Author's Note: Well, it finally happened: my muse has run away. Anyone seen her? Anyway, I blame her for the way this chapter turned out.
Disclaimer: Me? *points at self* Own Harry Potter? I wish!
Chapter 3: Mischief at the Movies
After they'd recovered from nearly being obliterated by a corrupted-youth hating librarian, Fred, George, and Lee pulled out the map of the city and walked down the street, trying to decide where they should go next.
"I don't really care where we go next," said Lee after a while, "Just as long as George doesn't pick it."
"What, you don't trust me anymore?" said George in a voice of false hurt.
"Never have," said Lee with a smirk. George hit him over the head with the map. Fred, who had been watching their antics in obvious entertainment, stopped so suddenly that George ran into him from behind and nearly fell over.
"Why'd you stop?" asked George in slight annoyance as he steadied himself. Fred turned to George and Lee.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," said Fred, "But I'd say that bloke over there looks familiar, wouldn't you?" He pointed down the street a few buildings away to where a movie theatre was located. Inside of the ticket booth staring at them in a rather unflattering manner was a short balding man with a face almost as scarlet as the uniform he was wearing. George and Lee looked back at the man for a moment, then grinned as they recognized him.
"Lingsworth," said George simply, waving cheerily at Lingsworth, who responded with a rather rude hand gesture.
"Oh look, he remembers us!" said Lee brightly. "Shall we go over and say hello?"
"Oh yes," said Fred, the look in his eyes saying all too clearly that he intended on saying much more than a simple hello. They walked down to the theatre, the grins on their faces increasing as the infuriated look on Lingsworth's face grew the closer they got.
"Hello, Lingsworth, it's been a while!" said Lee as they stopped in front of the ticket booth. A vein twitched in Lingsworth's right temple as he glared back at them.
"So it has," he said curtly. "I see that you three haven't changed a bit." His tone of voice showed that he didn't intend it as a compliment. Fred nodded brightly.
"Nah, we've been too busy being successful," he said, a smirk twitching at his lips as he eyed Lingsworth's uniform. Apparently, the man wasn't giving any more lectures on public welfare. Lingsworth drew himself up straight, though he was so short that this made little difference even with the box he was standing on.
"Doing what, dare I ask?" he said huffily. "Telling more of your rude jokes on street corners?"
"No, we prefer parks," said George. "That's where we got our start, as you remember." Lingsworth shuddered with not-so-suppressed fury.
"Are you buying a ticket or not? If not, then kindly go away and stop badgering me!" he said shrilly.
"Buying a ticket? For what?" asked Fred, genuinely curious this time. Lingsworth let out an exasperated huff of air through his nose and pointed to the theatre behind him.
"For the theatre," he said irritably.
"A theatre as in a movie theatre?" asked Lee, who had taken Muggle Studies at Hogwarts and vaguely remembered hearing about such things.
"Yes!" said Lingsworth, no doubt thinking that they were only trying to annoy him further. "Either buy a ticket or leave me alone!"
"Fine, then, we'll take three tickets to...um...that show there," said Lee quickly, pointing to a poster the first poster that caught his eye which looked as though it had come out of a child's picture book. Large fluffy-looking letters underneath the picture read The Adventures of Bobo the Bunny.
Lingsworth looked from Lee to the poster and back again. Then, seeming to realize that he could be rid of them by this time the next minute, he placed three tickets for the show on the counter. Lee pulled out the wad of Muggle money they'd gotten from Gringotts, counted out the correct amount, and handed it to Lingsworth.
"Now get out of my sight!" said Lingsworth as Lee picked up the tickets.
"Gladly," said Fred, carefully drawing his wand from his pocket and stepping behind George slightly so that he could aim it through a small gap in George's arm without being seen. "Oh, and you may want to step off of that box."
"Why--" began Lingsworth, but he was cut off as the box he'd been standing on jerked out from under him and sent him toppling to the ground.
"No reason," said Fred lightly, slipping his wand back into his pocket as Lingsworth struggled to stand back up. "By then!" And they hurried inside the theatre before Lingsworth could get back to his feet.
