The Weasleys Strike Back

George Weasley glanced at Fred, his twin, who was eating his dinner smugly. George was

rather angry at his brother, for Fred had played a prank on his family involving sprinklers.

On flashback, George supposed the joke was hilarious, but the idea that Fred, his own brother, his own flesh and blood, his own twin, would do such a thing to him of all people, just seemed. . . wrong.

"Hey, Ginny," Fred said jovially, "here's the water jug...or did you have your fill last week?" The joke was not very funny, but Fred seemed to have received a kick out of it.

"Fred?"

"Yes, my dear sister?"

"Shut the bloody hell up," Ginny muttered, and for once, Molly Weasley did not chastise her daughter.

I wish there was some way to get back at him,

George thought desperately. The, he suddenly had an idea and choked on his pie.

Fred looked at him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," his twin replied, taking a sip of water.

Fred snickered. "Uh-huh." He turned to his mother. "May I be excused? I should make sure there are no more Muggle appliances left around the house." Without waiting for an answer, he ran out of the room, laughing.

George waited until he was sure his twin was far away from the table before leaning in. "I have an idea..."

~~~~~ The next day . . .

"Well, Fred," Arthur Weasley said boisterously, "we'll be leaving now."

"Yes," Ron said as he nudged Ginny, his voice as vociferous as his father's, "since you decided to stay home, Mum said that she would buy you some Sugar Quills today." A little snort of laughter escaped him, but he was quickly silenced by Charlie's elbow in his stomach. Fred saw Ginny glance at a corner of the room where one of Mrs. Weasley's large plants grew, but the girl quickly looked away.

"Well," Bill said brightly, " I think we'll be going now. Isn't that right, Percy?" Percy nodded with vigor. Fred stared suspiciously at his family. The Weasleys waved goodbye and disappeared into the green flames in the fireplace meant for Diagon Alley.

The boy turned towards the living room where a large rectangular box sat. His father had brought it home from work early that morning, but had not explained what the Muggle item was exactly. Fred, not one to seem like a fool, approached the item cautiously. He lifted a hand and placed it on the knob marked volume and turned it to where the positive sign laid. Fred frowned. There was not any sound, so he pressed the button marked "power".

"AAAHHHH!" he shrieked, as he stumbled away. "What in bloody hell is that?"

Fred turned, and rushed to the cabinet where his mother's favorite plates trembled. He whipped out his wand and levitated the plates to a more secure area. Then, the boy sprinted towards the wailing box.

"Why couldn't I have taken Sprout's Anti-Mandrakes Cry earmuffs when she offered them to me," the boy moaned, as he lowered the volume, then pressed the power button off. Fred circled the table where with the object on, his wand trained upon it. There was not any noise.

Sweet Merlin, he wished he had gone with his family.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Fred edged closer and turned the knob titled Channels to the right. Then he flicked the power button on. Soft, classical music fanned through out the room and Fred relaxed his rigid body.

As he sank down into a chair, the flames in the fireplace turned green and his family came out, wiping soot from their robes.

"So Fred, how was your day?" Charlie asked. Fred grunted. The boy was not going to tell his family, if he could help it.

"Do anything interesting? Listen to some music?" George grinned, and Fred looked at his twin. "Some Muggle music, maybe?"

"How did you... So you...What was that thing?""

"Yes, we know about it because we did it! And it's what Muggles call a radio! Face it Fred, we got you back!"

"But why-"

"Sweet revenge. I bet you were scared silly," Ron said and smiled at Fred.

"Well, you don't have any proof about of that," Fred countered.

"Oh, are you so sure about that," Ginny asked good naturedly. She walked over to a huge plant in a corner of the room and took out a hidden video recorder. "Colin showed me how to use one last year."

"Gotcha' Fred!" they shouted and Fred groaned loudly, amidst his family's laughter.