Friend Since Birth

*****
The cold stone of the dungeon was surprisingly comfortable after her latest audience with the mad, self-proclaimed lord, even if they’d dumped her there unceremoniously. The seeping chill eased her twitches from another Crucio. She’d almost wonder if Lestrange really was cursed, but there was no way she’d turn on her mage sight to check. Not surrounded by so much family magic and active practitioners. That lesson had been well learned young and she had no wish to go blind from overexposure to magic. She was still in awe that her little stunt in Gringotts hadn’t resulted in any unfortunate side effects. Then again, the goblins did like to dig by hand…. It was only after a tunnel was dug did they add enchantments.

“Lady?” a hoarse voice croaked, pulling her out of her quickly tumbling thoughts.

“My good Lord,” she greeted back, swallowing after to soothe the rasp in her own throat. It was not hard to place her new companion’s voice, even with the rough quality of it.

“I did not tell your secrets,” Lucius Malfoy said, almost pleading for her to believe him.

“I know,” she tried to soothe. “You had to give them something, though.”

She looked around the gloom in an effort to find where he was, moving only her head to prevent further injuries. It didn’t take long, but the pile of rags and blood and pale skin was almost unrecognizable as the proud man who’d stood in her office only a month ago with his wife. She winced when she started cataloguing his injuries, but none of it looked life threatening at this point. It would be soon, though, if they couldn’t escape. Now that she was here, she had little doubt they’d grow tired of tormenting their former fellow.

“I didn’t want to,” Malfoy denied, softly. “You’ve been too good to us.”

She smirked at that, hearing the sharp intake of breath behind them telling her someone was listening in and was unprepared for the truth.

“Well, just imagine what I’ll be like after this,” she teased. She caught the blond’s gaze first, so he knew the true meaning. She’d be excessively protective, but she wouldn’t say that. Let these horrible people think she’d torment him herself for exposing her.

“Any reason you can’t just change the wards while they’re here and have the wards remove the rubbish?” she asked after a few minutes in silence.

“Forced me to make an oath,” Malfoy bit out.

Hmmm, that was a problem. But would do little to help them out. Now that they’d given up on recruiting her, as illustrated by her new accommodations, she’d have to get serious about an escape. Idiots had no patience. Granted, the week mark she’d given herself was almost up and no indication yet that anyone knew where she was. She didn’t blame them, though. If they were in Malfoy Manor, the only ones that could definitely get through the wards were Narcissa and Draco. And she’d never ask them to do so alone.

The wards would just have to be changed later, when they retook the manor.

“Are the important artifacts protected?” she asked. Her throat throbbed at the continued conversation, more used to screaming now than speaking. It was the Crucio after all. No one could escape screaming from it eventually.

“Enough,” Malfoy admitted.

She wondered if they were actually in the Manor or had been entrusted to the goblins. Oh, that was a thought. The goblins would relish the opportunity to do some pest removal if given the chance. She giggled at the thought and Malfoy seemed stunned.

“Something funny, milady?” their guard snapped, flicking a stinging hex at her exposed cheek to emphasize his question. Morgana bless dragon hide armor…

She yelped at the different pain, but only grinned wider. So much progress today. Found Malfoy. Thought of a great way to get revenge. And now a follower who didn’t think of Crucio first and addressed her correctly, despite his lord’s obviously growing hatred of her. Just for that, she tensed her muscles enough to roll over to face the man.

He startled when she just grinned at him. The dim lighting of the dungeons made it hard to see exact detail, but she could tell he was tall. His hair was well groomed, and he stood straight, like any well-respected heir or blood of a prominent family tended to. He also looked and sounded young. As in, not much older than school age, if he was already graduated. That meant it was likely he’d not asked to be involved here. His parents had probably pushed him towards it.

A potential ally, if he wasn’t a spy.

So she set about testing him.

“Oh, just thinking that I have a few friends that would relish the opportunity to address some pests a friend of mine seems to have been overrun by,” she finally answered, snickering again at the thought of Ragnok’s most likely gleeful agreement. It had been so long since they’d seen a good battle after all. And the Manor held enough Death Eaters to instantly surpass the little skirmishes they were having retrieving the various products of her Recalls.

