Chapter 21 - Fatigue

[Monday - The Burrow]

"Good afternoon, dear. How about practicing some spells today? Or do you want to rest?"

Molly said excitedly, knocking on Ron's bedroom door.

For the first time in a long time, Molly was closer to her son, teaching him something she really liked. This made her more and more excited every day, waiting for the two to have the moment of mother and child.

Ron nodded, and they went out into the backyard to train.

That afternoon, Molly helped Ron improve some of the spells he had learned before. They spent the afternoon training the protection spells, and Ron managed to perform almost all of them with ease, but there were still some that he ended up having to train more times to be able to improve a little.

The sun was beginning to set and Molly decided to finish training. Ron had already done a lot and still hadn't rested from work, so she didn't want to overwhelm her son.

"And how was work yesterday? I heard you guys started selling potions. I didn't know you were interested in alchemy."

Molly said as she tidied up the house, and Ron sipped on some ginger tea.

"We did well. Better than I imagined. How did you find out?"

Ron asked.

All of Diagon Alley was talking about the 'new Weasley brothers potions'."

Molly said proudly.

"Oh, really?"

Ron put down his teacup.

"They're saying you're now surprisingly responsible and that you've become quite the businessman. People are certainly impressed."

Molly had a huge smile on her face. She had a certain doubt about how Fred and George's future would be. Molly had always thought they would end up living with her for all of their life, not looking for a serious job or a family of their own.

"I hope these rumors are helpful in publicizing the tent."

Ron replied, going back to sipping his ginger tea.

"Oh, it sure will help. People will be curious about your performance, though there will no doubt be others who will want to know if you are really as credible as people say. But since your potions are well–made, they will end up liking it and will continue to buy it. It's great publicity for you guys."

Molly explained, supporting Ron as he put some plates in the cupboard.

"I altered the recipe a bit."

Ron said, pouring more tea into the cup.

"You changed the recipe? What did you do?"

Molly stopped what she was doing, curious about Ron's alterations.

"I made them taste and look nicer."

Ron told Molly, who was looking at him with great interest.

"And it worked? Did people like it? Oh, what am I saying? Of course they liked it. Everyone is speaking well of your potions. I'm so proud of you, dear."

Molly said, delighted with the news.

"Thanks."

Ron answered shortly.

"Do you want to keep working on those potions?"

Molly asked.

"I'm still not sure. I like potion making, so maybe I would want to work on making my own potions."

Ron answered.

"That's great, but you're going to need a lot of studying to come up with your own recipes. I had a really hard time learning what each ingredient meant and what each mixture could turn into. I know that you are far more advanced than your brothers, but I'm sure you will still find it difficult for you to know what to combine to get exactly what you need."

Molly explained. She was right. Even though Ron was more skilled than his brothers, creating his own potions was too advanced a level for him to do alone. The only way for him to succeed would be with the help of someone/something that would show him the mistakes and successes quickly, like a private teacher.

"Oh, dear…"

Molly said worryingly.

"What is it?"

Ron asked.

"Look at how much white hair I have."

She said, as she looked at her reflection in the glass of the closet.

"I can barely see any."

Ron replied, trying to comfort Molly.

"I wish there was some beautification potion. Have you thought about it? A potion where you only need to take it and you would have beautiful skin again without any gray hairs…"

Molly said as she ran her hand over the wrinkles under her eyes.

This made Ron remember the idea he had a long time ago, when he went to buy potion ingredients for the first time. He overheard two wizards talking about beautifying potions, that they too wish there were such potions.

Really, in the wizarding world, there wasn't any kind of cosmetic potion that changed people in such a way. There were only potions that changed specific characteristics like hair color and eye color, or could induce hair to grow faster.

Ron started to think about it. Maybe a potion that makes people's features become attractive traits would be a good option. It wouldn't change the wearer's complete appearance, making her become someone else, but it would make the wearer more physically attractive.

Ron decided to go to his room, look for some information about how he would make this potion in the potions book and in the mystery book.

