merlin being hit with a truth spell or potion or whatever and being so stressed that heâs gonna reveal his magic to arthur only to find that he canât insult or tease arthur anymore bc every time arthur instigates their banter, merlin starts to go on and on about how arthur makes him so happy and the love he feels for him is immeasurable and how heâd burn the world just to keep him warm
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Okay, so, Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua both taking truth potions at the same time as some form of playing chicken with each other.
It starts with Shen Qingqiu harassing Shang Qinghua about lazy plot points and how anyone with enough intelligence could find ways to talk around the truth to not reveal anything.
And he might think truth potions are stupid but heâs not stupid so thereâs no way heâs taking one on a dare, until Shang Qinghua suggests they both do it.
Shang Qinghua is confident that thereâs nothing left for him to reveal.
Shen Qingqiu is confident that thereâs nothing left for him to reveal, plus his confidence in his ability to talk around things.
And this could go so many directions. Is it a truth potion or more related to inhibitions? How aware do they stay? Do they stay with each other or wander off to find others? Who finds the two of them?
Not loud, exactlyânot yetâbut full of the kind of shifting, scraping, low-grade chaos that meant the lesson had already been lost before it had even properly begun. Cauldrons simmered with uneven heat. Glass vials clicked against stone worktops. Someone near the back was repeatedly tapping a spoon against the rim of a mortar like a death march. The air was thick with the bitter, herbaceous tang of crushed dittany, the sharp sting of alcohol from freshly uncorked tinctures, and something sweeter underneath it allâsome floral note from the pale silver potion steaming in every cauldron across the room.
Slughorn stood at the front in all his velveted, moustached irritation, pretending with admirable commitment that he was not, in fact, one second away from snapping.
âClass,â he said for the fourth time in as many minutes, in the tone of a man trying very hard to sound genial while internally planning several funerals, âif you continue to stir as though you are churning butter in a barn, the potion will be ruined.â
A beat.
Then James Potter snorted.
Sirius Black dropped his forehead dramatically onto the desk.
Peter Pettigrew wheezed laughter into his sleeve.
And Remus Lupin, who at least had the decency to look mildly apologetic, kept his eyes fixed on his cauldron and said, âHe means you, you know.â
âI think,â said James, flicking his spoon lazily through the potion, âhe means all of us. Equality.â
âVery noble,â Sirius murmured, not lifting his head. âA true man of the people.â
Across the room, Lily Evans shut her eyes for one long, exhausted moment.
Mary Macdonald leaned against Marlene McKinnonâs shoulder and whispered, âTen galleons says Slughorn finally kills one of them today.â
âOnly ten?â Marlene asked. âCoward.â
Near the Slytherin table, Barty Crouch Jr. was sitting half-sideways in his seat with the kind of sharp, entertained stillness that meant he was fully awake now. Evan Rosier lounged beside him, all careless posture and watchful eyes. Pandora Rosier was doodling something in the corner of her parchment that looked suspiciously like Slughorn with bat wings. Dorcas Meadowes, sitting nearby with her chin in one hand, looked like sheâd already decided this lesson was a write-off and had made peace with that.
Regulus Black, two seats down, was actually brewing properly.
Of course he was.
His sleeves were rolled just enough to keep them clear of the work, dark hair falling slightly forward as he bent over the cauldron, expression cool and distant and so infuriatingly composed that it made half the room look even more unruly by comparison. He moved with quiet precision, long fingers steady on the ladle, eyes fixed on the slow silver whirlpool in the potion as though the rest of the class simply did not exist.
Which, in fairness, to Regulus, it probably didnât.
Slughornâs eyes swept the room once more and landed, with the inevitability of a curse, on the Marauders.
He inhaled.
Smiled.
And that was far more frightening than if heâd shouted.
âWell,â he said warmly, âsince Mr Potter and Mr Black seem to believe themselves so entertaining, perhaps we might put that energy to productive use.â
James straightened at once. âProfessor, Iâd love to help, obviously, but Iâm really more of a behind-the-scenes artistic mind.â
Peter shot up a hand so fast he nearly smacked himself in the face. âIâm allergic.â
Slughorn blinked. âAllergic.â
âYes, sir.â
âTo what, exactly?â
Peter glanced at the board, where the ingredient list for Veritaserum Practice Draft Version Three was still written in chalk.
ââŠmoonseed.â
Pandora made a choked sound that might have been a laugh.
Slughorn folded his hands over his stomach and regarded Peter with the expression of a man staring at a particularly stupid hat. âMr Pettigrew. There is no moonseed in this potion.â
Peter paused. âThen⊠that other thing.â
âPowdered sage?â
âYes.â
âYou are not allergic to sage.â
Peter wilted. âNo, sir.â
âThought not.â
Slughornâs smile sharpened. âThen perhaps Mr Lupin will do us the honour, since he is the only one at that table who occasionally behaves like he has been raised by civilisation.â
The entire room turned.
Remus looked up slowly.
âNo,â he said.
