AN: Well, as promised, here's another outtake. Longer than what I normally do, too. This was taken out because I couldn't seem to find a good way to stick it in a chapter, although it is alluded to in Chapter 34. Also, because some of you don't seem to enjoy children. This consists of Fred, George, and Lee being tricked into babysitting Lee's little sister Chloe, as well as watching one of Lee's favorite chick flicks. Quick question: is the term 'chick flick' used in England? Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise.
Fred and George could hardly contain their excitement. Finally, after years of being friends with Lee, they could come over to his house. In the past, Lee's mother had always refused to let them come over, but Lee had convinced her this time. The twins weren't quite sure what he had promised, but at least it had worked.
Dad had apparated them to a nearby alley and told them he'd be back around ten. Lee had told them he'd compiled a huge amount of ideas, and they could choose out of twenty.
George rang the doorbell while Fred knocked. The door swung open to reveal a tiny girl who looked to be no more than five. She also looked like a container of glitter had exploded all over her.
"What's the password?" She asked bossily.
"Er-" Fred and George traded uneasy glances. Was this even the right house?
"What's the password?" She repeated loudly, stamping her foot.
"Chloe!" A woman's voice called from further inside the house. "Let our guests in."
"But they don't know the password!" Chloe screamed back.
"Let them in, now!"
Chloe quickly shuffled inside in her purple plastic heels. She glared at them as they passed, and the twins tried hard not to snicker.
"Hey guys," Lee said glumly, sitting on the stairs.
"Hey, Lee!" The twins chimed.
"Um, there's kinda been a change of plans," He admitted, standing up slowly. "See, I told Mum I'd do anything to let you guys come over, and I may not have considered the consequences of that action…"
"What do we have to do?" George asked.
Lee turned to glare at Chloe, who smiled angelically.
"Will you come to my tea party?" She asked sweetly.
Lee gritted his teeth. "Of course we will," He told her, not missing his friends' horrified looks.
"Oh, goody! It's going to be at…what time is it?" She asked.
Lee dragged his gaze to the clock. "Nine fifteen."
"My tea party is going to be at nine thirty, then. I gave you ten minutes' notice!" She smiled at them.
"Actually, you…" The words died in Fred's throat as Lee shook his head.
"The Pretty Princess Tea Party will be held in my room," She informed them in a snooty voice. "Ref-res-"
"Refreshments," Lee supported.
"-will be supplied by my brother Lee. Lee will also show you to your seats. This evening's ent-ete-"
"Entertainment," Lee intoned.
"-is a magical performance by my, oops, I mean the pre-pes-"
"Prestigious," Lee supplied.
"Mr. Snuggles!" She ended triumphantly, before turning and dashing up the stairs.
"What have you done?" The twins asked him, eyes wide.
Mrs. Jordan appeared in the hall, dressed impeccably. "Lee has offered your babysitting skills while I go out today. I should be back around ten. If I hear even the smallest negative word against you, this will be the last time you come over to this house. Understood?"
Fred and George nodded quickly as she walked down the hall and disappeared.
"Lee, mate, your mum is scary," George muttered.
"Hey, where are you going?" Fred called.
Lee made his way to the kitchen. "To get "refreshments.""
"And what are the refreshments?" The twins asked, following him into the kitchen.
"To her, it's Earl Grey and the finest pastries in all of London. In reality, it's apple juice and store bought biscuits. Hope you don't mind drinking from tiny cups," He said, pouring a pre-measured amount of juice into tiny, plastic tea cups. "I don't know why you guys are so shocked. You had to grow up with Ginny!"
"Yeah, but the difference is-"
"-back then we wouldn't get in trouble-"
"-for telling her to go away!"
Lee shook his head. "Ah, the joys of getting older. So much more responsibility! Speaking of which, I don't suppose either of you made prefect this year?"
"Lee!" George gasped in mock horror.
"Have you even met us in these past four years?" Fred shook his head.
"For shame, mate. For shame," George tsked.
Lee grinned. "Must be Bernie then. Figures. Burbage might like us, but she definitely doesn't trust us."
He loaded the tea cups and biscuits onto a pink, plastic tray and began to climb the stairs. "Oh, and don't forget to ask her what bakery she got the pastries from. She loves that."
Chloe's room looked like an explosion of butterflies, princesses, unicorns, and pink. The walls had glitter sprinkled all over them. In the center of the room was a round, plastic pink table with tiny chairs all around it. In some chairs were stuffed animals, some of whom looked ready to fall out. In the comfiest looking chair sat Chloe, with a fake tiara on her head.
She stood up immediately upon seeing them. "Welcome to my Pretty Princess Tea Party. I hope you enjoy yourselves. Now, Lee will show you to your seats."
Lee sighed, set down the tray, and pulled out chairs for Fred and George. Just as he was about to sit down himself, Chloe screamed.
"You can't sit there!" She shrieked.
"Why not?" He asked, standing quickly.
"Because. That's where Cinderella is sitting." Chloe retrieved a small doll and shoved her down into the seat before shooting Lee a glare. "Good help is so hard to find these days," She told the twins.
George began coughing up a storm as his face turned an unpleasant red.
"Oh no!" Chloe squealed. "Do you need the He-hi-"
"Heimlich maneuver?" Lee finished, staring daggers at his friend.
