A/N: Phew! Longest chapter yet. Hopefully its quality is equivalent to its quality! Gigantic thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Have I mentioned how awesome you guys are? Well, I'll gladly say it again. MaddyGervais, SlyDevil. COOKIES, Dimcairien, chocolateMnMs, Amanda, cutietrp, TeamGredAndForge, Aris1013, My-Toxic-Wings, and Shhayy-j11, you guys are truly wonderful. :)
Just to answer a few things:
Amanda: Yeah, I actually completely forgot that Ginny would have been through some kind of hell in Hogwarts. Thanks for reminding me though! I tried to address that in this chapter; not sure how well it worked, but yes. :)
SlyDevil. COOKIES: Well I think 18 chapters? I've written all except one. And it is dangerous, but since when has that stopped them? Thank you, I'm glad you have faith in the ending :D
Chapter 14
Life at Muriel's was very different for Fred and George.
For starters, living with Muriel herself was driving them crazy. She would often appear suddenly, commenting on George's ears, their "hooligan haircuts", and the fact that they had chosen such an "unorthodox career path which will only lead to poverty" despite the numerous times she was told that business had been booming before the war.
Then there was the fact that they could not leave the house. While Arthur seemed inclined to let them go outside, if only to get some fresh air, Molly was adamant that they stay indoors, worried that they would be seen. This was driving Fred and George insane; despite the fact that they had packed an extensive amount of junk in their small bag, they had failed to bring their ingredients to create new inventions. Molly's restriction meant they had no access to any materials, leaving them with nothing to do other than clean the house.
Muriel was particularly delighted at this, often seating herself in an armchair and directing them.
"Ginevra, stop attacking your brothers. You shouldn't be partaking in such unladylike behaviour. Clean the cupboards instead."
"Move the table to the left. No, not that far! Are you blind as well as deaf?"
"Honestly, how difficult is it? Simply move those plates to that cupboard. I hardly think it requires much effort."
Fred glowered at Muriel, who seemed oblivious to his anger.
"Why doesn't she do it herself, the old hag?" He growled softly to George, who was helping him move the plates. George shrugged, hauling his pile into the cupboard.
"Don't know, but I'm going stir crazy here," he replied. Fred nodded in agreement, wincing as Muriel told him off.
"Well don't just stand there bouncing your head, put the plates away!"
Then there was the revelation made by Ginny about her time in Hogwarts. She's been rather vague about it whenever Fred or George asked, finding an excuse to leave the room immediately. This thoroughly confused the twins, who had never seen her so evasive since she'd developed a crush on Harry.
"Ginny, what's up?" Fred prompted one night as they sat on the rug by the fire, playing a game of exploding snap. "What happened at Hogwarts?"
"What? Nothing!" Ginny half yelped, dropping her stack of cards in surprise. She hastily gathered them up, slightly flushed.
"Ginny, we can tell something's up." George informed her solemnly. "You're not telling us something important."
"What do you mean? I've told you everything," Ginny replied, and if it hadn't been for her flushed cheeks, they almost would have believed her. Instead they both raised an eyebrow and waited for her to tell them the truth. With a loud sigh, Ginny dropped her cards on the floor again, and intertwined her fingers nervously.
"You know Hogwarts is run by Snape," she began, and both Fred and George nodded encouragingly. "Well, I don't know if you heard but he brought in two new members of staff. Death Eaters, of course."
"The Carrows," Fred muttered, vaguely remembering reading the name in a newspaper. Ginny nodded.
"What do they teach?" George asked curiously.
"Amycus teaches the Dark Arts. And his sister Alecto teaches Muggle Studies. But that's not all they do. They're also in charge of punishment."
"What kind of punishment?" Fred asked, dreading the answer.
"They err… mostly beat us up. They've tortured a few students too," Ginny added, avoiding their eyes.
"What?" George hissed.
"Yeah, they'd get students to 'practise' the Cruciatus curse on students who were in detention and-" Ginny was interrupted by Fred and George both leaping to their feet, looking utterly furious.
"Did they use it on you?" Fred demanded loudly.
