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.
In the fall, I had some suspicions of my feelings for Marlee but she mentioned one night that we were better off as friends and I realized she was right. During the Holiday these thoughts came back and I wasn't really able to figure them out because by the time we got back to Hogwarts, it was all fuzzy.
"Does this mean you'll finally break up with Serena?" Fred jumped into his bed.
"Yes," I groaned and let my head fall back on the chair. "'Finally?' What's wrong with Serena?"
Lee rubbed his chin with his hand and peered over at Fred. "She's kind of...I dunno, something about her just doesn't sit well with me and she's always taking you away from our bro time. I mean if you're happy, mate, then it's fine but...are you?" Lee questioned.
Yes.
"Yes—FUCKING HELL!" I shouted and got up to leave the room so the interrogation would stop. I heard them both sniggering before I slammed the door behind me.
How come my lying was the truth? I mean, I really was happy with Serena and I definitely didn't fancy Marlee in that way. Maybe we didn't get the licorice quite right and it's messing up all of my answers. That must've been it.
I stayed in the common room for what I estimated was about an hour then asked a first year to ask me what my name was. When I replied, "George" I ran up the stairs to speak to my colleagues about my findings.
I burst open the door and got straight to the point, "Alright there's gotta be something we messed up, I mean I'm happy with Serena, I am!"
"You might think so but maybe in your subconscious mind, you know the truth and that's why your answers were like that," Lee said like a smartass.
"Fred, be on my side," I demanded and walked over to where they sat.
"Okay, Lee you're wrong," Fred replied.
Lee rolled his eyes. "Fred took one after you left, just so we could see if it actually worked and it does so technically he's saying I'm right and that he's on my side which means that you—"
"Don't say it," I put a hand up and walked to my bed, frustrated.
Lee sighed, "Well we can distribute these to D.A. tomorrow incase Umbridge asks them anything suspicious." He started cleaning up the mess and collecting the products.
I laid on my bed, frozen, thinking about what to do. If I liked Marlee would it be wrong to be with Serena? The only person I went to about these kinds of things were Mum or...Marlee.
I decided to take a chance on my mates and ask, "Do you guys think I actually like Marlee?"
"Yes," Lee responded without hesitation.
"No," Fred said and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Merlin I love this thing—UGH!"
Lee chuckled and decided to give me actual advice for once, "It's your decision mate, but if I were you I would have dumped Serena a long time ago. Can't you see how Marlee fancies you? You best hurry up before Smith takes her though."
Anger filled me at just the mention of his name. I had never liked him. When he was playing Quidditch for the Slytherin team we got into a brawl one year and with what happened after the New Years party, that guy just couldn't be trusted. What the hell did Marlee see in him?
Wait did he just say Marlee fancies me?
"You think Marlee fancies me?" I sat up abruptly, looking at Lee as he smirked.
"I mean I don't know for sure and Aries won't tell me but...it's quite obvious if you ask me," Lee shrugged as he continued to clean up the mess in our room. "She's really smiley when she's around you and only laughs hard at your jokes. I dunno mate, it's just something in her eyes."
"And she didn't smell you in her Amortentia," lying Fred added.
I rolled my eyes at this. Fred thought we smelt each other but I honestly don't really know who I smelt. Serena and I shared tea with honey once and fruity, Butterbeer could really be anyone. Same with her fireworks and cinnamon, it didn't mean anything...
"We thought scoring one of the best looking girls at Hogwarts would be the most wicked thing ever but...Marlee's even better—for you at least," Lee spoke, seriously. It wasn't too often we had conversations like this and they usually didn't last longer than a couple of minutes.
But I realized he was right. Every guy would kill to be in my position, to be with the hottest girl in school. But the only thing I could think of was Marlee...I wanted Marlee. The Lying Licorice did work after all, I guess.
—
Days passed and I couldn't get this thought out of my mind. It felt so wrong, especially whenever I was around Serena. But it was even worse when I was around Marlee herself. Thankfully, she never attempted to talk to me because I don't know what I would have done.
As each day went by, I became more and more aware of my feelings for Marlee and found myself getting bored around Serena. It made me feel so guilty but I couldn't help it, Marlee was the only thing on my mind.
I missed her cute little giggle when she would try to hold back her laughter or the way she scrunched up her nose when I teased her. I missed just being around her, feeling her warmth. It all became too much to bear and I knew what I had to do.
