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Chapter Sixty-Six

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Each Potter twin held the hand of a Weasley twin and pulled insistently toward their bedroom, the Weasley twins following obediently, if somewhat bemusedly. Ever since Harry had explained to them about magical twins, they had been especially interested in the Potter twins. At first, they wondered why their parents had never spoken about it, had never told them exactly why they were so strongly linked that they often felt they could read each other's minds.

A few clandestine trips to the library (not only did they want to keep their subject of study private, but they had reputations to uphold) and they discovered that the existence of magical twins was not at all common knowledge, and had not been for probably hundreds of years. The only reference they found was in the restricted section, in a book coated with a thin layer of dust. Apparently, not even the house elves were allowed back there, or they didn't risk the danger that some of the books presented.

Suddenly, the world made sense to the twin redheads. They reveled in the newfound depth of their attachment, and the magic behind it. Together, they found obscure locations in the classroom to practice casting simultaneously, to what they, initially, assumed would be the detriment of their schoolwork. However, now that they understood their connection better, their grades actually rose, much to their mother's pleasure. Spell casting came to them with greater ease, and by utilizing their mental connection to the fullest extent they were able, they could comprehend theory far better than ever before.

So following the Potter twins was not in the least bit a chore. Though Fred and George had many things on their mental to-do list, they were glad to put it all aside in favor of studying the only two other people they knew of who could possibly fully relate to them, even if they were only toddlers.

"We don't have much time," Rowan told them after Ryan closed the door and took a seat next to his sister on one of the two twin beds in the room, leaving the Weasleys standing. "You have a lot to do, and we won't see you much for a few years."

Fred and George glanced at each other and raised their eyebrows. Though the facial communication was not really needed, they did not fully trust their mental connection yet, and their silent communication could not always perform on command, or with perfect clarity. Harry had told them that his younger siblings were seers, but knowing a fact and being confronted with it were two entirely different experiences. It seemed they were about to have their futures told – somewhat anyway.

Ryan shifted a bit, and Rowan glanced his way. She grinned at the older twins, "Good first. She will come to you, and you'll know it. Bad stuff now. Stay at Hogwarts as long as you should, and don't go back for a long time. Don't get caught with the swamps."

"They're going to work?" Fred blurted out, unable to help himself. They had been working on the portable swamps for some time. It worked to the point where a gooey, stinky mess erupted from the box, but it was not a swamp, and the twins were aiming for perfection. They wanted insects, plant life, water, and everything else that came with swamps.

Ryan nodded, and, though they had been peripherally aware that he almost never spoke, they hadn't yet considered it in terms of the twin bond. For Fred and George, it was so natural that they shared speech, as well as the occasional thought, that they never really considered that other magical twins might act differently.

As George was about to ask about their connection, though, Rowan spoke again, "No time now. Harry's on the roof."

With that, she pushed them towards the door, not that she was actually strong enough to push them, but neither Weasley resisted.

"Huh?"

It didn't matter which of them spoke, for the sentiment came from both. Half, or more, of what came from Rowan's mouth made no sense whatsoever. They had been considering leaving Hogwarts before the year ended, as they were thoroughly sick of Umbridge and didn't need their N.E.W.T.s to run their business. However, they were not about to abandon their new responsibilities in assisting Harry, not to mention their newfound bottomless potions resource in Professor Severus Snape.

"I've been looking for you!" Neville's voice came only seconds after Rowan shut the door behind them. "I need to talk to you... and Harry... and Snape should be here tonight for a meeting. I can't find him anywhere, though. Do you know where Harry is?"

"Harry's on the roof," the words left George's mouth before he even thought them. As one, the twins shot a quick look back at the closed door. That was one mystery solved.

All three Gryffindors turned to the window as thunder boomed and watched the rain pelting the glass. It wasn't really the season for lightning and thunder, but anyone who lived around Harry long enough learned that seasonal effects on storms didn't affect Harry's storms. Neville shivered, and the twins took pity on him.

"We'll get him."

"I'll be in Harry's room."

It took a moment for the twins to remember the location of the winding stairs that accessed that section of the roof of Potter Manor. The wind pushed them back a bit as they opened the door that led outside onto a widow's walk. The sight that met them was astonishing.

The night was certainly going to be one of surprises. Harry had only displayed a small amount of his control over the elements in the presence of the twins, and as such they had no idea that he was capable of anything like what they were seeing.