"Fred-"
"Did they?" He asked again. Ginny paused before nodding. George swore loudly, kicking over a nearby vase which shattered into tiny pieces.
"I'm going to kill them," Fred growled, turning and leaving the room, George right behind him. Ginny jumped to her feet and ran after them.
"No! Guys stop, this is exactly why I didn't tell you both; I knew you'd react like this!" Ginny shouted, trying to stop Fred from opening the door.
"Ginny, move," George said in a low voice. She shook her head furiously, blocking the door.
"What's going on?" Arthur asked as he came downstairs, Molly behind him.
"We're going to Hogwarts to pummel the Carrows, that's what," Fred replied, his fists clenching.
"What? Don't be ridiculous," Molly replied, her voice tense.
"Did you know? About Ginny and everyone else at Hogwarts, did you know?" George demanded as he approached their parents. There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Yes," Arthur finally replied, and George swore again.
"George!" Molly reprimanded.
"You knew and you let her go?" Fred asked disbelievingly, still trying to reach the door but Ginny was stronger than she looked.
"We had no choice! We only found out during the school term, so we had to wait for the holidays to bring her back or else they'd get suspicious," Molly replied almost tearfully.
"So you just left her there." George let out a hollow laugh. "I don't believe this."
"They didn't have a choice," Ginny repeated from behind him. "They couldn't do anything, and neither can you."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Fred asked, his voice quiet but furious, looking between Ginny and their parents. "Why did you try and hide it?"
"Because we knew you would react like this," Arthur replied, gesturing towards the situation they were in.
"So you thought by keeping this from us you were protecting us?" George asked sardonically. "That's bollocks; we have just as much a right to know as you do."
"Okay look, we're sorry for not telling you. It wasn't right."
"You're damn right!" Fred shot back angrily. Molly didn't bother telling him off.
"And we're sorry, we truly are. But you have to promise you won't go gallivanting off to Hogwarts. It won't do any good, and you'll just put yourselves and everyone else in danger." Arthur stepped down until he was eye to eye with the twins. "Okay?"
George shot a look at Fred. As much as they wanted to go to Hogwarts, they were both well aware that they had no plan and a slim chance of success if they did somehow manage to get into Hogwarts. Fred held George's gaze for a second before bowing his head, and George understood.
"Fine," he finally replied harshly, walking back into the living room, although not before shoot one last glare at his parents. Fred followed him silently, fixing them his own glare, and after pause, so did Ginny. Sighing, Molly and Arthur returned upstairs.
In the living room, Fred was pacing while George sat slumped on a couch, facing the fire. Ginny cautiously approached the two, perching on the edge of the armchair.
"I'm sorry for not telling you," she said, breaking the silence. Both Fred and George looked up silently, their anger suppressed for the time being.
"How about we make a deal never to hide anything from each other again?" Fred suggested after a moment's pause. George and Ginny both nodded eagerly. Another silence fell upon the occupants of the room.
"Do they beat up everyone?" George finally asked, his voice still low.
"No, just those of us who fight back," Ginny replied.
"Fight back?" Fred repeated.
"Yeah, we… we kind of formed a resistance group," Ginny said with a faint smile. "Mostly members of the DA, but there were a few others. We'd just try and cause trouble. Show them that they didn't have full control over us, you know?"
George patted the seat beside him, and Ginny sat down, Fred crossing the room to sit on her other side. All three leant back, resting against the cushions.
"We'd tell you off for putting yourself in unnecessary danger," Fred began.
"But it would be a bit hypocritical because we would have done the same thing," George finished with a faint grin. Ginny beamed at them.
"You sure you're alright though?" Fred asked, still concerned.
"I'm fine. I'll be better once we can go back and rescue everyone," Ginny replied solemnly. Fred and George nodded in understanding.
"I'll feel better once we get to Hogwarts and beat the stuffing out of these Carrows," George said viciously.
"'Ear 'ear," Fred replied, only half joking. A comfortable silence filled the room until-
"Who broke my antique vase?"
The three groaned loudly.
