The Mudblood

Chapter 56 : Year 4

The next morning was September 1st, the day we would return to Hogwarts and I would begin my fourth year. Unlike other years, I now felt a somber tinge with the prospect of returning, though I didn't have much time to dwell on it with the rowdy commotion unfolding in 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Oi, Fitz is up," Fred announced as I trudged out into the corridor the next morning. Ginny was right behind me, hauling a large trunk at her side.

"Move over," she snapped at the twins, shoving them out of the way so she could struggle down the staircase.

"Seems like I'm the smart one," I teased, slinging my small bag over my back. "Your trunks look bigger than Ginny's—how do you plan to get those down the stairs, hm?"

"Have you forgotten, Lainey?" George questioned.

"George and I can do magic now," Fred said, giving me a wink as he and his twin slipped their wands out of their pocket.

Hermione gasped as she emerged from the bedroom. "What are you two doing?"

"Magic," Fred replied, not even looking at her as he and his twin both held their wands toward the trunks.

"Are you going to give us detention?" George said, though before Hermione could come up with a flustered response, the twins had sent their trunks hurdling down the staircase. A loud bang echoed off of the walls, sending paintings to the ground, though that wasn't the worst of the damage: in the twins' recklessness, they had failed to notice that their sister was still descending the stairs. Both trunks slammed into her with blunt force, and she went tumbling down nearly two flights of stairs.

"Ginny!" Hermione and I exclaimed at the same time, dashing down the stairs. Fred and George were about to follow us, but apparently Molly had seen their mishap.

"FRED! GEORGE!" she bellowed, her voice echoing all the way down to the landing that Ginny was now lying on. Hermione and I pried the trunks off of her as Molly continued to scream: "WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING—"

"I'm fine, Mum," Ginny groaned as we helped her to her feet. Her arm was mildly bleeding, and she had a massive red bump protruding from her forehead.

Molly ignored her, however, barely even glancing over the railing at us before her red face exploded with another string of enraged yells. "YOU COULD HAVE DONE HER SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS—"

Molly wasn't the only one screaming, though. One of the paintings that had managed to remain on the wall was now shrilling about how us "half-breeds" were besmirching the house.

"What's going on down there?" Ron asked, peering over the railing to look at us. "Blimey, Ginny, got enough trunks there?"

Harry's head also popped up to peek at us, though his face was contorted with discomfort from the relentless screams of Molly and the painting.

"I'm really fine," Ginny grumbled, picking up her large trunk again. "They've done worse."

When we finally left the house, we had to split up into groups as not to draw attention to ourselves. Though Mad-Eye Moody had wanted me to go with him, Ron, Hermione, and Arthur, Fred and George had dragged me along with them, Ginny, and Lupin, not bothering to give anyone else a choice in the matter.

"We have loads of things we need to show you, Fitz," Fred said to me as we walked long the sidewalk. King's Cross station wasn't far from the Black's house, but for extra security, we had to take an alternate, longer route to get there. Though I seriously doubted Voldemort would choose to jump out in broad daylight and expose himself, the lunatic was fairly unpredictable.