A Joke is not a Joke

Ch. 2

Valentine's Day came all too soon for George. Turning to Fred, he queried if maybe they should let their friend Lee Jordan in on the joke. In truth, he wanted someone else there. He still was afraid Fred was being too reckless, and he wanted to make sure someone else was there to help him calm down Fred if he got overexcited.

But Fred was shaking his head. "He can't go anywhere near it until it's done. He would have had to add his blood on Christmas."

Resigned, George followed his brother with a heavy heart.

Together, they added the final ingredient-a chocolate éclair. They stirred vigorously. There was a puff of smoke. After that...

"Nothing happened!" said Fred, clearly disappointed. "What a waste of a good éclair."

George was relived. He had been afraid that the potion was going to kill them. "Come on," he said to Fred, "let's go."

Unbeknownst to the boys, as they climbed through the entrance to the passage, something was emerging from the cauldron the boys had left behind.

It was alive!

Fred and George were playing a few hands of Exploding Snap with Ron, their little brother, and his friend Harry while they waited for their friend Hermione and their sister Ginny. Suddenly, a scream split the air, silencing all conversation. Several tense minutes later, the portrait swung open. Looking panicked Ginny and Hermione tumbled into the common room. The four boys stood up, their game lying forgotten. Hermione spotted tm and led the shaking Ginny over. The other Gryffindors crowded around, chattering in an agitated manner.

"Ginny, Hermione, what's wrong?" asked Fred anxiously.

After a few seconds, Hermione caught her breath and found her voice. "There's a huge monster out there-like nothing I've ever seen!"

Gryffindors, including Fred, Ron, and Harry, crowded around them, asking questions. Ginny was obviously too scared to answer, and Hermione was at a loss. George burst in. "Hey! Let them breathe a little!" he said, moving people out of the way. Kneeling next to Hermione, he said, in a soft, soothing voice, "Listen, I know it's hard to talk right now, but can you tell us what this monster was like?"

Trembling, Hermione said, "It was about as tall as you two, a little taller. It was blood red and had a human torso, no mouth, no nose, and an extra set of eyes. It had the body of a deer and a scorpion-like tail, and it was saying some meaningless mumbo-jumbo- it sounded like Red Rum."

At this, Lavender Brown gave a small shriek. Turning around, George demanded, "What? What's wrong?"

Lavender trembled. "I-I read this book called The Shining. It was about-well, never mind. The important thing was that one character kept saying Red Rum, and painted it on the wall in blood. Red Rum written backwards spells MURDER!"

Pale and trembling a little himself now, George turned back to the other two girls. "Is there anything else about this thing you can tell us?"

Ginny spoke up. "It had horns and a pitchfork. Plus, it was kind of wet, like it had just been swimming."

Everyone started muttering. Fred was a little pale now too.