Interlude II
Admittedly George plays favorites among his siblings. Fred is of course the top of the list, he hardly counts though because sometimes their intertwined magic makes it hard to remember where George ends and Fred starts. Rhiannon also has the top spot. They shared a cradle with her after they left St. Mungos. She was only six months older. She might as well be his other twin.
They shared a bed even after cradle age, they had a bunk bed but inevitably he and Fred would end up on the bottom bunk together and then Rhiannon would creep in from her room. After Ginny was born and old enough to sleep by herself, their mam would sometimes forget to check her and Rhiannon's room. So used to the fact Rhiannon would be curled up on the other side of the bed, foot in his and Fred's faces.
Growing up, she would get into as much mischief with them as he and Fred would do alone. Somehow though George and Fred ended up as the troublemakers and Rhiannon as the good eldest daughter. Even with the clock their father enchanted for their mother after all of them were born, as proof to their locations.
Her strange behaviors growing up were easily brushed aside by him and his twin as that's just Rhiannon, and she's ours so why should it matter. Talking to the air or glaring at it. George believes this is how she got so good at impersonating their mam. Or asking him and Fred about pranks she wasn't there to witness, she always knew exactly what to ask to get them excitedly sharing everything.
There was the wandering off for a couple of hours and coming back with leaves in her hair and mud covering her legs and arms. Their mother's screeching from the door, “Rhiannon Hesper Weasley, you better not enter my house covered in mud as you are!” The scraped up knees that she wouldn't cry about then sobbing if one of them so much as got a scratch. Having endless patience that most children just do not have. Hiding away in the shed with their dad to get away from everything when it was “too much”. Even though the shed could be just as loud as the house.
Then the summer after first year, he and Fred followed her and she told them something that just made it all click in his mind. Just like she clicked into place with them.
It was at times like these that George remembers some, his dad told him, “Never, ever anger a Prewett Witch.” While Rhiannon wasn't a Prewett Witch properly their mam certainly was. She had taught Rhiannon well.
“So, what have we learned today?”
“That consent is sexy and that any other witch or wizard that tried to cast a jinx on you like the one we did. Would end up straight in the caring arms of Madam P,” Fred replies. Rhiannon turns a raised brow onto him.
“That jinxes like that perpetuates the rape culture in Wizarding Society. That if we do cast them again we really will end up in Madam P's care.”
She nods her head with a self-satisfied smile on her face, “There's my good boys. Now off to CoMC, you go.” Then she turned around and skipped off.
After classes had ended for the day Rhiannon immediately kidnapped them immediately to get the stuff ready for the Samhain ritual.
“Why is there raw meat in that basket?” Fred asks their sister.
“Did we befriend someone who likes raw meat?” George asks him.
“I did, the thestrals.”
George knew about thestrals, he had learned about them in Care. He also knew that Rhiannon had never seen anyone die before. “You think it has something to do with your connection to the Otherworld?” He asks her.
“It has to be, I just wish to know what my connection to the Otherworld is all about.” Rhiannon confesses. “It's all very stressful.” George suspects it has something to do with their Prewett lineage, but he and Fred won't have the freedom to peruse the family grimories as they please until they turn fifteen. Well unless, gods forgive, their hen auntie Tia kicked the bucket. She holds the Prewett Twin Lordships until they may inherit it.
They walk on until she stops, “Here we are,” she tells them as she takes some of the raw meat and offers it to the invisible thestrals. George can't see them, but he feels them, their cool emptiness that their magic gives off. Like how a cold winter day smells like nothingness.
Rhiannon murmurs quietly to them and George watches as the meat in her hands disappears into a thestrals mouth. It's a strange thing to witness the fast disappearing of the meat into an invisible mouth. When the herd is done eating his sister brushes her hands on her skirt. She vanishes the basket which the meat was in and they walk reaching the familiar grove and ghosts.
“Happy deathday Sir Nicholas,” Their sister tells the Gryffindor Ghost. She then starts collecting her bundles. George takes it as his cue to do the same.
The fire is burning low when she sister tilts her head to the side. “And who are you lot supposed to be? Order of The Phoenix- James and Lily- You were curious?” Are just something he catches from the one sided conversation.
