misdirection ⤷ g. weasley

[28] lying licorice

George's POV

Fred and I had been working on the newly named, Lying Licorice, with the help of Lee all day since after DADA. I rushed out of there as soon as possible so there'd be no time to waste. We had many failed attempts before we ran out of supplies, so we sent Errol to ask a good friend of ours who works at Apothecary in Diagon Alley, for more to test out.

We worked all day, taking no breaks, having missed our classes and not even going to the Great Hall for meals. It was almost curfew when we decided to try our last sample, then call it a night. It was my turn to be tested and I took a bite of the licorice.

We were all exhausted from our day. Fred sat in his chair, slouched to the bottom while Lee rested his head on his desk. All of our robes were sprawled on the ground and Lee had taken off all of his layers except for his tank top, Fred had thrown off his tie while mine sat undone around my neck.

"What is your name," Fred sighed, as he ran a hand over his face.

"Fred," I said without even thinking. Lee and Fred both shot up from their seats, while my eyes widened.

"Holy shit! It worked," Lee exclaimed. "Okay, okay. What house are you in?"

"Slytherin," the words ran off my tongue, smoothly. Fred and Lee cheered once more.

"Who's better looking, Lee or Fred?" Fred asked with a grin on his face.

"Fred," I responded without hesitation. "Don't worry, at least you're the better looking twin."

Lee threw his head back as he laughed while Fred looked rather offended. Lee patted him on the back to comfort him as he scowled.

"Maybe it didn't work," Fred muttered under his breath.

I crossed my arms to test him, "Go on ask me something else then."

A smirk appeared on his lips as he began to ask, "Okay. Last question, what about Marlee?"

Lee covered his mouth with his hand as he held back a chuckle. I simply replied, "She's possibly the worst person I've ever met, an absolute prick! I'd definitely live if I never had to see her face again, I hate her."

Fred and Lee exchanged glances before Lee asked, "Well do you like her? Like would you date her?"

I pressed my lips together, afraid of the answer I was about to give, "Now not, not ever in a million years, I'd rather eat slugs. I will always choose Serena over her."

This got them worked up even more while Fred said, "So you like her, don't you? You like her better than Serena?"

"No I don't," the words slipped out of my mouth and I slapped my hand over my lips. "Damnit Fred! How long are the effects supposed to last?"

Fred shrugged, "Like an hour or so but we're gonna keep asking you questions." He high fived Lee, who was grinning from ear to ear then suddenly looked puzzled.

"Wait, you know how Veritaserum works based on what the drinker believes, not what is technically true? Is that how this one works too?" Lee questioned.

"Yeah, I think when Georgie did whatever he did, it practically mirrors Veritaserum, but only makes you answer when questioned like for Umbridge's interrogations, right?"

I rolled my eyes, "No."

"So then that means," Lee began, "you know you like Marlee! How long have you known?"

"Look, I know I like Marlee. I haven't been thinking about it for a while and I've got it all figured out." I slapped my hand over my mouth, not wanting to say anything else. I had never admitted that out loud before.