Once they arrived at the Burrow, there was an exciting ten minutes or so of six kids scrambling around, trying to sort out whose trunks and pet cages were whose. A little Apparating mishap had caused all the luggage to land in a jumbled heap in the middle of the Weasleys' dining room floor. Amidst the din, Fred's voice rose above the others - "Well don't blame us! That's the first time, we're not supposed to be perfect, and nobody got Splinched so I'd say we're doing pretty good!" "But don't worry, we'll practice hard and by the end of summer, we'll be pros!" George added with a smirk. Cassi got the distinct impression that there would be a little too much "practicing" going on in the next few months.
Knowing that the easiest and safest way to retrieve her trunk was to wait until hers was the only one left, Cassi walked over to the window to try and get a glimpse of the surroundings. She instantly fell in love. A garden stretched out a little ways near the back door, and just beyond that lay a broomshed and a large grassy space, evidently set aside for Quidditch. Beyond that Cassi could see the beginnings of a woods and, beside that, an expanse of fields the stretched as far as she could see. In short, it was quiet, pretty, and cozy, and Cassi loved it. She wished she'd come three years ago.
Eventually the craziness behind her calmed down, and she turned to see that only she, the twins, and Mrs. Weasley were still here. Mrs. Weasley had begun to whisk around the adjoining kitchen, occasionally popping back into the dining room to place dishes on the table or hunt down the teapot, which had somehow been set in the china cabinet. Cassi walked over to the small, unadorned trunk sitting alone in the middle of the floor (looking rather forlorn), picked it up, then straightened to wait for someone to tell her where to go next. The twins were preparing to say something when Mrs. Weasley happened to bustle by and remarked, "Oh, dear, you didn't have to worry about packing light - we'll have plenty of room for as much as you should care to take with us this time, and what a pleasant change that will be, I must say!"
Cassi didn't see any need to point out that she didn't even own anything more that she could have packed, so instead she focused on the other part of Mrs. Weasley's observation. "Are we going somewhere, Mrs. Weas- I mean, Molly?" Cassi couldn't remember anything being mentioned about not staying at the Burrow. At the question, Mrs. Weasley rounded on the twins, hands on her hips. "You told me you were going to tell her!" she cried in exasperation. George replied, "We wanted it to be a surprise." Fred turned to Cassi and hollered, "SURPRISE!" Cassi snorted. They'd forgotten. She didn't mind, as long as they'd tell her now. Mrs. Weasley sighed and turned back to the plates she was setting out.
Eventually she answered the question. "Yes, dear, we're going somewhere else for the summer." She turned to Cassi, and her eyes were serious. "It's a very secret place, and I can't tell you much about it right now. But once we've arrived and settled in, I will do my best to answer all your questions." Cassi nodded in understanding, not the least bit worried. She knew she could trust them. Mrs. Weasley gave a small sigh of relief as she went back into the kitchen, probably expecting an argument over her not-answer. Fred looked as though he was going to say something again, but again he was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley's voice floating in from the kitchen. "Now, don't bother unpacking, because we'll be leaving directly after lunch, but I want those trunks out of my dining room." She continued to mutter to herself, but Cassi heard none of it as George took the trunk from her and Fred grabbed her hand, and the three of them made their way upstairs.
Even if the twins hadn't been guiding her, she would've known exactly which room was theirs. The door was closed and bolted, but scorch marks were visible in the carpet even reaching into the hall. The door opened, and the carpet inside had apparently been too damaged to stay, because it had been pulled up to reveal scratched and worn wood planks. The walls fared no better - they had probably once been dark green, but the white drywall was visible where the paint had been blasted away, and stains of all colors adorned everything, including the rumpled bedspreads on the two narrow beds that were pushed up against opposite walls. The floor, the walls, the ceiling, the door were all victims to violent explosions from failed experiments (or successful experiments, who knows), and the whole room was battered and bruised, but still standing.
Yep. Definitely the twins' room.
Cassi was so busy taking in the room that she was surprised to look down and see the twins kneeling around the head of one of the beds. Curious, she peered over their shoulders to see that one of the planks was raised on hidden hinges to reveal a little space between the rafters of the ceiling of the floor below. It was lined with thick, soft fabric, probably to help insulate against noise, and inside lying on the cloth were the twins' most prized possessions - their first functioning trick wand, a letter from Lee Jordan detailing how to create a certain concoction, a sketchbook that was bound up with a piece of twine to keep it from falling apart, and other such treasures. Now, reverently, George pulled a bag from his trunk that Cassi knew held very nearly a thousand Galleons. The bag was laid carefully in the small cavity, then the plank was put back into place and all traces of the hiding spot were covered.
The twins stood, and George gave Cassi a playfully serious glare. "Consider yourself sworn to secrecy," he said solemnly. "You keep our secret, we'll keep yours." She nodded in agreement, and they all shared a smile. Setting their trunks by the door, they left to rejoin the rest of the family.