Love Potion - Part 1

"Are you bloody playing with me now, Harry?"

"Nope."

"You mean to tell me at some point- no, for a few months- I was the bloody Master of Death and you didn't even bother to tell me?!"

"You forgot the part where he said he only figured that out after dying, Ronald."

"Okay, can we please not mention Harry dying? I still can't get over that and probably never will."

"I feel ya, Herms."

Smack!

"Ow! Bloody hell! Harry, control your girl, will ya?!"

"Stop trying to ask help from Harry, you coward. You brought that on yourself. I've told you a million times to stop calling me that, Ronniekins!"

"Blimey, you're never letting that go, huh?"

"Well, you started it!"

Harry could feel a headache coming with the two starting to bicker again. Worst is, he is bed-ridden and can't walk away from or ignore them, no matter how much he wants to. After defeating Voldemort, Hermione had him sent to the Hospital Wing immediately by calling for Madame Pomfrey via Patronus. Pocketing the Elder Wand, he let her drag him into the castle to be treated though he was complaining all the way because aside from the bruises and scratches, he didn't really have any major injuries and felt perfectly fine.

Madame Pomfrey, who met them from the entrance hall, argued, "Codswallop! One does not simply battle a Dark Lord and expect to come out unscathed. I don't give a shite if you feel fine. You're coming with me, Mr. Potter!" A threat to hex his balls if he tries to escape followed after and Harry shut up. He then followed the old nurse obediently while covering the Potter jewels with both hands. His friends and girlfriend merely laughed at his expense.

Once Madame Pomfrey successfully had him confined on a bed, he asked Hermione for the remains of his holly wand that they kept in case Ollivander would be able fix it. However, they were disappointed to discover that the old wandmaker could only create wands and not fix broken ones. The muggleborn and muggle-raised had always wondered what was so bad with getting your wand snapped when you could get a new one. What they failed to grasp, however, was the unique connection one hand with his or her wand, which they now understood the hard way.

Hermione managed to get hers back after Molly Weasley, of all people, managed to defeat Bellatrix LeStrange. Harry had the option to forego his old wand and use the Elder Wand instead but he'd known enough of the horror the legendary wand caused so he was reluctant to keep it. He'd just gone through a war and wasn't looking forward to people fighting him over possession of the Death Stick.

Instead, he took what was left of his broken wand and fixed it with a spell using the Elder Wand. The power the wand held was something else, the spells cast using it were more effective. With a simple fixing spell, Harry was able to bind the pieces of his wand together. After he had mended his beloved wand, he snapped the Elder Wand in front of his friends, making them gape at him incredulously, especially Ron. With his newly repaired phoenix core wand, he incinerated the snapped wand for good measure, reducing it to ashes.

"You do realize you just broke the most powerful wand in existence?" he had said.

Hermione went on a rant on how it was Harry's anyway and he was well within his rights to whatever he wanted to do with the wand.

"You're really going to choose that stupid wand over your own best friend?"

The attack made Ron pause. "You're really unfair, you know."

Hermione merely smiled triumphantly at him and proceeded to tuck herself under Harry's arm. This was then when Harry narrated to his friends why he did what he just did and how he came to possess the now non-existent Elder Wand, leading them to this predicament now.

Seeing Harry rub his temples, Luna giggled. Deciding to end the bickering of the two friends, Luna grabbed Ron's jaw and turned his head towards her, placing a tender kiss on the redhead's lips, effectively shutting him up.

The scene stopped Hermione from mouthing Ron off and she averted her eyes from the scene, frowning. It wasn't that she was jealous, she was way past that point in her life and even then, it wasn't because she liked Ron. She couldn't handle seeing Ron kiss anyone since she thought of him as a brother and you'd feel weird seeing your sibling kiss someone else too. That and she found the image of Ron kissing was quite... disgusting. She'd had enough of that image when he was constantly seen with his tongue down Lavender Brown's throat in their sixth year.

