average human’s Reviews > Polyjuice > Status Update

“Charlie’s trying to hold back yours, but mines trying to kill Charlie,” Amelia understood him immediately. She fired off a slew of curses as she spoke quietly. “I stunned her before I came but yours woke her right back up.”

Severus was going to kill Harry fucking Potter if he survived.

Which his odds of doing increased greatly when Lupin, Black, and William threw themselves in to the fight.

“What’s little Potter gonna do when we’ve killed his whole family?” a coward behind a mask jeered as he dueled Black. “Time to quit hiding, huh? He’ll be with his parents soon enough.”

Severus hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the three masked men he was currently dueling alongside Amelia to witness it- but Black laughed quite madly before cursing the man’s arm off.

“Disarm and detain- I’m not doing the paperwork for deaths,” Amelia snarled.

“Who says you’ll be doing any paperwork at all?” One of the men jeered, aiming directly at Amelia around Severus’ shield. “Stupid bit-“

A hiss was all the warning Severus had that Potter had joined the fight before the man clutched his throat and fell down to his knees.

“Don’t fuckin’ talk to her like that, scumbag.”

Severus immediately switched from offensive to defensive spells as Potter’s words drew the attention of the nearby wixen who were not already drawn in to a duel.

“HE’S THERE!” someone shouted before Severus clipped his vocal chords with a not quite legal jinx he invented.

26%

George elbowed Fred lightly in the side and gestured to a familiar messy black head of hair off to the side of the usual crowd on the platform.

“OOOOH HARRY DARLING!” Fred wrapped his hands around his mouth and yelled as loudly as he could, drawing more than a few pairs of eyes in his direction. He only cared about one pair though. One green eyed pair on a face that was suddenly beet red and quickly making its way towards him.

“He’s going to kill you,” Bill chuckled beside him.

“That’s what we’re hoping for,” George jumped in with. “See the plan is for Fred to drive poor Harry completely batty and then he snaps and kills him.”

“Ten galleons that Harry kills Fred before Fred graduates then,” Charlie said with a grin.

Fred reckoned that if any of his brothers knew how powerful Harry was, besides Ron, it would be Charlie. He’d been surprised when Charlie actually grabbed Harry, trying to hold him back from joining Snape in the fight at the Cup and Harry knocked him out with a single touch of his arm.

Fred would have warned Charlie if he knew what the mad bastard was planning on doing. He doubted if it ever really worked out in anyone’s favor when they just went grabbing at Harry.

“Nobody’d be dim enough to take that bet,” Ron snorted at Charlie.

“What bet?” Harry asked, finally breaking through the crowd to them.

“If you’ll kill me or not my Northern Star,” Fred grinned. “George and Charlie reckon you will and Ronnie here was saying you definitely will.”

“Oh,” Harry looked nervously at Charlie before shrugging and stepping closer to Fred. “I wasn’t planning on it but anything could happen, yeah?”

“It just wouldn’t be real if my life wasn’t in danger,” Fred joked, wiping a fake tear from his eye before putting his arm securely around Harry. He didn’t know why Harry was scared of Charlie, because he was sure now that’s what it was, but if Harry wanted Fred to play the knight in shining armor in the moment then he gladly would.

“Boys! You need to get moving- oh! Hello Harry dear,” their mum came bustling up, towing Ginny along beside her. “How are you?”

“Fine, thank you,” Harry said. He was still a little stiff around Fred’s parents, but at least he wasn’t calling his mum ‘ma’am’ anymore.

“Are you looking forward to going back to school?” she asked kindly.

Fred was pretty sure his mum was convinced Harry didn’t have anyone in his life that was nice to him. The way she’d ramble on sometimes; ’And I read how his relatives hated him- hated him! And I’m not saying Severus isn’t a perfectly adequate professor, but a parent? Does he even know how to raise a child?!’

It was ridiculous. Snape was mad about Harry.

Thankfully Bill jumped in before Harry had to answer.

“I bet he is, I bet he knows just how exciting this year’s going to be, don’t you Harry?” he grinned in a way that Fred only slightly bristled at. Bill was a bloody flirt. And sure enough, Harry’s cheeks turned just the slightest shade of pink.

Merlin. His own sister and brother? A bloke can’t trust anyone anymore.

“It’s gonna be brill,” Harry said, a small smirk on his face now. A secret smirk. A secret Slytherin smirk that Fred absolutely needed to know what it meant.

“What’s happening this year?” Ron asked.

“Secret,” Harry said.

“Why’s it gonna be brill?” George asked.

“Because secrets usually are,” Bill added, winking at Harry.

“Are you going to tell us then?” Fred asked Harry, pulling him towards himself just the slightest bit.

Bloody Bill.

“He can’t,” Charlie said. “It’s supposed to be-“

“Yup, as soon as we get in a compartment with everyone,” Harry interrupted Charlie as if he hadn’t even spoken. “I don’t wanna say it twice. You ready?”

Fred and George both laughed. Harry was a riot. Even if it was at Charlie’s expense.

“Let’s do it my Chocolate Bertie Bean,” Fred said after giving his mum a quick hug. Harry scowled at him, which Fred expected. Harry really only ever liked to be called ‘Darlin’’, even if he didn’t admit it.

“Lead the way!” George cried.

“You guys aren’t seriously sitting with us are you?” Ron groaned.

“Course they are,” Harry rolled his eyes. “Didn’t I just say I didn’t wanna repeat myself? C’mon, we can kick their arses at cards later.”

Ron looked significantly more cheerful at the thought. Which was adorable because Fred and George would absolutely wipe the floor with Harry and his friends.

“Wish we had some money to bet,” George murmured darkly from beside him.

“We’ll get it,” Fred said more confidently than he felt. “With the wreckage from the Cup, I bet he’s just slammed. We’ll write him again tomorrow.”

George gave him a skeptical look that shared Fred’s own thoughts on the matter. Bagman had to know he gave them leprechaun gold. But either way, the damage was done and he owed them almost 1400 Galleons.

By the time Fred had gotten home from Harry’s house, and his mum quit babying him, George was pale faced and said it all had disappeared. They’d wrote to Bagman twice since then, but never got a reply.

But he had to remain optimistic about it. If not then it meant they’d lost it all. Every last coin they’d carefully saved and grown for their dream. And- and Fred didn’t know what they would do in that case.

Better to hope for best case scenario.

“Harry, mate, there isn’t possibly room for all of us in here,” Ron said, stopping dead in the compartment entrance and staring around at the already packed area.

