Break it Up (Ron Weasley)

11. Overtold Stories

"Malfoy, eh?" Fred asked, copying the stance of his brother and crossing his arms while resting back on the counter. "And love potion?"

"Yes," Hermione said, making her way to the front of the three of us. "We found a bunch of these in the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement after he left," she said while handing one of the viles to Fred.

"Well, it's one of ours, that's for sure," Fred remarked while taking a moment to inspect the bottle.

"Yeah, I checked him out about a week ago," George added, taking the vile from his brother's hands. "He had about twenty."

"Did you ask why?" I asked, tilting my head.

"No, of course not," George replied defensively.

"Yeah, wouldn't want to be rude and lose a customer," Fred added.

"We just need to know if you thought anything about him was weird when he came," Ron huffed.

The twins mulled it over for a minute, the two of them placing their chin in their hands and looking up at the ceiling to think.

"Ah ha!" George exclaimed finally, holding up one finger. "I did notice something funny."

The three of us leaned in intently, ready to hear what George would reveal.

"He was muttering something to himself. I thought it was about being in our shop," he laughed, turning to Fred. "He hates buying things from here."

Fred nodded and laughed to agree.

"What was he saying?" Hermione asked, trying to get the twins back on track.

"Can't quite remember. Not sure I heard him all that well if I'm honest," George replied shrugging.

Fred reached out and hit George on the arm lightly. "What about the new security cameras? The ones with sound?" he offered, pointing up to a corner of the ceiling where a camera pointed down at the five of us.

"Oh yeah!" George replied. "I'll go get the footage," he said while making his way over to the stairs.

"So, what happened with Malfoy and this love potion anyways?" Fred asked, toying with the bottle they'd brought as proof.

"It's a long story," Ron grumbled, dropping his shoulders.

Fred leaned back on the counter and crossed one leg over the other leniently. "If you want the footage, you gotta tell us."

"And about how you hurt your leg!" George cried out from the floor above them.

"Fine," Ron agreed. "But I need to sit down. I've been standing for Merlin knows how long."

Fred motioned the three of them to a back room where there was a table and a few chairs. Ron took his seat quickly and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"I've got the footage," George remarked, joining the rest of them and sitting down.

"Let's hear it," Fred urged, leaning forward and folding one hand in the other.

"Basically, Malfoy's just a git who's been trying to steal my girlfriend," Ron spat. "He wiped my memory and cast me off my broom during a game a few weeks ago and broke my leg."

"Malfoy did that?" George said, scrunching up his nose.

"To steal you?" Fred added, making eye contact with me now.

"Yeah," I sighed. "And then, uh, he kissed me in the hallway, and there was this whole big thing, and then he made me tell everyone at the party, and-"