Not Alone After All

Chapter XXXIV

Laura stepped out of the Burrow fireplace as soon as she arrived. She was laughing out loud when Fred and George approached her.

"Did he eat it?" George asked her with a grin on his face. Laura only nodded, still laughing at the picture of Dudley with a two-foot long purple tongue.

"Your father is absolutely furious," she told the two of them. The twins suddenly tensed up and their grins fell away from their faces.

"Is this the day we die?" Fred asked his brother, a terrified look on his face. Laura rolled her eyes.

"Drama queen, much?" She asked. Fred frowned at her, and George smirked at his brother's reaction. "Don't worry, I'll take the blame if he gives you too much of a hard time."

"Did she just say she'll take the blame for one of your pranks?" an older boy, also ginger, said. Fred and George had told Laura about their older brothers. By how they had described them, that boy was Charlie, and the one sitting on the sofa next to him was Bill. "Keep her," the boy said with humour.

"Planing to," Fred smiled. Laura slightly blushed again.

"And she's ginger," the older boy added, extending his hand for Laurie to shake. "Are we sure she's not our long lost sister?" The twins laughed. "Bill Weasley." Laura gladly shook his hand.

"Laura Potter," she said with a smile. The younger one - Charlie - suddenly stood up and also extended his hand, giving the twins a knowing look.

"So she's the one I've heard about from mom," he said. Laura tensed: what had Mrs. Weasley said about her? "Don't worry, only good things," Charlie reassured her when he realised her sudden panic. "Charlie Weasley."

Before any of them could say anything else, Mr. Weasley stepped out of the green fire of the Burrow's fireplace. He was looking angrier than Laura and Harry had ever seen him.

"That wasn't funny, Fred!" He shouted. "What on earth did you give that muggle boy?"

"I didn't give him anything," Fred denied, an evil grin on his face. "I just dropped it. He decided to go and eat it, I never told him to." Usually, these type of situations would make Laura want to laugh, but Mr. Weasley looked properly angry, and she couldn't deny that she was quite scared of what he could do.

"You dropped it on purpose!" Mr. Weasley argued. He wasn't wrong. "You knew he'd eat it. You knew he was on a diet-"

"How long did his tongue get?" George suddenly asked eagerly.

"It was four feet long before his parents would let me shrink it!"

The room roared with laughter again.

"This isn't funny!" Mr. Weasley repeated. "That sort of behavior seriously undermines wizard-Muggle relations! I spend half my life

campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons -"

"We didn't do it because he's a Muggle, dad!" Fred suddenly exclaimed indignantly.

"We did it because hes a git!" George agreed.

"He's a bully," Fred added. "Isn't him, Harry?" The twins and Mr. Weasley turned to Harry, who nodded.

"He really is, Mr. Weasley," Harry confirmed.

"That's not the point!" Mr. Weasley yelled. "Wait until I tell your mother -- "

"Tell me what?" Mrs. Weasley's voice suddenly asked from the kitchen. She walked into the room and Mr. Weasley hesitated. However angry he was with Fred and George, he wasn't actually planning on telling his wife about them.

Harry and Laura noticed Hermione and Ginny standing near the kitchen door behind Mrs. Weasley. They both smiled at them, and the Potter children smiled back, which made Ginny blush a scarlet red. She had had a thing for Harry ever since he first stepped foot in the Burrow, but Harry didn't seem to notice.

"Tell me what, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley repeated, in a dangerous sort of voice. Laura watched Fred and George tense next to her.

"It's nothing, Molly," mumbled Mr. Weasley, "Fred and George just - but I've had words with them-"

"What have they done this time?" said Mrs. Weasley. "If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes -"

"Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?" said Hermione from the doorway. Harry nodded, but Ron didn't seem to understand what was going on.

"He knows where he'll be sleeping. Where he slept for the past two years - "

"We can all go," Hermione said pointedly.

"Oh," Ron said, finally realising what she had meant. "Oh, yeah."

"We'll come too," George tried.

"You stay right where you are," Mrs. Weasley sneered at them. Hermione locked eyes with Laura, but she silently let her know what she wasn't going to follow.

The four of them walked out of the room and ran up the stairs, leaving the four older Weasley, their parents, and Laura.

"What. have. you. done?" Mrs. Weasley asked them, pausing after every word. Laura could see how Bill cringed at his mother's rage, and Charlie winced.

"It's my fault, Mrs. Weasley," Laura spoke up. The woman's neck snapped agressively towards the younger girl, making her flinch, but as soon as Mrs. Weasley realised that it was Laura speaking, her face and eyes softened.

"What?" Mrs. Weasley asked. The whole room was surprised at the softness of her voice.

"Fred and George helped me pull a prank on Dudley," she said. "It was my idea, and I asked them to do it." Fred and George frowned at her while their mother's back was turned. Mrs. Weasley was watching Laura carefully, silently deciding on whether to believe the young girl or not.

"Arthur, what happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked her husband. "What was the prank?"

"Some sweets that made the muggle boy's tongue grow four feet," Mrs. Weasley mumbled at his wife. Anger flashed in her eyes, before she looked back at Laura when the girl spoke up.

"Really, it was my fault. Fred and George only created the sweets. I took them and gave them to Dudley," she told the woman.

"Why would you mess with what these two are doing, Laura, dear," Mrs. Weasley asked her. The woman almost didn't believe Laura would prank anyone.

"She's been working with us for the past year," George told his mother. Mrs. Weasley shot him an angry look, making him shut up, but soon turned back to Laura.

"Besides, I hear it's genetic," she told the woman, pulling her attention away from the twin and back to her. Mrs. Weasley immedistly softened and her anger got washed away at the mention of James Potter. "I'm really sorry, Mrs. Weasley, I didn't think it would escalate this much," Laura looked down, obviously guilt tripping the woman. "I thought they'd let us undo it faster, and not start throwing things at us."

"Oh, dear," Mrs. Weasley sighed. "It's alright, I don't blame you. You said he threw stuff at you, are you hurt?" Laura almost sighed on relief at the kind woman's reaction. The five Weasley men stood behind Molly Weasley in disbelief.

"I don't think so, no," Laura shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, thank you Mrs. Weasley," Laura thanked her and the Weasley children watched as Molly walked out of the room, Arthur following her close behind.

"How did you do that?" Charlie whispered to Laura as soon as the door closed behind their parents.

"Yeah, 'cause that was some bloody brilliant manipulation," Bill nodded.

"I wish I knew how to do that," George told them.

"Who cares how," Fred exclaimed. "Little Potter, you're a live saver," he said, an enormous grin on his face. He wrapped his arms around her in a hug, which made her giggle. George then followed and did the same.