When she averted her eyes from their two friends kissing, they met Harry's emerald ones, twinkling brightly. He smiled at her, understanding her situation. He gave a peck on her cheek for her troubles and the frown on Hermione's face disappeared. She returned the favor and kissed his own wounded cheek. She wasn't about to follow Ron and Luna's example and make out in a public place. She had no qualms possessing Harry's lips like she was starving for his affection but PDA is still a big no-no for her. She'd taken points off a lot of couples as a prefect making out in the Great Hall so it wouldn't do for her to be a hypocrite and kiss Harry with a lot of people around.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" a screech could be heard from the entrance of the hospital wing and Ron abruptly ended the kiss from the sound of his mother's voice.

They all turned to her and saw the rest of their family along with Xenophilius Lovegood walking towards them, the latter looking displeased at his daughter kissing her boyfriend in public. Ron couldn't help but cower at the sight of his mother stomping towards him and hid behind Luna's much smaller frame.

"Come here, you!" Molly hissed, grabbing at his ear.

"Ow, ow, ow! Bloody hell, mum! What did I do now?!" Ron whined, his head tilted down towards the left where his mum stood beside him, one hand on her hip.

"It's been an hour since the war has ended and you don't even bother to check on your family! Instead, I see you hear bickering with your best friends and snogging your poor girlfriend whose father has also been looking for her!"

Ignoring the mother-son exchange, Luna skipped her way towards her father, smiling happily and wrapped him in a bear hug. "Hello, Daddy! I'm sorry I haven't come to see you but I was caught up. I promise I'll make it up to you."

The frown on her father's face melted away and Xenophilius returned his daughter's hug. "Oh, you know I can't stay mad at you, my dear."

Seeing Luna being sweet to her father, Molly put a hand on her heart, looking warmly at the scene. Turning back towards Ron, she said, "See, now that is how you treat your family, Ronald. You have a lot to learn from Luna and I swear to Merlin I'm going to be bloody miffed if you let go of her!"

Prying his now red ear away from his mother's grasp, Ronald replied with a smile, "Don't worry, mum, I have no intentions of letting her go."

The touching scenes made Harry and Hermione a little downcast. Though they were happy for both families, they couldn't help but miss their own- Hermione more so than Harry. The brunette made a mental note to fly to Australia in the near future... with Harry, of course. The last she'd seen her parents was when she erased their memories of her and sent them to Australia with fake identities. She wonders what they were doing there at the moment and hoped they were okay.

Upon noticing Hermione's teary eyes, he squeezed her waist. Hermione looked at him as he did this and saw he had a silent question in his eyes. She knew he was worried about her so she gave him a smile and another peck to the cheek for his observant behavior. Harry wasn't like any of the other men she'd met. She couldn't help it but she'd compared him and Ron before and while she saw the typical male qualities in Harry, she'd also noticed he wasn't as clueless as he seemed. He was more observant than other men when it comes to women and could easily spot a difference to her mood and actions when she's going through something. Granted, he wasn't as observant with other women besides her but that's what makes him hers.

Until one person couldn't accept that well-known fact.

That particular person cleared their throat and everyone's attention immediately went to who did the particular action: a petite redhead.

She stepped forward, eyes cold and glaring at Hermione. "What do you think you're doing?"

Hermione sat up straighter and Harry had to tighten his hold on her waist in case she decides to beat the shite out of the youngest Weasley. That didn't mean he wasn't open to any form of retribution for her. First, they need to confirm whether or not she really did feed Harry a love potion. Harry supposes he could let Hermione figure that out for herself. He liked to think she was also the victim here given that Ginny almost succeeded in stealing his heart from its rightful owner and her method was very much unwelcome.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Ginevra?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms. "Is it illegal to show affection to my lover?"

"He's my boyfriend, you slag," Ginny hissed.

Molly gasped at her daughter's profanity. "Ginevra Molly Weasley! Control that tongue of yours, young lady."

"But he is mine, mum! And Hermione stole him from me."

"I have no idea where you got that delusion of yours from, Ginny. As far as I am concerned, you were never official. You just went and told people that you were together even though Harry never looked at you that way," Ron chimed in. "You even had me fooled and I never thought to ask Harry to confirm that claim."

"Oh, piss off, Ron. You're no better dating an airhead! Though to be honest, Loony is slightly preferable than Lavender."

"Ginny!" A chorus of protests came from her family.

"Such arrogance coming from you, Ginny, given that you're the one at fault here," Luna said, her 'airhead' personality disappearing. "Then again, what else can I expect from a bully like you?"

