Muggle | 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑊𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

Chapter 41

After we had all washed up our hands, we each took one of the sandwiches that Mrs. Weasley had made us.

     "Can we please rest now?" Ron groaned after he was done with his lunch.

      "Then what were you doing now?" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, placing her hands on her hips.

     "Eating," said Ron. "That doesn't count as resting! We are still tired from all the cleaning! Look! Even Harry's tired! Aren't you, Harry?"

     The poor boy nodded promptly, and Mrs. Weasley's expression finally eased. "Oh, alright. But only an hour! We've still got a lot to do!"

     "Oh, thank Merlin," Ginny huffed, standing up from behind the table. "If I sleep now, you will never be able to wake me up."

     "We know," Fred and George said at the same time.

      Ginny then went up to our room to take a nap and Hermione followed Ron and Harry upstairs, leaving me, Fred, and George alone.

     "C'mon, Lexi," said Fred. "What do you say to a fair game of wizard chess?"

     "I don't know about fair, when it comes to you," I grinned teasingly, receiving a look from Fred. "But alright."

     Fred then smirked at those words and walked me out of the door.

     "Fine! Third-wheel me again! Why should I care?" George called after us grumpily, but then when we didn't even turn to look at him, he huffed and followed us into the parlor.

Fred and I sat down on the dusty floor with the chess board before us, and George took a seat on the couch next to us.

"Alright, let's do this!" Fred said happily, rubbing his hands together in glee.

"Hang on," I said, causing him to look up at me. "What does the winner get?"

Fred thought for a few seconds and then suggested with a grin, "How about a kiss?"

"What difference does that make?" I chuckled. "That way we'll kiss if either of us wins!"

"Exactly," Fred winked.

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna puke," George groaned beside us as he laid down on the couch grumpily.

"You can go upstairs if it bothers you so much, instead of sitting here in misery," Fred said teasingly.

"Nah," George shook his head, "I'd rather stay here and make puking noises each time either of you says something cheesy."

"We're not cheesy!" Fred and I said at the same time.

"You just said something at the same time! That's called being cheesy!"

"You and Fred say things at the same time all the time!" I retorted.

"That's different," said the twins at the same time, making me roll my eyes at them playfully.

"Care to explain?" I asked.

"You see, Professor Snappy," I gave George a look as he said that, "when twins speak at the same time, it's cool. When couples say things at the same time, it's cheesy."

"True," Fred shrugged.

"Ha! There!" said George triumphantly, turning on me. "What do you say to that, Snappy?"

"I'll say that I'm too tired right now to deal with two Weasley boys at the same time," I sighed to myself, causing Fred and George to grin proudly to themselves.

We were halfway through the game and I was only a few moves away from losing, that I suddenly had the urge to distract Fred from thinking on his next move, even though it turned out unsuccessful in the end.

"Hey, guys?" I started.

"Yeah?" they said at the same time.

"I just had a thought," I said. "If I punch myself hard in the face and it hurts, am I weak or strong?

Fred looked up at me blankly. "You're an idiot, that's what you are."

***

The next day, when we all woke up, Harry had already gone to the Ministry of Magic with Mr. Weasley for his hearing.

Everyone was so stressed out as they awaited them, yet I kept wandering around the house, finding weird magical artifacts wherever I went.

But at last, I came upon a room I had never been in before. Hesitantly, I opened its door and walked inside, coming across the Black Family Tree.

I stared up at it, reading every name with great precise, as if I could find a connection, or at least an explanation for Sirius's words. But I didn't come upon anything.

I also saw the name of Sirius's brother, Regulus, who had died sometime around fifteen years before I was even born.

He deserved a better ending, I thought as I remembered how he had sacrificed his own life in order to find one of the Horcruxes. Regulus had died a hero, yet everyone thought that he had done it for nothing.

Beside Regulus's name, I saw a huge burn mark that I assumed belonged to Sirius, and my heart gave a painful ache at the thought of his horrible childhood. I wouldn't blame him for trying to run away from home when he was young.