Chapter 1
Rebecca was thinking about the car ride to the Dursley's as she laid in the bed above Harry's exactly one week after they had arrived. "I miss them so much." She whispered to Hedwig, the only roommate of hers still awake in the middle of the night. Their owl gave a solemn hoot, echoing the sentiment.
Vernon had not been joking. He instructed Petunia to give her exactly 300 seconds every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. By Friday, Fred had mastered the art of keeping count so that he was able to fit in his "I love you" before Petunia demanded the phone was hung up. He and George tried their best to keep themselves busy by working up in their room more hours of the day than not, but it wasn't the same. Not when their third partner wasn't there.
All the inhabitants of the Burrow felt like a piece was out of sorts, like they were missing a vital part of their system.
"I miss her." George said, not knowing that he and Fred were not the only ones to have trouble sleeping due to a heavy heart.
Fred rolled over so that he faced George's side of the room, holding his pillow tightly. "Me too."
George wished at once that he hadn't said anything, Fred's voice sounded like he was close to tears. "Think about it though, one week down!" George wanted Fred to go off to sleep with a positive mindset.
"You're right." Fred said sadly, though trying to muster up some strength. "Four more to go."
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Dudley, upon finding a new entrant to his domain, embarked on a mission through the second and third week of summer to find the best insult for Rebecca. Toying with Harry had grown old, but his lookalike was a new plaything. Rebecca wasn't an amateur though, she steeled herself whenever Dudley entered a room with her and pretended that she couldn't hear him until his efforts increased and it grew impossible to stay silent forever.
"Stupid." Dudley sneered down at Rebecca, she and Harry on their hands and knees in the kitchen.
"I'm not really." Rebecca retorted, sending Harry's head up from where he had been concentrating. Petunia had them scrubbing the kitchen floor and if she found so much as a speck, they would have to use their toothbrushes and start again. "Stupid, that is. I'm actually quite sharp."
Dudley turned around from the doorway where her voice had stopped him and stomped back in front of her. "What did you just say to me?"
Rebecca paused her scrubbing and looked up at the massive lump of a boy above her. "You called me stupid. I am not, I do quite well in school and have a knack for solving problems, as well as-"
Dudley narrowed his eyes and stormed out of the kitchen, not letting her say anything else.
Harry shook his head and bit back a smile, Rebecca's Rebecca-ness making him far happier than she could know. "Are you almost done over there?"
Rebecca looked down at the last section she had, one final row. "Nearly."
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A heat wave had settled over Britain as Harry and Rebecca went into the fourth week of summer, one month spent away from their world. The temperature was well into the 30's day after day and, as a result, the region was forced into a horrible, miserable mood.
Rebecca and Harry, similar to Fred and George's retreat into their room, spent as much time outdoors as they could. Sometimes they would go walking, picking a direction and not stopping for hours until they found a rest under a shady tree. Sometimes, like that day, they stayed closer to Little Whinging and waited around the playground to pretend they were somewhere cooler.
Harry and Rebecca were sitting on the swings, Rebecca pushing herself slightly to have a breeze while Harry sat unmoving. "It's so weird but...he always smells so good. It's something-I don't know. It's stupid, but he smells almost like something warm? Does that make any sense?"
"That's so interesting." Harry intoned. He had tuned her out minutes earlier.
"Yeah, another thing I like to do is slather his body in butter and roll him through bread."
"How neat." Harry responded, bored and clearly not having heard what she said.
"Alright!" Rebecca said loudly, laughing. "Message received. I'm done talking about him."
Harry shrugged. "It's fine, really. Go on. I've got nothing to talk about anyway."
Rebecca thought for a moment. "We can talk about our homework?"
"We finished it all last week."
"...We could review it?" Rebecca offered softly, flinching at the look he gave her. "I don't know then. I can tell you about the latest update they gave me on production!"
