Harry Potter and the Secret of the Twins

April 2002

A whole month passed in relative peace. Rose and Hermione were at least civil in public. Romina was adjusted to. Everyone was frightened of Voldemort, though many of them claimed they didn't really believe he was back.

Rose got along very well with Neville, and paired with him as often as possible, especially in Potions and Herbology. Neville seemed to enjoy being able to help her, and Rose always listened intently, practically hanging on every word he said.

At the beginning of October, however, an announcement was made Harry wish that Rose and Hermione back at each other instead. It came during breakfast on the first of October. Rose was sitting happily between Harry and Neville, eating her toast without looking in Hermione's direction. That was difficult since she was sitting on the other side of Harry with Ron beside her, and Rose enjoyed talking to both of them. She was nervous; that much was clear, though that could be easily explained by the fact that Quidditch tryouts were that day.

Then Professor Dumbledore stood and motioned for silence. Everyone turned to him, and he began. "Since the Yule Ball was enjoyed so much last year, we will be reawakening the traditions of the Halloween Ball this year." Harry groaned. "The feast will still be held, and the ball will be afterwards. It will be open to everyone in the fourth year and above, though you may invite students from lower years. I hope you all will enjoy yourselves! And don't forget to get your assignments if you are going to try out for the Quidditch Teams!" he said brightly. Then he sat down and began speaking quickly with Professor Lupin.

"Another ball," Harry muttered. "Just great. And I was in such a good mood, too."

"Oh, I think it sounds like fun!" Rose giggled. "I love to dance."

"I hate it," Harry said shortly.

"Well, I hope that you two actually ask people early on so that you don't run into trouble like you did last year," Hermione told the boys, sniffing.

Rose giggled again. "Harry, I'll see you on the pitch," she said calmly. "I hope I actually try out well so that it doesn't look like I'm horrible to whoever winds up being that captain. Do you know who it is yet?"

"No," Harry said, grinning. "You'll do fine, Rose."

Rose left to get her broom and Harry finished his breakfast, then went to get his Firebolt. He met the rest of the Gryffindor team on the field, the applicants for the position of Keeper and for reserve positions already sitting on a long bench with a Gryffindor banner above it. They all smiled at him in a way that made him suspicious right off.

"What?" Fred and George, who had been sniggering behind their hands, did their best to look innocent. Then he knew that something was up. "What is it?"

Angelina grinned. "Well, Harry, you're the new team captain."

Harry was stunned. "What?" he asked dumbly. "I'm the captain?"

"That's right," Fred said innocently.

"I don't know the first thing about being captain," Harry said bluntly.

"Who was on the best team our age on the continent?" George asked, his face the plastered with same false innocence that Fred's was.

"I wasn't the captain. That was Rose. I know you noticed."

"Come off it, you know better then you think," Katie said pointedly. "If you thought you know exactly what to do we'd have problems. First thing you've got to do is get a Keeper. We drew last this year for tryouts."

"And now we've got to get to class," Alicia said pointedly.

And the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team left their new captain to pick them a new Keeper and decide on reserves.

* * * * *

When it was finally Gryffindor's turn Harry had a vague idea of what to do. He went and stood in front of the bench, feeling stupid. "Alright, You can go once you've tried out. We'll start with Keepers. Form a line. Now I need some Chasers... You three, thank you. Dennis?" The second year was standing eagerly at the front of the line.

"Guard the goals until the Chasers score. Ready? GO!"

The Chasers scored in seconds. One by one the Keepers were scored on, and Harry wrote down their time by their name. Finally it was time for Rose to try out, the very last Keeper in line.

She rose up on her broom when Harry ordered the group to go, and blocked the first attempt at scoring. Then another... and another... She kept on blocking them until Harry stopped her. He told the Chasers to stop, then flew over beside Rose and said, "You'll keep going all day if I let you."

Rose grinned. "The list's posted in two weeks, right?"

"Yep."

Harry and Rose landed.

"Okay, reserves. Only you three? Check the list." He asked the Chasers. Then he saw someone else. Hiding at the end of the bench was a little first year girl with red hair and freckles that looked very familiar.

"Hello, you're Lily Weasley, aren't you?" he said kindly. The little girl nodded. Had he been that small when he started playing Quidditch? "What position do you want to try out for?"

"S-Seeker," she stammered.

"Seeker?" he asked. "Let's see what you can do. We could use a reserve Seeker."

"Aren't you the Seeker?" she asked with her eyes wide.

"Yes. Once I couldn't play, though, and we would have done a lot better if we had a reserve Seeker. Do you want to try out?"

The girl nodded vigorously.

"Good. Do you have a broom with you?"

