Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 663 Love Potion
“Romirda!” Ron said in a gentle voice that sent shivers down your spine, his face seemingly illuminated by a ray of holy sunlight as he spoke.

Harry and Ron stared at each other for almost a minute before Harry finally spoke, sounding somewhat exasperated—

"It's a joke, right? You're joking!"

“I think… Harry, I think I love her!” Ron said in a strange yet firm voice.

“Okay, okay, okay!” Harry walked over to Ron, looked at his glassy eyes and pale face, and said, “Alright, now say it honestly again.”

“I love her!” Ron gasped. “Didn’t you see her hair? It’s so black, shiny, and smooth. Her eyes, her big, dark eyes, and—”

“This is absolutely ridiculous!” Harry interrupted immediately. “But the joke’s over, okay? Let’s stop right now and go have breakfast.”

Harry turned to leave, but he had only taken two steps toward the door when he felt something hit his right ear.

Harry looked around unsteadily. Ron had just pulled his fist back, his face contorted with rage, and it looked like he was about to strike again.

Harry instinctively pulled his wand from his pocket and, without thinking, uttered a spell: "Tumble Charm!"

Ron was hanging upside down, his heels twisted together; his robes hung down, swaying helplessly.

"What are you doing?" Harry shouted angrily.

“You insulted her! You said it was a joke!” Ron yelled, his face slowly turning purplish-red as most of the blood rushed to his head.

"This is so stupid, what's going on?" Harry was completely baffled.
Only then did he notice the open chocolate box on Ron's bed, the postmark on it catching his attention.

"Where did you get those chocolate frogs?" Harry asked.

"This is my birthday present! This is my birthday present!" Ron yelled at Harry, struggling to spin slowly in mid-air to gain his freedom. "I let you have a piece too, remember?"

“You picked it up from the floor, didn’t you?” Harry asked.

“They fell off my bed, didn’t they? Get me down!” Ron yelled, looking extremely agitated.

"They didn't fall off your bed, you fool, don't you understand? They're mine, they fell off my bed, Romirda gave them to me before Christmas, and they were all laced with love potions!" Harry said, both amused and exasperated.

But it seems that only one word remains in Ron's mind.

“Romirda?” he murmured, repeating, “You mean Romirda? Harry, do you know her? Can you introduce me to her?”

Harry stared at Ron, who was hanging upside down and swaying, his face bearing a terrible hope and an expectant smile.

Part of him, near his slightly aching right ear, was in favor of putting Ron down and watching him gradually go mad until the effects of the drug wore off. But another part of him, they were friends, and Ron couldn't be left alone while he was in trouble; perhaps he could withstand another shock if he could agree with Ron's open and honest love for Romirda.

“Oh, okay, I’ll introduce you to her. Can I put you down now?” Harry said helplessly. Harry let Ron fall back to the floor. Harry rubbed his ear that had just been knocked down, but Ron just hopped around and laughed.

“She should be in Slughorn’s office,” Ha said with an air of certainty, preparing to lead Ron toward the door.

“Why is she there?” Ron asked worriedly, then quickly followed.

“Oh, well, she… she’s not very good at Potions, she has extra Potions classes,” Harry said, starting with his imagination and making things up.

“Maybe I can ask Horace to let me take these classes with her!” Ron said enthusiastically and on a whim.

"Oh, good idea!" Harry said insincerely.

But soon, Harry encountered a factor he had never anticipated—

Lavender was waiting at the entrance to the portrait cave.

"Ronnie! Oh! Ronnie!" she pouted, her voice sweet and innocent. "I have a birthday present for you, guess what it is—"

"Get out of here! That ugly woman left me to my own devices," Ron said impatiently. "Harry was just about to introduce me to Romirda."

Then Ron didn't say anything more, and he hurriedly followed Harry out of the portrait hole.

Harry tried to apologize to Lavender, but soon he thought it would be easier and more pleasant to just turn around and leave. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Lavender's already chubby face had become even rounder, making him look like an angry toad or a frog with its cheeks puffed out.

Harry was a little sullen. He figured Slug was probably having breakfast, but he knocked on Slug's office door anyway. Slug was wearing green velvet pajamas and a nightcap, and he looked sleepy and like he hadn't woken up properly.

“Ah Harry,” he murmured, “it’s too early… I usually sleep in on Saturdays…”

“Oh, Professor, I’m sorry to bother you,” Harry said as calmly as possible, but at that moment Ron tiptoed over Slug to try and peek into his room. “But my friend Ron has accidentally taken a love potion. You can cure him, can you? I was supposed to take him to see Madam Pomfrey, but we can’t say it was a problem with the gadgets at Weasley’s Witchcraft and Wizardry, you know… a stupid problem…”

“I suppose you’re planning to come and try to cure him, Harry, a potion expert like yourself, isn’t that right?” Slug asked.

“Hmm,” Harry mused, looking somewhat agitated, though Ron was actually elbowing him in the ribs in an attempt to break into Horace Slughorn’s office.

“Well, sir, I’ve never had an antidote for love potions before, and I can’t do it this time when Ron looks so serious,” Harry said. “I mean, I don’t want to risk my good friend’s brain. After all, there have been cases at Hogwarts where people have been brainwashed after taking love potions. So I think it’s better to let a more experienced veteran handle this, don’t you think?”

Ron's choice to begin chanting at this time proved very effective: "I can't see her, Harry. Are you hiding Romirda?"

"Is the medicine still effective?" Horace Slughorn asked, looking at Ron with a very professional eye. "It seems to be still very potent."

(End of this chapter)