Chapter 9

There was a loud ringing of a bell, and Professor Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts!" he said, his bright blue eyes twinkling. "I must remind you all of a few rules before we feast. The Forbidden Forest is still as the name explains- forbidden. No students must be wandering the castle after bed times, and if anyone is caught, Argus Filch has warned that severe punishments will be given." He paused briefly. "And now, after that grim thought, let us eat! I am quite sure I heard the sound of a herd of elephants rumbling from my stomach. Tuck in!"

And suddenly, the empty silver platters on the tables were full of all types of foods you can imagine. Beef, pork, chicken, fish, carrots, peas, broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, pies, mashed, roasted and boiled potatoes, chips, jackets, all different types of beans, and for some strange reason, tripe.

Fred and George's mouths were watering. Their similarities in the amount of food they ate was automatically evident as both of them piled their plates with some of everything, even the tripe. The only thing Fred didn't put on his plate was the liver and onions.

In half an hours time, Fred and George had both cleared their plates, and were going for second helpings when Lee stopped them.

"Guys, there's still pudding to come, got to leave room for that, yeah?"

With an identical expression of sulking, they put their knives and forks down and leant back in their seats. The food soon disappeared though, and was replaced with every type of cake, pie, pudding and fruit they could think of.

"That was, the best meal I've ever eaten," sighed George, after finishing his third helping of treacle sponge. "Literally."

"I think I'm going to have to agree with you there, Georgie," Fred remarked, patting his stomach.

"Georgie?" He raised his eyebrows. "I've never been called that before."

"Nope, but now you've met me. Got to have a nickname for you, haven't I?"

"It's not exactly a nickname..."

"No, but it will do for the moment." Fred winked at this twin and laughed heartily. "Ah, that food was seriously amazing though. I just want to eat more."

"I know, I was so starving I could have eaten a horse."

Angelina looked up from her plate. "Having only just met you two," she said, "I am positive in my deductions that you are actual pigs."

"Wow Ang, I have no idea where you got that idea from," said Fred seriously.

"I mean, look at us. Fighting fit," George continued. She shook her head and returned to her steak and kidney pie.

Lee put his spoon down and looked at the twins. "She's right though. I thought I was a pig, but you two are the extreme."

The three started to laugh, and couldn't stop until the food disappeared and the room turned silent, so they had to hold in their laughter. Fred looked like he was choking, and Angelina shot him a look of disapproval as Dumbledore stood up once again. "Well, now that you're all fed and watered, it's time for bed! First-years, your prefects will take you to your common room. Off you go, sleep tight!"

There was a loud creaking as everyone stood up from their tables and crowded toward the exits. The first-years were ordered to stay where they were by two tall sixth years, one a boy, short and stocky with bright red hair, and the other a girl with long black hair.

They followed the prefects once all the older years had cleared from the doors. They walked up the staircases, which the twins were more amused than anything at the fact that they liked to move . They laughed loudly when another Gryffindor first-year, Kenneth, fell into a 'fake' step, which earned them a warning look from the female prefect.

Finally, they reached a portrait of a very fat lady in a pink dress, where they stopped.

"Password?" she said, and the girl said "Ibblebobbles."

"Quite right, too," the Fat Lady said, and the portrait swung back to reveal a human sized hole in the wall. The prefects climbed through and beckoned to the first-years to follow them.

They found themselves in a large, cosy room, with red and gold decorations, a few portraits of regal looking witches and wizards, and squashy chairs dotted around.

"This," said the male prefect, "is the Gryffindor common room. Up the stairs are the dormitories- boys, it's up the stairs and to the left, girls, to the right." He smiled at them kindly. "I'm Charlie, and this is Harriet. If you have any problems, just ask. We're always ready to help. Now, off you go, if McGonagall finds anyone up after hours she'll have your head."

The students all headed towards the stairs, Fred and George amongst them, when Charlie called them back. "Fred, George, come here a moment."

The twins gave each other confused looks and held back, until the common room was empty except for them and Charlie.

Charlie cleared his throat, and held out his hand. "I know this is going to be incredibly strange for you, especially when so much has happened for you both recently, but I'm Charlie. Charlie Weasley, your brother."

