Birthday Blues; Troublesome Twins

Birthday Blues and Troublesome Twins

By Victoria Snape

It was a cold evening in early January at Hogwarts. Everyone was enjoying a delicious dinner in the Great Hall.

Everyone that is except Fred and George Weasley. The "Twin Tricksters" (as they were know as by the staff and students), had skipped dinner an had proceeded down to the steps to the dungeons. They had been quiet, until Fred broke the silence.

"We really shouldn't be here. If Snape catches us here.."

"But he won't. He and even the ghosts are upstairs in the Great Hall."

"There's still Peeves or Filch," Fred pointed out.

"Look Fred, if your scared-" His red-haired twin hissed, but his sibling stopped him.

"I am not!" The Weasley Twin interrupted, nearly shouting.

They finally reached the Potions classroom. George whispered, "Alohomora!" and the door opened slightly, creaking as it came ajar even more when the two intruders entered. Fred called "Lumos!" and the darkened room was bathed in synthetic light.

Opening the closet, The Weasley Twins grabbed the supplies they needed for a burping solution. Fred turned away for a moment, his wand still aglow,and saw a battered door behind a half pulled-out bookcase.

" George! Come here and see this!" he called. His sibling came over.

"Now what is it?" the twin spat impatiently

"Its-it's a door! I 've never seen it before!"

"I don't think anyone has. Wonder were it leads..."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Fred said quietly, pulling the door open. Both boys knew instantly were they were. It was Snape's office; Fred and George had been there enough times for being in trouble to know it. Their wands aiding them with light, they could see the old desk and shelves of books. "You look on the shelves, I'll look in the desk," George whispered.

He went to the rickety desk and began pulling out some of the drawers, trying to see if there was anything that they could use for blackmail. Fred was at the wooden bookshelves, his wand giving off a faint light, browsing the book spines with the same idea as his brother.

"Hmm..'Perfect Potions for Imperfect People', 'The Dark Arts for Dark Souls', 'Dangerous Draughts and How to Mix Them' " He muttered. Then, his eyes fell on a unlabeled

book. Curious, the red-haired boy pulled the book from it. After opening it and looking at it, he called over to his brother.

"Hey George, Come and see this! This is hilarious!" he shouted

His brother strolled over. "Do you mind keeping it down Fred?!" He hissed, then his eyes fell onto the page and he smiled as well.

"Well, we found something ." The Weasley twin said quietly. He looked at his wristwatch. "We'd better get going, dinner's

almost over." His twin said, pushing the books together to make it look like nothing was missing. Running out the room,

George slammed the door behind him. Before they ran out of the Potions classroom, shutting and locking the door again with a spell. They quickly ran up the stairs into the Gryffindor Common room, the book hidden underneath Fred's robes.

*********************************

About an hour later, the entire Gryffindor house was crowded around Fred and George, trying to get a better look at Snape's book which turned out to be a photo album.

"Oh, look at that one!" Parvati Patil squealed as she pointed to a picture from over Fred's shoulder. There was Snape as a baby, with greasy black hair that reached slightly past his ears, and a small hooked nose. The baby was sitting up, clad only in a little diaper. The moving picture showed him looking up, his thumb in his mouth, and gurgling.

"Awww! He's so cute in that picture!" exclaimed Lavender Brown

"Yeah, and looked what happened to him," Ron muttered.

Below the picture was the label 'Severus Slyvester Snape age: 4 months'

On the next page was a picture of a slightly older Snape, dressed in a black outfit, standing over a little, smoking black cauldron, and stirring it with a large wooden spoon. Beneath this was the title "Severus' first cauldron, age 1 year and six months."

"Wow, no wonder he's the Potions Master here, he's been making potions since he was a baby!" Dean Thomas exclaimed.