"Nice one, mate!" said Lee, slapping Fred gleefully on the back as they handed their tickets to a man inside and proceeded to the lobby.
"Yeah, but maybe you should have done him a favor and used an Engorgement Charm instead. Bloke's just as titchy as he was the last time we saw him," added George.
"So," said Fred, changing the subject, "What do you do in a movie theatre?"
"Er...well," said Lee, "From what I remember about theatres in Muggle Studies--"
"Which probably isn't a lot, knowing you," interjected George with a devious smirk.
"--I think," continued Lee, glaring at George, "they're a place where Muggles can watch shows on these massive...er, what do they call them? Oh yeah, fellytisions."
"You mean televisions, right?" said Fred, looking thoughtful. "Dad brought one home once, and he said something about Muggles watching shows on them."
"Yeah, right, televisions," said Lee. "Anyway, we just go to the room where the show we came to see's playing."
"Right then, sounds simple enough. Now then," said George, having spotted the snack bar and the small crowd of moviegoers gathered in front of it, "let's get some snacks. Pity they'll only have Muggle candy; I wouldn't mind a large box of Chocolate Frogs right about now."
They headed over to the snack bar and got into a line behind a woman and a small child. The child, a small brown-haired girl no older than five or so, didn't appear very happy about having to wait in the line and was throwing a bit of a tantrum as the woman (whom Fred guessed was her mother) tried to get her to calm down while smiling embarrassedly at the people who were beginning to stare.
"Mummy, make the line move!" said the little girl, stamping her foot impatiently on the ground. Her mother looked down at her with a slightly exasperated look on her face.
"Mummy can't do anything right now, Ally. Just quiet down now," said the woman, peering around the line and tapping her foot anxiously.
"But I want see Bobo now!" said the little girl, crossing her arms across her chest and fixing her mother with a sour look on her face. Lee turned to Fred and George while the girl continued to whine at her mother, a grim look on his face.
"Mates, meet our movie companion," he muttered, nodding his head toward the girl, who had just started making faces at an elderly man in the next line. Fred and George assumed identical expressions of horror.
"You know what?" whispered George. "I reckon we've just found Snape's long-lost daughter."
"Too right," agreed Fred, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small box that caused Lee to smirk.
"Ah, haven't seen those in a while," he said as Fred tipped a small red-colored sweet into his hand before putting the Skiving Snackbox back into his pocket and bending over to where he was at face level with the little girl, who was now sulking grumpily while her mother relished the moment of silence on her daughter's behalf.
"Hey kid," he muttered, "Want some candy?"
The sour look on the little girl's face vanished instantly. She cupped her hands in front of her and smiled sweetly as she nodded.
"Here you go," said Fred, placing the sweet into her hand and watching as she popped it greedily into her mouth. Lee and George did their best to keep from sniggering and alerting her mother.
After a moment of sucking, the little girl rubbed her nose and said, "It tastes funny." She frowned and rubbed her nose again before turning to tug on her mother's shirt.
"Bubby, by nose feels fuddy," she said. Her mother turned and glanced down at her absentmindedly, the screamed. A steady stream of blood was flowing from the little girl's nose and collecting in a puddle at her feet. Her scream caused several people to turn and face her. There were several gasps and an explosion of murmurs, causing the impression that an entire hive of bees had found its way into the theatre. The little girl started crying loudly.
"Bake it stob, Bubby, bake it stob!" she yelled, stamping her foot and causing blood to splatter over her shoe.
"Oh my, oh my, oh my!" said her mother, speaking very fast and low as she scooped the little girl into her arms and ran for the exit. "EVERYONE OUT OF MY WAY!" she bellowed as she reached the door. "MY LITTLE GIRL'S GOT A NOSEBLEED!"
"You know," said George thoughtfully as the door slammed behind her and the babble of talk slowly decreased into what it had been before, "I reckon that woman could compete with her daughter in her shouting matches if she had a mind to."
