Suffocating In Darkness

Chapter 16

"So Snape was offering to help him? He was definitely offering to help him?"

"If you ask that once more," said Oliver, "I'm going to stick this sprout--"

"I'm only checking! Now we know why you got expelled!" said Ron. The five of us were standing alone at the Burrow's kitchen sink, peeling a mountain of sprouts for Mrs. Weasley. Snow was drifting past the window in front of us.

"Yes, Snape was offering to help him!" said Harry. "He said he'd promised Malfoy's mother to protect him, that he'd made an Unbreakable Oath or something--"

"An Unbreakable Vow?" said Ron, looking stunned. "Nah, he can't have... Are you sure?"

"Yes, we're sure," I said. "Why, what does it mean?"

"Well, you can't break an Unbreakable Vow..."

"I'd worked that much out for myself, funnily enough. What happens if you break it, then?"

"You die," said Ron simply. "Fred and George tried to get me to make one when I was about five. I nearly did too, I was holding hands with Fred and everything when Dad found us. He went mental," said Ron, with a reminiscent gleam in his eyes. "Only time I've ever seen Dad as angry as Mum, Fred reckons his left buttock has never been the same since."

"Yeah, well, passing over Fred's left buttock--"

"I beg your pardon?" said Fred's voice as the twins entered the kitchen. He instantly wrapped his arms around my waist and leant his head on top of mine. "Aaah, George, look at this. They're using knives and everything. Bless them."

"I'll be seventeen in two and a bit months' time," said Ron grumpily, "and then I'll be able to do it by magic!"

"Three days." Oliver said proudly. "Can we leave these sprouts here for three days?" Oliver asks genially serious.

"But meanwhile," said George, sitting down at the kitchen table and putting his feet up on it, dragging Lyra onto his lap, "we can enjoy watching you demonstrate the correct use of a -- whoops-a-daisy!"

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

"I'm sure you'll dazzle us all with hitherto unsuspected magical skills," yawned Fred.

"And speaking of hitherto unsuspected skills, Ronald," said George, "what is this I heard from Lyra about you and a young lady called--unless our information is faulty--Lavender Brown?"

Ron turned a little pink, but did not look displeased as he turned back to the sprouts. "Mind your own business."

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

"What d'you mean?"

"Did she have an accident or something?"

"What?"

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

Mrs. Weasley entered the room just in time to see Ron throw the sprout knife at Fred, who had turned it into a paper airplane with one lazy flick of his wand.

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

"I won't," said Ron, "let you see," he added under his breath, as he turned back to the sprout mountain.

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

"No problem," said George.