Slughorn clasped his hands tighter. âYes.â
âProfessorââ
âMr Lupin.â
James sat up immediately. âActually, I volunteer as tribute.â
âYou do not.â
Sirius pointed across the room. âCanât we use Snivellus?â
âNo,â said Slughorn.
âBarty, then?â James suggested. âHe looks medically unwell enough to survive it.â
âIâd ask what that means,â Barty drawled, âbut I donât respect your opinion enough to bother.â
Remus turned to his friends with betrayal written all over his face. âHelp me.â
James gave him a solemn pat on the shoulder. âYouâre the bravest of us.â
Sirius nodded. âThe most expendable.â
Peter whispered, âIâll miss you.â
âYou are all horrific,â Remus muttered.
But Slughorn was already beckoning him forward.
âCome along, come along. Itâs only a demonstration.â
âThat is never a reassuring sentence,â Remus said darkly, pushing back his chair.
He made his way to the front through an immediate storm of interest. Heads lifted. Elbows planted. Even people who had been half-asleep moments earlier were suddenly wide awake. A lesson involving one of the Marauders being forcibly dosed with a truth potion was, quite frankly, the best thing that had happened to this class all term.
Remus stopped beside Slughornâs desk and eyed the small crystal vial set there like it personally offended him.
âWonderful,â Remus said. âThat really eases my spirit.â
âDrink.â
Remus took the vial, glanced back once at his tableâJames grinning, Sirius already vibrating with the anticipation of violence, Peter trying not to look delightedâand then, with the air of a man stepping off a cliff, tipped the potion back and swallowed.
The room went dead quiet.
Remus grimaced. âThat is vile.â
Slughorn looked pleased. âHow many fingers am I holding up?â
âThree.â
âWhat is your name?â
âRemus John Lupin.â
âYour house?â
âGryffindor.â
âAre you presently in my Potions class?â
Remus stared at him. âUnfortunately.â
A ripple of laughter broke across the room.
Slughornâs moustache twitched. âDo you feel compelled to answer truthfully?â
âYes.â
âCan you lie?â
âNo.â
âExcellent.â
That one word changed everything.
The class straightened like wolves hearing a dinner bell ring.
Slughorn turned slowly to face them all, hands spread in gracious invitation. âSince the potion is clearly effective, we may as well turn this into an educational experience. You may each ask a question.â
For one dazzling second there was silence.
Then the room erupted.
âOh, this is beautiful,â Sirius whispered.
James was on his feet so fast his stool tipped over backwards.
Mary slapped both hands over her mouth and then failed completely to contain her grin.
Marlene actually pounded the desk once with delight.
Alice Fortescue sat up straighter, eyes bright. Frank Longbottom leaned in at once, already laughing. Fabian and Gideon Prewett exchanged the exact same dangerous expression that meant everyone nearby should brace themselves. Lily folded her arms, but she was smiling despite herself.
At the Slytherin side, Barty looked almost reverent. Pandora dropped her quill entirely. Dorcas turned fully in her seat. Evan, who had thus far affected the lazy boredom of a man above all this, was now openly interested.
Regulus glanced up from his parchment.
Only once.
Only briefly.
But he looked.
And that alone felt like the opening crack in a dam.
James raised both hands. âMe first.â
âOf course,â Remus said flatly.
James beamed. âWhat is the most humiliating thing Sirius has ever done?â
Sirius gasped. âTraitor.â
Remus answered instantly. âHe once spent three straight hours trying to look seductive in a mirror after a fifth-year Hogsmeade trip because a waitress called him pretty.â
The class screamed.
Sirius clutched at his chest. âThat is slander.â
âItâs not slander if it happened.â
âYou swore never to speak of that.â
âYou made finger guns at your own reflection.â
Marlene nearly slid off her stool laughing. Mary was fully bent over the table. Fabian slapped Gideonâs arm hard enough to make the vial rack shake.
James was wiping tears from his face. âOh, that is monstrous. That is the best day of my life.â
Sirius pointed at Remus with righteous fury. âYou are dead to me.â
âAsk another one,â Peter pleaded. âAsk another.â
Lily raised her hand with eerie calm. âWhat is the stupidest thing James has ever done for attention?â
James turned to her, horrified. âEvans.â
Remus didnât even hesitate. âSecond year. He tried to fake a mysterious curse scar because he thought it would make him look dangerous.â
The dungeon exploded.
âNo!â James shouted.
âYes,â Remus said. âHe scratched his own shoulder with a quill, then spent all day leaning dramatically against walls.â
âI was twelve!â
âYou called it your burden.â
Peter folded over onto the desk, cackling. Sirius was making a sound like a dying engine.
Lily put both hands over her face, laughing helplessly. âOh my God.â
Slughorn, to his credit, had stopped pretending this was educational and was now just enjoying himself.
Gideon raised a hand without waiting to be called on. âWhat about Peter?â
Peter froze. âNo.â
Fabian grinned. âYeah. What about Peter?â
Remus sighed through his nose. âPeter cries when dogs in books die.â
âA lot of people cry when dogs die in books!â Peter yelped.
âHe cried at a painting once.â
âIt looked sad!â
âIt was a bowl of fruit.â
The room lost it again.