“Er...” Harry ruffled the back of his hair nervously and glanced around at the packed area. “Fuck.”

Fred snorted and stepped around Ron.

“Scoot,” he said cheerfully to Susan who was saving Harry ‘his spot’. She growled at him a bit, but she was a possessive twit when it came to Harry, so Fred ignored her and wedged himself in Harry’s seat.

“Plenty of room here,” he grinned, waggling his brows as he patted his legs.

“I don’t think so,” Harry scoffed, blushing adorably again.

Much more adorably since it was Fred causing it this time.

“I’ll sit down here,” Lue offered, sliding from her seat to the floor and smiling over at George. “You can have my seat. The floor’s more comfortable anyway.”

“Well in that case,” George plopped down on the floor beside her. “Ronnie can sit there and I’ll just join you on this incredibly comfortable floor.”

“You’re making fun of me,” Lue said airily. “But there are studies that say that firm seating is better for keeping your mind sharp.”

“I would never make fun of you Luna Lovegood,” George cried theatrically. “The keeper of the nargles? Never!”

“He means he knows Harry would curse him if he dared,” Zabini drawled from his spot beside Theo.

“He would,” Lue said with a simple but smug smile.

Fred was sure he would. Harry was crazy about Lue. Fred couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was like Lue and Harry just got each other. Lue had been the first person Harry sent out of the tent the night of the World Cup. He’d just jumped out of their bed and ordered Mavis to take Lue straight to his house.

It made Fred jealous still, because he wanted to get Harry in the way Lue seemed to. But she’d known him longer. Fred would catch up.

“Are you going to stand up the whole way or come sit on me? It’s really not fair that Hermione and Theo are the only ones cuddling. But we can put Ronnie on Malfoy’s lap if it makes you feel better,” Fred grinned at Harry who was still hesitating in the doorway.

“You certainly will not!” Malfoy said.

“I’d pay to see that,” Susan laughed.

“Fiiiine,” Fred sighed dramatically over at Harry. “I suppose you should sit here and I’ll just worship you from the floor, shall I?” he winked so Harry knew he was just teasing. Sometimes Harry didn’t seem to know he was being teased. Fred doubted if there was anyone who ever did it much before they got together.

Which was sad. But Fred was more than willing to make up for it now. He thought Harry seemed to like it in the same way he liked being called darlin’.

“Thanks,” Harry grinned at him and Fred felt that lame fluttery feeling in his stomach at it. Harry didn’t grin like that at anyone else, it was just the crinkly eyed one that Fred got.

And Merlin was he relieved to see it still. He’d worried after the whole ‘hey Harry your ideas are barmy’ incident that he’d never get that grin aimed in his direction again. He knew Snape said he’d talk to Harry about what happened but...

But Snape didn’t seem to like him much so can you blame a guy for worrying?

~~~

Fred had floo’d over to Harry’s place the day after he talked to Snape and Sirius and was relieved to find Harry was in his room alone.

“Hey,” he said, leaning against the doorway and trying to seem casual. “Can we talk?”

Harry, who had been laying across a sofa Fred helped Theo put in his bedroom at the beginning of the summer, shrugged and sat up. “Alright,” he agreed.

Fred walked over and sat on one end of the sofa, opposite of Harry and watched a little sadly as Harry pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. Fred hated to see him close up like that. Like he thought Fred was going to hurt him.

Of course Harry always seemed like he was waiting on people to hurt him. But ever since Fred had started sneaking over and spending the nights with him when he could trick his mum in to thinking he was at Lee’s, it had gotten better. He didn’t want Harry to close up around him again.

“I’m sorry,” Fred said immediately. George had told him to ‘play it cool’, but George was an idiot and didn’t know Harry like Fred did. Harry was like a human bullshit detector. Fred wasn’t going to be anything but straightforward.

“For what?”

“For the other night.” Fred rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He still hadn’t figured out how he’d cocked it up that night, but he knew he had. Harry’s mind just didn’t work like everyone else’s. Which was brilliant most of the time because he’d be boring otherwise, but that night it had been frustrating and then, when Fred thought about it in his own bed later, it had been sad.

Fred didn’t know a lot about relationships, but he knew that Harry offering to let Fred hit him or sleep with him to make them even wasn’t right. It wasn’t normal. It was sad. And it made Fred want to break things when he thought too hard about why Harry thinks that way.

Harry cleared his throat lightly and looked down at where his feet were covered by the rainbow quilt he uses every night.

“I apologize too.”

“Harry, you don’t have to apologize. I shouldn’t have said your ideas were barmy. I just-“ Fred took a deep breath, he knew he had to say this even if it made Harry upset because he didn’t want Harry to get the wrong idea again. “I don’t want to hurt you, ever. I didn’t get why you said that stuff and I didn’t want to have sex with you because you felt bad. And I definitely didn’t want to hit you.”

Harry twisted his lips up, Fred was pretty sure it meant that he was thinking about something hard. Either that or he was trying not to cry. Fred wasn’t entirely sure. He just hoped he’d get a chance to get to know all of Harry’s many facial expressions.

“I thought you were mad, because you got hurt, and I figured you blamed me. So I just thought... I thought maybe if you hurt me back then we’d be even. Then neither of us would be mad and we could go on like normal.”

Harry had offered Fred ways he could hurt him back because... because Harry thought sex was supposed to hurt?

Fred slowly scooted a little closer to Harry. He didn’t want to spook him, because Harry spooked easy, but he wanted to be closer to him too. He just sounded so confused and sad.

“Harry... I’m not going to ask you anything because I don’t want you to think you have to answer. But I’m just gonna say something important, okay?”

Harry was still looking at his feet but he shrugged his shoulder so Fred went ahead.

Never let it be said that Fred wasn’t a Gryffindor.

“I don’t want you to offer me sex as a way to hurt you. I want us to eventually do that because you want to. Also, it’s not supposed to hurt Harry. It’s supposed to feel good, you know? D’you think my parents would’ve had seven kids if it hurt?” he grinned a little, trying to make Harry stop looking so sad.

“That’s gross Fred,” he said, not quite smiling but not looking as lost now either. “I don’t want to hear about your parents having sex.”

“And I never want to talk about it again either,” Fred shuddered. “Blegh.”

Harry let out a soft little chuckle at that and Fred mentally patted himself on the back on a job well done.

“I like you Harry,” he said softly. “A lot.”

Harry looked up at him and his eyes were so bloody green and hopeful that Fred thought his stomach was doing a somersault.

“Yeah?”

He loved him. He was certain that he was madly in love with this bloke. He’d thought so the night Harry passed out drunk on his shoulder. Then again after the Quidditch match when Harry so softly told him about his dreams to be a professional seeker one day.

But during that battle, right up until Fred had been stunned, it was all he could think. Harry had looked so confident, so strong, and just brilliant as he barked out orders to the other students that Fred wondered how they hadn’t all fallen in love with him in that moment.

But he wasn’t going to tell Harry that just yet. Harry wasn’t ready to hear it.

“Yeah.” Fred slid his hand across the middle cushion towards Harry, an open invite if he wanted it.

“Snape said you’d still wanna be together,” Harry said eyeing Fred’s hand now. “D-do you?”

“Yes,” Fred said confidently. He wasn’t sure about a lot of things, and Harry was a bloody mystery, but Fred wanted to be with him. He knew that much.

Harry took one of his arms off his legs and reached out for Fred’s hand. He smiled so sweetly at him and Fred positively beamed. He had about fifty billion questions, and he knew there were a lot of things they’d have to figure out, but at least Harry still wanted to to do it together.