"I can't take this much longer," Fred said in an undertone as he and George walked to their bedroom one night, thoroughly worn out from the work Muriel had them doing. It had only been a week since they had left their flat, but it felt like much longer. The tension between the twins and their parents had finally ceased, and things were back to normal, but both Fred and George were feeling claustrophobic from being stuck indoors for so long.
"What can we do?" George asked gloomily. He turned to Fred, only then noticing the gleam in his eyes. "What?" He asked curiously.
"We could get out of here," Fred replied, looking excited.
"And go where?" George asked incredulously.
"Lee," Fred replied promptly, and George could have smacked himself for not thinking of it sooner.
"Of course! Potterwatch," he murmured, and Fred nodded.
"Exactly. Now's as good a time as any," Fred said, and George nodded before he was struck by a thought.
"Mum would never let us leave though," he replied, disheartened, and Fred sighed.
"Yeah, that's the only flaw in my brilliant plan," he said sadly.
"Although maybe if we got dad on our side first…" George's voice trailed off as he shot Fred a contemplative look. Fred caught on immediately.
"Oh yeah, that might just work. It'll be difficult though, and we'll have to try and keep Muriel away. I think she enjoys watching us clean, the sadistic old b- oh, hi mum!" Fred beamed at Molly, who eyed him suspiciously before walking away.
"Close call," George muttered as they snuck upstairs.
"I think I'm losing my touch," Fred mumbled back worriedly as they ascended the staircase. Once in their room, they shut the door, intending on doing some serious planning.
Several days later, they had come up with a foolproof plan. Well actually, it wasn't very foolproof; there were a number of things that could- and most likely would- go wrong, but that had never stopped Fred and George before, and it sure as hell wasn't going to stop them now.
"Dad," Fred began as he and George cornered Arthur in one of the many side rooms. Arthur looked up from the rubber duck he had been toying with.
"Yes?" He asked apprehensively, recognising the looks on their faces.
"Well see, we were thinking…"
It took a lot of convincing. But in the end, they managed to win Arthur over.
"Well I can see you've got it all planned out. You really want to do this, don't you." It was more of a statement than a question, but the twins nodded nonetheless.
"Well, you're adults now. It's your decision to make, and even if I don't like it, I'll support it."
"Thanks dad," Fred said gratefully.
"Your mother on the other hand is going to be very difficult to convince." Arthur cringed as he pictured what Molly's response would be.
"Yeah, we were kind of hoping you could help us with that," George replied with an encouraging smile. Arthur's eyes widened.
"Oh, no," he said, backing away. "No no, your mother's already angry at me for bringing my 'toys'." He held up the rubber duck sadly. "She tried to throw it away, said it was a waste of space. You should see what she did to the remote control I brought."
"Please dad," Fred begged. "You know she won't take us seriously otherwise."
"We don't expect you to say much dad," George hurried on. "Just you know, back us up a bit?"
Arthur sighed, but he had never been particularly good at resisting the twin's pouts. He reluctantly agreed to help them convince Molly, grinning slightly when Fred and George did one of their victory dances in response.
Fred and George headed back upstairs, grinning broadly as they discussed in hushed whispers how they were going to convince Molly to let them go.
"What are you two up to?" A voice asked from a nearby room. The twins started, spinning around with guilty expressions on their faces to find Ginny staring at them.
"Nothing." They said simultaneously, but Ginny merely raised an eyebrow. Fred and George exchanged a quick glance, making sure their mother or Muriel weren't around before pulling her into their bedroom.
"What's going on?" Ginny asked as they shut the door behind them.
"We're going to get out of here." Fred replied. Ginny's eyebrows rose.
"What?" She asked, blinking.
"You know how Lee's running Potterwatch? Well, we've decided to join him!" George said enthusiastically.
"That's… wait, you mean you're leaving me behind? Again?" Ginny's jaw was set, her eye's hard.
"Ginny, we're sorry," Fred said apologetically but Ginny shook her head.
"Why do you have to go?" She asked, voice shaking. "Why can't you stay here with me?"
"Because being cooped up here is driving us crazy," George replied. "And we want to help with the war."
