rhye
in
vintageflame
Veritamorus Serum [Harry Potter]
Title: Veritamorus Serum
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: PG
Character/Pairing: Weasley Twins, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Remus/Sirius
Summary: Summer before 5th year at Grimmauld Place-- dull and gloomy, until George and Fred get their hands on a potion that reveals a person's true love. Let the pranking begin!
AN: Written for jt_dominguez, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Written for the third image prompt for Challenge 36 for hh_writersblock. Unbeta'd, and my first time writing Fred & George *bites nails*
Word Count: 1121
Veritamorus Serum
"What-- but how?" Ron gaped at George, wide eyed.
"We've got our sources," he winked back at Ron, shaking the little jeweled vial less than a quarter full of yellow potion.
"Yeah, but I thought the veritamorus serum was illegal."
"It may be illegal per se--" George began,
"But there isn't a reason for it to be--" Fred interrupted,
"Is there?" George finished.
"It's not as if it's deadly--"
"No, just tells us someone's true love--"
"That's all. Perfectly harmless!"
"How does it work?" Ron was staring at the vial in wonder.
"Here Fred, I think we have a volunteer to be a test subject!"
"Quite right!" Fred sprang on Ron and pinned him down before he could make his getaway. George dabbed a bit of the potion right up behind Ron's ear lobes while Fred held their kicking little brother down. The potion smelled like ladies' perfume and George sneezed and wiped his finger on his robe.
"There now," Fred stood, "the next words out of your mouth will be the name of the one person you are meant to be with!"
"Your true love!" George added.
Ron sprinted from the room, but not without two tall, red-headed shadows. He turned to tell them off, but when he tried to yell, all that came out was "Hermione Granger!" Ron reddened from his neckline to his ears, and Fred and George burst into fits of laughter.
The days ahead were gloomy. Cleaning Grimmauld Place was an awful task, and Fred and George had only their work for their joke trade to keep them busy. There was more veritamorus serum, which had proven funny enough on Ron, but it would only be right to wait until Harry could come before they broke it out properly.
"Too true, wouldn't want Harry to miss out!"
"Miss out on Ginny yelling his name, that is!"
Yes, they decided, there would be some bright spots ahead before the term began.
When Harry was finally at Grimmauld Place, George and Fred wasted very little time breaking out the veritamorus serum again. They tackled Hermione in the hall quite suddenly and laughed at the colors Ron turned when Hermione barked out at them, "Ronald Weasley!" They got their paws on their mum by pretending to hug her, but she shooed them away with a sedate, "Arthur Weasley-- Oh, good heavens, why did I just say that?" They had a good laugh when Fred managed to get George, and they were both a bit surprised to hear George snort, "Angelina Johnson." George tried Fred, but he must have done it wrong because the next out of Fred's mouth was "Get your bloody paws back on your side of the room."
Next was Harry and Ginny. Ginny, they got at breakfast. Excepting the adults, only Harry didn't know why everyone burst into giggling fits when Ginny said, "Harry Potter" instead of "pass the butter."
At dinner, Fred sneaked up behind Harry and dabbed behind his ears. Harry went to swat him away and snapped, "Ginny Weasley!" The table went very quiet for a moment, Ginny blushing pink, before Harry exclaimed, "Hey, what did you do?"
Ron leaned over, a distraught look on his face, and whispered, "Later."
Fred caught Sirius' eye as he was sitting down on their end of the table, and Sirius looked amused for once, his eyes flashing between Harry and Ginny. "V.A.?" he whispered to Fred. Fred only winked in reply, considering for the hundredth time that it was good to have Sirius around during the rare times he was in a good mood. Sirius was Padfoot, and of course he could recognize the effects of veritamorus serum.
That night, Fred brought up the idea to George.
"Sirius? You don't think he'd--"
"Tell on us? No way, mate. He saw me dose Harry."
"You think he's ever been in love?"
"One way to find out!"
"Ok, brilliant. Let's do it."
They didn't get their opportunity until nearly a week later, and by then the plan had spread through the house like wildfire. Even Sirius had caught on, and their mum had made comments more than once about how her boys were too well-behaved to own any illegal substances: a clear sign that she had suspicions but no proof. Sirius, however, was on guard. The cat-and-mouse game, or was it dog-and-catcher?, seemed to raise his mood considerably, and he was careful where he was, where his back was turned, where the twins were.
