Diseases Desperate Grown

Chapter Four: Desperate Application

For all that they were in a hurry, it was almost a week before they had a chance to put their plan into action. First, they had to talk the twins into getting the final ingredients of the potion for them.

The twins were surprisingly reluctant.

"We don't mind causing trouble," Fred said.

"Or even getting into trouble," George added.

"But we need to know what, exactly, are we getting into?"

They finally had to confess what they were planning and why. The twins shook their heads in dismay, but eventually agreed to help.

"I never thought our ickle sister would come up with a prank we would never try," Fred said sadly.

"It's not a prank," Ginny snarled. "It's serious."

"That's what we're afraid of," George replied.

After getting the ingredients, the three then had to make the potion.

The twins flatly refused to have any part of that.

"There's nothing humorous or entertaining about this," George said sadly.

"It's just not… us," Fred added.

They took it out to the workshop, since Mr and Mrs Weasley wouldn't go in there, as they were aware that their children were making an anniversary surprise for them.

Hermione took the lead on the brewing, Ginny assisted, and Ron kept them supplied with food and beverages. After they finished, they had to wait a nerve wracking three days before Arthur and Molly were both away at the same time so they could administer it.

In the meanwhile, Harry showed no signs of making rat poison, but he didn't show any signs of coming out of his depression, either. He never said anything, but they all knew he was blaming himself for Cedric's death.

It was on the day of the anniversary party that Molly and Arthur were finally persuaded to leave the Burrow to handle some family 'business.'

The twins volunteered to close shop early to keep an eye on their younger siblings. However, they spent most of the morning in their old room, blowing things up. (They claimed it was for old time's sake. However, Ron, Ginny and Hermione knew it was sheer nerves on their part.)

Harry had spent most of the morning in Ron's room, doing Merlin knew what. Finally, Hermione went upstairs to request that Harry come down and help set up for the Weasley's anniversary party.

"Have some lunch first," Hermione insisted. "You've skipped too many meals this week."

Harry came down and was surprised to find an empty kitchen. Assuming that the sandwich and pumpkin juice were his, he downed them without really tasting them. Then he looked around for the others. Not finding them in the Burrow, he concluded that they were in the workshop.

He opened the back door to check and almost ran into…

Himself.

Harry jumped back to avoid smashing the mirror that he, Hermione, Ron and Ginny had been polishing so diligently for the past two weeks.

He stared into his own green eyes as if he'd never seen them before. It had been months, as he had been avoiding mirrors lately.

"Harry?" Ginny's voice came timidly from behind the mirror. "Are you all right?"

"Erm, yeah," Harry said. "I was just… I look different." He frowned at himself and reached out to touch the mirror's smooth surface.

His black mood of a few moments ago seemed to fade away.

"Is something wrong with the mirror?" Ron said worriedly.

Harry shook his head, then spoke when he realized that they couldn't see him any more than he could see them. "No, it looks fine," he said. "I just… I dunno. I look different to me, somehow."

"So, you see yourself?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I could hardly not, what with the three of you shoving this ruddy great mirror in my face," Harry grumbled, but without any real heat.

"Good, then we don't have worry any more," Ginny said as she peeked around the mirror.

"Worry about what?"

"The love potion we fed you," Hermione said. She looked around the mirror with a nervous expression on her face.

"WHAT?"

"Just a small one," Ron said. He held up his thumb and forefinger held out to indicate smallness. "One to make you love and trust the first person you saw after taking it."

"Why?" Harry sputtered.

"We wanted you to stop hating yourself," Ginny said timidly. "It was my idea."

"We were afraid you were thinking of… well… hurting yourself," Hermione added.

"Oh." Harry blinked.

"Were you?" Ron asked bluntly.

"It's just… I haven't been thinking clearly lately," Harry confessed. "I just felt like I…"

"Like you were responsible for Cedric's death and that you needed to be punished?" Ginny supplied.

"Something like that, yeah," Harry said.

"How do you feel now?" Ginny asked.

"Well… " Harry said. He looked at the mirror again. He saw a messy haired, green-eyed boy with a lightning scar on his forehead and deeper, nastier scars elsewhere.

A boy… whom he loved and trusted? He wasn't sure, even then. The very idea seemed strange. "I guess I don't hate myself…"

"Oh, spare us the mush," Ron said overly dramatically. "You can repay us by helping us get this bloody thing inside," he added with a grunt.

"Ron, language!" Hermione scolded.

Ginny snickered as Ron and Hermione's customary bickering smashed the too solemn mood.

Harry leaped to help, feeling amused at how 'normal' things were. He was startled at the feeling, then realized it had been a long time since anything had amused him.

The four teens managed to maneuver the mirror into place.

"Why aren't the twins helping with this?" Harry panted as they finished. "They can use magic."

"Nobody asked us," Fred replied as the twins thumped downstairs, followed by a cloud of something that smelled oddly of pumpkins.

"Besides, it's so much more entertaining to watch you do it," George confessed.

"You're too kind to me," Harry snorted.

"We can never be too kind to you, Mr. Potter," Ginny smirked. "After all, you're part of our family, like it or not."

Harry looked at the four Weasleys and one near Weasley, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. It was a small one, but the first genuine smile they'd seen from him in months. "I like it," he said.