Disclaimer: I stake no claim to anything in this story.

A/N: this was really fun to write, and definitely last minute. I hope you guys like it, any feedback is welcome :) Written for: (skip)

missing moments comp: hard: write about Arthur confronting the twins about the Ford Anglia; hp day comp: trio gen and impressive word count; fathers day comp: easy: arthur/fred

Xylothruster

Arthur Weasley looked down at his twin boys. Both had their hands linked and were leaning forward slightly, a sign of, by appearance, regrettable apology.

But Arthur could see their eyes, and they were leaping back and forth as excitedly as ever. He drew himself up to his full height and crossed his arms, trying to look intimidating, secretly hoping the twins never grew to look their father in the eye. It would make punishment far more difficult. "Fred. George."

Two heads popped up together, all traces of hope for mercy vanishing. The leaped into a conversation that would seem rehearsed if they didn't know better.

"Lovely afternoon, isn't it Dad?"

"Yes, you should really consider a nice fly."

"Perhaps in the Anglia."

"Which we did not break, harm, or mutilate in any way!"

"We'll even give it a nice shine up, won't we Fred?"

"Why of course we will, George!"

"And what do you think will happen afterward, Dad? Punishing the boys who used your incredibly impressive car."

"Something only great wizards would dream up. Indeed."

"It takes a great wizard to drive it, too."

"Absolutely, punishment will not — "

"BOYS!" Arthur had enough of the back and forth. Arthur was never ceased to amaze when it came to Fred and George, and he was an incredibly proud father. They were great kids, and they were going to make something of themselves one day. But those plights of victory came from risks, and risks are not always worth the gain.

Fred sighed, looking very much like he didn't want to be there. "Look, we're sorry, okay? Can we go now?"

"Yeah Dad. Mum just wants you to kill us 'cause she thought it was dangerous. We were never in harm's way."

Arthur looked at George with disbelief. "I am incredibly proud of what you did last night. Saving Harry was a noble thing, and you did with style. It was exciting and daring and as usual you two pulled it off. But just because I am proud does not mean it was the right decision. All you were in, last night, boys was harm's way. Fun question – do you know what makes this car go?"

The twins shared a look. Fred swallowed. "Uhh… a contr – basic – xylothruster!"

George choked out a laugh. Arthur smirked slightly, glad his plan was getting somewhere.

"Exactly! We are not Muggles. I can try and I can learn and I can grow and I can experiment but there will always be the possibility of something going wrong. And if something had gone wrong, would either of you two like to tell me the consequences you clearly should have considered?"

Fred leaned up to rub the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. George's face grew scarlet.

"All your Mum and I want is for you to be safe. We love all seven of you, and things keep happening to put you in danger at school and outside in the world without you trying to off yourselves."

George seemed to be blushing redder, but there was anger in his eyes. He gave a hmpf and turned away, seemingly ready to run.

"Don't you dare walk away from this conversation, son."

He brought his head up and looked toward where he was going, stopping in thought before he turned around and headed back.

"We knew it was dangerous. We did it for Harry! Think about it, Dad, he was locked up."

"Your mother and I could have easily contacted Dumbledore and gotten Harry out of there, you didn't need to rescue him."

"And Mum needs to lay off. Nothing we do is good enough for her. Why is that? We're just being us. She doesn't want to badger us because we could've died, she wants to badger us because we keep on making stupid mistakes that none of her other, older, more perfect sons would've dared."

Arthur stared in disbelief. He knew it bothered the twins that even though Molly was impressed by their son's skill, she refused to tell them so in hopes they would do better in school, but not enough to go off like this.

Arthur took a deep breath. "That," he said, "is not why your mother is upset. Let's list out those consequences now, shall we? The four of you could have been seen by Muggles, expelled, or died. You have to understand that. Nothing about the way that car ran was perfect, absolutely nothing, and yet you went out on a limb to save a friend and flew to Surrey and got back and kept yourselves together. We are both incredibly impressed, but not by your quickness to self-sacrifice. The four of you could have been hurt beyond recovery. Imagine how upset that would make your Mum for a moment. We'd have to tell Ginny and the others.

"You do not have to agree with your Mum, and neither do I on many occasions. Come on, boys, I built the car in the first place, didn't I? But you do have to understand how terrifying it is to wake up and NOT have three of your sons in the house!"

There was silence for a long moment. Arthur let out a breath he hadn't know he was holding, and Fred and George determinedly looked anywhere but their father. "Boys."

Fred was the first to look up. "Dad, we're sorry. We knew nothing was going to happen, but we should've at least told you where we were going. Left a note or something."

George nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we're sorry. It won't happen again."

Arthur smiled slightly. "You bet it won't, after what your Mum's got lined up for punishment."

"Ugh. How come Ron didn't have to endure this?"

"Your brother apologized to your Mum immediately and accepted it. Besides, Harry Potter was barred inside his house. Ron's got enough on his mind, don't you think?"

The twins nodded, conceding.

"Thanks, Dad," Fred said quietly.

"Yeah. It makes sense. I'm sorry," said George, just as quiet.

Arthur started. "Look at me." He waited until he had each boy's eyes. "I know you're sorry, and you are forgiven. But listen; we're going to talk about this with your Mum, okay? You have to understand how she feels because that isn't it. Alright?"

Fred looked at George, a questioning look in his eye. After a moment, George started nodding, eyes squeezed shut. "Alright."

"Good. By the way, if you'd like to continue my experiments on the car, by all means…"

They looked at each other and then their father hopefully in turn. "Really Dad?"

Arthur smiled. "Really."