~~~

“Alright, you guys wanna hear something brill?” Harry asked everyone after they finally settled in to their seats. Fred slowly leaned back against Harry’s legs and grinned when Harry hesitantly started playing with his hair.

Their first fight was worth it if it meant that Harry was a little more comfortable with touching each other now.

“Oh me first!” Malfoy cried, bouncing in his seat next to Ron eagerly. “My father said that Hogwarts is hosting-“

“The Triwizard Tournament,” Harry interrupted, smirking at Malfoy’s pout. “Snape told us-“ he gestured to Theo, “as soon as Dumbledore told him.”

“Are you-“

“Serious?” Fred and George said, sharing an eager look between them. The Triwizard Tournament had a huge prize for the winner back when the schools held it.

A prize big enough to more than make up for their money Bagman owed them.

“No his godfather is,” Theo said with a roll of his eyes. Hermione smacked him in the head and Fred grinned at them both. The bossy little bookworms were growing on him.

“Snape said that Dumbledore’s put an age limit on it though.” Fred didn’t need to look up to know that Harry was scowling. “But I reckon we can find a way around it.”

“Absolutely not!” Hermione screeched, dropping Fred’s view of her instantly. “Harry- it’ll be dangerous!”

“Oooh nooo,” Zabini drawled. “Harry doing something dangerous? That sounds terribly unlike him.”

Everyone, including Hermione, laughed at that. Fred had only heard a handful of Harry’s stories since he started Hogwarts, but he knew he was no stranger to danger.

Which, again, was so bloody hot that Fred thought he might die. Even if it also made Fred panic a bit because how often does one guy get in so many life threatening situations at a school?!

“What’d’ya reckon Georgie? Think we should enter and give Harry some competition?” Fred asked his brother, nudging him with his foot.

“Absolutely, can’t let little Harry take all the glory can we?” George said back solemnly before grinning at Harry.

Fred could feel Harry tensing up beneath where he had his back and head on him and peeked up at his expression. He’d learned quickly that Harry didn’t always say much about how he was feeling, actually Harry never said what he was feeling, but his eyes usually did.

And his eyes were staring at Fred’s head and looked absolutely frantic.

“Er, I mean, you guys wouldn’t be a team anyway, right?” Harry said slowly. “So... so maybe just George and I could enter.”

George started cracking up with laughter, Lue laughing right along beside him.

“You- you just want to keep Fred safe,” he said between chuckles. “Merlin. I’m dispensable!”

“Don’t worry, Harry probably doesn’t want you to die, he just definitely doesn’t want Fred to,” Lue said, in what was probably supposed to be a consoling voice.

“I think it would be wicked to enter,” Ron said wistfully. “How many people d’you think they’ll have?”

“It’s the Triwizard Tournament, how many do you think?” Malfoy scoffed.

“Oh.” Ron’s ears turned red like they always did when he was embarrassed. “Oh yeah.”

“I don’t think any of us should enter,” Hermione said again. “It must be really dangerous if Dumbledore thinks they need an age restriction.”

“Well Dumbledore’s an idiot, isn’t he? How bad could it be if they’re having it in a school?” Neville said, piping up for the first time. “And I doubt it’ll stop Harry from trying, will it?”

“Hear, hear Nev,” Harry grinned over towards where Neville was seated by the door. “I’m definitely entering. Already told Snape, didn’t I?”

“What’d he say?” Malfoy asked.

“He said,” Harry cleared his throat before adopting a bloody good impression of Snape’s drawling voice. “‘If I discover that you have entered yourself in this tournament I will ground you for the rest of your life. And then your mother will ground you in the afterlife.’”

Everyone laughed again. Snape was an alright person, didn’t really get worked up about much. Harry could probably enter the tournament and Snape would just cross his arms and glare at him, like he usually did to Fred when he’d come downstairs after sleeping in Harry’s bed all night.

Plus he’d done Fred a huge favor with whatever talk he had with Harry about him. So Snape was decent enough.

“But he said the same thing when I killed that basilisk so I figure it’s just talk,” Harry said. “So I’m entering.”

“Me too,” George added.

“Me three!” Ron said quickly.

Fred looked up at Harry, who had gone from slowly stroking his hair to gripping it almost too tightly as he stared down at him.

“I don’t think I will,” Fred said, looking Harry right in the eyes as he said it. “If you or George win you can just split the gold with me, alright?” he winked at Harry again and felt him relax beneath his back.

“Deal,” Harry said, now resuming his hesitant strokes of Fred’s hair.

After that George took off quick to go find Lee and Fred waved him off. He usually spent all his time with his brother, but once they got back to Hogwarts he’d be separated from Harry by the sheer bad luck of being in separate houses and different years.

He knew he would one day regret turning down the Sorting Hat’s offer to put him in Slytherin.

Instead, the ten of them played a card game Harry’s friends all liked, a muggle game called Texas Hold ‘Em that Theo and Hermione taught Fred over the summer.

Lue offended Harry when she immediately partnered with Zabini.

“She only partners with whoever is going to win,” he grumbled. “I hate losing.”

“We aren’t going to lose,” Susan told him, having jumped to partner with Harry before Fred could. “The nargles might be wrong this time.”

