Surreptitious – Sneaky, Secretive
Prompts used - Afraid
NIGHT TIME ESCAPADES
Fred and George Weasley were always upto one thing or another. This time, they were planning to go to Hogsmeade in the middle of the night, through one of the secret passages that they had discovered by poring over the Marauder's Map for three long years and two summer holidays.
Ginny shook her head at the stupidity of her brothers' plan. She thought that it was foolish and would ultimately land them into serious trouble. Sure, Ginny supported each and every prank those two had formulated during the entire course of her life but this time, however, she strongly disapproved.
When the Weasley twins had informed Ginny about their midnight adventure, Ginny marveled at their nerve and then immediately thought about the dangers of their plan. The cons were heavier than the pros. In fact, there were no pros. That is why the fifteen year old girl had decided to follow her brothers and make sure that they go to Hogsmeade and come back safe and unnoticed by anyone.
Tonight was the night. Ginny laid in her bed waiting for the silent footsteps of her brothers. She had borrowed the invisibility cloak from Harry and had begged him to not tell anyone about this. Ginny's ears perked up as she heard a muffled whisper. She got out of bed, put on the cloak, and without making a single noise, she went after her brothers.
The night was foggy and it was perfect for the night's endeavor. Fred and George steadily walked, keeping a fast but silent pace, while Ginny struggled to keep up with them. She had already tripped twice while trying to keep up with her brothers and had cursed endlessly for their naive thoughts.
"So, they are planning to use the statue. I believe they want to land in Honeydukes cellar and plant traps all around the place. And, in the end, get caught and have fun explaining themselves to Mum." Ginny muttered angrily as she rushed after her brothers while attempting to be placid about it. At least she wouldn't have to worry about being seen, thanks to the invisibility cloak.
When they finally reached the one eyed witch's statue, Ginny watched as Fred worked on the false bottom and unlocked the steep passageway to the dungeons. Before the statue could come back to its original place, Ginny walked through it and almost collided into George's back. Cursing slightly, she waited until both of them had walked a considerable distance before she started walking.
Ginny was well aware that her brothers meant no harm to the shop. They just wanted to plant a few traps and then go there the next day and have a laugh about it. Still, she was prepared to give them a good ticking if they tried to steal something or went out of hand.
At last, they reached the required place. Slowly, she crept forward and went after her brothers up the stairs and into the sweet shop. True to her belief, the twins were planting their Zonko products on the countertop and under each table. In the end, when they finished, both of them stepped back and made sure all the traps were hidden from view. Ginny had to admit that they had done a good job about it and wished for a second that she was in the prank with them.
"Maybe, nothing will go wrong and I am overthinking it as always." Ginny thought to herself. "But why do I feel that something will go wrong?"
Ginny brushed her thoughts away and followed her brothers back to the passageway. The way back was almost pleasant as she heard the banter between the red-haired twins. She kept a good pace and made sure she was inconspicuous.
They climbed out of the statue, but just when they had turned the corner, Ginny saw Snape making his rounds. She knew that it would not be long before he saw the two of them.
Immediately in action, she took off the cloak and hissed to her brothers, "Fred, George, turn around for heaven's sake and get here right now!"
The twins, thoroughly startled, turned around and saw their little sister standing in front of them.
Both of them walked quickly towards Ginny and Fred spoke out, a bit too loud, "Ginny, what the hell are you doing here?"
To their astonishment, Ginny instead of answering, pushed the two inside the charms classroom and said through gritted teeth, "You two nitwits, Snape almost saw you. Hide, right now. He's coming this way."
Fred and George, realizing the severity of the situation, clambered up the platform and hid behind Flitwick's desk. Ginny waved her wand, and muttered the silencing spell on her brothers, but before she could do anything else, she heard Snape's footsteps and hurriedly put on the invisibility cloak.
Just a few seconds later, Snape arrived at the classroom with his wand ready. Ginny stood petrified and watched as Snape approached the place she was standing. The poor girl almost started quivering as the dreaded potions master came towards her. When the sallow-faced professor was just inches away from her, he seemed to change his mind and turned away.
After he left, the girl almost collapsed on the ground in relief. She did not know what would have happened if the twins or she herself was discovered by Snape. She promptly sat on the ground and let her quivering legs take a break from the hectic journey it had been through. Her brothers came and sat on either side of her.
After a few minutes, George spoke out, "You've got nerve following us."
Fred piped up, "Anyway, thanks li'l sis. If you hadn't followed us, then we would be in a spot of hot water at the hands of Snape."
Ginny burst out angrily, "You'd be expelled, both of you. Can you even imagine, caught red handed by Snape in the middle of the corridor? Your snarky jokes won't help then, would it now? I have a good mind to hex both of you right now. Bunch of nitwits, going into guaranteed trouble for no reason."
The twins cowered as their little sister threw out obscenities towards them. Finally, when Ginny calmed down, she thrust the invisibility cloak towards them and said, "Do me a favour and use it to go back to the common room. And if, both of you go into any more midnight adventures, I'll be writing to Mum." Saying this, she quietly stormed out of the classroom.
Fred let out a breath and said, "She's got Mum's anger. Would be a good thing if we stay out of her bad side."
George replied, "For a minute there, I thought it was Mum in front of me, not Ginny."
The twins chuckled heartily in relief and amusement and went back to the common room under the veil of the cloak.
The next day, Fred and George took Ginny to Honeydukes, and the three of them watched from a distance as the waiters struggled with the traps and snares Fred and George had set the night before while laughing until their stomachs hurt. Fred and George shared a look while they were coming back from Hogsmeade which could only mean one thing. Both of them had the best sister ever.