EEEE! So many reviews! Thanks everyone! I'm so happy you all like the story sofar! Hopefully, this next bit will be up to par!
I had far too much fun writing this chapter. This is the longest chapter I've ever written! Watching Goblet of Fire really helps motivate a gal, there's so many scenes with Fred and George! sighs contentedly I love them far too much. Actually, it's impossible to love them too much.
Anyway, hopefully, you'll all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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Meanwhile, down in the kitchen of the Burrow, Harry was trying to complete the most impossible of impossible tasks. Talking sense into Ron. Which wasn't easy, since after his explosion at Hermione, his anger hadn't subsided. He had stormed into the kitchen, yanked out one the kitchen chairs from the under the table, slammed himself down onto and, and had begun ranting, rather angrily. Harry, who had decided to wait until his best friend had calmed down a bit before trying to talk to him like a reasonable person, was alternating between re-living past Quidditch matches in his head and counting dots on the ceiling of the Weasley family kitchen as Ron raved.
"...that stupid prat has done nothing but cause trouble! What's so interesting about him anyway? I mean, sure, he's famous, but so what?"
Harry noticed a particularly large discolored spot on the Weasley's ceiling. He wondered if one of Fred and George's experiment's had something to do with that...
"Of all people should could have gone to visit this summer, she had to go visit him! Why would she, if she wasn't date-" Ron didn't seem to able to force the word out, at least when it associated Hermione and Krum together. "...I mean, seeing him! He's nothing but a big stupid git!"
Ron's outburst stopped suddenly and he sighed, looking dejected. "Why...why else would she visit him?" he asked miserably to the empty space in front of him.
Thinking he may have found his chance to talk to a slightly more reasonable side of Ron, Harry decided to try conversation with him. "Ron, Hermione said she only went there to visit him as a friend," he reminded Ron. "And she's never lied to us before. Why would she start all of a sudden now, even if she and Krum-"
"Krum!" Ron spat venomously, his rage returning at the mention of the Bulgarian's name. "Where does she get off, trying to act all innocent about visiting her precious Viktor?" Ron huffed, ignoring Harry as if he hadn't even spoken. "...Like I don't know why she really went down there!" he declared.
"True," Harry agreed sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "She couldn't have just gone down there because they were friends or something. That would be insane."
"Exactly!" Ron exclaimed, causing Harry to roll his eyes. Of course, THAT he heard. Ron's hearing had always been a bit selective.
Just then Harry heard footsteps approaching behind himself and Ron and turned to see who it was, hoping with all his might it wasn't Hermione returning to re-ignite the argument between herself and Ron. But to his relief, two red heads poke through the kitchen doorway, as Fred and George survived the scene inside,-ranting Ron, defeated looking Harry and all.
"What's the matter Ron?" asked George, stepping into the kitchen along with Fred and approaching their younger brother as he glared up at them from his seat at the kitchen table next to Harry.
"Nothing," Ronmuttered.Hegrumbled something else,thenturned and looked away to the nearest corner of the kitchen, ignoring the twins.
"Good," said George, plopping down across from him as Fred did the same, ignoring the fact that Ron obliviously did not want them there. "Then you won't mind if we join you two for a bit of a chat," he said, making himself comfortable. Ron turned his head and narrowed his eyes at the twins across the table, glaring at the two as if they were both large, repulsive slugs.
"Oh really?" asked Ron, continuing his glare at the twins over his shoulder. "What makes you think we want to talk to you about anything?"
"That little love spat you had with Hermione, that's what," replied Fred simply.
"Love-WHAT?" Ron exclaimed, whirling around in his seat, staring at Fred and George, his face quickly growing red with embarrassment.
"You know," George said casually. "That little lover's tift you just had in there with your girlfriend."
"Hermione is not my girlfriend!" Ron snapped, glaring at the twins angrily.
"Exactly!" George exclaimed.
"That's why we're here!" added Fred. "To help you!"
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, staring at the twin suspiciously. Harry, who had been sitting next to Ron silently up until this point, groaned and shook his head in disbelief. Ron really was thick sometimes.
"We're here to help you with your Hermione problem, little brother," George replied. "You know, get you two to kiss and make up, as you always do."
"WHAT? I've never kissed Hermione!"