"You already did." Harry said instantly, though he wished he hadn't because Rebecca's face fell. "The supplies are lasting longer than expected and they'll have..." He let his voice trail away as if he didn't remember the rest.
"We'll have enough for over a hundred boxes ready before term!" Rebecca said excitedly, oblivious to Harry's kindness. "Now we're just trying to figure out how to get them to school. We really need to shrink the trunk and then grow them once we arrive, but they're not sixteen until April. I wonder if Charlie plans on visiting this summer...I bet he'd do it." Rebecca's voice grew quieter as she began to talk to herself more than anything.
Harry looked to his feet and dug the toe of his trainers into the grass, letting his mind wander as a silence grew between them. "I'm sorry about the telephone and all." Harry had been meaning to tell her that he really was sorry, though he wondered if he should have waited until before bed so she could at least have some privacy if she wanted.
Rebecca kept her eyes to the ground, frowning as he mentioned the recent forbiddance of her phone usage. Petunia had gotten on the phone upstairs and listened in on one of her and Fred's call the week before and was furious that Rebecca had not only lied about it being for school, but had lied for a boy.
Harry and Rebecca both had their attentions drawn to the other side of the park where a mother guided her three children off home with promises of their favourite suppers. Rebecca couldn't look for long, the homesickness for the Burrow and Molly and everything in between too great.
"I bet by next summer Sirius will have guardianship." Harry said strongly, sensing Rebecca's pain and needing to alleviate it. "Then we won't have to do this. We'll just floo over to each other whenever we want and you can stay at the Burrow a-and everything will be different."
Rebecca turned to thank Harry and saw how Dudley approached them with his lackeys behind him. Harry looked over his shoulder to see what had Rebecca looking past him and turned to face their cousin as well. "Hey Big D. Beat up another ten year old?"
Rebecca snorted at Harry's words, though she couldn't have possibly expected Dudley's response.
"This one deserved it." Dudley said, not even noticing how they were making fun of him.
"Five against one?" Rebecca scoffed. "Very brave."
"Well, you're one to talk. Moaning and talking in your sleep every night!" Dudley raised his voice in a poor imitation of Rebecca. "'No, Fred, I didn't choose this!' 'No, no I'm not too late Cedric! Just hold on!'" Dudley's voice returned to his own. "You gettin' around or something?"
"Shut up." Rebecca said flatly. She hadn't known she had been talking in her sleep again. She drank the tea with the draught every night, but the nightmares followed her no matter what. Always some variation of ending up stuck dead, stuck apart from Fred after the second task or frozen and watching as Harry begged for her to save Cedric.
Harry hadn't noticed Rebecca's sleep talking himself, nightmares of his own to deal with. "Watch it." Harry snapped, jumping to his feet at Dudley's insinuation.
Dudley laughed and mocked Rebecca again, finding a button that affected both Potter twins very entertaining. "'No mum, I want to go back!'"
This got Rebecca to her feet as well, the chains of the swing behind her tinkling softly.
"Where is your mum? She dead? Just another dead Potter?" Each of Dudley's questions were punctuated with a round of laughter from his mates.
Harry launched forward, his wand now in hand. He only stopped when the end was held up against Dudley's fat neck. Dudley's mates laughed even harder, thinking Dudley was only being threatened with a stick, but Dudley's face lost all of its colour.
Rebecca grabbed Harry's shoulder tightly, trying to pull him away. A hot wind picked up and the sky darkened quickly. Thunder boomed in the distance.
"C'mon, D." One of the boys said. "Let's go on home."
Harry looked back to Rebecca before facing Dudley again, unable to let his insults go without a fight.
"W-what're you d-doing?" Dudley stammered, his voice quivering. Harry might have been the one with a weapon to his neck, but Rebecca was the one he had insulted. She was who Dudley was preparing himself to beg for his life from.