“Well by all means your welcome to the offerings, my brothers and I set out.” One of the spirits must do something because one moment there's no one besides his sister and the next a blonde woman is bumping her hip against her and he can hear her say a quick, “Thanks luv.”
A quick glance to his twin at his side reveals that he also saw and heard what he did.
“You're welcome, I guess.” She turns to them, “Let's leave it's getting far too crowded for my liking.”
When they enter the castle there seems to be a commotion of some kind that they missed. What George and his siblings do see is Ron and Harry along with a couple of First-Year Slytherins rushing out of the crowd of students.
“I cannot believe I forgot the troll,” is all he hears her say before she starts following behind. George instead of questioning that statement starts following her. Somehow they are outpaced by the little firsties. An awful stench burns into George’s nose along with shrill screaming, coming from the girl's toilets.
“What spell do you know that works against a bloody troll!”
“They have magic resistant skin, you idiot!”
“Hey ugly over here!” And that sounds painfully like Ron.
When George finally reaches the door he sees many tiny firsties, so many, scattered throughout the room. Harry is on his back and someone has levitated the troll’s club and it crashes down.
“I cannot believe we survived that.” A small blonde Slytherin says.
“Neither can I,” Rhiannon says hands already on her hips. She casts an ebublio jinx on the troll and turns to the first. They were about to learn the lesson George was reminded of too long ago. Before she can even begin though, McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrelmort arrive.
When Hermione starts trying to sell an idea of thinking she could defeat the troll, George can't help himself, he starts laughing.
“We're really going to need to work on your lying Hermione, there are far too many Slytherins here for that to be believed.”
“What happened?” Snape asks tersely.
“Weasley- the um first year made fun of Granger after Charms today. She been in the bathroom crying since,” a mousy brown haired boy says.
Harry takes a deep breath and steps forward, “Ron and I wanted to make sure she was safe. Daphne and Tracey noticed us and dragged Blaise and Theo to come along.”
Snape turns to Harry, “And you didn't in your dunderheaded mind think to alert a professor or maybe it could just be that you were chasing more glory for your-”
“THAT'S QUITE ENOUGH!” Rhiannon barks, her face has turned a bright red and her eyes are glaring piercing daggers in the potions professor's direction. George can't ever recall if he's ever seen her be this angry before, she's shaking with it. She takes a deep breath through her nose and lets it out through her mouth. “Professor McGonagall, I'm going to take the first years to the Hospital Wing now. While you and the other professors deal with this mess if that's alright.”
“Oh course Miss Weasley,” the way his head of house glances at the potions professor makes him think that a tongue lashing is in his future. Maybe he is part of the mess Rhiannon was referring to.
They are all made to stay the night in the infirmary. The firsties all also get five points for looking out for a fellow student, and five more for sheer dumb luck. Rhiannon loses ten for yelling at a professor (Snape), buts gets twenty back for taking care of the younger years (McGonagall).
He and Fred also gain five points each, not that they last long. Not with their plans for Snape.
Percy smothers them in the morning, puttering about. He and Rhiannon get into an argument that George can't hear because it is entirely whispered. The twat.
Gemma Farley comes in and kisses Rhiannon on the cheek and then proceeds to glare at the little snakes, “We will be having a discussion later.” She bounces off shortly after making a show of patting his sister down for injuries.
The rest of the quidditch team visits along with Lee. “Don't think you won't be working twice as hard in training tomorrow morning we have a match this weekend.” Oliver tells him, Fred and Harry. To which they all roll their eyes at their quidditch mad Captain. “Your throat isn't hurt too for commentating?”
“No.” Rhiannon tells hims
“Good, I was worried that since you yelled at Snape that Jordan would have to do it solo.”
They eat breakfast and get released by Madam P. at lunch time, after she's deigned them rested and recovered enough. They each have a pass to skip the rest of the classes of the day.
They drag Rhiannon to the unused classroom that is heavily warded and their unofficial development labs.
“Yesterday, we saw one of the spirits when she touched you,” Fred tells her.
“And heard her too,” George adds.
“Oh,” then she gains a look of horror, “oh no.” She grabs at thin air and a man that looks like their mum appears, when she lets go he lingers for a second then disappears. “That's new.”
George would laugh at her misfortune, but well he shudders at the thought of what she would put him through.
They spend the afternoon with Rhiannon slinging prank ideas at them, to try out on Snape.