They say that good things come to those who wait, such as how the hibernating bear waits all winter for spring to come, and finds new, possibly more pleasurable fish at the other end. But for Ginny Weasley, at home alone with Fred and George, waiting was terrible, and she most certainly didn't want to taste any new fish.

They hadn't pulled any pranks or called her names all summer, and she was getting scared. What did they have up their sleeves? They mostly kept to their room, and when they were out for mealtimes, they whispered suspiciously and kept on giving her the strangest sideways glances.

Admittedly, it was only two weeks into the summer holidays, and fresh from her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she had been expecting more tricks from her two scoundrel brothers. Usually, there came the one they had adapted from a muggle version, where the first person to enter the door had ten kilograms of slimy squid tentacles dropped on their head. Then, they would offer round a bowl of toffees in brightly coloured wrappers, which, after the first time, where Percy, Ginny and even Mrs Weasley had grown long purple tongues, everyone learned not to touch them. Then came the endless array of booby traps. Trip wires on doorframes, unmeltable ice cubes in the part of the bed where your feet went, the list went on and on.

But this summer was different. They had done nothing; they weren't even there when the rest of the family got home. Everyone else put it down to hard work at creating new gags for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, but Ginny felt that they were just building up to something big, something bigger than anything before. She wasn't quite sure what, but it worried her, all the same.

Percy, after Cornelius Fudge's 'discovery' of Voldemort, had finally felt remorse for his words and actions and moved back in with his family. Mrs Weasley welcomed him back with extremely open arms and a lot of tears, Mr Weasley copied her, but with less tears. Ginny was glad to have her brother back, and as for Ron and the twins... they didn't reject him outright, but you could see it in their eyes that they weren't fully accepting of Percy's hasty apology.

Bill had taken leave from the bank for the summer for his honeymoon with Fleur Delacour. They had been married the day after Ron and Ginny came home from Hogwarts. Fleur had looked nothing short of stunning in a silky white strapless dress, her long hair done up in such a way it made Ginny's eyes hurt if she stared at it too long. Ginny felt slightly underdressed in a black beaded tube top and matching skirt, but she had fun all the same.

Mrs Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Ron and Percy had gone to Romania to visit Charlie for a few days, the main purpose being to pick him up and bring him home for the holidays.

Ginny was pondering this, staring blankly ahead of her like a statue. She shook her head slightly, to clear her mind, and stood up. She was vaguely contemplating going up to check on Fred and George, when voices from the staircase cut into her thoughts like a knife. She crept closer to the door, not wanting to be discovered to be eavesdropping. She could only hear small parts of the conversation.

"Everything, soaked?" This voice was Fred's. He sounded dubious.

"Well... yes, but no. It will... but nothing will actually... You get it?"

"So mum will be really, seriously angry, until we tell her that nothing..."

"Exactly!"

Ginny heard the sound of a high-five between the brothers, and footsteps gradually getting louder as they walked towards the door she had her ear pressed against. She gasped, moved quickly away from the door, then walked towards it as if she was just going that way anyway.

"Hey Fred, George." Ginny said, desperately trying not to sound too falsely cheery, lest they figure out she had overheard them.

"Hey, li'l Gin," Fred said, flicking her in the forehead as she passed. "Not long to go now before Charlie comes home."

"Yeah," George said, a grin spreading across his face. "I think they'll love what we have in store for them..."

Ginny smiled dubiously, and as soon as she was out of view of the twins, she bolted up the stairs and into their room. She hadn't been into Fred and George's room for quite some time, and she was knocked back by what she found.

Dirty clothes lay littered all over the floor. Books were strewn everywhere, open, some with pale footprint indentations on them. The only remotely tidy place in the whole room was something of a workbench, over in the corner. It was covered in test tubes, jars and cauldrons, most with fluorescent liquids in them. There were two closed drawers under the desk.

Ginny rushed over, but the drawers were locked. Knowing that she couldn't use the magic unlocking spell for fear of expulsion, she began searching for a key. She upturned mattresses, cleared away clothes. She finally found it, inside George's faded blue pillowcase.

She went back over to the drawers and unlocked them with ease, pulling open the top drawer first. She rifled through it. Just boring facts and figures, and methods for making their gags. She closed it. She hadn't found what she was looking for.

But what was she looking for? I don't know, she thought, but I know I want to find out what those two are up to.

Just as she opened the bottom drawer, she heard the door click shut behind her. She froze, then slowly turned her head around to see Fred standing in the door, closely followed by George.

"Well, little sister," Fred said menacingly. "Do you know what the penalty is for rifling through George and I's secret documents?"

Ginny winced. "No." She said, perhaps with a little too much humour.

"It is no laughing matter, youngling," George said, going cross-eyed. "I am afraid we shall have to... kill you."



Well, that's the end of another chapter, hopefully more having something to do with the story than chapter one. The prologue. Thanks to the 2 reviewers...

Vix17: Thanks for reviewing, here's the next chapter, 1 day after the last update. In case you hadn't noticed. (Heheh)

Dracolovesginny: well, anxiously await no longer, here's chapter 2. Thanks for reviewing!