The Forgotten Twin

Chapter 3

"Did he eat it?" Fred asked immediately.

"Yeah," said Harry, straightening up. "What was it?"

"Ton-Tongue Toffee," said Fred brightly. "Delilah, George, and I invented them, and we've been looking for someone to test them on for ages...."

The tiny kitchen exploded with laughter again. Ron and George were sitting at the scrubbed wooden table with the two oldest Weasleys, Bill and Charlie. Delilah had never met them before, but it was easy to tell which was which.

Charlie held his hand out to Harry.

"How're you doing, Harry?"

Charlie was built more like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky. He had a broad, good-natured face, which was weatherbeaten and so freckly that he looked almost tanned; his arms were muscular, and one of them had a large, shiny burn on it.

Bill got to his feet, smiling, and also shook Harry's hand. Unlike Delilah's original image of him being an older version of Percy, he was... cool. There was no other word for it. He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it. Bill's clothes would not have looked out of place at a rock concert, except for his boots, which were made of not leather, but dragonhide.

Bill then turned to Delilah. "I've heard a lot about you too. Those two-" Bill motioned towards Fred and George, "-haven't shut up about you."

Fred blushed. Strangely enough, George just... grinned. Wickedly. The same way Fred had when he had slipped Dudley the Ton-Tongue Toffee.

Before Delilah could comment, however, there was a faint popping noise, and Mr. Weasley appeared out of thin air at George's shoulder. He was looking angrier than Delilah had ever seen him. Angrier than she could have ever imagined him.

"That wasn't funny, Fred!" he shouted. "What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?"

"I didn't give him anything," said Fred, with another evil grin, the blush that had been there a moment before was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. "I just dropped it.... It was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to."

"You dropped it on purpose!" roared Mr. Weasley. "You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a diet —"

"How big did his tongue get?" George asked eagerly.

"It was four feet long before his parents would let me shrink it!"

Delilah, Harry, and the Weasleys roared with laughter again. If it had been almost anyone else, Delilah wouldn't have. But as it was Dudley... she couldn't help it.

"It isn't funny!" Mr. Weasley shouted. "That sort of behavior seriously undermines wizard-Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons —"

"We didn't give it to him because he's a Muggle!" said Fred indignantly.

"No, we gave it to him because he's a great bullying git," said George. "Isn't he, Delilah, Harry?"

"Yes, he is, Mr. Weasley," Delilah and Harry earnestly agreed.

"That's not the point!" raged Mr. Weasley. "You wait until I tell your mother —"

"Tell me what?" said a voice behind them.

Mrs. Weasley had just entered the kitchen. She was a short, plump woman with a very kind face, though her eyes were presently narrowed with suspicion.

"Oh hello, Harry and Delilah, dears," she said, spotting them and smiling. Then her eyes snapped back to her husband. "Tell me what, Arthur?"

Mr. Weasley hesitated. Delilah could tell that, however angry he was with Fred and George, he hadn't really intended to tell Mrs. Weasley what had happened. There was silence, while Mr. Weasley eyed his wife nervously. Then two girls appeared in the kitchen doorway behind Mrs. Weasley. One, with very bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth, was Harry's and Delilah's friend, Hermione Granger. The other, who was small and red haired, was Ron's younger sister, Ginny. Both of them smiled at Harry and Delilah, who grinned back, which made Ginny go scarlet — she had been very taken with Harry ever since his first visit to the Burrow.