices to get closer.
If he'd been a cat, his ears would have perked up visibly at the sound of Draco Malfoy's voice echoing down the hallway.
"-casual event this Saturday. Father wants me to go and has gotten permission from Snape. He's said that I can bring two guests if I want, so I suppose you two idiots can come with…"
"Will there be food?" One of Malfoy's bodyguard thugs asked dumbly.
"And girls?" The other one asked. George couldn't tell them apart.
George could see that the three boys were about to pass him by and so he pulled his wand out and silently caused one of the thug's bags to rip open, spilling his books and such onto the ground.
"Ah, bloody hell!" The idiot groaned, bending over to pick up his things. The other two watched without moving to help at all.
"Anyways," Malfoy drawled, "We'll be leaving at six on Saturday evening. Be sure to wear something respectable and meet me at the doors of the Great Hall. If you're late, then you're not going."
The two thugs nodded in assent and, after the one finished grabbing his things (neglecting to repair his bag, most likely because he didn't know how), the trio moved on.
George stood in the alcove in silence for several minutes, deep in thought about what Malfoy and his goons had discussed. A moment's hesitation was all it took before he was off running toward Gryffindor Tower. He hardly noticed that he startled several first year Gryffindors as he gasped out the password and ran into the commons area.
He looked around and spotted Lee writing what looked like an essay and hurriedly made his way over to his friend. Lee looked up and stared at George who stood over him, slightly out of breath from running up to the Tower.
"Yes?" Lee asked.
"Any ideas how I can get some Polyjuice Potion by Friday?"
Oh, George… You and your sneaky little ideas…
Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! Please, if you're reading (especially if you "favorite" the story), send a review to let me know what you think or would like to see!
PS – would you guys kill me if I pause this story for a while to purge an idea? I have a fluffy cute story idea about the twins that I want to destroy… and fluffy and cute really don't work with this story… let me know!
