"So you two are beaters and hold off the bludgers?" asked Alice, trying to understand the rules of Quidditch.

Fred and George had explained the game for half an hour now and slowly she was able to get an understanding of it.

"This game sounds like fun, I wish I could see a game," she sighed and rested her chin in her hands. The twins looked at one another and grinned.

"Well, next summer will be the Qudditch World cup," began George.

"And maybe, if we get tickets, you could come with us," finished Fred the sentence.

Alice beamed at them. "You would really take me with you? Like really really?"

"Yes, really really," laughed Fred.

"I'm guessing you'll be the loudest in the stand, so it will surely be fun having you with us," said George and started rummaging in a drawer. "Anyways. We wanted to show you something..I just have to find it....ah there it is."

He held a small package in his hands.

"We've bought it a Zonko's. It's a joke shop in Hogsmead," said Fred and looked at her expectantly as George gave her the present.

"See it as a late Christmas present or an early birthday gift. We bought it before Christmas but forgot to send it to you."

Alice looked at them, eyes widened in surprise. "You shouldn't...you..you didn't need to...thank you guys," she said, smiling at them.

Then she began unwrapping the present and found herself with a quill in her hands.

"It's a Sugar Quill," explained Fred. "For the rather boring classes. You can write with it but you can also eat it."

They smiled at her, eagerly awaiting her reaction.

"Oh that...that's really sweet," said Alice, then snorted because of her unintended pun. She didn't know what to tell them because in Muggle schools it wasn't common to write with Quills. As she saw their smiles Alice decided to not tell them and just cherish the sweet present.

"Really, thank you. I like it, I really do. Now I have something made by wizards which is really cool."

The twins gave each other a high five, obviously proud of themselves for choosing the right present for her.

Alice laughed, "You two are something else."

It was the second week of the summer holidays and Alice and her little sister were nearly every day at the Burrow. Mrs Weasley was a very kind woman so it was no surprise that they soon felt at home there. The twins spent and their free time with Alice and taught her the great techniques of pranking and joking. She herself was not that into pranking but it was funny to see how determined Fred and George were when it came to making the right joke.

"Why don't you guys open up your own joke shop when you've finished school?" Alice said one day.

The twins looked at her.

"You know, that is not a bad idea actually," said Fred and looked at his brother who agreed.

"I mean you could do some research over the school year at Zonko's and then try coming up with your own thinks to sell," explained Alice her idea.

"Like puking pastills," said Fred

"Or never ending firework?" said George and looked at his brother.

"Yeah, think of all the possibilities!" smiled Alice and stretched her arms wide to underline the wide range.

Fred jumped up. His eyes gleaming with excitement he began walking around the room deeply in thought. George was muttering to himself, eyes closed he tried to come up with even more ideas. Alice watched the two, grinning wide. It was fun to see how the boys were already developing more ideas in such a short time.

"You'll help us developing, right?" said Fred.

"In what kind of way?" she asked, confused.

"In testing our products, or coming up with names or just coming up with ideas in general," chimed George in.

They looked at her expectantly. "We'll do that together, because we came up with the idea together," they said together.

Alice looked at them, then swallowed and then slowly began to nod, "Okay, if you want me, then I'm in."

"Great!" they said and highfived her.

"But we can't have mum finding out about this," said George suddenly.

"Yes, she'll get furious and try to talk us out of that idea," agreed Fred.

"So we just don't tell her. We'll keep it a secret until she can't stop us anymore," Alice said confidently.

Then they started discussing their ideas until it was way past midnight.

Alice was leaning against Fred's bed, deeply asleep. When she started drifting off into sleep Fred had gone downstairs and had told his mother about it. Mrs Weasley then had gone to the McIntire household and had told them that they did not have to worry and that their daughter was asleep and that she did not want to wake her. So Mrs McIntire had agreed to letting her older daughter sleep over at the Weasleys'.

Early the next morning Alice awoke, finding herself in a completely unknown bed. She looked confused around and then remembered that she was in Fred and George's room. She crawled out under the blanket someone had wrapped her up in. She looked around the room. In the other bed was George, still fast asleep while Fred was lying next to her bed on the ground, nuzzled into a pillow and with a rather thin blanket. Alice gently nudged him to wake him up.

"Hey," he yawned sleepy.

"Hey. What are you doing on the floor?" she whispered to him.

"Well someone was occupying my bed so I had to sleep on the floor."

"You could have woken me up...I'm sorry Fred and thank you for letting me use your bed," she said and patted the stop next to her on the bed.

"Come here, it's much more comfortable than the ground."

Fred laughed silently, then stood up and sat down beside her.

"Get some rest. You can even use my lap as a pillow or something like that," she said while trying not to blush.

It was very gentle of him to let her use his bed so she wanted to thank him properly.

Fred looked surprised but then smiled and lay down as she had told him. "Then I will gladly take the offer," he said and closed his eyes.

"I'll just wait here until you and George wake up. It's not a big deal," she whispered and put the blanket she had used over Fred.

She watched as he drifted off into sleep again and leaned into the wall behind her. Alice smiled and thought about what had changed in this one year. She had found out about the Wizarding world and, even though she was not a part of it she had found friends who were and had learned new things. She loved her new life even the parts when she was alone at home because she had the letters to be excited about.  Deep in thought Alice too drifted off into sleep, dreaming of Wizards and Quidditch and brooms and red hair and a certain someone grinning at her.