“The nargles are never wrong,” Neville, Ron, and Harry said at the same time. Which set off another round of laughter.

Fred relaxed as he partnered up with Ron and made an excuse for why he wasn’t betting. Train rides spent scheming and planning with Lee and George were great, but playing cards and having Harry play with his hair was definitely the best train ride yet.

He was so content he didn’t even mind when Harry leaned forward and whispered in his ear:

“I can see your cards.”



“Are you seriously leaving me to sit with Ronnie?” George groaned.

“Nope. I’m leaving you to sit with Harry,” Fred grinned at his twin as they entered the Great Hall. “You can come sit there.”

“Nah-“ George had just spotted Angelina and took on a lovesick expression that Fred sorely hoped his own face never had. “See ya later.”

Fred laughed and headed over to the Slytherin table where he had shockingly made himself at home at towards the end of last year.

“I don’t see any new Professor’s anywhere,” Susan was saying when Fred took a seat across from Harry.

“Maybe Dumbledore couldn’t find anyone brave enough to fill the spot,” Zabini grinned. “Harry’s what, three for three now?”

“Shut it Blaise,” Theo said coolly.

“If Dumbledore takes over the subject I will kill you Harry James,” Susan said.

“He won’t,” Lue said confidently. “The new Professor will be here soon.”

“Snape offered to teach it but Dumbledore turned him down,” Harry scowled. “He said he already filled the spot.”

Neville didn’t say anything, but Fred saw him let out a little huff of relief. Poor Neville, the bloke was terrified of Snape. Which was barmy, because Snape was a laugh when you got past all the sneers and insults.

They all quieted down while the sorting went on. Fred whooped loudly for every new Gryffindor, Harry’s laughs spurning him on despite the glares from the older Slytherin’s.

Harry’s friends were good company really. Fred could see how Harry got so attached. During the feast Fred joked around with Zabini, who was almost as mischievous as Fred himself was. He also thought it was funny that little Ronnie and Malfoy seemed to be co-conspirators in some sort of Slytherin betting ring. Which explained how Ron’s been buying all his school supplies himself.

‘Chess tournament winnings’, his arse.

He also watched as Susan slipped extra food on Harry’s plate when he wasn’t paying attention. Maybe the witch wasn’t so bad after all.

After the puddings had been cleared, Dumbledore got to his feet and cleared his throat, effectively silencing the entire hall.

“So! Now that we have all been fed and watered to our stomachs content! I am afraid I must bore you with my standard warnings.”

Fred caught George’s eye across the hall and grinned as Dumbledore mentioned all the things that were banned. Most of them weren’t banned in their first year, which was probably something Fred would mention on a resume one day if Bagman didn’t answer their bloody owls.

“It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year.”

“What?” Harry yelped. Fred felt his heart sink on Harry’s behalf. He was so bloody proud of that captains badge on his chest. Fred hadn’t even taken the mickey out of him over it once he explained how he’d worked hard for the spot and applied so he could get it fairly. He hadn’t thought of how Quidditch might be cancelled because of the tournament. He glanced up at the Head Table and saw Snape’s stricken look that told him he hadn’t considered it either.

Dumbledore went on, “This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers’ time and energy — but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts —”

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open.

Fred turned his head to see who was coming in so late to the feast that he missed the way that Harry had leapt to his feet and had his knife tight in his hand.

”Sit.” Fred heard Susan whisper, he turned back and saw Harry was slowly resuming his seat and staring carefully at the new arrival.

They all watched silently as the stranger clomped up to the Head Table. He was without a doubt the most damaged looking man Fred had ever seen. Harry’s scars were sexy, made him look dangerous, but they were coupled with the most beautiful features Fred had ever seen. This man? He was scarred in a way that just screamed ‘DANGER!’

Fred had a niggling thought that the man looked familiar. There was something about the dizzying fake blue eye...

The man spoke to Dumbledore in a whisper for a moment before Dumbledore nodded with a small smile and gestured to the open seat at the table. The stranger sat down, shook his mane of dark gray hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages toward him, raised it to what was left of his nose, and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage on the end of it, and began to eat. His normal eye was fixed upon the sausages, but the blue eye was fixed on Harry. Who, Fred was surprised to see, was staring the man down with a blank look on his face

“May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?” said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. “Professor Moody.”

It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students clapped. Fred was busy watching the bizarre stare off between his boyfriend and the new Professor to really notice it though.

“Moody?” Ron hissed down the table to Fred. “Mad-Eye Moody? The one dad went to help this morning?”

“Must be,” Fred whispered back finally realizing where he recognized the man from.

“But he’s mad,” Susan whispered harshly. “Auntie says-“

They weren’t able to find out what Susan’s Aunt Amelia said though, because Dumbledore cleared his throat and commanded their attention again.

“As I was saying,” he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, “we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year.”

“You’re JOKING!” Fred yelled loudly, winking cheekily at Snape who scowled at Harry.

Most of the hall laughed, even Dumbledore. Harry just rolled his eyes, but he had a fond smile playing around the edges of his mouth now that made Fred puff up with pride.

“I am not joking Mister Weasley, though I did hear an excellent one this summer about a troll, a hag, and a goblin who went in to a pub-“

McGonagall cleared her throat loudly, which wasn’t surprising. Poor witch had no appreciation for a well timed joke.

“No, perhaps this is not the time...” Dumbledore cleared his throat before smiling out to the students again. “Where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament. Well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.”

Fred definitely let his attention wander. He took the chance to nudge Harry under the table with his foot.

“Please stop playing footsie with me,” Susan said sweetly. “I’m afraid you’re not quite my type.”

“Not blonde enough for you?” Fred laughed, glancing towards the Hufflepuff table towards Johnny who was sitting with a few of his own friends.

“Blondes are better in almost every way,” Malfoy said with a Percy-like air.

“I agree,” Lue smiled at Malfoy.

“Oi! Harry! Didnt you say Krum goes to Durmstrang?”

“Yeah.”

Fred looked between his brother and Harry and wondered what he’d missed.

“Huh?”

Hermione scoffed at him. “If you would listen, Dumbledore said that Durmstrang and Beauxbatons are the competing schools. And he also said there was a death toll.”

Harry waved his hand casually, Fred could practically see that stars in his eyes as he listened carefully to Dumbledore’s speech about the tournament. Fred tuned back in just in time to hear there was a thousand galleons prize money.

He turned his head across the hall to meet his brothers eyes and knew they were thinking the same thing.