"Take that back, Loony!" At this point, Ginny had drawn her wand and pointed it at Luna.

The latter drew hers too but she followed through with a flick of her wand and Ginny was disarmed. The redhead's wand flew towards Hermione who caught it mid-air in an effortless manner. Indignant, Ginny stomped towards Luna but Ron blocked her way.

"Harm one blond hair off my girl's head and I'll forget you're my sister," Ron warned, his blue eyes steely.

Ginny scoffed but she backed away from her much taller brother. "You're really going to choose her over your own family? Whatever happened to standards, Ron?"

"How about your standards, Ginny?" Hermione jumped off the bed, marching towards Ginny. "How pathetic can you get, trying to feed me and Harry love potions? You tried to make him fall for you but for some reason, he was immune to it while you fed me love potions so I would be attracted to Ron and Harry and I wouldn't be together."

Gasps and murmurs echoed around the hospital wing. Too wrapped up in their own drama, the group had forgotten they weren't the only ones in the spacious room and loads of other people had caught wind of Hermione's accusation. Seeing and hearing the reactions Hermione had garnered around them, Arthur took it upon himself to cast a privacy ward to prevent people from eavesdropping. Bloody gossip mongers, he grumbled mentally. They were still visible to the people around them but whenever they conversed with each other, those who are not in the ward wouldn't be able to hear what they were saying.

"Hermione, dear, I'm sure you have something against Ginny given her history with Harry but isn't this a bit much?" Arthur said, his voice gentle and curious and not at all accusing. Hermione was grateful he wasn't biased towards his daughter and was willing to listen to her. She might seem tactless doing this in front of the Weasleys but Ginny was really pushing her buttons.

"What the bloody hell are you going on about, Granger?" Ginny hissed through gritted teeth.

"I wasn't going to do this in front of your family, Ginny, but I needed you off your high horse," Hermione replied. Turning to Arthur, she said, "And yes, I do have something against her, Mr. Weasley, but it wasn't just about her relationship with Harry... or lack, thereof."

"Is this true, Ginny?" Molly asked, her arms crossed and glaring at her daughter.

"Wha- Tell me you're pulling my leg, mum! You're seriously going to believe her over your own daughter?!"

"If Hermione is accusing you of something, she doesn't do it half-assed, Gin," Fred, who had been silent all the while with his twin, spoke up.

"And she certainly doesn't accuse just because," George continued for him.

"Which means you fucked up big time," they both finished.

Arthur sighed despondently, rubbing his forehead. "Boys..."

"No, dad, they're right," Bill, their eldest, defended his twin brothers. "Ginny may have gotten herself in a lot of trouble and this time, we can't and shouldn't just let her get away with it."

"You and mum have pampered her too much and letting her get away with everything," Now their second-born had something to say. "Now she has no regard for consequences since she expects you'll be there to save her ass all the time."

"I am very much aware of that and I'm not saying Ginny doesn't deserve punishment for whatever she did. But unless she's proven guilty for it, we shouldn't hand out any judgements. Whether she's done something or not, she is still your sister and you'd do well to remember that."

The boys became silent after that and Ginny smirked at how her father had defended her from her brothers. "I knew you'd believe me, daddy," she said, hugging her father.

"That doesn't mean you're off the hook yet, young lady," Molly said, pointing a warning finger at her daughter. "Whether or not you've done something to upset Harry and Hermione, we'll still be having a word with you about that mouth of yours."

Ginny just rolled her eyes. Hermione cleared her throat to catch their attention. "Now that that's settled, I'm going to need a magical oath from Ginny."

...

"Are you out of your bloody mind, Granger?!" Ginny shrieked, her face red with signature Weasley anger, highlighting every freckle on her face. "Are you trying to get me killed? You think a magical oath is just like a pinky swear or a child's game you can do anytime, you uppity little-"

"Swear on your magic that you've never fed or have no intention to feed Harry and me love potions, Ginevra," Hermione cut off her tirade. She could almost sense the slur coming from her lips and stopped her before she said anything. It was more for Harry's benefit though, she could only imagine how he would react should a hated word slip from her lips. "Actually, I don't even need the oath. Admit it in front of us all right now and I'll leave you alone."

