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.

Oh my goodness… I've been watching videos of "Marik plays Bloodlines" on youtube (yes I'm a nerd, no surprise there) and when I was writing this chapter, I kept hearing the words in my head in Marik's voice… with occasional bouts of "foxy boxes." I apologize now if anything feels remotely not right – Marik made me do it.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about – go watch it on youtube. Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially KCRedPanda98, Fox Berrie, TwinFan, Misila Weasley (new name - I like it!) and Purrtydino. Also... Bratney… seriously… lol I love you!

I'm sorry that this chapter is shorter than others that I've posted… Please let me know how it goes…

Chapter Nineteen

After nearly twenty minutes of watching every one of the people that filtered through the hospital wing, Lee determined that a different people's reactions to stressful events was yet another one of those things that would never be ranked in terms of how normal each reaction was. Each person seemed to react to Fred's presence differently and each and every single one of the expressions that Lee got a glimpse of made his muscles tense more and more.

Madam Pomfrey bustled about busily, and it seemed that she was trying to keep herself occupied so as not to dwell too much on Fred's situation. Ginny and Ron had since been informed and had arrived, and both of their reactions vaguely surprised Lee. He had expected Ginny to be more emotional over her older brother, but the opposite was true. She seemed to freeze in place, slowly letting her eyes roam over everything as if trying to find the explanation without having to hear it, while Ron nearly sank to the floor in shock at it all. The Headmaster, who had left earlier after several hinting words to George, had looked grim, though his wasn't a look that conveyed complete loss of hope for the situation at hand.

Initially, Lee had felt ready to cry at what he and George had found. He didn't remember leaning against the bed next to Fred, but at some point he realized that his throat had stopped burning and his entire body was becoming very sore as his muscles grew tenser with each look he got at someone else. He stayed in his position and watched as George slowly leaned forward and rested his head on the mattress next to Fred, his hands still wrapped tightly around his twin's now pale skin.

Another hour swept by, and Lee noted that Ginny and Ron had since taken seats on the side of Fred's bed that was opposite to where Lee perched himself. He looked up as the doors to the infirmary were pushed open and immediately looked away when he saw Mrs. Weasley's panicked expression search the room for her lost son. Her distressed cry broke through the silence of the room as she ran to the bed. Ginny and Ron pushed back to make way for her, but Lee noticed that George didn't move at all, not even to lift his head and acknowledge his mother.

Mr. Weasley approached after his wife, stepping quietly, nearly silently in comparison to Mrs. Weasley, to stand behind her. He let one hand fall to rest on his wife's shoulder while his free hand flew up to cover his eyes. Lee could tell he was trying hard not to react to what he was seeing.

They all stayed like this for several moments before the Headmaster stepped back in. Lee noted that his expression hadn't changed a bit. In fact, it looked even more perplexing than it had before. He spoke softly over Mrs. Weasley's quiet sobs over her son, asking all of them to join him in his office. For a long moment, no one moved at all, until Mrs. Weasley straightened up and wiped her face with a tissue that Mr. Weasley handed to her. She stood and turned to face the Headmaster, motioning for Ginny and Ron to stand as well.

Dumbledore peered over at Lee and spoke quietly, "If you would join us as well, Mr. Jordan, I would appreciate it." He glanced at George, who still hadn't lifted his head at all, and motioned for them to leave before him. Lee stepped forward and, before leaving the wing, looked back to see Dumbledore gazing down solemnly at Fred and George before turning to follow the group up to his office.

Lee looked back at his friends and suddenly drew in a deep breath, unaware that he'd been breathing so lightly all this time. Suddenly, he was thankful that he was leaving the space, since he wasn't sure that he would be able to refrain from breaking down at the sudden pain that breathing it all in had upon his system.


George knew that he should acknowledge everyone that had come in. He should lift his head up and stand up and give his mum a hug. He should go comfort his little sister, since he knew that despite not showing it, this would hurt her more nearly as much as it hurt him. He should say something to Ron so that he would stop that pathetic sniffling.