"N-no."

"Well, I'll let you use mine to try out on, and if you make it I'll see what I can do. Remember that first years aren't often let on the team, so if you don't make it this year, try out again next year."

"Okay," she said, regaining some confidence. Harry handed the little wide eyed girl his Firebolt, and picked up an old Cleansweep. "Alright, Lily, I'm going to release the Snitch, and I want you to catch it as fast as you can when I say 'go'. Alright?" Lily nodded, and Harry released the Golden Snitch. "Ready... GO!"

Lily started off on the Firebolt, eyes darting around for the Snitch. After a quarter of an hour she dove, and pulled out of it with the Snitch clutched in her fist a good six feet from the ground.

"Very good!" Harry said enthusiastically. "Let's try that again. Release it, and get it when I tell you to."

She released the Snitch, and at the sound of his voice she began spiraling higher and higher. For a good forty-five minutes she searched, then flew with all the speed she could manage to catch the Snitch right below Harry.

"Very good," he said happily. "Check the list. There's a good chance your name will be on it."

Lily was smiling the whole time as they landed and dismounted, and Harry watched her flounce off to lunch before he put everything up and started back to the castle with his Firebolt. She was so full of life, a wonderful little girl... and a wonderful Seeker.

Harry ate lunch quickly and hurried to Defense Against the Dark Arts, wondering what creature they'd be learning to fight. When he got there, Professor Lupin was not there, and he remembered that the previous night had been the full moon. Professor Snape sat behind the desk, watching the students as they sat there in silence. Harry sat down right before it was time for class to start.

"Class take out your books, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin left instructions to begin it today. Read chapter one."

The Gryffindor fifth years quietly turned to the assigned chapter, all except for Romina who obeyed while mewing pitifully. She was terrified of Professor Snape. Harry began to read the chapter, then stopped, and decided to read it more carefully than he would have.

Chapter 1: A Rising Dark Lord

In 1970 the Wizarding World, healed from Grindelwald though still remembering, met the rise of another Dark Lord, greater and more terrible than any before. None knew the disaster that was approaching: they only saw the seemingly random disappearances and murders and heard a whisper of a name now never spoken. Perhaps this era of our history could have been avoided completely if anyone had fathomed the coming terror. If anyone had seen and been believed...

Harry hadn't opened the book that summer, and he wished he had. The opening paragraph told clearly how the book would end to all: the deaths of Lily and James Potter and the downfall of Voldemort while attempting to kill their son. Him.

His life at Privet Drive, life without parents or friends, all of it because his parents had been loving and noble. Because Lord Voldemort killed those who stood against him without mercy. He had affected the lives of so many... he had no parents... Neville's parents were mad... Sirius had lost twelve years of his life in Azkaban and two more on the run...

"Potter! Are you done?"

Harry looked up, his face blank and his eyes dead. "No."

"Finish before I take house points!"

Harry turned back to the book, reading incomprehensibly. It detailed murders and told of disappearances in Voldemort's early days. It included, curiously enough, the murders of several Muggles by obviously magical means, including that of the Riddles. After a while his reading disintegrated into nothing.

He knew exactly what he'd say to Rose if he could talk to her at the moment. :THEY DIDN'T SEE THE SECOND TIME EITHER:

Rose shifted in surprise and glanced at Harry. :WHAT:

Harry was surprised to hear Rose's voice in his head, asking him "what"... What he meant, he realized, and then the puzzle clicked. He had somehow spoken to Rose in her head, and she had answered in the same way. He tried to do it again. :CAN YOU HEAR ME ROSE:

Rose glanced in his direction and he nodded to his textbook. :I HEAR YOU HARRY MENTAL VOICE IS ODD LIKE TWO ONE YOURS OTHER FEELS OF SOMETHING STRONG AND STEADY THAT DOESN'T LOOK IT:

:I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT: Harry answered, seemingly concentrating on the page in front of him. :YOURS HAS A SOLID TONE:

Harry saw Rose grin at her book. :OUR BOND:

:MUST BE:

:MINDLINK:

Harry shot her a confused glance. :WHAT:

Harry glanced over again to see her giving her book an exasperated look he was sure was aimed at him. :A SIMPLE LINK YOU CAN FIND EACH OTHER AND UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER TO A REMARKABLE DEGREE BUT WITH AN ACTUAL MINDLINK YOU CAN ALSO TALK TO EACH OTHER MENTALLY IF IT'S STRONG ENOUGH CAN SEND EACH OTHER IMAGES AND ARE ALWAYS AWARE OF THE OTHER'S EMOTIONS ONCE THEY'VE TRAINED THEMSELVES TO BE:

:ONLY SINCE WE DISCOVERED WE WERE LINKED ... LOVELY THINGS MINDLINKS:

Just then the bell rang and Harry hurried out of the classroom, though Rose lingered to talk to Professor Snape. She did that almost every class with him and they seemed to get along very well, amazingly enough. Harry had have hovered around the door the first time, but Rose had known and talked about class, then told him off when she'd left the classroom.

