That sense of maturity settled heavily over them like a thick, ill-fitting old coat.
Fred and George felt their very bones creaking.
They straightened their backs, lifted their chins slightly, and surveyed the world around them with what they considered profoundly knowing gazes.
"I feel."
Fred spoke in a deliberately lowered, gravelly voice.
"My understanding of life has grown deeper still."
"Exactly."
George agreed, furrowing his brow as hard as he could to imitate Percy's utterly serious expression.
"Money and glory are nothing but passing clouds."
"But we still need them."
"Of course."
They exchanged a glance, as though each saw an unprecedented gleam of wisdom in the other's eyes.
They were ready.
Ready for the cheers, the adoration, and the coming glory that would belong to the Weasley family.
Then, with solemn strides they believed brimmed with adult charm, they marched proudly forward.
They held the parchment bearing their names high, like banners of victory.
Bang!
The doors were shoved open.
"Make way! Make way!"
"The Champions of Hogwarts' Gryffindor have arrived!"
The two shouted at the tops of their lungs, their voices full of swagger that declared no one else could compare.
The noise in the Great Hall paused for an instant.
Every gaze focused on the two red-haired young men in the doorway.
Snickers rose from the crowd.
Then, like the parting of the Red Sea, the students obligingly moved aside, opening a broad aisle.
That aisle led straight to the Goblet of Fire in the center of the Great Hall.
The smugness on the Weasley Twins' faces reached its peak.
Heads held high, they strode down this walk of fame paved with their classmates' "awed" gazes.
Yet, when the crowd had fully parted.
When the sight at the end of the aisle was revealed to them