He knew he should do these things, but he couldn't bring himself to care at all. The only thing he could focus on was how completely freezing he felt from holding onto his twin's arm and how it made so little sense that Fred's skin was that cold. Beyond the recognition that it didn't fit though, he couldn't piece any other thoughts together beyond the shock of loss that he was trying hard to avoid thinking about.

George felt at the moment that if he moved an inch that he would break into hysterics of tears, laughter, anger, and complete and utter fear. Tears from the fact that this couldn't be happening, that none of this was supposed to happen, and that it certainly shouldn't have ended in this way. Laughter from the sheer audacity that Fred had to show up like this. Anger at the words that Dumbledore had spoken earlier and at the hope that they instilled despite all the odds. And lastly, the fear that he knew would consume him if he dwelled on it at all.

When the Headmaster had returned again and summoned everyone to his office, George knew that the old wizard wouldn't dare to approach him. He heard his parents rise along with his two younger siblings and, surprisingly, Lee. The quiet sound of the infirmary doors being pushed open echoed loudly through his mind as his family and friend left. George felt the stare that the Headmaster directed his way but failed to react in any way that would acknowledge him.

Quiet footsteps faded from his ears and all was silent for a short while. George couldn't even hear Madam Pomfrey, and he wondered if she too had left with the others.

A while later, his ears picked up the soft sound of boots hitting the floor and drawing closer to where he was situated. The footsteps stopped on the other side of Fred's bed and George swore that he could feel a shadow fall over him. He shivered, and he couldn't honestly say if it was from the cold emanating from Fred's skin or from the obvious presence of whoever had just arrived.

Curiosity finally got the better of him after a stretch of time trying to hear anything from whomever it was that had stopped by. At this point he wasn't even certain that he had heard someone walk up. George slowly lifted his head to gaze at the space on the other side of the bed and was shocked to see Professor Snape standing rigidly next to the bed.

The Potions professor seemed out of his element, standing in a place meant for grieving with an expression that only spoke of curiosity and, strangely enough, caution. George suddenly realized how tired he felt and knew that he didn't have the energy to be angry at the professor's presence. Instead, his curiosity only grew.

Professor Snape pulled out his wand slowly and cast a diagnostic spell over Fred's frigid form. It strongly resembled the one that George had seen Madam Pomfrey using earlier, though this one looked like it had been specified for a particular purpose. Snape appeared to have found whatever he was looking for as he nodded and reached a hand into one of his pockets. In his hand was a small vial of bright red liquid that looked as if it were on fire within the vial.

Snape moved his gaze from Fred's body to meet George's eyes. At barely a whisper, he said, "I imagine that the Headmaster, being the interfering old coot that he is, has planted some absurd idea of hope in your mind."

George held his gaze before glancing away and nodding lightly. He couldn't help but feel a deep sense of resentment and despair at the thought that such hope was misplaced.

The professor lifted his wand slightly but paused and said, "I had preferred not to be forced to resort to this, and I will not make the claim that what I have created will be successful for not. It was the last possible route that I would have wished to take, since it is the most dangerous. However, the situation at the time left this as the only option left available."

At this point, George was thoroughly confused by what his Potions professor was saying. The words made him want to believe that there may in fact be some hope left, though the professor had also shot down that train of thought almost immediately. The way the man was looking at him now made George feel as if Snape were asking permission to try whatever it was that he had devised. That, in and of itself, was strange enough for George's curiosity to spike. Morbidly, he thought that he had little left to lose, so he straightened in his chair while still keeping a hold on Fred's hand. He met Snape's stare resolutely and waited for the man to do whatever it was that he had planned.

Professor Snape held his wand over Fred's chest and muttered a long string of Latin that George didn't recognize. At one point he realized that it was a single phrase that was being repeated but altered slightly each time. He wondered vaguely what the words meant.

