“I trust you shall reach the platform safely?” Evan’s father asked, glaring at him and Pandora. They had just apparated to a hidden spot behind King’s Cross. His parents would usually accompany them to the Hogwarts Express, but apparently 16 was old enough to walk through a train station on their own.
Pandora nodded, in sync with Evan. “Yes, Father.”
His mother turned to Evan. “And you are the Rosier family heir. We expect you to behave as such.”
“Yes, mother. Yes, father.” Evan nodded sharply before their parents vanished with a crack.
He turned to Pandora as his face broke into a mischievous smile. Pandora grinned. “You aren't planning to follow any of their rules, are you?”
“Nope!” Evan replied cheerfully. “Okay, we’re about ten minutes early. Plenty of time.” Pandora winced as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her along. Evan grimaced and adjusted his grip to hold onto her hand instead, meeting her eyes with a silent apology.
They quietly made their way to the barrier, matching each other’s pace as they walked through and reappeared on platform 9 3⁄4. As soon as they made it through the barrier, Evan’s eyes snapped up, searching the room. It took all of three seconds for him to find Barty. Pandora smiled at him knowingly and squeezed his hand.
“Go on,” she said softly. “I’ll be fine. And leave your trunk. Yours is more comfy to sit on.”
Evan gave his sister a brief smile of thanks before turning to rush down the platform. It wasn’t crowded yet; they were still early. But there were enough people around to hide Evan from Barty’s view. It helped that he was facing the other way. Evan got close enough and waited for Barty to notice him. It didn’t take long for Evan to get impatient and tap Barty on the shoulder instead of waiting for his attention. Barty turned quickly, his hand moving towards his wand before he realised it was Evan. They both froze for a second before throwing their arms around each other, and before he knew it, Evan’s lips were crashing against Barty’s. Barty’s arms tightened around him and he deepened the kiss until Evan let out a near-silent gasp of pain. Barty caught him as he stumbled backwards.
“ Fuck , B,” he hissed.
“Evan? Ev?” He pressed their foreheads together. “Where’s the pain, Ev?” He asked softly, after getting no reply.
“Ribs,” Evan gritted out. “And do not lift the shirt.”
Barty shifted to hide Evan from the other people on the platform, as if he knew Evan couldn’t stand to let others see him in pain. He was correct. Evan weakly squeezed his hand in thanks, not taking the other off his ribs. When Barty gently lifted it, Evan noticed his fingertips coming away with spots of blood.
Barty looked Evan dead in the eyes. “What can I do?” he whispered.
“Get Pandora. Need - twin - magic -”
Barty nodded and weaved through the growing masses of people, searching for Pandora. Evan was left propping himself up against the wall, his arm awkwardly twisting to press his hand against his side. He bit the inside of his lip and waited for Barty to reappear. Evidently, it didn’t take long for him to find Pandora. They both rushed to his side, pushing his trunk aside. Pandora’s brow creased with worry. It only took one glance at his hand placement for Pandora to curse harshly.
“The spell wore off?” Evan nodded. “You were supposed to replenish it this morning!” Pandora scolded. “You know that!”
“I did!” Evan protested. He dropped his head to the ground as he muttered, “He cursed me again before we left.”
Pandora’s eyebrows shot up. Barty seemed confused as she stepped closer and guided Evan’s hand away from his side. Pressing their palms together, she pulled out her wand and murmured a spell over them. Evan took his wand from Pandora’s pocket, rolling his eyes. “Pickpocket.”
“You love me really.” She locked eyes with him and pointed her wand at his ribs. “Ready?”
Evan nodded. Barty raised his eyebrows. “Uh, if I could just ask what the hell is happening here—”
Pandora cut him off. “Shut up, Barty.”
Evan and Pandora kept their eyes on each other, silently repeating the spell they had created to heal each other. They only figured out that the spells became more powerful if they were connected a few months ago. After their parents had used the cruciatus curse. Evan shuddered. Pandora’s shaking hand reaching for his across the carpet… Evan banished the image from his mind. Soon after the light shot out of their wands, the pain in Evan’s ribcage vanished, along with the blood. He let out a long breath. Pandora smiled with satisfaction, considering him healed. She winked at him and moved to the side for Barty. He wrapped his arms around Evan’s waist, hesitating before leaning into him. He rested his chin on Evan’s shoulder.
“So,” he began. “Do you want to tell me what sort of weird ritual you and Pandora just did?”
“It’s not a ritual.” Evan grinned. “And no, I won’t explain. But we need to concentrate so we don’t mess up, hence you needing to shut up.”
Barty pulled back slightly. “You also wanted me to shut up? God, my own boyfriend. And I thought it was just your sister that hated me!”
“If you suggest that I hate you one more time, I will replace all of your sweets with acid pops.” Pandora called over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off the other end of the platform.
“See what I mean?” Barty exclaimed.
Thankfully, Lily appeared before Pandora could threaten Barty again. Pandora’s face lit up, and she abandoned her trunk with Evan and Barty before sprinting to the other end of the platform. Evan smiled.
“Leaving her trunk with us probably wasn’t the smartest decision.”
Evan gave a nod of agreement. He leaned in to brush a kiss over Barty’s jaw. “Okay, where were we?”