Fred and George and the Toilers of Trouble (Year 1) ✔

Chapter 4:3

When their meal had ended, and platform nine and three-quarters was overrun with trolley carts and cages, Mrs. Weasley began digging through her pockets for the proper coins to pay the bill while Mr. Weasley was busy watching the activity of the bistro with a scowl. And for good reason — the workers were all watching Fred and George.

Their interest in the boys coincided with the delivery of the newspaper. Soon after cutting the twine and unfolding the topmost copy of the Daily Prophet, the waitress looked inquisitively at the twins and then snuck away to the kitchen. Although the bistro had been bustling with new patrons in need of menus, the workers were crowding around the newest edition of the Prophet and peering occasionally at the Weasley booth.

"I think we should get on our way, don't you?" Arthur suggested, with an awkward grin. Mrs. Weasley instantly responded.

Now, it should be understood that when two people have been wed for long enough, and this is not at all a magical trait, they have a constant, unspoken dialogue between them that consists of looks, breathing patterns, and pauses. Mrs. Weasley was aware within seconds of them exiting the booth at Pell-Mells, and having a terrible time gathering their trunks because Scabbers clawed his way loose from the rat cage, that her husband was worried about something. As was usual, her initial suspicions surrounded her twin sons, Fred and George. But she was only half right.

As Mr. Weasley reached for a copy of the Daily Prophet from a vendor on the platform, Mrs. Weasley swiftly instructed Charlie to gather his brothers and situate their belongings.

"What is it, Arthur? What have they done?" she asked quickly. "And we hardly have money for a newspaper after —"

"I believe we can make a concession." He gently rotated the paper so his wife could see the headline on the front page. In gliding, blocky letters, the magical newspaper read:

THE BROTHERS GRINN

How Permitting the Troublesome Twins to Enter Hogwarts Could Spell the Beginning of the End for the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"Dear me. Go on, read it," Molly urged.

Arthur scanned the page hastily, then lowered his voice. "It's about the April Fools' Day retraction. How it was all a joke. There's even an interview with that unpleasant Umbridge woman."

"How can her opinion matter in the slightest?"

"That article about the boys was the only time the Prophet had needed to apologize for printing a...loosely-factual story. They'll never let us live it down."

"Well, it's not our fault! Our child was born and lying in the bassinet. Next time we looked, there were two of them. We weren't being untruthful."

"I know that, but the truth is too unbelievable to accept, even for a wizard. Should we tell the boys?"

"Don't ask me that question," said Molly in a murmur. "I had always hoped this would never follow them to Hogwarts...but it was their decision to play a prank on everyone from the moment of their birth. They will have to live with the consequences."

Arthur folded the paper and stuffed it under his arm, while giving a small wave to Amos Diggory and his boy, Cedric. "Let's send them off, then."

Mrs. Weasley nodded, her eyes misting.

The first-year students were often the last to board the Hogwarts Express. Typically, this was due to their parents holding them back with hugs and words of encouragement. The non-magical parents, the Muggles, kept their magical sons and daughters back because this whole situation was still rather outrageous for them. But Fred and George Weasley waited on the platform for a different reason. They needed their wands.