Disclaimer: All of the characters that are depicted in this story belong to J. K. Rowling except the ones that are first introduced in this story.
Authors Note: I made a mistake on the chapter 7 author note at the bottom. I meant to reference j.k. but for some legal reason, it didn't show up when I posted it. So if you want to know more about Theodore Nott, visit j.k. Anyway, here's the answer of the cliffhanger.
Chapter 9
The Twins Taken
Harry was awakened the next morning by a loud knocking on his door. Harry grudgingly rolled out of bed and went to open the door where he found Ron, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom. "Morning boys." Harry said after a yawn. "What's up?"
"Mind if we check out the head boy dorm?" asked Ron. Harry was glad to see that Ron seemed to have gotten over losing head boy to Harry.
"Not at all. Come on in." Harry opened the door and all the boys came in and admired the new room along with Harry who got the chance to admire the room for the first time since he'd gotten it. It was a very nice room. It was the size of a regular boys dormitory except it only had one bed. It was complete with a desk where he could do his homework, it's own armchair, a dresser, and a closet which were nice changes for Harry who was used to living out of his trunk.
Probably the best thing about the room was that it had it's own bathroom. The bathroom had a large mirror over the sink which was surrounded by several different types of soap dispensers that Harry was sure he would never use. Next to the toilet was a strange commode looking thing that shot streams of water into the air like a fountain. No one knew what it was or what it was for. The bath tub was also surrounded by different faucets each with a different kind of bubble bath like the bath tubs in the prefect bathroom Harry had visited his fourth year.
After thoroughly exploring the dorm, Harry and the boys headed downstairs for breakfast, but were stopped by Hagrid who was waiting for them outside the portrait hole. "Morning Hagrid." Harry and Ron said at the same time.
"Morning boys." Hagrid replied, not sounding like his usual cheerful self. "Erm… Ron, Professor McGonagall needs to see you in her office."
"Me?" Ron asked. "But why?"
"Er…" Hagrid began. It was clear that Hagrid was upset about something. "Your not in trouble or anything. She just needs to tell you something important." Ron shrugged and followed Hagrid away toward Professor McGonagall's office.
Harry and the boys continued down to the Great Hall where Harry found a seat across from Hermione. Harry looked around and saw Professor Flitwick handing out exam schedules. Harry smiled to himself knowing that all the exams for his year had been cancelled. He had a week of total freedom before classes started.
"Morning Harry." Hermione said when she noticed Harry sitting across from her. "Where's Ron? He's not still mad at you for being head boy is he? Last night he said he was fine with it."
"What?"
"Nothing." Hermione said quickly. Harry wondered if she was trying to hide something from him.
"Well, no he doesn't seem mad anymore. Hagrid took him to see Professor McGonagall."
"Really? Hagrid took Ginny to see Professor McGonagall too."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Must be some kind of family emergency." Hermione looked worried.
Just then the mail arrived. Hermione moved her goblet of pumpkin juice to make room for the barn owl carrying the rolled up copy of the Daily Prophet. She took the Prophet and put a knut in the owl's pouch. "Anyone we know?" Harry asked, which was usually Ron's line, as he started on his breakfast. When Hermione didn't answer, Harry sensed something was wrong. He looked up and saw Hermione starring at the front page of the Prophet with a look of both terror and shock on her face.
"No." she muttered to herself. "It can't be."
"Hermione what happened!" Harry asked urgently. "Who is it?"
Hermione looked up at him. She was on the verge of tears. After several false starts, she finally just said "Fred and George." Harry snatched the paper from Hermione's hands and read the front page.
Death Eater Attack on Weasly's Wizard Wheezes
Last night, local shop owners in Diagon Alley were shocked to see the Dark Mark over the most unlikely place, the local joke shop Weasly's Wizard Wheezes. According to eyewitnesses, Death Eaters visited the shop late at night and carried away shop owners Fred and George Weasly. The Ministry of Magic has locked up the shop declaring it a crime scene. A Ministry spokesman refused to comment as to why the joke shop owners were taken.
It was suddenly clear as to why Ron and Ginny were taken to see Professor McGonagall. Harry put down the paper and looked back up at Hermione. She was looking down at her plate looking totally shocked and confused. "I just don't get it." she said. "Why Fred and George?"
"It must be for their dark arts products." Harry said. "They said the Ministry had invested in their dark arts products." Hermione looked up and they made eye-contact. They both seemed to think the same thing at the same time. They both got up and headed for the entrance. The man they were looking for was right outside the doors. When Hagrid saw them, he seemed to realize immediately that they knew about Fred and George.
"You heard didn't you?" he said. They both nodded. "Come on down to me hut. I'll get you some tea." Harry and Hermione followed Hagrid down to his hut where he poured them each a cup of tea. "Poor Ron and Ginny." Hagrid sighed. "Andrew Donovan's up there telling them about it right now."
"He's not alone is he?" Harry asked knowing how insensitive Andrew Donovan could be.
"No. Arthur and Molly are there too. Going into hiding they are. No telling who You-Know-Who might attack next."
"What about Ginny?" Hermione asked. "She can't be expected to take her O.W.L.s with her brothers kidnapped." Harry rolled his eyes. Only Hermione could think about exams at a time like this.
"I'm sure there will be some kind of special circumstances." Hagrid said. Harry and Hermione stayed in Hagrid's hut for most of the day telling stories about Fred and George and their many years of pranks.
As the sun started to go down, Harry and Hermione headed back to the castle for dinner. Ron and Ginny were not there. After dinner they went back to the common room to wait for them. It was late before Ron finally walked through the portrait hole with his arm around his sister who had tears streaming down her face. The second Ginny saw Harry, she ran to him and hugged him. Harry knew that now was not the time to worry about being broken up with Ginny. She needed comfort, so he simply kissed her on the forehead and held her in his arms
Hermione went over to Ron and put her hands on his shoulders. "Are you alright Ron?" she asked. Ron nodded. Harry could tell that Ron was being strong for the sake of his sister. He suddenly felt a surge of admiration for his best friend who was able to stay strong in the face of loss. Harry was an only child and couldn't imagine what it was like to lose a brother or sister. Ron and Hermione sat down on the couch together and Hermione held his hand. The four of them sat together for a long while before Ginny said she wanted to go to sleep. A minute later, Hermione said she wanted to go to sleep too, but before she left, she did something she had only done once. She gave Ron a kiss on the cheek.
Harry and Ron were left alone. They were quiet for several minutes before Ron finally broke the silence by saying something very unexpected. "Voldemort." Harry looked at Ron surprised. Ron had never said Voldemort's name before.
"What?"
"Voldemort." Ron repeated. "That son of a bitch actually went after my family." The kiss on the cheek seemed to have lit a fire in Ron's stomach. He suddenly looked determined and angry. "I'm gonna help you get him Harry." he said. "I'm gonna do whatever it takes. I'll help you track down every one of those damn horcruxes, and then your going to kill him right Harry?"
"Yeah." Harry said. Harry didn't know for sure if this was actually true or not, but at the moment he couldn't say anything else. He had never seen Ron like this. Even when Ron's dad had been bitten by Nagini, Ron hadn't gotten angry like this. Harry looked at Ron in a new light. Now they had something in common. They both wanted revenge on Voldemort.
Author's Note: There you go. I'd never let Fred and George get killed. To answer the questions that you probably have, the cloaked figure was Voldemort, and the purpose of the Dark Mark was a signal for the Death Eaters to show up. You see their shop was protected by magic and he needed to get the door open to get inside. Anyway, I'm not going to update until I get a certain number of reviews so R&R.