Pandora had tears in her eyes. Barty was laughing hard enough that heâd gone silent, which was somehow worse. Dorcas put her head down on the desk. Even Regulusâs mouth had shifted very slightly at one corner, not quite a smile but close enough that Sirius saw it and nearly lost his mind from triumph.
âAgain,â Sirius demanded, wiping his eyes. âTell us something about Moony.â
Remus went still.
The class noticed.
And the mood changed at onceânot darker, exactly, but sharper. More intent. More predatory.
Because this was the good part now.
Mary leaned forward. âWhatâs the most embarrassing thing about you?â
Remus stared at the opposite wall. âThere are so many.â
âPick one,â said Marlene gleefully.
Remus exhaled. âI once wrote an entire page of notes in the margin of a library book because I forgot it wasnât mine.â
âThatâs not embarrassing,â Alice protested. âThatâs deeply on brand.â
âAnother one,â James said at once. âA worse one.â
Remus closed his eyes. âI rehearse conversations in advance.â
âThatâs adorable,â Lily said.
âI rehearse arguments I lost three years ago and win them in the bath.â
The laughter came easier that time, warm and immediate.
But Fabian, sensing blood, leaned over the table and said, âNo, no, no. Real embarrassment. Something scandalous.â
âYes,â Barty purred from the Slytherin side. âDo keep up, Lupin.â
Remus looked actively miserable now.
And that only made everyone lean closer.
Frank rested his chin on his hand. âAll right. Have you ever fancied someone in this room?â
Dead silence.
James slowly turned.
Sirius slowly turned.
Peter made a strangled little noise.
Remus said, with the doomed calm of a man watching his own execution, âYes.â
The dungeon detonated.
âNo way!â
âWho?â
âTell us!â
âHoly shitââ
Slughorn half-heartedly raised a hand. âOne at a time, one at a timeââ
âWho is it?â Sirius demanded immediately, standing.
Remus did not answer.
Because he did not have to.
Because every eye in the room had already found somewhere to land.
Somewhere dark-haired and composed and sitting very still at the Slytherin table.
Regulus, to his enormous credit, did not visibly react for a full two seconds.
Then Barty made the softest, most delighted sound anyone had ever heard.
âOh,â he said.
Pandora slapped a hand over her mouth.
Dorcas turned so sharply to stare at Regulus it was a wonder she didnât wrench her neck.
Evanâs brows lifted by a fraction.
James looked between Remus and Regulus like heâd just been handed the meaning of life.
Sirius, meanwhile, went through six separate emotions in the span of one breathâshock, disbelief, offence, delight, outrage, and something perilously close to hysterical joy.
âYou,â Sirius said to Remus, voice cracking, âhave a crush on Regulus?â
Remus stared at the ceiling. âYes.â
The screaming started.
Actual screaming.
Marlene slammed both palms on the desk. Mary was doubled over. Fabian had fallen sideways into Gideon. Alice was choking on her own laughter while Frank thumped her back uselessly because he could not stop laughing either. Peter had both hands over his face. James was making wild, incoherent gestures at absolutely everyone.
Sirius looked ready to ascend.
âMy brother?â he cried. âMy baby brother? My horrible little snake of a brother?â
âDo not call me that in public,â Regulus said coldly, finally speaking.
That only made it worse.
âRemus,â James gasped, gripping the edge of the desk for support, âsince when?â
Remus swallowed. âA while.â
âA while how long?â Lily asked, eyes alight.
âSince last year.â
Pandora made a shriek so sharp it could have cut glass.
Barty clapped once, delighted. âThis is the best day of my life.â
Slughorn was openly fascinated now. âWell, Mr Lupin, perhaps you ought to be more specific.â
Remus laughed once, hollow and humourless. âYou are all evil.â
âSpecific,â the room chanted.
âSpecific.â
âSpecific!â
Remus squeezed his eyes shut.
Then opened them.
And because the potion would not let him stop, because there was no refuge left, because every secret heâd carefully kept folded away was now being pried open in front of half the schoolâ
He said, hoarsely, âItâs not just a crush.â
Another stunned beat.
Then James, very softly, âOh, no.â
Remus kept going.
âItâs worse than that.â
Sirius put both hands over his mouth.
Remus spoke like every word physically pained him. âIâm a little obsessed with him.â
The class erupted again.
Regulus went utterly motionless.
Barty had stopped laughing nowânot because he wasnât entertained, but because this had become too interesting to interrupt.
âWhat do you mean,â Dorcas said, with terrible calm, âa little obsessed?â
Remus dragged a hand over his face. âI mean exactly what it sounds like.â
âNo, no,â Mary said, almost breathless. âExplain.â
âPlease,â Marlene begged.
âExpound,â Gideon said grandly.
Fabian pointed dramatically. âTell the court everything.â
Remus groaned like a man in active prayer for death. âI notice him all the time.â
Regulusâs gaze was on him now.
Not amused.
Not flustered.
Just fixed, unreadable, dark and sharp as a blade left in velvet.
It was somehow worse than if heâd looked angry.
