George was back in the drawing room, ripping the sofa apart. He didn't find the flag, but he did find four Sickles, a dead spider and a lemon drop.

Not even bothering to reassemble to couch, he moved onto something else.

Ever since Ginny had stopped screaming, the house had fallen into an uneasy silence. In fact, it was a bit too silent in George's opinion.

Ginny hadn't talked, of course. He hadn't really expected her to, though he did have a newfound respect for Hermione. Last he checked, Ginny was still in the prison, rocking back and forth in the fetal position and twitching. He didn't know what Hermione had done, but he figured it must have been pretty bad to get that kind of reaction.

Closing a cupboard (but not before pocketing a few dead doxies- he and Fred were really onto something with that venom!) he sighed and leaned against an armchair.

Merlin, he prayed, if you send us some help– any help – I won't prank any more Slytherins... Just then, the doorbell rang and broke the silence, followed by the sound of Mrs Black's screaming portrait. "...for the rest of the summer!" George finished aloud, running out of the room and into the main hall.

Completely ignoring the portrait, he went straight to the door and put his hand on the knob.

"Not so fast, brother." George turned. Fred. His twin was pointing a gun at him with one hand and attempting to close the curtains with the other. George moved to help, but Fred fired a shot at him, which his twin dodged.

"Relax!" said George. "I'm trying to help." Fred nodded and lowered his weapon. The doorbell rang again and Mrs. Black screamed louder. Together, they yanked the curtains closed and silence fell on the house again. The brothers immediately resumed their guard.

Fred moved to the door, leaving his brother by the portrait.

"Whoever it is, he's mine!" said Fred.

"Like hell he is!" replied George. "I was here first!"

"You so were not!"

"Yuh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-... wanna just open the door and let them decide?"

Fred shrugged. "Sure."

George stood beside his brother. Slowly, he turned the doorknob, then slammed open the door, the two brothers pointing their guns at the visitors.

Professor McGonagall gasped and hid behind a chuckling Albus Dumbledore, who was inexplicably already dressed like a pirate. The twins didn't find this in any way odd, though. They had known the Headmaster long enough that his eccentricities hardly surprised them anymore.

Looking out from behind the older man, McGonagall's face turned red with anger (and slight embarrassment) when she realized that her assailants were none other than Fred and George Weasley holding Muggle water guns and dressed in ridiculous costumes.

"Fred and George Weasley!" She scolded, placing her fists on her hips. "What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?! Scaring unsuspecting visitors like that! Why, I-"

"Well," said Fred (who was refraining from pointing out that she was the only one who was scared), "I guess we know who's on which team!"

George sighed unhappily. "Yeah yeah..." He took the Transfiguration teacher by the arm and led her to the base, ignoring her objections.

"George Weasley! You release me right this minute! You just wait until your mother hears about this..." Her voice faded off into the distance.

Fred and Dumbledore watched the spectacle with amusement. When McGonagall's screams had disappeared behind the Ninja base door, Dumbledore stepped into the house.

"Out of curiosity, Professor," began Fred, "How did you know about the game?"

Dumbledore tilted his head, but his trademark twinkle was in his eyes. "What game?"

Fred laughed and followed the Headmaster upstairs to the Pirate base. 'Score one for the Pirates!'

George pulled the aggravated Professor into the kitchen.

"Please put this on, Professor, we have a battle to win." His face was set firm yet otherwise emotionless. He grabbed a spare black cowl and the rest of the ninja wear off of the counter and shoved it into her arms. "Now I assume you have no idea what is going on. Our aim is to capture their flag which they have hidden somewhere in the house. This is our base, our safe point, where our wands must be kept, only to be used to refill the guns. The study is our prison where Ginny is currently being tortured for information by Hermione. Their base is Harry and Ron's room and their prison is the third floor library. If you are hit, you will be sent to their prison. No matter what, do not reveal the flag's location to them- actually, it's probably safer if you don't know. If you find their flag, you will need to sneak back here. Got all of that?" George raised his eyebrow at his professor, who spluttered for a few seconds before she was once again interrupted.

"Good. I'll let you change, then you leave here and fight. Don't let us down." He silently opened the door, looked both ways, then shut it behind him, sprinting silently down the stairs to hide behind a rather narrow curtain.

Remus slipped into the Weasley's parents' room. He looked around for a moment when a dying light emerged from the corner of his eye. He spun around and saw a dripping candle, held by no other than Bill, who was sat on the edge of their bed.

"Ye shall not leave this room." He poised his gun at the old DADA Professor, narrowing his eyes. Remus mirrored his movements, his eyes however darting around the room, seeking for the flag, which he had now located in the drawer. Bill noticed his eyes flicker towards the draw, his stare hardening. "I do apologise, but you now know to much. It didn't have to end this way." With the reflexes only a cursebreaker would have, he pushed his finger down on the trigger, a jet of water exploding onto Remus's face. 

"No hard feelings I hope, Lupin."

Now the teams were even.