Chapter Three

Fred and George arrived at their parents place at five o'clock sharp. They knew better then to be late for dinner. Dinner started at five o'clock, weather you were there or not. Their mother had taught them well. One day, Fred had arrived to a meal to find only sprouts left. His mother put them on the table at every meal for just such an occurrence. Fred and George normally ate at their own flats, but on birthdays, and Sunday's, and any other holiday you could think of, Dinner was always held at their parent's house.

Today was a special day. Today was their fathers 60th birthday. Fred had the DVD magically wrapped in funny paper. It was purple with yellow polka dot's. It was resistant to tearing. The person who got this gift would have to use magic to open it. Fred put the gift down and with every one else headed for dinner.

His mother had out did herself. They had roast chickens with stuffing and roast potatoes in their skins. There was corn on the cob, peas, and of coarse sprouts. With a toast from their pumpkin juice glasses, they wished their dad happy birthday. Every one tucked in. The meal was excellent as usual. With a wave of her wand Molly Weasely set the dishes to clean themselves. They all headed to the living room, were there was a heap of presents. Arthur looked at them excitedly. "Are these all for me?" He asked. He picked up a small one. It was from Percy. It contained a gold mechanical pen with refills. Arthur examined it. He loved all things muggle. Harry and Ginny had given him a book about recent muggle artifacts. Charlie gave him a nice pair of dragon skin shoes. Bill had sent him a parcel containing papyri written by the ancient Egyptians. Ron had given him a nice carved set of wizard chess pieces. Molly gave him a nice new robe she'd had sewn for him. Finally Arthur got to Fred and Georges gift. He tried to tear the paper of and laughed when he realized he couldn't. He realized that this was trick paper and used a spell to remove it.

To say that Arthur was pleased was an understatement. With the help of his son's they read the directions and connected it to the T.V. While they were doing this Molly cleaned up the paper from all the gifts, and looked at the DVD's that had come with it. She eyed the romance longingly. Arthur noticed. "If you would like we can watch that one first." He offered. Molly beamed. She loved a good romance. This one was called 'Sleepless In Seattle'. They all watched it amazed at how good the picture quality was. Molly cried. Arthur grinned and held her. She always' cried over romantic stories. Everyone exchanged knowing glances. It was time to go home. Arthur thanked every one profusely for their gifts and for coming, and then they all left.

Within a blink of an eye Fred was back in his own flat. Now all he had to do was get through a week of work and he'd be going out to see Christine again. He'd always' enjoyed his work. Now it just seemed to drag.

Fred made himself a cup of tea, and picked up the muggle newspaper to read. He liked to keep up on current events in the muggle world. He just about spilled his tea when he seen the headlines. Ray's Electronics had been broken into. The writer reported. 'Christine Adams was lucky this afternoon. She had left for lunch just before her shop had been broken into. She is uncertain how much of the inventory is missing however, over 400 quid had been taken from her till."

Fred put down the paper and went to phone Christine. It rang four times before she answered it. Fred could tell she was upset immediately. " Are you going to be alright?" He asked after she gave him the details. Unfortunately she had lost four DVD players, Two TV's, a computer and the money from her till. Fortunately her insurance would cover the cost if the thieves were not caught. "I'll be fine. Thanks for asking."

After Fred hung up the phone he aparated to his brothers flat. His brother was just drinking his tea and reading the paper when he got there. "Did you see the news about Christine's' store?" George nodded. "I just finished reading about it. Terrible! Just terrible! Fortunately we don't have to worry about such nonsense. I'd pity the poor idiot who tried to break into our store." Fred and George, though they did not sell magical pranks to the muggles, were not above using magical means to guard their inventory. George could see his brother was very upset. He could tell he cared about this girl, and so was concerned over her safety and loss. An idea came to him. "Fred. We could put a protective spell on her store if you like. One that would make people who wished to do ill will, to her or the store to turn away."

Fred glanced at his brother. "That would take a lot of the worry of my mind. It sure is hard having a muggle for a friend. They are so vulnerable." Together they headed for Christine's store. They saw the damage and were horrified. The large plate glass window had been smashed and was now boarded up. They quickly performed the spell then swung by their own establishment to check up on it. Everything was as it should be. They subconsciously knew it would be, but after seeing the damage that the thieves had done to Christine's store, they couldn't resist checking up on it. After locking up again, they left for home.

Fred cleaned up the mess he'd made of his paper and tea and headed for bed. Tomorrow would come soon enough. He would stop by Christine's store to talk to her in person. Until then he would try and get some sleep.