Boom!
Bang!
Skid!
Slam!
Crash!
Bam!
"OWW!"
Mr. Weasley sighed before calling out, "Fred! George! What happened?"
Fred and George entered the living room grinning, faces blackened and robes torn. Fred's hair was spiked like a porcupine's while George sported bald splotches all over his head.
"We were experimenting"
"A new recipe"
"Chili smoked chicken"
"So hot it exploded!"
"Although I must say, it's quite scrumptious. Don't you agree, Fred?"
"Oh most definitely. Well, worth it. You should try some, dad."
"Boys, clean that up and set the table for supper." Mr. Weasley was very well used to exploding dinners, flying furniture, and anything else that can be expected of the infamous Weasley twins. They had moved back into the Burrow to support their father after Mrs. Weasley's unexpected death. Not much can be said as to whether they improved or worsened life at home.
It had been four months after her death and the Weasley family was still struggling to make ends meet. Mrs. Weasley had died during an attack at St. Mungos during the war and it devastated the family and all their friends. Fortunately Harry had defeated Voldemort through the help of his trusty sidekicks Ron and Hermione. For some time there were still attacks from death eaters, but soon enough, all the death eaters had been safely disposed of or sent to Azkaban. After the war, Harry moved in with the Weasley's as an adopted son since the Dursleys were never people he considered family in the first place.
It was their last week of Christmas vacation, so the famous trio consisting of Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger inhabited two rooms in the burrow( Hermione shared with Ginny) before they would return to their final year as students is Hogwarts. Prior to the Christmas vacation, Hermione and Ron became a couple. It didn't last, and although they claimed to remain friends, Hermione had been acting very 'worked up'. The only reasons she agreed to stay at the burrow were to support Harry, help around the house, and spend time with Ginny. Little did she know that coming to the burrow would strike one of the biggest changes in her life.
Ginny was having problems of her own as well. She was growing into a brown eyed beauty with a slender body and curves in all the right places. Gorgeous as she was, she had no problem getting any guy she wanted (except Harry for some reason). Unfortunately, Ron had just exploited her secret relationship with a raven haired sixth year Ravenclaw named Blain Narwahl. Being the only girl remaining in a family of all overprotective men, there was a simultaneous agreement to forbid her to date until she had graduated Hogwarts. With no one to fight for her she was forced to abide by the rules.
"It's so unfair!" she cried in vain. After a short break, she started right up again, "Wait! Why does Ron have a girlfriend? And everyone else could during there years at Hogwarts. And how come this was never enforced before?"
"Uhh…well…you see…err…" was all the 7th year could muster, "I'm a guy and I'm more mature and more… knowledgeable than you."
"My arse is more mature than you! Using a four syllable word was such a stretch! Can't even come up with a legit excuse and he says he's more 'knowledgeable'!"
"That's my point. I'm a guy, and I know how stupid guys can be. I don't want you around them!"
This went on for a good 15 minutes with a couple bruises here and there.
"Now that's enough!" Mr. Weasley stormed and the battle came to an abrupt stop, "Ginny, I know that this may seem unfair, but we're your family and we know what's best for you."
"But"
"No buts"
Ginny screamed in frustration and raging anger as she charged up to her room infuriated at the injustice towards her.
"I don't get it, Mione! Dad never said anything like that before. What's gotten into him? It's that bloody git I regret to call my brother! I could kill him for ruining my life! What have I done to him? Huh? What did I ever do? Don't answer that!" Ginny was pacing in her room like a mad man while Hermione sat on the edge of her bed.
"Well," Hermione replied, "They're just doing it because they love you and don't want you hurt. It is unfair, but it's for your protection."
Ginny knew it was true, but that didn't mean she would get over it. If she was going to live with it, she was going to make everyone else's life a living hell. "But what if I don't want bloody protection? What if I wanna live a little? Besides I know Blain wouldn't hurt me." Ginny was close to hysterics by now.
"Maybe...you can never be sure. Ron's right. Guys are jerks. The one person you least expect to hurt you can hurt you 10 times more. Besides, I've heard this guy's rich. Most wealthy wizards don't even associate with us." Hermione was trying hard to make Ginny accept her fate, "and anyway. You don't need a boyfriend. You probably won't even get into a serious relationship with anyone till after Hogwarts anyway. It's just going to be a fling that will take time away from better things like studying."
Ginny responded, "Just because he's rich doesn't mean he's a jerk. Being rich should be a plus, right? He's different. He likes me and I like him back. I know him and he's a really nice guy. But of course it's like you to want me to study more."
