Guts and Glory - Trouble with Twins, Book 2

A Meeting with Dumbledore

"I've got you now."

Filch was leading us through the staircase. With where it looked we were going, I thought we'd be returning to his office. A tiny smile formed on my face. I remembered what happened last time we were there; we nicked the greatest invention Hogwarts has ever seen. Filch didn't seem particularly hard to trick. We'd done it before, why couldn't we do it again?

Mrs. Norris was running alongside her owner. As annoying as she was, you couldn't deny she was loyal. Right now, however, I didn't care about that loyalty. I was doing everything I could to stop myself from giving her a little nudge. She wouldn't stop hissing at us, seeming to taunt us. I supposed she had been here long enough to figure out what was happening here.

We reached the corridor where Filch's office was and I started to accept my fate. His punishment would be obvious; we faced either detention, lost house points, or both. I was also certain that one way or another, Snape would find out, and he would never stop using it to harass us. He would do anything to try and provoke us; I refused to let it work. It was starting to get a little bit fun to see him get frustrated.

I was so focused on what could happen that I stopped paying attention to what was actually happening. We had already passed Filch's office and were heading straight for a giant gargoyle at the end of the hall.

We stopped in front of it, and Filch shouted, "Pepper Imps!"

It jumped to life and moved out of the way. The caretaker flashed us a disturbingly evil smile and grabbed Fred and George by the back of their shirts and started to drag them up the stairs. It likely would have brought him great joy to sprout a third arm and pull me up along with them. But fortunately for me, I was left to walk up on my own.

Inside, the walls were covered with portraits of older men and women. They were talking quietly to each but stopped suddenly when they spotted us. They stared at us blankly, some even glancing over to a large chair in front of us.

"I've caught some troublemakers in the act, Professor." Filch said, seemingly to no one.

To the right of the chair, from behind a bookcase, appeared Professor Dumbledore. 

"Leave us, Argus." He took a seat in his chair and watched his caretaker leave. His gaze turned onto us.

"What was it?" He asked calmly.

"Dungbomb." Fred freely admitted.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Filch is not very fond of those. I daresay this will not be the last time he brings you into this office for the same reason." His eyes twinkled, and he chuckled softly. I smirked mischievously.

"When will our detention be?" I questioned. He simply shook his head.

"If I put you in detention for things like this, you will never have a free weekend during your years at Hogwarts. Though I must encourage that you do these activities a little farther away from Mr. Filch." The twins and I looked over at each other, joyful.

"Mr. Filch won't like that." George bantered. The professor pondered this for a moment.

"You're right, Mr. Weasley. Perhaps two house points from Gryffindor each ought to do the trick." My mother had told me Dumbledore was a strange man, but I never fully believed her. This proved her correct.

"We're not in trouble?" I didn't fully trust it.

"Not today, Miss Faye. I am quite delighted that you three were brought here today. I've been very interested in meeting you." A gentle smile formed on his face.

"Why us?" Fred was just as confused as I was. Dumbledore stood up from his chair and began slowly pacing.

"I have found every Weasley that has come to Hogwarts to be a very different person. Your father has always had the admiration for muggles that he holds today, and was always kind to muggle-born students. Your brother William possessed a natural gift for almost every class he took here. Your brother Charlie has a love for magical creatures that cannot be matched by any other wizard alive today, except perhaps our enthusiastic groundskeeper Hagrid. And your brother Percy is so devoted to order and rule preservation that it is a wonder he did not bring you here himself. You two are already beginning to make a reputation for yourselves already, though a much different one than what your siblings have done." For once, Fred and George had nothing clever to say back. No witty remarks, no snide comments about Percy, and no stupid jokes. They just sat silently and listened.

Coming back to stand in front of his desk, he faced the twins and kindly said, "I will be very curious to see the kind of person your younger brother is when he arrives next year." The three of us sniggered, finding it hard to imagine that Ron would be coming to Hogwarts soon.

He turned his glance to me.

"When I heard Emily Turner and Andrew Faye were getting married, even I was a little shocked. They seemed so different when they were in school together. The exceptionally bright Ravenclaw boy and the Quidditch star Hufflepuff girl. Perhaps I don't know everything that happens in this castle." Dumbledore winked and continued.

"I was even more surprised when their daughter was placed in Gryffindor, my own house. I must admit, I take very much pride in my old house, so I was pleased to see the daughter of two phenomenal parents had been placed there." I beamed, cherishing every word he said.

"It's hard to imagine them being here." I mused.

The Headmaster chuckled.

"You remind me of her, a skilled Quidditch player with a knack for trouble."

"My mum got into trouble?" My mouth gaped.

"Indeed. Maybe not as much as the three of you, but she was known to cause some problems for Professor Sprout from time to time." He divulged. A huge grin spread all over my face. I had never known.

We all talked for a little while longer until the office was no longer illuminated by the light of the sun. Dumbledore kindly insisted that we get back to our common room and prepare for bed, but not before he gave us a plateful of food that looked like it had come from the dinner feast in the great hall. I had the sneaking suspicion that he knew where we had been today and was very aware why we were not in the Great Hall tonight.

As we hurried out to go enjoy our meal, Dumbledore stopped us to say one last thing.

"To answer your previous question, Mr. Weasley: if Mr. Filch will insist on taking you here whenever you release a Dungbomb in the corridors, why not get to know you first?" And with that, he took a seat at his desk and began writing something.

We walked down the staircase behind the gargoyle and re-entered the halls filled with students returning from both Hogsmeade and the Great Hall. The fact that we had our arms full of food earned some stares from our classmates, but it was more out of jealousy than confusion.

Back in the common room, we sat in front of the fireplace eating chicken wings and potatoes talking about what had happened today. Just as we were finishing up, Charlie strolled in and looked relieved when he laid eyes on us.

"There you are, I was wondering what had happened to you three." He plopped down beside us and took the last bit of chicken from Fred.

"Got caught up by Filch." George explained.

"Then Dumbledore talked to us for a while." I added. We took turns describing what had happened in the Headmaster's office.

"That was very kind of him," Charlie admitted, continuing, "the least you could have done is promise him you'd at least try to stay out of trouble."

"I'd rather not be caught lying to Albus Dumbledore." Fred shot back, smiling.

"Why make a promise we can't keep?" George remarked.

Charlie now looked over at me.

"Jamie, will you please be the voice of reason here?"

"I don't want to lie to you either." The four of us laughed together.

With Dumbledore on our side, I realized I wasn't bothered much by any of the problems Filch and Snape threw at us. Who cares about an embarrassing Potions class when the greatest wizard alive likes you?