Emma Potter

25: Ron to the rescue (part 2)

"Ron!" breathed Harry, creeping to the window behind me and pushing itup so we could talk through the bars. "Ron, how didyou — What the — ?" I stammered. My mouth fell open as the full impact of what we were seeing hit me. Ron was leaning out of the back window of anold turquoise car, which was parked in midair. Grinning at Harry and me from the front seats were Fred and George, Ron's elder twinbrothers. "Hello, little apprentice" said Fred, tipping an imaginary hat at me." "All right, Harry?" asked George."What's been going on?" said Ron. "Why haven't you guys been answering my letters? I've asked you both to stay about twelve times, andthen Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles —" 

"It wasn't us — and how did he know?" 

"He works for the Ministry," said Ron. 

"You know we're not supposed to do spells outside school —" 

"You should talk," said Harry, staring at the floating car."Oh, this doesn't count," said Ron. "We're only borrowing this.It's Dad's, we didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of thoseMuggles you live with —"  "Again, I say" I said "We didn't do it. Besides, are you even allowed to drive a car? Is it legal, because I sincerely-" it'll take too long to explain now —" said Harry interrupting me look, can you tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have lockedme and Emma up and won't let us come back, and obviously we can't magic ourselves out, because the Ministry'll think that's the second spell we'vedone in three days, so —Ouch!" I had hit him at the back of the neck. "Do you even know your best friend?" I asked with an eye roll "He's here to get us out."

"Listen to your sister Harry" said George with a smirk. "Stop gibbering," said Ron. "We've come to take you both homewith us."

 "But you can't magic us out either —" 

"We don't need to," said Ron, jerking his head toward the frontseat and grinning. "You forget who I've got with me.""Tie that around the bars," said Fred, throwing the end of a ropeto Harry."If the Dursleys wake up, we're dead," said Harry as we tied therope tightly around a bar and Fred revved up the car. "We'll be dead either way when they wake up tomorrow and we're not here" I said. 

"Don't worry," said Fred, "and stand back."Harry and I moved back into the shadows next to Hedwig, whoseemed to have realized how important this was and kept still andsilent. The car revved louder and louder and suddenly, with acrunching noise, the bars were pulled clean out of the window asFred drove straight up in the air. I ran back to the window tosee the bars dangling a few feet above the ground. Panting, Ronhoisted them up into the car. I kept my ears strained anxiously, but therewas no sound from the Dursleys' bedroom.When the bars were safely in the back seat with Ron, Fred reversed as close as possible to our window. 

"Get in," Ron said. 

"But all our Hogwarts stuff —" I whispered " our wands — Harry's broomstick —" 

"Where is it?"

 "Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, andwe can't get out ofthis room —"

 "No problem," said George from the front passenger seat. "Outof the way, Harry."Fred and George climbed catlike through the window into our room.  George took an ordinary hairpin from his pocket and started topick the lock."A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort ofMuggle trick," said Fred, "but we feel they're skills worth learning,even if they are a bit slow."There was a small click and the door swung open."So — we'll get your trunks — you grab anything you need fromyour room and hand it out to Ron," whispered George."Watch out for the bottom stair — it creaks," Harry whisperedback as the twins disappeared onto the dark landing.Harry and I dashed around our room, collecting our things and passingthem out of the window to Ron. Then I went to help Fred andGeorge heave our trunk up the stairs. I heard Uncle Vernoncough.