Chapter Three
Extendable Ears and Their Makers
There were two resounding cracks as Fred and George, Ron's elder twin brothers, materialized out of thin air into the middle of the room.
"Please!" gasped Hermione weakly to the twins, who were as vividly red-haired as Ron, though of stockier build and minutely shorter. "Stop doing that! It wouldn't have taken you more than thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs."
"Time is Galleons, my dear," said Fred, winking at her. "Anyway, hello, Harry, we thought we heard your voice."
George snorted in response to his twin's understatement.
"If you hadn't heard it, Fred, I'd be worried. Though there might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear him."
"Passed your Apparation tests then, did you?" asked Harry grumpily.
Fred grinned proudly. "With distinction, I'm proud to say. Harry, you're interfering with reception. Extendable Ears," He added in response to Harry's bewildered look. George held up what looked like a piece of very long, flesh-colored string that trailed out onto the landing.
"Extendable –?"
"Ears, yeah. We're trying to hear what's going on downstairs with them. Invented them ourselves," added George, puffing out his chest.
"It won't work though," interrupted Ginny, who had slid unnoticed through the door. She brushed her long mane of fiery hair over her shoulder. "Mum's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."
"How'd you know, little sister?" asked George, looking crestfallen.
"Tonks told me how to find out. You just chuck stuff at the door and if it doesn't make contact the door's been Imperturbed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from upstairs and they just keep soaring off. Hello, Harry," she added brightly. "I could hear you from upstairs and thought I'd stop by."
Fred heaved a deep sigh. "That was a waste. Well, Harry, we must be off, should get back before Mum finds our Ear." George gave the string a hearty tug; there was another loud bang and he and Fred vanished.
Seconds later, Mrs. Weasley's plump figure appeared in the doorway. "The meeting's over, so we'll be having dinner soon, everyone's dying to see you, Harry. Who left all the Dungbombs outside the kitchen door? Severus stepped on one as he was leaving."
"It was Crookshanks," Ginny lied, unblushingly. "He just loves playing with those."
"Oh," Mrs. Weasley frowned slightly. "I thought it might have been Kreacher, he's been doing odd things like that lately. Ginny why are your hands all filthy? Go wash them before dinner, please…"
Ginny grimaced at the others, then followed her mother unwillingly out of the room. There was another awkward silence after the door shut behind the red-haired girl. There has been entirely too many of these, thought Hermione to herself irritably.
"You have to wonder where they're getting all that money." Ron said abruptly.
"What?"
"You know, Fred and George. They've been making all sorts of things, like those Extendable Ears, and they bought me a new pair of dress robes, too." He added, the tips of his own ears turning a bright red. "Mum was so pleased with them; she didn't even scold them for Apparating into the kitchen when they should've walked down the stairs."
Harry shifted his feet nervously. "I can't imagine. Maybe they won a contest in a joke magazine or something. Who's Kreacher?" he changed the subject quickly.
Hermione narrowed her eyes. Harry knew something about the twins, and it didn't look like he was about to tell her, but Hermione knew better than to ask. Harry always had a good reason to keep quiet about things, so instead she let Ron answer him.
"The house-elf who lives here," said Ron. "Complete nutter."
Hermione got fired up at the comment. "He's not a nutter, Ron, he's just – just a bit strange is all."
Ron turned to Harry and rolled his eyes. "She still hasn't given up that spew thing. Anyway, it doesn't matter. You'll find out soon enough. C'mon, I'm starving."
And with that he led the way out of the door and onto the landing.