P A R A M O U R || George Weasley

04 || A LITTLE POLYJUICE

George Weasley strolls along the fourth floor, searching for the abandoned room he's become so familiar with. On the outside, it may seem like he's unguarded and lost in his head, but in reality, he's hyper-aware of his surroundings.

He's being careful not to be caught by a professor, wondering why he is there and not in the Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff game. Everyone knows they are fans of quidditch no matter who is playing.

On his trek to his and his brother's lair, he thinks of a way to make his brother apologize to Lyra, but he comes up empty-handed. The twins have never really had to genuinely apologize to anyone for their pranks.

That is unless they were forced by their mother. What would make Fred apologize to Malfoy? There is no correct answer unless Molly Weasley were here and had seen it with her own two eyes.

She would've hit them upside the head so hard they'd have nothing else in their mind but to apologize. Their father wouldn't have cared. In fact, he would've most probably laughed along with them. It's where they got it from.

Looking on both sides of the hallway to check there's no one around, George opens the door to the classroom. Inside, dozens of cauldrons of all sizes and different concoctions litter the abandoned desks.

They have boxes of ingredients and utensils– some of which they may have stolen from Snape's arsenal– that are stacked high in the corner. Numerous potions are being brewed simultaneously to have them at their disposal for whenever they might need them.

Fred stands over a medium-sized cauldron, stirring as the steam makes his hair fuzz up and his face flush up with red.

"The potion is almost done. It should be done by tomorrow." The identical redhead looks up and nods his way.

George stands beside his brother and looks into the potion; it's bubbling and a nasty brown color. They have done it well; Polyjuice Potion is not easy to brew.

Many people fail to recognize how talented the Weasley Twins truly are. They always profile them as pranksters, but they fail to notice why their pranks, even their most outrageous, are always successful.

The twins hope to one day open their own shop to sell their inventions. They tried this summer, but their mother caught a whiff of it and ended up burning most of their products, deeming them too dangerous.

They weren't too dangerous; they had tested them themselves. Weasley Wheezes will become a thing soon, and their mother won't stop them.

"We're going to owe a lot of apologies," George murmurs, the idea of apologies fresh in his mind.

They can do so many things with poly juice potion, including frame people of their doings. They have to be wise on how and when they use it.

"To who?" Fred chuckles, counting his stirs for the potion. One movement too much, and it can be ruined. A month of brewing and their short supply of ingredients down the drain.

"The people we prank with this, they won't be happy," George nervously laughs, taking out separate vials and corks to store another potion that is already finished.

"No, Georgie, if they don't get they are pranks, then that's on them," Fred thunders, partially offended, "We shouldn't apologize for making people laugh."

For Fred Weasley, there is nothing wrong with his reasoning. As long as he's making people laugh and happy, he's happy. He sees no reason for apologizing, yet he fails to notice that not everyone thinks like that. Especially some of the people who fall for their- more often than not harmless- pranks.

"What if we're the only people laughing?" George points out, scooping the potion with a ladle and carefully pouring it into a glass container.

Unlike his brother George notices when the people around them are unhappy. This is why he is always the one patching things up and talking people out of getting them in trouble.

While Fred mostly takes the role of leader and is much more outspoken, George is more diplomatic than his brother, which will be helpful for when they start and expand their business.

It makes sense that they balance each other out. Sometimes Fred needs someone to stop him from getting too crazy and George needs someone to push him to do crazier things.

"That will never happen," Fred says in disbelief that such a scenario could happen.

"Well..."

Fred's head snaps to his brother with a look of confusion. He doesn't recall people not laughing at their mischievous doings. Someone always laughs, whether it's their family, friends, or even strangers in Diagon alley.

"Malfoy wasn't laughing that night," George mutters, testing the waters. Maybe this way, he can get his brother to apologize.

"Well yeah, but she's Malfoy. That doesn't apply to Malfoy's. They never laugh at anything unless they are torturing people. It's why it's so fun to mess with them," Fred shrugs, continuing his work and forgetting all about his possible failure of making people happy.

All his life, he's heard his father speak of the horrible people they are. That's why Fred doesn't care how often he messes with them. It's his life mission to make them struggle a little.

It's an unspoken thing Fred's been doing since he got to Hogwarts. True, Lyra Malfoy hasn't given them many reasons, but it doesn't make her any better than the rest of her family.

"I don't know... I feel bad about it," George confesses, looking towards his brother. He searches for a different reaction than the one he has gotten.

"You have a crush on her or something," Fred jokes.

George laughs nervously and responds, "Please, a Weasley with a crush on a Malfoy? Outrageous! I was only thinking of being a decent person, so she doesn't complain to daddy like her brother always does."

"Then you apologize! It's not like she'll even listen."

George grits his teeth because that's precisely what he did, but it's not enough for Lyra Malfoy. Seems like Fred has a good grip on who she is as a person. He basically nailed what happened without even being there.

'Forget the apology and to hell with it,' is what he wishes he could say but he doesn't want to. George wants a reason to talk to her, and that's his only way because in no other circumstances will she speak to him. Stupid crush! He should move on from it all.

"Besides, she took 100 points from Gryffindor. She shouldn't be surprised to see another prank on her way," Fred cryptically says, catching his brother's attention.

Great, now he has even more work to do. Prevent Fred from pranking her, so Lyra doesn't hate them any more than necessary. It's too soon for Fred to attack; he's giving him no chance to patch things up with her.

"Have anything in mind?" George asks nonchalantly but keeps his full attention on his brother while putting the stoppers on the glass vials.

"Maybe..."

Maybe. Maybe. Maybe! What is George supposed to do with that!

"Care to elaborate?" He asks, standing beside his brother again.

"Not yet. I'll let you know when I have it all hatched out!" Fred tells him, slapping his shoulder.

George is left standing over the bubbling, stinky cauldron of poly juice potion when a great idea pops into his head. He can pretend to be Fred! A little bit of this potion and all his problems will be fixed. It's not like Lyra knows them that well, but she can differentiate who they are by their tiny differences. So with the poly juice potion, it should be a set plan!