"I'm not doing anything." Rebecca answered shortly, looking around them confused herself. Dudley's accomplices took off, sprinting into the distance. Rebecca kept her attention to the sky, feeling a prickling that filled her stomach with dread. Something grey was flitting about in the sky, something that was soon joined by other forms. "Harry, are those-"
"Run!" Harry shouted, pushing Dudley and grabbing Rebecca. He tried to steer them out of the park and back towards Surrey's town center, thinking there would be safety in a crowd. Harsh, frigid rain started to fall as a tunnel came into view ahead. The rain was falling so quickly that despite the relatively short distance between them and cover, they were drenched when they arrived.
Harry came to a stop and put his arm out in front of Rebecca, keeping himself in front of her as he stared down the tunnel. Rebecca pushed through his arm and marched forward so that she was beside him, ignoring the look and demand for her to step back.
The lights at the end flickering silenced Harry's arguing and Rebecca raised her wand as the walls closer to them began to frost over.
Dudley panted heavily, freaking out as his breath became visible in the chill swallowing them. Harry turned to look behind them just as a dementor lunged and grabbed him by the throat, pinning him against the wall. Rebecca pushed Dudley ahead and shouted at him to run as she turned back to Harry. Trying to bring happiness to the forefront of her mind, Rebecca cast the spell. "Expecto patronum!" A white wisp left her wand and freed harry.
Down the tunnel, in what would have been comical in any other situation, Dudley's foot slipped out from under him. A second dementor entered the tunnel and hovered over Dudley, beginning to feed on him.
Rebecca went to raise her wand and cast the spell again, but her hands were wet from the rain and she accidentally lose hold of her wand. Harry sent his stag-shaped patronus down the tunnel as she scrambled on her knees for her wand.
"Is he alright?" Rebecca asked, her back to Harry in case more were coming.
Harry bent to one knee, holding his hand to Dudley's wrist. "He'll be fine. I think." Dudley's panting continued and his eyes stared ahead into nothing. "Mrs Figg!" Harry said loudly, hiding his wand and standing beside Rebecca who whirled around in shock.
Rebecca looked at the old woman approaching them, the very one she had been certain she had killed so many years earlier. "M-mrs Figg?"
"Oh, my dear!" Mrs Figg smiled, filled with a relief the threatened to overtake her. "Oh my! You've grown so much and-" Rebecca was nudged by Harry, her wand still out until he had reminded her to put it out of sight. "Don't put away your wand, Harry. They might come back."
Harry and Rebecca looked at each other confused, though for different reasons. Harry had no idea why Rebecca knew his elderly neighbor, nor why Mrs Figg knew her. Rebecca didn't know how Mrs Figg knew about wands and magic and dementors.
"Help me get him up, Harry." Rebecca managed, both Potters putting one of Dudley's arms around their necks to get him to his feet.
Mrs Figg kept an eye out for anything coming back to hurt them and spoke quietly. "It was a heart attack, dear." Rebecca wished the sight of Mrs Figg on the floor, paling and clutching her chest seconds after she had asked to stay the night, hadn't flashed behind her eyes. "It was a heart attack. Nothing more and nothing you could have done. In fact," A twinkle grew in Mrs Figg's eye. "If you hadn't rang for help when you did, I wouldn't have made it."
"So you knew?" Harry demanded rudely.
"Harry!" Rebecca gasped, nearly crumpling under Dudley's weight at her shock.
"I looked for you for months, years." Mrs Figg wiped at her cheek with a handkerchief. "My daughter made me move to Surrey so that she could keep a closer eye on me and when I saw that Harry was here...I have never stopped looking. Every shop, train station, crowd. I have always been looking for you. I never knew you two found each other--Quite frankly, I wasn't sure if you were still alive after the hell that man put you through."
"Why wouldn't you go to the authorities?" Harry asked again, his tone the same.