Remus swallowed and kept talking.
âI know when heâs in a room even if Iâm not looking at him first. I know the sound of his footsteps in the corridor. I know when heâs had a bad day because he goes quieter than usual. I know when heâs irritated because the left side of his mouth twitches. I know he acts like he doesnât care what anyone thinks, but he always tightens his grip on his books when people stare too long.â
The room had gone quieter nowânot silent, not with this many people packed into one dungeon, but quieter. The laughter was still there, but softened by attention.
Even Slughorn did not interrupt.
Remus let out a shaky breath. âI know he wears baggy clothes all the time, and I know that makes most people underestimate him.â
Regulusâs expression flickered.
Only once.
Sirius lowered his hands from his face. James stared at Remus like heâd never seen him before in his life.
And because fate was cruel, because truth was crueler, Mary said gently, âWhat happened?â
Remus looked at her. âWhat?â
âYou said you know he wears baggy clothes. You said most people donât know what he looks like. So what happened?â
The dungeon leaned in as one.
Even the potion bubbling in the cauldrons seemed quieter.
Remusâs ears went red.
Slowly. Visibly.
âOh, hell,â Sirius whispered.
Remus laughed once without joy. âIt was an accident.â
Pandora made the tiniest delighted gasp.
âWhat was?â James asked.
Remus did not answer.
So Barty did.
âThe seeing,â he said, smiling like a knife.
Remus looked like he wanted the floor to split open and claim him.
âIt was an accident,â he repeated.
âRemus,â Lily said, voice dangerously calm, âwhat did you see?â
He stared at her in mute despair.
Then, because the potion held him by the throat, he said it.
âI saw his waist.â
The noise that left the class barely qualified as human.
Sirius folded over the desk like heâd been shot.
James shrieked.
Peter made a wheezing sound so violent Frank had to steady him.
Marlene actually slapped the tabletop hard enough to rattle everyoneâs ingredients.
Regulus did not move.
Not a muscle.
But Evan turned to look at him now with a kind of slow, sidelong interest, as though the next five minutes promised to be extremely worth living through.
Remus was bright red.
âIt was an accident,â he said again, absolutely to no oneâs sympathy. âI walked into the hospital wing one evening because Madam Pomfrey had asked me to drop off a book, and the curtain around one of the beds wasnât fully shut, and he was there, and he was changing his shirt, and I only looked for a secondââ
âA second?â Fabian repeated.
Remusâs eyes closed. âFine. Longer than a second.â
Laughter burst again.
James was openly crying now. âMoony, no.â
Remus ignored him with the bravery of the truly damned. âHe always wears oversized jumpers, or robes, or layers, and I had neverâ I mean, I knew he was slim, obviously, but I had never actually seenââ
He broke off, swallowed, then forced himself onward.
âHis stomach.â
Regulusâs fingers tightened around the stem of his spoon.
âHis waist.â
A stunned little hush.
Remusâs voice got lower. Rougher.
âSmall. Slim. Properly cinched.â
Nobody breathed.
âHe had these sharp hip bones,â Remus said, staring at the floor now as if it might still save him, âand long legs, and I could see the line of him properly for the first time and I have literally not stopped thinking about it since.â
The dungeon went mad.
People were shouting over each other now, half scandalised, half ecstatic.
âMerlin aboveââ
âHe said hip bonesââ
âRemus!â
âYou are finished!â
Sirius was laughing so hard he could barely remain upright. âMy God. My God. Youâre foul.â
James had both hands on his head. âThis is unbelievable. This is transcendent. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me.â
Mary was gasping for air. Marlene was pounding her fist on the desk in a broken rhythm. Alice had tears streaming down her face. Frank was fully red with it. Fabian and Gideon looked like they wanted this moment preserved in stained glass.
At the Slytherin table, Pandora had her face buried in her arms, shoulders shaking. Dorcas was staring between Remus and Regulus with naked fascination. Barty looked lit from within.
Evan alone looked almost thoughtful.
Regulus sat perfectly straight.
Too straight.
His face unreadable.
His ears, however, had gone the faintest shade pink.
Remus, to his horror, kept speaking.
âIt was like a religious experience.â
That did it.
The room dissolved again.
James was folded in half.
Sirius clutched at his own throat, choking on laughter.
âReligious?â Peter squeaked.
Remus covered his face with one hand. âYes.â
âExplain,â Barty said immediately.
Remus dropped his hand and glared at him with tragic fury. âIt was awful.â
âThat is not an explanation,â Dorcas said.
âIt felt,â Remus said through gritted teeth, âlike God himself had singled me out for torment.â
Pandora hit the desk with both palms and howled.
Remus forged on, because he had no choice, because every instinct to stop was now irrelevant. âI saw that waist for maybe ten seconds, and it has haunted me ever since. Absolute nirvana. Horrific. Iâve been miserable for months.â
Sirius had gone silent with laughter again, which was somehow more unhinged than the noise.
James clutched at his shoulder. âMoony, mateââ
âNo, let him finish,â said Marlene instantly.
âOh, definitely let him finish,â said Fabian.