Almost impossible to see in the dark of the night, with the heavy rain further obscuring vision, Harry was hovering above the roof, his arms outstretched, his face stretching up to the clouds. His clothes, what little he was wearing anyway, were soaked through. Fred and George cast water repelling and warming charms on each other before stepping outside. Their friend might be able to control the temperature of his own body, but they had no such luck.

Lightning crashed around them, directed perfectly towards the many lightning rods installed on the Manor's roof. Fred and George jumped in unison when one the bolts actually hit Harry, with seemingly no effect. Nearly too frightened to wait any longer, they made their way over to Harry, and were startled again when he looked down at them before they made their presence known.

"I felt the change in the air," was Harry's only explanation as he lowered himself to the surface.

"You can fly," Fred and George grinned broadly at their friend, any creepiness completely forgotten.

Harry shook his head, sending water droplets flying, "Not like some wizards can. I mean, there are some out there that can fly without a broom. There were rumors that Riddle could, but what I do is different. I make the air strong enough to hold me, and I ride on it."

George wondered if Harry ever had the chance to explain his abilities to anyone. Most of the people who knew had been around him as he grew up and discovered how to use his power. While Snape (among those who learned of his powers recently) was far more likely to research the matter thoroughly before grilling his pupil on whatever the books left ambiguous, the Weasley twins wouldn't be bothered with another lengthy research project, especially when all the knowledge they could ask for was contained in one person they had ready access to – especially when they only needed the knowledge piecemeal, as each question came up.

"Neville wants to talk about something."

Harry nodded and the storm subsided slightly. If Fred and George were to guess, the storm had been a natural occurrence, and Harry had taken advantage of it to play a little and to let out some of his anxiety. Though they didn't meddle, and rarely commented, it went without saying that Harry Potter was constantly under more stress each day than most people experienced in a week, or even a month.

Apparently, Harry needed nothing more than Neville wanting to talk to get him in out of the storm. As he walked down the spiral stairs, Fred and George had their wands out, casting spell after spell on their friend. They dried him off, unwrinkled his clothes, fixed his hair to the best of anyone's ability, and, just because they had to of course, attempted to turn his hair green – the key word being 'attempted.' For some reason, the very basic charm did not work while all the others did. So the twins, always possessed with a desire to know why, started casting more spells, all of them entirely harmless.

Frowning, the twins followed Harry into his room. Neville, looking up from his seat by the fire, gave the twins a peculiar look, "Why is your hair green?"

Finally reacting to the slew of spells the twins had sent his way, Harry turned around and smirked, while Fred and George looked at each other, flabbergasted. George opened his mouth, but only bubbles floated out. Taking pity on them, Harry cast several finite's in their direction.

"Personal wards," Harry explained, "takes forever to build them up, but totally worth it."

With a silent agreement to look into personal warding, something neither twin had ever heard of, they put the matter to rest and turned their attention to Neville, who was waiting silently for the others to settle in.

Neville fiddled a bit with the edge of his sleeve, clearly uncomfortable with whatever it was he needed to talk about, "Have you noticed anything odd about Ron?"

"Odd?"

"Ronnikins?"

"Never," the twins finished sarcastically.

They were truly disappointed in their younger brother. At least Percy had an overabundance of ambition, and a lack of common sense, to blame for his idiocy. Ron had no such excuse. He was, to put it simply, a pampered, sheltered fool who was prone to jealousy and insecurity. However, he made no efforts to excel at anything, with the sole exception of quidditch (and in that his insecurities made his playing suffer).

Their mum had, with each successive child, sheltered them more and more. The twins had broken out of that cycle, their innate curiosity and mischievousness overriding their mother's protectiveness. It had something to do with the war, they guessed, and mostly with the death of their uncles. Perhaps they had escaped in part because they reminded their mother of what she had lost in Fabian and Gideon.

Regardless, Ginny had managed to come out as quite a spitfire. Seeing that she turned out okay, and the twins did as well, with enough strength of character, Ron should have been able to make something of himself. He had always liked being pampered, and letting others do everything for him, though. Of all the Weasley children, it was Ron and Percy that had the most problems with their poverty. At least Percy did something about it. Ron just complained.

The twins sobered a bit and frowned, "Odder than usual?"

"Don't pay much attention to the prat..."

"... to be completely honest," they admitted with a twinge of guilt. Despite being a complete wet blanket, the prat was still their brother. Then again, Ron hadn't made any effort either.

