Once I had a teacher who instructed us how to write essays. He'd say to firstly write everything that came to mind (even if it turned out to be bs), to let the ideas flow, and then go back to the text and implement changes and improve it. In this fanfiction, I'm at the let-the-ideas-flow phase. I'm not even bothering to spell check right now (the program is not working properly). I'm just getting the idea out of my mind. Once it's done, then I'll come back and try to make it... better? Well, not as bad as it is now, at least. But only when it's all done. For now, I give you the first draft of the second chapter. Enjoy (or not)!
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter and all that's related, I'd be pregnant with my third child. All you see here points to own belly is fat.
Chapter 2 – Fred and George being serious
The Weasleys had arrived at their house, The Burrow, just a few minutes ago. Ron was in his room, unpacking while waiting (and what a long wait for his poor empty stomach) for dinner. He was content that he was home, but not that much. Everything seemed painfully the same. The gnomes had invaded the garden, the ghoul kept banging on the pipes, his bedroom was the same usual orange... and yet a lot of things had changed, people had died, a whole war had started... all because of Voldemort. But none of these things seemed to have had any effect on The Burrow. That felt just odd. And he, who had the emotional range of a teaspoon, was conteplating these thoughts while looking out of his window when someone knocked.
"Ron, dinner's ready", it was Ginny. "Are you all right?", she had noticed something unusual going on with her brother.
"No, I'm starving. Why did it take so long?", he answered turning around to face her.
"It took five minutes. What's that?" she pointed to something on his hand.
"Ah... this...", his ears went a bit pink, "just a picture of us, the one we took during the Quidditch World Cup", and he placed the picture on a shelf. "I'm unpacking"
"And you took this to Hogwarts? I thought you said you looked funny on this picture."
"He always looks funny in pictures."
"I'd say he always looks funny", the twins had just entered the bedroom.
"I think it's his nose"
"Or his red hair"
"Or his freckles"
"Now, now, red hair and freckles are quite charming"
"What do you want?", Ron asked irratated.
"Yeah, mom sent us here to tell you dinner's ready", said Fred.
"She sent me to do this", said Ginny walking towards the door.
"Maybe she thought you'd forget"
"Or maybe she forgot she sent you"
"And maybe we should go", Ron interrupted before they started a whole discussion about amnesia. He started down the stairs being closely followed by his siblings who kept saying something about he, Ron, eating everything on the table and letting them starve to death.
Dinner was a surprisingly good affair. At the table sat Mr and Mrs Weasleys, Fred, George, Ginny, Ron and Bill, who had gone to The Burrow specially to welcome his younger brothers. Sore subjects were avoided and they saw themselves talking about their childhood, embarrassing each other ("and then Fred ran naked around the house in front of the guests") and laughing. They were all having a good time, being nostalgic, something that happens every once in a while with every family. They were all feeling very satisfied indeed, or maybe too much.
"Ow", it was George, rubbing his stomach, "I think I ate too much".
"It was delicious, Molly"
"Yeah, mom, it was great... can I have more pudding?", Ron asked with puppy eyes.
"Of course", said Molly with a huge smile. Seeing her family like this was one of the things that pleased her the most. Fred and George, on the other hand, seemed shocked.
"How can you eat more? You ate more than us together!"
"I need to eat, I'm growing."
"And if you keep growing, you are going to sweep the ceiling with your hair", said George, who was eyeing the pudding with a certain longing in his eyes. "But I think I'll have some more too".
Fred eyed them with his mouth open. Then he closed it and grinned. "Save me something"
"Help yourself". And they all had second helping of pudding, including Ginny, feeling even more satisfied afterwards.
After dinner, they went to the living room. Arthur sat on his chair reading the paper, Molly was kniting, Ron challenged Bill to a game of chess and the twins and Ginny were playing their own game, which involved two packs of cards, running around the house, rope skipping and shouts of "don't break anything" from Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh, look, Bill's beating Ron up badly", said George, stopping temporarily his rope skipping. Fred and Ginny went to look for that was indeed something rare to occur, Ron losing in a game of chess.
"That's part of the strategy", said Ron frowing.
"I bet", Ginny rummaged through her pockets, "a... erm... a Ton-Tongue Toffee that Ron's still going to win"
"Is it all that I am worth?", "You don't think I am going to win?" and "Hey, you can't bet with our products" were some of the replies she got. But before she could answer any of those, a large owl came fluttering down the window, dropped a letter at the chess board, knocking all the pieces down, and flew away.
