Less than an hour after their bacon-filled-breakfast, the Weasleys were on their way to the beach. After a wrong turn, the arrived at the beach around 10. All the kids were itching to get out of the car.

"I want to go swimming!" Ron said excitedly.

"Daddy, will you help me build a sandcastle?" Ginny asked sweetly.

"Hey Fred! Let's go find a crab!"

"Yeah! And then we can stick it down someone's shorts!"

"You will do no such thing!" Molly warned the twins. Fred and George however, merely exchanged glances that said, Of course we won't. They giggled evilly.

"Let's go surfing!" Charlie said.

"I'm in!" Bill agreed.

"I think I'll just sit in the shade and read." Percy said.

"What?" Ron gasped.

"You're crazy." George told him.

"Who goes to the beach to read?" Fred asked.

"That's enough now children. If Percy wants to read then he can. He's not stopping the rest of you from doing the things you want to do." Arthur said.

"No, that's Mum's job." Fred whispered to George.

"Daddy! I want to build a sandcastle!" Ginny said again.

"We will Ginny, don't worry. There's plenty of sand to go around."

"Come on! I really really really want to go swimming!" Ron pleaded.

"Ok, I think we need to plan this. We can all do our separate things as long as we're all back for lunch around, what do you think Molly? 1?"

"That sounds good." She replied.

"Ok, I'll stay with Ginny and we'll build a sandcastle. Molly, you stay with Ron. I think Bill, Charlie, and Percy can look after themselves. That only leaves…" Arthur stopped and he and Molly turned to look at the twins, whose adorable faces were molded into innocent, cherubic smiles.

"Oh no, you 2 are NOT going off on your own! Oh no…oh no…Don't even THINK about it." Molly said.

"You don't trust us dearest Mother?" George asked with sad eyes.

"Can't you put a little faith in your innocent beloved children?" Fred asked.

"All but 2 of them." Molly told them.

"Oh, Ron and Ginny won't do anything-"

"I wasn't talking about Ron and Ginny." She told them. She looked up at Bill and Charlie. "I hate to ask this of you 2, but-"

"NO!" They both cried at once.

"Please?" She asked.

"Mum, you can't DO that to us!" Bill insisted.

"What did we do to deserve that kind of punishment?" Charlie asked.

"You'll only have to watch them for a few hours." Molly told them.

"There's 2 Galleons in it for each of you." Arthur said. Bill and Charlie considered this.

"Throw in 5 Sickles each and you got a deal." Bill said.

"Done." Arthur said.

"Daddy, NOW can we build a sandcastle? PLEASE?" Ginny begged.

"Yes, sweetie, let's go." He told her.

"Yay! I get to go swimming!" Ron exclaimed. They all piled out of the car. Ron bolted for the water and Molly panted to keep up with him. Ginny practically dragged Arthur off to the perfect place she had spotted for a sandcastle. Percy set up a large umbrella, placed a towel underneath, and sat down underneath it and began to read The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 2.

"You better not let any Muggles see that." Charlie warned him.

"Don't worry." Percy said without looking up.

"Why didn't Mum leave him in charge of the twins?" Bill wondered as they strolled away from Percy. "It's not like he actually has any fun plans for the day."

"You two are funner." Fred said.

"Aww thanks, but that doesn't make me any happier about watching you." Bill said.

They strolled a bit farther and found themselves walking along the water's edge.

"Hey, do you guys wanna go surfing?" Charlie asked the twins.

"No, not really." George replied.

"Please?"

"No, it's ok." Fred told him.

"Well, what do you two wanna do?" Charlie asked.

"That's a brave question." Bill told him.

"We just want to walk along the beach." George said.

"Yeah, and look for a crab to stick down someone's shorts." Bill said.

"We promise we won't stick it down your shorts if you let us go." Fred negotiated.

"No, Mum told us to watch you." Charlie said.

"You guys could go surfing." George pointed out.

"A small price to pay for Mum's rage when she discovers we let you two go off on your own." Bill said.

"Oh come on. You know you want to get rid of us." Fred said.

"Yeah, and not to mention I just saw a group of really cute girls head into that surf-board rental place. And you know how completely embarrassing it would be for you to have us hanging around." George pointed to the Surf Shack. Bill and Charlie looked at each other.

"Do you promise, no, swear on each other's lives that you won't go and get yourselves lost?" Bill looked back at them.

"Yes." They both said.

"And that you won't go trying to get into trouble?" Bill said.

"We won't try." Fred said.

"Yeah, it usually just kind of happens." George added.

"Whatever. Just don't get lost, kidnapped, or injured in any way. Don't go off with any strangers. Keep where you can still see us." Bill continued.

"Jeez! You worry too much!" Fred said.

"Yeah, we're 10! Not 4." George told him.

"Well whatever you do, you will not speak one word to Mum about this. Not one." Charlie told them.

"Not a word." George promised.

"You don't want to keep those lovely ladies waiting do you?" Fred asked. Bill and Charlie made them promise one more time to be careful before heading up to the Shack.

