As of 8-11-18, this story was edited juuuust a little. RIP Tom Riddle.

Trixie Black Lestrange

The second morning of summer, Ginny was sitting at the breakfast table with Ron and Percy when an owl fluttered onto the windowsill, tapping on the window with his beak. Percy, being closest, jumped up and threw open the window, taking the letter from the bird. Ron shared a grin with Ginny, both knowing that their brother was looking for a letter from his girlfriend.

"Oh," Percy said with a frown, glancing at Ron and Ginny.

"Who's it from?" asked Ron teasingly.

"It says, 'Brianna Charleston,'" Percy replied. "It's for Ginny.

Ron frowned. "Better check it for enchantments," he said to Percy, grinning wickedly at Ginny.

Ginny glared at him as their mom turned around, a frown on her face. "Give it to me!" she snapped angrily. The letter jumped out of Percy's hand, flying to Ginny and causing Percy to yelp. "Oh," she said, noticing blood on his hand, "I didn't mean for it to cut you."

Molly looked at Ginny disapprovingly. "Ginevra, no magic out of—"

"I know," Ginny said in annoyance. "I didn't mean to, okay?"

"Don't use that tone of voice with me, Ginevra," Molly snapped, walking over to Percy. "Now let me see your hand, dear."

Ginny watched her mum a minute, then turned her attention to her letter. She decided that she would wait until she was in her room to read it, for Ron was looking on rather curiously, and was not above snatching letters out of her hand.

The owl hopped over to Ginny, snatching part of her pancake off her plate. Ginny giggled and broke her food apart so the owl could grab it better. Ron stared at her. "Ginny, don't let that thing eat off your plate!" he gasped. "You have no idea where it's been!"

"It's an owl, Ron," Ginny replied, irritated. "A post owl. One that mainly flies cross-country or stays in a loft. Exactly where could it have been?"

Ron sputtered and Percy, all healed up, winked at her behind Ron's back.

"Come along," Ginny said to the owl, taking her plate to the sink. It fluttered to her arm and contented itself with preening its feathers. She headed to the stairs just as two sleepy-looking red-heads tumbled down it.

"Woah," said one.

"Ginny's got—"

"An owl!"

"Where'd you get it?" asked George.

Ginny grinned. "It's not mine. It's waiting for a reply to the letter Brianna sent me," she explained.

Fred shrugged. "Smashing. Mum!" he hollered. "Did Ron leave any pancakes for us?"

"No, he ate them all," Percy said sarcastically. "But you can have some pancakes if you want."

Giggling, Ginny headed up the stairs, leaving the twins to marvel at their older brother's sense of humour. Sitting down at her desk, Ginny proceeded to open the letter. Brianna had written excitedly, but cautiously, in case someone else had gotten a hold of the letter.

Dear Ginny (that sounds awkward),

We miss you! We had gotten so used to talking to you at school that summer is going to be super boring without you here. Samantha and I could only come up with one way to help that, however. Do you think you could get permission to stay the last two weeks of summer here at our house? Our mum and dad are fine with it if the Weasleys are.

What are you going to do for the rest of the summer? Are you going on vacation? Samantha told me we should have remembered to ask you these questions before we left school, but we forgot, of course. Let us know if you can come.

And also, Sebastian might be a bit hungry. He can be quite the beggar, so make sure you don't lose any fingers.

Kisses and Curses,

Brianna Charleston

Samantha Charleston

Laughing, Ginny looked up at the owl. "They want me to come to their home," she sighed. "I haven't been there since I was six or seven! I hope mum will let me go."

The owl made a soft sound and hopped over to Ginny's quill, lifting it out of the inkwell slightly.

"I can't yet," Ginny told him with a sigh. "I have to talk to my mum first." The owl made a dejected sound and fluttered to the windowsill, eyeing her. "Oh, you must have been told to come back with an answer," Ginny sighed, standing and picking up her letter. "Well, I'll go ask, then."

Ginny made her way downstairs, finding Percy, Fred, and George still at the table, all three finishing their last few bites of pancake. "Ginny!" her mum said, turning around. "Did you want another pancake?"

"No thank—" Ginny began, but the owl swooped down from an upper floor, landing on Ginny's arm and chirping about wanting a pancake. "Um, sure, as long as you're okay with me feeding it to the owl," Ginny amended her reply.

Molly raised her wand and flipped a pancake straight into Ginny's hand. "There you go."

Ginny began to break up the food and feed it to the owl. "So whose owl is that?" Fred asked her, eyebrow raised.

"Charleston owl," Ginny replied, "from Brianna and Samantha. His name is Sebastian."

"Did one of them name him?" George asked. "Terrible name."

"Better than just plain John," snapped Ginny.