"Stupid bird", Ron muttered and picked up the letter. "Mom it's for you... it's from... Penelope Clearwater?"
"What?", Fred took the letter from Ron and George and Ginny tried to look over his shoulders, "Percy's girlfriend?"
"It's mom's, let her have the letter", Bill took the letter and held it to Molly, who had jumped at the name Clearwater. She looked at Arthur, who was also standing, and tore the envelope open. They read the letter while the others stared at them and tension filled the air.
"What does it say?", Bill asked, trying to catch his mother's eyes or read his father's expression. "Mom, what does it say?"
"It says that Percy talked to Penelope. He is... he wants to talk to us but is... He asked her not to write but... she thought it was the right thing to do. She says that he said something about arranging a meeting with us." It was Arthur that answered, rigid, with a frown on his forehead, Molly had thrown herself back into the chair and had started sobbing.
"Does it say something about apologizing?"
"Stupid prat, won't even write a proper letter"
"Fred, Ron, this is not helping", Bill said while trying to comfort his mother.
"Boys, Ginny, go to your rooms", Arthur told them and sat beside his wife.
Bill made signs that they should leave the room and that he would talk to them later. Not really knowing what to do but call Percy all kind of nasty names, they left and walked up the stairs, pausing briefly to listen to what was going on downstairs.
"I don't like listening to mom crying", Ginny said and then continued climbing up the stairs to her bedroom. Ron and the twins did the same not long afterwards, each going to his bedroom.
Not even 5 minutes after Ron had closed his door, he heard a knock. It was Ginny.
"I could still hear it". Ron gave her a sympathetic smile and made a sign for her to get inside. They sat on the bed and, suddenly, two figures apparated in front of them.
"We went to your room", George said to Ginny, sitting down on the bed "but you weren't there".
"So we came here", Fred finished for him, sitting down on a chair.
"I could still hear mom crying... and I couldn't stand it... all because of that" and she called some names that made her brothers say "Ginny!". "What? It's true! He's... just..."
"He's stupid, all right. But mom and dad wouldn't disown him even after I did my best to convince them", Fred said, looking mournful.
"You told them he's a walking dungbag with a hat", George replied with a little smile on his lips, smile which passed on to all the others who entertained themselves a few moments by finding other amusing dung-related things to call Percy.
"Too true, though", Ron broke the sequence. "But still, he's their son. It's not like they're going to abandon him, I suppose.", they agreed. Their parents, and specially their mother, would never turn their backs to a son. Molly had kept trying to contact Percy even though she kept getting no answers. She was sure that he'd return some day, or at least send a letter.
"What's with Bill, anyway? Sending us away but staying?", Ginny laid her head down on George's lap and put her legs on Ron's. She had always felt comfortable when she was with her brothers, when they were not teasing her, that is.
"Cozy there?", George asked, smiling. "Of course you are. My lap works wonders" and Ginny pinched him playfully. Ron who, on the other hand, was never very comfortable when anybody laid anything on his lap, asked "Yeah? What's with Bill? Just because he's older or something?"
"I'd say let him handle it. He's older", Fred raised one finger, "more experienced", raised another, "and knows very well how to calm girls down" and raised yet another. "and I hope that includes mom. All I felt like doing was beating Percy senseless, but he's not here, so it's quite useless."
"I think we all felt like kicking Percy's ass badly", George said, receiving an ugly look from his sister. "Ah, come on, Ginny, you said something much worse earlier on and I don't even dare to ask you how you learnt that."
Ginny sat up right. "From living with 6 older brothers, that was. Well... 5 brothers".
"You wish it were 5. Mom forgiving Percy, as she will, she's going to want us to treat him the same", Ron said with a scowl. And Ginny replied with a "5 and a half, then"
"Yeah, you're right. They're going to want us to behave", Fred grimaced at the thought. "But you just wait till I get my hands on him-"
"You're not getting your hands on anybody", Bill interrupted him and leaned on the doorway.
"Bill!", Ginny almost jumped, "how's mom?"
"She's calmed down", he answered and the whole how-Percy-is-stupid thing started again and he noticed the mean looks they had, "and I mean it, you're not getting your hands on anybody" he added. "It's not how things should go. Even though he's done all those things, he means a lot to mom and dad. And by the way, I didn't hear any of you asking me about dad."