In the end, they needed an operative, someone Sirius trusted. Harry volunteered with a smile on his face, and Sirius wasn't even paying Harry any mind when Harry walked around behind him at dinner one night after an Order meeting. Until, of course, Harry reached out and dragged his fingers behind Sirius' ears. Before Harry could hardly snatch his hands away, Sirius had outright yelped, "Remus Lupin!"
The table froze. Snape, who was there discussing something with the man himself, Professor Lupin, broke the silence first, snorting through his ample nose.
"Wh--what?" Harry stammered.
"Um," Lupin started, giving a tense smile to Sirius and Harry. "Alright then, fair's fair. Harry, have you got any more of that veritamorus serum?"
George had it, actually. He went to clamp his robes more tightly to his body, but he was not as quick as Ginny. She'd snaked a hand inside his robes and pulled out the vial, passing it to Professor Lupin before George had time to object.
Lupin opened it carefully, added a bit to his finger, and dabbed the finger behind his ear.
"Moony--" Sirius started.
"Sirius Black," Lupin answered with a smile. He then passed the vial back to Ginny. She seemed the only one able to move in the stunned silence. "The reason," Lupin started, "that veritamorus serum is illegal, is that love can sow strife even more readily than can hate. Imagine if we had found out that those we loved loved others? Even enemies? You boys are lucky; you are surrounded by people who are honest about who they love, devoted to their friends. If anything, this adventure has proven to us how difficult it will be to tear apart our allegiances, even in war. Now, I'd suggest you burn the rest of the serum, before it gets anonymously reported to the ministry." Lupin gave them a gentle smile. "Now," he turned back to Snape, "where were we?"
George watched Sirius turn a sheepish smile on a stunned Harry. "Alright there, Harry?"
"Huh? Yeah. Just... surprised."
"Yeah, I was too, but," Sirius shrugged. Harry shrugged. George shrugged to Fred, who shrugged back.
"Guess we ought to--"
"Burn it, yeah."
They didn't tell a soul that they only pretended to.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: PG
Character/Pairing: Weasley Twins, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Remus/Sirius
Summary: Summer before 5th year at Grimmauld Place-- dull and gloomy, until George and Fred get their hands on a potion that reveals a person's true love. Let the pranking begin!
AN: Written for jt_dominguez, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Written for the third image prompt for Challenge 36 for hh_writersblock. Unbeta'd, and my first time writing Fred & George *bites nails*
Word Count: 1121
Veritamorus Serum
"What-- but how?" Ron gaped at George, wide eyed.
"We've got our sources," he winked back at Ron, shaking the little jeweled vial less than a quarter full of yellow potion.
"Yeah, but I thought the veritamorus serum was illegal."
"It may be illegal per se--" George began,
"But there isn't a reason for it to be--" Fred interrupted,
"Is there?" George finished.
"It's not as if it's deadly--"
"No, just tells us someone's true love--"
"That's all. Perfectly harmless!"
"How does it work?" Ron was staring at the vial in wonder.
"Here Fred, I think we have a volunteer to be a test subject!"
"Quite right!" Fred sprang on Ron and pinned him down before he could make his getaway. George dabbed a bit of the potion right up behind Ron's ear lobes while Fred held their kicking little brother down. The potion smelled like ladies' perfume and George sneezed and wiped his finger on his robe.
"There now," Fred stood, "the next words out of your mouth will be the name of the one person you are meant to be with!"
"Your true love!" George added.
Ron sprinted from the room, but not without two tall, red-headed shadows. He turned to tell them off, but when he tried to yell, all that came out was "Hermione Granger!" Ron reddened from his neckline to his ears, and Fred and George burst into fits of laughter.
The days ahead were gloomy. Cleaning Grimmauld Place was an awful task, and Fred and George had only their work for their joke trade to keep them busy. There was more veritamorus serum, which had proven funny enough on Ron, but it would only be right to wait until Harry could come before they broke it out properly.
"Too true, wouldn't want Harry to miss out!"
"Miss out on Ginny yelling his name, that is!"