A thousand galleons would be more than enough to get their shop off the ground.

Go for it, he thought towards George.

Call it Twin powers or what have you, but George nodded eagerly, perfectly understanding what Fred was thinking.

“An impartial judge won’t care about age limits,” Zabini said. “They’ll just care about power. Harry you could do it.”

“I’m gonna fuckin’ try,” Harry said. “This is brill.”

“George and I will be seventeen in April, I reckon that’s close enough,” Fred said eagerly.

“A thousand galleons would be amazing,” Ron said. Fred felt a rare sense of sympathy for his little brother. It was hard coming from such a big family when funds were always so tight. He didn’t blame Ron for seeing a big payoff and wanting it for himself.

But there was also no chance little Ronnie would get picked.

“My gran would probably want me to try and enter,” Neville said glumly.

“You don’t owe her anything Neville,” Luna said kindly. “You should do what makes you happy. And this wouldn’t make you happy.”

“Come on,” said Hermione, “we’ll be the only ones left here if we don’t move.”

Their group made their way to their feet and gave the obligatory whistles when Hermione and Theo kissed before Hermione and Luna ran off towards the Ravenclaw Tower.

“Should I kiss you in front of everyone or just say ‘see you at breakfast’?” Fred grinned at Harry, only partially teasing.

“Oh.” Harry looked surprised and maybe a little upset before he blinked and had on what Fred had deemed his ‘I’m too Slytherin to show emotions’ mask. “‘Kay. Nevermind then... Night.”

Fred had no idea what he’d done wrong to make Harry abruptly turn and make his way to the dungeons so coolly. He was still standing outside the Great Hall, completely confused, before Theo scoffed at him.

“Harry owns an Invisibility Cloak.”

“Yeah...?”

Susan rolled her eyes and pushed Fred towards the dungeons.

“He told Luna that she couldn’t stay in his room because you probably would want to, idiot.”

Oh.

Oh!

Fred smiled at Susan, feeling genuine appreciation swell up towards her again.

“Cheers Sue, g’night then.”

Fred had almost caught up to Harry when Susan yelled down the corridor, “DON’T CALL ME ‘SUE’ FREDERICK!”

Fred just flipped her off behind his back as he wrapped an arm around Harry’s waist.

“How mad d’you reckon Snape will be if I sleep in your dorm sometimes?” he whispered in Harry’s ear.

“Wanna find out?” Harry grinned wickedly up at him.

Merlin. He was a goner.



Harry pulled his invisibility cloak over Fred’s head before they entered the common room.

“Nobody’ll say anything once Snape leaves and the duels start, but stay under there until then, yeah?”

Fred had no idea what duels Harry meant, but he agreed all the same.

If Slytherin had some sort of secret dueling club then Fred might just demand a resort like Ginny did.

He stayed against the far wall of the common room, which was so bloody different from Gryffindor he couldn’t even imagine they were in the same castle, while Snape gave his speech.

Which was a riot. Snape made sure to mention how Sirius Black had been an accused muggle murderer only to find out that Peter Pettigrew, another Gryffindor, had allegedly committed the crime.

Snape really hated Black. Fred figured it was one of the reasons Black was so cheerful towards him all the time. It clearly drove Snape bonkers.

Fred waited for Snape to finish his speech before he slipped the cloak off and walked right back up by Harry.

“What now Darlin’?”

“Weasley!” one of Fred’s yearmates, Jeffery Brandstetter, scowled. “You can’t be here.”

“He can,” Harry said calmly.

Fred was impressed to see that nobody even argued at that. Just two little words from one of the scrawniest guys in the house and they all shut right up.

“You’re terrifying,” Fred bent down and murmured right in Harry’s ear. “Just absolutely fearsome.”

“Shut up,” Harry scowled but he also looked pleased too. Fred just winked at him while Rachel Shields, a seventh year girl with a shiny prefects badge on her chest, walked to the front of the still standing Slytherins.

“Listen up you lot! Anyone who doesn’t want to duel should leave now.”

Ron and Malfoy had their heads bent together and were whispering over a piece of parchment while Theo and Blaise murmured quietly to each other. Fred just watched Harry’s excitement grow as a few little snakes made their way to the stairs Fred assumed leads to the dorms.

“Alright, most of you know the rules: no killing anyone-“ she gave a severe kind of look at Harry who just looked up Fred and shrugged. “Unforgivables are forgiven. Apparently nobody is off limits,” she sighed again in Harry’s direction.

“Fred is,” Harry interrupted her, looking around the room slowly. “He isn’t a Slytherin. You don’t challenge him or you duel me.”

Fred would have been embarrassed at being protected by his younger boyfriend but Harry was hot when he was being protective.

A few Slytherin’s scowled at Fred, but nobody argued with Harry so Rachel went on.

“If you refuse a duel then you’re a coward and we have no use for you. Conflicts are finished after tonight, I don’t want to hear any whinging afterwards. Seconds are volunteer only. Everyone understand?”

Fred glanced around, bemused, as the Slytherin’s nodded and murmured agreements.

Lucky Slytherin’s with their secret dueling nights.

“Alright then, first challenger?”

Ron and Malfoy’s heads popped up and started scanning the room eagerly.

“We challenge Potter.”

Fred looked up as two girls in his year, Hestia and Flora Carrow, stepped forward.

Harry squinted at the two girls.

“Sorry do I know you?”

Which was so bloody hilarious that Fred hugged him with his arm for a moment. Only Harry Potter could get away with not knowing someone’s name who wanted to fight him.

“I don’t believe it matters much,” the heavier girl, Flora, sneered. “I’d actually prefer you not know our names. I don’t want to hear them come out of your mudblood mouth.”

Fred stiffened at the insult, but he was surprised to see Harry smile at the girl.

It wasn’t a nice smile. But Fred still expected something a bit more rude ag the obvious insult.

“I accept your challenge,” Harry said calmly. “Let the better parentage win, yeah?”

“Oh he’s going to kill them,” Malfoy murmured.

“Let’s go make some bets on it,” Ron laughed before the two of them scattered through the crowd.

“Potter, who’s your second?” Rachel called.

Harry looked straight at Theo who nodded curtly.

“I’m his second,” he said.

“I’ll be theirs,” another sixth year girl, Gabriel Wagler, said quietly as she stepped closer to the Carrow twins.

“Hey can you... can you wait for me? I usually just duel once then I’m done.” Harry blinked up at Fred so innocently it made it a little difficult for Fred to picture him dueling two nasty girls that were twice his size.