âHands down,â Gideon agreed.
Lily, trying and failing to sound stern, said, âRemus. How bad is it?â
Remus looked at her.
Then said, with quiet devastation, âVery bad.â
âHow bad?â Mary pressed.
He hesitated.
Then the potion yanked the truth out of him anyway.
âI think about grabbing him by the waist more often than is probably healthy.â
There was a split second of silence.
Then every single person in the room lost their mind.
Regulus blinked once.
Slowly.
Sirius physically sat down on the floor.
James had gone fully boneless against the desk.
Peter made the sign of the cross for reasons known only to him.
âWhat do you mean, grabbing him by the waist?â Frank demanded, half-laughing, half-yelling.
Remusâs whole face burned. âExactly what it sounds like.â
âRemus,â Alice said, wiping at her eyes, âfor the love of God.â
âI justââ He stopped, jaw tightening. âEvery time I see him, I have the most deranged urge to put my hands there and pull him closer.â
The class made a collective sound somewhere between scandal and worship.
âBecause heâs small,â Remus said helplessly, furious at himself, furious at the potion, furious at the room. âAnd Iâm not.â
James stared. âThatâs your reasoning?â
âItâs part of it!â
Pandoraâs laugh came out strangled and bright.
Remus looked like he wished heâd died in infancy. âHeâs justâ heâs built in a way that makes me insane.â
Barty slowly put a hand over his heart. âWhat poetry.â
âShut up,â Remus snapped.
âYou canât tell me to shut up while drugged into honesty,â Barty said cheerfully. âThis is not how tyranny works.â
Slughorn, who really should have intervened by now and plainly had no intention of doing so, polished his spectacles and asked, âWould you care to elaborate on âbuilt in a way that makes me insane,â Mr Lupin?â
Remus turned to stare at him with naked betrayal. âProfessor.â
Slughorn smiled blandly. âFor the integrity of the demonstration.â
âYou are a terrible educator.â
âNevertheless?â
Remus made a noise deep in his throat and looked back out at the class.
At James, already dying.
At Sirius, flat on the floor and weeping with joy.
At Lily, who had given up all pretence of control.
At the Gryffindors, openly feral.
At the Slytherins, no better.
At Regulusâ
Who was still watching him.
Still not looking away.
Remusâs voice went rougher.
âHis whole frame is unfair.â
Nobody moved.
âHeâs all sharp lines until he isnât. Slim shoulders. Narrow waist. Long legs. He looks delicate until he doesnât, and then you realise thereâs something mean in the way he carries himself, and that makes it worse.â
The dungeon was a live wire.
Remus was no longer even speaking quickly now. He sounded resigned. Doomed. Like he knew heâd be replaying this humiliation for the rest of his natural life and had accepted it with bleak dignity.
âAnd yes,â he said, staring at a crack in the stone wall behind the Slytherin table, âI think about biting him sometimes.â
The class erupted so violently that one of the Ravenclaw girls at the back nearly fell off her stool.
Sirius let out a laugh so loud it echoed.
James was pounding the table now.
Peter had stopped pretending he was embarrassed for Remus and was fully enjoying himself.
Dorcas looked like Christmas had come early.
Pandora made a shocked little noise into both hands.
Evan finally smiled, small and sharp.
Regulusâs expression did not change.
Not much.
But one eyebrow lifted.
Just slightly.
And Remus saw it.
Which, tragically, made everything worse.
âNot in a murderous way,â Remus said at once, as though that helped. âIn aââ
âIn a what?â Fabian yelled.
âIn a yearning way!â Remus shouted back, scandalised.
The roar of laughter was almost enough to shake dust from the ceiling.
James had collapsed into Lilyâs shoulder. Even she had tears in her eyes now. Frank was bent over, clutching his ribs. Alice was trying and failing to breathe normally. Mary and Marlene looked half a second from full possession.
âYearning,â Gideon repeated faintly.
âOh, he is finished,â Marlene gasped.
Barty, with all the delighted evil in him, leaned forward on his elbows and asked the question that should never, under any circumstances, have been asked.
âWhat do you dream about?â
Remus froze.
The room froze with him.
Even James stopped laughing.
Because they all knew.
All of them.
They all knew this was going to be catastrophic.
âDonât,â Remus said.
âI think,â Barty said softly, âthat is an answer in itself.â
Pandora stared at Remus in horrified fascination. Sirius had risen halfway off the floor, hand over his heart, face lit with the kind of terrible joy only siblings could feel at each otherâs ruin.
âRemus,â James whispered, reverent with dread.
Lily looked like she wanted to stop this and also absolutely did not want to stop this.
Regulus, for the first time all lesson, looked the faintest bit tense.
Remusâs hands clenched.
Then unclenched.
And the potion dragged him under.
âI have had dreams about him,â he said.
The class made a sound like a chapel full of sinners.
Remus stared fixedly ahead. âAt night.â
Sirius shut his eyes and whispered, âNo.â
âYes,â said Remus miserably.
Mary pressed both hands to her cheeks. âOh my God.â
Remus said, because the truth was merciless, âThey are not innocent dreams.â
Absolute bedlam.
