PURIFY : Fred Weasley

11: Ruined

I need to make it up to him. I send a letter to Fred, asking him to accompany me to Hogsmeade. Strictly potion-making business, I tell him. An idea for a prank for them to pull. There is no risk of running into my friends there. Rather, they spend their weekends at the castle, eating fancy foods sent in through parcels by their parents. Nothing at Hogsmeade is up to their calibre.

To my surprise, Fred says yes.

On the day of the Hogsmeade trip, I wait in the courtyard. Fred shows up, but he is with George and Lee. All three of them approach me.

"So, you had a prank in mind?" Fred asks.

I nod. "I think I can brew a laughing gas."

"We've done that before," George says.

Fred nods. "Filch dumped the cauldron, cleared the smoke quickly."

I wasn't expecting such a quick rebuttal. It seems that though they have spent some time watching me, I haven't spent as much time watching them. Still, that wasn't quite my idea. "What if I could make it invisible? Bottle it, so that it can be released in the Great Hall or something. I just need a few ingredients, and I haven't been able to knick anything from Professor Snape in a while."

"What's in it for you?" Lee asks, leaning forward. There is a smile on his face, like the twins, but it's a little bit more curled in at the edges.

I shrug. "I could use something exciting. Especially since the next event of the Tri-wizard tournament isn't for another two months."

"Right you are," Fred says. "Why don't we all head off then?"

We begin our descent away from the castle. They mostly talk about classes, potions being one of the few that they are in with me. Apparently, they got their Amortentia to work, and they're trying to put a twist on it to turn it into a perfume.

"You could just bottle and dilute it," I suggest. "Instead of water, use vinegar. It'll preserve the potion longer."

"Won't it tamper with the smell?" George asks.

I shrug. "It might. Water would make it go sour after a few weeks. The smell'd be ruined."

"What did you smell anyway?" Fred asks, looking down at me.

"You're Mum," I answer, earning a laugh out of Lee and Fred. Even George chuckles a little.

"Funny thing, Fred, I also smelled your Mum," Lee adds, a smile on his face. He turns to George.

George raises an eyebrow. "If I say I smelled our Mum, that's just sad now isn't it?"

"Fair enough," Lee manages through a snort.

When we get down to Hogsmeade, I admire the old brown and grey buildings. I haven't been here in years. The laughter of other students echoes around us off the cobblestone. The sky above us is grey and so is the ground. Everything is monochrome, not filled with colour like I remember.

At least I'm with a couple of gingers.

"I figured that we'd spread out, cover our basis," Fred says.

George nods. "We've got a few things to get for our own purposes."

"George and Lee will meet us later for butterbeers, yeah?" Fred offers.

All of us seem to agree. After they head off, we head towards a potions' shoppe. I don't know my way around as I used to in my third year. In the last three years, nothing has changed, but I guess I have.