Yes, they decided, there would be some bright spots ahead before the term began.
When Harry was finally at Grimmauld Place, George and Fred wasted very little time breaking out the veritamorus serum again. They tackled Hermione in the hall quite suddenly and laughed at the colors Ron turned when Hermione barked out at them, "Ronald Weasley!" They got their paws on their mum by pretending to hug her, but she shooed them away with a sedate, "Arthur Weasley-- Oh, good heavens, why did I just say that?" They had a good laugh when Fred managed to get George, and they were both a bit surprised to hear George snort, "Angelina Johnson." George tried Fred, but he must have done it wrong because the next out of Fred's mouth was "Get your bloody paws back on your side of the room."
Next was Harry and Ginny. Ginny, they got at breakfast. Excepting the adults, only Harry didn't know why everyone burst into giggling fits when Ginny said, "Harry Potter" instead of "pass the butter."
At dinner, Fred sneaked up behind Harry and dabbed behind his ears. Harry went to swat him away and snapped, "Ginny Weasley!" The table went very quiet for a moment, Ginny blushing pink, before Harry exclaimed, "Hey, what did you do?"
Ron leaned over, a distraught look on his face, and whispered, "Later."
Fred caught Sirius' eye as he was sitting down on their end of the table, and Sirius looked amused for once, his eyes flashing between Harry and Ginny. "V.A.?" he whispered to Fred. Fred only winked in reply, considering for the hundredth time that it was good to have Sirius around during the rare times he was in a good mood. Sirius was Padfoot, and of course he could recognize the effects of veritamorus serum.
That night, Fred brought up the idea to George.
"Sirius? You don't think he'd--"
"Tell on us? No way, mate. He saw me dose Harry."
"You think he's ever been in love?"
"One way to find out!"
"Ok, brilliant. Let's do it."
They didn't get their opportunity until nearly a week later, and by then the plan had spread through the house like wildfire. Even Sirius had caught on, and their mum had made comments more than once about how her boys were too well-behaved to own any illegal substances: a clear sign that she had suspicions but no proof. Sirius, however, was on guard. The cat-and-mouse game, or was it dog-and-catcher?, seemed to raise his mood considerably, and he was careful where he was, where his back was turned, where the twins were.
In the end, they needed an operative, someone Sirius trusted. Harry volunteered with a smile on his face, and Sirius wasn't even paying Harry any mind when Harry walked around behind him at dinner one night after an Order meeting. Until, of course, Harry reached out and dragged his fingers behind Sirius' ears. Before Harry could hardly snatch his hands away, Sirius had outright yelped, "Remus Lupin!"
The table froze. Snape, who was there discussing something with the man himself, Professor Lupin, broke the silence first, snorting through his ample nose.
"Wh--what?" Harry stammered.
"Um," Lupin started, giving a tense smile to Sirius and Harry. "Alright then, fair's fair. Harry, have you got any more of that veritamorus serum?"
George had it, actually. He went to clamp his robes more tightly to his body, but he was not as quick as Ginny. She'd snaked a hand inside his robes and pulled out the vial, passing it to Professor Lupin before George had time to object.
Lupin opened it carefully, added a bit to his finger, and dabbed the finger behind his ear.
"Moony--" Sirius started.
"Sirius Black," Lupin answered with a smile. He then passed the vial back to Ginny. She seemed the only one able to move in the stunned silence. "The reason," Lupin started, "that veritamorus serum is illegal, is that love can sow strife even more readily than can hate. Imagine if we had found out that those we loved loved others? Even enemies? You boys are lucky; you are surrounded by people who are honest about who they love, devoted to their friends. If anything, this adventure has proven to us how difficult it will be to tear apart our allegiances, even in war. Now, I'd suggest you burn the rest of the serum, before it gets anonymously reported to the ministry." Lupin gave them a gentle smile. "Now," he turned back to Snape, "where were we?"
George watched Sirius turn a sheepish smile on a stunned Harry. "Alright there, Harry?"
"Huh? Yeah. Just... surprised."
"Yeah, I was too, but," Sirius shrugged. Harry shrugged. George shrugged to Fred, who shrugged back.
"Guess we ought to--"
"Burn it, yeah."
They didn't tell a soul that they only pretended to.