"It's alright, Rebecca." Mrs Figg interjected before Rebecca could scold him. "He's right. I did, Harry. I called them until they threatened to have me cited for interrupting the course of justice because I was taking up their lines so much. I call her school, I called the Department of Child Safety, I tried everything. Every path I could take I did, and each one ended up a dead end. You're not still-"
Rebecca looked to the older woman with an age in her eyes far beyond their nearly-fifteen. "I got out. I live somewhere else now, in a real home."
Mrs Figg eyed Dudley as he began to shiver harder. "I am relieved to hear it. How did you manage that?"
Rebecca winced and Harry's eyes darkened. "I..."
"It's alright." Mrs Figg reassured, looking down the streets and relieved that they were nearly home.
"No." Rebecca shook her head, steeling herself. "He left me i-in the middle of nowhere really. I walked until I couldn't anymore and that's where I found them."
"Bloody hell." Mrs Figg glanced at Harry, knowing from the boy's face that there were details left out that, perhaps, even he hadn't been privy to. "Well, I don't know if this pleases you or upsets you, but I still chat with some friends from Caterham and he-William's gone."
Rebecca stared ahead, not sure how she felt at the news. "How?" She asked after a moment.
"No, no." Mrs Figg shook her head, seeing how she was unclear. "Not dead. He up and disappeared shortly after the school went to the house to find out why you were truant. No one is quite sure where he went off to."
The three uninjured walked in silence for a ways until Harry moved his hand enough to grab Rebecca's arm behind Dudley. "Rebecca?"
Rebecca shook her head, not going to let this have anything over her. "I'm fine, Harry." Her tone was too forced for it to be true, but Harry knew that a wall had been put up that he would have to ease down over time. "For all we know, he's dead in a ditch somewhere."
Mrs Figg pursed her lips at Rebecca's reaction, knowing that some things hadn't changed and might never. Deciding a change of subject might be best. "Dementors in Little Whinging. Whatever next? The whole world's gone topsy-turvy."
Harry pulled more of Dudley's weight onto him, seeing how Rebecca was beginning to struggle. He couldn't blame her at all, not when Dudley was so much heavier and taller than she was. "I don't understand." Harry said at last. "How do you know about-"
"Dumbledore asked me to keep an eye on you."
"Dumbledore? You know Dumbledore?" Rebecca asked incredulously
"After You-Know-Who's return, he reached out. He didn't know I knew you from before, Rebecca. But, my keeping an eye on you both had to be guaranteed before you were the summer. Did you really think he would let you two wander on your own? Good lord, they told me you were intelligent." Mrs Figg's smile softened the blow, but both children felt their ears burn at the jest.
Mrs Figg stopped in front of the children and grew very serious. "Now, get inside and stay there. I expect someone will be in touch soon." Mrs Figg brought a hand up to Rebecca's cheek and held it there, seeing glimpses of the frightened, hungry, hurt girl from before alongside the strong young woman there now. "Whatever happens, don't leave the house."
Rebecca closed her eyes as Mrs Figg walked away, filled with a relief that she was alive but a sadness about the circumstances that brought them together. Stumbling with Harry up the stairs to the door, Rebecca managed to open it wide enough for the three of them to squeeze in.
"Diddykins?" Aunt Petunia cried from the couch where she was fanning herself to try and battle the heat. "Is that you?"
Harry used his foot to push open the door to the living room while Dudley trailed behind with Rebecca dumbly. In his own house, he seemed to grow aware enough to stand on his own.
"Duddy?" Petunia cried out, instantly filled with fear. "Vernon! Come quick!"
Rebecca was pushed out of the way as Petunia grabbed Dudley and led him to a chair where he began to rock himself slowly. "We've got to take him to a hospital." Petunia whispered as Vernon held his hand to their son's forehead.
"Who did this to you, boy?" Dudley raised a shaky hand and pointed to where Harry and Rebecca stood side-by-side across the room. "Happy, are you now?" Vernon roared. "You've finally done it! You've driven him loopy!"
"Vernon!" Petunia scolded in shock, still comforting Dudley the best she could. "Don't say that!"
