CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE; hitherto unsuspected skills

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PART FOUR
Hitherto Unsuspected Skills

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" y/n's point of view "

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NOVEMBER PASSED QUICKLY and not long after Fred, George and I were at the Burrow for Christmas.

After talking to Ginny about the new Quidditch season at Hogwarts, where apparently Zacharias Smith had taken over as commentator, she told us that Ron had a girlfriend.

So Fred, George and I walked into the kitchen, looking for Ron and, by extension, Harry.

"Yeah, well, passing over Fred's left buttock-" Harry was saying as we walked in.

"I beg your pardon?" Fred said, looking to me with a confused look, before turning to the boys. "Aw, George, look at this. They're using knives and everything. Bless them."

Harry and Ron were at the kitchen sink peeling sprouts.

"I'll be seventeen in two and a bit months' time." Ron grumbled. "And then I'll be able to do it by magic!"

George sat down at the kitchen table and put his feet up on it. "But meanwhile we can enjoy watching you demonstrate the correct use of a - whoops-a-daisy."

Ron's knife had slipped and he sliced open his thumb.

"You made me do that!" Ron said, sucking the blood from his thumb. "You wait, when I'm seventeen-"

"I'm sure you'll dazzle us all with hitherto unsuspected magical skills." Fred said, yawning, as I started examining the sizable cut on Ron's thumb.

"And speaking of hitherto unsuspected skills, Ronald." George said as I pointed my wand at his thumb and healed the cut. "What's this we hear from Ginny about you and a young lady called - unless our information is faulty - Lavender Brown?"

Ron went a little pink and I walked over to the kitchen table, sitting with Fred, who wrapped his arms around my middle.

"Mind your own business." Ron said.

"What a snappy retort. I really don't know how you think of them." Fred teased. "No, what we wanted to know was... how did it happen?"

"What d'you mean?"

"Did she have an accident or something?"

While I didn't show it, I did find Fred's question amusing, even if it was a little mean.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Well, how did she sustain such extensive brain damage? Careful, now!"

Ron had thrown the sprouts knife at Fred - and me - right as Molly walked into the kitchen.

Fred turned the knife into a paper aeroplane with just one flick of his wand.

"Ron!" Molly exclaimed furiously. "Don't you ever let me see you throwing knives again!"

"I won't." Ron said, before muttering something further under his breath.

"Fred, George, I'm sorry, dears, but Remus is arriving tonight, so Bill will have to squeeze in with you two." Molly told them.

"No problem." George said.

"Then, as Charlie isn't coming home, that just leaves Harry and Ron in the attic, and if Fleur shares with Ginny and Y/N-"

"-That'll make Ginny's Christmas-" Fred muttered.

It was no secret that neither Ginny, nor Molly, really liked Fleur Delacour. Ginny always referred to her as 'Phlegm' and Molly kept trying to get Bill to show interest in Tonks instead.

"-everyone should be comfortable." Molly finished. "Well, they'll have a bed, anyway."

"Percy definitely not showing his ugly face, then?" Fred asked his mother, who turned away.

"No, he's busy, I expect, at the Ministry."

"Or he's the world's biggest prat." Fred said as Molly left the kitchen. "One of the two. Well, let's get going then, George."

I stood up and moved away from the table, closer to Harry and Ron, as the twins both stood up.

"What are you two up to?" Ron asked. "Can't you help us with these sprouts? You could just use your wand and then we'll be free, too!"

"No, I don't think we can do that." Fred said seriously as he walked to the front door. "It's very character-building stuff, learning to peel sprouts without magic, makes you appreciate how difficult it is for muggles and squibs-"

"-And if you want people to help you, Ron," George added as he followed Fred to the door. "I wouldn't chuck knives at them. Just a little hint. We're off to the village, there's a very pretty girl working in the paper shop who thinks my card tricks are something marvelous... almost like real magic..."

"Gits." Ron said and I watched as Fred and George made their way across the snowy yard. "Would've only taken them ten seconds then we could've gone, too."

"I couldn't." Harry said. "I promised Dumbledore I wouldn't wander off while I'm staying here."

"Oh, yeah." Said Ron, then he looked to me. "Y/N, you agree my brother's a git, right?"

I chuckled. "Who? Fred? Never."

Ron rolled his eyes with a scoff. "And you're fine with him and George going off to the village to talk to pretty girls?"

"As long as Fred isn't the one flirting with muggle girls, I don't have a problem." I said. "So how's school been going? Anything interesting happened?"

Ron and Harry shared a look.

"Not really." Harry said.

"Yeah, pretty boring, actually." Ron agreed.

"Okay. That's good." I didn't believe them one bit. I guessed that now I was an adult and didn't go to Hogwarts anymore I wasn't allowed to know what was going on in their lives. "I'm gonna go find Ginny, then."

"Wait, Y/N-" Ron called out as I went to leave the kitchen.

"What?" I asked.

"Could you do the sprouts?"

"Please?" Harry added.

I looked between the two boys, both with almost pleading expressions on their faces. I looked to the large pile of sprouts they were still yet to peel, and the knife in Harry's hand.

"Nah. I'll see you guys later." I said, then stopped again. "Oh, Ron."

He looked hopeful, but then I transfigured the paper plane back into its original knife form, and he sighed.

𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒; fred weasley x fem!readerWhere stories live. Discover now