There she was sitting in the common room, scribbling her homework while she chewed on her lip. If third year me saw himself, he would have punched him in the gut.
Marlee's POV
Pain spread through my entire left cheek.
In front of me was an angry Serena, who for a second I could have sworn had a flash of red in her eyes. People around us started to notice what had just happened as I cupped the left side of my face and cried out in shock and pain.
"You bitch! You gave him a Love Potion didn't you?" she yelled at me.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" I retorted, more annoyed than mad.
"George. You gave him a Love Potion." Her voice was so loud, I could feel all of the heads in the corridor, turning.
"I did not, are you mental?" I shouted and dropped my hand from my face.
"Then why else do you suppose he dumped me? I did everything that I was supposed to," she muttered the last part to herself although I could still hear her.
"He dumped you? When?"
"Just right now you idiot! It's not even possible so I want to know what you did to him and I want to know now!" she hissed, taking a step closer to my face.
"I didn't do shit, Serena. Maybe he finally realized what a terrible git you are and dumped you like a normal person," I snapped back but was prepared for her physical response.
With one scream she lunged at me and before I knew it we were rolling on the ground. As I pushed her to the bottom and straddled her, I got ready to take a swing but then someone from behind, pulled me away. A circled had formed around us but all of their faces blurred together. Someone was holding me back and I wasn't able to break from their grasp.
Serena stood up from the floor, gracefully and tightened her ponytail as if she won the fight that wasn't really a fight. She gave me one smirk before turning on her heel and walking away.
"That's right, walk away like the coward you are and have always been!" I yelled as she made her way around the corner until she couldn't be seen.
I didn't care about all of the eyes that were on me. My heart was still beating so fast from all of the adrenaline and emotions that I'd been holding in. It felt so good to finally get them out, especially on her. If only I had gotten to take a swing.
This made me turn around to see who was holding me back. For a second, I almost took a swing at them until I realized it was Fred and not George.
He looked at me with concern and let go of my arms. As the crowd began to disperse he asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I muttered and looked around to see if anyone's attention was still on me. All the way down the corridor, I spotted George standing with Lee, who appeared to be talking about something passionately, except George wasn't listening. He was flipping through a book but had his eyes glued on me. I felt my body get tense and I looked back at Fred.
None of this made sense. With what I overheard him say a couple days ago to him breaking up with Serena? Not to mention he'd been awfully quiet around me as well. Yeah, when we were mad at each other he'd ignore me, but now he didn't bother to talk to Lee in DADA either. Maybe he knew I knew and felt guilty about it.
"Well as long as you aren't hurt. Too bad you didn't get any battle scars," he smirked in his usual joking manor and I couldn't help but smile back.
"You're the one who pulled me away before I could take a jab!" I joked back, letting the anger flush out of my system.
He chuckled slightly but I could tell something else was bothering him. Angelina, I assumed. Before I could think of any other possibilities he cheered, "Happy birthday by the way!"
"Thanks Fred," I beamed.
I didn't really go around telling people it was my birthday, so I didn't expect him to know. George hadn't said anything to me all day and I probably should have expected that considering how much he "hated" me. But then why was Fred being so nice if they were all in on the prank?
We stood there for a second as I thought he was going to reply. I almost walked away before he said, "Erm...the...girls need to see you in the common room tonight. The password is still Mimbulus Mimbletonia."
"Oh...okay thanks. I'll see you later then," I replied and walked the opposite direction so I wouldn't have to pass Lee and George.
—
Anytime it was anyone's birthday in our dorm, we had a tradition of having a huge picnic in the Astronomy Tower. We would steal food from the kitchen and lay out a nice blanket for a lovely meal. The sun was setting over the horizon and beautiful colors painted the sky.
It was awfully chilly at this time of year but we didn't care. We laughed our heads off at funny stories of our past, reminiscing our childhood. Today, I turned 17. I was finally of age in the Wizarding World. Harlow and Fabienne already had their birthdays so that just left Aries. We had one more year until we were off on our own. Merlin, where did the time go?
"I remember that! 'Cause then you said, 'Because that's exactly what we're going to do, Snape.'" Harlow exclaimed as she pointed at me.
We all laughed loudly and I managed to get out, "Then he gave me detention for a month! A whole friggin' month for calling him Snape instead of Professor." I said in a mocking tone as I rolled my eyes.
