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.
Big thanks to SolelyReader, TeamGredAndForge, zzmackvb2000 (thanks for the advice!), and Fox Berrie for the awesome reviews! I hope this chapter entertains you all and is better than the last one. That last chapter seriously did not make me a happy camper. This one doesn't either, though for entirely different reasons… Anyways…
To everyone else, thanks for reading and I'd love to hear from you!
Enjoy!
Chapter Seventeen
Severus had just stepped up to the next level after leaving Weasley below, his mind heavy with thoughts that swirled around the teen. The pure luck that had come together to somehow leave both of the Weasley twins unrevealed throughout the drama that took place earlier couldn't possibly have been random, but Severus couldn't think of anyone or anything that would help the two boys. He moved quietly through the hallway, wondering if it would be possible to leave without seeing the Dark Lord again. He'd been forced to dispense so-called "urgent information" about the Tri-Wizard Tournament in order to get the boys away from the Dark Lord, and he could only hope that the action wouldn't be viewed with suspicion.
Before he could get much further down the hallway, Severus spotted the rat, Wormtail, making his way towards him. Wormtail seemed to be excited about something, and Severus was reluctant to become involved. Unfortunately, he'd been noticed before he could escape.
"Ah, Severus! I need to ask you something!" Wormtail informed him, hunching slightly and holding his hands close together as he peered at Severus greedily.
Severus looked down his nose at the weak excuse for a wizard and responded with a fair amount of contempt, "What is it?"
"We need Veritaserum for a small mission that we've been assigned," Wormtail said excitedly.
"We?"
"The Dark Lord has requested that we go to get information from an old associate of his, one that greatly wishes to be left alone," Wormtail explained, inching uncomfortably close to Severus as he spoke.
"Then perhaps he should be left alone," Severus commented sardonically.
"But we won't even have to do much – we'll have the Weasley brat do it for us!" Wormtail added, seemingly relieved at the fact that no danger would come to himself, but rather, to the lone Gryffindor held below.
Severus felt the nerves in his back tense up briefly before he forced himself to relax. "And when will this mission take place?"
"The day after tomorrow, in the evening."
"On a Monday? Why not later?" Severus' mind was racing with ideas. That didn't give him a lot of time to plan, and from the way it sounded, this mission wasn't going to go too well for Fred.
Wormtail narrowed his beady eyes at Severus briefly before saying, "Perhaps you should bring your questions to the Dark Lord… Severus…"
The glare on Severus' face was enough to warn Wormtail that he'd gone too far. Was the rat really attempting to intimidate him? Severus smirked and held his wand in a supposedly relaxed fashion so that Wormtail could see it.
"Ah, Severus, what I meant was that, obviously, I wouldn't be able to understand his rational… rationiz… err…"
"Rationalizing?" Severus sneered at him, standing up taller so that the other man would see exactly where he stood. "What time will this take place? And Wormtail, avoidance will not be appreciated."
Wormtail shrank back even further before responding nervously, "Around dinner time, I think."
Severus nodded to himself and then walked off to leave without saying anything further. He heard Wormtail sputter anxiously behind him and listened as the rat made as if to follow him. Severus smirked as he sent a nonverbal knee-reversing hex back towards the man before slipping out through the door and into the chilly night. He refused to laugh out right at the fool's attempt to walk while suffering from that particular hex.
Without stopping at his quarters, Severus marched straight up to the Headmaster's office, thankful that the halls were silent and clear this late at night. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he wondered whether he'd get any sleep tonight or not. At least he didn't have class until Monday, but that still only left him with one full day to come up with something that could help Fred.
Severus spoke the password and then began the ascent up to Dumbledore's office. Once inside, he was offered yet another lemon drop.
"Headmaster, I have refused them every time you offer me one, and I can assure you that my verdict will not change."
"Now Severus, surely you wouldn't want me to lose my sense of hope that I hold for you," Dumbledore countered, his twinkling eyes gazing at the younger man who was taking a seat across from him.
Deciding to ignore the old man's comment, Severus began to explain what he'd heard from Wormtail earlier. "It seems that the Dark Lord has plans to retrieve information from an old associate of his on Monday. He intends to use Weasley to get the information, since it appears to include some risk, and he'd rather risk the boy than any of his Death Eaters."
