July 21, 1995, 12 Grimmauld Place

Dad decided to take the day off from work. He usually isn't down at breakfast, because he leaves early to get to the Ministry, but this morning, he was sitting at the kitchen table, patiently waiting for Mum to finish with the sausages. I have a hunch about why he decided to stay home. Dad probably wants to talk to me about my nightmares. It's just after lunch now, and he hasn't said a word…yet.

We were assigned fairly easy cleaning tasks this morning. There's some old boxes upstairs in the attic that Sirius has promised to Mundungus, which Mum isn't terribly happy about. Her face was all puckered when she told Hermione, Ron, George, and me to help Sirius bring the boxes down to the living room so Mundungus could pick them up later. She left the room in a huff to go tend to Fred, who woke up this morning telling everyone that he had a sore throat and a fever.

What a bloody liar! He just wants to get out of cleaning, and he probably used those Skiving Snackboxes. Clever, if you ask me, but Hermione seems determined to figure out what Fred is really using to make himself sick.

Kreacher was hovering in the attic again. He took one look at me and called me a "nasty brat of a blood traitor" underneath his breath. That got me angry, because it's bad enough that I get it from people like Draco Malfoy and Mrs. Black, but I wasn't about to let a house elf insult me. Hermione urgently whispered to all of us that we should just let Kreacher alone, but after he called her a Mudblood a few seconds later, Sirius pushed him out of the room and told him to go somewhere else.

Sirius wouldn't tell us what was in the boxes, but they were pretty heavy, not to mention covered in dust. We managed to haul the boxes into the living room in just over an hour, and they're probably still sitting there, in a pile by the door, waiting for Mundungus. I saw Mum shoot the boxes a dirty look when she came to check how we were doing.

From what Bill told me this morning, Mum doesn't approve of Mundungus being in the Order at all, but Dumbledore seems to trust him. "Dung", as everyone in the Order calls him, knows who all the criminals are, "seeing as he's one himself!" Bill seems to think he's useful, and he's told Mum plenty of times, but that just makes her want to cut his hair even more. Mum thinks he's starting to look like Mundungus with his long ponytail! She's stopped asking everyone else if Bill should cut his hair because she already knows the answer: "No, Mum, it's cool!"

Hermione and I saw Tonks coming in through the hallway, and we were going to talk to her for a few minutes, but Mum ushered everyone upstairs. She said there was an important emergency Order meeting about to take place, and that we weren't allowed to listen in. Ha, as if that's anything new!

So, of course, George nipped up to his and Fred's bedroom, and brought back some Extendable Ears. We managed to listen in on about ten minutes of the meeting before the Ears went fuzzy and withdrew from the door. Hermione reckons that Mum's gone and put another charm on the door, so that we can't hear any important information, but I did find out a few vital tidbits.

The Ministry of Magic refuses to believe that You-Know-Who is really back, and they're basically paying the Daily Prophet to report that Dumbledore and Harry are both lying, deceitful fiends.

They've taken away Dumbledore's Order of Merlin, First Class that he earned for finding twelve different uses of dragon's blood, and Kingsley Shacklebolt reported that they're even talking about demoting him from his spot as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, which is the high wizarding court at the Ministry. We were cut short by the charm, however, just when Tonks was about to give her report.

I think that it's just horrible what they're doing to Professor Dumbledore! He's an amazing wizard, and those people at the Ministry probably don't even know half the magic that Dumbledore knows! How can someone go from respected wizard to the status of scum in barely one month?

Hermione's afraid that the school governors are going to take Dumbledore out of Hogwarts, but Ron shushed her, and told her not to say anything about a new Headmaster, because Dumbledore's the only Headmaster we've ever known, and he's doing a "bloody great job", in Ron's words.

Oh, and you don't even know what they're saying about Harry! Mum's forbidden any of us from reading the Prophet anymore, but Hermione still gets subscriptions, and she says that they're trying to make Harry look like someone who's causing trouble just for attention! Now, I may not be right about this, but the last thing Harry wants is attention for the murder of his parents!

Oh, god, I don't even want to think about this anymore.

Well, on a much brighter note, I visited with Fred just after lunch and he told me why he was pretending to be sick. He said that he did use one of his Skiving Snackboxes, but he wouldn't tell me which one. Anyway, Fred's found an entire web of spiders inside of one of his dresser drawers, and he wants to do a little prank on Ron and Hermione later on today. Here's his plan:

First, he wants to get Ron and Hermione alone in a room. Then, he's going to let a few spiders crawl in through the space between the floor and the door. Finally, he and George are going to listen in with the Extendable Ears and see what happens.

Fred asked if I wanted to join him and George.

And guess what I said?

"Sounds like fun!"

Oh, I know it's wrong to do something like that to Hermione, but it's not like she's afraid of spiders or anything. Besides, I really want to get Ron back for making me carry the heaviest box down the stairs.

God, I feel so…so…so…

Prankish.

Is that even a word? Ha, Hermione would probably cringe and go run for a dictionary.

Oh! George just came into my bedroom. He's got Ron and Hermione alone in Ron's bedroom. I'll write later, I promise!

It's Showtime!

Later

Hmmm. I never knew Ron could scream so loud.

Lovely. Mum's calling us all downstairs. George looks like he's about to die of laughter. Wish me luck that I don't get in trouble, but it was all worth it in the end…

Oh, wait. Dad wants to talk to me. I'll have to write tomorrow. Bye!

-Ginny


Will Ginny get in trouble for pranking Ron and Hermione with Fred and George? What does Mr. Weasley want to talk about with Ginny? The only way to find out is to read the next update!

Cheers to my reviewers:

Faerex: This story takes place during the summer before Ginny starts her fourth year at Hogwarts(OotP). Thanks for the review!

Billycan: Oh, I hope you can catch up! Thanks for reviewing!

IamSiriusGrl: Thanks for the suggestion! Can't wait to read your next review!

Siriusly Pranked: Ah, I just love your new pen name! I didn't have Ginny that upset with Hermione because I imagine that Ginny's actually happy that Hermione went to Mrs. Weasley about the nightmares, because now it's all out in the open. Thanks for reviewing!

Prongsgurl202113: Oh, you poor thing! I really hope you get your book soon! Thanks so much for the review!

Ronniekinzluvr: Aw, thanks so much! Can't wait for your next review!

Tree Stump: Thanks so much for the review!

Rogue200315: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks for reviewing!

Uasoccerbear08: Yes, I know what happens between Harry and Ginny in book six(sorry if that was a spoiler for those who haven't read HBP), but I'm putting all of that aside for this story. Oh, yes, and "OC" means "Original Character". Look for my story, it'll be up soon!

Fatalgambler: Thanks so much for the suggestions. Can't wait for your next review!

Sorry if I missed anyone. I LOVE ALL OF MY REVIEWERS! Okay, I don't love you, but I like you a lot.

How did everyone enjoy this chapter? I've gotten a few people who want to see some Ginny/Fred/George interaction, so there you go, and I hope you liked it! There will be more pranks in the future, but I need some suggestions. I'm prankishly challenged, I guess I could say. Some people also want to see Mr. Weasley talking to Ginny about the nightmares, so I'll put that in the next entry, okay?

I tried to include some Ginny-idolizes-Bill stuff, too.

Please, tell me how you think I did! I'm open to any suggestions, but please, this is my story, and I'll write in the way I want to. Don't be mean!

"Puddlemere Night Stand" will be up on the site in a few hours, for those of my reviewers who are interested in a Funny/Romantic/Angsty Oliver Wood/OC story. Look for it soon!

Review, please and thank you!

-Rox