Fred nodded thoughtfully. "I think I remember them. They were your friends a long time ago. Were they at school this year?" Ginny nodded and would have spoken, but her brother continued. "You must be happy to have them as dorm mates after knowing them for a while."

George elbowed his twin and received a strange look. "What?" Fred asked.

"They're not Gryffindors," Ginny told him with a grin. "They're Slytherins. And they want me to spend the last two weeks of summer with them." Ginny looked up at Molly carefully. "May I go to their house for the last two weeks of summer?"

"Ginevra, I'm not letting you out of my sight until you graduate from school," Molly told her firmly. "You're not leaving the Burrow, and if you want to see them, they have to come here."

"Then they come here to stay for two weeks?" Ginny asked.

Molly sighed and nodded. "Better owl them and let them know."

George frowned. "They won't come to our house, though, will they?" he asked. "I mean, they're Slytherins!"

"They will come, but they'll stay with me, away from most of you, I suppose," Ginny replied. "At least until they get used to being here. It'll be quite an adjustment."

"They are to be at least decent to anyone who comes under our roof," Molly warned Ginny, "or they will not be welcomed back."

"What do you consider decent?" Ginny asked. "They will need to know."

Molly frowned. "Why? So they can push the limit?" she snapped.

With a sigh, Ginny replied, "They need to know specifically the Weasley definition of 'decent.' Because it doesn't match theirs."

"To be able to carry on a civil conversation with anyone here in our home," Molly replied. "Now go write your letter and send that owl on its way." She shooed Ginny out of the kitchen without further ceremony.

Ginny dashed up the steps to her room, the twins clattering up the stairs after her. "Gin, wait!" they called out to her when she was shutting her door. She opened it, allowing them in before she shut the door, locking and warding it.

"What is it?" Ginny asked them, sitting down at her desk and beginning her letter to her cousins.

"Um, tomorrow night, right?" Fred asked uncomfortably.

Ginny nodded and George said, "Do the twins play tricks on others like we do?"

Thinking carefully, Ginny nodded again. "But these are Slytherin tricks, not harmless ones, Fred and George. They teamed up with their cousin Megan and gave one of their housemates four ears."

The twins burst out laughing, and Fred sniggered, "Knocking you down the stairs with a rubber hand wasn't exactly harmless, was it, Ginny?"

"I'm a witch," Ginny retorted. "I wouldn't be hurt much. Now, a Muggle, on the other hand...you know."

"Instant death," gasped George dramatically, putting his hand to his forehead and falling backward onto the bed.

Ginny burst into giggles. "Don't mention Muggles dying to the girls while they're here," she warned them. "They might think it quite funny and put you up to doing something like knocking Muggles down stairs."

The boys grinned. "Okay, Gin. We'll be careful," they promised.

"We know—" began Fred.

"They have a—" interrupted George

"Slytherin background," Fred added.

"And can't be trusted," they chorused.

Ginny grinned, then became solemn. "Gryffindor has achieved its desired effect on you," she told them. "You're Slytherin haters."

George protested, "No, Gin! Just some of them. Others are fine, but have to keep up the appearance. We know this, but Ron doesn't. He might learn it, and he might not. But you can't compare us to Ron. He doesn't know everything we do because he's not like us, he's not as old as us, and he hasn't been at school as long as us."

Fred nodded approvingly at his twin's speech. "Honest, Ginny," he said. "Third year, I took a Slytherin girl to Hogsmeade. We're not opposed to Slytherins."

Ginny walked over to Fred and threw her arms around him. "Thank you," she whispered. "You're the first other than me. You will help when the girls are here, won't you?"

"Maybe—"

"As long as it's not too awkward," Fred added. "But we'll try to help. Ron will, of course, being our little brother, be a pest to them. Hopefully we can deter any fights."

"Thanks," Ginny told them again, releasing Fred and stepping back. She went back to the desk, picked up the note, and handed it to Fred. "Read and sign," she told him.

After quickly glancing through the note, Fred and George went to the desk and picked up Ginny's quill, scrawling their names across the bottom of it. Then Fred wrote something he wouldn't let Ginny see, folded up the paper, and gave it to the owl, who promptly flew out the window.

"What did you write?" Ginny asked him carefully, not sure whether to frown or laugh.

"I wrote, 'We didn't let Ron sign it because he wanted to destroy it,'" Fred replied with a grin. "It's a warning that they should understand."

"How would you know what they understand?" Ginny asked them.

George shrugged. "We're twins; they're twins. And we partially understand Slytherin thinking, so maybe...I really don't know."

"Me either," said Fred. "Just seemed like a good idea at the time."

Ginny burst out laughing. "They'll understand it perfectly," she said joyfully. "It's a perfect warning to them. Good thinking."

Fred and George looked at each other and shrugged. "We're just good like that."