“Course I’ll wait,” Fred smiled softly at him. “You can take care of yourself, right?”

Harry shrugged and his eyes looked mischevious as he leaned up and whispered in Fred’s ear.

“It’d probably be easier if I had a kiss for luck.”

Fred was so surprised by Harry subtly asking for a kiss that he let out a low chuckle before obliging.

“Your wish, my command.” He pulled Harry to him with an arm behind his back and bent him backwards while he kissed him theatrically.

“Good luck,” he murmured genuinely after he stood a pink cheeked Harry up and squeezed him gently once more.

“Disgusting,” Hestia spat.

“Oi-“

“Don’t embarrass him Weasley,” Zabini hissed, pulling Fred away from Harry. “Does he seem like he needs your help?”

Fred looked at Harry as the other students made a wide circle around him and had to admit that no, he didn’t. Harry looked like bored even as the Carrow twins murmured and shot dirty looks at him.

“Ready?” Rachel called, erecting an impressive shield bubble around the three of them.

Harry grinned and, in what might have been the hottest thing Fred had ever witnessed in his life, stuck his hands in his pockets.

“Ready,” he drawled lazily, sounding so much like his guardian that Fred wondered if Snape gave him ‘how to talk like a Slytherin’ lessons or if Harry was just a natural.

The Carrow twins drew their wands and aimed them at Harry in identically stiff dueling poses.

Fred was... mostly... not worried. Harry had kicked his arse when him and George had duelled him and looked brilliant while he did it.

Even if the Carrow’s had a darker reputation than he or George did, he was sure they wouldn’t be a real threat to Harry.

“Go.”

If Fred had blinked he would have missed Hestia’s first curse, an impressively silent one, that flew right past Harry’s left ear.

He definitely didn’t miss the next four that were aimed at him back to back though. Harry just spun out of the way of each one, his hands still casually in his pockets.

If Fred hadn’t been in love with him before, he sure was now.

Fred didn’t want to sound like a sap, but Harry dueling was like art come to life. He looked so strong, and fierce, and happy as he danced out of the way of the incoming curses as easily as if he were waltzing.

“You guys suck,” he laughed.

Laughed.

Fred was the luckiest bloke to ever live.

The Carrow’s didn’t like that though. They stepped up their spell work until Harry had to take his hands out of his pockets and actually start waving them around and stopping the spells before they hit him.

“Why isn’t he hitting them back?” Fred murmured to Zabini.

“He’s showing off,” Zabini laughed. “He’s probably just putting on a show for you.”

Fred wouldn’t have thought so until Harry glanced at him and grinned before he really started duelling.

And it was beautiful.

Harry was slinging spells so quickly that Fred could hardly keep up. He only glanced at the Carrow’s occasionally, too drawn to Harry to do much more than spare them quick looks. But they looked angry. Fred doubted they were prepared for this.

“Is he always like this?” he breathed to Zabini.

“He is, it is affascinante, isn’t it?” Zabini said back. Fred had no idea what ‘affascinante’ meant, but it sounded like a compliment so he nodded dumbly.

Harry laughed as he knocked Hestia to the floor, the resounding crack of her head on the stone floor would have made Fred wince in sympathy if she hadn’t been trying to curse his boyfriend. Instead he just let out a loud cheer once he saw she was clearly unconscious. A few Slytherin’s, including Zabini, gave him disapproving looks but Fred just ignored them. He’d cheer for Harry if he wanted to.

“Can you even fight?” Harry taunted Flora. Flora let out a noise that was a mix of a growl and a yell before she waved her wand and nearly hit Harry with a dark red spell.

“Filthy, nasty, little mud-“

“That’s enough,” Harry snarled. “Let’s see...”

With nothing more than a flick of his hand Flora was shoved down to the floor on her knees.

“You think my bloods dirty, huh?” Harry asked, his voice so soft that Fred took a half step closer so he didn’t miss a single word. “Here, let’s compare.”

Fred watched in shock as Harry’s magic held Flora in place as he pointed his left finger at the back of his right hand and made a small cut.

“Looks red to me, yeah? How about yours?”

Fred nearly laughed out loud when Harry stepped right up to the girl and grabbed her wrist roughly. He yanked her wand out of her hand and tossed it to the side.

“Whoops.”

Harry had pointed his hand at Flora’s hand but instead of making a small cut like he did to his own, it looked like he had cut her clear down to the bone.

“That happens sometimes when I’m mad,” Harry said cheerfully over the loud yell Flora let out. “But- look! Your blood is red too! Sooo... I guess your dirty too then, huh?”

Fred had to be yanked backwards by Zabini when Flora spat at Harry.

Spat at him.

And what did Harry do?

Besides make Fred fall so madly in love that he thought his chest might explode from it?

He smiled.

It was so devastatingly attractive that Fred had to think of something disgusting quickly to control his reaction. He glanced down at Flora’s hand with the exposed bone and the gushing blood and felt properly grossed out.

Harry hissed something in Parsletongue (and bloody hell) and then Fred had to fight not to cover his own ears as Flora started shrieking loudly enough he was surprised the windows didn’t shatter.

“Winner- Potter!” Rachel shouted over Flora’s continued shrieks after a couple of minutes when it looked like Harry wasn’t going to stop.

Harry, who had been glaring at Flora, blinked in surprise as the safety dome was dispelled and someone yanked the twins off towards a little alcove by the window.

“Brill,” Harry shrugged and grinned. “Don’t suppose anyone else wants to fight, do they?”

“I do.”

Fred’s head snapped to the side as William Avery, a seventh year with a nasty habit of using dirty hexes on Gryffindors, stepped out of the grouping and smirked at Harry.

Zabini let out a sharp hiss.

“What?” Fred breathed.

“This was planned.”

Fred tried to puzzle that out for himself, he didn’t want to look like an idiot, when he saw Avery share a look with the newly revived Hestia.

“Harry said he usually only duels once, so... so Avery is hoping he’ll be too tired to win now?” Fred guessed.

“Exactly, and look,” Zabini very subtly nodded in Harry’s direction and Fred had to study him hard to see what Zabini was seeing.

“Bullocks,” he muttered. Harry did actually look a little worn out. He was hiding it well with the bored look on his face, but his shoulders were heaving faster than usual.

“You I definitely don’t know,” Harry said airily. “I mean I accept, but I don’t think we’ve met before, have we?”