"Probably. Oh well, at least we can enjoy the movie without that kid whining the entire time," said Lee, moving up to the counter as a large man carrying a bucket of popcorn waddled away.
**********
Five minutes later, the three of them made their way inside the theatre where their movie was playing, their arms laden with the popcorn, drinks, and candy they'd purchased at the snack bar.
"Smells like stale popcorn in here," said Lee, wrinkling his nose as they sat down in three empty seats. Fred took at deep wiff of air and nearly spilt his popcorn as he coughed.
"Yeah, we should try and market it. It could be right up there with Essence of Dungbomb," he said. "So, what's this movie about?"
"Dunno," said Lee with a shrug, popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth. "I just picked the first one I saw." Just as he finished speaking, the lights dimmed, and a picture appeared on the screen.
"Hope it's exciting," said George. A man with a little boy sitting next to him in the row below them turned around and said, "Shhhh!"
"'Shhhhh' yourself!" hissed George back, though he kept his voice down as he said, "I think it's starting."
Almost as if to mark his words, the screen showed a large, cartoon-looking meadow with brightly colored flowers and trees. A rather fat-looking rabbit wearing purple knickerbockers and an over-friendly smile appeared and began to do a jig. The small children in the audience began to laugh and clap, but Fred, George, and Lee gaped at the movie screen in disgust.
"Muggles actually watch this stuff?" said George, revolted. Fred, however, rounded on Lee.
"Brilliant, Lee!" he said savagely. "You picked a movie that even Ginny wouldn't have liked."
"Well, you two didn't try to stop me," said Lee shortly, slouching back in his seat and taking a large, irritable bite out of a candy bar. "How was I supposed to know?" A loud obnoxious song filled the theatre; it appeared as though the rabbit had been joined by a fox and a squirrel and was now singing. This in itself was tolerable. What wasn't was that everyone under the age of seven in the theatre had also joined in. Fred stuck his fingers in his ears and hummed loudly to himself, but it was no use.
"Make it stop!" he said loudly, surprising himself at how much he sounded like the little girl from the lobby, but the singing was so loud that only George and Lee heard him.
"SHUT IT!" bellowed Lee, throwing his entire box of popcorn at a rather large cluster of children. Whether it was his shout or the shouts of the children as they found themselves covered in a buttery mess or the fact that the song ended right at that moment that caused it, Lee wasn't sure, but to his relief the audience quieted down and resumed watching the movie. Fred, George, and Lee ceased their chance and tried to leave, but the moment they stood up and blocked the view of the people behind them, they were met by shouts demanding that they sit back down. Realizing that having an entire theatre of crazed moviegoers against just the three of them wasn't likely to end in their favor, they had no choice but to comply.
"You know, mindless torture isn't very fun when you aren't the one causing it," said George grumpily after a few minutes, flicking some of his popcorn at the back of a woman's head.
"Yeah," agreed Lee, rubbing his ears gingerly. "That was worse than any Potions class that Snape ever taught."
"Wouldn't fancy seeing him right about now all the same," muttered Fred, glaring moodily at the screen as though trying to burn a hole in it with his eyes. The closest he got to succeeding was when the characters in the movie lit a campfire and danced but, thankfully, did not sing.
"So tell us, oh wise Muggle Studies student," he said dully, "Are all Muggle movies this fascinating?" The only response he got was a faint snore; Lee had fallen asleep. Glancing past Lee, Fred saw that George was still awake, though he had his hand in his pocket and seemed to be contemplating whether or not he should just pull out his wand and blow his head off to end the torture. When he felt Fred watching him, he turned his head slightly and rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"It's never going to end, is it?" he said. Fred sighed and looked at the screen just in time to see the rabbit and his fellow animal chums dive into a lake for a swim. Turning back to his twin, he shook his head sadly.
"Nope. I reckon Snape'll jump onto his desk and do a jig in the middle of Potions before this rubbish is over," he said. George nodded.
"Well, I'm not waiting that long," he said flatly. "It's either going to end now, or I'm going to make it end myself."