"So take me with you," Ginny said, slightly hopeful. "Take me with you to Potterwatch. I want to help too."
"Ginny, we can't. The only reason we got dad on our side is because we're both considered adults now, capable of making our own decisions. I think we'd be disowned if we suggested taking you with us." Fred explained, only half joking.
"You can't just leave me," Ginny exclaimed, stamping her foot in frustration. George sighed, understanding how Ginny felt, knowing the frustration well because hadn't he and Fred had felt the same way beforehand, when they were left out of the loop?
"Gin, we can't take you," he said, repeating Fred's earlier words. "We're sorry, but we can't." Ginny bit her lip, eyes tearing up with frustration as she folded her arms across her chest. Fred stepped forward, a sympathetic look on his face.
"Ginny," he said softly, and all of a sudden the frustration on Ginny's face was gone, replaced by an intense sadness.
"I don't want you to go!" She exclaimed before flying into Fred's arms. He grabbed her tightly, signalling with his head for George to come over.
"We know," Fred said soothingly, resting his chin on the crown of her head. "But we need to do this. You understand, right?" Ginny nodded into his chest, her words muffled by his shirt.
"Sorry, didn't catch that Ginny," George said, frowning as he moved his head closer. Ginny lifted her head from Fred's chest and looked up at George.
"I said you're a stubborn pair of gits." She said clearly and George chuckled.
"And proud of it," he replied with a wink. Ginny laughed through her tears, gazing adoringly at her brothers.
"You promise to stay safe?" She asked. Fred and George nodded together. "And you promise to cause as much mayhem as possible?"
"Well, that seems to contradict your first question, but of course we will." George replied with a cheeky grin.
"Well then my dear brothers," Ginny said as she withdrew herself from Fred's embrace. "I can't ask for much more."
Fred and George were rather pleased with how their father and Ginny had taken the news. Needless to say however, Molly wasn't as understanding.
"ARE YOU INSANE?" She shrieked, striding towards them with a tea towel clutched in her hand. "I will not allow you to get yourselves killed for a radio station!
"It's not just any radio station mum!" Fred protested.
"I don't care!" Molly snapped piercingly.
"Molly, they're overage now," Arthur said weakly. Molly turned on his immediately, eyes flashing.
"Just because they're overage does not mean they should embark on a reckless wild goose chase to try and find the broadcaster of a pirate radio station!" Molly's tea towel was being flung around now as her arms attempted to keep up with her voice.
"It's not a wild goose chase mum, we decided with Lee ages ago where Potterwatch could be held. We came up with five separate locations, so we just have to go and check which-"
"And what happens if there are Death Eaters at one of those locations?" Molly snapped.
"Then we get out of there as quickly as we can," George replied solemnly.
"No. I absolutely refuse to let you do this." Fred opened his mouth to speak but Molly cut him off with a warning look. "And don't give me that 'we're overage' nonsense. You're still my sons, and I refuse to let you put yourselves in danger."
"So you let Ron put himself on the frontline but not us?" George said indignantly.
"Ron was different. He's with Harry and Hermione-"
"Who are all two years younger than us!"
"I didn't want any of them to go! But Dumbledore gave them a mission which will help us win-"
"We want to fight too!" Fred exclaimed. "What use is it sitting here at home when we could be out there doing something beneficial?"
"Because at least in here you won't die!" Molly yelled. There was a pause as her eyes filled with tears. Behind her, Arthur was gazing sadly at her and the twins. George's face softened as he stepped closer to her, resting a hand comfortingly on her shoulder.
"Mum, keeping us locked away indoors isn't going to keep us safe," he said gently. "In the end, our safety depends on the outcome of this war."
"It's so dangerous." Molly looked to be on the verge of tears.
"Since when have we shied away from danger, mum?" George asked dryly.
"But… but your ear," Molly hiccoughed, reaching out with a shaky hand to the side of George's head. George shot a glance at Fred, who was staring stonily at the kitchen counter.
"My ear's fine mum," George said soothingly.
"You'll go regardless of what I say, won't you?" Molly asked unhappily, recognising the determination in her sons.
