It was an orange afternoon. A slow breeze fluttered the juicy green leaves of the oak tree in the Weasley's backyard, and nearly every redhead outside was wearing thin, white clothing. Candles were lit across a long, rustic picnic table, and plates were set primly alongside cups and napkins. No silverware was laid out for the hungry family, because it was a barbecue and Mr. Weasley thought it was a custom at Muggle barbecues to eat with one's hands. Two more sons, Percy and Charlie, had arrived that afternoon just before Hermione had, and now they sat next to their mother at the end of the table. Ron was trying to help his father cook the meat without magic (Arthur wanted this meal to be "authentic"), but was not succeeding and so Hermione stood behind the two men, barking orders. Nobody knew what was taking Fred, George, Ginny and Harry so long to join the rest of the party outside. Finally, when Harry tumbled down the back porch, splashing blood all over his joyous smile, it would suffice to say that the Weasleys were a bit startled.

"OH MY GOD!" cried Molly, turning very red, and then very white, before she fainted. Charlie sprung up and caught her before her limp body hit the ground, and Percy quickly began fanning her with a napkin.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Harry?" screamed Ron, more out of worry than anger. He, accompanied by his best friend Hermione, dashed over to where Harry was lying on the ground and laughing.

"Oi, it's dinner time!" chirped Harry, leaping to his feet and skipping across the yard towards where the table was situated. Ginny, Fred, and George slinked out of the house and tried not to draw attention to themselves as they eased past Ron and Hermione.

Of course, the bushy-haired girl would never fail to notice three bright orange heads of hair walking past her. She turned around and swung a stiff arm directly in Ginny's path. "Where do you think YOU'RE going?" Ginny paled and the twins tried to escape, but Hermione caught them both by the backs of their collars and yanked them onto the ground next to their sister. "What exactly did you do to him?" she said, referring to the eerily giggling young man who had just accidentally burnt his fingers on one of the candles.

Fred jabbed George, who understood his brother's hint and cleared his throat. "Well, we overhead Harry telling Ginny that he needed something to mask the pain he's been feeling, and -"

It was Ginny who cut him off. "-AND they put some crazy spell on him that makes him act all clumsy and mindless! It wasn't my fault! I had absolutely NO part in this!" declared Ginny, complete with wild gestures. The twins gaped in indignation.

"Oh, sure!" screamed Fred. "You were laughing right along with us!"

"Laughing?" asked Hermione. "But Ginny, I thought you fancied Harry." Apparently the twins had forgotten this, and now they gasped and began teasingly prodding their sister in the shoulder.

"OOOOOO! Somebody-has-a-BOY-friend!" exclaimed George. "Hey Harry!" he called, attracting the boy's attention. "Wait 'til you hear this one!" Before he could breathe another word, Ginny had tackled him and started to threaten him so violently that George began to whimper and squirm. "Okay, okay, fine I won't say anything!" cried the poor boy. Hermione pulled Ginny off of her brother and once again questioned them about the spell.

"Is it reversible?" she asked. Ginny shrugged.

"Well...you see," said Fred, "It has to pass a certain stage before it can be reversed. First comes clumsiness- which you can observe now, the poor boy can barely stand up straight - and then there's what I like to call the "loose tongue" stage; that's where the subject of the spell starts saying things he'd normally keep under his hat, if you know what I mean. If the spell is untreated, next the victim would either fall into a very deep sleep or die, but after the second stage has passed the spell can be reversed."

"DIE?" cried Hermione. "You performed this spell on poor little Harry knowing that he might be killed?" Fred stammered in lack of having anything consoling to say. "Oh my God...when is that second stage going to pass?" asked Hermione.

"Maybe half an hour after it comes into effect," offered George. "I dunno, it worked differently on Mittens, God rest his soul."

Ginny sighed. "Well, then we ought to babysit him for the next half hour, I suppose." She stood up and walked over to where the family was watching in horror as unbridled flames sprung out of the barbecue. Everybody was crowded around Arthur as he tried to rescue whatever meat had not been scalded. Ginny stood at the very back of the crowd; when she saw Harry walk up behind her without tripping she knew that he'd passed into the second stage.