“And who would these friends be?” the man, boy really, asked.

“Goblins,” a gruff voice snapped from behind him. Arianna laughed when the boy paled enough that even she could tell in the lighting before he whipped around, wand raised, to face the speaker.

Ragnok grinned ferally at the boy, ax raised in challenge and a cluster of goblin guards behind him mirroring the action.

The boy jumped but didn’t immediately attack. Instead, he seemed to be studying the goblins closely. Then he turned enough to see where she was still slumped on the dirty floor and Malfoy was propped against the wall.

“I can’t go with you,” he finally said, lowering his wand. His voice trembled in fear, though, as if he’d like nothing better.

“You have family,” she surmised. It really didn’t take much thought.

“Yes,” he agreed. “But I also can’t be seen as weak.”

“So we slice you up a little and you can claim we were only doing so for sport, as you are no threat to us,” Ragnok snapped, pushing past the young wizard to reach her. “With your youth, it should be not be an unreasonable assumption.”

“They will see me weak for surviving such warriors with only scratches. They’ll know you left me alive after only playing with me,” he grumbled.

Arianna thought of it for a moment before smirking. She reached into her core, touching the well of magic she knew was there. It was harder to cast without a wand for most, but she’d been doing so since she was a child. The wand usually slowed her. When she had the magic she needed, she threw it at the boy.

The surge of magic almost caused her to black out, but she refused to let it, intent to be awake for her return.

But her spell did what she intended. The boy was thrown into the ceiling, gravity reversed for him and adding weight so he couldn’t move his own body. His wand lay on the ground, dropped when he was thrown into the air. At the same time, his magic was bound tightly, making him into almost a squib until they managed to break the bind. If they didn’t, she knew his life would be in danger again. His family would be safe, but he would be seen as a shame. With the Dark faction’s weird and warped ideals, it would be better that he die than to continue shaming his family, even if it cost them a fighter and the loyalty of his family if they truly didn’t care. But she could counter that. She grabbed a small stone, a destination in mind as she silently cast the portkey spell, tweaking it for her purposes.

“Stop that,” Ragnok chastised at the second bit of magic.

She only smiled at him, glad to note the others were guarding the room while another checked on Malfoy. Then she banished the stone into the boy’s pocket and shuffled along until she was below him. Lying back, she smiled when she could meet his eyes without either of them struggling.

“If they decide you’re not worth it or you manage to get your head out of your arse, simply take the stone and say ‘Freedom from Tyranny,’” she explained. “It will take you somewhere safe. It’s spelled so only you can use it, but it will shift if you need to bring those you consider family. And note I said those you consider family. They can’t get through, even if you do talk or they potion you. Just know, if you turn out to be just as crazy as the rest of the skull faces, the destination doesn’t react well to black magic or betrayers.”

He managed to nod his head and she nodded back before allowing Ragnok to help her up.

“Eir’s going to be pissed,” she grumbled.

“You would be right,” another familiar voice growled from the doorway. Arianna considered how likely she’d be able to apparate before deciding against it and turning to face her very much pissed off head guard. “But not as pissed as I am,” Artair snapped, the fury very evident on his hard features.

“Would it help if I promised not to argue about the necessity of guards again?” she offered with a hesitant grin.

“Not in the least,” he denied, storming over and swinging her easily into his arms. She didn’t even protest as he carried her from the room and out of the Manor.

*****
“Relax, Malfoy,” Harry snapped, pacing the elegant study the Room of Requirement had provided them in his own agitation.

He could not believe no one had thought to tell him his sister was missing. The sister he’d just seen a little over a week ago before she left to prepare for the Wizengamot meeting tomorrow. The sister he just found out about. The sister who, in a matter of only months, had spent days sitting with him, just talking so she could get to know the man he was. Not the baby she remembered. Or the father he knew he looked like. The sister that was moving mountains to make sure he was safe and had a future of his own choosing. The sister willing to defy Voldemort, Dumbledore, the Wizengamot, and anyone else who thought they knew best. The sister that he already loved entirely.

