"Severus, please don't question me. You must understand that every reform is..."
Snape had no intention of listening to a lengthy speech. He looked up and cut Lockhart off, then slapped the pale blue scrap of confetti onto the desk. "Fred, George, tell me. What did you two do last night?"
"Er, I'll go first. Last night, we played cards with Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Luo Bin. Tsk, what a crushing defeat. Oh, Professor, don't look at Luo Bin. He wasn't the one who lost badly. That was Harry and Hermione!"
"Then Ginny and Percy came along, and things got a bit unpleasant. After that, everyone split up. Yes, that's about it!"
"Unpleasant in what way?"
"Nothing, nothing much. It's just... Ginny hasn't been in a good mood lately, and Percy said a few harsh things that made her cry. We couldn't calm her down, so... yes, that's why we split up!"
"What sort of harsh things?"
"Er, Professor, do you really need to ask about every little detail?"
"Fred, I am not joking."
Fred lowered his head, his eyes darting about. "Er, Percy... he said Ginny was too timid and weak, nothing like the rest of the Weasley family. Ginny was so upset that she burst into tears. Right, George?"
"Exactly. That's what happened. Professor, if you don't believe us, you can ask Luo Bin. He was there too!"
George turned and winked furiously at Luo Bin, hoping he would help smooth things over.
"Luo Bin, is that true?"
"Professor, Ginny did cry, and Percy was certainly angry. But it wasn't Percy who made her cry. It was Fred and George!"
"Oh, I knew that would be the truth. The Weasley twins are notoriously slippery. Blaming honest Percy for making their little sister cry? They wouldn't even blink!"
Fred