"I always knew you were a nutter, Granger, but I never expected you'd stoop down this low. Why in the world would I feed Harry love potions when he was already in love with me? Why don't you ask yourself that, Granger, since that would be the only reason for Harry to be with you anyway."

Swiftly, Hermione pulled out her wand, surprising them all, and proclaimed in a clear voice, "I, Hermione Jean Granger, do solemnly swear on my magic that I have never fed and have no intention to feed love potions to Harry James Potter. So mote it be." The tip of her wand glowed bright for a second before dissipating.

Ron sighed heavily, a hand on his chest. "Are you bloody mad, woman? I mean almost all of us here know you aren't capable of such thing so that vow doesn't affect you but still..."

"I must admit, that was a surprise but I don't expect anything less from the brightest witch of her age," Xenophilius spoke up on behalf of the other gaping Weasleys, smiling. "The fact that she is still here and standing with us disproves Ms. Weasley's claims which are now proven to be quite outlandish. It is evident that her intentions towards Mr. Potter are indisputably genuine and none of us present here have the right to say otherwise."

Hermione nodded at him, accepting the complement. She felt a hand encircle around her wrist and she looked at Harry with a small smile on his face. "Hermione, you know I trust you with my life. You didn't have to do that, you know," Harry said in a soft voice, caressing Hermione's arm. "But I understand why you did it. I just didn't like how easy it was for you bet on your life just to make a statement."

"I don't regret it since- like Mr. Lovegood said- it was a testament of my love and commitment for you but I am sorry for scaring you like that," Hermione said, gripping his hand in her own and intertwined their fingers. Turning to the youngest Weasley who was quite pale, she adopted a stern voice. "It's your turn now, Ginny. Prove me wrong and I will kneel beneath your feet and beg for your forgiveness."

A chorus of gasps was heard from the redhead contingent. None of them knew what to say. The series of events leading up to the present was too much for them to handle and they've just won a war one hour ago.

"I understand I have made a crazy accusation and am prepared to face the consequences should she be proven innocent. But if there is even a small chance that I am right- that she attempted to take Harry's heart which was rightfully mine and have me fall in love with my best friend just so you can have your happily ever after at the expense of our freedom- I cannot, in good conscience, let her go without knowing the truth. I can't say the same for Harry but if she willingly admits to her transgression even without swearing on her magic, I may disregard any form of retribution. After all, Harry is as much of a victim as I am."

A few seconds of silence ensued before Arthur spoke up in a soft tone. "What exactly happened, Hermione?"

"It started around sixth year," Hermione began. "I'm pretty sure she got the idea from the faux love potions Fred and George were selling that time."

Molly, Arthur, Bill, and Charlie instantly rounded on the twins, glaring at them.

"Wait, l-let us explain first," George stuttered nervously, his hands in front of him as if to protect him from his family's ire. "Sure, we put that on display but we didn't actually sell or give her any love potions."

"That's right. Besides, it isn't that potent and those potions don't last long- not more than a day and the drinker will be back to normal," Fred added. "If Hermione and Harry were under the effects of a love potion throughout their sixth year, she must have used a stronger, more potent variant or actual Amortentia.

"Ours only work once in every two weeks and you can't prolong the effects with multiple doses."

"Bloody hell, so what was all that trouble I went through to cure Ron from the effects of a love potion back in sixth year then? Did you guys sell any to Romilda Vane that time?"

"I do remember a pesky, shrill sixth year who ordered a whole box of love potions once every two months," George said. "Didn't know she was going to use it on you, though. Sorry, mate."

"Don't worry, boys, I know Ginny didn't get the love potions from you," Hermione defended them. "It would've been better if she did, though, since your variant is just mild and only works for a short period of time. I was under the influence of that potion for about- I assume- a year, even before starting sixth year. It was during the summer at the Burrow that I began to feel attracted to Ron. It didn't occur to me that time how odd it had been, suddenly liking someone I thought of as a brother.

"The sudden attraction continued for all of sixth year, gradually fading during the first few weeks of our... private mission until it fully came to a stop after Ron left us. At which point I began to question the how and why I liked him when I've never considered him as a possible lover prior to sixth year. After much pondering, I discovered there wasn't anything particularly likeable or attractive about him- no offense, Ron. I was merely led to believe that during a Potions class with Professor Slughorn."

