Chapter Four
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When I was nine years old, Fred and George received their acceptance letters to Hogwarts. At first they were excited when they realized that it was finally their turn to pack up their things and head to the school of witchcraft and wizardry until they looked over at me.
"Mum, where's Lucy's letter?" Fred asked Molly.
Molly was busy straightening up in the living room.
She looked over at one of her sons and flashed him a tight lip smile. "Lucy isn't old enough to go to Hogwarts yet," she explained in a soft voice as if she were afraid of their reaction.
"That's bloody rubbish!" exclaimed George.
"Watch your language, George Weasley," Molly scolded him in a stern voice.
"She's only a couple of years younger than us," Fred said. "Can't they make an exception?"
"No, they absolutely cannot," Molly said. "You go to Hogwarts when you are of age."
The twins and I were not too happy about this. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from crying. I was so used to having them around. I don't think that we ever spent a day apart from each other.
Fred and George shared a look as if they were communicating back and forth. Even though I was upset, I managed an eyeroll. Twins. Sometimes, they could practically reach each other's mind.
George nodded at Fred as if telling him to go on and say what he had to say.
"I guess we aren't going to Hogwarts this year," Fred declared, sounding one hundred percent sincere. Molly flung her arms up in the air, exasperated.
"This is ridiculous," Molly said. "I will not hold you twins back. You guys will see each other throughout the holiday. You guys can write letters to one another. This won't be the last time that you guys will see each other."
"But mum, please," Fred and George whined at the same time.
"What difference will it make if we go to Hogwarts now or two years from now?" Fred pointed out.
"We'll help out more around the house," George said.
Their father, Arthur came downstairs and into the living room. "I agree with your mother," he said, putting his hands up in surrender when Fred and George tried to interject. "I understand how close you guys have become with Lucy, but maybe its best if you guys experience a little time away from Lucy. You guys could meet new people and make other friends."
"That's ridiculous!" Fred said, outraged. "Lucy is the best thing that ever happened to us."
"Its not like Fred and I are going to be separated," George said. "Every Weasley is practically guaranteed a spot in Gryffindor."
By now, tears were falling down from my eyes. I tried to cry quietly, embarrassed. I didn't want to stop Fred and George from going to Hogwarts, but I didn't want to be separated from them either. Even though I was close to the other Weasleys, it was different with the twins. They were the closest thing I had to family and they knew me better than anybody else.
"I think what your father is trying to say," Molly said, "is that you guys should pack your bags and get ready for Hogwarts. I think a trip to Diagon Alley would cheer everybody up as well."
Fred and George looked over at me then, neither one looking too cheerful. When they saw that I was crying, they jumped onto their feet and rushed over to help me. Fred gently grabbed my hand and led me outside and George placed a comforting hand on my back.
Once we were outside and out of eyesight from the others, they both hugged and comforted me and muttered sweet nothings into my ear. "You know that this won't change anything," Fred said as he rubbed comforting circles on my back.
"We will always care about you," George said as he placed a strand of hair behind my ear.
They were only this serious and sweet around me or their mom. Very few people got to see this side of them and I felt honored to.
"Besides, this isn't really goodbye," Fred said with a wicked glint in his eyes.
"Did we forget to mention the floo powder that mum keeps in the fireplace," George said with a mischievous grin on his face.
Floo powder was used to travel around to different places. You only had to grab a small handful of the white dust, fling it at your feet, and say out loud where you want to go and it will take you there.
"They let you transport in and out of Hogwarts?" I asked hopefully.
Fred scratched the back of his head. "Not really," he admitted.
"But the teachers are allowed to," George said before I could get my hopes up. "We simply have to sneak into one of their offices or dormitories and transport in and out of there."
"We can see you whenever we want to," Fred said.
"But what if you guys get caught? You'll get in trouble," I said.
"You are forgetting something," George said.
"We never get caught," Fred told me.
Diagon Alley was one of my favorite places in the world. I had traveled to many different places with the Weasleys, including Egypt, but Diagon Alley was something else. Everybody here knew about magic and there were so many different shops where you could get all different kinds of merchandise such as potions, wands, and cloaks. It was one of the places besides the Weasley's burrow where we didn't have to hide.
"I want to live here one day," I told the twins as we walked together with Molly to get their school supplies. Ginny was also with us because she never leaves her mum's side and Arthur was here to make sure that we didn't spend too much money.
Fred and George had a thoughtful look on their face.
"I think it could be arranged," George said.
"We could set up our on shop in that abandoned building on the corner up there," Fred said. "We could sell all of our pranks and potions. You know fun things that kids enjoy."
I looked over at the building he was talking about. It was an older two story building and it looked like it hadn't been taken care of in years. It was practically caving in on itself.
"I don't think anybody would want to go there," I said. "It looks dangerous."
"We would have to renovate of course, silly," George said, already liking his brother's idea.
"Where would I live?" I asked.
"You would live with us of course," the twins said at the same time.
"You guys might be sick of me by then," I said.
"Nonsense," George said, ruffling my hair. "It would all be pointless without you."
"You are one of us now," Fred said, gently bumping his shoulder against mine, earning him a smile in return.
He grinned back at me.
I looked back up at the abandoned building and saw it differently now. It was surrounded by many different stores crowded together. It was the ideal spot to start a business and I knew that it would stand out. I knew that I would be there to see it grow.