Harry hurried off to dinner, wondering how he was going to ask anyone to the ball. His mood brightened slightly as he remembered that he didn't have to go to the ball this time. It sank again when he realized that he would have to or Ron and Hermione at least would stay with him whether or not they wanted to go themselves. They were always there, worrying about him and his scar and Voldemort. He was glad they were there most of the time, but sometimes he needed to be alone. Rose came in a good quarter hour after Harry, but Ron and Hermione, for some reason, still hadn't arrived.

Harry looked around the hall, wondering who else had their life turned upside down by Voldemort either years ago or in the last few months. Neville was glancing nervously past Harry every once in a while, and would start to stand then decide against it. Romina was flirting with Seamus, who was smiling absently and watching Lavender. Had one of those three been affected in anyway other than the general fear and confusion that affected everyone? And over at the Hufflepuff table was little Marilynn Diggory. Was Cedric her older brother? A cousin? There was that Ravenclaw girl, Alice. It was odd that the name had survived so long, especially with Rowena Ravenclaw being female. Maybe she'd already been married. But what about her Alice? Surely she was in danger: both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had sided with Gryffindor against Slytherin. And where were the descendants of Helga Hufflepuff and Godric Gryffindor? Gryffindor's heirs... powerful twins, one of which had to die to defeat Voldemort. He had had a twin, Caroline. Why was the Potter's manor named Godric's Hollow? If his parents hadn't been living there when they'd died was the manor still standing? Why hadn't his parents been living at the manor when they were attacked?

Harry stood up suddenly, slowing his spiraling thoughts to a near halt. Professor McGonagall and Professor Lupin had both been close to his parents, and Sirius would know... he could find some things, at least. He left the Great Hall, deciding immediately on the third. Lupin was unavailable and McGonagall was still eating, but Sirius would be there, in the third restricted room in the dungeons.

Harry reached Sirius's room quickly, glanced around, knocked once, and entered. It was a comfortable room, if small, with a bed in one corner, two fat armchairs by the hearth, a table standing against a wall with another chair by it and a wardrobe stood near the bed. Sirius was sitting in on of the armchairs with a Butterbeer sitting beside him and his eyes half closed.

He looked up as Harry entered and immediately looked concerned. "What's the matter, Harry?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Harry said blandly. "I'm the new Gryffindor Team Captain and only found out right before tryouts this morning, there's a ball on Halloween, and I've stumbled onto a couple of questions, though two can be answered by asking first years."

"What questions?" Sirius asked, motioning for Harry to take the other armchair.

Harry sat down before he began. "I was wondering what relation to Cedric Marilynn Diggory is- she's a first year- and how the surname Ravenclaw survived all those years. Those are the easy ones."

"And the hard ones?" Sirius prompted.

Harry took a deep breath before he started. "Where are the heirs of the other founders, how Caroline died, why the manor was called Godric's Hollow, why my parents weren't living at the manor when they were killed, and whether Godric's Hollow is still standing."

Sirius winced slightly. "That's a lot of questions. I can't answer all of them. I have no idea where the heirs of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor are, or why the Potter manor is called Godric's Hollow. It is still standing, though. Your grandfather had the family's entire lineage mapped out somewhere.

"Caroline... Caroline died in a silent attack the night after she was born, past midnight. No one but your parents, Maralin and I, and Professor Dumbledore knew it even had happened. It was the only time that Voldemort attacked Godric's Hollow. The only time the defense was weak enough... Voldemort managed to come in, randomly kill one of the three infants, and Disapparate. Lily and Maralin spent an hour alone with you and Rose, sobbing... you'd both slept through Caroline's death. There had been one hole- one tiny whole that allowed Voldemort to Apparate onto the grounds. James searched the whole thing that night and found the whole in the original defense, made sure it was the only one.

"James was why your parents didn't live at your manor. Your grandparents were murdered by Voldemort, both James's parents and later Lily's. James couldn't live at the manor after their death, not for more than a week or so at a time, and that only occasionally. Like Maralin with our manor."

Harry nodded. "Rose mentioned that they didn't live in the manor."

"She's quite attached to you," Sirius said quietly.

Harry nodded absently. "We've got some kind of Mindlink. Rose explained it to me when she figured out what it was today, but I missed most of it."