Suddenly, Fabienne gasped, "Ooh-ooh-ooh! Remember the Yule Ball?"
The tower filled with the sounds of our exclamations as we thought about that night from last year. Our voices overlapped as some people refused to talk about it while others squealed with joy.
That night had been so amazing for the four of us. We decided to go solo and turned down all of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrangs that asked us—not that it was even a big number. However, we were still forced to learn a waltz with the boys and that's how I started getting closer with Zane. In all honesty, he was the reason why my night was so fun. Even though I disliked him now, the memories were still nostalgic.
After—actually Fred and George—started the moshpit, we just went crazy. We were the one of last ones there along with some other older students and they played "Magic Works" for the last dance. As pairs, including Fred and Angelina, danced together, the four of us girls twirled each other around in our loopy state.
As I began to recall more of the night, I remembered seeing George there with his date whom I'm pretty sure was Amelie, the Beauxbaton that taught him French. They were swaying to the music and she rested her head on his chest, just like I had at the festival. George was gawking at us being goofs as we spun around the floor, trying to contain our laughter. He caught my eye and curled his lip into a smirk. I didn't think too much of it at the time because then Aries pulled me into a dramatic dip, which sent us into quiet giggles.
I started to think about all of the other memories I had of him that I'd forgotten or simply didn't care because they had no meaning to me—or they used to.
Oh no, what am I doing? Don't you remember what he said about you Marlee?
It was like with Zane. No matter how poorly he treated me, I would still always forgive him. I didn't let myself get too close to people that often so I guess when I did, I couldn't let them go. Maybe that was why I was so bothered by Serena, not because of how bad of a person she was, but because I was so obsessed with her.
Fabienne snapped me out of my thoughts as she shoved their present my way. I opened the small silver box to reveal a green plaid skirt.
"Okay we know you don't like to wear skirts but you really look stunning in them Mar," Aries said nervously.
"You gotta show off your hot bod! Make George and Zane regret what they lost. But of course if you don't like it, we'll return it," Fabienne added as we laughed at her comment.
I looked at my amazing friends. They'd been so helpful and supportive of me this year and I could not have been anymore grateful. "I love it, thank you guys so much. It's absolutely gorgeous."
We met each other for a big group hug and cleaned up our dinner and headed back to Slytherin Dungeon to spend the night in the common room with Tristan and Ceaser.
"Is it true that you broke her nose?" Ceaser asked. We'd been talking about the rumors that had broken out about mine and Serena's "fight".
I took a handful of popcorn that sat on the table and shoved it in my mouth. "I didn't even get to take one swing!" I exclaimed, with my mouth full.
"I'd like to take a swing at her," Tristan scoffed and we all murmured in agreement.
"Well why didn't you?" Ceaser asked.
Harlow chuckled, already knowing the story as I had told them at dinner. "Get this part," she teased and wiggled her eyebrows.
Ceaser gasped and covered his mouth with his hand, "No way! It wasn't!"
"No it wasn't," I narrowed my eyes at Harlow for spiking false assumptions, "it was Fred."
"Well that's like the same thing," Ceaser flicked his hand and rolled his eyes.
I recalled what Fred said to me afterwards and I stood up abruptly. "Shoot, I actually have to go for a bit. Ginny said she had a present for me," I lied, impulsively.
"Ah getting along with the in-laws are we?" Ceaser teased which garnered chuckles from the group.
I rolled my eyes and pushed his head. "Piss off," I muttered and bid them goodbye, telling them I'd be back soon.
I made my way to Gryffindor Tower and The Fat Lady let me through but mumbled something about me being a Slytherin. Right away, I was showered with hugs by my Gryffindor friends. They led me to our usual seating area and Ginny covered my eyes with her hands. I felt my arse hit the sofa and Ginny took her hands away from my face.
I gasped when I saw a round cake in front of me with black frosting and green sprinkles. In the middle, it read Happy Birthday Marlee! in gold piping, that I could tell was Hermione's handwriting.
"Merlin, you guys! You didn't have to!" I exclaimed, putting a hand to my chest.
"Well since you weren't having a party, we wanted to do something special!" Angelina explained as she sat down next to me.
"Thank you all so much, it's beautiful and I bet it tastes amazing," I smiled at the group of girls that stood around me.
