Twin Dilemma

Chapter 19 : Splitting Up


I certainly don’t own a thing and am not a world famous author which is very apparent after the month I just experienced.


No matter how he combed his long ginger hair, Fred couldn’t conceal the fact that his left ear had been transformed into a cauliflower. He had tried a number of counter spells without any success. Now he was faced with the daunting task of visiting Hermione and asking for her help. The most galling aspect of this task was the knowledge that Hermione would tell Ron who would tell everyone that his own twin brother had turned his ear into a cauliflower. Solice could be found in the fact that George must be undergoing similar humiliation while staying at the Burrow sporting a magenta beard that pretty much covered his whole body. “I hope it’s itchy!” thought Fred as his grin hardened into a scowl. “He deserves it for moving in on my girl.” Fred’s scowl was abruptly replaced by sadness. He missed spending time with Chloe. She was quite fun with her quirky foreign ways. He also missed the intimate, private moments and the spontaneous sex. She always surprised him which was not an easy thing to do. Unfortunately, she had responded negatively to his note demanding that she pick one of the twins and settle the matter once and for all. He peered closer at his reflection. That singe marks on his hair and fringe were almost gone. Her Howlers were impressive. He wondered if she had spoken to his mother!
Deep down, another part of him that he tried hard to ignore, missed his brother. They had always been close with only one significant falling out when they were young. A wisp of a smile returned to Fred’s face as he thought back to when they were 5…





Several pairs of footsteps going up the stairwell at the Burrow disturbed George from his brooding. He was stretched out on his old bed in the Burrow where he had been living for the past 2 weeks his falling out with his brother.
He was wearing a pair of black boxers and lying upon the duvey in an attempt to get comfortable. His maroon hairy body got extra itchy when he hid it under clothing. He was sure Fred had included that as part of his curse. He snickered. Any minute now Fred would start feeling itchy too when his cauliflower “hatched” out with cabbage loopers! George was rather proud of that spell. He’d been saving it to use on Malfoy and his cronies as part of the revenge for the attack on Fred. He frowned guiltily when he thought of Fred. He really didn’t know that “Kitten” and Chloe was the same girl. He couldn’t believe how furious Fred had been when clearly the whole thing was one big misunderstanding. He had tried to to talk rationally with Fred when they had apperated to their shop after the dinner but Fred refused to listen to him. His twin! That had hurt George more than loosing the girl he was so enamored of. In fact these past two had been the worst two weeks of his life since old Moldywart had died. Even during those horrible days when everyone was hiding in terror of the Dark Lord, Fred and George had stuck together and faced the terror side by side. They had been heroes. They had some shiny medals to prove it stuck away in some back drawer. The real reward was the end of Voldermort and his Death Eaters, with minimal impact on his friends and family, with his twin brother still at his side. Through thick and thin they had managed to get by with shared laughter. This approach had allowed them to survive the likes of Umbridge and Filtch.

But separate, they had barely made it through two weeks! The shop’s survival was at risk, their big plans were teetering on the brink of disaster, and George didn’t think he could last two more weeks of hateful glances, rude hand gestures, innuendos, hurtful pranks and, the very worst, the silent treatment.
He lay on the bed as his features saddened and a tear leaked out from the corner of his eye. He missed Fred. He really did. They hadn’t had a fight like this since they were 5. Another tear slid down the side of his face. His mind traveled back to their fifth birthday. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards as he recalled those monumental events…


Two weeks had past since the night of ‘The Dinner’. Many of the same diners were gathered once again at the Burrow with the exception of the twins and their friends. George was with Lee, Katie and Alicia while Fred had gone off with Angelina and Oliver. Charlie Weasley had been the instigator behind the call for a meeting. Even though most of the Weasleys had thoroughly enjoyed seeing Fred and George embarrassed publicly, feeling that the twins themselves couldn’t have designed a better prank, no one could bear seeing the twins seriously fighting with each other. Apparently they had not spoken a word to the other since Molly’s dinner, preferring to communicate through notes, owls and other people. They had even jeopardized their acquisition of Zonkos with their surly demeanor and their hostile treatment towards the other. Luckily, Lee had been along to salvage the deal!

Something had to be done to end this foolish fighting before Weasley Wizarding Wheezes imploded and the Weasley family harmony was shattered again.

Ron couldn’t remember the twins ever fighting with each other. They always seemed to present a united front especially when teasing or tricking him. They had even managed to pull a trick on him after they had apperated home from their fight. Ron had been sure they were too preoccupied to bother with tricks. Yet somehow, someone, had played a nasty trick and turned his extremeties blue. He was sure it was something the twins did because they knew how easily he embarrassed. Now when he blushed he turned the color of a grape. And Hermione still couldn’t look at him without giggling which only turned him a deeper purple. But he’d gladly be purple for another two weeks if it meant his brothers were back together.

Percy, who had suffered extensively under the twin’s mockery, was extremely uncomfortable seeing his little brothers at odds with each other. Perhaps he was feeling guilty due to the three years he had put his family in agony over his own disassociation with them. He also remembered how alone and miserable it made him feel. He tried to imagine how alone George or Fred must feel with their enforced separation and their first solo living experience.

Charlie and Bill looked at each other and said simultaneously, “Remember what happened the last time they fell out with each other?” They turned and looked at their parents who had paled with the memory.

“What happened?” asked Ginny.

Bill cleared his throat. Charlie nodded to him to begin.

Bill said, “Well it was quite a time. We thought we had lost the twins.”

Molly sniffed in the background as her eyes teared up at the memory.

“I remember being quite frightened,” Percy offered in hushed tones.

“Bill and I used to refer to it as The Day the Burrow Trembled,” said Charlie.

“Blimey!” said Ron, “What did they do? Try and blow it up with some Zonko fireworks?”

“No,” laughed Arthur. “That would have been wonderful compared to what actually happened.” He shuddered and then soldiered on with his tale. “It all began on their birthday when they turned five…”