"Do you know why swallows build in the eaves of houses? It is to listen to the stories."
-Peter (Peter Pan)
"So, Rapunzel did end up with a haircut," Fred said, smirking. "Even though she didn't intend for it to be cut."
"Yeah, it was more of a punishment so she couldn't bring the prince up to her tower anymore," George added from his bed, where he was absentmindedly flipping through invention sketches. He had apparently heard about Scarlett's storytelling from Fred and he had been interested to hear the story of Rapunzel when Scarlett had come into their room, so she had started the story from the beginning.
"Yeah, but she still cut it," Fred said.
Scarlett giggled. She was sitting on Fred's bed, leaning against the headboard with her knees pulled up to her chest. Fred was lying on his back across the end of the bed, staring up at the ceiling with one hand behind his head and the other lying across his stomach.
"What I'd like to know is how did Rapunzel not get her scalp ripped off from that lady and the prince constantly climbing up her hair?" George asked.
"Lovely, George," Scarlett said, "but I guess because it's a fairy tale and anything can happen."
"Do you know any more of these fairy tales?" Fred asked.
Scarlett nodded. "Yes, I know plenty. I told you I did last night. I have the book with me. The one my dad gave me when I was little."
Fred sat up excitedly. "Can you tell us another one?"
"Yeah, go get the book," George urged.
Scarlett laughed. "What if I tell you one story a night until I've told you all the ones I know?"
"You mean we have to wait another twenty-four hours until you tell us another story?" Fred asked.
"Yes," Scarlett said, nodding.
"How many stories do you know?" Fred asked curiously.
"Plenty. Besides fairy tales, I know a lot of classic Muggle stories as well."
"So if you tell us a story every night, we'll be all set for a while," Fred smirked.
"Well, yes, I suppose you would be."
"Can you?"
"Can I what?"
"Tell us one story a night. At least until we go back to school." Fred looked at her pleadingly.
Scarlett laughed. "Why not?" she shrugged. "And I know exactly which story I want to tell you tomorrow, too."
"What's it called?" Fred asked. "At least tell us that."
"Peter Pan," Scarlett answered. "I think you'll enjoy it. The character, Peter Pan, liked stories, too."
"What's it about?" George asked.
"You'll find out tomorrow," Scarlett said, grinning at them.
"It's a good story?" Fred asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, I think it is. It's one of my favorites." She stood up and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" George asked.
"Back to my room. I promised Ginny she could braid my hair."
"Ah, George, look at this. My future wife's getting along with our little sister."
"You know, you're sure joking around a lot about this when originally you were quite angry." Scarlett raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms.
Fred shrugged. "I'm over the initial shock of it now. I'm still not too thrilled, but then again, neither are you. And I'm always joking about things. You should know that. It's how I deal with things."
"After the anger?"
"Yeah," Fred shrugged.
"Yeah, well," Scarlett said quietly, "you're right, I'm not too thrilled either."
Fred raised his eyebrows in amusement. Then, he smirked at her. "Right, because you like Justin!" He sing-songed the name and made kissy faces while George laughed.
Scarlett managed to keep her mouth shut. Rolling her eyes, she turned and flung the door open, nearly tripping over something standing right outside.
"Kreacher," Fred said. His laughter disappeared at once to be replaced by annoyance. "What are you doing out there?"
"Kreacher was just on his way to visit his mistress's portrait when he heard obnoxious laughter from the room of the twin blood traitor brats."
"That's not nice," Scarlett said, frowning down at Kreacher. She had heard Kreacher was rude, but witnessing it for herself was a lot different.
"Kreacher doesn't care what the half-blood girl has to say."
"Hey," Fred said loudly, getting to his feet. "Leave her alone."
"Kreacher heard the blood traitor brats teasing the girl only a few minutes ago." The elf smirked up at them.
"That's different," Fred spluttered.
"Kreacher!" Scarlett turned to see Sirius coming down the hallway. "Go mind your own business."
"Yes, of course, Master Sirius," Kreacher muttered, shuffling away.
"Sorry about him," Sirius said, turning back to Scarlett and the twins.
"Can't you just lock him in the attic?" Fred asked.
"Sometimes I wish I could, but he'd just Disapparate right out."
"Oh yeah," Fred sighed. "I forgot he could do that."
"So, how are you two holding up?" Sirius asked Fred and Scarlett.