Dumbledore put his hands together in thought and asked for the details, which Severus provided. A few quiet moments passed before Dumbledore spoke again.
"I believe, Severus, that it would be unwise to plan any sort of intervention," Dumbledore said, his eyes fixated on the door to his office. Severus stared back in unveiled disbelief that the man wouldn't even request a slight effort to be given towards helping the teen. Despite his expression, Dumbledore continued on, "With such a time constraint, we will have to hope for the best. The last thing we need is to lose your position as a spy at a time like this…"
"Albus, there must be something that can be discretely planned between now and then," Severus suggested, still amazed that the man wouldn't be the first to suggest something. He found his hands moving before him as he explained further, "We could place a Portkey or sabotage whatever plan they've made."
"I don't believe that it would be the logical course of action to take, my boy," Dumbledore said, the twinkling effect leaving his eyes altogether.
Severus was thrown for a loop by this one. The last thing that he had expected was for the headmaster to completely disregard and give up on the boy. "You mean to tell me that you have no intention of even attempting to assist the boy, much less help him at all?"
In response, Dumbledore raised his hands up and said forcefully, "We will do no such thing and I don't want to hear any more suggestions on the topic, Severus."
Severus narrowed his eyes at the Headmaster before saying, "How genuinely Slytherin of you, Albus."
Dumbledore lowered his hands and gave Severus a stern look that meant something, though Severus couldn't decipher what exactly it could mean in relation to their current conversation. Before he could question the old man, a quick succession of knocks sounded from the office door.
"Come in," Dumbledore called while Severus turned to see who it was. He wondered vaguely who else would stop by the Headmaster's office at two in the morning.
The door opened to reveal Mad-Eye Moody who, upon spotting Severus, immediately started glaring and accusing the other man of past atrocities that had long-since been cleared.
"Hmm… I do believe that we've established how important it is to know the sources of our information," Dumbledore commented to Moody, though Severus felt that the comment was directed at him as well. He turned to face Severus and added, "Shall we continue our discussion over tea, tomorrow?"
Severus glared at the two of them before nodding and walking back to the door. As he walked back to his chambers, Severus replayed the conversation in his mind. If Dumbledore's first vague statement had been confusing, it was certainly made clearer by the second one. He shook his head as he thought over the conversations he'd had tonight. On closer inspection, it was obvious that Dumbledore wanted him to do something. Then again, the old fool might not be in favor of it. Severus nearly groaned as he realized that he was trying to understand how Dumbledore's mind worked.
He got to his quarters and immediately set to work on thinking up some sort of plan that might work, all the while cursing the Gryffindors that were doing this to him, namely Wormtail, the Weasley Twins, and Dumbledore himself.
Meanwhile, Lee had been wandering through the castle in search of George, hoping that his friend hadn't run off to a place where he wouldn't be able to find him. Harry had the Marauder's Map nowadays, so he was on his own as far as finding George went. His first impulse had been to check out Gryffindor Tower, but Lee had almost instantly discarded the idea since George wouldn't want to be seen and harassed anymore than he already had been that night. After that, he had systematically searched various rooms and nooks before reaching the astronomy tower, where he found George.
To tell the truth, Lee almost wanted to leave George to deal with this on his own. He wasn't good at comforting or dealing with other people's emotions like this. That was why Fred, George, and Lee made such good friends. None of them liked being too sentimental, so they didn't even go near situations that dealt with it. As much as he wanted to retreat to the calm and quiet of his dorm room though, he knew that he'd never forgive himself if he left George alone now.
Lee inched forward until he was standing a few feet from where George was sitting on the ground, leaning against the railing. "George? Are you okay?" Lee rolled his eyes at his own question. Of course George wouldn't be feeling okay. He tried again since all he received was silence. "It wasn't completely useless, you know. We know where he is… well, not really, but we know that… he, err… What I'm trying to say is…"
"Lee," George interrupted him, and Lee looked up to find an amused pair of eyes gazing at him. "Don't hurt yourself with the condolences, okay?"
