"So, how's it look?"
"Er, they're shrinking... and getting whiter... wait, no, hang on—they're practically vanishing!"
Harry's panicked yelp echoed through the Room of Requirement.
Watching Ron's teeth shrink rapidly, Harry frantically messed up his hair, pulling out his wand as if to cast a counter-curse.
That was pure Gryffindor instinct kicking in, though. He didn't actually know a spell to regrow teeth; waving his wand around was just a reflex born of panic.
Ron, on the other hand, was surprisingly chill about it. He waved a dismissive hand.
"Relax, mate. Worst case scenario, I'll just take another trip to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey and I are practically on a first-name basis by now."
Ron's voice was starting to sound like a gummy old warlock's, giving him an oddly benevolent look as his teeth disappeared.
Thanks to helping the twins test their latest joke products, any time a side effect wouldn't wear off, Fred and George would march Ron down to "visit" Madam Pomfrey. He was a regular.
Sure, she lectured them every single time, but the three Weasleys never seemed to learn their lesson.
Despite his calm demeanor now, Ron had just displayed plenty of that reckless Gryffindor courage earlier. While Harry was still hesitating, Ron had downed the potion in one gulp. His reasoning? It smelled sweet—not poisonous—and besides, Madam Pomfrey could fix anything.
It wasn't so much physical resilience as it was psychological conditioning.
Harry face-palmed, then waved his wand to pack the potion kit into his bag, ready to drag Ron to the hospital wing. He felt like his potion modification was so close to working, but he was stuck on the final step. It wasn't like he could ask Snape for advice...
Just imagining that scenario gave him the creeps.
"So this is where you've been hiding?"
The sudden voice cut through Harry's thoughts. He felt a hand land on his shoulder and spun around instinctively—Ron turned with him.
"Lucian?!"
Seeing Lucian's familiar face, Harry and Ron froze, wondering if they were hallucinating.
Wasn't he supposed to be away at Beauxbatons for that exchange tournament? What was he doing back here?
Ron frowned, eyeing Lucian suspiciously. "George? Fred? Is this some new prank invention?"
You couldn't blame Ron for being skeptical. The twins had been churning out all sorts of bizarre magical objects lately. Who knew if they'd invented something to mimic people...
Lucian glanced between Harry and Ron—fixating on the latter's toothless, whistling speech—and simply tapped his wand.
Ron's jagged, shrinking teeth were instantly restored. In fact, they looked even straighter and whiter than before.
Harry's mouth twitched. Maybe I really should just ask Snape, he thought. Otherwise, this potion is never going to be finished. Worst case, I just drink a gallon of eyesight potion and ditch the glasses...
Ron clicked his restored teeth together a few times. They felt sturdier than before, and—hey, that cavity in the back was gone, too.
That confirmed it: this definitely wasn't Fred or George in disguise. If the twins had seen him looking like a toothless hag, they would have laughed themselves sick and paraded him around the castle before dragging him to the hospital wing. They certainly wouldn't have just fixed him with a wave of a wand.
"Lucian, why are you back?" Ron asked. "Doesn't the exchange tournament go on for another few days?"
"Yeah, I snuck back." Lucian pressed a finger to his lips. "I had some business to take care of. Could you two do me a favor?"
Harry and Ron were dying to know how he'd managed to slip away from Beauxbatons, but they nodded anyway.
Lucian handed them several thick stacks of questionnaires and gave them instructions.
"Pass these out to the other students. Don't worry about collecting them; once they're filled out, they'll automatically fly back here..."
He then pulled out a bright pink mailbox and handed it to Harry. He was just about to explain how the alchemical device worked when—
"Goo-gah! Goo-gah!"
The sudden, bizarre squawk made Lucian jump. He looked down to see a mechanical object that vaguely resembled an owl waddling across the floor, its metal rear end shaking violently with every step.
Aside from the general shape, the thing didn't sound or act like an owl at all.
Ron turned beet red and dove for the metal bird, shoving it out of sight.
Lucian mentioned he needed to find a few other friends to help and hurried out of the Room of Requirement.
Harry and Ron finally looked down at the thick stack of papers. They were full of questions about Valentine's Day. They looked up, meeting each other's confused gaze.
Is Lucian... really into Valentine's Day?