Written for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments) Term 14 and Quidditch League: Wigtown Wanderers as Seeker
Quidditch League: Wigtown Wanderers, Seeker - Round Seven: Write about a magical invention that doesn't work as expected
Hogwarts Assignment 10: Gardening Task #1: Spring: Write about someone/something coming to life, literally or figuratively
"George, I don't think that's the right spell for it." Fred stared at the ear-shaped object spinning madly on top of the table.
"Do you know a better one?" he asked, looking at his brother from over the book he was reading.
"No, but that monstrosity in your hand has to have something better than that! It's not exactly sneaky if it keeps spinning and drawing attention like that, is it?"
"I told you to get help, but you want to do everything on your own!" George stomped his foot in temper.
"Not on my own. On our own. Who do you want to ask for help? Mum?" Fred raised an eyebrow at him, clearly annoyed.
George sighed. Fred walked around the table and threw himself onto the wooden chair right beside George, leaving what they intended to be the Extendable Ears spinning uselessly on the table.
"Yeah, 'cause that would work wonders," Fred mumbled. "She'd just tell us to toss the whole thing away and go work at the Ministry like Dad." He buried his face in his hands.
"Exactly. We're alone in this, Fred, but we'll figure something out. We always do."
"I was thinking that Hermione could help us," Fred offered.
"Hermione? Help with a prank item? Are you sure we're talking about the same Hermione? Ron's friend?"
"Okay, fine. You've made your point, but I still don't think ears should spin like that, you know."
"Well, thank you for that, Captain Obvious." George rolled his eyes. "I'll go grab us something to eat, then. See if you can find something here, 'cause I'm done with reading."
George tossed the book dangerously close to the fake ear on the table as he got up from his chair.
Fred stared at it, not feeling the least bit inclined to pick it up and read the hundreds of spells in that unnecessarily long book and the applications for each of them. He left it right where George had thrown it, and after casting a spell to make the ears stop spinning, got up to find a different book. He was sure that people would be surprised to find the reasonably-sized library they had in the back of their shop, and basically every spell book ever written on those shelves.
They had already skimmed over half of them, and nothing had helped. The ears would spin, get bigger, get smaller, bounce up and down, change colors, and even sing, but they would not do what they were supposed to do. Fred was really feeling the need to give them up and start another project, but George was way too stubborn to not finish a project.
Fred grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, and started taking notes on what they wanted the ears to do. If there was no spell that could help them, they would just have to make their own combination of spells to get the desired results.
"Okay," he said out loud, dipping the quill in the ink. Then, he started reciting as he wrote. "Connection to the person's ear. Good volume. Movement. Imperceptible."
"There you go," said George, walking back into the room and handing Fred a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits.
"I was thinking," he said, after taking a sip of the cup of tea. "I don't think it should be shaped like an ear, you know? It draws a lot of attention, and people would clearly notice a human body part under their door or near their desk."
George rubbed his chin, imagining all of the situations where people would be really freaked out by the sight of an ear next to their foot or something. His mouth twitched upwards. "Yeah, you're right. It would be funny, though."
Fred rolled his eyes, amused. "It would, but that's not the intention here. So what do you think we should do?"
"Do you want to leave it with just the string?"
"I think it would be better. Less conspicuous, that's for sure."
"Right," agreed George, casting the spell to get rid of the ear attached to the end of the string. "That much is decided, we just have literally everything else to get done."
Fred slid the list he had just made across the table to George. "Next up, we have the connection to the person's ear."
"Do you think a tethering spell would work there?" George offered.
"It's possible. Do you want me to cast it on the object or on you?"
"I don't trust you to go anywhere near my ear with a wand. Cast it on the thing."
Fred waved his wand, casting the most basic tethering spell that he could remember. George took the string from the table and brought it closer to his ear. The string itched a bit, but George still couldn't hear anything through it.
"Nothing," George said. "Maybe the volume next?"
"Right." Fred skimmed through the book he had not opened before, until he found a potential spell. "I think this one could work."
"Wait!" George yelled, raising his hands. "Let me take this off first, please."
Fred made a face at him. Trust was not a thing they had on each other when it came to experimental spells, and the amount of items they had set on fire before would make even Seamus Finnigan jealous. They really didn't want a body part to join that list.
"Try it now," Fred said, handing it back to George as he finished casting the spell.
"I REALLY HOPE THIS WORKS RIGHT NOW!" The string shouted as soon as it got close to George's ear.
The twins' eyes went big, and they stared at the end of the string that had just yelled at them like a Howler. George quickly took it away from his ear and tossed it on the floor.
"Fred," George said, slowly. "I don't think it was supposed to do that."
"You don't think?" Fred asked, ironically. "Please tell me that it's not alive."
"I don't think it is. I think we created something a bit more dangerous than that."
"Are you telling me that the string just shouted your thoughts at me?"
George nodded, still staring at their new creation. He moved carefully towards it and picked it up from the floor. "You try it, now."
Fred got the narrower end closer to his ear. "WHAT ON EARTH DID WE JUST MAKE?"
They couldn't help it. As they stared at each other wide-eyed, they burst out laughing. Of course, they still had to figure out how to make their original creation work, but they had come up with something fascinating in the process of doing that.
"And this," said George, holding the item adoringly in his hands. "is why I love inventing new things."