He saw by their expressions that they all simply didn't expect anything to be wrong with him. He had been shocked with the news, but he hadn't started crying or anything.
"You know, just because he wasn't crying doesn't mean it didn't affect him badly. He has a different way to cope with it." As they didn't say anything, he went on. "He drank some firewhisky before going to bed. And gave some to mom too. This whole affair is very bad for them. They love us equally and having a son... walking away like Percy did, after a lot of fights... and turning his back on them... it's very painful. Especially in times like this, with a war and you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or even later today. And if anything happened to him... or to them.. or to one of us... and we being apart... broken like this, just the very thought of it is a torture for them."
Silence reigned for a few seconds before Ron broke it by saying "I don't know if that was supposed to make us not feel like hitting him with a good hex"
"I know I'm feeling even more compelled to choose a jinx that'll-"
"Look", Bill, once again, interrupted someone, this time it was Ginny who was speaking. "I myself would very much like to put some sense into his head even if it needed to be done by opening it with a butter knife. But it won't help anything. If much, it's going to make mom and dad feel worse. We don't have to love or idolise Percy", to that, Fred said that Percy would die of self pity if they didn't idolise him. "I'm serious here", Bill continued. "We don't even have to like him. But for mom and dad, we should try to at least be polite to him. And that's all that I am asking of you. Be Polite."
"Ok, you got that. Because it's you who's saying and for mom and dad". Ginny gave her revenge up after considering Bill's word and because she cared way too much about her parents to make them suffer because of a dungpile with chopsticks (she had said that one).
"I still want to "and Ron made some signs with his hands to which the twins nodded and said they'd gladly do the same. Bill sighed.
"I have some things to do and I need to go. Ginny, try and put some sense into their heads"
"With a butter knife?"
"Even if it needs a butter knife. Bye" and he disappeared while Ron was shouting for him to wait. "Damn, he never said what was in that letter"
"Probably what dad said. We can get the letter or ask Bill later." George answered standing up and walking till the door, then closing it. "Anyway, he wasn't half as nice to Percy that other day", he said looking at Fred.
"What other day?" Ginny asked .
"He went to our shop", Fred answered. George had walked to the windown and was leaning against it with his arms crossed with a dark look on his eyes.
"Percy?", Ron asked mouth opened.
"Yeah... we were there, me and George, of course, and Bill."
"He said he had gone there to congratulate us on our ...entrepreneurial action, he said."
"That was pretty much all he had time to say. Bill saw him and grabbed his arm and steered him out of the store"
"We couldn't leave, there was no one else to watch and the shop was full."
"I did see a lot of gestures, including rude ones, and then Percy disapparated"
"When Bill came back in, he was very upset"
"And beet red. He went straight to the back of the shop. We closed it as quickly as we could and joined Bill. Believe me, you wouldn't want to see him on a state like he was. He kept pacing up and down and muttering things that didn't make sense at all."
"And that's just not like him"
Ginny and Ron were listening with their mouth opens, surprised with this new information. "Did you... did you tell mom?", Ron asked.
"Nope", Fred answered, running his hand through his hair. "We decided that we shouldn't tell anyone. And judging by his oh-let's-all-be-friends-with-Percy talk, either he is going to apologize or is just not going to mention it", a certain disgust could be noticed by his tone of voice.
"That's why I said he wasn't half as nice to Percy the other day. I did notice that, after this... meeting... Bill changed a little... started reading some chinese proverbs or something..." and he cited one proverb "Do not be afraid to grow slowly. Be afraid to stand still. Or something like that. I can't really see how he used it, but maybe it changed his mind".
"Wow...", Ron finally spoke. "Maybe Percy is trying to get back". And he told them about the letter he had received from his brother telling him not to be friends with Harry. "Disgusting, really. He never, you know, broke off completely."
"But to send a letter like this", Ginny said, shaking her head, "he should have stayed put. But anyway, proverbs or not, I am doing what Bill said. I am going to be polite, that's all."
"We'll see about that. I don't really feel like being polite to someone who 'severe bonds' with me. And what was Bill doing at the shop anyway?"
"Visiting. And you are welcome to go there anytime. In fact, if you want to work there during summer, I'll put in a good word for you" and Fred winked with that. But George gave him a significant look, which was caught by Ron and Ginny.