Fred and George shook his hand, utterly gob-smacked.

"So not only have they kept us apart, they've kept us from an older brother too?" said George furiously.

"It's not just me. There's Bill, who graduated this year, Percy, who is younger than me but older than you- you'll meet him tomorrow- and then there's Ron, who's younger than you, and Ginny, the youngest."

The twins were turning pink with anger. "So I presume," Fred shouted, "that Ron and Ginny don't know anything about any of us?"

"What the hell is this all about?" George continued.

Charlie closed his eyes, nodding. "Guys, I understand. It's a shock. It is totally unfair. Trust me, I know. I hated my foster family and now I live here permanently with Hagrid over the holidays. But know this, now I'm here for you, and Bill is too. He's graduated, yes, but he said he's going to write to you soon. Percy will like to meet you too, and then in two years, we'll meet Ron, and then the year after that, Ginny. And then we'll all be together again."

"Why can't we talk to Ron and Ginny now though?" Fred asked.

"We've been ordered not to. Dumbledore says its entirely for their safety, or something like that."

"Why would they be in danger? Were we in danger?"

"Apparently so. You'd never tell, but Dumbledore has had protective enchantments on our homes and around us for our whole lives. Your foster homes will still have them, to protect your families."

"But why?" George inquired.

"Because of You-Know-Who. A wizard gone bad, who's basically trying to destroy all Muggle-borns and turn all magic into the dark arts. He was after our parents, which is why we were all taken off them."

But the twins still looked agitated. "Why did they keep having children though, if they knew we'd be taken off them? It's not fair on us!"

Charlie shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Maybe they're just hoping You-Know-Who will be destroyed and they'd get us back."

"Who's 'You-Know-Who?'"

Charlie hesitated. "Well, don't make me say it again. His name is Lord Voldemort," he whispered.

"Wow, what a bad-ass," said Fred, rolling his eyes. "A Lord, eh?"

"Get him," George finished.

Charlie laughed. "Glad you two have got a sense of humour. Percy is so boring it's untrue, and now Bill's left I need someone to have a laugh with. Anyway, get off to bed before McGonagall murders me for being a bad Prefect..."

Fred and George nodded and headed towards the stairs. "See you tomorrow, Charlie," Fred called back.

"Thanks for explaining everything to us," George added, and they disappeared up the stairs and headed to bed.

When Fred and George entered their dormitory, Lee and Kenneth were both in their beds, fast asleep. They rolled their eyes at each other and grabbed their pyjamas, readily folded on the end of their bed's, which were next to each other.

"I can't believe today," George whispered, taking off his shoes and his robes. "This morning I was travelling on a train to London, with no idea that I'd have a twin brother who I was soon to meet. And now, we find that we have four other brothers, and a sister as well!"

"I know, it's crazy," Fred agreed quietly. He took off his shirt and was just buttoning up his pyjama top when he looked over at this twin and noticed several long, deep scars from the top of his chest to his waist. He gasped, and George looked over at him, turning red when he realised what Fred had noticed.

"What happened to you?" Fred hissed. "Seriously, how did you get those?"

"Car crash, when I was younger," George whispered, turning back towards his bed and reaching for his pyjama shirt but revealing many of the same gashes on his back in the process. Fred felt sick. That was not from a car crash, he was willing to bet his life on it.

He left the subject, anyway. George was clearly embarrassed as he was silent from that moment until they were lying in their beds, and Fred said "Night, Georgie."

"Night, Freddie."

A/N: Sorry it's been so long! Various reasons, mainly that I've suffered with writers block, with other contributing factors such as I ended up reading the Mortal Instruments again... if anyone hasn't read them, they're amazing! Anyway, I'm back to my favourite twins now!
Hope you liked this chapter! The conversation with Charlie felt awkward, but I think that's how it would be, right? Anyway, any constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks for reading! :D I'd LOVE 20 reviews- but that's too much to ask, right? After I've been so horrible and everything? :P
Love you all! Especially RyahIgnis, KatiePenn, Spiralling-Down, TwinFan, Pelahnar, digigirl02, gato0629, GeorgieForever and SkyeElf! You're all amazing :)