"Oh, shut up already," Lee said jokingly as he sat down on the cold floor next to George. The two sat in a semi-comfortable silence for a few moments before George spoke again.
"Tell me I'm justified in despising Snape right now," George said, fiddling with his robes as he stared down at the ground. Lee confirmed the statement and George added, "How can Dumbledore trust him after all of this? He knew where Fred was and he's not going to do a damn thing about it!"
Lee nodded his head in agreement with George's angered statement. "So what will you do now?"
At this, George dug his hands into his hair and pulled in frustration before saying, "I've no idea… Will you believe it when I say that I actually want to go home?"
"Isn't there anyone else we can go to? What about Professor Lupin from last year? He was pretty cool, and Harry sure liked him. Do you think he'd have any ideas?" Lee offered.
George shrugged and said, "Maybe, I don't know…" He trailed off and pulled out a letter from his pocket. Where George had gotten it from, Lee had no idea, but knowing the Weasley twins, they probably had random supplies stashed throughout the school just in case they'd need it someday.
"What's that?" Lee asked, gesturing to the letter in George's hands.
"A letter."
Lee rolled his eyes and specified his question, "Who to?"
"You mean, to whom?"
"Seriously? Who are you, McGonagall?"
"Meow?"
Lee laughed out loud at the last remark and stood up, asking, "Well, are you going to mail it or what?"
George held up a hand and Lee pulled him up as he said, "Yeah, it won't mail itself."
"I wonder if they have self-mailing paper," Lee voiced as they headed over to the owlery. "But really, who are you writing to? Lupin?"
"Nah," George responded, shaking his head. He eyed Lee before saying, "It's for Percy."
Lee stopped where he was and stared at George. "What are you doing that for? He'll tell your mum! He'll get you in trouble! Hell, he'll get me in trouble! Have you lost your mind without Fred here to keep you insane?"
George stopped and met Lee's eyes with a small smile, hardly believing that he'd write this particular older brother either. "He was actually alright during the summer, after what happened. I think he might have an idea or two that we could use, and I know for a fact that he won't tell anyone."
Lee's eyebrows arched up in doubt, but he shrugged an agreement to George and they continued their trip to the owlery. After finding a relatively safe owl (meaning one that wasn't psychotic, asleep, or grumpy), the two boys tied the letter to its leg and sent it on its way.
"Well, hopefully he'll have something useful to say," George muttered as he put his hands in his pockets. The two watched the owl disappear and then stood quietly for a few moments.
Lee nodded and asked George, "Are you going to be okay with this?" He knew he would've been fine without asking the question, but he knew that a friend probably should ask it.
George sighed and looked out across the grounds before responding, "No. I don't think I've ever felt so useless and lost, and I can honestly say that those are my least favorite states to be in."
"It'll be okay. We'll figure out something, or Percy will, since you seem to think he's made himself into something that's not a prat…" Lee trailed off, snickering at the thought of Percy actually being useful for more than knowing the average thickness of a cauldron.
"Hey, let's not pick on him till he reverts back to his previous form."
"What, like a butterfly changing back into an ugly little bug?"
"I'm going to tell him you said that."
"He'll probably tell us exactly what kind of butterfly he'd be and why."
"And how thick their wings are…"
The two looked at each other with tired smiles before turning around and heading back for Gryffindor Tower. With any luck, the rest of the Gryffindors would be asleep and wouldn't bother them tomorrow.
Sunday morning had dawned brightly, though it was still fairly chilly from the night before. Severus wasn't aware of it at all though, since he had stayed awake most of the night trying to devise some sort of plan that could assist Fred's chances of surviving the following night's adventure.
The best idea that he'd come up with was a way to incapacitate Wormtail so that Fred could steal the rat's wand and make his escape that way. This plan, however, depended on how well Fred would be able to pull off such a stunt. The boy was much weaker than he normally would be, and he would need to get it right the first time. There would be no second chances.
Severus glared at his laboratory dully, frustrated that he couldn't think of anything better at the moment. He had compiled a number of spells and hexes that would make this so-called plan work, but that was providing that Fred actually knew the spells and could perform them correctly. With a glance to his wall of potions, he wondered if he could use any of them to achieve the same goals.
