Summary : Have you ever been wondering about how Fred and George Weasley
became such successful Mischief-Makers ? Here's the answer.
Disclaimer : JKR owns Harry Potter and his world. Nothing's mine, except
for Silver (she's not me, she just happens to have the same nickname )
Dedicated to my lovely beta-reader Szaranea and to Leandra, of course
*****
It was a rainy evening in November. Fred and George Weasley, both in
their second year at Hogwarts, were sitting next to their brother Percy,
who had fallen asleep over his History of Magic essay in the Gryffindor
common room.
" I'm bored," muttered George, who was holding Percy's quill in his hand
and trying to add some spelling mistakes into the essay.
Fred yawned. " Let's consult the Marauder's Map and look who's in the
Astronomy Tower tonight," he suggested.
The twins had soon discovered that the Astronomy Tower was a popular
meeting place for couples. It was most crowded on Friday and Saturday
nights, whereas on Sunday nights it was deserted, because, according to
Fred, "everyone studies for Monday at that time. "
Since the day they'd learned how to use the Map, it has become a kind
of evening ritual, looking whowas in the Astronomy tower that night.
Nobody had ever flushed more furiously than Percy when they told him
they discovered that
he had been in the Tower with Penelope Clearwater one night.
Fred pulled the Map out of his robes and examined it. Meanwhile, George
was trying to dye Percy's hair blue out of boredom, but it didn't work
properly and it became a weird shade of purple instead. He wanted to correct
it, when suddenly he heard his twin mutter, "This is WEIRD."
George bent over the map where Fred was pointing. It showed the 4th
floor of Hogwarts Castle. Right above Fred's finger there was a dot labeled
GBoN. And it was red.
Fred raised his eyebrows. " What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.
The Marauder's Map was always written in black, except for the words at
the beginning - Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs etc.
"Dunno," George grinned. "We should do a bit of investigating then, shouldn't
we?"
His brother agreed instantly. " Yeah, let's go."
They passed the Fat Lady - " Black Ruby!" and hurried to the 4th
floor, wondering if there existed anything like a black ruby, as
they're supposed to be red.
"I think it's the room left from the big picture of the Founders," mused
George and pointed at a door. They entered the room that looked like an
old classroom.
"According to the Map, that GBoN should be exactly…" Fred looked up and
saw a broom cupboard a the corner or the room. "…there."
George seized the knob impatiently and pulled the cupboard open.
It was empty.
" But... there MUST be something… the Map... "
Fred cut off his brother.
"George, this is Hogwarts. Things never are how you'd believe
them to be!" He bent down and examined the bottom of the cupboard.
Suddenly there was a faint click and two boards slid aside, revealing
a small space beneath them. But that space wasn't empty. It contained
a wooden box.
Fred wore his special " I told you so" expression on his face.
" I …"
" Told you so, I know." George said and rolled his eyes.
" Now let's look at what that GBoN is." He took the box and the boards
slid back into their normal position.
The twins looked curiously at the box. It seemed less like an ordinary
box than like some sort of shrine.
"Look, how sweet. Two dogs, kissing each other!" George said mockingly,
looking at the top of the wooden box. But Fred looked thoughtful.
" It hasn't got any locks. Open it, George."
George lifted the top and suddenly breathed in sharply. Fred simply stared.
In the shrine there lay a book. " GBoN- The Great Book of Nonsense.
" Fred whispered reverently.
" Yeah- by Canine Couple - that must be the two on the top of the shrine,"
George added and took the book carefully.
The cover was deep red with a silver print on it which said :
The Great Book
of Nonsense
by Canine Couple
Fred opened the book and he and George looked at the first page. It was
blank, but only for a second. Then, words began to appear:
" Welcome, stranger ! The simple
fact that you were able to open this shrine means that you're a real Mischief-Maker
and therefore worth to use this book. It has been written for people who
are eager to fight the dullness and monotony of everyday life. You will
find here ideas and suggestions for mischief, collected within seven years.
Collected and, most of them, invented by the King and the Queen of Mischief
themselves -
Padfoot &
Silver
aka
Canine Couple
ENjoy !
Fred gasped. " Padfoot ?!" THE Padfoot? Hey, that's cool!
But who the hell is Silver?"
George shrugged. " A girl, I suppose."
" Could be a guy as well... "
George rolled his eyes again. " Fred, you prat, think ! Canine Couple,
kissing dogs! It MUST have been a girl, unless Padfoot was gay!"
" Right y'are, bro', I was only jokin' ... "
Fred grinned like a madman, leafing through the book.
" It's perfect!" he claimed. " Look at this : 'Ten Easy Ways How to Annoy
the Caretaker Without Being Accused or Caught'. Exactly what we need!
Filch's gonna have a very bad time... " His grin became evil.
George agreed. " Oh, yeah, worse than bad... Let's see. Number one,"
he read aloud. "Bribing Peeves to play the prank..."
"Good Lord, are they crazy? Peeves would love to get us detention,
despite him not liking Filch !"
" Hang on George- there's an explanation. You have to pretend that you're
the Bloody Baron there's a notewhich says that an Invisibility Cloak is
recommended - wish we had one. Well Peeves would do anything the Bloody
Baron asks for, that's right..."
George read on. " How to Paint the Slytherin Common Room Pink - Fred
I've always thought the Marauders were Gryffindors. Here's the proof.
" George snickered uncontrollably.
Fred looked excited. " Pink! That's not a bad idea, though...How do we
do that?"
George read out loudly, "First, buy a Self-painting paint which is available
at Zonko's ... great, we don't have to look for it very long. Then you
simply use the Teleport Spell on it - preferably at night - and you will
be awoken by Slytherin screams next morning ... "
The twins looked at each other and then at the book.
" This, " Fred said solemnly, " is now our most precious possession,
well, along with the Marauder's Map, of course."
" No, not exactly, Fred, " George told his brother, grinning broadly,
"This is the key to our future as the new Kings of Mischief ! "