"I can see your nipples through your shirt," said Harry, and immediately clapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh my GOD, why did that just come out?" he screamed under his hand. Fortunately, everybody (except for Ginny) was too immersed in trying to save the precious food to notice what he'd just said.

Ginny blushed and crossed her arms over her chest. Harry had turned white as a sheet and hid his mortified face in his hands. "I am SO sorry; I don't know why I just said that. It's okay if you never want to speak to me again, I'd understand."

"No, it's okay, it's that spell that Fred and George used on you that made you say that. See, you stopped tripping because clumsiness was the first stage, but now you're in the second stage, which means that you say whatever's on your mind," said Ginny, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "So whatever you say tonight I promise I won't take to heart."

Harry nodded slowly. "Is there a third stage?"

"Yeah," said Ginny, "In the third stage you either fall asleep or die."

Harry sprung backwards as though he had just been stung by a bee. "DIE?" I'm going to DIE? Can't you reverse the spell?"

"Yes, but only after the second stage is over."

"So I have to wait it out? Stupid Fred and George!" Suddenly he stopped and regarded Ginny very seriously. "You know I didn't just mean to call them stupid, right? I couldn't help it, it was the spell."

"I know," reassured Ginny with a smile. "It's okay, I think they're stupid too."

Harry grinned and patted Ginny lightly on the back. "You know what? You're alright. And that wasn't magic talking, I really meant that."

Ginny beamed and felt her cheeks grow warm. She patted Harry likewise. "You're alright too, Harry."

The young man shrugged and blushed, smiling at Ginny with shining eyes. "Yay, I have a new friend," he sang, still smiling warmly. "What what, holla back, yo. H to the hizzie."

Ginny burst out laughing. "That was the spell, wasn't it?" Harry just chuckled and nodded.

Just then, the crowd that was gathered around the once flaming barbecue split up, each taking their burgers. Apparently Arthur had tamed the fire and made cheeseburgers while Harry and Ginny were immersed in each other's company. The two meatless teens received a burger from Mr.Weasley and found a spot next to each other on the long picnic table. Sitting across from the two were Ron and Hermione, and sitting in between Harry and Percy (who was next to his mother at the end of the table) were Fred and George. What nobody- except for the co-conspirators- knew was that the twins had a very interesting evening planned for an unsuspecting Harry. They decided to utilize the fact that the boy wasn't able to hold his tongue for the next half-hour or so.

"So, Harry...," drawled Fred, innocently sipping from his glass of apple juice, "Whatcha been up to lately?"

Harry swallowed the bite of burger he'd been chewing and answered Fred without delay. "Oh, you know, the usual...studying, sleeping, being the Dursley's butler."

George leaned forward in subtle interest. "Anything else?"

"Well," he said, "In the past hour, I've blinked 2038 times, inhaled 4562 times, and tripped 37 times." Ron choked on his food, and even Harry seemed a bit surprised at his last statement.

The twins exchanged worried glances- their plan wasn't working! It was time to resort to new tactics. "So," said Fred, "Been thinking of any girls lately?"

"Yes."

The twins smirked devilishly, Hermione, who by now had realized what the boys were up to, shook her head in disapproval. Ginny frowned- either he would say her name, and would probably get beaten severely; or, more likely, he would mention a different girl's name and unknowingly break Ginny's heart. Ron just kept eating. "Who ya been thinking about, ol' Harry-kins?" asked George.

Harry set his cup down. "Well last year I was totally mad about Cho- you know her, Cho Chang, that Chinese 6th-year Ravenclaw. But more recently I've been looking at your little sister. She's getting older, and I like it." At these words, Ron spewed his apple juice clear across the table, and the twins stared at Harry's empty seat (the owner of which had crawled under the table in shame) in silent astonishment. Hermione was deep in her own thoughts, and Ginny's face was so flushed it almost blended into her fiery red hair.

"Please don't hurt me," quailed a tiny voice from under the table. "I didn't mean to say that, it was your spell that made me." Seconds later, the voice added, "Ron, I can see you kicking me. I can't feel any pain, remember? So it's no use, you might as well stop."

"No," said Ron, who felt like he had just been betrayed, "I'm enjoying myself."

In the midst of all this, everyone looked up as Hermione, on the brink of tears, stood up and ran into the house.