He wanted to be with the raiding party but Artair, with Ron’s support, had rejected the idea harshly. Ron had been forced to stun him when he tried to join anyway, since the goblins saw no issue with him going as it had to do with family. He was still sore about the whole thing.

To have to wait with Draco, who was as nervous and on edge as he was, was not helping his anxiety that something would go wrong or that they would be too late.

“Think about what you’re going to report to her when she’s ready,” Fred offered, snagging him around the waist and pulling him onto an overstuffed chair with him.

“Like the stairs being nice for once,” George offered, perching on the arm so he could run a hand through Harry’s mess of hair.

“And the outbuildings that are slowly appearing,” Ron suggested, only to shrink back at the glare Harry shot him.

“I didn’t think we’d get Hermione out of that second library any time soon,” Fred said with a chuckle, nuzzling Harry’s neck and glancing at the witch where she huddled in the corner of the room, a literal mound of books surrounding her. She was intently reading the book in her lap, absentmindedly making notes as she went. “Then again, bringing it with her may not count as out of it.”

Harry wanted to push him away, to stay worried and pissed, but between the two redheads attached to his sides, he was slowly relaxing. He knew there was something between the three of them. His gut said it had to be important for him to be able to relax just from one of them touching him, but he didn’t want to think too far into it at this point. His sister was being rescued and there were a thousand other things to consider at the moment. But the second he had the opportunity to talk to his twins, he would. He accepted they were his, at least. When Angelina had tried to flirt with Fred like normal the one and only practice he’d been able to attend, he was not proud of himself for snapping at her possessively. Since then, he’d been forced to realize he was well and truly gone for the pair.

“Pince about had a heart attack when the donation showed up,” Harry grudgingly admitted, allowing the anger to finally dissipate as he decided to get on board with their distraction.

“I think what freaked her out more was the library adjusting to add a Muggle fiction section,” Ron grumbled.

Harry really wanted to glare at him again. He could see just how upset his best mate was and how much it hurt whenever Harry did, but he wasn’t going to let up so quickly. Ron had kept his suspicions from him. He was still right pissed, but with Fred and George playing with his hair, he didn’t have the focus to snap at him again. And he would just ignore the fact that he was keeping his own secrets.

“What library?” Arianna’s voice asked from the doorway, the pain evident even if he couldn’t see any injuries when his eyes snapped to her. He did note that Hermione seemed to pull herself out of the books to begin paying attention.

“Hogwarts,” he answered automatically. She looked worn and tired, her face pinched in pain. And she was wearing the same clothes she’d left in, though they were stained darker colors here and there from what he assumed was blood dripping from a few shallow cuts on her cheeks and neck.

“Seems the emptying of the ROR freed up a lot of Hogwarts’ magic,” Fred said, holding tight to Harry to prevent him from running across the room and pouncing on the obviously weak woman. Artair didn’t look too eager to let anyone near either.

“Yes, I figured it would. That’s why Hogwarts suggested cleaning it out first,” she said, pushing at the arms holding her and glaring at the massive man carrying her. “You can put me down, now, Artair,” she insisted.

“All due respect, milady, but the last time I trusted you to know what you needed, you were kidnapped by the man who murdered your parents,” Artair retorted, returning her glare with one that Harry was sure had once stopped enemies from across the battlefield. “I’ll not be releasing you until a Healer has cleared you and I have your guarantee that you will not resist protection again.”

Harry could tell the twins wanted to make a crack at his phrasing, but he pinched them harshly to prevent it. When they turned to him with pouts worthy of Sirius, he only glared and shook his head. He wanted to see her reaction.

“Artair, I will not promise that!” she denied. “I cannot do some of what I must with guards following me everywhere.”

“And I said resist protection, not that you had to have it at every moment,” Artair countered, stalking across the room and sitting stiffly in a chair with Arianna cradled on his lap. He glared daggers at everyone that approached while they continued to argue.

“And what of my father?” Malfoy asked quietly.

“I refused to be carried like an invalid,” a rough voice answered from the doorway.