"What?" they sad at the same time. George looked at them, then at Fred who nodded. He, George, then slided down the wall in which he was leaning and sat on the ground.
"WHAT?!", Ginny and Ron said again, impatient. Apparently Fred and George were preparing themselves to say something big, for they both took a deep breath and looked very serious.
Looking at his hands, George asked "Do you remember the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Of course we remember the Order of the Phoenix! Do you think we have mental disabilities?"
"You'll have if you continue with this crabby mood"
"Ron! Fred! Please! What about the Order of the Phoenix?" Ginny intervened. She wanted to know what this was all about.
"Well", George continued, "after a lot of hard work... meaning mostly convince mom and dad... Fred and me joined the Order." Ron and Ginny were taken aback with this.
"You convinced mom?" Ron asked with, once again, his mouth hanging open.
"Joined against her will, more like it." Fred said, cracking his fingers. "She really couldn't keep us from joining. We are of age, we've left Hogwarts and we can be of very good use."
"How? What have you done?"
"Actually, the day Bill went to the shop, he had gone there to tell us he had talked to mom and that she had said she couldn't stop us from joining because of all that Fred said, except the 'be of very good use' part. She never thought very high of our habilities."
"But Fred just said you joined against her will"
"I did say that. She couldn't stop us from joining but she made us promise we wouldn't tell you or Ron or Harry or Hermione... any of you anything"
"But that's unfair!", Ron exploded. "Things are always happening to us, whether we want it or not. We should be aware of what's going on". Ginny was too outraged by this.
George raised his hand. "Save your breath, will you? We agreed with her to make her happy but we don't think it's fair either. We are going to tell you all we can".
After a few moments of silence in which Ron and Ginny kept glancing back and forth from Fred to George, Ron finally said "Well?!"
"What?"
"Aren't you going to tell us?"
"We would if we knew anything. Now that the Ministry admited that You-Know-Who is back and after that mess there, there's not really anything new.", George said, standing up.
"Exactly, it's the same story... Harry's muggle relatives' house still being watched, even when he's not there."
"What do you do, then?", Ginny asked.
"Not much, just the same thing everybody else is doing", George answered stretching herself. "We keep w-w-waaatch", he yawned.
"Of what?"
"Everything. Anything. We just have to keep our eyes open, which is kind of hard right now, to see what's going on. Having the store at Diagon Alley is really helpful because we get to talk to other owners of shops and find out what they're up to".
"Which is, most of the times, some dirty business move. Yeah, it's not much" Fred added after he saw the look on Ron's face, which showed clearly that he thought that this was nothing important. "But everybody's doing this. Besides, we get first hand news from the other members. And the most interesting is about what's going to happen to Grimmauld."
"It's Harry's n-n-nooow", George said with another yawn. "It's up to him what's going to happen with it"
"Dunno if that's good or bad", Ginny said. "I mean, it was Sirius's and..." she did not finish the sentence. After this a heavy silence fell.
Fred couldn't hold back and yawned too, then shook his head. "This thing is contagious. Anyway, enough of talking, I am going to bed."
"Me too, I am beat. And we have to wake up early tomorrow."
"Wait, can't you go the normal way and walk me to my room?", Ginny asked.
"'Course, mylady." Fred answered, offering his arm for her to take.
They wished good night to Ron and, after they had left, he turned off the nights and laid down on his bed to think about all that had been said in his room. It turned out to be a very eventful "reunion". Remembering everything about Percy made him clench his fists and sit up right. Then he thought about the Order of the Phoenix and Grimmauld Place and he wondered how Harry was and how would he feel when he got the news that he was now its owner. He imagined how difficult would be for Harry to, once again, enter the house where his grandfather had lived and wondered if him, Ron, would ever be there again.
His head about to explode with so many thoughts, he had now fully understood Hermione's word at King's Cross. They needed to stick together. For everybody's sake. And, after deciding to write a letter to Harry and Hermione the next morning, he finally fell asleep with the image of Hermione and the feeling of her touch in his arm revived.
A/N: This chapter turned out to be longer than I thought it would be and the dialogue at Ron's room too. But I am not going to change it now. This ending sucked. Ah well, that's life. Did you not like it? That's great! Review! Did you actually like it? You need to talk to a professional then.