The whole Gryffindor house remained awake late into the night, passing the little album around, laughing and exclaiming as they looked through the pages. Perhaps they were have too good a time, because Professor McGonagall came in, slamming the portrait behind her, causing them to to jump. Fred quickly made the book vanish into thin air.

"What is this? What's going on here? What are you all still doing up?" she screeched

The Gryffindor Head of House glanced at The Weasley Twins who suddenly felt as though they were caught.

"Well, I'm waiting for answers ladies and gentleman!" McGonagall huffed impatiently. The students were silent, that is, until Neville Longbottom walked in.

"Hey guys, still looking at that album?" he yelled, not looking up. When he did, Neville saw the strict face of McGonagall, as well as the angry faces of his fellow housemates.

"Album? What's this about? Give it to me, now."

Sighing, George called "Accio Book!" and the book came into his hands. Then, he passed it to the Transfiguration teacher. She opened it, and then they saw her raise her eyebrows.

"Well, I am surprised that this was taken from a teacher's possessions. And I am even more surprised that it was not returned to Professor Snape. However," She paused for a moment, a small smile crossing her face. "This may be of some use."

The students looked confused, but McGonagall nodded. Then she continued, "I should take off points for this, but I won't, this time. Thank-you for bringing this to my attention. Now, everyone to bed," she called waving her hand as they dispersed.

The red-haired twins were just turning to leave the Common Room when Professor McGonagall called them as she neared the portrait of The Fat Lady.

"Oh, and gentlemen?" she called

"Yes, Professor McGonagall?" They responded in unison

"I would refrain from poking around the castle during dinner. You may regret it." She said coldly before exiting through the picture frame. Fred and George at each other in relief and curiosity.

As they walked back to their dormitory, Fred said quietly "Wonder what she'll do with the album."

"Probably return it to Snape and tell him who took it." George replied ruefully.

"Guess we'll soon find out," Fred said in an afterthought.

Friday classes came and went, and all of the classes noticed that Snape was in an even more horrible mood than usual. He managed to take 75 points from Gryffindor in one class period that day; Fred and George's class. That evening, at dinner, Albus Dumbledore stood and made his usual announcement, and the Great hall went silent.

"Ladies and Gentleman, I have a few announcements before we dig in. First, I would like to announce that the first trip to Hogsmeade is tomorrow; third years and up are welcome to attend. Second, I would like to remind all students that exploring the castle grounds during meals is strictly prohibited." The headmaster's stern gaze fell Fred and George,

who shifted uncomfortably in their seats. "Third and finally, I would like to announce the birthday of one of our professors. Would you please join me in wishing a Happy Birthday to Professor Snape!" the stern look soon melted away into a big smile. There was an uproar at the Slytherin table, while the other tables were clapping lightly. Snape turned a lovely hue of red, which caused the Gryffindor table to laugh. Dumbledore raised his hand for silence and the hall went quiet again.

"The staff has informed me that they have photos of our dear professor and would like to share them. So take it away!"

The House tables all looked up at the Staff Table. The first picture they saw was him as a baby. Gradually, it progressed to Snape's first cauldron, then to a photo of the young yet-to-be Potions Master with his mother and father, and several pictures of him on a broomstick and casting spells. When the presentation was over, the Headmaster looked over to faculty, and said "Thank-you." Then, turning his eyes to the student table, he exclaimed "Dig in Everyone!" and sat again in his high seat at the Staff table. A moment later, food appeared on the tables and dinner began.

When Fred looked up at the high table, he didn't see the Potions Master. A moment later, however, he saw where the greasy

man had gone.

"Oy, George look! Snape's hidin' under the table!" He declared. Sure enough, when his twin tilted his head, he could see Snape sunk all the way down in his chair. The only thing they could see above the table was the Potion Master's forehead, which was a very deep red.

The Weasley twins grinned.

"I don't think Snape'll ever live this down," Fred cackled

"Yeah. McGonagall was right, those picture were useful, for us!" George loudly, before digging into his mashed potatoes.

THE END