“Yes, because limping from the apparation point up seven floors while disillusioned was the better option,” Sirius teased as he helped support the blond into the room.

“Black, I swear to Salazar, if you utter one word about this-” Lucius growled.

“Yes, yes, I’m sure I’ll not enjoy the consequences, Malfoy,” Sirius interrupted with a smirk. “You know, you were a lot scarier as a Prefect, you ponse.”

Malfoy Sr seemed insulted and pushed away from Sirius, only to almost fall before Draco rushed to hug him. Harry was a bit shocked, as he still wasn’t used to seeing beyond the Slytherin mask, but he figured it was warranted in this case. He also usually did the same at seeing Sirius and Arianna. But he was still angry so he kept his seat on Fred’s lap.

“So, where were you?” he eventually asked, gaining the attention of the room and causing more than a few concerned looks at his tone.

He didn’t even flinch at the chastising look from Draco or the glances Ron and the Twins exchanged.

“Captured by Voldemort,” Arianna answered easily. Her blue eyes bore into him and he did not appreciate the offhanded way she announce that. “It seems he was looking to recruit the holder of Gringotts’ oldest vault, since obviously, I would hold a lot of power he could use.”

“And you didn’t escape why?” he asked, just as evenly. “I mean, you apparated through two of the oldest sets of wards in Britain before. Why not escape from a madman before you were gone a week?”

He ignored the protests that sprung up from that, glaring at his sister. It surprised him that Sirius and the twins said nothing but the others all protested his words. Even Malfoy Senior seemed to want to defend his sister. But Arianna just kept his gaze and sat on her Head Guard’s lap.

It was the voice of Ragnok that finally brought order to the chaos.

“Because she was too weak to do so, young Lord,” the goblin summarized as he stalked into the room, ax still drawn and a small contingent of guards following him. “She decided it was a good idea to take her Animagus form for only the second time right before leaving the protections of the castle for a prolonged period of time. Add on that she has still not added members to her families which in turn is causing her to still power all her house elves and all the work she has been doing to correct wrongs that have taken place over decades and I am truly shocked she has managed to make it this long without such a lapse.”

Harry narrowed his eyes at her. “You weren’t escaping the press over the last month here, were you?” he practically hissed.

Arianna had the nerve to straighten at his tone and finally glare back at him.

“I am not your subject, Harry,” she snapped, uncharacteristically calling him Harry which in turn caused him to flinch back. He could count on one hand the number of times she’d called him by his name. She seemed to prefer nicknames and he honestly preferred that, as it meant she cared. He’d rarely found someone to give him his own nickname and he loved it when it happened. Yet it physically hurt for her to give that up at this moment.

“And I am not some child that needs protecting, Arianna,” he snapped back. “I have been in the dark about this whole thing until today and I could have helped! I don’t know much about the sibling bond, but it allowed you to find me. I could have used it to find you!”

That seemed to startle his sister and get the attention of Artair. Artair studied him a moment and he tried not to squirm under the man’s gaze. He liked the Scotsman, but he rarely interacted with him. To have the undivided attention of such a seasoned warrior, who had eagerly arranged training sessions on his own time for Ron, so his best mate could be his personal guard, was unnerving. But he would not allow himself to be intimidated. He’d faced down Voldemort four times already and he definitely wanted to kill him each time. To face down his sister’s guard was nothing in comparison.

“I’d like to know who kept him in the dark,” Artair spoke finally, tone icy and gaze fixed on Harry.

The subtle shifting of cloth announced the responsible party before any could offer denials. Harry winced when it turned out to be Sirius.

“I didn’t want him worrying,” Sirius offered sheepishly.

“Obviously, that,”

“didn’t work,”

“So well, Padfoot,” the twins seethed, curling around Harry even more to prevent a possible blowout.

Harry couldn’t exactly tell them they were wrong to worry as he felt his magic crackling along his spine in his anger.

Arianna must have felt it too as she smiled at him gently.