"And therein lies the problem," George sighed.
Ron's ears burned as he tried to force out a response, but he seemed unable to retort. Finally, between controlling his anger and his embarrassment, he managed to splutter, "Y-you, just-...SHUT UP!" he snapped, that being the best response he could up with in his current state. He had never been able to think to clearly when he was mad. "Don't you two have anything better to do than annoy me?"
"Not really, no," admitted Fred. "Apparently, George is allergic to the current project we're working on, so until we find some substute to bat guano...we're here for you, ickle Ronnie!" he exclaimed, patting Ron on the head the way their mother often did. Ron irritably pushed his hand away and looked straight at Fred and George.
"I don't help, especially not from you!" Ron snapped. "Not with Hermione-for whatever reason you might think I need, and not for any other reason!"
"Look Ron," George said seriously. "We wouldn't even be bothering you about this, but we feel like we..."George's sentence trailed offas he looked at Fred. After their guilt trip over upsetting Hermione they had been such a hurry to make things right between she and Ron that they hadn't decided on whether or not to tell Ron that they knew about Krum's visit. George gave Fred a questioning glance, and Fred, seeming to know what he was asking, shook his head. George had to agree. If they admitted to Ron that they had known about Krum, he would never let them help him...
"...we feel bad for Hermione after you acted like such a prat in there," George finished. "So we're going to help you out with your girlfriend troubles."
"She's not my girlfriend!" Ron fumed, slapping his fist on the table.
"You don't say?" asked George, looking at Ron skeptically. "From the way you're reacted when she told you she visited Krum, I never would have guessed."
"Ron, think about it. I mean, would you have gotten that angry otherwise?" Fred asked. "Krum is nice, respects Hermione, and treats her very nicely, unlike other people in this room..." Ron glared at Fred. Fred, however, ignored him and continued. "Really, if you only liked her as just a friend, as you claim, you'd be happy for her. Not acting like she had just hexed the Cudley Cannons."
Ron looked down at the floor guilty, as George spoke to him. "All we're offering is to aid you! To help you to get her to forgive you quicker! I mean, what reason could you have for not trusting us?
"What reason?" Ron exclaimed. "Your're joking! Just last week, you tried to turn me purple!
"And you looked lovely!" George assured him. "Purple is your color! Why do you think mum always makes you those purple sweaters?"
"MAROON!" Ron shouted in anger, his face turning a deep shade of red. "THEY'RE MAROON! NOT PURPLE! PURPLE'S A GIRL COLOR!"
"So?" asked George.
"I'M NOT A GIRL!"
"If you say so," said Fred, waving a hand dismissively. "These days, there are times when I'm not so sure."
"LIKE WHEN?" Ron bellowed.
"Oh I don't know," mused George. "How about, just hours ago, when you were talking to the girl of dreams, and you couldn't even tell her how you feel about her!"
Ron's eyes went wide at George's words. He opened his mouth, as if about to response, then seemed to change his mind and closed it. He then muttered something incomprehensible and then stared at the floor.
Harry, meanwhile, stared at Fred and George, then at Ron. "They tried to turn you purple?"
"Tried?" laughed Fred. "We did!"
"We were merely trying to improve him." George said to Harry. "Been trying for years."
"Needless to say, you can see our efforts ultimately failed..." added Fred.
Ron glowered at his brothers, who smiled pleasantly in return. "You're both big prats, you know that?" he stated glaring at them.
"Well," said George, acting hurt. "That's a fine way to talk to people are just trying to help you."
"I don't want your help!" Ron fumed, his face becoming red. "So just leave me alone!"
"Look Ron," said Fred, his face suddenly becoming serious. "We know we've pulled some stuff on you in the past. And we're going to so again in the future, I can guarantee you that," he stated. "But this thing with you and Hermione has gone on far enough."
"It has," agreed George. "Despite all the tricks we play on you, despite everything we've ever done to humiliate you-"
"-Which is a lot," added Fred.
"-We've never done anything to really hurt you. Have we?" asked George, looking at Ron seriously. Ron scrunched up his face slightly as he mentally ran over the entire list of all the things his brothers had ever done to him in his head. And, try as he might, as he recalled each prank, he could never remember one where the twins had done something that would seriously hurt him, physically or emotionally. The tricks had been embarrassing, yes, but just that. Nothing horrid or unfixable.