Vernon spluttered. "Look at him, Petunia! Our boy has gone yumpy!" Vernon whirled back, a fat finger pointed straight at Rebecca. "I knew letting you come was a bad idea! Even if it got rid of him sooner, I had a bad feeling about you. I've reached my limit," Vernon walked across the room towards them slowly, shaking his head. "This is the last I'm going to take of you two and this nonsense!"
An owl screeched and flew into the living room from an open window, dropping a letter before thumping against the wall. Rebecca and Harry looked at each other confused, it was far too early for their Hogwarts letters.
The letter shot up and faced Harry and Rebecca as it's flap opened in the shape of a mouth. "Dear Mr and Miss Potter, the Ministry has received intelligence that at 6:23 this evening, you both performed the Patronus Charm in the presence of a muggle. As a clear violation of the Decree for Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, you are hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The letter got closer to their faces before smiling and finishing its message. "Hoping you are well, Mafalda Hopkirk."
Harry's mouth dropped open in shocked silence while Rebecca stared at the letter frozen. Their world was crumbling down around their ears.
Vernon grit his teeth and practically seethed with elation. "Justice." Vernon banished them to their room while Petunia gathered Dudley by the door and walked him to the car as anti-suspiciously as she could manage.
Neither Rebecca nor Harry spoke as they climbed the stairs and entered their space. She tried to lighten herself by opening the locket from around her neck, tracing the photograph inside with her thumb, as she lie on her bed. Harry paced the length of their room, his heartbeat growing faster and faster until he lashed out and hit the wall as his anger grew too great to contain.
A photograph fell off his drawers, a photo of Lily and James.
"I'm sorry, Hedwig." Harry said softly, picking the photo up and lying in his bed similarly to how Rebecca was the bed on top.
Rebecca considered leaning over and making a joke about being ignored, but her despair weighed her down too much to. Sighing and closing the clasp of her lockey, Rebecca turned on her side and pulled out the crumpled letter from underneath her pillow. The paper had been worn soft by how many times she had taken it out and read it in the weeks at the Dursleys, but the message inside remained strong as ever.
"RJ,
I am writing this to you because I know I am going to miss you terribly. It won't matter how many owls we send, or how often we can talk, I will be waiting until the moment we are together again.
Remember what I told you the night over the lake, love crosses distance.
I love you and no distance will ever be too far for that love to reach you.
Your darling,
Fred"
Harry heard the all-too-familiar sound of paper unfolding and wished he had anything he could offer to her, anything at all that could make her feel better. But he had nothing and eventually he thought himself into a troubled sleep when wallowing in their misery wore him out.
Rebecca tried to start putting herself together so that she would be ready to convince Harry in the morning. If she used the four-pointed spell Harry learned for the tournament to get to the Burrow, they would just have to walk until they got there. What would happen to her for using magic outside of Hogwarts? She would get expelled? It was a little too late for that.
Harry would have concerns, of course. They didn't know how far of a walk it was and it would most certainly take many days. But if Rebecca did it once, she would do it again.
Eventually she tried to imagine herself back home at the Burrow, Molly and Arthur sitting around the table as she tried to put the others around her. Rebecca wished that she could be surrounded by their noise if only to drown out the sound of her own thoughts.
Hours into the night, Rebecca still lie awake thinking. Vernon and Petunia had failed to return, only adding to the worries on Rebecca's mind. Glad that she had already put her letter back under her pillow, Rebecca sat up turned her head towards the door. She could have sworn she heard something.
Hedwig gave a little chirp and turned towards the door, directing Rebecca's attention to the key in the lock that was turning itself slowly.
Rebecca dropped to the floor as silently as she could, grabbing her wand from the bedside table and shaking Harry's shoulder roughly. Harry opened his eyes immediately, startled out of his recurring nightmare of Voldemort's return. He stayed quiet, though, at the sight of Rebecca's finger against her lips. He grabbed his glasses and his wand and stood beside her.