The incantation lasted for several more moments before the professor lowered his wand and directed it to the vial in his hand. Using a spell that should be used whenever one must ingest a potion, he spelled the contents of the vial into Fred's stomach. George watched in fascination as the fiery liquid seemed to dart through the air until it disappeared beneath the sheet.

Snape hid his wand and stood in place again, watching for any signs of change to come about. George held his breath and peered intently into his twin's pale face. Searching for any sort of change, he finally noted how wrong it was that Fred's skin looked so lacking in life. The complete absence of expression seemed to remove a large portion of Fred's identity.

Moments passed with no change and George nearly felt his heart shatter as his professor slowly lowered himself into a chair and rested his chin upon his clasped hands, still gazing at George's brother. For the first time since seeing his twin and feeling the complete lack of life that possessed Fred, George felt tears gathering and threatening to spill, and he squeezed his eyes shut in denial. His lungs burned and it was all he could do to regulate his breathing so that he wouldn't break into a complete mess in front of the dreaded bat of the dungeons.

In an attempt to prevent the dam from bursting, George tried to focus on the extreme cold that seeped from Fred's skin in the hopes that it would also freeze his reaction. As he gripped his brother's hand, he realized that he must have become accustomed to the cold since he only felt a slight chill coming from the skin. He shook his head that even that horrible sensation had abandoned him when he actually wanted it.

The sob rising in him froze in place as he heard Snape jump up and move about the room quickly. George opened his eyes and looked to see the professor grabbing several blankets and throwing them towards Fred's bed. George looked at him in honest confusion until the man spoke.

"Tuck those in around him. His body temperature is rising, but it won't return to normal for some time, so we must assist it," the Potions professor said, sounding doubtful of his own words even as he spoke them.

George gripped Fred's hand again and realized that Snape was right. Fred's skin was getting warmer. Though he had no way of knowing if Snape's plan was going to work out completely, the fact that something was happening was more than enough to send George jumping to help tuck the blankets in around his brother, all while still gripping his hand.

Halfway through pushing a second blanket around Fred, George felt the hand within his twitch slightly. He froze in his ministrations and looked down at Fred's hand, which twitched again briefly, before looking up into Fred's face. His twin's brow was bunched together and George watched in amazement as Fred groaned lightly and turned his head in George's direction.

It wasn't long before there were at least four blankets tucked around Fred's form. George stood in anticipation and alternated between gripping his brother's hand and running his hand through Fred's hair. The warmer his skin got, the more Fred seemed to be reacting to the cold. He was now shivering intensely, more so than he ever had after hours of snowball fights as a child.

Snape cast another diagnostic spell and announced that Fred's temperature was slowly returning to normal, but that he would suffer from chills for an indeterminable amount of time. George hoped that it wouldn't go on for too long, but at this point he would take anything over the freezing stillness that had reigned before.

Professor Snape cast a different kind of spell over Fred and said, "I believe he may awaken shortly." There was a sense of hesitance to the professor's voice that drew George's attention. Snape met his gaze levelly and spoke quietly, "You must realize that even if this can bring him back, there may be further damage that would not have been able to be avoided."

George knew what he meant by this. Instantly, the fear from before came sweeping back upon him and he felt himself dreading the moment when Fred actually woke up. As he stared at the sheets, he sensed the professor stepping back and making the leave the infirmary. George wanted to call out to him, to thank him for what he had done, or at least attempted. It was more than anyone had been able to do, and yet, George couldn't get his voice to form any of the words.

Instead, he pulled the covers back and crawled into the bed alongside his twin, holding Fred close as the sharp sting of cold fled from around them.


Severus let the doors to the infirmary swing shut behind him as he made his way to the Headmaster's office. If he were a person with less self-control, he figured that he would probably go off and find Wormtail right then and inform him of how completely inept he was at murdering even a defenseless student. He refrained, mainly because doing such a thing would cause Wormtail to attempt to prove this accusation untrue and that it would identify Severus as interfering with the Dark Lord's work.

