Chapter 37

Disclaimer: JKR and I are not twins, nor do we have a remotely similar writing style. So I obviously do not own the Harry Potter series and am making no money from this story. Oh, I also do not own the Princess Bride.

A/N: Sorry for not satisfying all of you. And don't get mad at me for starting a new story. If I didn't, I would have forgotten how the first story was supposed to read. I will not abandon this story, I promise. I have two friends who regularly read it (including my beta) and whom I see every day. They won't let me neglect it.

Fred let the couple into the joke shop, where George was waiting on him.

"You sent Alicia here!"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"You—oh, hey Ron, Hermione. What's wrong?"

"Well…"

"Oh, Ron, we might as well tell him too, since he's here," Hermione sighed. "Come on, let's all go somewhere where we can talk in private."

Once George had closed and locked his office door, the four sat around the table.

"Okay, what in the bloody hell is going on?" George demanded.

Hermione sighed. "Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me summarize. I found Fred in France because I was there to pick up an artifact for my job. It had a message from Bill engraved on it. It has to do with why Fred was in France, so I need Fred to explain his time in France: where he was, what his captors looked like, and how he escaped."

George looked dumbstruck. "Wow."

Ron smiled. "I know. Just think, she used to rattle off facts like that in class. And we were expected to understand all of it and know it for the exams!"

Hermione glared at him. "I was perfectly intelligible, Ronald."

"No, Hermione, you weren't. My being in France has to do with an artifact?"

"And Bill."

"Okay…"

"Fred, we need to know. I know it's difficult for you, but you have to tell me."

Fred sighed. "Where do I need to start?"

Hermione bit her lip. "You need to start the night of the attack on the Burrow."

The three Weasley males looked at her in silent horror.

"I know. But I need to know what happened before. How Bill was acting before and during the attack. Please, Fred."

Fred took a deep breath. "Okay. I may have to stop a few times."

"It's okay, Fred," Ron said softly.

"Take all the time you need," Hermione soothed.

"I came home from the joke shop after a huge row with George. We were arguing about investing in some fledgling American joke shop company. I can't even remember which side I took. Mum made me a cup of hot cocoa and told me to think it over before getting angry again.

"We had all just sat down to dinner when we heard the pops. They apparated all around us. Bill, Charlie, and I jumped to our feet. We were split into two groups."

"You and Bill were in separate groups, weren't you?" Hermione asked.

"Well, yeah. Bill and Fleur were kind of in a group by themselves, now that you mention it. Most of them were with me, Mum and Charlie.

"Malfoy was talking and taunting Bill, along with Wormtail. When they didn't get the response they wanted, they began to mess with Fleur. She was about four months pregnant at the time too. Completely awful.

"Then Mum saw that one of the Death Eaters was Percy. She pleaded with him. So he killed her. He avadaed her, a smirk on his face. Then Charlie went for him, but Macnair got him.

"In the meantime, they'd killed Bill. And Fleur they had fun with a few more times before killing her as well. Then Bellatrix, the bitch, told me they had plans for me. That I was lucky. So they took me with them."

"Where exactly did they take you?" Ron asked. "Voldemort's headquarters?"

"I thought so at first, but it soon became apparent that Voldemort had no idea I was still alive. He, like everyone else, assumed I was dead, my body consumed in the fire the Death Eaters had started." He paused, shaking his head and closing his eyes. "I remember them telling me about the fire. Wormtail seemed quite pleased about it; I think it must have been his idea. I didn't know about your parents, though, Hermione," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

She smiled softly. "Thank you. I know. It was hard at first. And then… and then there were many times I needed Mum."

"The twins?" George asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, you could have contacted me," Ron grumbled.

"Honestly, I thought we had moved past that. Let Fred finish, Ron."

"I found out I was in France when French wizards became my fellow prisoners. My French is awful, but their English wasn't too bad. We were able to understand each other most of the time. I found out that these Death Eaters were really renegades. They didn't want to be killed or chunked in Azkaban if Voldemort were defeated again. So they had a plan. They would hide out in France if he fell and barter our freedoms for theirs.

"I remember the day Voldemort fell. They kept mentioning Harry and you two," Fred continued, motioning to Ron and Hermione, "but they didn't say if you were alive or not. I found out Ron wasn't dead when one told me he would see if my hero little brother would come save me. Avery, perhaps?"

Ron gasped. "He gave me crap about you when I interrogated him, but I thought he was lying. I'm sorry, Fred."

"Now, I realize I would have thought the same thing. At the time, however, I thought you just didn't care."

Ron eyed his brother. "Stupid git. You should know better than that."

Fred grinned. "Well, you know what they say. Once a Weasley, always a Weasley."

"The pride factor," Hermione sighed. The three turned and glared at her. "Oh, lay off it. It's fine if you are one, but it's hard to live with."

"How would you know?" George laughed.

She blushed. "You know what I mean."

"But not hard to shag, eh?" Fred grinned.

"HEY!" Ron and Hermione cried in unison.

"Wow, they already act like an old married couple," George laughed.

"Yup. Already they don't like talking about sex. I guess it was just that one time…"

"Nope. I heard them around Christmas. Loud, those two."

"What?" Hermione cried. "You listened, George?"

"It was kind of hard not to. You especially, need to turn it down a few notches." He looked at his younger brother. "I'm proud of you, getting a woman to do that."

She blushed scarlet. Even Ron joined in this laughter.

A/N: Sorry about the delay in updating. I had a severe case of writer's block. I knew we had to have Fred tell about the attack, and I was going to explain the escape in greater detail, but this chapter was already running long. Next chapter will explain that, and add another twist to this story. Suspense is finally coming to me! Yay! Thanks to my beta jwoods471 and my friend johncardy87. Check out their stories! Also, please check out my Lupin/Tonks story The Power of the No and my C2 Lupin Tonks Forever. : D

BONUS POINTS IF YOU CAN FIND THE LINE FROM THE PRINCESS BRIDE!