“I was serious, Harry,” she said, ignoring the brewing storm that she sat on and the ears of the stunned Malfoys hung on every word they could understand. The Fidelius would change some words, he knew, but even still. Much of their argument wasn’t protected if she allowed her ward necklace to include them. “I will not keep secrets from you about such important things.”

“But you’ll work yourself to death before you allow me to help!” he protested, pushing at Fred’s arm to try and get up to pace. Fred was having none of it though and only tightened his hold. George just buried his face in Harry’s neck and Harry was momentarily distracted by the rush of emotion at the sensation of his breath on the fine hairs there.

“I work so hard because there are some things you can’t help with yet,” she denied. “And because you need to focus on school.”

“School is a joke!” he cried. “With the blocks removed, I remember everything that’s been taught before and all the review isn’t necessary. Defense is useless and even training half the school on our own is not taking up much time, since there are so many helping out and our mentor program is working. The other classes are either ridiculously stupid or a repeat of previous year’s materials but adding a few things here and there. I need something to do that isn’t school. I can’t even practice for Quidditch anymore. There is no reason I can’t help with your vaults. In fact, I’m probably one of the only ones that can since you said it yourself, many items are cursed so only those of the bloodline can even touch them.”

He wanted to go on, to list all the ways the school was Hel without enough to distract him, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t tell her about his detentions and the scar he now had on his hand that he had a feeling was permanent. He couldn’t tell her about the aftermath of his explosion in the Great Hall on Halloween. How everyone either sneered at him and called him an attention seeking liar or looked at him in pity or thought he walked on clouds or said he was the second coming of Merlin. He couldn’t even tell her about his struggles to deal without Quidditch for a second year. He needed something to distract him and his vaults were mostly heir vaults or being handled by Arianna as proxy so he couldn’t even take over his own audits and recalls. Not even Potter, which they were keeping the same to avoid Dumbledumb’s attention.

He spent almost as much time as Hermione in the libraries these days, trying to stay out of trouble with Umbitch and going over any and every book he found even partially interesting and yet, he couldn’t do much about the subjects he was discovering a passion for because there were no competent professors for them. After all, warding was so specialized it would take Bill tutoring him for him to even really start on the practical part of it and the man was a curse breaker at Gringotts for almost a decade. And he didn’t really trust the information about the creatures he was learning about, unless Uncle Newt wrote it and he had memorized Fantastic Beasts already. So, no matter how much he read, it wasn’t really a distraction as he couldn’t put the practical parts together on his own. He was already caught up on the lessons Sirius insisted on for being a lord and just needed practical experience to lock the lessons into his new wickedly extensive memory.

And yet none of it could keep his mind off Umbridge and Dumbledore and Voldemort and the myriad of other issues he could do nothing about right now.

“If you’ll permit, Lady Aiaia,” Ragnok offered before anyone could react to Harry’s outburst. “There are a number of items and documents I could review with Lord Potter.”

Arianna studied the goblin closely for a moment before nodding.

“And if need be, I could offer advice to the young lord,” Malfoy Sr said.

“You, my dear Lord,” Arianna said smoothly. “Will do nothing but rest until Eir is satisfied you are healthy.”

“And what of Malfoy Manor?” the blond demanded.

“We were more concerned with securing our Goblin Friend then ridding the Manor of your infestation,” Ragnok said promptly, a feral grin back on his face. “However, for a price, we would gladly return and do a thorough inspection and decontamination.”

“Please,” Malfoy said, easing himself to a couch finally.

“Pull the Galleons from the Slytherin Vault,” Harry ordered.

Both Slytherins stared at him in shock when Ragnok nodded to him.

“Right of Conquest,” Arianna offered to their questioning gazes.

Draco gaped at him, stood by his father. He just shrugged back.

“So, let me get this straight,” Ron said, a suppressed laugh obvious in his tone. “You’re more shocked at the Golden Boy of Gryffindor being Lord Slytherin than you are at King Ragnok claiming Lady Aiaia as Goblin Friend?”

The two blondes startled and Harry laughed at the obvious sign that they’d missed that little fact earlier.

*****
“Can I ask why you came here first?” Fred asked into the silence after the laughter died down.

“Forgot my bag and wand,” Arianna said.