The door opened seconds later with a blinding flash of light. "Very clean, these muggles." A woman's voice whispered.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Rebecca demanded, hoisting her wand a notch higher as she squinted into the blinding light. "Stay back!"
The woman raised her wand and cast a light on the end, illuminating the room so they could all see easily. A group of people were revealed around her.
"Professor Moody?" Harry asked, lowering his wand. "What are you doing here?" Rebecca lowered her wand slightly, but not entirely.
"Rescuing you, of course." Moody told them to pack their trunks. Harry lifted his trunk lid to stick a few of his belongings from around the room into it, including the picture of their parents. Rebecca had even less out of her trunk, choosing instead to simply open it whenever she needed something instead of unpacking.
The woman watched Rebecca curiously, so much having been said about her from Fred and George.
Harry dragged his trunk to the door of the room, the still-unnamed woman moving out of his way quietly. "Don't forget your-"
"Right." Rebecca interrupted, climbing back onto the top bed to get her letter. Placing it carefully on top of her robes, Rebecca was grateful for Harry. She didn't even know what she would have done if she were to have forgotten it.
"What is it?" The woman asked.
"Something private." Rebecca said shortly, not wanting to reveal anything to the people who had yet to prove they were to be trusted.
"The letter said we've been expelled." Harry said, pestering Moody at the bottom of the stairs. "Where are we going?"
"You haven't been, not yet." Moody opened the front door as Rebecca joined them and proceeded to hobble out quickly. "Kingsley, you take point."
The tall dark man behind Moody answered Harry's continued questions when Moody wouldn't. "Dumbledore has persuaded the Minister to suspend your expulsions pending a formal hearing."
Rebecca wasn't sure if that was a relief or not, considering the ominous sound of the word 'hearing.'
The woman leaned forward so that she was speaking between the two Potters, The Boy Who Lived and the Lost. "Don't worry, we'll explain everything when we get back to headquarters." She wanted to soothe some of the growing anxiety she could sense between them.
Moody glared at the woman. "Shh! Not here, Nymphadora!"
The now-named woman turned on Moody with a flash of bright red hair. "Don't call me Nymphadora." Her tone was dark and commanding.
Moody ignored her and thumped his walking stick onto the ground twice. Brooms appeared out of the air in front of them and flew into their hands. "Stay in formation everyone. Trunks are being apparated ahead of us. Don't break ranks if one of us is killed."
Harry eyed Rebecca warily, though discreetly. She swung a leg over her broom as if the warning of death hadn't sent a cold flash of fear through her stomach. "Are we going-"
"No talking!" Moody snapped, lifting off. "You never know who is listening."
The group flew in the ordered silence for ages, the suburbs of Surrey fading into vast expanses of dark farmland before eventually giving way to the lights of London. "Is this the Thames?" Rebecca asked, familiar with the river from one of Fred's unprompted geography lessons.
Harry nodded and wondered why they were heading into London instead of north to Hogwarts.
Nymphadora grinned at Rebecca and motioned her head towards the boat they were approaching. Rebecca couldn't help a smile in return, riding a broom after so long taking all thoughts of expulsion far from her mind. In a impromptu game of chicken, Nymphadora and Rebecca separated at the last moment simultaneously, laughing into the wind.
When Moody finally came to a stop, it was in a small park in front of a street lined with row-houses. Moody looked up and down the street slowly before beckoning for the others to follow him across the road. Pausing at the curb and thumping his walking stick three times, the buildings began to rumble and separate slowly. An additional house appeared where one hadn't been before. Rebecca furrowed her brow confused, just now putting things together. "What about-"
"It's not safe to talk out here." Moody said with less of a bite than earlier. "In you get, we'll talk further inside."
Harry and Rebecca entered the house first, finding a dark and dusty hallway. They walked down it slowly, not sure as to where they were going. Kingsley closed the door behind the last of their group and followed Moody as the two men made their way past where Harry and Rebecca had paused in the hall. Nymphadora winked at them, knowing that they were going to be happy where they had ended up even if they didn't yet.
