Sinners and Serpents {g.w.}

Chapter 1

"Oi, Ron! Your little friend is here!" George's voice bellowed from the sitting room as you walked in and shut the door behind you, the bustle of the Burrow around you messily familiar as you took in the piles of books and yarn and old wooden table that decorated the dining portion of the kitchen. The smell of breakfast still lingered in the air, even though the sun was approaching it's noon position. Slipping off your shoes, you rounded the corner into the sitting room, where Fred and George were bent over the coffee table, a wide array of odd treats and bottles were spread out before them, the old couches soft and plush and worn by time and frequent use.

"Ah, look who it is," Fred said, looking up at me. "Our brother's precious Slytherin friend. Hex anyone just for fun on your way over?"

You rolled your eyes, used to their jabs after having been best friends with Ron for the past five years. "No, you git. You send anyone to the hospital because of your little inventions again?"

Fred and George's freckled faces bloomed red. "That only happened once," George said. "He's fine now,"Fred chimed in, grinning cheekily at you and scooping up their little experiments.

Over the summer, the two of them had grown quite a bit, and as they stood to take their things upstairs, they now towered over you by a good six inches. Their previously comically lanky bodies had filled out at well, no doubt as a result from the countless summer days of playing Quidditch out back with Ron and Ginny. Their hair was still red as fire, and their freckles, as usual, had multiplied from being out in the bright sun so often, but they had both begun to grown bits of ginger stubble on their jaws, signifying just how much they had grown up in the three months since you had seen them. Their short sleeved shirts showed off the toned muscle of their shoulders and arms, and you noticed faintly that George's shirt was just a bit tighter around his shoulders than Fred's.

Heavy footsteps bounded down the rickety stairs, and you turned just in time to see Ron barreling toward you, scooping you up in a massive, tight bear hug and swinging you around, making you squeal.

"Look, Georgie," Fred began, nudging his twin as Ron set you down.

"Our two little lovebugs," George added in a singsong voice.

"Sod off, both of you," Ron snapped at them. "Don't you have something to go blow up?"

The two of them had been teasing you and Ron about being in love since you had been thirteen, and over the course of the four years since, the two of you had both separately entertained the idea, but Ron was far too good of a friend for you to ever jeopardize that, and if that hadn't been the deciding factor, Ron's crush that had been growing ever since the Yule Ball on Hermione would've been.

"Excellent idea, Won-Won!" George exclaimed, and as they retreated up the stairs, you and Ron shared an exasperated look before he hugged you once more. You smiled at your closest friend, having missed him dearly over the holiday break, his familiar scent of spiced sandalwood warming your chest with a feeling of home.

"It's so good to see you," You said, adjusting the bag on your shoulder.

"You too! I've been going crazy being stuck with those two all summer," Ron said, before motioning you to follow him upstairs. "Mum's had to put out three separate fires in their room just in the past month alone. They won't tell anybody what they've been inventing, not even Ginny."

We climbed the creaky staircase up to the top floor of the Burrow's leaning frame. "Speaking of which, since school only starts in a few days, you're sharing Ginny's room. That alright?" Ron asked as we reached the top of the steps.

You smiled brightly at him. "Of course! I'm just happy to be here. I missed all of you terribly, even the two evil geniuses," You joked.

Ron sighed and rolled his eyes. "Luckily, this is their last year at Hogwarts, which means hopefully they'll move out after they graduate. I think Mum and Dad will both have aneurysms if they stay here any longer than that."