Carrot and Stick

Although exclusively induced by an unhealthy quantity of homebrew potions, George's mental and physical well-being had reached stability. This meant he could finally relax and focus his efforts on staying out of the limelight. The rumours of a purple-haired boy and suspicion from Snape after the quidditch fire incident had put a stopper to George's activities. Other than the Herbology club, he generally avoided meeting people and spent his time with Myrtle refining his medication.

In what felt like a blink of an eye, November came to an end and December began. Hogwarts was covered in a blanket of snow and flying practice was suspended until the weather improved. Although, a little bit of snow didn't stop the quidditch tournament. Every weekend, most of the students and staff would leave the school and watch the game. All the while, George would stay behind and steal what he could from the potion department.

Perhaps because George was far from human, it turned out Tentacula's amazing properties to make potions permanent might have been an exaggeration. It was more like seven days than a lifetime. So once a week, George had to brew another batch of potions and poison. Since he had nothing better to do, it really wasn't much of an inconvenience. Although, his veins did seem to be getting darker and thicker with every dose.

By the time Christmas was nearing, George had veins as wide as garden hoses and as black as the night sky. Even the veins on his head had started to turn purple, so he had to steal some make-up from one of Gemma's friends to hide the change. On that topic, George ended up using hair dye to return his natural hair colour since he built up an immunity to the potion equivalent almost immediately.

Even though Myrtle found the whole idea of a boy using make-up and hair dye hilarious, George felt he hadn't done a bad job of restoring his old appearance. At the very least, Neville, Grant and Quinton hadn't seemed to notice. To push George's body to greater highs, he'd taken to wandering in the Forbidden Forest. It was the only place he could perform superhuman feet without being seen.

George could jump from tree to tree with ease and lift boulders several times his own weight. Somewhat inspired by the World Strongest Man competition, his favourite activity was to tie himself to a fallen-over tree stump and pull it through the forest. During mid-November, he could only pull it a few yards before running out of stamina. Now, he could move at a walking pace for over an hour. George might not be at Hagrid's levels of strength, but he doubted the gap was that far.

During the last weekend before the Christmas break, Hogwarts castle was bustling with excited students ready to return to their families on Monday. Decorations were now littering the castle walls and a massive pine tree, along with six smaller trees, had just been erected in the Great Hall. Whilst most of the students were either in their dorms packing or in the hall celebrating, George was in the quietest part of the castle.

In a discrete corner of the Hogwarts Library, George was sat down at a table with two letters in front of him. The Linwoods sent him letters every week via a fat owl and today was no exception. Even with all of his distractions, George hadn't forgotten to read them and send a response back home. He opened the letter clearly written by Amanda and read the following;

Dear George,

Dominic and I simply can not wait for you to come home for Christmas. I don't care what Mr Lupin says, four months is simply too long. You'll be relieved to know that your room and library are exactly how you'd left them. It will be like you have never left.

Mr Lupin has kindly offered to receive you at the castle and will facilitate your transport back to Yorkshire. He calls it the Floo Network. I can't say I fully understand it, but apparently, it'll save you the train journey home. Just be ready to leave by one o'clock on Monday and he'll meet with you just like in September.

Be seeing you very soon.

Love from

Amanda and Dominic

George put down the letter and grumbled to himself. He doubted Remus's kind gesture was so simple. Regardless of what Monday was bringing, George cleared his mind and opened the second letter. As usual, the paper was bright pink and covered in glitter, making a mess on the table. It read;

Dear George,

So… What are you getting me for Christmas? You do remember you said you would bring me something back from Hogwarts, right? I know you said you could not get a dragon egg, but it still has to be something really really cool.

Dad and Mum have been very busy while you have been gone. They won't talk about what they're doing, but I think it's got something to do with that place in London. You know, the magic place. Dad has brought lots of weird stuff home with him, but I'm not supposed to talk about that.

Anyway, miss you lots and I can not wait to see what you bring home.

Your bestest sister

Ellie

George chuckled after finishing the letter. No matter how many letters Ellie sent, her egotistical attitude never seemed to waver. He would have probably forgotten about Christmas gifts if it hadn't been for his step-sister's constant nagging. On the topic of his step-sister's present, George reached into his inner robe pocket and pulled out a large jam jar with a screw-on lid.

The jar was illuminated like a lantern which caused George to halt his movements and check his surroundings. Fortunately, there was no one around to see the light show. He continued to pull out the glowing jar before shaking it somewhat violently.

"Cut that out. You're going to get me caught", George whispered in a stern tone.

The light dimmed until the figure of a little winged person could be seen sitting inside the jar. The five-inch person had a feminine figure and pure white skin similar to a porcelain doll. It had two sets of transparent insect-like wings and was wearing a dress made up of multi-coloured leaves. This tiny creature sulking in the corner of George's jar was a freshly caught fairy.