It was just like Hermione to prefer her nose in a book than a boyfriend. She was never one to waste time gossiping about cute boys on a daily basis; or at least that's the way it was after her fling with Ron. Hermione started to lose interest in arguing with something she knew was unfair to Ginny. If she had a chance at love, why shouldn't she take it? Just because Hermione couldn't, didn't mean Ginny should be deprived of such things. Maybe tomorrow she'd try to convince Mr. Weasley to change his mind, but as of now, she decided it was time to turn in for the night. She explained her plan to Ginny, who seemed satisfied, and they both went to sleep.
The next morning, Hermione awoke to Ginny badgering her to wake up.
"Okay, Okay, I'm up." As Hermione adjusted her eyes to the light inside, she looked outside and noticed it was still dark. "Ginny, what time is it?" she asked.
"It's five" she replied.
"Five? Since when are you up at five?" said Hermione, in pure shock that a Weasley child was awake that early. Now that she was wide awake, she was able to notice that Ginny was laughing pretty hard to the point where she had trouble breathing. "Ginny, what happened?" Hermione questioned with concern for the girl's physical and mental health.
"Come…see for…yourself" she managed to reply through fits of laughter and gasps of air. Hermione rose from the bed, stuck her feet in her fuzzy red slippers, and followed Ginny to Ron's room. Hermione got worried as a devious smile appeared on Ginny's face before opening the door and walking in. Hermione had seen a lot in her lifetime. She had seen Malfoy turned into a ferret and Professor Snape dressed in Grandma clothes, yet nothing could have made her more amused. In Harry's bed lay Harry peacefully sleeping and cuddling up to…Ron? Or would it be Rhonda? There next to Harry, Ron was dressed in a gigantic medieval gown complete with puffy sleeves and frills. The top half of the dress was a green and silver corset with…was Ron wearing a bra? Wait. Hermione thought, is that my bra?! He's wearing a stuffed bra. What?! How?! The bottom half of the dress consisted of clashy purple and orange stripes. His cheeks were painted rosy pink and his eyes were decorated by multicolor eye shadow while above his eyes lay one connected eyebrow.
"Just wait till Lav Lav sees this!" Ginny squealed."Wait! You did this?!" Hermione practically shouted.
Ginny clamped her mouth when Harry stirred a bit. Lucky for them, he didn't wake up. Instead, he murmured something along the lines of "Oh Ginny. Don't go. We're not done yet." When the girls heard this they immediately shut up and stared at Harry, flabbergasted. Ginny blushed and Hermione simply muttered a "woa". Eventually, they were back on track and Ginny got to explaining.
"…And so I pulled a few tricks, got this on Ron, and levitated him over to Harry's bed without even so much as a peep." Ginny stated with pride clear in her voice.
"They sure are light sleepers." Hermione said sarcastically.
"Wait, till you hear the best part. I've got pictures of the whole thing!" said the Weaslette as she took out a camera and flashed some more pictures. After she was content with the pictures, she programmed it to take a picture whenever there was motion in the room. That way, they wouldn't miss out on the boys' reactions when they woke up. After seeing enough, the girls snuck out, but not before they noticed Ron lay his head on Harry's shoulder as the two cuddled together while Harry sing songed a few sweet words to Ron (whom he thought was Ginny in his dream).
Outside of the room, the two friends went down to sneak in an early breakfast snack. When they reached the kitchen, Hermione doubled over in laughter. "All this just because you can't go out until you graduate."
"Well," Ginny responded with mock seriousness, "I'm not allowed to date anyone because I'm a girl. And its unfair that Ron can date because he's a guy, so to make matters fair, I made him a girl."
"I just have to say one thing," Hermione warned, "You might want to find a defense weapon cus' there's no way Ron's leaving you alive."
Harry was just having a lovely dream where he, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George were playing a slightly modified game of quidditch in the Weasley's backyard. The sweet aroma of pumpkin pies filled the October breeze. Hermione was inside helping Mrs.Weasley with a new recipe. Harry lost his senses in the tantalizing scent to the point that he barely missed the snitch flying right passed him. When he regained his senses he charged at it, only to be cut short by Ginny who dove in and grabbed the snitch. After Ginny completed the ritual victory dance, she proceeded to the kitchen to help with the food and have a little girl talk. Harry pleaded with her not to go because he wasn't sure he and Ron could beat Fred and George and watch their backs for pranks at the same time. After starting up a new game without the aid of Ginny, Harry felt something tickle his ear. At first he thought it was the snitch, and then went on to realize it was someone's warm breath.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"
At the sound of the shriek, Ron let out one of his own as he leaped out of the bed, only to fall flat on his face because of some unbalanced heaviness. Down below, two teenage girls screeched at the sound of screams and a THUD! coming from the upper floor. They quickly (and wisely) decided it wasn't safe to remain in the house so they snuck out the back door to 'get some air'.
