"Over here, hurry, she'll see!" two stocky 11 year olds, with flame colored hair dragged their little brother across their untidy back garden in the blazing summer sun. Seemingly running away from nothing. It looked rather odd.
"She's inside making lunch, she won't know anything," Ron protested, sweaty from the sprint.
"Oh contraire, little brother, we can't take any chances," Fred smirked and stopped under the shade of a shaggy tree, plopping himself down beneath it and drawing his wand.
"Gotta be safe," agreed George, planting himself next to his brother and patting the space between them for Ron to sit.
Although nearly the same size as his older brothers, Ron didn't much like to argue with them. Somehow, when he did, he always ended up with some type of strange disfigurement that sometimes lasted weeks. Once, they had somehow turned his freckles into tiger stripes, making him look like some type of strange boy-tabby cat. As much as his mother tried, she couldn't remove them, and they ended up having to make a trip to St Mungo's, earning all three of them punishments for embarrassing his ministry-worker father, Arthur, who was always already under scrutiny at work by those who looked down on their family for their "muggle loving". No, Ron definitely was not in the mood for another summer of endless de-gnoming and muggle cleaning the entire house. As he was not yet a trained wizard, he had to do all his chores by hand. He couldn't wait for his first year at Hogwarts. He just hoped maybe Mum and Dad would be able to swing him his own fresh school robes... at the rate he was growing he wasn't sure the twins' hand-me-downs would fit him properly. "What is it you guys wanted to show me anyways? he asked timidly, secretly praying it was more Hogwarts stuff they nicked during their first year to bring back as souvenirs for he and his younger sister, Ginny.
"We didn't have anything to show you, per say," answered George.
"No," continued Fred, "more like we wanted to recruit you."
"Only snag is, you'll have to make an unbreakable vow," finished Fred, a toothy troublesome smile etched across both faces, they both had their left front tooth missing.
"What's an unbreakable vow?" Ron asked apprehensively, wondering if it meant he'd be reliving his tiger stripe days, or possibly barking like a dog every time someone said the word "spoon" again.
"It's nothing too bad," started Fred.
"Merely just a technicality," assured George.
"You are our brother and all-"
"Other people would have to go through much more extensive background checking."
"We want to recruit you as one of us,"
"Even though you're not nearly as handsome." They looked at each other and then back at Ron, waiting for a response.
Ron didn't have to think very hard, maybe this meant he could learn some magic before school, get a headstart, be top of his class, even headboy, or learn how to always be just out of his mom's reach like the twins, even when she was nose to nose with them after they did something horrible (like turning one of Ginny's dolls into a rabid opossum on "accident". "Okay sure, what do I have to do?"
"Simply stick out your wand arm," said Fred.
"We'll do the rest," finished George.
"Well, I haven't a wand!" Ron said in an almost squeal, his cheeks matching his hair. How thick could they get?
"We never said anything about needing a wand," George said with a smirk.
Fred grabbed his right arm and pulled it towards George, who grabbed it by the elbow and turned it clockwise in his.
"Now-" began Fred, just as the backdoor of the house swung open with a crack.
"BOYS!" a shrill voice rang through the garden, some gnomes who had began to peak through the fence hopefully, trying to sneak back in had disappeared faster than you could say "trouble". "I'VE TOLD YOU HOW MANY TIMES, TAKE YOUR SCHOOL TRUNKS TO YOUR ROO-WHATDOYOUTHINKYOU'REDOING" Quicker than lightening, she had caught up to where they were, clear across the garden, like she was in two places at once.
Frozen in place, the twins couldn't move. Although Ron was desperately trying to escape. George's hand was locked in his, they were sitting cross-legged on the grass, while Fred stood over them with the tip of his wand just about to touch their arm-lock. Blue eyes as wide as the sea, faces more pale than any vampire you'd ever meet down at the Hog's Head.
"W-w-e we-were jus-" Fred tried to explain.
"WAIT. UNTIL. YOUR. FATHER. GETS. HOME. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! AN UNBREAKABLE VOW! HE IS NINE YEARS OLD! YOU ARE ELEVEN! DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF THAT IS BROKEN? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE? YOU'RE NOT TO DO MAGIC OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL. YOU'RE NOT TO RISK YOUR BROTHER'S LIFE! GIVE ME YOUR WANDS!"
"Bu-"
"Mum-" George tried to sound as calm as possible, finally releasing Ron's arm from his. Finally freed, Ron stood up as quickly as possible and tried to look innocent. He moved to the side and noticed his mother's eyes did not waiver from the twins'. Obviously homefree, he ran for it.
"YOUR WANDS." She held out her hand. Begrudgingly, they handed them over.
"We'll talk about this later. Get inside and eat, then it's straight back out here to tend the garden. You're absolutely finished with anything that doesn't have to do with work this summer. FINISHED. WAIT UNTIL YOUR FATHER GETS HOME. AN UNBREAKABLE VOW! MY ARSE AN UNBREAKABLE VOW. MY OWN SONS TRYING TO KILL EACHOTHER. I'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHERE I WENT WRONG. NOTHING BUT TROUBLE. NOTHING BUT MISCHIEF. CAN'T BE MORE LIKE BILL, OR CHARLIE, OR PERCY, NO TROUBLE, GOOD MARKS..." seemingly trailing off to herself, the twins lagged behind her into the house. Their toothy smiles gone, but posture not that of someone who's just been ripped a new one. Upon closer inspection, one might even be able to make out a few faint smirks.
"Almost had him Georgie," Fred whispered.
"Should have just tried that bat-boogey curse we learned about instead," whispered back Fred.
"Wouldn't have changed his appearance much though" countered his identical best friend.