"Fine," Scarlett sniffed. "We were just discussing how we're not thrilled about the situation but we have to live with it. Fred's joking and everything. He also won't leave Justin alone."
Sirius laughed. "You have to admit, Scarlett, his name is kind of a laughing matter."
"See?" Fred asked as he and George started laughing again.
Scarlett let out a frustrated sigh. "Goodbye. Ginny's waiting for me." With that, she left the three of them laughing in the doorway like the five year olds they apparently were.
"What's wrong, Arthur?"
Scarlett turned from her spot at the sink where she was peeling carrots. It was the next night and everyone had been in the kitchen helping prepare dinner when Mr. Weasley had gotten home from work. Mrs. Weasley had greeted her husband at the bottom of the stairs and the concern in her voice was what had made Scarlett turn around.
"Harry almost got expelled from Hogwarts. He still might be expelled. He has to go to a hearing to determine if he is or not."
"What?" Everyone in the kitchen froze and looked at Mr. Weasley. Fred and George, who had been dueling with two of their trick wands, stopped mid-duel and the wands turned into a rubber fish and rubber chicken.
"What happened?" Ron practically yelled.
"Harry used magic in front of his cousin," Mr. Weasley said, taking off his coat and sitting down at the table. "There were-,"
"Harry wouldn't do that. He knows better!" Hermione interrupted.
"He got in trouble for it once before," Ginny said.
"It wasn't him! It was Dobby!"
"He blew up his aunt," George added.
"Yeah, but they let him off because of-," Ginny stopped and cleared her throat.
Sirius grinned and leaned back in his chair. "I see it as a good thing. I gained him another two years of education. Now he's two years more prepared to be out in the real world."
"He's not going to get expelled this time either, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley said firmly.
"Of course not," Sirius said quickly, shaking his head.
"Exactly what kind of magic did he do?" Scarlett asked.
"He used a Patronus Charm," Mr. Weasley answered.
"But he would only need to use that if-," Scarlett began.
"If there were dementors, and yes, they were involved." Mr. Weasley sighed.
"Dementors?" Mrs. Weasley asked shrilly. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"
"I tried to," Mr. Weasley muttered. "Anyway, Dumbledore had to come to the Ministry and try to sort it out. You see, Mundungus was supposed to keep an eye on Harry, but he left his post."
"He left?" Mrs. Weasley looked furious. "He left? To do what? What was more important than Harry?"
"Cauldrons," Mr. Weasley said.
"Stolen ones, no doubt," Mrs. Weasley said with a sniff. "Whenever I next see Mundungus, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."
"I'm sure you will, Molly," Mr. Weasley sighed. "You'll get to see him tonight. I believe he's coming to the meeting."
"Meeting? There wasn't one scheduled for tonight!"
"There is now. There's an emergency one. Mad-Eye, Remus, Tonks and Kingsley are going to get Harry now and bring him here and then they'll join us. It's earlier than we originally planned to bring him here but we can't afford to wait any longer."
"What about his aunt and uncle?" Ron asked. "They're not too fond of anything magical. Almost scared of it, really."
"Mad-Eye's got it all under control."
"When's the hearing?" Fred asked.
"August twelfth."
"That's only a few days away!" Mrs. Weasley said.
Mr. Weasley nodded. "I'll bring him to work with me and then bring him back later."
"He'll be fine, Molly," Sirius said confidently.
"He can't get expelled," Scarlett added. "He was using magic to defend himself. Surely that's an exception to the rule."
"It is," Mr. Weasley said. "That's what Dumbledore said to get Harry at least the hearing. The Ministry jumped to expel him right away because this is the third time it's happened and because, well, they don't want to believe You-Know-Who's back. They think he's spewing nonsense and they don't like it."
"It's really so unfair," Hermione said.
"Yes, well, we have to get ready for the meeting," Mrs. Weasley said, taking a deep breath. "Mad-Eye, Remus and Tonks will be back soon with Harry won't they?"
"They should be, yes," Mr. Weasley said.
"Scarlett, you can finish those carrots later." Mrs. Weasley ushered her away from the sink before turning to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George. "You should all head upstairs."
"Why can't George and I stay for the meeting? We're of age!" Fred said.
"You ask me this every time and the answer's still no. You aren't even in the Order."