Nevertheless, he was both shocked and proud that what he had planned was actually coming to pass. If all went according to plan, then Fred would awaken soon and hopefully be back to his normal self.

Severus stopped walking as that thought entered his mind. He didn't want the boy to go back to his normal self. Perhaps he'd be changed just enough to be bearable this time around.

He strode up the rotating steps to the Headmaster's office and knocked quickly on the door. There was a quiet pause from inside the office before Dumbledore's voice beckoned him to come in. Severus strode in and paused alongside the chairs that held the distressed Weasley parents. He noticed the two younger children as well as the twins' friend were seated glumly on the couch across the room.

"Severus, my boy," Dumbledore greeted softly, his tone much affected by what had happened.

"Headmaster, I'm sure you remember what we discussed before the weekend," Severus said, eyeing the old wizard's reaction. Dumbledore lifted his eyes to look at him and nodded twice. "I admit that I neglected to adhere to your advice, however, the results may be more than worth it to you."

At that, the Headmaster smiled lightly and asked, "Of course they are, Severus, most of what you do never ceases to amaze me. Would this particular revelation be appropriate to share now?"

"I believe so, Headmaster," Severus said, nearly rolling his eyes as the twinkle lit back up in the old man's eyes.

With that, Dumbledore stood abruptly and clapped his hands together, which shocked the present Weasleys to attention. "Let us return to the hospital wing. I believe there may be something interesting awaiting us."

The sheer look of confusion on Molly Weasley's face would've seemed humorous on any other day, but as it was, she allowed herself to be directed back to the door of the office by the newly energized Headmaster. The group walked quickly back to the hospital wing with Severus and Dumbledore trailing behind the Weasleys.

As they entered the hospital wing behind the small, confused group, the Headmaster leaned over and said, "I am very interested in hearing how you have accomplished this feat, Severus." Madam Pomfrey, who by now was incredibly curious, leaned in to listen as well.

The Potions professor nodded and replied, "I used the combination of a spell and a potion to create a planned form of the boy's death. The potion released his soul from him, though not completely. You could relate it to the muggle saying of having an 'out of body experience.' I imagine he felt somewhat disconnected after drinking it."

"You gave this to him beforehand?"

"Yes. The spell was applied a split second before the killing curse hit him. That spell was an instant freezing charm that was meant to preserve him until his soul could be completely returned to him," Severus explained.

Madam Pomfrey lifted her hand and pointed to Fred's bed, which was now surrounded by others. "Is there anything in that spell or potion to account for the damage that could be done just by waking up from that sort of ordeal?"

Severus shook his head slowly and replied, "That is the only concern that I have, and it can only be checked when he awakens."

The Headmaster glanced back at him and asked softly, "What potential damage could there be?"

Severus hesitated briefly before stating, "The area with the greatest risk of sustaining damage would be his memory. The combination of the shock of this sort of a situation as well as the ingredients that were necessary for the potions to work does not bode well, though there is a possibility that he may overcome it."

Severus finished speaking and glanced over to where the Weasleys were bunched when he realized that they had heard everything he had said. The looks on each of their faces made him want to deny what he had said, even though he knew that the odds were against them. Knowing that, he stepped towards them all and said, "The only way to know for sure is to see how he is when he wakes."

George had since sat up a bit in the bed so that he could see everyone more clearly, but now he focused all of his attention on his twin. The entire group looked on anxiously as Fred opened his eyes slowly and blinked several times at the bright light of the infirmary. Severus could hear nearly everyone hold their breath as the newly resurrected teen lifted his eyes to gaze at his mirror image that was staring down at him in shock.


Dun dun dun…

Okay, so I need to know what you guys want! Should there be some lasting damage? Should we just have a happy ending already? Should this story already be over? Should he eat a chocolate frog and spontaneously combust? TELL ME!

Again, sorry for the short chapter – I have no excuse except to say… foxy boxes. That is all.