"We must trust Dumbledore." A voice echoed into the hall from whatever was happening through the door at the very end.
"I say it's time to take action!" Another refuted. Rebecca tripped over an upturned carpet corner in the hall and nearly fell right over, kept on her feet only by Harry grabbing her arm.
"Keep your voices down!" Someone hushed those inside. Sirius looked up from where he had been talking as the door was opened, his arm around Remus who was beside him. Harry beamed, still confused as to where they were but happy that the two men were where too.
Molly appeared in the doorway, bringing Rebecca the same happiness. "Rebecca! Harry!" She stepped out of the room and closed it behind her, blocking the resumed conversation from their ears. "Heavens above, you two are alright." She whispered, hugging them both to her until she was certain of the fact.
"What are you doing here? Where's everyone else?" Rebecca asked, pausing only while Molly kissed her cheek. "What's happened to the house?"
"Always a million questions." Molly smiled. "Dinner will have to wait until after the meeting is finished. We'll talk then." Harry opened his mouth to ask a question of his own, but Molly shook her head. "No, no time for that. Straight upstairs, first door on the left." Molly pointed to the stairs to her right, nudging Rebecca and Harry up the first step. "There you go. We'll talk soon."
Rebecca and Harry were left to climb the stairs to whatever was above on their own as the adults from the group that got them followed Molly into the room she had left.
"Mudbloods and werewolves," A voice muttered from the corner where the stairs turned. "Traitors, thieves, and fairies. If my poor mistress knew the scum that has been let into her house...what would she say to old Kreacher?"
Rebecca eyed the house elf warily. It's words were horrible and it was polishing the corner so thoroughly Harry and Rebecca walked by unnoticed. The first door on the left hadn't even opened entirely when Hermione launched herself from where Ron had told her to wait. She couldn't stop until her arms were wrapped as far around Harry and Rebecca as she could manage. "We've heard them talking about the dementor attack. Are you alright?"
Rebecca nodded, Hermione leaping into the next thought racing around her mind.
"And this hearing at the Ministry?" Hermione scoffed. "It's outrageous!"
"Let them have a breath, Hermione?" Ron sighed, shaking his head.
"I've looked it up." Hermione continued as if Ron hadn't said anything. "They simply can't expel you. It's unfair!"
"There's a lot of that going around at the moment." Harry said pointedly, ducking out from under Hermione's arm to make his way around the room of makeshift beds. Hermione was a little hurt at both Harry's cold departure and tone, but she moved to Rebecca and made sure that she was alright.
"What is this place?" Harry asked Ron.
"It's headquarters." Ron said, only giving Harry his full attention after he had looked over Rebecca head to toe to reassure himself that everything was as fine as she was saying.
"Of the Order of the Phoenix." Hermione clarified. "It's a secret society--Dumbledore formed it the first time they fought You-Know-Who."
"You couldn't have included this in a letter?" Rebecca asked, hurt that she and Harry had been so left out. "Not a word?"
"We wanted to. Really, we did." Ron glanced between Rebecca and Harry. "Only..."
"Only what?" Harry asked quickly, nearly demanded.
"Only Dumbledore made us swear not to tell you anything." Ron finished.
"Dumbledore said that?" Harry asked, the first of many questions for Hermione. "Why would he want us in the dark?"
"Is everyone else here too?" Rebecca asked Ron as she glanced back at the door. "What's happened to home?"
Ron shook his head angrily. "They brought us here a week or so ago. Something about not being safe there anymore. Middle of the bloody night when we got here."
There was a pounding of feet in the hall, followed by the sliding of feet as Fred sprinted past the door and tried to stop too late. "Is she here? I hear her--for real this time! I'm certain of it!"