James shouted something incomprehensible. Peter actually stood up and then sat back down again because he had nowhere to put the energy. Fabian nearly throttled Gideon by accident in his excitement. Marlene was openly shrieking. Alice fell against Frankâs shoulder. Slughornâs eyes gleamed with awful scholarly interest.
And across the room, Regulus was no longer pink at the ears.
He had gone properly, visibly flushed.
Only a little.
Only if one was looking.
But he had.
Remus looked like he wished a meteor would hit the dungeon.
Barty, because he was a menace upon the earth, asked sweetly, âAbout what, exactly?â
Remus laughed, once, in despair. âYou know exactly about what.â
âSay it,â Pandora whispered.
Dorcas elbowed her without even looking away from the front.
Remus dragged a hand down his face. âAbout touching him. Pulling him close. Kissing him until he stops looking so composed.â
A wave of sound rolled through the room.
Siriusâs mouth fell open. âRemus John Lupin.â
James pointed a trembling finger at him. âYou filthy liar. Youâve been secretly the worst of us this entire time.â
âThat is untrue,â said Sirius.
âNo, actually, I think itâs true,â said Lily.
Remus was beyond shame now. There was something almost eerie about itâthe way embarrassment had peaked so violently it had become a strange, calm kind of ruin.
âAnd yes,â he said, voice hoarse, âsometimes when he walks past me, all I can think about is grabbing him by the waist and pulling him back.â
The room screamed again.
Regulus finally looked away.
Only for a second.
Only down at his desk.
But it happened.
And Evan noticed.
Barty noticed.
Pandora noticed.
Dorcas absolutely noticed.
So did Sirius, whose eyes widened with the speed of revelation.
âOh, my God,â he said.
James turned. âWhat?â
Sirius was staring at his brother with religious intensity. âNothing.â
Which, from Sirius Black, meant absolutely everything.
But before anyone could pin that down, Fabian shouted, âWhat else?â
âYes!â Mary said. âMore!â
âEnough,â Remus groaned.
âAbsolutely not enough,â Marlene replied.
Alice raised a hand like this was still somehow civilised. âYou said you think about his waist. Fine. You said his whole frame is unfair. Fine. Is there anything else?â
Remus should have lied.
He couldnât.
He exhaled through his teeth and said, âHis arse.â
For one stunned, glorious heartbeat, the room was silent.
Then the dungeon ceased to function as a learning environment entirely.
Sirius made a noise no human had ever made before.
James physically slid off the edge of the desk.
Peter clapped both hands over his face and bent double.
Lily was laughing too hard to even protest the word choice.
Frank slapped the table. Alice wheezed helplessly against him. Gideon fell into Fabian. Mary and Marlene were all but shrieking.
Pandora had simply given up and was lying flat across her table.
Barty was glowing.
Remus looked like a saint in a martyr painting.
âHe has a cute arse,â he said into the chaos, because of course he did, because apparently his suffering was not yet complete.
Regulus went rigid.
âHeâs tiny,â Remus said with sickening sincerity. âI know I could fit my whole hand over one cheek.â
The class lost every remaining shred of sanity.
Slughorn took one step back from the force of it.
Sirius sat on the floor again.
James was making helpless grabbing motions at the air.
âNo,â Peter cried. âNo, I canât do this.â
âYes, you can,â Barty said, laughing. âAnd you will.â
Remus kept speaking, inexorable, unstoppable, the truth pouring out of him like blood from a wound.
âItâs the fact that heâs small and Iâm bigger than him that makes it worse.â
âOh, he said it againââ
âHe said biggerââ
âMerlin save usââ
Remusâs voice cracked with fury. âItâs not my fault thatâs hot.â
The response to that was pure anarchy.
Even Slughorn laughed outright.
Even some of the quieter students at the edges of the room, who hadnât said a word all lesson, were now openly in hysterics.
And in the middle of itâat the very center of that stormâRegulus Black sat very still indeed, face composed with murderous effort, ears red, throat slightly flushed, eyes lowered to his notes as though he could will himself somewhere else by sheer concentration.
It did not work.
Because Sirius saw everything.
Sirius always saw everything about Regulus.
And a slow, wicked grin began to spread over his face.
âOh,â he murmured.
James looked at him blearily through tears. âWhat?â
Sirius stood up.
Straightened his robes.
Turned.
And in a voice of pure brotherly menace, asked, âRegulus.â
The room snapped quiet at once.
Because this was new now.
This was dangerous.
Regulus lifted his gaze. âDonât.â
âDo you,â Sirius said, smiling like the devil himself, âhave any thoughts on this?â
Regulus stared at him.
At Remus.
At the entire room waiting like held breath.
And said, icy and precise, âYes.â
The class leaned so far forward it was a miracle nobody toppled.
Siriusâs grin widened. âGo on.â
âNo.â
âCoward.â
Regulusâs eyes narrowed. âKeep speaking and Iâll poison you in your sleep.â
âSee?â James whispered to Remus in delight. âHe does like you. That was practically flirting.â
âIt was a threat,â Lily said.