"No," George recovered, gasping. "No, I think I'm okay. Thanks for your concern Chloe."
Chloe nodded proudly before passing out the tea cups and biscuits. "I hope you enjoy the food I have chosen," She said in a snooty tone. "If not, I'm sure Lee must have messed up somewhere."
"No, no, it's perfect!" Fred assured her, politely munching on a biscuit. "These pastries are wonderful!"
"Yes, where did you get them?" George asked her kindly.
"Oh, from that bakery in London. You know the one," She said vaguely, smiling widely.
"Oh, yes, of course," Fred nodded.
The next ten minutes was spent sipping apple juice with their pinkies in the air, complimenting Chloe on everything from her pink princess dress to her fluffy pink pillows. As the tea party wound down, Fred and George felt that they could go to Lee's room and vent about it. They were sorely mistaken.
Chloe decided to stop playing princess after the party ended, and instead became a world famous singer. Or, Mr. Snuggles was, anyway. Chloe made her voice as deep as possible and put her hand behind Mr. Snuggles' head, trying to create the illusion that he was singing a song that consisted of a lot of "la, la, la"s.
And after that was over, Chloe became a hair stylist who chose Fred as her first victim. Before doing anything, she dunked his head back in the bathtub and pretended to shampoo it. Then she had Lee run downstairs and get a large plastic bowl, which she placed over Fred's head as a hair dryer. As she waited for his hair to dry, she moved on to washing both Lee and George's hair.
After she was certain that their hair was completely dry, she pretended to cut their hair. She was going to dye their hair with marker, but Lee quickly dissuaded her from this notion by pointing out that she had never seen someone with as vibrant hair as Fred and George. She shrugged and began pulling and tugging their hair into ponytails. She was much more careful with Lee's dreadlocks.
Throughout the rest of the day, Chloe played an astronaut, a chef, a ballerina, an elephant, a dinosaur, and a mom. Finally, it was seven o'clock.
"Alright, Chloe, time for your bedtime story," Lee said tiredly.
Chloe squeaked excitedly and ran to the bookshelf, retrieving a large, glittery book. "This is gonna be the greatest bedtime story ever!"
Lee turned towards the twins with an evil smile. "I'm sure it will be."
Chloe's bedtime story consisted of ponies, kittens, puppies, princesses, unicorns, fairies, butterflies, and the power of friendship. Fred and George may have been able to stomach this if she hadn't insisted that they act it out in front of her. Fred was the damsel in distress, George was the trusty noble steed, and Lee was the dashing prince. The other characters were all played by Chloe, including the fairy godmother, the magical unicorn, and Fred's "bestest friend in the whole un-uni-world!"
All in all, the bedtime story lasted over an hour. When it was finished, Chloe snuggled down into her unicorn sheets, shut her eyes, and drifted off to sleep. The boys cautiously crept out of her room, and Lee led them downstairs into the living room, where a large black box seemed to be the focal point.
"What's that?" Fred asked.
"It's a TV. I figured we could watch a movie on it," Lee told them, digging around in a cabinet.
"Oh," Fred and George said together, pretending to know what he meant.
"Here. This is one of my favorites," He said, holding up a box with a picture of a man and a woman on the front. He popped into another black box and pressed a few buttons.
Fred and George gasped as a picture showed up on the TV.
"Lemme fast forward through the previews," He told them, pressing another button and holding it. "'Kay, here it is."
The next two hours were filled with laughter and tears. Manly tears, of course.
"I don't understand," George sniffled. "Is he really going to dump her just because his mum wants him to marry a rich girl?"
"It looks like it," Lee said grimly, blowing his nose into a tissue.
"He can't though!" Fred burst out. "They're in love!"
"I know!" Lee moaned in despair.
They had just reached the moment where the scorned woman was about to tell the love of her life how she felt about him, seconds before his own wedding, when the doorbell rang. The trio stopped sobbing immediately, quickly wiping their faces clean. The doorbell rang again.
"I'm coming!" Lee called.
"It must be Dad," Fred and George realized.
The doorbell sounded for the third time.
"I said I'm coming!" Lee growled. He flung open the door to reveal Mr. Weasley. "You know you only have to ring it once, right?"
"Oh." Mr. Weasley's face fell.
"Come on in. We were just finishing a movie," Lee ushered him inside.
"You know boys, we really should be getting home soon before your mother starts to worry," Mr. Weasley told them, gazing longingly at the TV, where the woman's tear-stained face stared back.
"Come on, Dad-" George pleaded.
"There's only fifteen minutes left," Fred begged.
Mr. Weasley finally relented. "Well, I suppose-"
The guys heard the door opening again.
"Lee?" Mrs. Jordan called out.
"Oh, shoot," Lee muttered, switching the TV off.
"Hey, Mum, the Weasleys were just about to leave," He said, elbowing Fred in the ribs.
"Er, yeah, thanks for letting us come over," Fred said.
"Yeah, it was great," George added.
Mrs. Jordan smiled pleasantly. "I'm glad you had a good time. Bye boys!"
"Bye!"
As soon as the three left, Mrs. Jordan collapsed on the couch. "Men!" She scoffed. "They think you can't tell when they're lying!"