Fred and Georges Christmas Cheer,
Set in the OotP at Christmastime when Fred and George decide to pull a prank to lighten the mood, when they end up receiving an unexpected gift themselves…
It was Christmastime at 12 Grimmauld Place, which due to recent events had indeed become as the name suggests a grim old place to be, especially at Christmas. Their mum and the order had been especially stressed over Arthurs attack and Harry had become moody and had taken to brooding in his room for long periods of time. All in all the place had been on tenterhooks and completely grim. To remedy this the dynamic duo of the Weasley twins had taken it upon themselves to lighten the mood and create a more festive, less gloomy atmosphere for Christmas.
"So George, What are we going to do, this place has become completely-"
"- boring"
"- glum"
"-gloomy"
"- and everything else."
"I know Fred, I know, we need to do something to lighten the atmosphere a bit, but what?"
The twins exchanged identical grins of mischief, the type they only wore when a prank was on their minds.
"A PRANK!" they declared at the same time.
"But what…"
"And on who…"
"Well the who we can work out now and then we can tailor the prank to suit them…"
"Brillant idea Gred,"
"Isn't it Forge, don't you wish you were as smart as me…"
"Hmm, well then if you're so brilliant why don't do tell me who our next victim should be."
"Umm… I don't know" thought Fred as he struggled to come up with the perfect person "that's a hard one, so many victims so little time…"
"Well I don't think it should be Harry, considering how unstable he is at the moment…"
"Yeah all that brooding can't be a good sign…"
"He looks like he's going to explode like a dung bomb any minute…"
"Imagine the mess that would cause…"
"Him yelling…"
"Hermione yelling…"
"Ginny yelling…" The twins snickered knowingly.
"Mum yelling…" The twins both grimaced at that thought, having experienced their mother's wrath many times and were eager to forgo it if possible, particular given how stressed she was with Mr Weasley's bite.
"So probably not Hermione…"
"Or Ginny…"
"Or Mum…"
"Or Ickle Ronnikins…"
"Ron's not a girl though…"
"Perhaps not, but he sure screams like one when he's scared, remember that time we turned his teddy into a spider…" The twins shared nostalgic looks of satisfaction.
"As much fun as pranking Ron or anyone for that matter would be we want to make everyone laugh…"
"Not yell…"
"I suppose that would exclude Professor Lupin as well because full moons in a few days."
"Who does that leave then…"
"SIRIUS!" cried the twins at the same time.
"You called" came a familiar voice a few moments later as the twins latest victim entered the room.
The twins looked at each other and began to speak…
"We were wondering…"
"Whether…"
"Or not …"
"You knew if…" The twins looked for a moment wondering what to say next as Sirius' eyes flicked from one to the other trying to keep up with the verbal tennis that the two doppelgangers were playing.
"Umm if you knew whether…"
"Mum would be home for dinner tonight."
Finally Sirius had enough of following the twins conversation and cut in…
"Boys if you were wondering whether or not you would have to put up with my cooking two nights in a row the answer is no, your mum will be home later this afternoon."
"Thanks" replied the two at once.
"Alright, I'll leave you to it then" said Sirius as he left the kitchen eyeing the twins suspiciously.
"Phew, that was close, wasn't it Fred." Said George in relief as the door closed.
"Now what to do…"
The twins bounced ideas off each other for a few minutes until they struck gold.
"Hey George we could test out our new range of potions," suggested Fred.
"Which one? The one we used on Flitwick or the one we used on Umbridge?"
"Flitwick of course." In response George's eyes lit up. It was perfect. Now to set it the plan in motion.
That night at dinner when everyone was at the table Fred and George immediately chose to sit next to the head of the table, where Sirius always sat at meals so that they would have easy access to his butterbeer and food. Slowly everyone filed in and took their seats Ginny sat down next to George. Next to Fred sat Remus Lupin and Harry then Ron. Whilst Hermione was next to Ginny with Mrs Weasley on the other side. Waiting until Sirius had been drawn into a convosation with Lupin and Harry, Fred quickly and hopefully without raising any suspisicion poured the contents of a vial into Sirius' drink. With a triumphant grin to his twin Fred put the vial back into his robes. However this action did not go unoticed by the youngest Weasley who had noticed the action and the smirks on the twins faces and whispered to George.
"So tell me George, what was in that vial that Fred put in Sirius' glass"
Gobsmacked George whispered "A potion"
"No kidding, what does it do?"
"No way I'm telling you that kiddo."
"Well then I will just have to tell mum then." said Ginny as she turned to look down the table to her mother.
"Fine" said George suddenly, not wanting his prank to be ruined "The vial contained instant infatuation potion, it works a bit like polyjuice potion in that you add something of a person, but instead of turning the drinker into the person for an hour, they have a two minute infatuation with them. THe results are usually quite hilarious."
"Who..."
"Watch and see kiddo, watch and see."
Suddenly Sirius took a swig of his butterbeer and burst out singing in a deep baritone voice to a song Ginny recognised as 'O Christmas tree"
"Oh Severus, Oh Severus, thou hair enchants me"
Suddenly the room was silent. Then as Sirius continued his serenade no one could contain their laughter anymore
"I adore your smile in summertime and you nose in Christmastime, Oh Severus Oh Severus I love thee so much"
As the potion wore off everyone waited in silence for Sirius reaction which was one of complete shock, disgust and denial all in one.
"Did I just-?"
"Yes" replied Lupin instantly enjoying every moment of his friend and comrades humiliation. Sirius looked like he wanted to be sick. He then sat up and glared at the two satisfied twins either side of him.
"Don't worry Padfoot, I'll help you get even" said Remus Lupin between laughs.
"I'm counting on it Moony, old friend."
Suddenly the twins looks of satisfaction at their prank were replaced by identical expressions of comical disbelief and shock.
"You are..."
"Padfoot and..."
"Moony of the..."
"Famous..."
"Marauders" they finished together.
"Yes" replied the two men slowly, wondering what the twins were going on about.
Suddenly Harry, Ron and Hermione burst into laughter once more, unable to contain it seeing the looks of stunned disbelief firmly etched into the twins faces. As Harry caught his breath he explained.
"They were the ones who gave me the map."
Coming out of their stupors George exclaimed
"Hang on you knew who they were?!"
Ron replied instantly "You didn't! Even when you lived in the same house as them for an entire Summer!"
Deciding to pass over the look of satisfaction on Ron's face they turned to their knewly found idols and began to rapidly fire questions at them.
"No wonder you never fell for our pranks in school!"
"Did you ever..."
"When did you make the map?
"Who are the other two marauders?"
"How many pranks did you pull?"
"How many detentions did you get?"Holding up a hand Lupin silenced them.
"Since this is a long story why don't we move to the living room and talk over dessert and then you can ask us all the questions you want, consider it a christmas present from Padfoot and myself."
Happy with this idea the twins hurried everyone through dinner so that they could finally get to know their idols when question time could begin. However on the way into the living room George realised that they achieved their mission. Grimmauld Place was no longer holding a grim old atmosphere, but rather it was bursting with laughter once more. What's more they had recieved and extra gift for their efforsts: they found their teenage heros. Mission Accomplished. Mischief Managed.