âWith chemistry,â James argued.
âWith homicide,â Dorcas corrected.
Remus had gone so red he might actually combust.
But Sirius wasnât done. Of course he wasnât.
He folded his arms. âDo you object to being admired, little brother?â
Regulusâs mouth tightened.
Then, after one long second, he said, âI object to hearing about it in Potions.â
A fresh wave of chaos crashed over the room.
James shouted, âThatâs not a no!â
Pandora sat up so fast she nearly knocked over her ink. âIt is literally not a no!â
Barty pressed a hand to his chest again. âIâm going to frame this day.â
Evan, at last, spoke from where he lounged beside Regulus, voice smooth with amusement. âYouâre blushing.â
Regulus turned to him with killing intent. âDie.â
âThatâs a yes,â Barty sang.
âIt is not.â
Dorcas, chin in her hand, looked Regulus over with maddening calm. âYouâre not leaving.â
Regulus said nothing.
Which was the worst possible thing he could have done.
Because now everyone saw it.
The way he stayed seated.
The way he did not tell Remus to shut up.
The way his expression was controlled, yes, but not disgusted.
Not angry.
Just⊠shaken.
Interested, maybe.
Only maybe.
But maybe was enough to kill a room like this dead and then bring it roaring back to life.
Remus looked like he might pass out.
Sirius put both hands on his hips, glowing with infernal satisfaction. âThis is better than Christmas.â
âYou donât even like Christmas,â Regulus said.
âI do now.â
Slughorn finally cleared his throat, though he sounded like a man reluctant to end a masterpiece. âWell. This has certainly been illuminating.â
âThat is one word for it,â Lily muttered.
âI think,â Slughorn continued, moustache twitching, âwe have perhaps extracted all the educational value possible from Mr Lupinâs current condition.â
âNo!â half the class shouted immediately.
âYes,â said Remus.
Slughorn ignored them both. âFive points to Gryffindor for⊠participation.â
âOnly five?â James cried. âProfessor, weâve given you theatre.â
âYouâve given me a headache.â
He waved his wand, Summoned a goblet of water, and handed it to Remus, who drank it like a man trying to drown himself from the inside out.
The class was still buzzing, still laughing, still turning to one another in breathless disbelief.
Snatches of it broke loose all over the room.
âDid you hear him say hip bonesââ
âWhole handââ
âYearning wayââ
âReligious experienceââ
âNot innocent dreamsââ
Remus made a sound of profound, exhausted suffering and dropped his forehead onto the edge of Slughornâs desk.
James strode up immediately and draped himself over Remusâs back. âMate,â he said, voice wobbling with suppressed laughter, âI need you to know that I will never let this go.â
Sirius joined him a second later. âNever. Ever.â
Peter appeared at Remusâs side and patted his arm. âIâm so sorry.â
âYouâre smiling,â Remus said into the wood.
âIâm trying not to.â
âYouâre failing.â
âYes.â
When Remus finally lifted his head, he made the mistake of glancing across the room.
Straight at Regulus.
For half a second, everything else dimmed.
The noise, the laughter, the scraping stools, the hiss of potions over flame.
Just that look.
Regulus met his eyes.
And this time he did not look away first.
His face was still controlled. Still cool. Still impossible.
But there was colour in it now.
And something else.
Something sharp and unreadable and almostâalmostâcurious.
Then Barty leaned in to say something in his ear, Pandora hissed at Dorcas, James started laughing again beside him, Sirius was already plotting six months of psychological warfare, and the moment broke apart into noise.
But it had happened.
Remus had seen it.
And judging by the expression on Siriusâs face, so had he.
Slughorn clapped his hands sharply. âBack to your seats, all of you. If even one of these cauldrons is ruined while you gossip, I shall assign three feet of parchment on the ethics of veracity potions.â
There was a general groan.
Stools scraped.
Students rose.
The lesson attempted, bravely and without much hope, to become a lesson again.
Remus walked back to the Gryffindor table like a condemned man.
James was grinning so hard it looked painful.
Peter would not stop making tiny distressed noises every time their eyes met.
Sirius looked like he had swallowed the sun.
âI hate you all,â Remus said, sitting down heavily.
James clapped him on the shoulder. âCounterpoint: this is the greatest day in academic history.â
âIâm transferring schools,â Remus muttered.
âYou canât,â Sirius said. âYouâre spiritually chained to this dungeon now.â
Peter leaned closer. âFor what itâs worth, I didnât know.â
âNone of you knew,â Remus said bitterly.
James winced. âThat part, admittedly, is true.â
Sirius propped his chin on one hand and looked far, far too delighted. âYou do realise, obviously, that Iâm going to watch both of you like a hawk now.â
âPlease donât say âboth of youâ like that,â Remus said.
âOh, no. Absolutely both of you.â
âNothing happened,â Remus hissed.
Sirius arched a brow. âNothing happened yet.â
Remus closed his eyes in pain.
At the Slytherin table, Barty was still talking. Pandora was still cackling softly every few seconds. Dorcas kept glancing between Regulus and the Gryffindor side with the open interest of someone following a particularly juicy serial. Evan had that same unreadable little smile still playing at the corner of his mouth.