"We can be! We want to be!"
"Scarlett's of age and you don't hear her complaining."
"Maybe she's just too polite," Fred shrugged.
"Will all of you please go upstairs?" Mrs. Weasley sighed.
There was a pause. "Fine," Fred said, turning around and marching upstairs.
Scarlett headed back to her room and curled up on her bed with a book. Ginny burst into the room a second later with Hermione on her heels.
"So, I've been meaning to ask you," Ginny said, sitting down on the end of Scarlett's bed. "What were you doing in Fred's room last night?"
"All of the dirty things you're undoubtedly suspecting right now," Scarlett answered flatly, somehow managing to keep a straight face. She turned the page of her book and scratched her nose absentmindedly.
"I wasn't thinking of anything dirty," Ginny said quickly, flashing an innocent smile.
"I was telling him and George a story. A Muggle fairy tale, actually. I promised to tell them a story every night until we go back to school."
"What did you tell them so far?" Hermione asked.
"Rapunzel, and tonight is Peter Pan."
"Oh, they'll like that one," Hermione said.
"I thought so, too," Scarlett answered, nodding.
"Rapunzel and Peter Pan?" Ginny asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion.
Scarlett smiled. "Do you want to join us for story time tonight?"
Ginny shrugged. "Sure, why not? If you don't mind me cutting in on your bonding time with Fred."
Scarlett snorted. "I don't need to be alone with Fred in order to bond with him."
"What if you don't fall in love with him or vice versa?" Hermione asked. "You're okay with marrying someone you don't love or someone who doesn't love you?"
"We can't force ourselves to fall in love with each other," Scarlett said.
"What about Justin?" Ginny asked.
"What about him?" Scarlett shrugged.
"Do you already love him?"
"No," Scarlett answered. "I like him, but we aren't even dating yet."
"Does he know you're here?" Ginny asked.
"Not exactly. I told him I was going away for the last month of the summer but I would definitely see him when we went back to school. Nobody's supposed to know about this place, right? So I didn't tell him."
Ginny and Hermione nodded as the sound of voices from downstairs suddenly increased in volume.
"Harry must be here," Hermione said.
"Go wait for him in Ron's room," Ginny suggested. "I'll be up in a minute."
Once Hermione had left the room, Ginny turned to Scarlett. "Don't be afraid to fall in love," she said.
"What?" Scarlett asked, surprised. "What kind of cryptic message was that?"
Ginny just shook her head and let out a quiet laugh. "If you find yourself falling in love with Fred, don't let it scare you. Don't let this whole marriage thing mess you up. If you fall in love with him, it'll be a good thing."
Scarlett stared at her. "Okay," she said slowly.
"I mean it," Ginny said. "Anyway, come upstairs with me and say hello to Harry."
The sound of yelling faintly entered the room from the floor above. "I don't think he wants any more visitors," Scarlett said.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yes, he does, and even if he didn't I'd want to help Ron and Hermione calm him down." She grabbed Scarlett's arm and dragged her from the room.
"Ginny," Harry said when they entered his room.
"Scarlett and I heard you yelling," Ginny said. "Scarlett goes to school with us. She's in Hufflepuff and the same age as Fred and George."
"Hi," Scarlett said politely.
"Hi," Harry answered. He turned back to Ron and Hermione. "So, what is this place?"
"It's headquarters," Ron answered.
"For the Order of the Phoenix," Hermione added.
"Dumbledore started it during the first wizard war," Ron said.
"You couldn't have put any of this in a letter?" Harry asked, looking at Ron and Hermione meaningfully.
"Dumbledore made us swear not to," Ron said. "We wanted to tell you, but we couldn't."
"Dumbledore was here?" Harry asked.
"When?" Scarlett raised an eyebrow. She didn't remember Dumbledore coming.
"You weren't here yet," Ginny said. "He came the morning we got here. You came in the afternoon."
"Oh," Scarlett said.
"I've gone all summer without any news," Harry continued. "Why couldn't Dumbledore have said anything to me? I could have helped. I mean, I'm the one who saw Voldemort return. I saw him kill Cedric. I saw him and I fought him."
There was a loud popping sound and suddenly Fred and George were sitting on Harry's bed. "Hi, Harry," George said. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."
"But don't bottle it up like that," Fred continued. "Let it out. There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."