"Finally! I thought they would never leave!" George said.

"Yeah, the way they act you'd think they didn't trust us." Fred told him.

"So, you wanna go look for that crab?"

"You read my mind dear brother."

An hour later, Fred and George had found quite a few crabs, but had not yet managed to catch one, as both were fearful that they would get pinched. They had, however, managed to wander far from where they had begun searching.

"Do you think we should try and find out way back?" George asked.

"Maybe, but we're on a beach. How hard can it be to find our way back? All we have to do is follow the water, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. CRAB!" George yelled and pointed to a large crab scuttling along the sand. All thoughts of being lost forgotten, Fred and George rushed after the crab.

Bill surfaced from his fifteenth wipeout and looked up at Charlie. "You know, I don't think surfing is really my thing." He said. Charlie, who had only suffered 2 wipeouts at the beginning laughed.

"Do you wanna head back to shore?" He asked.

"I guess so. Maybe we can help Fred and George look for a crab."

"And then what would we do with it?"

"Stick it down one of their shorts." Bill laughed. Charlie grinned and turned his blue eyes to where they had told the twins to stay.

"Oh no." He gasped. "Bill! Fred and George are gone!"

"What?" Bill yelled. "Are you sure? Maybe you're just not seeing them." After scanning the beach countless times, Bill groaned. "Oh I knew this was a bad idea! We should never have trusted them to take care of themselves!"

Charlie had gone pale beneath his freckles. "Mum is going to kill us." He said with a scared tone.

"No! No, we just have to stay calm. We're going to go back to shore as quickly as possible and see if we can find any sign of them. I mean, it's only a beach! How far could they have gone?"

"Knowing Fred and George, they could be halfway to Saturn by now."

"You can't hide from us crab! We shall get you!" George yelled.

"And then we shall stick you down Percy's pants!" Fred added.

"Now where did you go?" George looked around for the crab.

"There!" Fred pointed. There was a new crab resting under a rock. They snuck up behind the crab slowly and silently. "Don't worry little guy, we're not gonna hurt you." Fred whispered.

"That's it Fred. Be one with the crab." George said quietly.

"One with the crab." Fred repeated softly.

"THERE YOU ARE!" Bill shouted from behind them. The crab scuttled off.

"Aww Bill, you made us lose our crab." George complained.

"That crab's not the only thing you two are going to have lost when we get through with you!" Charlie scolded loudly. Fred and George gulped. They had never known their two older brothers to be angry. Frustrated yes, but never boiling mad.

"I THOUGHT WE TOLD YOU TO STAY WHERE WE COULD SEE YOU!" Bill yelled. "You could have been kidnapped, you could have drowned, you could have been eaten…"

"Eaten?" Fred asked.

"Yes! Eaten!"

"By what?" George asked curiously.

"I don't know…Something that eats stupid little boys that go wandering off on their own when they PROMISED to stay where they were!" Bill growled.

"How could you two go off so far without even thinking of turning back when you realized you were lost?" Charlie asked.

"We DID think about it." Fred said.

"But then we saw this really big crab and-"

"Enough with the stupid crabs! I don't want to hear about the crabs! No crabs!" Bill cried.

"I think I see a big one with red hair standing right in front of me." Fred remarked.

"Fine! Fine! Call me a crab for worrying about you!" Bill said, exasperated. Fred and George looked up at him.

"You DO love us!" They cried. The both grabbed him and squeezed him around the waist.

"You just remember that after I've strangled you." He told them.

"Look on the positive side. At least you got to go surfing." George pointed out.

"And with all those girls!" Fred said.

"Yeah, about those girls…" Charlie began.

"You neglected to tell us that they were all hygienically challenged." Bill said.

"Nor did you tell us that they all happened to be 5 years old!" Charlie added.

"Are you sure? They looked at least 7 to me." George said. Bill and Charlie glared at him.

"We are heading back to out part of the beach now." Bill said.

"You're not gonna tell Mum are you?" George asked, looking nervous.

"Are you kidding? If she ever found out we let you two get lost…" Bill started.

"We might as well write up our eulogies now." Charlie concluded.

"Yeah, so that means not a word from you two either." Bill said.

"Nope. Not a word." Fred pretended to zip up his mouth.

"Too bad we never got our-" George started to say.

"CRAB!" Fred dove. The poor little crab made an attempt to get out of his way, but to no avail. Fred held up the crab victoriously.

"So Ron, did you have fun in the water?" Arthur asked as the family congregated for lunch.

"Yeah! Except for I swallowed a bunch of water and it was all salty…then a big wave came in and I got water up my nose…then this really fat kid with blond hair pushed me under and his mum accused me of being in his way…it was kinda funny, she called him Diddikins…"

"Are you alright Molly dear?" Arthur looked at his wife.

"Yes, but next time you get to go in the water." She said, trying to dry her hair. "Ginny, did you get to build your sandcastle?"

