THE VANISHING GLASS

RON

Growing up as a witch or wizard differs from growing up as a Muggle in many ways: owls and newts tend to roam the house more than cats and dogs; bedtime stories involving trolls and giants are often based on true events; and, especially in the Weasley household, practical jokes are a lot more dangerous.

Three-year-old Ron was about to become aware of this for the first time. He had been playing with his toy Hippogriffs in the bedroom he shared with Fred and George, when the twins came charging through the door. They did this on an almost daily basis, yet it still made Ron jump every time.

'Don't do that!' Ron shouted. The toy Hippogriffs flapped their wings and snapped their beaks at the twins.

Fred and George merely laughed.

'Don't do that,' Fred mocked in a high-pitched baby voice, dropping in front of his younger brother.

'We just wanted to play with you,' grinned George, sitting next to his twin. 'This looks like so much fun.'

'Shut up,' said Ron, his ears turning red. Much to his parents' disappointment, these had been the first words he'd spoken as a baby, having heard Bill say it to Fred and George at least ten times a day.

'How rude,' said Fred, standing up and moving towards the door. 'I think I'm going to tell Mum –'

'No!'

'OK, you owe us then,' said Fred, sitting back down. 'You have to let me and George turn your Hippogriffs into pink unicorns.'

'No – leave them alone!' Ron shouted when George snatched a Hippogriff from his grasp. 'WHY ARE YOU SO ANNOYING?'

'There's no need to cry about it, Ronnie –'

'I'M NOT CRYING!' shrieked Ron through angry tears. Fred now had his tongue between his teeth in concentration as he squinted hard at the Hippogriff in his hand. After a few seconds, there was a small pop and the toy had turned sparkling pink.

With a noise of anguish, Ron picked up the other two Hippogriffs and hurled them at each twin.

'Ouch!' said the twins in unison. Fred clapped both hands to his forehead. George picked up Ron's big teddy bear and threw it back in retaliation, knocking Ron backwards.

When Ron sat up again and made to grab the teddy's leg, however, his hand found not soft fabric but something thin and hairy.

Ron looked up, and his eyes and mouth opened wide in a silent scream. An enormous spider was towering over him, its legs crawling closer, its pincers snapping menacingly. Even Fred and George, who had only half-intended this, stopped laughing.

The bedroom door burst open again and in came Arthur.

'What on earth is –?'

Arthur took one look at the spider and in a flash had Vanished it with his wand.

It took hours for Ron's hysterical sobs to subside. The spider may be gone for good, but the trauma attached to it would stay with Ron forever. Fred and George apologised again and again and claimed it was an accident, and managed to escape punishment.

They weren't quite so lucky when it came to one of their other practical jokes two years later.

Again, Ron was playing in the living room when Fred and George entered. This time, there was an air of tense excitement about the twins and Ron immediately saw why: George was carrying their mum's wand.

'What are you doing?' asked Ron warily.

'We managed to nick Mum's wand,' said Fred quietly. 'There's a spell we want to try out, but we need three people for it. D'you want to help?'

Ron hesitated. He was permanently suspicious of Fred and George whenever they came in here, but he was just as enthralled by them stealing his mum's wand as they were. Besides, he always liked seeing wand magic.

'OK.'

'Good. We read about this in a fairytale and we wanted to see if it really works,' explained Fred. 'Right, firstly you need to hold my hand – like that, yeah – now, George is just going to ask you a few questions and all you have to say is "I will". Got it?'

'OK,' said Ron again, his excitement mounting; it wasn't often Fred and George involved him in their secret plans.

George cleared his throat importantly.

'Ron, do you promise to go in goal whenever you play Quidditch with your brothers?'

'I will,' said Ron obediently. He gasped as a stream of fire wrapped around both hands, but it wasn't hot. Fred and George grinned, looking as excited as he was.

'And do you promise to sit down every time you go to pee?' asked George, his voice shaking from stifled laughter.

'Er –'

'Just say it, Ron!'

'I will.'

A second flame shot from the wand, intertwining with the first.

'And finally – do you, Ron, promise to serve your brothers Fred and George loyally for as long as you –?'

George broke off as Arthur wandered in, wiping his glasses on the hem of his shirt.

'Boys, have any of you seen Mum's –?'

Arthur dropped his gaze to the scene on the floor and the blood drained from his face.

'NO!' he bellowed. 'Fred, let go at ONCE! Merlin's beard, what are you playing at?'

Arthur snatched the wand from George's hand, still shouting at the top of his voice. The twins tried to back away, but that only incensed their father more.

'Get back here, NOW! Don't you dare run away from me! What were you thinking, you could have had Ron killed!'

Ron stood up, scared and confused, as Arthur followed Fred into the kitchen. He heard a series of loud smacks, accompanied by Fred's yelps of pain and his father's relentless reprimanding. He had never seen his dad so angry.

In the following years, Fred and George continued to wind up and poke fun at their younger brother – however, they always made sure their father was at work when they played pranks and never, ever touched their parents' wands again.