Meanwhile, back in Harry's room, Harry stood petrified while pointing an uncontrollably shaky hand at the monster now lying still on the cold ground. Faster than a cheetah, Harry jumped over the creature, flew down the stairs, and raced out the door leading to the great outdoors. Trying to regain his composure, he saw a blurry figure of about seven feet high. He fell backwards again in fright and landed on a rather long stick like object. Seconds later, he was launched into the air, screaming like a girl and holding on for dear life.
Ahhh! What's happening? Curse myself for forgetting my bloody glasses. Woooaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Why am I flying? Oh man, am I on my broom? I can't see where I'm going. And where was that troll I saw? And what about that creature lying in my room? What happened to the Weasleys? And Hermione? I must be dreaming. I must be—
Harry then found himself immobilized on the ground after hurtling into a tree.
"Ha-Harry…are you alright?"
Harry squealed at the familiar voice and thrust her into a hug. "Mione! You're alive! Where is everybody? What were those…those things?"
Hermione handed him his glasses. "First, you need to put these on. Ginny got them from your room."
Harry put on his glasses and gave a smile of relief when he realized that there was no troll anywhere nearby. Ginny was simply hovering above Hermione on her broom giving Harry's poor vision the illusion that they were both one creature.
"Wait," Harry queried, still confused, "What was that beast in my room?" "Beast?" Both girls stood puzzled.
"Harry, what are you talking about? What beast?" Hermione questioned, voice laced with concern. Voldemort was dead. Evil was destroyed for the most part. Harry shouldn't be experiencing any problems, seeing visions, or feeling pain. What did he see? Voldemort was dead and dead people can't come back to life. What else would harm him?
Harry replied a bit more shakily than he wanted to, "I was sleeping. When I woke up it was on top of me. It yelled and fell unconscious on the floor. It's still there, I think. I couldn't really see it without my glasses, but it was absolutely revolting and scary…although it did have a rather high pitched scream."
After the explanation both girls knew exactly who he was describing. Ginny thought of telling the truth, but decided against it. It was like she wanted to get mercilessly murdered. She was definitely asking for it by her next move. In a high pitched mock frightened voice she spoke what very well could be her last words. "Harry, what if there's something dangerous in your room? In our house? Huh! What about Ron? Where was he? Dad, Fred, and George all left for work early. Poor Ron is trapped in the house all alone to face the beast! And he's afraid of things as measly as spiders! Harry! Where's Ron? Harry?"
Harry felt a vast amount of guilt and fear surge through him as each of Ginny's words hit him. "I…I don't know where Ron is." Harry shamefully admitted, "I didn't even think about him. I was so set on getting out of there, I didn't check to see if Ron was there. Oh no. If he gets hurt it'll be my entire fault. How could I forget him? He was always there for me, to save me in the knick of time, but now when his life could be endangered…" Harry stood up. "No. I won't let him get harmed. I'm going to find him."
"Oh Harry! What if you get hurt too? Shouldn't someone go get dad first?" Ginny was having fun with this.
"No, Ginny. It might be too late. None of us know what that swine is." In the background, Hermione snickered at hearing Harry referring to his best friend as a swine. Where was the video camera when you needed one? At least there still was that camera upstairs. It just occurred to her that Ron was lying unconscious and alone.
"You girls stay here." Harry ordered in a manly protective voice.
"You're so brave!" she said as she planted a kiss on his cheek. Harry's knees buckled up. Who would think that the same boy that fought in a gruesome battle against an evil nemesis would tremble at a kiss from a girl? Powerful wizards are so weird. As Harry entered the house he felt like a superhero from comic books he had read. A pretty lady would kiss him luck and he'd fly off to save the world. Hermione and Ginny followed Harry inside, despite him telling them otherwise. There was no way they could miss the free show. On second thought, it was free for Hermione. It would cost Ginny her life. Harry bravely climbed up the stairs and into his room, but Ron wasn't on the floor. He was on the bed. Harry looked for a weapon, but when he couldn't find one, he decided to use his hands. (Smart move, eh?) Upon notice that Ron was now conscious, Ginny backed out of the room silently, followed by an amused Hermione.
Inside the room, Harry cautiously approached the fiend when he heard quiet sobbing. He observed the creature and realized that, well; it wasn't a creature at all. It was just some lady in an incredibly hideous dress. The question still remained though as to whom it was.
"Err…hello?" Ron jumped at the sound, and when he faced Harry, it was Harry's turn to jump.