After resting briefly, he proceeded to spend the remainder of the day trying to find a potion that could possibly work with such time constraints and not be detected.
Just as Severus was beginning to start working on the potions aspect of the plan, George was being shaken awake in his bed.
"Oh, come on Lee, it's Sunday… We don't have class today…" George muttered as he attempted to hide his face in his pillow.
"Uh, George, that's not me," Lee's voice sounded from across the room.
George sat up slowly and then recoiled back as he realized who was perched next to him, staring at him anxiously. "Percy! What in the world are you doing here?"
"Oh, will you keep your voice down?" Percy responded. "I came as soon as I got your letter. What in Merlin's name were you thinking? You could have gotten yourselves killed!"
"Percy," George said in a placating voice, "I didn't write you so that you could give me one of Mum's lectures."
Percy sighed and sat back on George's bed. "Well then, why did you write me? There's not much I can do, though I think there's something you should do."
"What's that?"
"Go talk to Professor Snape." At this, George crossed his arms and glared at Percy while Lee chuckled. Percy ignored them both and continued on, "It's lucky he got there when he did or you probably wouldn't have made it back here. You owe it to him to at least be thankful for that."
"Percy, you don't understand. He absolutely refuses to do anything to help Fred. He won't take me back or say anything useful at all. And what's worse is that Dumbledore seems to fully support whatever Snape decides!" George ranted, wondering at what point he had decided that it would be a good idea to write Percy. He figured that it must have been due to the exhaustion he felt last night.
Percy sighed and said, "George, I think there's more to it than what you saw last night. Things that no one's allowed to say anything about, and if Dumbledore has chosen for something to not be discussed or done, then there's probably a very good reason for it. We just have to trust him on that, like Mum and Dad do."
"I'm getting a bit tired of putting my trust in people."
Lee stepped over and asked, "Isn't there anything we can actually do? Other than just stay out of the way?"
"If you want to jump up and take action, then go talk to Potter. That's his department," Percy commented dryly. "I think that it wouldn't hurt to think of a few well thought-out plans that Professor Snape and the Headmaster could consider. And I mean," he added when he saw George's expression, "that they would consider them and then act accordingly, not you two."
George met Percy's eyes and asked, "Do these plans have to be conventional? Because I can think of a great number of interesting ideas that they might not think of at all."
"Do you have parchment and ink?" Percy asked, and with that, they started listing off ideas and things to explore further. Percy wasn't sure what to make of Lee and George's suggestions, but he tried to find the rationality in them nonetheless. The combinations of Percy's and George and Lee's approaches were interesting, to say the least. Nonetheless, the three boys were able to look at each idea from a different angle and examine it, which George found incredibly useful. The three worked together for a while before taking a short break to go to the kitchens for snacks.
On their way back up, Percy attempted to get George to go by Snape's office, but George refused to even go near the Head of Slytherin.
"You do realize that you're going to have class with him tomorrow, right?" Lee commented.
"Maybe we'll luck out and he'll be sick."
"Doubtful. He survives that greasy hair all year long without feeling ill, so it'd have to be something pretty extreme," Lee said and George snickered, drawing a half-hearted glare from Percy.
Percy stayed for a while longer before he had to go to work and he left with the promise to continue researching the ideas further. George and Lee piled the parchments together and flipped through them as they sat on the floor of the dorm room.
"I'm not saying that this isn't helpful, but it's not the way that I want to be helpful," George said as he read over one of the earlier ideas that they'd written down and then quickly scratched out.
"Tell me about it," Lee muttered half-heartedly, having grown tired of writing and thinking for the whole morning. "What do you say that we brainstorm out on the Quidditch pitch?"
"I'll race you there," George said, jumping up to find his broom. Lee was quicker though and bolted through the door and down the stairs ahead of him. George smiled after him and then looked to the stack of parchment with a sigh. He was grateful to Percy for coming and helping in his own way. It had at least distracted him from his thoughts of the night before effectively so that he wouldn't get too negative about it. He shook his head and then headed for the door when he heard Lee shouting to hurry up.
