Dusk Till Dawn: A Fred And George Story

August 14, 1999

CRASH!

I wake up, unsettled. I lay in my bed for a long time, thinking I'm going crazy.

Well, I know I'm crazy.

CRASH!

I get up out of bed, put on sleep robes, grab my hand, and head right for my bedroom door. I plan to check if Isabella is alright, but when I open my room, she's standing in her own doorway with her wand in hand, wearing pajamas.

"Did you hear that?" she asked me.

"Yeah."

CRASH!

"It's coming from the shop!" I say, and I make my way down the hallway and down the stairs to the shop, Isabella following close behind.

We pause at the bottom of the stairs and listen. We hear the shuffling of footsteps, and my heart starts to speed   up its beating. I can't tell exactly where the person or persons are standing.

"I'll take the west end," Isabella whispers, "and you take the east."

"Alright," I try to move as quietly as possible towards the west sector of the shop so I can hear their movements. I tiptoe around the aisles, my eyes frantically looking for an intruder.

I hear Isabella and a man's voice far away. The man mutters a hex, and I hear a shelf crash and Isabella's agitated "Ughh!"

I run towards the sound, worries crowding my head. There I find Isabella lying on the ground with the shelf on top of her person, her wand at the feet of the man. I panic. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, of course. Get him, George!"

I catch a glimpse of his face and know who he is instantly: Zeke Zonko. He's our only competitor and runs Zonko's Joke Shop. He'd also been in the Daily Prophet - a thing I'd taken to reading every morning with my breakfast recently (Oh my gosh, I've turned into Arthur) - a few weeks earlier. A rumor was going around that he would soon have to declare bankruptcy. In one hand is his wand, and in the other is one of our Pop-Up Places. Our latest bestseller.

I know exactly why he's here.

He wants to try and figure out how we do what we do - why we're so successful. Even if he did actually steal something, he wouldn't be able to get it. There's no method to the madness. And the idiot didn't even think to wear a mask or disguise!

"Vincular!" I said, jabbing my wand in his direction. Immediately he is bound stock-still with chains. I turn to help Isabella.

"George!" she yells. "Look out!"

"Petrificus Total - "

"Expelliarmus!" I disarm him before he can complete the spell.

I then turn again to Isabella. "Winegardium Leviosa!" Carefully, I lift the shelf off of her and set it upright.

"Thanks," she says, sitting up amidst all the now very damaged products.

"Are you alright? Is anything broken? Did anything hurt?" I extend my hand out for her to take and I help her up.

"I'm fine, George." She walks straight over to the man struggling with the chains restricting him, groaning with the effort. "What a Blast-Ended Skrewt. What are we going to do with him?"

"Take him to the Ministry," I reply. I pick Zonko up by the chains and drag him to his feet.

"Here," Isabella says, pointing her wand at him. She smirks as she lifts him up in the air. I laugh at how much joy she finds in making him uncomfortable.