"He's been writing with Percy a lot," Neville explained, and the others instantly perked up and paid closer attention. Writing to Percy essentially meant that Ron was writing to Fudge, and Ron had information that Fudge would kill for – like the identity of Order members that worked in the Ministry. "He tries to hide the letters, but I recognized Percy's owl, and Ron's not real good at subtlety.

"Anyway, I've played chess him a bunch this holiday. At school he hangs out with Dean and Seamus mostly, especially because Seamus doesn't believe Harry." He sent Harry an apologetic look, which Harry waved away. The Slytherin obviously couldn't care less what Seamus Finnegan thought about him. "He doesn't really have anyone here, 'cause Ginny spends her time with Brie, and I'm mostly with you guys, and Hermione went skiing in Switzerland with her parents."

"Where is he now?" Harry interrupted as he set up an extra silencing ward on his room. Fred and George nodded their agreement. They shouldn't have that conversation if Ron was going to come looking for any of them.

"Ian's playing chess with him," Neville gave them a small smile, almost a smirk, but neither of them had ever seen Neville actually smirk. "I gave him a box of chocolate frogs to keep Ron distracted all night."

"Good job, Nev," Fred thumped Neville's back in approval.

Neville took a deep breath, "Anyway, he's been asking a lot of questions about Harry, about things he has no business knowing, questions I know he didn't think of. Like I said, he's not that subtle."

"This could be a problem..."

"... not for us..."

"... 'cause we're not about to spill..."

"... but he knows way too much..."

"... about the Order."

"He could get Dad fired..."

"... or worse..."

"... others too..."

"... like Tonks and Shacklebolt."

None of them wanted to think about what the 'or worse' could possibly be. Neville was wise to keep Ron busy for the night. If Ian was monopolizing his time, Ron couldn't spy on them or the Order meeting.

Harry frowned, "I might not be overly happy with them just now, but the Order members should know about this."

Harry's door burst open. In keeping with Potter family policy he hadn't locked it, but Brie and Ginny still should have knocked first. Fred and George liked Brie. She was a creative prankster, and had saved Ginny from years of loneliness at Hogwarts. Their sister, due to her possession her first year, hadn't really made any friends in her first year. When Brie had sorted into Gryffindor though, Ginny had found a best friend worthy of a Weasley.

"Go away, Brie," Harry glared at his little sister. Fred and George could empathize, as Ginny could get on their nerves sometimes, but it wasn't their house, so they stayed out of it, noting that Ginny did as well. Their little sister sent them a sheepish smile and shrugged. Whatever they were there for wasn't too important, then.

Brie huffed, "Well that's real nice."

"We're talking Brie," Harry stood up to face his sister. They were about the same height, though neither of them would ever qualify as tall, "and you're not invited."

"You're just like Dad!" Brie snapped as she turned on her heel and stormed away. Ginny waved and followed her friend a few doors down to Brie's room.

Harry looked like someone had hit him as he watched his sister leave. He stood swiftly and headed for his door, "I'll let the Order know."

He left without even a backward glance. Fred and George looked at each other, and then Neville, and all of them shrugged. They knew, of course, about the tension within the Potter family, but it was an unspoken rule that they didn't broach the subject with Harry. If he wanted to talk about it, he would start the conversation. Harry had enough to worry about without his friends hounding him.

"Exploding snap?" Fred asked, pulling a deck out of his pocket.

Neville grinned and sat down on the floor with the twins. George briefly considered asking Brie and Ginny to join them, but figured it was too soon... maybe after Brie calmed down.

As they played, Fred and George thought back to their conversation with the twins. Dating was on their minds a lot, being teenage boys, but neither of them had any idea how to approach someone together. They knew they would never be happy unless their future mate accepted both of them. According to Rowan, she would approach them, rather than the other way around. But who was she? Fred and George were practically thrumming with anticipation. But if she was going to approach them, then there was nothing they could do to hurry it along.

Pushing thoughts of their future mate aside, Fred and George silently worked on the formula for the portable swamp as they played cards with Neville. The younger Gryffindor was quiet and unassuming. The twins would be the first to admit that they probably wouldn't have given him a second thought if he hadn't been friends with Harry, but after all, Neville was two years younger than them. They were glad, however, that he was Harry's friend, and now theirs. Neville had proven to be a staunch ally, and quite clever and brave when called for.

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