Monday came far too quickly for everyone. Students in Hogwarts that had forgotten to do their homework hurriedly completed it at the breakfast tables while the professors downed cups of coffee that would hopefully keep them awake through the drama of the day. Severus had given up on the coffee much earlier in the night and had taken to glaring at anyone that looked at him too closely.
Far away from the school, Fred was growing nervous. Wormtail had shown up and pushed him upstairs to work on cleaning the kitchen area out earlier than was necessary the day before. After that, several mundane chores had been assigned to him by Wormtail, who stood nearby the whole time to "encourage" him to complete them in a timely manner. The two had already gotten into several arguments that had ended in either a harsh stinging hex or otherwise painful reminder to stay quiet. Fred never enjoyed that particular instruction, however, and didn't really think it necessary to follow even with the occasional reminders.
What was making him nervous was how busy Wormtail was keeping him. It was as if the man was trying to wear him out or get everything that could be accomplished done in record time. On top of that, Fred hadn't seen Snape at all, even though the man had promised to come in and give him something to do. Fred longed to work with the disgusting potions ingredients in lieu of working anywhere near Wormtail.
"You're not finished yet, keep going!" Wormtail's whiny voice invaded his thoughts. Fred groaned and turned around to glare at the hunched figure in the doorway.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I keeping you from having tea with your mum?" Fred asked sarcastically. A sharp and intense pain to his shoulder made him twist around away from the cause for it and he sucked in a breath as the pain seared through him.
"You just wait till tonight comes. You'll be begging to do more of this work instead of what we have planned for you," Wormtail sneered at him as he halted the hex.
This was another thing that was worrying Fred. Wormtail had hinted to some event or another that was supposedly going to happen tonight, but he wasn't saying anything concrete about it. Every time that Fred had questioned him about it, he had received the same sharp pain to one area or another on his body. He was getting more tired of that than he cared to admit.
A glance outside told him that it was sometime around midday, which suited Fred just fine, since Wormtail would have to stop to eat something eventually. At least, he hoped that would be the case. A quick prod to the back gave him his answer and he heaved a sigh of relief as he headed back downstairs to his cell. Finally, he would get some rest and then hopefully Snape would show up. The man was a day late as it was.
Wormtail left him alone after that and Fred spent his time alone contemplating the reasons for the sudden workload. Wormtail's cryptic comments coupled with the busywork did not bode well, and Fred desperately wanted Snape to show up and let him know what was going on.
The hours dragged by in silence, and Fred grew more and more nervous as the time passed on. Every little noise that came from the area above him made him jump slightly and strain his ears in the hopes of hearing Snape. It reminded him of the times when he and George had been hiding from Snape in the hallways after curfew, though in this instance, he actually wanted to see the professor.
Finally, he heard the familiar sound of Snape's voice coming from nearby the stairwell. With the amount of disdain in his voice, Fred assumed that he was talking to Wormtail. A scurrying set of footsteps echoed away as the door above him opened and Snape started walking down the steps, carrying something that Fred hoped was food of some sort. Wormtail's excuses for food were nothing to brag about. Fred stood up as Snape came closer to him.
"Do you know what's happening tonight, Weasley?" Snape asked him abruptly but quietly while handing him what was indeed something delicious to eat.
Fred grabbed a sandwich and took a bite while shaking his head. He swallowed and then verbalized it just as quietly, "No, but Wormtail's been hinting at something all day though."
Snape leaned forward and whispered quickly while glancing to make sure that Wormtail wasn't coming back. "I don't know the details, but they're going to have you do something that has a great chance of getting you killed. If you want out, then you need to try to overpower Wormtail and get his wand. I won't be able to help you, do you understand?"
Fred was chewing another bite and didn't respond. Snape was looking at him intently and made as if to smack the sandwich out of his hand when the boy took another bite and slowly chewed it. "You want me to overpower a man with a wand and then somehow get away, even though I've no idea where I am or even how to apparate?" he asked tiredly.
The man held up a hand to silence Fred as he listened for Wormtail. Fred took another quiet bite of the sandwich before Snape turned back and held out a goblet of what he hoped was pumpkin juice. With a skeptical glance at it, which was countered by a stern glare, Fred picked it up and downed it. He thought that it tasted a bit off, though it had been a while since he'd had anything decent to eat or drink around here.