"Anyway," George said, "if you're all done shouting, do you want to hear something a little more interesting?" He pulled out one of the Extendable Ears that Scarlett had seen him and Fred with before.
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"An Extendable Ear," Fred explained as they all headed out to the hallway. "George and I invented them."
George dropped the ear end over the banister and held the other end up so everyone could hear. "The meeting should be starting soon," he said, "and with any luck, Mum forgot to put an Imperturbable Charm on the door."
"I think she did forget," Scarlett said excitedly as Mrs. Weasley's voice came over the Extendable Ear. Scarlett had been curious to hear what went on at meetings ever since she had arrived at Grimmauld Place.
Fred grinned at her. "It's nice to see someone else so excited about this," he whispered.
Ginny shushed him, but Scarlett managed to shyly return the smile.
Nothing too interesting happened at the meeting. They mostly talked about Harry and it was nothing everyone didn't already know. That was probably why Mrs. Weasley hadn't bothered putting up the charm.
Fred sighed. "I wish they would get to talking about something good."
"Cat," Scarlett suddenly said, noticing a ginger-colored cat watching the Extendable Ear intently.
"What?" Fred asked.
"Crookshanks," Hermione gasped as the cat jumped forward and grabbed the Extendable Ear.
"No!" Fred and George cried, trying to yank the ear up, but all that did was tear the ear part off the string.
"Hermione, I hate your cat," Ron muttered as Crookshanks happily chewed on the Extendable Ear.
Fred and George were just reeling the string back up when Mrs. Weasley stepped out into the hallway and looked up at them. "We'll be eating shortly, so why don't you all come down and help?"
As everyone else thundered down the stairs, Fred and George winked at Scarlett before Disapparating to the bottom of the stairs.
Mrs. Weasley let out a scream. "Just because you're allowed to use magic now does not mean you have to whip your wands out for everything!"
Fred and George simply laughed before racing down the kitchen stairs.
Scarlett followed them, shaking her head. "Honestly, was that really necessary?"
"Of course," Fred answered with a smile.
"Mum doesn't know what she's talking about," George added, levitating a chair a few inches off the ground. "When people turn seventeen, the first thing they do is start using magic. We're still getting used to it."
"I'm the same age as you and I don't use magic every two seconds," Scarlett said, raising an eyebrow and smirking.
"Yeah, well, maybe you're abnormal," George shrugged.
Scarlett shook her head again and walked back over to the sink to get back to peeling carrots. Mrs. Weasley put the twins to work getting things out of the pantry, which they also insisted they do by magic.
There wasn't any trouble until dinner was actually ready, though. Fred and George were levitating the food to the table instead of carrying it and Scarlett suddenly heard thuds and Mrs. Weasley's yelling.
"Why couldn't you have carried it like normal people?" she asked.
Scarlett looked up from drying her hands to see long, black skid marks on the table from where the soup pot had slid. There was also spilled butterbeer, and a knife sticking straight up out of the table.
"Oops," Fred said guiltily. He reached over and pulled the knife out of the table. "Sorry about that."
"The knife almost went through Sirius's hand!" Mrs. Weasley said.
"We said we're sorry," Fred responded quickly.
"It's fine, Molly," Sirius said, smiling. "We can fix this." He waved his wand and the table went back to normal, all the food neatly in the middle where it should have been.
Dinner was noisy. With every seat at the long, wooden table filled, it was crowded. Scarlett found herself sitting next to Fred again.
She smiled at him and he smiled back before leaning over to whisper in her ear. "Are we still on for tonight?"
Scarlett nodded. "Yeah, if you want."
"Are you kidding? George and I have been looking forward to the story all day!"
Scarlett found herself grinning. "I'm glad. Ginny might be joining us as well."
"Okay," Fred said with a shrug, "but tomorrow night can it be just me and you again? Like it was on the first night?"
"Yeah, I don't see why not. Why do you ask?"
"I just thought it was our thing," Fred said.
"Okay," Scarlett said after a short pause. "Ginny called it our bonding time."
"Yeah, that's what it is," Fred said. "Bonding. I like it."
"Me too," Scarlett agreed, smiling wider still. She supposed it was good that they were bonding, but she wondered if she would ever grow to one day love Fred Weasley as more than a friend.
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed so far and added the story to their alerts and/or favorites! I'm glad everyone's liking the story so far! :)