Gred and Forge and the Time Machine

Fred and George crept into the creepy old house. They wished they had an Invisibility Cloak like Harry. Fervently wishing that nobody was in the house, they slowly and quietly pushed open a door, revealing a gleaming silver machine. That was, nonetheless, the Time Machine. They gaped at the machine. Who would have thought that Muggles could make such magnificent machines without magic? Although they could not wait to see their futures, they did not want to be left stranded in the future either. Fred's sharp eyes caught a little Instruction Book on a table. He motioned to George about the book, and George tiptoed across the room and pocketed the book.

"Mission accomplished," whispered Fred.

They suddenly heard voices in the living room. "Oh no, those muggles must have returned. Why did they choose such an hour?" the twins thought.

They quickly darted into a nearby cupboard and whispered quietly.

"Fred, what do you think we should do now?"

"I guess we'll wait till those people are gone. It's a pity we can't use magic during the holidays, or we would be able to put a memory charm on them!"

"What if they discover us then?"

"They don't know that we are wizards, but they might think that we are spying on their operation. They will find that we have taken the instruction book and most probably sue us or something. I'm not sure about the Muggle Laws."

"Well, I guess if we really have no choice and it is an emergency, we would have to use the memory charm. If the Ministry of Magic finds out that we have used magic ... which I'm sure they will ... I guess we just have to deal with it. Maybe lie or something."

"Yeah."

The twins hid in the cupboard for what seemed like ages. "The muggles seem to be stuck in that place. Why can't they get out?" the twins thought.

Unable to stand being stuck in the cupboard, the twins decided to go for it. They pushed open the door of the cupboard and dashed out of the house. The muggles stared at them for a moment before one of them yelled, "Catch the spies!" Fred whipped out his wand and yelled, "Obliviate!" The muggles stopped and their eyes slid out of focus, a dreamy look on their faces. The twins immediately ran back to the Burrow.

"Whew! That was close!"

"Well, it seems like we have no choice but to accept the Ministry of Magic's punishment."

"I certainly hope that they didn't catch us. It seems like we were lucky ... the letter usually arrives immediately and we haven't gotten any ... "

"Too late." A brown, tawny owl appeared in the skies, its silhouette gradually becoming bigger and bigger. George unlatched the window and the owl flew in, dropped a letter, and flew out again.

Fred picked up the letter and opened it.

"Wow, that was a long letter." Fred commented.

"We'd better keep it out of Mum or Dad's sight."

"Or Percy's. You know how he can be a tell-tale sometimes."

"Yeah."

"What do you reckon we do now, then?"

George grinned. "Well, there's only one thing we can do now, isn't it? Let's examine the Instruction Book."