The tantruming Tinker Bell had been giving George problems ever since he captured it in the Forbidden Forest a few days ago. The hope had been to kill two birds with one stone. George could simultaneously collect a present for Ellie whilst testing the limits of his dexterity. Fairies were fast and had great reflexes, catching one wasn't easy. The fact they could fly away if he so much as stepped on a twig didn't help either.

Still, George was up for the challenge. After nearly a week of practising the art of surprise attacks, he managed to get close enough to grab one. Sadly, his enthusiasm coupled with his ridiculous strength broke nearly all the fairy's wings and bones. Of course, he gave the creature a few drops of home-brand healing potion, but that medication didn't heal the fairy's foul mood. Whether it be its bloated vanity or the as-for-mentioned manhandling, the fairy hadn't forgiven him.

At the moment, the little devil liked to stomp around in the jar whilst glowing as bright as the Hogwarts Christmas tree. George would have liked to keep it in his enchanted sack, but no living thing can live in there. Instead, he had taken to trying to reason with it to help train his anger tantrums without the need for Calming Draught.

George leaned over and tapped the glass, "what's your problem now?"

The fairy stuck its blue tongue out at him before turning its head away in a huff.

George turned the glass so it was facing him again, "look. You can't keep acting like this. Your freedom will come, but I just need you to appease my step-sister first."

The fairy's peeved expression didn't waiver in the slightest. It simply crossed its arms in response and faced in the opposite direction. Once again, it was looking like George would have to use his signature move. He reached into his sack and pulled out a fresh Victoria cake. Then he proceeded to pick up a knife and cut himself a slice.

The aroma of the cake's sweet jam and thick cream permeated the area he was sitting in and soon made its way through the air holes in the jar's lid. The fairy's head twitched slightly before slowly turning around whilst sniffing the air. Its little jet-black eyes locked onto the slice of cake George was happily shovelling into his mouth. He glanced down at the fairy and smiled after noticing the drool dripping down its chin.

Similar to his step-sister, George found that fairies were incredibly susceptible to the addictive nature of sugar. The books he'd read about these creatures had been vague about their dietary needs which resulted in him conducting a few experiments. What had started with a small sample of honey worked its way up to the sweetest desserts Hogwarts had to offer. In conclusion, their insatiable sweet tooth was the only thing that could overpower their vanity.

To say the captured fairy had developed an addiction to the sweet treats of the human world would be an understatement. And George was more than happy to indulge its gluttony. If diplomacy fails, George intended to shackle it with dependence. Judging by the way it was pressed up against the glass, he felt his plan was working. If he was to hypothetically free the creature, it would no doubt return to him within a couple of hours.

Since the craven was looking particularly greedy, George felt like trying another one of his experiments. He put down the slice of cake and proceeded to unscrew the lid of the jar. The fairy stared up at its freedom in confusion, it probably didn't understand why the cruel giant had set it free. It didn't take long for it to begin fluttering its wings and flew out of the jar. Instead of flying to freedom, it did the much more predictable thing and flew directly towards the cake.

Just before it could get its little grubby hands on his cake, George clicked his fingers. At the same time, both sets of the fairy's wings burnt to a crisp. It tumbled to the table in a small plume of its own smoke and rolled around to put out the fire. George heard a high-pitch buzzing noise he presumed was its screaming as the fairy flailed around in agony. Then he clicked his fingers again and the fire covering the fairy's back went out.

Due to the many hours George had spent with McGonagall, he had pretty good control of his accuracy when conjuring fire. He could summon a small fire over three yards away from his body. Burning a measly candle without lighting the neighbouring candles was child's play for him now. Burning the wings of a fly without killing it wasn't much harder.

The fairy stopped madly flailing and buzzing, instead, it curled up into the fetal position. George rolled his eyes at its pitiful act. Then he pulled out a potion vial and poured a couple of drops onto the weeping fairy. It squirmed as its back began to bubble and morph. Then its burnt skin peeled off to reveal a new set of shiny wings. Within a matter of seconds, the creature was returned to a healthy state.

The fairy lifted itself off the table and looked up at George. It looked just as confused as it had been when he'd opened the jar. But to George's disappointment, the aroma of the cake stole its attention again. The fairy began to scramble off its hands and knees toward the cake that was only a few inches away. George sighed before clicking his fingers. This time, the fairy's wings and legs caught on fire with a darker flame.

The new flame George produced burned slower than his normal flames. This was once again a lesson from McGonagall that helped him gain better control over his natural abilities. The dark flame slowly consumed the fairy's limbs in what George could assume was utter agony. The fairy desperately tried to put the fire out with its hands, but that only caused the flame to spread faster.

Once the fairy was adequately toasted and was on the verge of losing consciousness, George clicked his fingers. The dark flames vanished, leaving little more than charred remains. Then he poured a few more drops of the potion onto the fairy and it recovered back to full health within moments. Although, this time it didn't move. George pulled out his wand and pointed it at the fairy. He sent a tiny amount of electricity through its body, and it soon burst back into life.

