When they landed, Fred's beater reflexes kicked in and he reached out to make sure Hermione stayed on her feet. Unfortunately, he hadn't yet figured out that the chain connecting their right wrists was only about a foot long and he unintentionally yanked her arm across her body in the process, making her let out a small squeal and causing her paper hat to slip off her head and fall onto the carpet. Hermione's hair remained green even without it, but Fred thought it best not to mention that.

"Oh Gods, sorry love," Fred was quick to assess the situation, dropping the remainder of the broken cracker and taking her wrist into both of his large hands, rubbing it better with his thumbs. He noticed that the chain that bound them together was made in the shape of tiny sprigs of mistletoe. "Georgie, what the hell have you done to us?"

Hermione looked up quickly. She had more of an idea of what George had done than his brother had, and she could have kicked herself for not realising that it would be just like a Weasley twin to pounce early. Since their conversations earlier in the month, she had been readied for some kind of trick or surprise on Christmas morning, but of course George would have realised that. She really needed to up her game and think more strategically when she was dealing with one of the twins. She was cross and unsure about what was happening and wondered how Fred was taking his brother's actions. She tried to assess that as he looked around and when she heard Fred quietly swear under his breath as he recognised his and George's old bedroom at The Burrow, she saw that his handsome face looked amused and intrigued rather than cross. Hermione decided to take a few deep breaths before speaking; it wasn't Fred's fault they were here, after all.

George had clearly spent some time on this prank. Fred's bed had been transfigured into a large armchair, and it was the only piece of soft furniture left in the room. Hermione realised that the combination of this and the chain tying them to each other meant that, if they wanted to sit, they would need to share the chair and squish in close. Clever, sneaky, meddling Georgie.

George's bed was nowhere to be seen. In its place was an odd-looking TV screen sitting in a large bowl on the other. "Is that a modified pensieve?" Fred's voice was incredulous.

Hermione stepped forward to look, and Fred adjusted their position so that he stood close behind her while they inspected the curious arrangement. That gave them the most leeway given the attached state of their right wrists. "It does look like one," Hermione remarked, tracing the ancient runes marking the side of the bowl with the fingers of her left hand. "What on earth has he done?"

"Merlin only knows," Fred laughed, bringing his own hand around her to feel the stone bowl. Hermione found she felt a bit calmer again for his closeness and good humour at being up here with her rather than downstairs where more of the Weasley family would now be gathering. "Let's just try something; can you come to the door with me, love?"

Hermione obeyed, and Fred reached his hand out to try the handle. It didn't budge. "Well I would have put money on that," he said wryly, "but we needed to try. OK, shall we assess the situation?"

"Good idea." If there was a silver lining to be found in this moment, it was that Hermione liked a good puzzle. "This is like one of those muggle locked room games, although I'm not sure whether George would have heard of them or if he came up with this independently."

"What's the idea with those then?" Before she could answer, Fred was guiding Hermione across to the other side of the room so that he could check the window, but George had secured everything. They both looked out to see Charlie helping Teddy make a snowman down in the garden. Bill was standing nearby and looked to be offering guidance, mulled wine in hand and a snugly wrapped Victoire strapped to his chest in a sling. Fred knocked loudly on the window with his free hand, but nobody looked up. The action did, however, make him realise that he was still holding the small black box, and he looked at it carefully while giving Hermione his assessment. "Silencing spells, too. Bet they can't hear us in the house, either, even though we can hear their Christmas music."

He was right, she realised. They could hear the muggle Christmas CD that Molly liked to play on the stereo that Arthur had rigged up in the kitchen. Fred pulled a face. "I think we're stuck, love. No-one will think to come up here while there's all that going on downstairs. They don't even know we've arrived."

Hermione sighed. "Unless your mum looks at her clock, but he's thought of everything. Probably been plotting this for months. Locked room games are when you get shut in somewhere and you need to solve a puzzle or complete an activity before you can get out. Usually you get clues to start you off. You can't escape until you've completed the task or solved the puzzle. Though I think if you haven't done it by a certain time you get let out anyway…"

"So we just have to bed down and wait it out?"

"Maybe … though this is George…" She let that thought hang in the air, and Fred nodded.

"Best to figure out what he wants us to do, then. At least he's left this; I've been running on about it all day, so I won't need to thump him for delaying my eggnog access!" Fred indicated a small side table that Hermione hadn't yet spotted. It held a jug of Molly's eggnog, two glasses and an array of mince pies under a warming charm. Next to them was a plate of Christmas cookies and – oh joy – a small bowl of Hermione's favourite truffles. Feeling a tiny tad warmer towards the younger twin, she reached for one and popped it into her mouth, making a happy noise as the chocolate melted on her tongue. "That looks pretty sinful," Fred teased, and she took another from the bowl and held it to his mouth, feeling a small thrill when his bottom lip accidentally brushed against her thumb as he took the treat from her fingers.

"We have these too," she indicated the box in his hand and held up her own hand to show him the scroll.

Fred nodded. "OK, well how about we assess the damage? I've been on my feet all day; do you mind if I sit down?"

"Gods no, Fred, why would I mind? The store looked crazy!"

"Well because you'll need to come with me, love. Georgie's made this all very friendly…" He chuckled as he sat back in the armchair, looping his right arm around Hermione and guiding her down onto his lap. Hermione had no option but to go with him, settling her legs over Fred's. The chain tying their wrists together meant that Fred needed to keep his arm around her even after they had both settled into the cosy chair. She had to hand it to George; he had certainly achieved his aim of giving her some quality time in Fred's arms for her Christmas present. But he surely wasn't be planning to leave them cuddling in an armchair over the holidays and so, she wondered, what on earth was going to happen next?