kbinnz - Harry's New Home

His Da wouldn't let anyone else hit Harry, not Auntie Molly or Padfoot or anyone, and his own light swats were nothing to fear. Of course, Harry did fear disappointing his father, and he was very very glad that the twins had admitted it had been their spell which had led to the incineration of the tree. He'd been pretty certain that in the absence of that confession, Auntie Molly would have felt compelled to punish all the children equally, and while he knew she wouldn't smack him, she would floo his Da. That would have meant an abrupt end to Harry 's visit, and though returning home to Hogwarts was hardly an onerous penalty, Harry had no desire to return in disgrace.

Having to clean up the living room alongside the Weasley children was only fair тАУ after all, he and the others had made the mess in the first place тАУ and being sent to bed right after supper wasn't that awful a punishment either. He and Ron were sharing a room, and he suspected they'd just talk until they eventually fell asleep. Oh, Ron was complaining bitterly, but Harry knew it was just for show and that the redhead was just as relieved as he that the twins had accepted the bulk of the blame. After all, if they had all continued squabbling and really gotten Auntie Molly upset, she might have canceled tomorrow's outing, and that was too horrible a scenario to contemplate.

"Yeah," Ginny echoed his question to the twins. "Are you all right? Mum sounded pretty angry."

"Our arses would say otherwise тАУ"

"- but we're all right," they reassured the younger children.

"But we are sorry, Ron тАУ "

" тАУ the spider thing really wasn't funny."

Ron chewed his lip for a minute then shrugged. "Show me your special Beater move when we're at the arena tomorrow, and we'll call it even," he offered generously.

"You are still coming, right?" Ginny asked anxiously. The twins might be incredibly annoying, but they were still part of the family, and the trip to the arena wouldn't be the same without them.

Fred rubbed his rear and groaned. "Why do you think we got the dreaded spoon?"

"It was that or stay home tomorrow, and we'd have taken two dozen swats apiece rather than miss the flying," George explained, though he too let out a whimper as he gently massaged his smarting behind.

"How many did you get?" Ron asked curiously.

"Six each," George sighed. "Enough to hurt like crazy today but still be fine for flying tomorrow."

Ron scoffed. "You'll be fine by dinner."

"Oh, really? Just тАУ "

"- you wait until you've felt тАУ "

" тАУ the dreaded spoon, little brother."

"Then you can tell us how long тАУ "

" тАУ it lasts."

Ron looked nonplused. "Really? But I mean, the spider thing wasn't that bad."

George just pointed to the charred stump in the corner of the room.

"Oh. Right." Ron blushed.

"What else are we going to do at the arena tomorrow?" Ginny said eagerly. "Besides the Quidditch moves, I mean."

And that was all it took. Animated discussions about the highly anticipated treat erased any lingering ill will, and in fact the trip to Featherbee's was every bit as wonderful as the children had anticipated. There were helpful staff to coach Hermione and Neville, and so many non-flying activities that the children ran out of energy long before they had exhausted all the arena's attractions. Harry and his friends had a wonderful time, and the older children did as well. Even Bill and Charlie found a surprising number of activities to enjoy, as well as plenty of attractive witches to chat up.

There was only one minor crisis when the twins, intoxicated by conversation with two pretty American teens, decided that impressing their new acquaintances took precendence over fair play. Ron, Harry, and Draco wanted to try the "Fly Through A Hurricane!" ride, in which you attempted to pilot your broom through a simulated windstorm, but the twins were blocking the ride's entrance, too occupied with their conversation to notice anyone else.

"Oi, George, Fred! Shove over. It's our turn!" Ron demanded, pushing at the nearest twin. He stepped back in surprise at the angry glares that were instantly turned his way.

"Children!" Fred said with an overly casual laugh as he turned back to the American girls. "Such little pests."

"Get lost," George snarled through gritted teeth before returning to the witches with a bright smile. "So - where were we?"

One of the girls, a blonde, giggled. "We were just saying how much we're enjoying our trip here."

"We just love your accents," gushed the other. "Say something for us!"

"Well, we think your accents are rather cute too," Fred said, trying to drop his voice into a deeper register.

"Silly! We don't have an accent!" one told him, batting playfully at his arm.

"So, erm, where do you go to school? We go to Hogwarts - best in Europe, you know," George offered, flexing his shoulders and edging closer to the blonde.

"Oooooh. We've heard of that. It's in, like, a castle, isn't it?" They squealed in excitement at the twins' nods. "That's so cool! What's it like? Do you have lots of ghosts?"

"Oh, sure," Fred said carelessly. "You practically can't go down the hall without walking through a few. And we've got poltergeists too."

"We only have one old ghost," the brunette pouted prettily. "She was killed in the Salem witch trials and she just complains about how much she misses her cat. She's no fun."

"So are you, like, twins or something?" the blonde asked, pointing from one to the other. "Because you, like, really look similar."

"We're twins," the boys said in unison, wiggling their eyebrows in an imitation of Sirius Black.

"Oooooooh! We're sisters too!" the girls squealed excitedly.

Ron, Harry, and Draco blinked at each other, nonplused by the exchange.

"Why are they talking funny?" Draco asked Ron.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "They're just talking normally."

"That's what I mean. Usually they interrupt each other and finish each other's sentences, but now they're talking like regular people."

Ron shrugged. "Must be the girls, I guess." The other two shared his look of disgust.

"Come on, George! Let us past!" Ron decided to try again. "I'll tell Mum," he whined, tugging at one brother's robe.

The twins didn't even glance at him, though the closer of the two caught his arm in a nasty, but discreet, pinch. Ron yelped and hastily withdrew.

The younger boys unhappily plodded back to the main floor, Ron blinking back tears as he rubbed his arm. "There's still plenty of other rides," Harry tried gamely to lift their spirits, but he too was disappointed.

"What's wrong, kids?" Percy and Jones, arm in arm, strolled up behind them. "You're looking pretty miserable for being in the middle of an amusement park."

Ron sniffled and Percy bent closer. "What happened to your arm?"

"One of your brothers hit him," Draco announced angrily. "And they're hogging the ride over there! Just because they want to impress some stupid slag- erm, some nice young ladies from America," he rapidly amended his words at the sight of Jones' expression. "Sorry!" he added for good measure.

"It was more a pinch than a hit," Harry clarified, "but it was really hard, and all we wanted to do was to go on the ride."

Percy scowled, but Jones patted his arm. "How about if I take on the twins while you fix up your brother here? Not that he really needs it - after taking on a troll, he's got to be made of pretty strong stuff, right?" she winked at Ron.

Ron perked up at her words, and his tears magically dried. Jones was right - it's not like the twins had ever faced down a troll! They were the babies, not him.

Jones strolled over to where the twins and the American sisters were still deep in conversation. "Oi, fellows - why don't you head over to the snack bar with the ladies?" she suggested amiably. "Let some of the firsties have a chance at the ride?"