"She's nothing like I would have thought she would be. She's more mischievous than I was, and there's a bit of Maralin in there that she plays with on the surface, but half the time she reminds me of Lily or James or both. And never me."

"Maralin raised her and that's probably where Maralin and my parents came from. And you... you were in Azkaban."

"I hope you're alright with everything you've found out," Sirius said, sorrow at missing most of his daughter's childhood evident in his eyes.

Harry nodded again. "I'd better go before Ron and Hermione decide I've gone off to fight Voldemort and get frantic."

* * * * *

Ron and Hermione weren't in the Common Room when Harry arrived, but Rose was quite giggly in an armchair by the fire. Harry took up a seat in an empty armchair near her and tried to speak to her mentally.

:ROSE:

:I'M HERE HARRY:

:WHY ARE YOU GIGGLING:

:OH ... NEVILLE JUST ASKED ME TO THE BALL:

:REALLY ... I DON'T KNOW WHO TO ASK YET:

:YOU LIE ... YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL YOU'RE ASKING GINNY:

:NOW I DO ... MAY I ASK WHY:

:BECAUSE YOU LIKE HER WHETHER YOU KNOW IT OR NOT ... YOU JUST HAVEN'T REALIZED IT YET:

:YOU WITH NEVILLE AND ME WITH GINNY ... WHAT ABOUT RON AND HERMIONE:

:OH THEY'LL HAVE DATES ... WAIT A MOMENT ............... How's this:

:NOT NEAR AS LOUD HOW:

:It only needs once Try thinking about talking normally rather than shouting It should work:

:......... Like this:

:You've got it Now if we can only figure out how to talk normally instead of flat and not punctuated ... You know Tone and breathing Actually angry or happy or excited or asking a question:

Harry glanced in the direction of the portrait hole before answering. :Do you know where Ron and Hermione are:

:No Haven't seen them since Defense Against the Dark Arts Where did you go:

:To see Sirius:

:Ah You looked a little troubled Anyway I haven't seen them:

:I wonder where they could be:

:I have my suspicions No I won't tell you where I think Don't even ask:

:I won't Here they are:

Ron and Hermione had just walked through the portrait hole looking vaguely happy about something. It was very nearly eight o'clock, and as soon as they came in they spotted Harry and Rose and came over.

"Where have you two been?" Rose asked with a touch of innocence that told Harry she was up to something.

"Oh, here and there," Hermione said vaguely. "I was in the library until about fifteen minutes ago and then I went down to get dinner. Ron asked me to the ball as a friend at dinner." She was blushing slightly.

:She lies fairly well: Rose commended. :It would be better if she hadn't blushed but I think that it confirms my suspicions:

:Which are:

:Mine: She smiled at the pair slyly. :At least until I can prove them:

"Yeah," Ron said, supporting Hermione's story. "I went outside for a bit and came in for dinner a while ago. It's easier to ask a friend than a date, so I asked Monie."

Right then Harry knew that Ron had slipped horribly.

"Monie?" Rose asked, smiling impishly at Hermione. "My, my, what have you two been up to?"

"Nothing," Hermione insisted, shooting Ron a deadly look.

"I just asked her to the ball," Ron said hastily.

Rose giggled, telling Harry, :They were somewhere in the dungeons The library probably didn't last more than fifteen minutes: Then she spoke to Hermione, not giving Harry a chance to ask why they were somewhere in the dungeons. "Oh, I got asked to the ball, too... it sounds like fun. We couldn't have things like that at Spellfire. You know, all girls..." She smiled sweetly, outwardly dropping the subject.

"Oh?" Hermione asked, glancing at Harry. "Who are you going with?"

"Neville," Rose said lightly.

"Oh?" Hermione asked again. "What about you, Harry? Asked anyone yet?"

"No."

"Who d'you think you'll ask?" Ron asked curiously.

Harry shrugged. "I thought I might ask Ginny." Hermione raised her eyebrow but didn't say anything and Ron started examining the ceiling carefully to hide his grin. They clearly would love to tease him- or at least Ron would, Hermione just looked pleased- but they seemed afraid they'd hurt him since Voldemort's return. Sometimes he didn't mind- a lot of the time, really- but sometimes he wanted everything to go back to normal. "So everyone will have dates when I get around to asking someone."

Rose smiled slyly. "I'd suggest you heed my advice... You can't go wrong there!" Then she gave Hermione a Look and the pair left.

Just before they were out of earshot Hermione asked, "What was your advice?"

Rose grinned wickedly at her rival turned friend. "To ask Ginny."

Ron looked after the pair incredulously. "She told you to ask Ginny?"

