A Prank Gone Wrong
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[A/N at the end]
"Come on Ron, it'll be fine!" Fred joked as he grabbed his brother's shoulder and smiled down at him reassuringly. George scoffed and Fred glared at him in warning as Ron looked between the two of them suspiciously. He could see the machinations whirring in his brother's mind, and hoped that he'd fall for it. Ron wasn't exactly known for being the sharpest tool in the shed.
"Ron, I swear on my life that there's nothing bad in there," George said in a soothing tone as he crouched down to meet Ron at his level.
"Mum says we aren't supposed to go down there," their brother replied as he looked down Knockturn Alley suspiciously, and somewhat fearfully.
"Yeah but, mum also told us that the tooth fairy was real, and look what happened there. She just doesn't want us to find out about all the fun stuff down there," said George. For some reason, Ron trusted him more than Fred, and he didn't really mind it. Besides, Fred had already decided that Ginny was going to be his protégé.
"Look Ron, if you don't want to come with us, that's fine. But George and I are going and don't come crying if we say we told-you-so. There's probably loads of cool joke and sweets shops down there," Fred added. It was a complete load of lies, but it was excusable in the name of mischief.
Ron looked at the two of them and then back towards the bank where their parents were getting money out. His eyebrows were scrunched together and his nose was wrinkled as he stared down the dark alley in front of them. With a deep breath, Ron looked up at them and nodded, "Fine, but you have to promise not to tell mum and dad."
"We aren't stupid, little bro," George replied as he held his hand out for Ron to take. Sure, they were about to play a prank on their kid brother, but they weren't completely cruel.
With a final thumbs-up to Ron, Fred led his brothers down the dark alley. He had to admit that it was freaking even him out, and he was much older than Ron was. Strange figures and shadows danced along the brick and stone walls, creating an eerie and haunting atmosphere as the sounds of Diagon Alley disappeared gradually behind them. The deeper into the alley they walked, the stranger the shopfronts became, and the darker it was too.
"I want to go back," Ron whispered. The trepidation was clear on his face and his eyes were wide as he walked close to George; knuckles white from how tightly he was holding his hand.
Fred ruffled his younger brother's head playfully and grinned down at him, "It's alright Ron, there's nothing dangerous here."
It was another lie. He had heard tales about strange creatures and people that lurked in the shadows, and one of his friends swore on his life that someone had tried to sell him a phial of human blood. As a little wall lamp flickered above them, Fred glanced around the alley and felt the faintest flame of panic in his heart. It would be easy to get out, there was only one direction to go in, but that didn't guarantee a safe return to Diagon Alley.
White hot regret seared his blood but he froze when he caught sight of the shopfront that his cousin had mentioned in passing.
"There it is!" Fred muttered excitedly as he pointed at the dark grimy wooden sign, the name only faintly glinting as the light hit it. "Let's go in!"
Fred stepped closer to the shopfront and peered into the shop windows, the glass was thick with dust and he could barely see a thing. His cousin had said that all sorts of treasures and antiques were inside the shop, and as Fred pressed his right up against the glass, a steel grey eye stared straight back at him as he jumped back in fright.
Heart beating a million miles, and skin cool with panicked sweat, Fred could register his brothers laughing heartily at his expense. Fred ran his hand across his face a few times, and tried desperately to calm his breathing down. The last time he had received such a shock was during a Halloween prank that his older brothers, Charlie and Bill, had played on him and George. To this day, spiders still scared the bollocks out of him.
"D'you still want to go in, Freddie?" George shouted out playfully, voice breathless from laughter. In reply, Fred simply flipped the bird at him before he brought himself back up to his feet and dusted the pack of his pants off.
A strange figure in a dark velvet robe glided past them and Fred couldn't help but feel as though the creature, whatever it was, had no legs.
"If you say anything to Arnie, I'll pour itching powder all over your underwear drawer," Fred warned his brother as Ron zipped his mouth shut. Whatever fear and trepidation had been on his face, was clearly gone now seeing as Fred had just embarrassed himself and would probably never hear the end of it for as long as he lived. "Alright then, you pair of mangy gits, let's head on back before a vampire bites us or something."
Author's Note
Word Count: 891
Written for the Houses Competition
House: Ravenclaw
Category: Notable Witches and Wizards
Prompt: 1, Incorporate the location of Borgin & Burkes into your story
I hope you all enjoyed this story x
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Until next time, Andy x