"We received the letter, Mother," Samantha said, standing at her mother's side and holding the letter up.

Naridia Charleston looked over at her daughter and asked, "What was Estella's reply?"

"Mrs. Weasley will not allow her to come here to stay, but will allow us to come stay at the Burrow," Brianna answered. "Since the Chamber of Secrets scare, Mrs. Weasley doesn't want to let Estella out of her sight."

The woman laughed. "Did the letter mention anything else?"

"Estella was not the only one to sign it: the Weasley twins, Fred and George, signed it as well. And one left us a note saying, 'We didn't let Ron sign it because he wanted to destroy it,'" Brianna told her mother.

"We took that to mean that Ron will be hostile to our stay at the Burrow," Samantha explained. "He's the most prejudiced of the Weasley boys, according to Stel."

Naridia smiled. "Understandable, considering who his friends are." She stood, putting her arms around her girls. "I will speak to your father about your going. I'm fairly certain he will let you go."

Brianna and Samantha hugged their mum and peeked around her at each other, grinning excitedly. "But," their mother continued, and both looked up at her worriedly, "you need to owl Megan, Guinevere, and Cherea that they need to come earlier because you won't be here."

"Yes, Mother," replied the girls, heading off to their room. Samantha sighed. "I still wish we could have all gotten together. Mrs. Weasley is such a pest!"

Ginny opened her eyes, finding herself lying on the floor in her room. "Ginny, are you—" the redhead's question of concern was met with a startled scream. "Well, you're not okay. Did you have a bad dream?"

"Fred?" Ginny whimpered, throwing her arms around him and sobbing, "it was chasing me!" into his robes.

"I'm here too, Gin," George said awkwardly, looking on. "We heard you fall out of bed and cry out."

Fred hugged Ginny awkwardly, not used to comforting his little sister (the twins usually left that up to Bill and Charlie). "You're safe here, Ginny," he told her softly. "It's all right. Was this the first time you had a bad dream?"

Ginny looked up at the twins and shook her head. "I had one at school just before I came home, and the girls couldn't wake me," she whispered. "It was terrible."

George frowned. "If you keep having bad dreams, and Mum finds out, it'll be even worse," he warned her.

Biting her lip, she nodded, leaning against Fred again. "Silencing Wards," she sighed. "It'll have to do."

"Are you going to go back to sleep?" Fred asked her.

"Can't," Ginny replied, taking a deep breath. "How about learning that hex tonight instead of tomorrow night?"

The boys grinned, and George added, "As long as you're up to it."

Ginny snorted. "I'm a Weasley?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Let's go."

Laughing softly, the three of them stood up, the boys lifting their wands and dropping a ward. "What was that?" Ginny asked.

"Silencing and Locking Ward," Fred replied with a grin. "Figured that we might need it. Good thing we put it up, 'cause we didn't expect you to scream at us."

Blushing, Ginny apologized, and George told her to shut her mouth. "It's not your fault," he said. "No need to apologize."

The twins stepped outside so that Ginny could change her clothes, coming back to her room with her cloak. "Thanks," she whispered, tiptoeing down the stairs with them. They headed out to the paddock, Fred and George grinning at each other.

Once they were in the paddock, Ginny began to tell them about the hex. "It's like the Knockback Jinx," she explained. "It will also knock a person away from you, but it's different because it will also render the person unconscious—even if they don't hit a wall or anything. There's no internal damage that I know of, unless they fly backwards into a wall or something."

"What's the incantation?" George asked, and Ginny looked at him awkwardly.

"It's non-verbal," she said softly. Both boys stared, and Ginny went on, "The wand motion is a swirl-and-stab movement. This spell isn't a curse, but still, the steadier you hold your hand, the more control you will have."

Fred looked at his twin, unsure what to do. "Ah," he began, "this isn't a Dark spell, is it, Ginny?"

"No," Ginny replied, "but it requires more control than most spells. Here. I'll do it to that rock right there."

She drew her wand, showing the boys how to swirl-and-stab their wand in the right way. "And now—" Ginny swirl-and-stabbed her wand at the rock.

A light blue streak hit the rock, sending it flying far, far away. Fred and George stared. "Will it send people that far away?" they asked.

"Not unless the caster has a very strong intent," Ginny replied. "And the rock is inanimate, causing it to have no resistance to the spell."

"Ginny, be very careful with this spell," Fred warned her. "Where did you learn to do this?"

"I created this hex," Ginny told them softly, making their mouths drop open, "to protect myself. I've only used it on Miskenet, and she was conscious when she fell to the floor. She was not hurt, but out of breath."

Fred nodded. "And she used it on us—Ginny! You told her to when you knew what it did!" he snapped, frowning.

George stepped closer to his brother, and Ginny heard magic crackle between them. "Ginny, why would you tell her to do that?"