"Yes." Fred replied defiantly. Molly fixed her gaze on him for a moment before sighing and bowing her head.
"Well I guess there's no use in me trying to deter you." Molly blinked back tears as she focused on George. "When will you be leaving?
After a lengthy discussion over the details, Fred and George finally headed upstairs for bed, feeling rather exhausted at the range of emotions they had experienced from their family members. George fell asleep quite quickly, however he woke up an hour later with the feeling that something was off. Glancing across the room, he realised what was wrong; Fred was nowhere to be seen.
Frowning, George rose from his bed and checked the bathroom, before walking outside to the hallway. He peered downstairs, and in the silence of the house he heard quiet voices murmuring from the kitchen. George quietly made his way down the staircase. The voices became more distinct as he grew closer, and his eyes widened as he recognised Fred's voice followed by their mother's. George snuck towards the kitchen, curious as to what his mother and Fred were discussing.
"… know how you feel," he heard Fred say quietly. George paused by the doorway, making sure he couldn't be seen.
"Fred, that's sweet, but I'm the mother of seven children. I don't think any of you quite understand how I feel," he heard Molly reply wryly.
"He's my twin, mum," Fred responded, and George felt his stomach swoop slightly as he realised what, or rather whom, they were talking about. "So I do understand. I understand that you worry about us whenever we're out of your sight, and I know that you're terrified we might get hurt and you won't be there to help us. I know because I have the same feelings all the time."
"Oh Fred," George heard Molly whisper tearfully, and he gathered that she had pulled Fred into a hug, judging by the silence in the room. He had to force himself not to run into the room and do the same; instead, he stayed put, leaning against the wall.
"I promise I won't let anything happen to George mum," Fred said quietly, slightly muffled by what George assumed was their mother's shoulder.
"And what about you? Who's going to look after you?" Molly asked
"I don't need looking after," Fred shot back, slightly indignant. "But George has my back. He'll be there for me if I need him." George heard Molly sniff, and decided that he had heard enough. He silently crept back upstairs to their room, making sure to avoid the steps that creaked. He had been lying in bed for five minutes, lost in his thoughts, when Fred entered their bedroom quietly. He closed the door and took a deep breath before turning around to face George.
"How much did you hear?" Fred asked softly.
"Not much," George answered truthfully as he sat up, not bothering to ask how Fred knew he had overheard them. "But it was enough." Fred moved further into the room, sitting cross legged on his own bed, facing George.
"Well I meant it," he said, voice tinged with embarrassment, but still firm. "I'm not …. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
"And I'm not going to let anything happen to you," George replied.
"Well, I'm glad we've got that settled then." Fred said with a small smile. A slightly awkward silence filled the room as Fred fidgeted uncomfortably with the hem of his blanket. George finally rose from his bed and crossed the room, taking a seat beside Fred.
"We're going to be fine. You know that, right?" George asked quietly, bumping Fred's shoulder.
"I'm not worried about myself, I'm worried about you. Mum's right, what if something happens to your ear and-"
"Fred," George interrupted. "Nothing's going to happen to my ear, alright? I can apparate now, I'm in no more danger that you are."
"I know," Fred replied, but his tone was uncertain.
"Nothing's going to happen to either of us," George said firmly. "You've got my back and I've got yours. Right?" Fred nodded, rubbing at his eyes. "Then we're good?" George asked encouragingly.
"Yeah. We're good." Fred offered George a small smile. George wrapped his arm around Fred's shoulder, pulling him into a one-armed hug. Fred rested his chin on George's shoulder, his breath warm against George's ear, and George tightened his grip on Fred's shoulder for a moment before letting go. Fred took a deep breath as though composing himself before he gave George a hearty shove.
"Now get off my bed, you sap," he said with a grin. George complied, getting into his own bed and covering himself with blankets. He could hear Fred doing the same across the room.
"Goodnight Fred," he called out quietly, hearing their mother walking to her bedroom softly.
"Night George."
Next chapter: Fred and George embark on their mission to find Lee and Potterwatch, but not everything goes to plan and they find themselves in serious danger.
Thanks for reading, and please review! :)