"The twins also ended up with sore backsides, both for starting it and for being old enough to know better," Molly explained over a cup of tea when Snape came to collect Harry two days later, "but since Ron and Ginny were only punished with an early bedtime, I felt it appropriate to treat Harry the same way and saw no need to inform you."
"And the twins did not attempt further retaliation?" Snape asked, frowning. He would have expected Fred and George to be more than a little angry at receiving such a humiliating, not to mention painful, punishment. Taking that resentment out on the younger children would have been understandable.
"If we held a grudge тАУ" Fred piped up, unexpectedly entering the kitchen with his twin at his side.
"- each time we got whacked тАУ"
"- we would have run out of siblings тАУ "
"- a long time ago, Professor."
"Besides, to be completely fair тАУ"
" тАУ we did start it. We just hadn't expected тАУ"
"- Harry and Ginny to jump in like that."
"But once they did тАУ "
" тАУ we kind of got carried away тАУ"
" тАУ and we pretty much knew тАУ "
" тАУ when the tree caught fire тАУ "
" тАУ that we were in for it."
"You burned down your Christmas tree?" Snape echoed incredulously.
George grinned as he poured two glasses of pumpkin juice. "Not intentionally."
"And Christmas was technically over," Fred pointed out, grabbing a handful of Christmas cookies from a jar on the counter.
"That was the worst of the damage," Molly intervened hastily. "Everything else just required a good cleaning, which the children provided. Without the help of magic."
Snape scowled. After Harry's house elf-like upbringing, he did not want the boy subjected to further cleaning duties.
"We actually had тАУ "
" тАУ a pretty good time with it," the twins admitted in between cookies.
"By then we weren't mad at each other any more тАУ "
" тАУ Mum's yells had deafened us all equally тАУ "
" тАУ and the littlies had heard us getting walloped тАУ "
" тАУ so Ron figured we were even for the spider тАУ "
" тАУ so there was no point in fighting further and we тАУ "
" тАУ just made a game out of it."
Snape was surprised by how philosophically the twins had accepted their smacking, though he reflected that, given their fondness for pranks, it was likely a routine occurrence.
"Boys, go let Harry know Professor Snape is waiting for him," Molly instructed and the twins obligingly raced out. "They're really getting too old to spank," she said, reading Snape's mind with an ease that startled the Occlumens, "but it was either that or bar them from going to Featherbee's flying arena yesterday, and they would have been devastated to have missed a treat like that. I gave them the option, in fact, and they just ran down to get my wooden spoon." She chuckled, remembering how George had presented the spoon with a flourish, while Fred bent over and wiggled his bum invitingly. A half-dozen swats later, their jollity had become rather forced, but they hadn't objected once.
Their reentry to the living room, where the younger three were already engaged in cleaning duties, had been accomplished with a minimum of awkwardness. Fred and George had entered, moving stiffly and with their faces rather more flushed than usual. "I'm sorry, Ron," George had offered immediately, for once fairly serious.
"Me too," his twin had echoed.
"You okay?" Harry asked in concern. The Burrow was anything but soundproof, and those whacks had sounded awfully hard, to say nothing of the concomitant yelps. Of course, the twins were practically as tall as Molly now, but if the grimaces on their faces were anything to go by, the walloping had not been a token punishment.
Harry's rear tingled in sympathy. It hadn't been so long since his time at the Dursleys, and he well recalled how much even a few hard whacks could hurt. He felt a rush of love for his Da at the thought that he never had to worry about getting smacked like that again, not even if he had been the one to burn down the Christmas tree.
His Da wouldn't let anyone else hit Harry, not Auntie Molly or Padfoot or anyone, and his own light swats were nothing to fear. Of course, Harry did fear disappointing his father, and he was very very glad that the twins had admitted it had been their spell which had led to the incineration of the tree. He'd been pretty certain that in the absence of that confession, Auntie Molly would have felt compelled to punish all the children equally, and while he knew she wouldn't smack him, she would floo his Da. That would have meant an abrupt end to Harry 's visit, and though returning home to Hogwarts was hardly an onerous penalty, Harry had no desire to return in disgrace.
Having to clean up the living room alongside the Weasley children was only fair тАУ after all, he and the others had made the mess in the first place тАУ and being sent to bed right after supper wasn't that awful a punishment either. He and Ron were sharing a room, and he suspected they'd just talk until they eventually fell asleep. Oh, Ron was complaining bitterly, but Harry knew it was just for show and that the redhead was just as relieved as he that the twins had accepted the bulk of the blame. After all, if they had all continued squabbling and really gotten Auntie Molly upset, she might have canceled tomorrow's outing, and that was too horrible a scenario to contemplate.
"Yeah," Ginny echoed his question to the twins. "Are you all right? Mum sounded pretty angry."
"Our arses would say otherwise тАУ"
"- but we're all right," they reassured the younger children.
"But we are sorry, Ron тАУ "
" тАУ the spider thing really wasn't funny."
Ron chewed his lip for a minute then shrugged. "Show me your special Beater move when we're at the arena tomorrow, and we'll call it even," he offered generously.
"You are still coming, right?" Ginny asked anxiously. The twins might be incredibly annoying, but they were still part of the family, and the trip to the arena wouldn't be the same without them.
Fred rubbed his rear and groaned. "Why do you think we got the dreaded spoon?"
"It was that or stay home tomorrow, and we'd have taken two dozen swats apiece rather than miss the flying," George explained, though he too let out a whimper as he gently massaged his smarting behind.
"How many did you get?" Ron asked curiously.
"Six each," George sighed. "Enough to hurt like crazy today but still be fine for flying tomorrow."
Ron scoffed. "You'll be fine by dinner."
"Oh, really? Just тАУ "
"- you wait until you've felt тАУ "
" тАУ the dreaded spoon, little brother."
"Then you can tell us how long тАУ "
" тАУ it lasts."