Ron sighed and conceded to what his brothers had just said. "All right," he admitted. "So you've never done anything to seriously ruin my life. But you've never done anything to exactly help me either, so why should I trust you?"
"Because we're your brothers!" exclaimed Fred.
"Exactly!" agreed George.
"And if we can't help you, who can?" asked Fred. "Are you going to go Harry for help?"
"I think not," said George. "Harry can't even handle his own crushes."
"Is it really necessary to bring me into this?" said Harry, trying to resist the urge to strangle the twins for dragging his love life into this. Harry had begun to develop feelings for the youngest Weasley over the past few months, though he hadn't realized it until recently. He had been hiding his feelings about it since then, not exactly sure how to break the news to Ron. He had seen how Ron had acted about all Ginny's other boyfriends, and did not want to do anything to risk their friendship.
"Did us bringing up your love life make you uncomfortable?" asked George.
"Well, yes," Harry admitted.
"Then it's very necessary," replied Fred. Harry sighed. "But anyway," Fred continued, "Enough of making Harry squirm. It's your pathetic love life we're really here to focus on Ron."
"Gee thanks," Ron said sarcastically. "But I don't need your help, because I don't like Hermione. So leave me alone!" he snapped. He then whirled around, turning his back on the twins and crossing his arms across his chest. He then proceeded to glare at the wall.
Fred and George sighed, both seriously wondering what Hermione saw in their younger brother. But, though it may have been against their better judgment, they were determined to right themselves for hurting her feelings and, after exchanging glances, knew they had to give their mission one more try.
Fred stared at his brother a moment, trying to think of some way to get Ron to do what he needed to do to get Hermione to forgive his moronic brother. But big as a prat as Ron was...
That's when it hit Fred. Ron was a big prat. That was something he'd known all his life, and something he and George had taken to reminding Ron of on a regular basis, just, you know, in case he forgot. (They were very considerate that way) But Fred hadn't realized how useful Ron's pratishness could be until now.
"I guess we were wrong than Ron," Fred said to his younger brother's back. "You win. We'll leave you alone."
George looked at Fred as if had just grown an extra set of ears, giving him a look that clearly wondered what the hell Fred was doing. Fred gave George a grin and winked.
George stared a Fred a moment, confused. Then he noticed the look on Fred's face, which was all too familiar. He knew that look….
A grin spread across his face as well. "Yes Ron," he agreed. "We shouldn't have assumed what we did. We'll just go."
"Your-what?" Ron asked incredously, turning halfway around and staring at Fred in surprise. Clearly he hadn't been expecting this, and that exactly what Fred had intended. It was much easier to manipulate Ron when he was confused.
Fred put on the best apologetic face he could and walked over to Ron. "We said we'll leave you alone Ron, since you said you don't like Hermione." He patted his younger brother on the back and smiled. "No hard feelings, eh?"
Ron looked at suspiciously. Something wasn't right. Fred and George never gave up this easily when they thought he was wrong, and were trying to convince him otherwise. Even Harry looked surprised, which only increased Ron's suspicions about the twins.
Something was definitely up...
"No...I guess not," Ron replied, looking at the twins carefully, trying to decipher what it was they were up to. "As long as you promise to really drop it from now on."
"Oh, we promise we will," said George, as he got up from the table and began to head towards the door that led out of the Weasley's kitchen.
Fred nodded and began walking towards the exit as well. "Scouts honor, as the muggles say. We'll just leave you two alone now." And with the, Fred and George turned and walked out of the room.
Ron looked after his older brothers as the disappeared out of the kitchen door, now totally bewildered. They had actually done what they said they were going to do.
They had left.
Ron looked over at Harry, intending to ask what he thought of the whole situation, but the look on Harry's face told him that Harry was just as confused as he himself was.
Ron looked again at the doorway the led out of the kitchen, wondering what the twins could possibly be up to. Whatever they were planning though, he was sure of one thing.
He was definitely going to hate it.
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Whew! That was quite a bit of writing! I hope you all liked it! I ran it through a spell check, so hopefully it flows better. (I know it's not fun to read misspelled words, so hopefully this helps!) Anywhoo, enjoy!