"Shh, shut up, Roxy," Fred said as he opened the door slowly. He was in a hunched position while his sister was behind him.
See, the thing was that they weren't supposed to be in that position in the first place. They were actually supposed to be in their respected beds, sleeping the night away while their parents were enjoying a night out for their anniversary. Instead, the two of them were coming in from a party way later than they should have been.
"I didn't want to be there," Roxanne hissed, "you're the one who dragged me to that dumb party, so don't tell me to shut up."
Fred rolled his eyes as he kept moving once he deemed the coast was clear. "You know you enjoyed yourself," he said. "You're just upset because you think we'll be caught by Mum or Dad before they get back."
"I am not!" Roxanne protested, but was quickly shushed by Fred's hand on her mouth. Roxanne glared at him before pushing his hand away. "Just wait until–"
Suddenly, the lights were on, and the siblings froze. Roxanne's mouth was in the shape of an 'o' while her hand was still on the wall; Fred's eyes were wide like a deer staring at headlights while his hands were held up in surrender.
Before them stood their mother, Angelina, leaning against the stairway where the lightswitch was located.
"Until what, exactly," she said as her arms folded tightly around her red robe. Her hair was only half tied, so it was clear that she was not sleeping as they tried to sneak in.
"Mum! You guys are home early!" Fred scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I was just…" Fred started with feign innocent look on his face, "...ya know…"
"Oh stop it, Fred," Roxanne muttered, "it's not like we're getting out of this."
"No, no...keep going…," Angelina said as she rolled her hand, "I want to see where this ends up."
Roxanne let her arms drop to her side as she looked to the ground with a saddened look. "I'm sorry, Mum," she said, "it was just–"
"Just something we wanted to surprise you with," Fred interjected, "that's all! Heh, we wanted to get you and Dad something special for your anniversary!"
"The only thing that's going to end up special regarding the two of you is a special punishment that your father is going to give you tomorrow," Angelina replied.
The horrified looks from both Roxanne and Fred were enough to know it wasn't going to end well for the two of them.
"Now off to bed," Angelina continued. "You're going to have a busy day tomorrow." She went back up the stairs, turning the light switch off as she did so.
In the darkness, Roxanne glared at Fred. "If I end up with another furry back and beak from Dad's experiments, I'm pecking you."
Fred shuddered. "Please, spare me the image."
A/N: Written for The Houses Competition and HSWW (Challenges and Assignments)
(THC) House: Hufflepuff; Year/Position: HoH; Category: Drabble; Prompt(s): [dialogue] "No, no...keep going...I want to see where this ends up."
(HSWW) Assignment #4 Muggle Music Task 7: write about being late
Insane House Challenge: Action - Sneaking
365 Prompts Challenge: 10. Action - Running Late
Showtime - Roxie: (character) Roxanne Weasley
Count Your Buttons: (character) Roxanne Weasley
Scavenger Hunt: write about Roxanne Weasley
Lent Challenge: No Romance
Word Count: 493