Carefully, he removed the book from a hidden spot. He wasn't afraid of his brothers taking it, since they wouldn't be able to see anything written, but he didn't feel comfortable leaving the book lying on the table.

Sitting down on the bed, Ron carefully opened the book and began to read the unlocked pages. Ron's main idea was to analyze all the spells he had ever studied and the reactions each ingredient had when mixed with another.

There were countless possibilities he could do. There were many ingredients in the book and each one, when mixed with different methods, delivered a different reaction or simply ended up giving a small explosion, informing him that the combination could not be made.

Ron took the notebook from the Hogwarts alchemy books and began the day's studies.

He spent the rest of the day studying, staying up until the early hours of the morning reading and poring over his notes. Ron only took breaks to refill his coffee cup without even having dinner.

The next morning, Ron had only slept for 2 hours. He still needed to complete the potions he hadn't finished, for them to sell in the stall.

He stretched out on the bed and prepared to continue potion brewing.

As the sun began to rise above the horizon, dark circles under his eyes portrayed his lack of sleep, but he was determined to get everything ready. Ron began to hear his brothers starting to get up for breakfast.

He finished the last potion and placed them all inside the box. His head was heavy, so thinking that he wouldn't need to perform services at work time, just delivering potions to customers, already made him more relaxed.

Hours later, they were heading to Diagon Alley, ready for another day of work.

Ron felt exhausted, but he tried hard to hide his tired appearance from his brothers.

"Oh brother, you look absolutely haggard. Did you sleep?"

George asked, noting the huge dark circles under Ron's face.

"No."

Ron answered.

"Why didn't you take the Sleep Well potion? It would help you sleep in no time."

George indicated.

"I spent the night studying about potions. I wasn't having trouble sleeping, just staying awake."

Ron answered shortly.

"But I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

He said with a forced smile and immediately yawned right after.

Over time, some customers started arriving, looking for the potions that everyone was talking about the day before.

At first, Ron was able to accommodate the wizards. He was a little slower than usual, and a little more muffled, but it was still enough to make sales without too much trouble.

However, as time passed, Ron's ability to concentrate diminished more and more. He made some simple mistakes when serving customers, changed the name of some potions and ended up forgetting to charge for a service. Fred and George noticed Ron's situation and tried to help, but he insisted he was fine and continued working.

In his past life, Ron was used to little sleep. He could go up to 3 days without getting a full night's sleep and it wouldn't bring him down. But in this life, with this fragile and childlike body, he felt exhausted. It was difficult to accept the body's new reality of resistance.

"Hello... Welcome to... Tent... Weasley..."

Ron tried to serve a customer.

"Good morning! I heard that you altered the taste of potions. What does the Light Healing potion taste like? Can it heal puncture wounds? My mother is a seamstress, and well, you can imagine what happens."

"Ah, the Light Healing Potion… just drink it and… you will… heal…"

Ron answered. His head was in another world. It was as if he had used some kind of substance. He could no longer distinguish what was reality from dreams.

"Yeah… I think you misunderstood my question."

The wizard said, trying to help Ron.

"I'm sorry, sir. My brother is not having a good day today. Just a moment and I'll be right there."

Fred said, leading Ron away from the customer.

He felt a sudden dizziness and had to lean on the counter to keep from falling.

Concerned, Fred and George urged Ron to stop working and rest, but he was stubbornly continuing. He didn't want to admit his weakness.

"If you want to keep working so badly, then at least take the Monster Potion."

George said, taking one of the vials from the box.

"I already told you. I'm fine. Can you stop this? And I will not use our products. They're for sale purposes only."

Ron drawled, crossing his arms.

"Take this right away."

Fred said assertively.

"I am not going…"

Before Ron could finish speaking, George pushed the liquid into Ron's mouth, forcing him to take it by force. He was too tired to stop George's hands from holding his mouth.

"Now sit right there. You can come back when you feel better."

George said, setting Ron down on a box at the back of the tent.

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[ Toru's notes ]

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