The Forgotten Twin

Chapter 4

Delilah felt as though she had barely lain down to sleep in Ginny's room when she was being shaken awake by Mrs. Weasley.

"Time to go, Delilah," she whispered, moving away to wake Ginny and Hermione.

Delilah sat up. It was still dark outside. Hermione groaned lightly as Mrs. Weasley roused her, but still got up.

"Is it time already?" Ginny said groggily.

They dressed in silence, too sleepy to talk, then, yawning slightly and stretching, the three of them headed downstairs into the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley was stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove, while Mr. Weasley was sitting at the table, checking a sheaf of large parchment tickets. He looked up as the girls entered and spread his arms so that they could see his clothes more clearly. He was wearing what appeared to be a golfing sweater and a very old pair of jeans, slightly too big for him and held up with a thick leather belt.

"What d'you think?" he asked anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito — do I look like a Muggle, Hermione? Delilah?"

"Yeah," said Hermione, smiling.

"Very great," Delilah added through a tired grin.

"Where're Bill, Charlie, and Percy?" said Ginny.

"Well, they're Apparating, aren't they?" said Mrs. Weasley, heaving the large pot over to the table and starting to ladle porridge into bowls. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in."

Delilah immediately felt jealous. She knew that Apparating meant disappearing from one place and reappearing almost instantly in another, but had never known any Hogwarts student to do it, and understood that it was very difficult.

"So they're still in bed?" said Ginny grumpily, pulling her bowl of porridge toward her. "Why can't we Apparate too?"

"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "And where have those boys got to?" She bustled out of the kitchen and they heard her climbing the stairs.

"You have to pass a test to Apparate?" Hermione asked.

"Oh yes," said Mr. Weasley, tucking the tickets safely into the back pocket of his jeans. "The Department of Magical Transportation had to fine a couple of people the other day for Apparating without a license. It's not easy, Apparition, and when it's not done properly it can lead to nasty complications. This pair I'm talking about went and splinched themselves."

Everyone around the table winced.

Delilah had heard that splinching meant leaving parts of themselves behind, making them stuck. Unable to move either way.

"Were they okay?" asked Delilah.

"Oh yes," said Mr. Weasley matter-of-factly. "But they got a heavy fine, and I don't think they'll be trying it again in a hurry. You don't mess around with Apparition. There are plenty of adult wizards who don't bother with it. Prefer brooms — slower, but safer."

"But Bill and Charlie and Percy can all do it?"

"Charlie had to take the test twice," said Ginny, grinning. "He failed the first time, Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?"

"Yes, well, he passed the second time," said Mrs. Weasley, marching back into the kitchen amid hearty sniggers.

"Percy only passed two weeks ago," said Ginny. "He's been Apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can. Stupid really."

There were footsteps down the passageway and the boys all came into the kitchen, looking pale and drowsy.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Fred said, rubbing his eyes and sitting down at the table.