Bonus Content: Don't Tell My Brother

Veritaserum

A/N: Harry Potter AU, because I feel like it. 

Also, fuck J.K. Rowling and her transphobic bullshit. Here's a good video on it, if you guys want to learn more. (Idk if you can link things here, I'll chuck it in the comments.) Highly recommend it for people who want to learn about trans issues.

And happy Pride, y'all!

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Lucas wasn't sure how Damien Castillo had become his friend.

It'd begun a few months ago, when he, Alex and Mona had been sitting in their usual corner of the library, sweating over a particularly difficult essay from Slughorn. Well, Lucas and Alex were sweating over it. Mona was quite happy with her Arithmancy homework.

"Six feet." Alex breathed, reaching up to rub her temples, a sure sign a headache was coming on. "Six bloody feet of parchment. Is he trying to kill us?"

"Actually," Mona said, dipping her quill into Lucas' inkwell, "I think he's trying to help you improve."

"Shut it." Alex groaned, dropping her head until it hit the desk with a thud. "You don't even do Potions, you don't understand my suffering."

"Lucas doesn't seem to be suffering."

Lucas was busy trying to organise his notes into an essay plan, and didn't bother looking up. He loved his friends, he did, but sometimes productive study meant tuning them out.

Alex groaned again, as if she'd been mortally wounded.

Well, tuning one of them out.

"Of course Lucas isn't suffering. He's top of the class, Slughorn adores him, and he's probably already finished the bloody thing. Right, Lucas?"

"Not right." Lucas responded, adding a quick notation to his section on possible morality issues. [Often used in Auror interrogations.] "I haven't even started my first draft."

"See? His first draft. You amaze me."

"Uh-huh." Lucas was half-listening again. "You too, Alex."

He couldn't forget its weaknesses, either. The antidote, obviously, but often occlumency or even the strength and experience of a wizard could help them resist Veritaserum. You could build up a tolerance, couldn't you?

There'd be a book that'd have the answer. Alex had tossed her mostly-empty parchment to one side and was instead practicing her palm-reading, which seemed to involve staring at the creases on Mona's palm and telling her, very solemnly, that she was going to have a harem of wives in the near future. Mona, who had always had more faith in Alex's Divination skills than Lucas thought was wise, looked genuinely concerned. Lucas stood, and walked from their cosy little corner through the towering bookshelves, running his fingers along the spines of the books he passed, looking for something promising.

Preparing to be Poisoned, by Prudence Kneebone, was a thick, leather-bound book, its edges well worn from countless fingers before his. Lucas pulled it from the shelf, cracking open the cover and scanning the index as he walked back to their desk.

Vanadium, Veritrum Veride - yes, there it was, Veritaserum!

Lucas closed the book with a snap, looked up, and ran right into someone.

Damien Castillo was standing - no, crouching - behind one of the shelves. As soon as Lucas ran into him he straightened up, clearing his throat and putting on an innocent expression that Lucas almost, almost could believe.