The fairy spasmed for a while before lying limply on the table. The only sign of life was its chest frantically moving up and down. After a minute passed, the fairy eventually sat up and appeared a little disorientated. That was until it spotted George and coward away in fear. It was about to fly off the table when it heard the sound of his fingers clicking. But this time, nothing happened. The fairy froze and clearly didn't know what to do besides stare at the giant before it.

George smiled sinisterly, "so you are capable of learning. Good. Now let's see how clever you really are."

After nearly an hour of 'physical education', George and the fried fairy were once again repeating the same process. He would heal it, the fairy would go for the cake or try to flee, and he would click his fingers. The fairy must have been burned and healed over a hundred times. Even though George was only using a few drops of potion each time he healed it, his vial was almost depleted.

The fairy's physical health was still in perfect condition, but the same could not be said about its presentation. The fairy's once neatly combed hair was now unkempt and matted with sweat. Its eyes had dulled and lost their focus. The once beautiful dress made from leaves had been reduced to ash, leaving the fairy naked. Any grace or pride had been lost early into the lesson, reducing the once vain fairy to nothing more than a desperate animal.

George was starting to worry this whole exercise had been a massive waste of time. But right as he was about to return the fairy to its glass confides, it did something unexpected. For once, the fairy healed from its injuries and didn't try to flee or steal cake. Instead, it looked back at the jar it had escaped from. After taking a nervous glance at George, it began to crawl in the jar's direction. It moved with such a great deal of hesitation that a slug could have overtaken it.

The fairy didn't bother to use its wings as it jumped into the air and grabbed onto the rim of the jar. With its feeble amount of strength, it pulled itself up and lowered its body into the jar. Just before the fairy let go of the rim, George reached over and gently grasped it by the waist. He pulled it back out of the jar and placed it back in the centre of the table.

The creature stared up at him in fear as he raised his clicking hand and grabbed the slice of cake. He pulled off a small piece of icing and handed it to the fairy. It looked between George and the crumbs, unsure what to do.

"Go on, that's your reward", George said with a kind demeanour.

The fairy stared at George's softly smiling face for a few more seconds before slowly reaching out and snatching the crumb. George reclined back into his chair smugly as he watched it greedily swallow the tiny piece of icing and lick its fingers. It finished the crumbs and looked back up at George like a dog awaiting its commands for another treat.

"Don't look at me. Prove that you know what to do."

The fairy turned to the big slice of cake longingly but didn't make a move. After a brief internal battle of urges, the fairy reluctantly turned back to the jar and started walking. Just like before, it climbed inside the jar willingly and was promptly pulled back out by George. Then he gave it another crumb and allowed it to consume it peacefully.

The next hour was the polar opposite of the previous. The fairy quickly learnt how to grab a bite of that oh-so-sweet cake and was incredibly motivated to keep getting more. It went from crawling to flying as fast as it could into the jar. Once George picked it up out of the jar, he felt its little body squirming in delight. Two hours ago, it would have bit and scratched at him. Now, it was embracing his fingers in a tight hug with a beaming smile on its face.

George kept indulging the fairy until it couldn't eat anymore. After consuming nearly its body weight in cake, the fairy let out a high pitch burp before laying flat out on the table. Its former scrawny body had a bulging belly full of cake. The fairy soon closed its eyes with a blissful smile and fell asleep. George gently picked it up, placed it inside one of his spare socks, and returned it to the jar.

With the experiment being a complete success, George put the cake away and observed the sleeping fairy. There was no need for the Imperius Curse when the tried-and-tested Pavlov's dog method worked just as well. And unlike a dark curse, respondent conditioning wasn't so easy to undo. With a few more days of 'cake or death' treatment, George reckoned he could get this fairy returning to the jar like its life depended on it no matter how tantalisingly close freedom was.

Since the fairy was inappropriately underdressed for his step-sister, George planned to use the Forbidden Forest as the final test. He will let it free in the forest to recover some leaves for redressing itself and see if it returns to the jar. If it shows some reluctance, then he might have to test some experimental potions on the fairy until it started acting more cooperative.

George screwed the lid back on the jar and put it back into his robes. Then he pulled out a fresh piece of paper and began writing his response to the family. Like every other week, he wrote a normal response reassuring Amanda and Dominic of his satisfaction at Hogwarts and his desire to see them again in a couple of days.

When it came to answering Ellie's letter, he wrote;

Dear Princess Ellie,

As I have said a million times before, I'm not going to tell you what your Christmas present is. You're just going to have to wait and see.

Oh, and on an unrelated note. Do remember to have a spare seat for our next tea party. And bring plenty of treats, you may or may not be having a new guest with quite the sweet tooth.

Yours sincerely,

Sir George