5'3" is not short. I promise you, it's not. Not for a girl, anyways. In fact, I'm sure it's a pretty average height for 16 year old girls! It's actually the people that I hang out with that are unbelievably abnormal. I mean Alicia is the closest in height to me standing at a willowy 5'6," and I don't even stand a chance against Amazon Angelina at 5'10". Then there's Fred and George who clock in at a completely un-average 6'5" each. See what I mean? These are the un-average, not me! But unfortunately I, Katie Bell, am the one who must endure the endless reminders of my lack of vertical…prowess.

"Oy Shrimp! Pass the potatoes, will you?" George's loud request shaking me from my thoughts.

I grumpily shoved them in his direction, and as he scooped a mountain onto his plate I aimed my spoon catapult right between his eyes.

"FIRE!" I yelled, releasing the spoonful of mashed potatoes, watching it sail across the table and pelt him directly in the face. "And the crowd goes wild!" I cheered, pumping my fists above my head in victory. Everyone sitting near me groaned in anticipation of what I had started.

"Ooooh you're in for it little one!" George jeered back. Loading his own catapult before I had time to react, he lobbed a gentle potato bomb into a tall arc. Fork and knife at the ready to defend myself, I watched the trajectory high above me as it sailed downward.

Maybe it was the fact I had just come from double potions, so my brain was a little fuzzy, or maybe I was just being dumb and forgot rule number one of food catapult fights: it's never one versus one. Because George and Fred fight as one unit.

So there I was, looking straight up like a doof, leaving myself entirely exposed to attack. Which Fred, being the evil mastermind he is, picked up on it immediately. He grabbed the ketchup bottle and squirted it directly at me.

"GAHhhhhh!" I realized my mistake right away, as my entire front became covered in ketchup. The potato bomb George had sent finally landed with a plop on my head. I knew I only stood one chance for redemption. Moving as quickly as my body could handle, I jumped up on the bench grabbed two pitchers of pumpkin juice, and gave Fred and George a much needed shower.

"Mwahaha!" I cackled evilly as their red hair flopped over their eyes. "You can't beat the food fight master!" They both just grinned up at me with their stupid little Weasley smirks, and the next thing I knew I landed on my back on the cold stone floor with a thud. Ouch.

"Sorry Katie, you'll have to do better than that if you want to outsmart us!" They high fived and grinned down at me. I really must have been dumb that night because I had forgotten rule number two of food catapult fights: Fred and George's legs were long enough to kick the bench out from under me. My legs were barely long enough to reach the floor when I sat down.

"Unfair use of leg length!" I called from the ground, but Fred just cleared the width of the table and demonstrated the third and most important rule of food catapult fights: Never, under any circumstances, do you ever leave yourself vulnerable to tickle attacks.

So as Fred legitimately tried to tickle me to death, George began to pelt me with peas and baby carrots.

I could practically hear Alicia and Angelina rolling their eyes from my position on the floor , even over my incessant screeching and snorting.

"Stop! Please! I surrender! White flag! White flag!" I managed to squeak out despite the tickle torture.

"Fine, fine. You've learned your lesson, I suppose" Fred relented, and being the gentleman he is, did not help me up from the floor.

"Katie, babe, get up I can see your underwear." Ahh Angelina, always the delicate one, I thought.

"Don't you like them? Polka dots!" I replied as I heaved myself off the ground. Angelina just sighed. I think I frustrate her when I'm not lady-like enough for her. I looked down at myself ketchup drenching my sweater, potatoes and carrots in my hair, and peas squished onto my robes from all the rolling around, and I knew I must be killing her right now.

"What you don't like my new look?" I fluttered my eyelashes in her direction, "I heard its all the new rage!" I strutted all the table like a fashion model wearing a gown, not their dinner. The twins wolf whistled and clapped, cracking up all the while, and Angelina finally cracked a smile.

"Honestly, you are crazy!" was all she could manage. I propped my head up on my hands and licked some stray ketchup off my cheek.

"Yeah but would you want me any other way?" I fluttered my eyelashes again.

"I would most certainly want you to act differently. Perhaps more…civilized?"

I ever so slowly turned around to meet the hook-nosed face of none other but Severus Snape. All I could manage was a weak "Heh, heh" as my stomach dropped to the floor.

"Miss Bell, Twin 1, 2, detention, my office, Saturday night. Don't forget your gloves."


Fred and George didn't seem to upset as we walked back up to the common room.

"It was worth it." George laughed. He ruffled my hair in that little kid way "just to see the look on your face when Snape told you to act civilized!" He wiped his hand on the leg of his pants to get rid of the mashed potatoes from my hair.

"Yeah," Fred agreed, "and I think Snape liked you polka dots just about as much as Angelina did!"

All I could do was bury my face in my hands, "He saw my knickers?"

The two of them found that to be just about the funniest thing they had ever heard, and could barely walk through the portrait hole without falling over.

"Whatever, you two, I'm going to shower!" And with that, I stomped up the stairs to my dormitory.


"Awww c'mon Katie Cat, you know we were just joking! If Snape actually ever looked up your skirt you know me and Georgie-boy would hex the life out of him!" Fred pleaded as I glared him down from the top of the stairs after my shower. I wasn't really mad at them I just liked to hear them grovel.

"Yeah Kitten, please come down stairs! We need help with Charms homework!" George whined. I just gave a big harrumph and kept my arms crossed as I padded over to them by the fire. Before I knew what was happening the scooped me up onto the couch right between them and practically squished me to death with their strong beater arms.

"Ahhh, our little Katie back with us again!" Fred sighed mockingly.

"I'm not that little!" I tried to say, but the hug muffled it into something like "hmm hmmmhmmmm!"

"love you too!" The twins replied in unison.