Chapter 12: Operation Rocky Road Romance
In the blink of an eye, Harry bolted up from sleep to the land of the living. Breathing heavily, he patted himself down, as if checking to make sure everything was still where it should be. He did not remember the dream… nay, nightmare, that caused him such a fright. But, if the previous ones were anything to go by, then it was not worth remembering. Seeing nothing else to do, he put on his glasses and got out of bed. After swiftly making it, he then headed down towards the stairs.
It was not quite morning yet, as the sun had yet to crest over the foggy, cloudy land called England. The Weasley's house, while being a very cozy and homey atmosphere, left much to be desired in the lighting department. Few, if any moonlight went on from outside, making his journey as if he had left his glasses on the nightstand. Fumbling about, he miraculously made it to the stairs, trying not to wreck anything or stomp about and wake the family.
Just as he rounded the corner, however, he was able to pick out the moving, round frame of Scabbers making his nightly rounds. Harry had to make a quick adjustment with his left foot to stop himself from flattening the poor rodent. However, as much as Scabbers' thanks likely would be, it did little to save his balance. Soon, Harry lost his balance and began to fall face first towards the bottom of the stairs. He shut his eyes, not daring to look. Yet the violent, painful crash he was expecting didn't happen.
Instead, he landed on what felt like… pillows? Opening his eyes, it was indeed a set of pillows that caught him. Not only that, but he also hardly felt the floor beneath. He lifted his head off the pillows to see Ginny, Ron and the Twins sitting at the couches and chairs in the living room. All still in their nightgowns and pajamas… and not really surprised to see him.
"Have a nice trip, young Potter?" Fred asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hope we see you next fall." George asked as well with his own raised eyebrow.
"Wouldn't it be this fall since we are about to reach autumn?" Ron asked in confusion.
"We were making puns, Ron." The twins told their brother.
"Why did you…?" He began to ask only to be cut off by Ginny.
"Are you okay Harry? I hope the pillows weren't too firm for you." Ginny asked, concern clear in her voice.
"No, they were fine. But why did you set them up…?" Harry asked, still confused.
"You were moaning like a ghost all night." Fred told him.
"Ghosts don't always do that. Only when they want to." Ron said matter of factly.
"So, we figured you were having a nightmare and set up the pillows just in case you tripped and fell down the steps." George added.
"Can you three muppets let him speak?" Ginny harshly hissed out, not trying to raise her voice too much.
"Sorry, Gin." The three said muppets replied.
"It's fine, Ginny. Just… more nightmares…" Harry replied, trying to keep it down as well.
"Sounds like you need to see a doctor. Are you sure you're okay Harry?" Ron asked worriedly.
"My family can't afford a shrink for me." Harry responded as if it were a regular thing to say.
"Why's that?" Fred asked, surprised by that.
"His family are stupid, weird, and horrid even by Muggle standards." Ron growled, thinly veiling his contempt for them.
"Whoa, Ronald! That sounded a little racist…" Ginny pointed out to her brother.
"Like you weren't thinking it too, Ginny." Ron added, giving his sister a look.
"There's a difference between thinking it and saying it. We hear enough of that coming out of Percy the Worstsea's mouth. We don't need it out of you too." Ginny said, the telltale scolding tone of her mother coming out.
"At least Percy doesn't say things like that as often as that little git Draco Malfoy." George pointed out.
"Oh, he really is a fire spitting dragon, ain't he George?" Fred chipped in.
"That he is, Fred. That he is." George said with a chuckle.
"Ron, please help Harry off the floor so we can get back to planning?" Ginny asked Ron politely.
Nodding, Ron went and helped his best friend up off the floor. As Harry brushed himself off, he realized their phrasing. "Wait… planning for what?" He asked the Weasley siblings.
"I knew we were missing something. I just couldn't put my finger on it." Ron said, feeling dumb. "Fred, this was your idea, you explain."
"Our parents' twenty-fifth anniversary is coming up and we want to plan something nice for them. We need your help and Percy's to commence Operation: Rocky Road Romance." Fred explained to their guest.
"What was wrong with Operation: Super-Secret Surprise again?" Ron asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"It didn't roll off the tongue as well, Ronald." George told his brother with a playful grin.
"But you're getting better. Just keep at it." Fred said with a smile.
"Boys. Focus on explanation." Ginny sternly said, crossing her arms.
"Right. We wanna plan a really good surprise party for them and need help deciding what to do for it. Are you up to planning the best surprise anniversary party ever, Harry?" Fred asked with a grin.
"Speaking of, where are your parents? Usually, they greet us by now." Harry asked out of curiosity.
"For one, it's before sunrise. They don't wake up that early. Secondly, we have our top people covering that during the day." George explained with a smile.
"Who?" Harry asked, confused.
"Top. People." Fred replied mysteriously.
"It's Mafalda…" Ginny groaned. "Oh, and Percy too…"
"They're going along with Mafalda later today to help her pick supplies for her starting Hogwarts with Ginny." Ron explained.
"How does it feel to go to school with her, Ginny?" Ron asked with a knowing tone, smiling like a Cheshire Cat.
"Watch it, Ronald. Don't make me Bat Bogey you." Ginny threateningly told her brother.
"You can Bogey, Bogey, Woogie until your wand breaks, but that spell doesn't scare me." Ron said confidently, crossing his arms.
"Oh, you will. When you least expect it." Ginny said ominously. "Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Continue with the explanation, Fred."
"Right! Our job is to decorate for the party, Ginny's handling getting the guests here, and Ron is handling the cake." Fred explained.
Harry looked at his best friend. "Ron, you never told me you could bake." He said, a bit surprised.
"You don't know everything about me, Harry." Ron replied with a playful grin.
"So, Harry. Are you up to help out?" Ginny asked, though internally knowing his answer already.
"I'm in. Just tell me what you need me to do." Harry replied, with a smile on his face.
"Really, there's only three options. Either help Ron with the cake, help lighten his load by making the rest of the party food, or help with the guests." Ginny rattled off in quick succession.
"I'll work on making the rest of the party food. No offense, Ginny, but I think Ron needs my help more. I can help you with the guests afterwards if you need it." Harry replied, extending an offer to assist her later.
"You're so supportive. Thank you, Harry." Ginny said with a smile.
"Oh, just kiss already, you two." George groaned, making the gesture of throwing up.
"Absolutely not." Ron said, crossing his arms.
"What is with all of you? I can protect myself from boys just fine." Ginny huffed.
"It's a brother's job to do that. And you have a lot of brothers." Fred answered her.
"Boy, don't I know it…" Ginny grumbled.
As the group of five finished up, the sun just began to rise. Right in time for Molly to wake up. Though she was surprised that so many of them were up so early, she didn't think anything about it. It's not like they were planning something or anything. No. That would just be ridiculous. Wouldn't it?