"Yep! It was really cool! But then Daddy said that everyone would be running all over it, so I jumped on it! He got a picture of it though."

"Well that's good. I wonder where the rest of the family-" Before the question escaped her mouth, she heard a yelp and turned to see Percy dancing their way, trying desperately to get something out of his pants. He was followed by Fred and George who were positively howling with laughter. Bill and Charlie came running up after them, both yelling, "We had absolutely NOTHING to do with that!"

"Weren't you 2 supposed to be watching them?" Arthur asked them.

"Well yeah…and we were but…" Charlie started.

"They're Fred and George! They're unstoppable!" Bill said.

"They're crazy!"

"They're-"

"That's enough!" Molly said.

"Mum! Help! Get it out!" Percy cried desperately. Fred and George were laughing so hard that they couldn't catch their breaths. Ron and Ginny started to giggle, then they too were laughing uncontrollably.

"Dance Percy, dance!" Fred and George gasped between laughs.

"Oh, you wait until I get my hands on you two!" Molly snarled. "Percy dear, please stand still…I…oh it's no use. Arthur, take him to the men's room and see if you can get that thing out." As Arthur and Percy headed off to the restroom, Molly rounded on the twins, "As for you two…" she growled, "You're already grounded from that bathroom charade, you seem to enjoy time-outs, and yelling has absolutely no effect on you. So what do I do?"

"You could take your anger out on a beach ball." Fred said brightly. Molly glared at him. "Just a thought." He shrugged. Molly thought for a moment. She had a feeling that Bill and Charlie hadn't had been watching the twins as carefully as they should have. She contemplated this thought further and smiled.

"I have another idea. Why don't we let Bill and Charlie decide your punishment? They were the ones watching you after all." She looked at her oldest sons, knowing that neither had the heart to punish their younger siblings if they didn't deserve it. Sure enough, Bill and Charlie cast nervous glances at each other.

"Well, you know, they're just kids; they were just having some fun…" Charlie said.

"Yeah, and when you think about it, it is kinda funny…" Bill chuckled. Molly glared daggers at him. "Or not…"

"Uh-huh." Molly eyed them. "So, what do you think they're punishments should be?"

"Er…I think we can let this one go, right Charlie?"

"Yeah, I mean, no one was seriously hurt or anything…"

"You two weren't watching them as well as you should have. If you were, you would feel no guilt whatsoever in punishing them." Molly said as they exchanged guilty glances. "No money."

"What?"

"Mum that's not fair!"

"It is not up to you to tell me what is and is not fair William." Molly scolded. "Just imagine, if they can cause this much damage under your watch, what would have happened if they had gone off by themselves?" Bill and Charlie gulped and Fred and George looked innocently up at their older brothers.

"Bill and Charlie would never let us do something like that!" Fred said.

"Yeah! They would have killed us!" George added.

"I know they wouldn't let you two wander off, I'm jus trying to make a point." Molly said as Percy and Arthur returned from the bathroom. "Well, shall we get something to eat?"

As the rest of the family headed off to find a place to eat, Bill and Charlie smiled at Fred and George who grinned adorably back.

After lunch, Mr. Weasley said, "So, what shall we do now? Do we want to head back to the beach? Or I heard that there is some sort of fair going on right now, and of course Muggle gift shops are always fascinating…"

"Let's go to the Fair!" Ron said enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" Ginny smiled.

"Is that ok with the rest of the family?" Arthur asked hopefully. Everyone else agreed.

"What's at the fair?" George asked.

"Oh all sorts of things! Rides and candy and game booths, you kids will have a blast!" Arthur said excitedly.

"One thing, if anyone even has the slightest feeling that they might get sick or something, don't come near me." Charlie said.

"What's the matter? The all mighty Quidditch Captain can't handle a little half-way digested-"

"Thank you Bill!" Molly sharply cut him off.

"They don't have clowns here, do they?" Ginny asked.

"I don't think so. I believe you're thinking of a circus." Arthur replied.

"Good. Because clowns are scary and they have big razor sharp teeth and they hide inside your socks!" She exaggerated.

"Who told you that?" Arthur asked, chuckling a little.

"Fred and George." She replied.

"So that's why you went through that phase when you were scared to wear socks!" Ron gasped in understanding.

"Why would you tell you sister that?" Molly asked the twins.

"Because that's what Percy told us!" Fred told her.

"Percy?" Molly asked Fred, looking genuinely confused.

"Yep. Percy." George said.

"What?" Percy asked, looking up from his book.

"Did you tell Fred and George that evil clowns lived in their socks?" Molly asked.

"Yes." Percy replied.

"Why?"

"Because they wouldn't stop pestering me. So I decided to tell them that if they didn't behave like good little boys, the evil clowns that live in their socks would come out and take them away in their sleep."

"Perce, I didn't know you were evil." Bill said. Percy stared at him over the top of his book, then went back to reading.

"So Mummy, there aren't any clowns living in my socks?"

"Of course not Sweetie." Molly assured her.

"Whew!" Ginny breathed a sigh of relief.