“Avery, William Avery,” Avery said with a mocking bow of his head.

“Ooh,” Harry stood up a little straighter at that. “Potter, Harry Potter. Tough luck about your Dad, yeah? Suppose he bit off a bit more than he could chew, didn’t he?”

“Severus Snape is a traitor and will get what’s coming to him,” Avery hissed, taking a step towards Harry.

“Snape’s not a traitor,” Harry laughed and Fred felt a chill go down his back. He couldn’t tell if he was so incredibly turned on or absolutely terrified. “Well, not to me anyway. But I suppose you weren’t there when your daddy died, were you?”

“And you were?” Another boy stepped up beside Avery and scoffed. William Macnair, a fifth year.

Fred had a sudden realization that yeah, Harry had actually been there, hadn’t he? They didn’t talk about what happened that night, but now Fred was wondering what went down after he’d been stunned. The news said that Snape killed Avery, a Death Eater and William’s Dad, but...

But Harry was too prideful to mock a death someone else caused. Wasn’t he?

“Harry can’t confirm or deny that, legal reasons you see?” Theo stepped up by Harry and glared at the two boys. “I don’t suppose you believe Snape was able to wandlessly kill a piece of filth like your father with the killing curse do you?” he let out a light laugh that was so clearly fake that Fred himself grinned. “Silly me. I forgot, of course that wasn’t how the news said Avery died.”

“What about your father then?” Avery snarled. “I heard your little pal here supposedly did that. You’re still going to follow the guy responsible for your fathers death?”

“I don’t remember Harry saying he killed anyone,” Zabini drawled loudly beside Fred. “Did you Draco?”

“I didn’t,” Malfoy said. “Perhaps Avery’s just realized that perhaps Harry could have killed those men and gotten away with it scot-free, or maybe he’s just an idiot.”

“I don’t see why it can’t be both,” Ron added from across the room, which drew a laugh out of Harry’s odd little group of friends and quite a few other Slytherins.

Were they bragging about Harry killing Avery and Theo’s dads and getting away with it or just trying to get Avery and Macnair to think they were?

Slytherin’s were so bloody confusing.

“We should stop talking about what I might or might not have done and duel, yeah?” Harry grinned and this time Fred was absolutely both turned on and a little scared. This wasn’t Fred’s smile, or even Harry’s usual smile, this was something sharp enough to cut glass.

Merlin.

“Call your seconds,” Rachel said, sounding bored with their banter.

“I’m with Harry,” Theo said immediately.

“I’ll be Avery’s second,” Macnair offered.

“Positions then,” Rachel said.

They all moved quickly. Harry took his spot again, across from Avery, as Rachel put the shield up once more.

“Ready?”

Harry didn’t have any cheeky remarks this time, he just nodded curtly.

Fred felt a little more nerves in his chest at this duel. The Carrow’s were just idiots. But Avery was cruel and dark and he looked like he wanted to kill Harry.

“Go.”

Neither boy moved. Fred kept glancing between them, determined not to miss the first move.

“You’re supposed to bow Potter, did Snape not teach you any manners?” Avery asked.

“Can’t imagine why I’d bow to you,” Harry said. He tilted his head sideways and stared at Avery as if he were just a curious creature instead of a pissed off seventeen year old holding a wand. “I didn’t bow to your dad, did I?”

“That’s because you weren’t there,” Malfoy called.

“Oh yeah, duh.”

Fred had two thoughts chasing each other around his head in that moment;

Harry definitely killed Avery’s dad.
And- Fred Potter or Harry Weasley?

Avery kept his composure, which was actually pretty impressive since Harry was cracking jokes about killing his dad, and just smiled coldly at the mad love of Fred’s life.

”Crucio!”

Fred yelped, but it was a pointless fear that Harry would be hurt because he just dodged to the side so gracefully that Fred wasn’t even sure he was totally human.

“C’mon Willy, you have to really mean it,” Harry taunted him.

Fred wished he could see Harry like this all the time. He was so graceful, confident, strong, and happy. Even though he wasn’t moving quite as fast as he was before, this time his whole face was lit up this time with the same excitement it had when Krum caught the snitch at the World Cup and Fred had to restrain himself from snogging him senseless right in front of all their family and friends.

And he was so bloody hot that Fred was going to need a cold shower before he got in his bed tonight.

He ignored his currently unwanted reactions so he could focus on the two dueling Slytherin’s in front of him. It didn’t take a genius to know realize that they were both deadly. They were locked in a graceful type of dance throwing spells back and forth and avoiding the ones they couldn’t outright block.

Fred could admit that Avery was good. Beside his first spell, everything else had been nonverbal. While Harry moved like some sort of fairy-like God that wasn’t even human, Avery darted around like an actual venomous snake, poised and waiting for an opening to strike. An opening he found when Harry was taunting him not a moment later.

“Son of a bitch.”

Fred hadn’t realized that Ron had made his way back around the room and was swearing by his side, but he was suddenly glad he was. Avery landed a hex on Harry, a nasty one, and every person in the room heard it as it sounded like several of Harry’s ribs snapped right in half.

“Draco’s going to have to get Snape,” Zabini said quietly to Ron, who nodded absently as he chewed his nails and watched Harry. Which was insane, because if one of the Gryffindor’s went and got McGonagall after getting hurt in a duel in the common room, they’d all be expelled. Or at least in detention for the rest of their lives.

Harry, who didn’t even cry out when his actual bones had been broken, let out a sharp wheeze of a laugh.

“Pathetic,” he sneered as he sent three dark purple spells right at Avery’s face. “You’re a fuckin-“

But nobody heard what Avery was because his second crucio landed right on his target this time.

Harry let out an initial little sound of shock before he hit his knees. He threw his head back and the room was so tense it might as well have been a funeral while every student there watched Harry’s muscles straining under the curse. And through it all- Harry didn’t make a sound. His eyes were clenched shut and his mouth was twisted up in what could only be unimaginable pain- and he refused to scream.

Zabini and Ron both had to hold Fred back as he struggled to get to Harry.

“HARRY!” he yelled, not caring one whit if he was embarrassing himself or not. Harry was hurt and Fred needed to get to him.

“Aww, your blood traitor lover is upset,” Avery said, his face cold and his eyes glittering with malice as he ended the curse on Harry. Harry stayed on the ground, his breathing harsh and fast as Avery advanced on him. “How did you end up with such a piece of filth anyway? Would no other man have you? Or are you just whoring yourself out to anyone who offers?”