"AAAAHH!...Ron, Ron is that you? What happened? Are you okay?" Harry desperately tried to suppress the urge to laugh seeing as his friend was clearly not in the mood to be laughed upon. No such luck. Harry burst out laughing despite the death glares he was receiving from Ron. After he had finally composed himself, he set himself on his bed next to Ron (who had sat down while Harry was busy rolling on the floor laughing).
"Buddy, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I ran out. Feel really stupid. Do you have any idea? Who did this? Made fools out of both of us so easily. Who?"
Ron looked baffled at Harry's clueless expression.
Was he really that dense? Voldie must have been really dumb if he couldn't kill Harry.
I feel so bad for running out on Ron. I'm so stupid. Most kids get over monsters under their bed by the time they become eight. Or I'd hope. Maybe it's because Ron was on my bed. How did he get there? And in that awful dress? Even then, I still shouldn't have run out like a five year old. Pssh. Monsters! Am I really that dense?
"Harry? Honestly, you don't have any idea who would do something like this?" Harry merely shook his head and looked at Ron as if Ron knew something he didn't.
Sighing, the redhead continued, "Work with me mate. Who is the one person who can't stay in the same room lest one of us is killed?"
"Umm…" Harry was really trying, which made it sadder than the situation really was. "The only person whom you could ever kill would be…Malfoy. But what has he got to do with anything?"
"Blimey, Harry! It's Ginny! She's the mastermind behind all this!"
"Ginny? She's so nice. She wouldn't do anything of that sort."
"Are you out of your mind? She lives for this? What do you mean, 'she's nice'? Satan's assistant is more like it." After pondering the thought he shot back, "Of course, you would never see her in her sinister acts, she's a blasted angel around you: all the blushing, giggling and flirting." At this, Ron gagged and Harry turned a slight crimson.
Truth be told, Harry always enjoyed the adoration; he'd never admit that to anyone though. Blasted shyness. He was quite disappointed when all the attention had turned to a new blue-eyed face called Blain Narwhal. Nowadays, Ginny seemed to see Harry as just a friend rather than a future boyfriend, husband, father to her kids, grandfather, great-grandfather, and so on. Basically, Blain shattered and replaced all those pictures.
Harry quickly put away his regrets and wishful thinking of winning his princess back and focused on the problem at hand, "But we both know she's over that."
"I know. It's wonderful. It would be so weirdly sickening if my best friend fancied my sister."
Great, so much for winning her back. "Yeah, I know. She's head over heels for Narwhal. That's no good."
"Right," Ron was finally using that tiny dusty brain of his to piece things together, "That's exactly the motive she needs to plot against me." Inside that rarely used brain of his, he visualized all the possible ways to die, all of which contained a certain redhead cackling maliciously as he died excruciatingly long and torturous deaths. He shuddered the image away and thought of one word: payback.
"But first, get me out of this thing. I can't breathe in this bloody corset (Ron knows what a corset is?). Don't know how girls do it. I can't stay one more minute in this damned dress."
Meanwhile, the two anxious girls paced outside the door wondering what in the world was taking the two dolts inside so long. Frustrated, Ginny was the first to crack. "What's taking those idiots so long?"
"You don't think," Hermione cogitated, "that they already caught on to your act. For all we know, they could be hatching a plan to get revenge on us."
"Merlin, you're right. What are we going to do?"
"Me?" Hermione retorted, "I had nothing to do this, remember? Why should I invite unwanted trouble?"
"Because, long way or short, you are going to have to pick sides. Obviously you're sensible enough to join the side that has brains, a.k.a. mine, against those brainless twits. You might as well be a doll and start now." Ginny grinned triumphantly while Hermione sighed her surrender, facing the fact that she was going to be dragged into this battle with or without her consent.
"For now we just have to be on the lookout. Where are those extendable ears Fred and George gave you? We could use them to hear what they're planning."
"Hermione, you're brilliant." And with that she was off to her room. A dejected Ginny returned when she couldn't find what she was looking for.
"Couldn't find it, huh?" Hermione asked, seeing nothing in Ginny's neatly manicured hands.
"Sadly no, but I don't think it should be too hard to foil their revenge plot. It doesn't look like we'll find out soon since the amount of time they are taking probably means they don't have a steady plan. We might misunderstand something, so for now we should just wait downstairs until they come out."
"You are right." Hermione replied, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we made a stop at Diagon Alley. I've been meaning to go there to purchase some new books and other materials before we returned to Hogwarts. Would you like to accompany me?"
"Of course. I'd completely forgotten I have a shopping list of my own. Let me just go change, then we'll leave via floo powder." Ginny disappeared into her room and Hermione went downstairs to wait.
Just as the two girls abandoned the burrow, two boys stepped out of a room grinning maliciously, with malevolence glistening in their eyes.