Perhaps they did not even measure up to the neighbors next door?
In any case, her youngest son was now the most, most important person to Mrs. Weasley, and Fred and George, dejected and muttering, chose to keep him out of sight and out of mind.
They had no other choice, because their mother now had eyes only for her youngest son.
Amused, Su Er patted the shoulders of the two brothers, whose expressions had visibly changed.
"Don't be sad. Here's some good news: I didn't get a Prefect Badge either."
"Why didn't you get one?" The Weasley brothers forgot about their mother's neglect and stared in surprise at Su Er's empty hands.
It was generally acknowledged at Hogwarts that Su Er was the finest Hufflepuff student in their year-no, perhaps even across several years above and below them. He should, by rights, have been Hufflepuff's prefect, or even Head Boy.
"Well... there's a reason for that." Su Er did not explain further.
"What reason?" Fred asked curiously, but his voice was drowned out by Mrs. Weasley's loud voice as she struggled to contain her excitement.
"I'm so proud of you! I thought nobody in our family besides Percy would ever be a prefect again. This is the first step! Next, you might become Head Boy like Bill and Percy!"
At that, Mrs. Weasley took Ron's head in her hands and planted a fierce kiss on him.
With a loud smack, Ron's face instantly flushed red.
He struggled feebly. "Don't, Mum-don't, control yourself-"
But how could someone who wanted to vent her excitement stop there?
"There have been so many worries lately, and I never expected such wonderful news all of a sudden. I'm so surprised. Oh... Ronnie."
The Weasley brothers forgot about questioning Su Er and both made retching