Ginny curled her lip, "Well there's only one way to find out..."
It wasn't long until we had cut up the cake and distributed a piece to everyone in the common room, because we had many extras. I noticed that none of the usual Gryffindor boys were around but didn't think too much of it. They were probably just in their dorms.
The girls chatted and laughed while we talked about which professor would be the worst to have as a parent. We all agreed Umbridge would be the worst but some claimed that Snape was a close second.
Angelina's laughter came to an abrupt stop as her eyes fixated on something behind me. "Oh no. What did you do?" she stood up and spoke aggressively.
We all turned to see Fred and George peeking their heads from the boys' stairs. They immediately started cackling and holding their stomachs, as they threw their heads back.
"Bloody hell," Hermione mumbled. "You-your lips Marlee."
I snapped my head to look at her, "What?" My eyes widened when I saw her lips. They looked like she had plastered on black lipstick. I scanned the common room of everyone who was eating the cake and they looked the same. We all began to realize this was why Fred and George were laughing so hard.
The common room became loud as everyone yelled at them. Some attempted to wipe it off but failed because if Fred and George were behind the prank, of course it wouldn't be that easy. Angelina stomped up to Fred and smacked him on the back of his head.
"This is not funny! How long is this supposed to last?" she yelled.
He was holding back his laughter as he looked down at her. "It's kind of funny...and it's just about a day. You look wonderful, my love."
He tried to give her a kiss but she turned at the last second and his lips met her cheek. He was quite offended by this and tried to kiss her again but she kept swerving. I hoped that this meant they were doing okay, after I saw him distracted earlier that day. Eventually, Angelina became too giggly to protest and Fred was finally able to kiss her. I noticed George had left the happy couple's side and was talking to Harry and Ron who had just come down the stairs.
"Ready to go 'Mione—bloody hell," Ron exclaimed when he saw her black lips. He looked around and saw that everyone else looked the same. "Bloody hell," he muttered once more.
George was giggling by his side and Ron caught on to what happened. Harry and Ron both started cracking up and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"So are you ready to go then?" Ron said in between laughs. Her and Ron were the fifth year Gryffindor Prefects.
"Yes," Hermione mumbled, annoyed. She turned to me and gave me a hug. "Sorry, I've got patrolling duties tonight. Happy birthday." I whispered a thanks as she pulled away and I squeezed her hand with a wink as she walked off with Ron.
Ron was staring at her lips as he bit his own, holding back a chuckle. Hermione snapped her head around to give George another glare and the two disappeared outside the portrait.
"You know, I kind of dig this look," Parvati said as her and Lavender were looking in a mirror on the wall.
We all walked over to see how ridiculous we looked but to our surprise, Parvati was right. We started to admire ourselves in the mirror and I made eye contact with George through the mirror. He didn't look away and just kept staring.
Oh my god. Did I give him a Love Potion? I think I would remember if I did. Why is he still looking? Does he hate me that much that he just can't stop thinking about how much he dislikes me?
In an awkward state, I decided I should probably head back to my common room so I said goodbye to the girls and thanked them for the cake. I rushed out of there, avoiding eye contact with George.
On my way to the Dungeon, I spotted Ron and Hermione in the distance, talking and laughing about something. They literally spent all of their patrolling nights together, how could they not admit that they fancied each other.
I returned to my common room and we had a chuckle about why my lips were black. I went to bed feeling content for the first time in a while. I wiggled my toes in the new socks, Cho had gifted me and snuggled into my covers. Even though I got into a bit of a cat fight with Serena, it was still an exciting story that would be hilarious to tell in the future. This birthday was definitely one for the books and now I could do magic whenever I wanted to.
•••
there are several things i would like to say
this fight was inspired by the santana quinn fight🤚🏼🤚🏼
okay i had some potential smut coming up and i wanted to put it in but they're still only 17 so i probably won't BUT it's hilarious like idk why but i was laughing so hard after i read it and not because it was dumb and embarrassing but like...it was just funny
i want to give an inspo cred to someone but that would spoil the story so i'll give it later don't cancel me
and also i haven't read the books so i don't know all of the details of prefects, but i love the idea of ron and hermione patrolling together like that's just so cute🥺
and sorry it's been awhile this was my first week back to school and i also started my sports again so...life is fun how's yours been