“Charlie has your bag,” Sirius offered, only to shrink back at the glare Arianna sent him. Fred was sure the man was going to be in deep trouble for a while with the Potter siblings. Arianna looked like she just wanted to transform and roast him with her flames.

“And my wand?”

“Peeves picked up Lady Hoggywart’s wand before those pesky Deathy eateries could grab it!” a voice cackled as the poltergeist zoomed into the room, Arianna’s wand clutched in his hands.
Instead of playing keepaway, like Fred was expecting, the prankster just dropped it into her hands with a small bow. It still amazed him the level of respect the notoriously prickly poltergeist gave to the spitfire redhead.

She thanked the ghost and inspected her wand, ignoring the overly done grateful grin the ghost sported. A few sparks flew out the end and she smiled at the slim piece of wood.

“As for the main reason,” she finally said, slowly standing from her overprotective guard and accidentally releasing him to storm to Sirius. She ignored the squawk of protest as her godfather was pinned to the wall and made her way over to their chair. She knelt slowly in front of his legs and leaned against them for support as she captured Harry’s face gently in her hands. “I wanted to see you and make sure you knew I was alright.”

“And she allowed me to come so Draco could do the same,” Malfoy offered, patting Draco’s shoulder gently with as much affection as any Malfoy would willingly show in public.

“Yes, Eir will be so pleased you came here first,” Ragnok offered dryly.

Fred snickered at the pained look that overcame Arianna’s face.

“We could always tell her we came straight to Gringotts,” she said, face flashing to hopeful as she looked to the King of the Goblins.

“And risk her finding out I lied to her?” Ragnok asked with a smirk. “Not even for you, Lady Aiaia. Though I may delay in calling for Healer Tonks.”

Arianna whimpered at that but sent a grateful smile to the goblin who only grinned wider, causing Harry to snort. He may still be angry at her, but she did manage to earn smiles anyway. Somehow…

“Now, we really must be going, Arianna,” Ragnok said gruffly, all humor vanishing in a flash. “You have seen your Heir. Lord Malfoy has seen his Heir. And your guard is about to murder Lord Black, so it would best if they were separated for a while. But if you wish to attend the Wizengamot meeting tomorrow, you need to see the healers now.”

Arianna sighed and made to get up. Harry’s hand on her wrist stopped her movements, though. Fred could the white knuckles he had from gripping so hard but Arianna didn’t seem to mind. She only smiled gently at him and ruffled his hair. He batted at her hand wildly, glaring but not releasing her arm. Only after she lowered herself again and pulled him into an awkward hug did he release it so he could clutch her to him tightly. Fred’s grip on his waist was the only thing stopping him from tumbling out of the chair and pulling the two siblings to the floor together.

“Promise you’ll call tonight,” he whispered.

“I promise to have my mirror opened constantly if that will help you,” she offered in return.

Harry nodded vigorously and instantly fumbled in his robes for his mirror. She smiled gently and went to activate hers. Only to pause and chuckle.

“As soon as I get my bag from Charlie, huh?” she offered.

Harry deflated but nodded. Fred wanted to kiss Hermione when she stomped over, hand already holding her own mirror out to the pair.

“I know you said this was spelled to only allow me to call you, but surely you can alter it until you find yours,” she said with a pained expression.

“Thank you, Hermione,” Arianna said gratefully, taking the mirror gently and holding the brunette’s wrist for a moment to convey just how much it meant.

Fred knew how much Hermione enjoyed the magic of the mirror and the discussions she had with Arianna. Since the witch had received the mirror, he had noticed a distinct decrease in her efforts to prove she was better than everyone and he was not ignorant enough to say it had nothing to do with prolonged contact with the understanding witch that was their soulmate’s older sibling. He had the feeling no one would be able to resist her charms or unending depth of patience and understanding, least of all a witch that just wanted to know and understand the world she now loved like Hermione.

“I’ll take good care of it, ‘Mione,” Arianna continued. “And I’ll send it back as soon as possible.”