And Regulusâ
Regulus had gone back to his potion.
Mostly.
His hands were steady now.
His face composed.
But every now and then, against his will or perhaps because of it, his gaze flicked onceâonly onceâtoward the opposite side of the room.
Toward Remus.
And every single time, Sirius noticed.
So did James.
Eventually Lily did too, and then Mary, and then Marlene, and then Fabian and Gideon, and once that happened, the knowledge spread through the room like spilled ink.
Nobody said anything outright.
Not yet.
But the air had changed.
Potions resumed.
Quills scratched.
Flames hissed.
The silver draft in the cauldrons thickened and darkened by degrees.
And beneath all of that, something else simmered tooâsomething meaner, sweeter, more dangerous.
The aftermath.
The talk that would follow in corridors and common rooms.
The weeks of merciless torment Remus would endure.
The weapons Sirius would fashion from every single word spoken today.
The way Barty would absolutely tell this story again with added dramatics.
The way Pandora would start saying âreligious experienceâ at inappropriate moments for the rest of the year.
The way James would bring up âyearning wayâ until one of them died.
And underneath even thatâ
The quieter thing.
The look across the room.
The fact that Regulus Black had not denied anything that mattered.
Remus sat very still at his desk and stirred the potion far longer than necessary.
Beside him, Sirius leaned in and whispered, bright with wicked delight, âSo. My brotherâs waist, hm?â
Remus put his face in his hands.
James nearly choked laughing.
Across the dungeon, without looking up from his cauldron, Regulus said coolly, âIf either of you says the word waist again, Iâll hex your tongues together.â
Sirius threw his head back and laughed.
And just like that, the dungeon exploded all over again.
The Veritaserum Paradox: When One Drop Became a Flood
He told Harry that a single drop was enough. "Veritaserum. A powerful truth potion. Three drops, and you would answer any question put to you." The implication? Lethal precision. Controlled power.
And yetâwhen the time came to extract the truth from Barty Crouch Jr., Severus Snape tipped the entire vial into his mouth. Not a drop. Not three. All of it.
Was it a contradiction? A mistake? A forgotten line? Perhaps.
But if you look closerâif you know Snapeâperhaps not.
đ€ Theory 1: Tactical Intimidation
The "drop" line was never about dosage. It was theatre. Psychological warfare. When Snape speaks, itâs not just for informationâitâs for effect. With Harry, it was a warning dressed as education. With Barty Jr., it was certainty dressed as silence.
He didnât need to empty the vial. But Snape never takes chances. Not when the truth is this dangerous.
đ§Ș Theory 2: Variable Potency
Veritaserum isnât static. The dose depends on the strength of the subjectâs Occlumency, their magical resistance, and even their mental state.
Harry, a 14-year-old boy? A drop might do. Barty Crouch Jr.? A trained Death Eater with a gift for deception?
You drown liars. You don't drizzle on them.
đ Theory 3: Alan Rickman knew what looked good on camera
Let's be honest. A single dainty drop would not have carried the same visual weight. The steady, deliberate pour? The silence? The glint of the vial?
Rickman performed Snape as someone who embodied gravitas. He didnât administer truth. He delivered judgement.
â
So was it a contradiction?
Maybe.
But more likelyâit was Snape doing what he always does: Choosing precision when possible. Certainty when necessary. And theatre, always.
The Great Escape Debacle of 2025, chapter three: get a glimpse beyond the illusion
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
chapter written by @artemisadore đ | chapter art by @wordsinhaled đ« | created as part of @dbda-potion-week âš
The smallest creature, the one on the end, tilts their head curiously. They seem to flit in and out of the shadows cast by the foliage above, and Charles thinks he may have missed them entirely if he didn't know to look in the first place. âWe do not come to present a case to you, but a challenge.â
âA test!â Sparky â the name Charles has given the fire-y looking fae â roars.
Charles bristles, both from the sentiment and from the strange sensation of an uncomfortable warmth blasting into his face. He positions himself in front of Edwin, his hand brushing against the sword at his hip. âOi, who are you to give us a bloody test?â
âThe real question, little one,â Splashy, the sort of watery one, murmurs languidly, âis who are you to refuse?â
x
Charles and Edwin are challenged to a test of truth.
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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
My fic for the first prompt of DBDA potions week!!! I stayed up all night finishing it so I hope you enjoy!! xx
Synopsis:
Charles has certainly been doing a lot of thinking since the detectives move back to London- Edwin's confession has practically been the only thing on his mind since their return from hell.
Of course, he wouldnât dare mention any of this to Edwin, not yet. Not when he isn't completely sure of his feelings just yet.
Which is why it really is extremely inconvenient when Charles spills a truth potion on himself.
*Vil was asleep for over 14 hours as you went to check on her. She was actually awake and was going to stand up after just being asleep for a long ass time which probably wasn't a good idea*
@a-mortal-turned-god
Sugar! Hi!!
*she plops onto the bed next to Vil and hugs her tightly*