Once Fred finished the drink, Snape banished the goblet and left him to eat the rest of the sandwich alone. Fred wasn't sure what to make of Snape's actions, and he was more nervous now than before of what was to come. Overpower Wormtail and take his wand? Fred shook his head and resolved to pay attention to the rat-like man's actions for the right opportunity. It'd have to be when they were alone, or else he wouldn't stand a chance at all.
He had just finished the sandwich when Snape and Wormtail reappeared on the stairs. Snape opened up the door and gestured for him to head up the stairs behind Wormtail. Fred threw a look in Snape's direction; it was one that he hoped conveyed the sense of building panic at what was coming. All he was met with was a sneer fit for Snape's classroom.
Unlike the very recent drama involving the Polyjuice Potion and Zabini, Fred felt unusually nervous about everything that was happening. He put it down to the fact that neither he nor Snape seemed to know the full story of what would be happening. Not to mention that if anything went wrong, it would be his life that would be forfeited whether it made sense or not.
He came to a stop in front of Wormtail on the main floor and realized reluctantly how hard it was to make his hands stop shaking. Surely that couldn't be caused by how he felt? He hoped that it was due to the temperature, but he doubted it at the moment despite himself.
"Alright Weasley," Wormtail started to say while attempting to emulate some sort of strong and confident persona which he wasn't succeeding at. "You're going to be getting information for the Dark Lord, from someone that doesn't want to be visited."
Fred found his voice in time to ask who it was that didn't want to see anyone, but was glared at from both directions and quickly told to be silent by Wormtail.
"There's a set of questions we need answered here," Wormtail informed him, handing over a piece of slightly stained parchment that had a number of questions listed on it. "You'll bring them to him along with this to drink. Call it a gift from the Dark Lord," Wormtail said with an ugly grin as he handed over a small bottle of wine that was probably laced with something. "Any questions?"
Fred had a lot of questions. Could he go home instead? Can't someone else do this, say, someone with a wand to defend themselves, perhaps? Couldn't they just invite whoever it was over for tea instead of sending him out to meet this person that would probably end up killing him just out of irritation? Fred knew he wasn't good at not irritating people and wondered again at his luck. Instead of voicing any of these thoughts, however, he merely nodded his head.
Without any further conversation, the trio headed out the door and into the cool night air. Fred breathed in deeply, having missed out on it ever since he'd arrived here. The only air he'd gotten had been contaminated by the dust and mold of the building. The moment didn't last long as he felt a hand grab his upper arm and then the disorientating sense of apparition overwhelm him.
They spun off and landed a few moments later in a clearing that seemed colder than the area that they had just left. Fred took a moment to find his balance again before looking around. Through a gap in the trees he could see an old house looming a short ways away. He assumed that this must be the place that he was being sent to.
He began to panic slightly as Wormtail's hands began shoving him forward. As he was doing this, the man was listing off threatening reasons why not to simply attempt to run away. Fred glanced at Snape and saw the man move his head as if to say that this was his only chance.
Fred turned around and shoved Wormtail back and away from him. The man hadn't been holding his wand, but he pulled it out the second he righted himself and pointed it straight at Fred's heart.
"Go now and don't try that again!" Wormtail nearly shouted, his voice laced with a fear of retribution if this mission were to fail.
"No!" Fred shouted back and, trying not to think about it, he charged Wormtail and grabbed his wand arm in an attempt to take the wand. The two struggled together for a moment and Fred heard Wormtail call out for Snape to help him.
Snape's voiced drifted over them as Fred kicked Wormtail as violently as he could with the little energy he had left. He grimaced as he realized how little it affected the Death Eater. "My, Wormtail, if you can't manage to subdue a wandless teenager, then I'm afraid that there isn't much help for you."
This apparently made Wormtail angrier than he was, for the enraged man suddenly grabbed Fred's arm and bent it awkwardly while shoving him away. Fred stumbled onto the forest floor in shock and looked up to see Wormtail pointing his wand at him with more anger than Fred ever wanted to be subjected to. He felt a terrifying sense of cold drift over him and barely heard the words that Wormtail screamed out through his fear.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Fred knew no more.
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