He shook his head and said, "She insisted when I told her I didn't know who I was going to ask." Smiling, Harry screwed up his face and imitated her voice. "'You lie... You know perfectly well you're asking Ginny.'"

Ron started laughing. "Oh, that one has a wicked streak! I almost pity Neville."

Harry hastily borrowed Rose's innocent face. "Except that he's got the best girl in the year?"

Ron shook his head. "I'd take Hermione over her any day."

"So you prefer arguing to a 'wicked streak'?"

"We get on a lot better now," Ron said awkwardly. "Anyway, Rose can be downright evil if she put her mind to it. Well... evil's not the right word. She's clean inside. It's more viciously wicked and mischievous."

Harry grinned. "That sounds about right." He tried to send the thought to Rose, though he wasn't sure it worked when they weren't both present. :How does "viciously wicked and mischievous" sound to describe you:

:Absolutely Wicked Definitely me I can't wait until we uncover your wicked streak:

:Ron said it:

:He's obviously a good judge of character:

:What tipped you off He's got me and Hermione as friends doesn't he And you of course:

:Lovely insult... I know you didn't mean it... 'Night Harry:

:Good night Rose:

Harry settled back into his chair. "We should probably go to bed. It's getting late."

Ron nodded in agreement. "One of these day's we're going to have to try some Marauders' stuff. You know... cause some trouble and get Fred and George blamed..."

"That's good for this year," Harry agreed. "This summer we should get the twins to tell us what pranks they've pulled and next year we should give the teachers a bad case of déjà vu."

"That sound like fun!" Ron exclaimed, grinning slightly maniacally. "How about adding the original Marauders' tricks, too? We can start that déjà vu this year."

* * * * *

Mid October arrived and the results for the Quidditch tryouts were posted. The notice was crowded, and Harry sat back as the list was read over and over.

Seeker:
Harry Potter (Captain)
First Reserve: Lily Weasley

Chasers:
Angelina Johnson
Katie Bell
Alicia Spinnet
First Reserve: Rachel White
Second Reserve: Jeremy Wits
Third Reserve: Jordan McBright

Beaters:
Fred Weasley
George Weasley

Keeper:
Rose Black
First Reserve: James Green

When Rose finally got to the list and read it she shot Harry a dirty look. :Why did you put Keeper at the bottom:

Harry grinned and replied with an image of the look on her face.

Just then little Lily Weasley got pulled up to the front of the crowd by her cousin. Ron was now a little over six foot and tall enough to shoulder his way through the mob easily. Lily took one look at the list and squealed in delight. Ron grinned at Harry over most of the crowd.

"Lily's quite a Seeker, isn't she?" said a voice behind and above Harry.

Harry looked up over his shoulder into the face of Ginny Weasley. She was looking very pretty with a soft smile on her face, watching her little cousin. "She's very good. In two more years she should be ready to be the Seeker."

Ginny smiled down at him. "Trying to leave a Seeker behind so the winning streak doesn't break?"

"I'd hardly call one year a winning streak."

"You should have had it the other years. One you were unconscious in the Hospital Wing and two were canceled." Ginny shifted slightly at the cancellations, remembering her own part in one of them.

Harry winced. Voldemort, a Basilisk and Tom Marvolo Riddle, and the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The only year that things hadn't ended up with him nearly dead was when they'd won in his third year. That year he'd nearly ended up soulless. "I'm sure everything will be fine this year," he lied.

Ginny smiled ironically and sat near him. "The Wizarding World hasn't been 'fine' for twenty five years."

"I know," Harry said seriously. He paused for a moment, fighting with himself. This was as good a time as any. "Will you go to the ball with me?"

Ginny's smile lost every trace of paradox. "I'd love to, Harry."

Harry smiled back at her. "Now that's done with..." But before he could go back to talking to Ginny she left, summoned by Hermione and Rose as surely as if with Accio. A moment later Ron came over to Harry.

"Did you ask her?"

"Yes."

"Good! Hey, next year maybe I'll try out! I'm a Chaser or a Beater, and Fred and George will be gone."

"Along with all the current Chasers."

"So, what do you think of Romina? She's been awfully quiet since the first week."

"I know," Harry said, thinking back. "She was showing off a lot for the first bit, and then she kind of stopped. I wonder if she even has a date yet."

"I think that she might be going with Malfoy. I know he asked her."

"When?"

"In Potions yesterday."

"A Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Especially her and Malfoy! From what I've seen of her she's very much against Voldemort, and Malfoy is practically the head of Un-Anonymous Death Eaters of Tomorrow!"

Ron snorted. "U. A. D. E. T.: you a debt."

Harry laughed. "I doubt they're going together."