Harry looked up at Avery and Fred barely caught the flash of real anger in his eyes before he struck. Fred realized that Harry had a lot of anger in him, and he’d just been playing up until now. Now he was pissed.

With one swipe, Harry buried his knife clear to the hilt in Avery’s ankle before tackling his knees and knocking the taller boy right to the ground. And if Fred thought Harry looked tired and hurt- Harry clearly didn’t agree. Harry just kneeled down in the puddle of Avery’s still flowing blood and hit Avery in the face with his fist hard enough that Fred was sure he’d broken at least his nose.

“Say that again,” Harry yelled as he hit Avery over and over with just his bare fists. “C’mon, SAY THAT AGAIN.”

Avery might have two stones and at least five inches on Harry, but Fred doubted if Hagrid himself could have beat Harry in a fist fight when Harry was so vicious and angry.

Harry kept hitting Avery and never even noticed when Fred was pretty sure Avery lost consciousness. Nor when Rachel hastily declared Harry the winner and dispelled the dome. He only stopped when Theo, in a move that proved the Sorting Hat made a huge mistake in his sorting, fearlessly walked right up to Harry and lightly kicked his foot. Harry spun around and Fred’s heart clenched when he saw that Harry had blood spatters across his face.

He was pretty sure they had all came from Avery, but it still hurt to see.

“You won,” Theo said calmly as he stepped quickly away from Harry. “You can’t kill him here.”

Not: you can’t kill him.

But: you can’t kill him here.

Fred was never going to break up with Harry. Hell, Fred might just propose at his graduation, but if Harry ever left him and he moved on, in a hundred or so years, he would never date anyone aside from a Slytherin again. They were all mad little geniuses.

“Scumbag,” Harry spat at Avery. He yanked his knife out of Avery’s ankle and wiped it off on Avery’s own robes before he tucked it back in the holster Fred knows he wears on his forearm. Theo went back to his side and offered a hand up but Harry ignored it and shakily got to his own feet.

“Anyone else? Or are we done?” Harry touched eyes on every Slytherin in the room, most of them too cowed to even make eye contact, before he looked at Fred and blanched.

Theo whispered something in Harry’s ear, and Harry nodded.

“If that’s that then I’m going to bed.”

“Come on, under here,” Ron whispered as he tossed Harry’s cloak over Fred’s head once again. “Snape’s on his way.”

Fred didn’t really give a damn about Snape just then, he wanted to grab Harry and check him over and see how badly he was hurt and then maybe snog the life out of him. But he also didn’t want to get kicked out and lose a whole night by Harry’s side.

Harry staggered up the stairs, probably in horrible pain but stubbornly determined not to show it. Zabini rushed ahead and opened their dorm door.

If Fred didn’t already regret turning down the Sorting Hat’s offer to put him in Slytherin before, he sure as hell did now. Even while he kept a close eye on Harry, who almost immediately sat on his trunk and let out a loud hiss of pain, he could tell that Slytherin had the poshest dorms in the castle. It was no wonder Ronnie had been so smug about his sorting.

“Snape’s on his way to fix your bones and Fred’s under the cloak,” Ron told Harry as Theo kicked the dorm door firmly shut.

“Fred’s still here?” Harry panted. “He didn’t leave?”

“Right here Cauldron Cake,” Fred pulled his head out from under the cloak for a minute to smile reassuringly at Harry.

“Prat,” Harry grinned before hissing again and grabbing at his side. “Bloody fucking god damned hell.”

Harry’s terrible language was just another one of the many things Fred loved about him. Except he’d rather it not be shown because he was hurting. Fred yanked the cloak back in place and moved over to the wall beside Harry’s bed right as Snape strode through the door.

“Good Lord Harry,” he sighed when he saw Harry sitting on his trunk and biting his lip. “How did this even happen?”

“Harry doesn’t know when to shut up,” Zabini said with a roll of his eyes. “He was too busy taunting his opponent to properly defend himself.”

”Shut up,” Harry hissed.

“Unsurprising,” Snape murmured as he waved his wand over Harry’s head a few times in a rhythmic circular pattern. “And I suppose that Crucio is not nearly as enjoying to have cast on you as it is to cast?” he raised his brow at Harry while he read a parchment that popped up out of the air.

“You’d know,” Harry grit out. Fred thought Snape would be pissed at that remark, but he just shook his head.

“Foolish brat,” Snape sighed again but Fred didn’t miss the way his eyes were all soft and worried when he looked at Harry. “I am going to heal your ribs, exhale deeply now.”

Harry let out a deep breath and Snape tapped his side twice and murmured a spell that Fred’s heard more than enough times in his life.

“Fuck!” Harry yelped as his bones snapped back together.

“Language,” Snape smirked at him and Harry just shrugged. Harry was fearless. He would have been a brilliant Gryffindor.

Fred liked him better in green, but still.

“Are there any bodies I will need to dispose of in your common room?” Snape asked the other boys who all shared little smiles and shook their heads.

“Excellent. Go to sleep then. You all have classes tomorrow.” Snape laid his hand on Harry’s shoulder for just a brief moment before he strode to the doorway. “Fifteen points from Gryffindor for being out past curfew,” he called before slamming the door shut behind him.

“Bloody Hell.” Fred ripped the cloak off and flopped down on Harry’s bed. “You guys have the best Head of House ever.”



“You were brilliant darlin’,” Fred whispered to Harry behind the privacy charms in his bed that night after they’d both changed and Fred made sure Harry still wanted him to stay.

“I got hurt,” Harry said, his raspy voice the only proof he’d ever been cursed. “I wasn’t brilliant.”

“You were,” Fred insisted, wrapping his arm behind Harry’s neck and encouraging him to cuddle closer to his side. “I didn’t even know people could duel like that.”

Harry propped his head up on his elbow and looked down at Fred with nervous green eyes.

“You weren’t afraid?” he asked.

Fred thought maybe what he was really asking was ‘are you scared of me?’

“A brave lion like myself? Of course not,” Fred smiled up at him and damn if the sweet smile Harry gave him didn’t make Fred’s stomach flip right over.

Harry laid back down and slowly moved over until he was close enough to lay his head on Fred’s chest.

“I like this,” Harry said softly.

Fred stroked his fingers through Harry’s hair and smiled to himself.

“Me too.”

Chapter End Notes

Up Next: Harry Potter hates cops but holy shit is Alastor Moody interesting.