The sun had been set for a few hours now and it was getting late. Ginny Weasley yawned as she sat down in her favorite chair in the corner of the room of her twin brothers, Fred and George. They barely noticed her as they continued their experiment.
"You're wrong," Fred protested as he grabbed a different vial from one of the many shelves lining the walls. "If the client wants to give them warts, they want this one."
George sighed and shook his head. "That is for vomiting, Freddie. This one." he pointed to another vial, this one containing a bright red and bubbling liquid.
His brother ran his hands through his long mess of red hair feeling frustrated. He grabbed the bottle from the wall and took the top off. "You dare me, then?" He asked as he held the vial up to his lips. He was about to chug the foul tasting liquid when Ginny cleared her throat loudly. "Jeez," said Fred as he screwed the top back onto the vial, "you scared the crap out of me Ginny, you sound just like mum!"
Ginny rolled her eyes in response, hating the way they compared her to their mother. Being the only girl in the family didn't mean she had to be like her. She ignored the laughter from her brothers as she pulled a book out of her bag.
"What's that?" Fred asked, grabbing the book out of her hands. "Has Hermione brainwashed you?" He laughed before tossing the book over to his brother. "Do you see this, George? Our sister, carrying around a book!"
"Tsk Tsk..." George hissed as he flipped through the pages.
"Give it back!" Ginny yelled, running over to him. But before she could reach him he had already passed the book back to Fred. He jumped onto his bed and dangled the book over her head. "Fred," she whined as she reached for the book. He ignored her and passed it back to his brother. "I said give it back!"George grinned at her and began flipping through the pages once again, trying to contain his laughter as his sister stood with her arms crossed.
Without warning Fred jumped from the bed and wrapped his arms tightly around Ginny from behind. "Get off," she said annoyedly as she struggled to get away from him.
Fred rolled his eyes and hugged her tighter. "Say Uncle," he said jokingly as he winked at his brother. George nodded with a grin and wrapped his arms around her as well. They laughed as she struggled to get away from them. But it was no use, she was sandwiched between them.
"...Uncle..." she whispered quietly in defeat, knowing she couldn't get away.
"What's that?" George asked with a grin as he tightened his grip on her.
"UNCLE!" She yelled angrily before quickly pulling away from them.
George sighed before picking the book up from the floor and handing it back to her. "That's all you had to say..." Ginny shook her head and shoved the book back into her bag. "Wait," he asked, seeing the angry look in his sisters eyes as she walked over to the door, "where are you going?"
"Anywhere but here," she replied as she flung the door open.
Fred quickly stood in front of her to block her path. "Come on, Ginny...we were just messing with you..."
"We're your brothers!" George added quickly, knowing that she was upset. But most importantly he knew that she'd tell their mother and they'd be scolded with a famous Molly Weasley lecture. That was the last thing they needed. "That's our job!"
"It's our only use," Fred said as he pushed a long strand of hair out of Ginny's face, "give us some credit little one."
Ginny sighed and pushed his hand away from her. "I'm not little," she mumbled."
"Oh no, you're right. She's big and tall, isn't she George?"
"Huge," George replied as he lifted her onto his shoulders. Ginny bit her lip for a moment, trying with all of her might to contain a smile. Eventually she gave up and let out a smile, and even a bit of laughter as he ran around the room. After a few minutes of this he plopped her back down into the chair in the corner. He walked back over to the desk where they were working and placed the red vial into the box he planned to send to their customer.
Fred watched his brother do this before suddenly remembering something. "Hey, Ginny," he said a bit quietly, "want to something amazing?"
"Amazing?" Ginny asked nervously, not sure if she wanted to know what he was talking about.
"Fantastic actually," Fred replied as he pulled a small package out of his pocket. "Now this-"
"Fred!" Ginny cut him off, seeing the firecracker in his hand.
"Relax sister," Fred said as he searched around the room for a match. "This one is special." He dug through the drawers in the desk, pulling out piles of jokes still in the process of being made and throwing them onto the floor. "There we go," he said with a smile before pulling a box of matches from the bottom of the drawer. "Ready?" he asked her with a grin. He laughed as Ginny quickly plugged her ears and shut her eyes as he lit the firework.
To Ginny's surprise there seemed to be no explosion. She opened her curiously, just long enough to see a small explosion of colors coming from the palm of his hand. Small sparks of green and purple were shooting from the firecracker. They sparkled as they fell from his hand and disappeared before reaching the floor. "You like it?" he asked. Ginny nodded in amazement.
"Pocket fireworks," George said with a grin, "safe for any occasion." He smiled before lighting another and juggling it in his hands. They continued to light the fireworks and passing them to each other until it seemed that the whole room was full of smoke. Ginny closed her eyes, enjoying the sweet smell coming from the smoke. It smelled like a newly lit fireplace. She could nearly feel the warmth coming from the flames.
When Ginny opened her eyes the smoke had cleared. She listened for a few moments before realizing the sounds of her brother's laughter had disappeared as well. The only light in the room was coming from the moon outside that was peeking through the blinds and casting shadows down onto the floor. Ginny felt her eyes begin to burn as she looked around the room.
The shelves were empty. What was left of the merchandise had been thrown into boxes that were scattered across the floor. Pictures of the twins that once smiled down at the biewer had been turned around to face the wall or had been taken down all together. The closet which at one time held heaping piles of identical suits and ties was now half empty and locked with a key that only George had access to. After a few moments she sat down on the empty bed and let the tears finally escape from her eyes.
She bit her lip trying to muffle her sobs as warm tears ran down her cheeks and onto the bed sheets. She covered her face with her hands and began taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. The emotions she was feeling were so uncontrollable that her shoulders were shaking which each breath she took. She pulled one of the blankets around herself before quickly getting up from the bed.
"G-...George...?" she asked quietly, moving her attention to the bed on the opposite side of the room. She walked over to the bed quietly, only to find that George was fast asleep. She reached out her hand to shake him awake but quickly stopped herself, knowing that this was the first time that her brother had slept in days. New tears began to form in her eyes as she watched her brother sleep. She held the blanket tighter around herself before laying down next to him on the hesitated for a few moments before moving closer to him and laying her head upon her brother's chest. Squeezing her eyes shut, she attempted to calm herself down and fall asleep.
George opened his eyes long enough to see what was going on. He stared at his sister for a moment, feeling his shirt begin to become damp with her tears. Without saying a word he pulled the large blanket up over them and closed his eyes once again.
Author's Note:
Thanks for visiting the story, I really hope you enjoyed it! This is my first HP fan fiction, so any reviews/criticisms would be greatly appreciated. I'd also like to thank user ForgeLove for reading over the story in advance and helping me edit in addition to giving some expert advice. Thanks again!