Rebecca's face broke into a mad grin as her question Ron hadn't answered was perfectly. Fred only stopped moving at top speed when his arms were around Rebecca and they stood like that for a long while. When Rebecca tried to look up at him, Fred let go of her enough to keep one arm around her shoulders and the other against the back of her head.
"Expelled, huh?" Fred murmured quietly.
Rebecca shook her head and pulled him closer, kissing him as she had wanted to since the moment they had parted.
George walked slowly into the room, giving his brother a bit of time before swinging the cord he trailed behind him. "If you're all done shouting and...reuniting...care to listen to something a little more interesting?"
Fred slid his hand down to Rebecca's and led her to where Hermione and Ron had crowded around George at the top of the stairs. George lowered one of the shapes at one end of the cord down in front of the door the meeting was going on behind and the other end--an ear, Rebecca realised--crackled before coming to life.
"They have a right to know! If it wasn't for Harry, we wouldn't even know Voldemort was back. They're not children, Molly." Sirius' voice cracked out of the ear and Rebecca couldn't help but look to Fred and George amazed. Instantly, questions about cost of production and prices they could sell for sprung out of her, but Harry shushed her quickly.
"They're not adults, either! Harry's not James, Sirius. And she's not Lily." Molly's voice betrayed how sad the words made her.
"Well-" Sirius was upset, that was clear. "Well he's not your son and she's not your-" Sirius voice cut off and the room was quiet, both above and below. He had gone too far, Sirius knew that. "He's got me! They've both got me!"
Those listening assumed it was Sirius who banged the table, but they weren't sure.
"How touchingly paternal, Black." This voice dripped in sarcasm. "Perhaps the Potters will grow up to be felons, just like their godfather."
"Stay out of this, Snivelus!" Sirius roared.
"Snape's part of the Order?" Harry asked.
Rebecca watched at the bottom of the stairs as Crookshanks appeared and began to stalk the dangling ear. His body was lowered to the ground and his tail was twitching.
"Crookshanks? Leave it alone!" Hermione whispered.
Crookshanks pounced and caught the device between his teeth, severing the cord and dragging it away to wherever he felt like hiding it.
"Your bloody cat!" Ron moaned, blaming Hermione like she had asked Crookshanks to do this.
"Bad Crookshanks!" Hermione called after the back of her cat who couldn't care less.
The kids launched backwards out of sight as the door below opened and Molly stood at the bottom of the stairs a moment. They all heard her sniff and clear her throat before calling up to them. "Come now! Dinner's ready!" Harry and Rebecca followed the others, Molly smiling at the sight of them.
Rebecca paused and wrapped her arms around Molly once more before going on into the kitchen, holding her tightly.
Arthur came up behind Molly and smiled in relief at the sight of Rebecca beside Molly. "Come here!" He said, opening his arms wide enough to hug both of them. "Merlin, we've missed you. Are you sure you're alright? Gave us quite a turn!"
Harry was distracted as Sirius called his name, quickly being questioned as Rebecca was.
"I'm a thousand times better now that we're all together." Rebecca answered honestly, leaving Arthur and Molly as Sirius called for her too.
Sirius wrapped her in a tight hug when she reached him, turning in place slowly as he did and revealing that Fred and George were rearranging the seats around the table so that one was between theirs. "I'm so happy you're here." Sirius said quietly. "If I had to hear one more, 'Rebecca sure would have liked to do this' or 'What do you think she's doing right now,' I would have gone mad."
Fred tried to play it cool, tried to act as if he hadn't heard what Sirius said, but the darkening of his cheeks said everything. Harry shook Remus' outstretched hand and shook his head. "I know exactly what you are talking about."
Rebecca reached up and grabbed the back of Harry's head, pushing him towards Ron and Hermione were taking their seats. Rebecca ignored Remus' hand and hugged him around the middle before taking her spot. "Might be horrible circumstances, but this is brilliant! We should get expelled more often, Harry."
Molly's head jerked up from where she was beginning to scoop out supper. "No, no you should not."
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