The Potter Twins and the Chamber of Secrets

IV

Fred, George and Ron walked us upstairs as Harry explained what had happened with Dobby and why we hadn't contacted them. "Very fishy," Fred said finally, and George agreed. "So he wouldn't tell you who it was you were in danger from?"

"Well, it was quite difficult to get the bloody elf to tell us things while he was busy destroying our lives and banging his head on furniture," I said acidly. It must have sounded pretty angry because Harry elbowed me hard as the twins looked at each other. There was silence for a while before George finally said, "House Elves don't do powerful magic without their Masters' permission. Someone's idea of a joke, maybe? A grudge?"

"Probably Malfoy," Harry said immediately.

"Not Lucius Malfoy's son?" asked Fred, whirling round. "Well in with You-Know-Who, that one." We'd heard those rumours about the Malfoys before and didn't hesitate one bit to believe them. "Expect the Malfoys will own a house-elf," Ron offered. "Old wizarding family, rich..."

"One criteria we don't fill," George said gloomily. "Mum wants a house-elf, you know..." At the mention of the Weasley mother, there was a yell for breakfast. "Expect dad'll be home now," Ron panted, as we rushed down the stairs.

Mr Weasley was slumped in a kitchen chair with his glasses off and eyes closed. He was a thin man, going bald, but what little hair he had was as red as you'd expect. His long green robes were dusty and travel-worn. "What a night," he mumbled as Mrs Weasley piled food onto all our plates. Sausages, eggs, bacon... all as the pots and pans floated in the air scrubbing themselves clean. "You won't believe the things that wizards enchant these days..."

"Like cars, for instance?" Mrs Weasley had appeared, holding a long poker like a sword. "The one you told me you were taking apart when in fact you had decided to make it fly?"

"I wasn't intending to fly it, Molly dear," Mr Weasley said, paling, "just experimenting, you see..."

"Well Harry and Sam arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly, Arthur!" shouted Mrs Weasley.

"Who?" said the man blankly. He looked round absently and noticed the two of us standing next to each other, and jumped. "Good Lord, is it the Potters? Pleasure to meet you, Ronald's told us so much about you..."

"YOUR SONS FLEW TO THEIR HOUSE AND BACK LAST NIGHT!" Mrs Weasley shrieke.

"Did you really? How did it go?" asked Arthur eagerly before he caught a glimpse of his wife's furious face. "I mean, that was awful boys, very wrong of you."

"Let's leave them to it," Ron whispered, as Mrs Weasley swelled like a bullfrog. He grabbed my sleeve and the three of us sidled away, up five flights of stairs, past a pair of brown eyes and a slammed door on the third floor, and up to a door that had peeling paint and a plaque that read, Ronald's Room. Ron pushed open the door and I was pretty much blinded.

It was like stepping into a furnace. Every surface was a violent shade of orange - bed, walls, even the ceiling. Pictures of the same seven people, waving broomsticks and wearing bright orange robes, covered all wall space. "Your quidditch team?" Harry suggested.

"The Chudley Cannons," Ron said, pointing at his bedspread, on which a large CC was embroidered along with a speeding cannonball. "Ninth in the league." His school spellbooks were stacked untidily in the corner, next to a pile of comics which all seemed to feature Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. Ron's magic wand laid upon a fish tank full of frogspawn and Scabbers the rat sat next to it, bathing in the sun.

I wandered over to the small window followed by my brother, and looked down on the garden. It was large and untidy; the Dursleys wouldn't have liked it, which was precisely why I felt completely at home. We then both looked back at Ron's face, who nervously seemed to be seeking some sort of approval. "It's - it's not huge," he said, "and I've got the stupid ghoul above me, screaming and slamming on the pipes and groaning-"

But Harry and I, both grinning widely, said, "this is the best house I've ever been in."

—

a/n

it's a wild update! the second in... not a month, not a fortnight, not a week... but in TWO DAYS!

i'm back ladies and gents

rbg x