"How?" asked Fred. "Any move we make will set off the Muggles, and they're bound to see if we throw so much as a Dungbomb."
"Look," said George, dropping his voice and shifting in his seat to face Fred fully. "Here's what I'm thinking. Do you remember that spell we learned in our first year, the one to make objects fly?"
"Wingardium Leviosa," said Fred, nodding slightly. "Why?"
"I think it's just the thing we need," said George, the familiar spark of mischief beginning to flicker in his eyes. Fred arched an eyebrow and felt a smirk tugging at his lips as he cottoned on. Turning from his twin, he scanned the people sitting in the front row and spotted the man who'd purchased a large bucket of popcorn just before they'd bought their snacks.
"How about him?" he muttered, turning to see that George was in the process of carefully removing his wand from his pocket. George glanced to where Fred was pointing and nodded.
"Perfect," he said. Fred nodded and turned to face the screen, pretending to be lost in the movie while George waited took aim. This was no easy task, especially since there was the chance that one of the Muggles sitting behind them would only have to look away from the screen to see him. Finally, he managed to get his wand in position. Praying that the Muggles were still completely fascinated with the movie, he whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa."
The effect was both instantaneous and affective. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the bucket of popcorn the man was holding lifted out of his hands and floated upward, suspended in mid-air about four feet up. There were several gasps and quite a few screams as Muggles realized what was blocking part of the screen, and the man to whom the popcorn belonged sank to the floor in a dead faint.
"GHOSTS!" someone shouted. "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" There were several more screams at this point as everyone sprang to their feet with the exception of Fred, George, and Lee (who'd woken up in the sudden noise).
"What happened?" he asked, watching the fleeing Muggles with curiosity. "Did they finally realize the horrific nature of the film?" Fred and George exchanged a grin as the three of them stood and strode calmly out of the theatre.
"Oh, you could say that," said George lightly.
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There's probably a few spelling mistakes in here, but I don't have very much time left so just tell me if you spot any and I'll come back and fix them when I have time. I'll try to update sooner next time!
Response to reviewers:
Living Proof of Judgement: Did you use the "Dragon" thing on your little sister yet? I'll bet she wasn't too pleased if you did, but then again, she is a little sister and there's just no pleasing them, as we all know. *smiles*
MarauderLuver4-ever: I was a bit shocked about the library as well (the idea just hit me as I was typing. I bet George threw it at me on purpose). I see that you also have the absolute thrill *smiles sarcastically* of going back to school now as well. I don't know about you, but I'm already looking forward to the Christmas holidays!
Psychozzy: Yay! A fellow George fan! Thank you for the good luck regarding school (good luck to you as well! :-) I'm having a bit of trouble with the update part, though. *smiles sheepishly*
S.D. Chesko: Since I couldn't work their going to a school into the story, I hope the part with Ally will compensate for them torturing annoying little kids. And as to you knowing where I live, bear this in mind: I know where you live too! *laughs evilly*
Mr. Poopy Doopy: Too bad. Maybe you'll review before S.D. this time! WHAT? I actually made you speechless for a whole minute? *gasps and falls out of computer chair in shock* Now THAT'S scary! !-)
TiGgEr5: I'm glad you like the story so far. I'll see what I can do about the sports idea, as I'd rather like to see their reaction to that as well! :-)
carlos-s. lover: Cool about the Mars thingy; I can't wait to read it! You don't like some of your classes? I'm actually jealous; when I was in seventh grade, those were my favorite classes!
Strayc@t: I'm glad that you enjoy my stories. When I wrote that review you mentioned, I never expected to gain a new reviewer, so I'm thrilled that you decided to check out my stories! :-)
Estenark: I'm glad you were able to find time to read this story; I missed hearing from you! But now your back! *cheers* I was really honored when you said that I brought out the spirit of the book. Fred, George, and Lee are all such awesome characters, and it was really important to me from the start to try and keep them that way, so I'm glad you like the way I'm portraying them. :-)
Fare thee well, reviewers! I'm off to do my ever-so-exciting homework. *cheers dully*