Author's Note: This one seemed to be one of the readers' favorite chapters, so I hope it's even better now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fred, George, or Lee, and considering what they do in this chapter, that's probably a good thing!

Chapter 4: Breaking the Silence

They walked for about twenty minutes, keeping a wary eye out for Dr. Lingsworth as they did so.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Lee, nodding his head at a large building in the distance.

George shrugged. "Dunno. Let's have a look," he said, so the three of them changed direction and headed toward the building.

As they neared, they saw that it wasn't, as Lee had previously thought, a mere building, but a palace. (a/n: Buckingham Palace, to be precise! ^ ^ ) The three boys approached the iron gate that surrounded the palace and leaned against it as they surveyed the castle.

"Well, it's no Hogwarts, but it's still not too bad looking," commented Lee.

George nodded in agreement. "Yeah, whoever lives here must be royalty or something," he said. "What do you reckon, Fred? Fred?"

Fred was looking past Lee and George with a rather mischievous look on his face. When George called his name the second time, Fred shifted his gaze back to George and Lee.

"I reckon that bloke got dressed in the dark, that's what," he said, nodding his head to where a guard in black pants, a red shirt, and a fuzzy black hat stood, his face expressionless as he gazed straight ahead. Lee and George's faces changed smoothly to match Fred's.

"Shall we?" asked Lee, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh yes," said George, smirking as they headed over to the guard.

"Hey mate, why're you dressed like that?" inquired Fred, cocking his head to the side as he regarded the guard, who didn't even glance down at Fred. The three boys glanced at each other, then Fred took a step closer to the guard and waved his hand in front of the guard's face.

"Hello? Anybody home?" he asked, causing George and Lee to snicker slightly, but arousing no reaction whatsoever from the guard. Fred stopped waving his hand and returned to George and Lee, slightly frustrated.

"What's up with him, anyway?" he muttered to George and Lee. Lee shrugged.

"Dunno," he said. "Ask him something else."

"I'll do it," said George in the tone of one excepting a bold challenge. He stepped up to the guard and clearing his throat loudly. The guard didn't even look at him.

"So, are you always this talkative, or have I just caught you on a good day?" he asked.

No reply. Undaunted, he tried again. Leaning closer to the guard, he whispered, "Um, mate, I dunno if you knew or not, but killing a cat to make a hat is considered cruelty to animals nowadays."

Still, the guard said nothing. Frowning in the same defeated manner that his twin had, George returned to Fred and Lee.

"You know, I reckon he really opened up to you," said Fred lightly.

"Yeah, he'll probably never shut up now," put in Lee with a grin.

"Let's see you try, then," said George, slightly agitated. "Go on, show us how it's done!"

"Gladly," said Lee, striding past George and up to the guard. He smiled cheerfully as he approached.

"How's it going?" he asked brightly. The guard did not respond. Lee nodded as if in understanding.

"Ah, I see. Don't want to talk about it, eh? Fine, we'll talk about something else. Say, that's an interesting uniform. Think your mum could make me one too?" he asked.

The guard ignored the comment about his uniform being made by his mother and simply continued to gaze off into the distance.

"Gee, Lee, I reckon he'll start talking any time now," called Fred.

Lee turned and made a face at him before turning back to the guard, determined not to go back to his friends until he succeeded in getting some sort of sound out of his silent opponent. Then, he smiled as he withdrew a Dungbomb from his pocket. This time, the guard's gaze flickered down to look at the Dungbomb before he continued to gaze straight ahead as Lee continued to grin.

"Want to hold it?" he asked, holding out the Dungbomb. The guard didn't take it.

"No?" said Lee. "Well, alright, then. I'll just--oops!' he said as he "accidentally" dropped the Dungbomb.

Instantly, a foul-smelling green haze filled the air around the guard.

"Ugh!" cried the guard, his silence finally ending as he clapped his hand white-gloved hand over his mouth, coughing and sputtering against the stench.

Lee walked back over to a cheering Fred and George, grinning broadly.

"And that," he said, taking an exaggerated bow as Fred and George clapped him on the back, "Is how it's done."

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Boy, would I hate to be that guard right about now! :-)

Response to reviewers:

S.D. Chesko: Glad you like Fred, George, and Lee. As to your revenge, bring it on, former-Rupurt Grint-fan (and post a story while you're at it! I know you have one!) :-)

carlos-s. lover: I'm glad you like this story. I like yours too! As to the matter of Fred, George, and Lee blowing up the Earth, I'm happy to say that they decided against it (I think it was the "no future joke shop" that did it! *grins*) However, they've asked me to tell you that while Earth is safe, Mars is another story entirely...

Zel: I know what you mean. I've read lots of humor fics, and you're right about there being lots of poor grammar and things like that. I'm glad you like mine, though! :-)

koolcat: I thought about having them go to a restaurant, and I actually wrote this chapter with that happening, but then, I got the idea for the guard and decided to do that instead. Hope you liked it!

Psychozzy: I know, I was really sad when they left school too, but I'm glad they managed to make sure that a certain Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would never manage to forget them even if she tried before they left!

Angelina: Glad you liked chapter two better, and yes, Fred, George, and Lee do rock! That's why I thought it would be so much fun to write a fic with them as the main characters. :-)

Dracos Princess: Yeah, the way these three manage to cause so much trouble (and still seem so innocent!) is one of my favorite things in the books. Also, thank you for putting my story on your favorites list! I'm sure that Fred, George, and Lee are just as honored as I am. :-)

Imperio! There, now that I have you all under my control, I COMMAND you to review! BWAHAHAHA--*hacking cough* HAHA!