Enchanted By The Thought

THIRTY: MIXED FEELINGS

Never allow loneliness to drive you back into the arms of someone you know you don't belong with

"So Snape was helping him? He was definitely offering to help him?" Ron asked once again, disbelief clear in his voice. Beth felt the slow annoyance building in her brother.

She closed her eyes and counted to twenty. One... two... three... "If you ask that once more," growled Harry, "I'm going to stick this sprout-"

Eight... nine... ten... eleven... "I'm only checking!" Ron sputtered, earning a snort from Beth.

Twelve... thirteen... fourteen... fifteen... She started to peel sprouts as she counted. "Yes Snape was offering to help him!" snapped Harry, "He said he'd made the Unbreakable Oath or something."

Eighteen... nineteen... twenty. "The Unbreakable Vow? Seriously?" Beth couldn't help but speak up, surprised. She'd heard about the vow before, although from the confusion that was bombarding her twin, she knew that he had no clue what it was.

Ron was staring at Harry, stunned. "Well, what does it mean?" Harry pressured, looking between the faces of Beth and Ron.

"Well, you can't break an Unbreakable Vow..." Ron stated uneasily and Beth dropped her sprouts, rubbing her forehead. He could be such an idiot sometimes. It really got on her nerves. As if she already had enough to deal with.

"State the obvious Ron!" She mumbled sarcastically at the same time Harry answered, "I figured that much, funnily enough. But what happens if you break it?"

Beth felt shivers roll down her back and she bit her lip. "You die." Ron answered softly and she felt the pang of fear that hit her brother. "Fred and George-" Beth rolled eyes and keep peeling, ignoring them. She didn't know how Harry had managed to wrestle her into help them peel sprouts but she was regretting it. She could be gossiping with Ginny or even hanging with the twins. "-left buttock has never been the same since."

That caught her attention. She glanced up at Ron and Harry, feeling the embarrassment in her brother. She wondered how they got onto such a subject but decided that the question was best left unsaid. "Yeah, well, passing over Fred's left buttock-" Her brother muttered, avoiding her gaze. She resisted the urge to laugh at him.

"I beg your pardon?" Fred sounded genuinely offended and Beth turned her head, seeing the twins lurking in the doorway. She grinned at both of them and George winked at her, causing her to giggle. "Ahh George! Look at this. They're using knives and everything. Bless them." Fred said fondly, reaching over to pat her brother's shoulder.

Beth shook her head and continued to peel the sprouts, mumbling under her breath. George came to stand next to her, touching her shoulder with his. "I'll be seventeen soon enough! And then I can do it by magic!" Ron replied angrily, glaring at his brothers.

"But meanwhile, we can sit back and let you demonstrate the correct use of - whoops-a-daisy!" Fred looked sheepish and Beth snorted, earning her a glare from Ron. She quickly looked back down at her sprouts, feeling George snickering beside her.

Ron sucked on his cut thumb. "You made me do that!" He accused, flipping his brother off. "You asshole." He spat, tossing a knife at Fred. Beth's smile was wiped off her face and she felt George tense beside her. Fred turned it into a paper airplane just as Mrs. Weasley peeked into the kitchen. She yelled at Ron but now Beth's attention was on George. He was watching her silently, his head tilted to the side in thought."-and we'll be off the hook too!"

Beth glanced away from George to see Ron staring at the twins with hope. "Well-" George began, looking down at Beth.

Ron's eyes lit up but they immediately dimmed when Fred shook his head. George, however, had different ideas. He waved his wand and Beth's sprouts were all peeled neatly. "There." He said and Beth looked at him in gratitude. It wasn't that she didn't like helping Mrs. Weasley; she just didn't like standing around Harry and Ron while they gossiped like a bunch of old ladies.