"I was annoyed with you for jumping out at me from behind statues," Ginny replied, readying herself in case she needed to shield against her brothers' spells. "I didn't appreciate your nasty-looking faces, and I—I just told her to practice on you. I'm sorry."

Fred sighed, shaking his head at her. "Ginny, think!" he told her. "It's not our favourite pastime, but still you should think about what you tell people to do!"

George shrugged, stepping up and putting his arm around Ginny. She shifted nervously, feeling magic in his hand and arm. "Gin," he began, "you need to be more careful. What if we weren't so forgiving?"

Ginny scooted away from George, crossing her arms, her wand still in her hand. "I said that I'm sorry," she repeated. "I know what could have happened: I've made enemies before. That's why I have nightmares."

Whirling around, Ginny headed for the house without looking back. Fred glanced at George and hurried after her. "Ginny, wait," he said. "It's okay. We know how much we annoy you sometimes, but we didn't mean to upset you. We're just worried about you. You've changed so much since last summer."

Ginny looked up at him. "And I will continue to change," she told him. "Throughout my school years. Just like you have changed. Times are different, and so are we."

"Ha!" shouted George behind them, and suddenly a rock whizzed past, smashing through the Weasley's kitchen window. "Ooops," he said mildly.

Fred groaned. "Mum's going to kill us," he moaned.

"Maybe not," Ginny said, raising her wand and dashing toward the house. "Reparo!" She stepped inside the kitchen, pocketing her wand just as her mother came down the stairs.

"You're up early," Molly said to the three of them. "Did you break something again?" Ginny looked away on purpose and Molly pounced on her. "What did you do, Ginny?"

"I just...tripped over something and made a lot of noise," she said. "I didn't mean to wake anyone up."

Behind their mother, Fred and George had noticed the rock on the floor, and were very worried about it. George slipped his hand into his pocket, grasping his wand and muttering, "Accio rock." It flew to his other hand, and he slipped it into his pocket.

"All right," Molly said. "Now all of you leave the kitchen so I can make breakfast."

The three of them walked sedately out of the kitchen, all glancing at each other. In the upstairs hallway, the three of them burst out laughing. "Good thinking, George," Fred said. "I saw that rock and was desperately hoping that she wouldn't see it."

Ginny giggled, "I forgot about it!"

They burst out laughing again, and a door banged open, Ron stumbled out, blinking sleepy-eyed. "I'm trying to sleep!" he growled at them. "Can't you be quiet?"

"And I'm trying to study," said a calm voice behind him.

Ron yelped and whirled around to find that Percy had silently come out of his room as well. "Studying?" Ron asked incredulously. "This early in the morning? You have the Hermione disease."

"No," said Fred with a gasp.

"Not the Hermione disease!" George added, eyes wide.

"Is it—contagious?" Fred asked in a whisper.

Percy scowled at them, then turned and went back into his room, shutting the door with a bang.

"I'm guessing not," Ginny said. "Ron hasn't caught it yet."

Ron glared at the three of them, and they burst out laughing again, heading down the hall to the twins' room. "So, Ginny," began Fred, "do you think that those girls would brainstorm new prank ideas with us?"

Ginny shrugged, grinning. "Probably," she said, turning toward the window at the sound of tapping. "Oh, their owl's back! I wonder what their parents said?" She went over to the window, pulling it open and allowing the owl in.

She took the envelope from it and opened the envelope. "Oh," she said, pulling out a letter with Fred and George's names on the outside. "This is for you two, I suppose. They wrote you too! How nice."

The boys shot her a wary look, but she was already opening her letter. "Oh, goody!" Ginny said happily, bouncing up and down. "They can come, and they already have permission!"

"Yeowww!" shouted one of the twins, falling to the ground.

Ginny turned around to see the letter jump out of George's hand and land on the floor, laughing at Fred. "Read me now," it said.

Fred sighed and picked up the now-silent letter. "'Haha,'" he read. "'The joke's on you. Ginny told us that you like pranks. So how was this one, the slap in the letter? Hope you're not too badly hurt. We'd enjoy reciprocal pranks, of course. Yours truly, the Twin Factor.'"

George looked at Ginny. "Huh?"

"Invitation to the War between the Twins?" Ginny replied with a shrug. "I can't always explain the girls to you."

"There's a postscript," Fred continued. "'By the way, thank you for warning us about...well, you know. Let's just say that you two are the exceptions to the Weasley rule.' Ginny, what on earth?"

"They're thanking you for approving of their visit," Ginny told them, grinning. "And for warning them about Ron."

Fred considered that a moment before nodding. "They seem nice," he said. "Can't wait til they get here." He flashed a wicked grin at his twin and Ginny knew they were already planning to prank her cousins.