"I think the potions coming along swimmingly, Gred"
And before them was a precariously balanced cauldron and the potion in debate inside it was a very suspicious shade of Caribbean Green.
"Who do you think we should try it on this time, Gred?"
"Who else could be a better candidate than our own dear brother?"
"What are we waiting for then? Let the experimentation begin!"
The two of them exited their room, forgetting in their haste to let the potion simmer, and knocked on the locked door of Percy Weasley.
"What do you two want?"
Percy's voice was cautious and wary.
"Oh, nothing. Mum just asked us to give you this," The two said in accord and Fred showed him the cup of the steaming potion.
"What's this? Poison?"
"No. It's the preventive potion for Spattergoit. It seems that there's an epidemic going around and what with it being your final year and you being Head Boy and all…"
"I don't think that potion will prevent any thing"
"Hey! Don't you trust your own brothers?"
"No. Not you two, at least"
"Oh, Forge! I'm hurt! I'm wounded! Help me from the battlefield!"
George faithfully dragged Fred back into their room.
"What do we do now?"
"Time for plan B or C"
"B or C?"
"Either we mix up the real Spattergoit cure with this one and convince Mum that there's an epidemic or we mix it in his daily goblet of pumpkin juice"
"How about this Fred?"
"What is it George?"
"Plan B and C"
"Ah! I knew you were my twin for a reason!"
An hour later, the two returned to their room, triumphant in their plan.
"Whew! I'm hungry! Plotting the demise of the world takes a lot of energy!"
"What do you say about a midnight snack, Fred?"
"Why of course!"
The next day, when the two twins entered the kitchen of the Burrow, it was getting ready to become a full blown battlefield with Molly Weasley as the Commander and kitchen utensils as her armaments.
"We better take shelter, Gred" George said right before they began darting back in unnoticeably small steps until they were near the door where they proceeded to run out of it, knocking down a still sleepy Harry who had just been coming down.
"Sorry Harry! Lives at stake!"
Harry looked on with bewilderment as a furious Molly burst out of the kitchen, brandishing a rather large spoon, which had appeared innocent while stirring the porridge, which now appeared hazardous in the hand of a livid Molly Weasley.
Though Harry knew 6am in the morning of his holidays was not the time to have an epiphany, he was curiously reminded of the Muggle proverb 'all that glitters is not gold'.
Upon entering the kitchen, he found an amusing site.
Percy was grumpily sitting on the table with his face covered in boils and his hair a shade of Caribbean green that Harry vaguely remembered seeing in one of Fred and George's cauldron.
Ron was beside Percy, or below him, as he was still rolling on the floor in laughter clutching his face, tears streaming down his face.
"What happened?"
"Fred…George…potion…" was all Ron could get out before another burst of laughter.
Realizing that Ron wouldn't be of much use to him now, he turned towards the other occupant of the room, Arthur Weasley, who was calmly reading the newspaper as if oblivious to one of his sons sprouting boils, another sweeping the floor with his jumper, and one, probably two other being brutally attacked my his wife.
"What happened Mr Weasley?"
"Apparently another one of Fred and George's ah! Researches"
"What is it called?" Harry was now intrigued.
"The Spattergoit Potion" Ron, who had now recovered from his laughing fit, answered him.
"That green potion they had been brewing yesterday?"
"Yeah! That one! It was one of their most successful attempts. Or so they said"
"Successful! Those idiots don't know the spelling for it. All this fooling around is going to get the in trouble some day. And where will I be? At the top laughing down at them" Percy was muttering to himself.
"I reckon he gets more like Filch each day" Ron whispered behind his palm to Harry.
"Do you think he'll get a cat?"
"I think Scabbers was enough of a pet for him, I think. Any way, he is Head Boy now. He doesn't have time for childish things like 'taking care of rotten rodents'"
"Oh, god! What happened to Scabbers then?"
"I get to have it, of course" Ron said with obvious pride.
Just then, the back door was blasted open and two figures entered it.
"Safe"
"Until she finds us?"
"Ew! What happened to the two of you?" Ron took a few steps back as did Harry though more discreetly.
"Had to hide inside the lake to escape Mum"
"You're going to get caught any way!"
"Postponement is a gift, did you not know little brother?"
"Fredrick! George!"
"Better get going, Mums to avoid and potions to brew"
As they scuttled past them and left the room, Molly entered the room, the spoon now lost, her hair askew, panting and looking around for the two culprits.
"Did they come here?"
Harry and Ron both shook their heads in the negative and before Percy could contradict, Arthur said, "Leave them be, Molly. It was only a prank. You know them"
"Did you even see the color of that potion? It was a shade of green that I can't even define!"
"Caribbean Green" Percy supplied helpfully.
"What if it had been poisonous?" Molly completed with a flourish.
"The twins aren't that careless Molly, They know their limits and I trust them"
"Whatever. They will be the demise of me one day" Molly sighed and dismissed the matter, to the utmost displeasure of Percy, and began to search the cupboards for another spoon.
Finding one, she began to stir the cauldron, at the same time looking in the shelves for knives.
Only when the potion began frothing did she notice that it wasn't porridge that she was stirring. But it was too late.
As a horrible explosion shook the house followed by a bellow of "Idiots!" Fred said to George, "Seems like our plan C worked"
"So did Plan B"
"To a well planned and executed prank" they toasted as they drank the glass of water they had snatched from the kitchen.
A/n: Here's the second chapter for the challenge! I hope you like it!