"Oh... I think I know where you're getting at," Ron interjected through her narration. "It was when he had each of us take a whiff off that Amortentia."

"The potion produces the scent of the one you like and I distinctly remembered the familiar spearmint toothpaste and a certain leathery, woody scent that came out when it was my turn. Since I was unaware I was under the effects of Amortentia that time, I genuinely thought the potion was trying to tell me that I like Ron though a small part of me always thought having romantic feelings for someone I considered as a brother was mortifying. During the hunt, I read up on Amortentia again and realized Harry also had that same scent but the difference is that he's always smelled like that before."

"Ron stole my toothpaste during sixth year to try to impress Lavender Brown with a muggle product," Harry said, giving Ron a pointed look. The latter's cheeks burned red in embarrassment and he hid behind Luna who giggled.

"And Ron finally getting to play Quidditch in sixth year would explain the other scent," Hermione continued. "I wondered why I didn't think of Harry first when I smelled them during the Potions class then I came to the conclusion that I was given a love potion keyed to Ron. Not surprisingly, I initially thought Ron was the perpetrator if not for the magical oath he gave that proved his innocence. That, and I could clearly see how smitten he was with Luna. Moreover, Ron wasn't particularly fond of nor does he have the ability to concoct a love potion without proper guidance and he wouldn't have been able to procure the twins' variant since they doubled or tripled the prices when it came to him that he would now think twice before buying their merchandise. So who could have administered it to me?

"My next guess was either Ginny or Mrs. Weasley," another chorus of gasps were heard and they all turned to Molly who looked down on the floor in shame. To avoid them thinking the worst, Hermione added, "I'm confident it's not Mrs. Weasley. Though Ginny may have gotten the idea from her."

Arthur peered at Molly with a raised eyebrow, obviously expecting an explanation. Molly met his eyes and nodded solemnly. "I think I know what she's talking about," she sighed. "The summer before Ron's sixth year, I told the girls a story about my experience with a love potion. It was more of an experiment than anything, a way to test the potency of my concoction but along the way, I may have had... ill intentions."

"Mum..." Bill said in a small voice. "Was it... dad?"

Molly closed her eyes as if pained then nodded hesitantly. "I started to fancy Arthur around our sixth year, which was also the year when we were introduced to love potions. Our professor had us make it during one period and we handed in our potions but I kept a vial with me. That time, Arthur and I barely knew each other but I fancied him. At first, I intended to give it to a friend of mine as a prank but then I thought to give it Arthur instead- to sort of give him a push in my direction. I poured it over his pumpkin juice when he wasn't looking and that was the only time I fed it to him. He asked me out to Hogsmeade that weekend."

"It was during our fifth date that she confessed to feeding a love potion to me that one time," Arthur continued for her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I avoided her for a week after that. I made up with her though once I realized my feelings for her weren't all potion-induced. She didn't need that potion to make me fall for her, she's a lovable lass. Though I was disappointed she did that, I understand that she just lacked the confidence to confess that's why she had to resort to a love potion." He smiled reassuringly at Molly, rubbing his wife's arm up and down. Molly gave him a small smile in return and pecked his cheek.

Looking at them fondly, Hermione continued with her narration, "I imagine Ginny ignored that part. Fortunately, he was never fed any love potion thanks someone we pretty much owe our lives to. Dobby?"

A crackle and a bang was heard on the bed beside Harry and a familiar, goggle-eyed house-elf materialized from thin air.

"Mistress called for Dobby?" he squeaked shyly, seeing that he was in front of a lot of people- even though he was already amicable with some of them- and kept his head low.

"Keep your head up, buddy," Harry said, patting Dobby's back.

Seeing Harry's condition, the house-elf gasped in horror. "Oh, dear! Poor Master Harry is injured and is in his hospital bed again. Is there anything Dobby can do for you, sir?"

"I'm alright, Dobby, there's no need," Harry reassured him. "Hermione wants to ask you a question, though."

"Certainly, Mistress Hermione! Mistress gave Master Harry permission to make Dobby the Potter house-elf so he will forever be indebted to her. What was it you wanted to ask, dear Mistress?"

"Dobby, can you please share to the group what you did for Harry during our sixth year?"

To be continued...