Hermione only nodded and backed away, smiling when Harry threw her a grateful look. A few minutes of Arianna examining the mirror and tapping occasionally with her wand had the mirror flashing brightly before showing Harry’s smiling face.

“There, now we’re all set,” Arianna said, smiling at her brother lovingly and having the smile doubled back to her.

“Please let them protect you,” Harry begged this time. Fred winced at the desperation in their soulmate.

“I promise,” Arianna agreed instantly, pushing herself to her feet slowly.

A nudge to George had him helping her straighten and limp over to Artair. Who still had Sirius pinned to the wall and seemed to be still lecturing him about keeping secrets from siblings.

“Oi!” Arianna interrupted with no remorse. “Lay off for now. He’s turning blue.”

Artair paused in his ranting to look at his captive and sniffed when her words proved true. He released the man with an eyeroll when the ex-Auror dropped to the floor, gasping in lungfuls of air.

“Next time, think,” he snapped with finality before turning to Arianna and sweeping her into his arms again.

He ignored her protests and Fred snickered when she started threatening him.

“I’d just accept it for now, milady,” Ragnok said with a chuckle. “I have a feeling we will all be overly protective for a time yet.”

She only grumbled but nodded as they made their way to the door. Malfoy joined them, again leaning against Sirius, though it looked more like equal unsteadiness. Ragnok cast a bit of magic at them and in seconds they were invisible. Fred instantly wanted to study the spell, as it was far more comprehensive than the typical disillusionment spell he was used to, but Ragnok only smiled at him and shook his head.

“Goblin magic and secret,” the goblin offered before disappearing himself.

Fred cursed softly then hugged his soulmate to him and pulled his twin into the chair as well.

“And that’s my cue to go back to bed,’ Draco said with a sneer at their chair.

Fred only gave him a rude gesture as he made his way to the door. As much as the little snake had changed and as much as they felt protective of the bullied house, Malfoy was still Malfoy and it was taking him longer than they thought necessary to get over his habit of rude words and even ruder habits. After all, he did still call a number of people mudblood and hexed more than his fair share of students. Even if he protected Harry often from the idiots in the halls, he still struggled to maintain a respectful tone when speaking to him.

“Fred, George, Harry,” Hermione acknowledged as she too made her way out, a veritable train of books floating along behind her. Apparently, her bag’s extension charm was not enough and Pince had petitioned and won the permission to teach her a few spells to help with the new books.

Ron just glared at them until the three of them turned to face him.

“Bed, Harry,” the younger red head ordered, pointing the door and glaring at his brothers. “You haven’t been sleeping.”

“You’re one to talk,” Harry whined.

“Bed, Harry,” Ron reiterated. “Without the twins. As much as I care about you, mate, I do not want to think about you with my brothers and I do not want you caught together right now.”

Fred and George exchanged a glance, exchanging words quickly in their heads before sighing together.

“As much as we hate agreeing with Ronnykins,”

“Our dear Harry, he’s right.”

“We can’t risk anyone finding out about us,”

“Until we’ve completed the bond,”

“And there’s no way to take you away,”

“From us,” they finished in unison.

“Besides, it doesn’t mean we don’t want to,” Fred whispered into his ear, pressing a soft kiss to his quickly warming cheek.

“Just that we’re going to make it amazing when we finally get you in our bed,” George breathed into his other ear, adding his own kiss. Fred tried to contain himself but he knew Harry could feel the effect he had on the redhead because he squeaked in surprise, causing Ron to roll his eyes and pull their soulmate from their arms.

“Don’t make me use Auquamenti on you,” Ron threatened to the twins even as he pushed a still flustered Harry out the door.

“I do think Ron has forgotten not to take what’s ours away,” George said with a smirk as soon as the pair disappeared out the door.

Fred grinned evilly, thinking back to the last time Ron had taken something of theirs away. Ron had been permanently scared.

“Think we can get him terrified of bricks this time?” Fred asked.

“Peeves would be willing to assist, oh wonderful prankster twins,” the poltergeist offered, surprising them as they’d honestly forgotten he was still in the room. Then they exchanged grins.