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Chapter Text

Harriet crumpled in place as pain lanced through her chest and panic slammed down the bond to her.

"Harri!" Steve and Clint exclaimed, converging on her in a second. "What is it?" Clint asked worriedly.

"Fred and George." She rasped, "They're..." she choked as another wave of pain hit and she felt the twins try to block her protectively.

"Go." Steve said solemnly, "We'll track you."

Not needing any more prompting, Harriet tugged on the Soulmate bond and apparated herself straight to her twins. She landed directly behind them in just enough time to push their bond outward into a white shield, deflecting two deadly curses that were heading toward them. Harri quickly took in the scene before her.

Dumbledore, Hermione, and Ron stood across the way, all three with wands drawn and a platoon of chitauri spread behind them. Ron looked viciously pleased while Hermione looked disgruntled, Dumbledore's face was eerily blank. At Harriet's feet though were the two she had come for, Fred and George, both struggling against a vicious curse that was eating at their life force, the tie that kept their souls in their bodies. Harriet's arrival and their soulmate bond only seemed able to slow the curse.

Harri dropped to her knees between them and pressed a hand to each of their chests, pushing her magic into them as quickly as she could, gasping when the curse latched onto her as well. "Harriet..." George rasped, "Let go...it will take you too."

"Don't be stupid." Harri growled softly, "I haven't ever given up on you two. I'm not going to start now."

"Let go dearest." Fred said shakily, reaching an unsteady hand up to her face, "You'll die if you continue this."

Tears started to run down Harriet's face as she pushed more magic into her mates, "So will you." She choked out.

"Ronald!" Hermione yelled outside of the protective bubble created by the soulmate bond, "This wasn't the time for your experimenting! We were meant to make it quick so she had no chance of stopping it!"

Harriet's head snapped up and she snarled at the two traitorous pieces of filth in front of her, "I'll fucking destroy you!" she hissed, Ron sneered at her but Dumbledore stepped in front of him.

"Dear girl. You have no hope of saving them." He said easily, Harriet could feel the twins starting to fade into unconsciousness, "Now you'll be joining them because you foolishly latched on and allowed the curse to eat at you too." Harri gritted her teeth as she leaned protectively over Fred and George, pulling the bond shield closer to them. "This is inevitable my dear girl." Dumbledore continued.

"Not yours...Ours..." Fred and George contradicted weakly.

"Always," Harriet replied in a watery whisper.

Dumbledore didn't hear them, "You were far too late in your discovery of things to stop me. To stop this. To keep yourselves from dying for the greater good."

Harriet glared up at Dumbledore, feeling the curse start to eat at her physically as well. How she wished she had caught on earlier. How she wished she could protect her mates and the family they had found together from all this. Down through the bond, Fred and George seconded her thoughts with more ferocity and strength than they should have had under such a curse.

Glacia perked up in the back of Harriet's mind.

Dumbledore looked down at the three of them with his false grandfatherly mask in place, "Really. Did you honestly believe you could stop plans I had in motion for years? That you could outmaneuver me just because you became aware? I've owned you completely since the day you set foot in Hogwarts. This was always going to be how you ended."

Glacia screeched within Harriet, blue flames started to lick down Harri's arms and at Fred and George's chests. Harri could feel them blacking out, could feel herself weakening, could feel their bond struggling helplessly to combat it. Glacia raged inside her and Harri clenched her jaw as Glacia shoved forward, tugging at her magic strangely. Harriet leaned down further between Fred and George, "Still ready to follow me anywhere?" She asked dazedly, Glacia's cold filling her almost to the point of being painful.

"The Greater Good must be served. Your deaths are necessary." Dumbledore said as he folded his arms behind him, "I think its high time you stopped standing in my way." He said darkly.

"Follow you"

"Anywhere." Fred and George answered as they finally drifted off into blackness.

Harriet let out a sob as she felt Fred and George's souls begin to break from hers as their breaths slowed. Glacia screamed within and Dumbledore and company took an involuntary step back as the rage grated at their very beings. Harriet desperately wrapped her arms and soul around her mates as Glacia rose within her and all three of them disappeared in an enormous explosion of blue flames.

Chapter Text

Fred woke up with a groan, his head was pounding. He patted vaguely along the bed, across his brother, and toward where the nightstand should be; Winky had stored some pain potions there and he could really use one.

Unfortunately, the bed seemed to have shrunk overnight and the motion rolled Fred and George right out of the bed to slam unforgivingly into the creaky wooden floor. Fred frowned, the floor in their room at LeFay Castle wasn't creaky. Fred finally opened his eyes as he levered himself off of George and froze when he looked up to scan the room.

"Fuck Fred." George whined, "Did Loki shrink our bed again?" He grumbled sleepily.

"Loki has never been to the Burrow." Fred choked.

"Whaa..." George began as he blinked open his eyes, his eyes immediately locked onto Fred, "What the...why are you so small?! You look like a second year!"

"Forget about that! Look where we are!" Fred exclaimed.

George frowned but look around, his eyes widening as he took in their old room at the Burrow. "What happened!"

Fred moved off of George and sat against the bed, dropping his head into his hands, "Last I remember..." he frowned, "Ron sent that dark curse at us?"

George tilted his head as he sat up, "No, Harriet came for us after that remember?"

'Still ready to follow me anywhere?' Harriet's voice echoed softly in their minds.

Fred's frown deepened, "Did she do this then?" He asked curiously, "Why would she de-age us and send us to the Burrow?"

George reached out to their bond with Harriet and froze, "Fred...I can't feel her."

"She blocked us?" Fred asked as he too reached for their bond. It quickly became clear that she had not blocked them; even if she had they would have been able to feel wisps of her, emotions at the very least, but this was like hitting a brick wall. Nothing got through it. All they could tell was the bond was still complete, letting them know Harriet was at least alive.

Fred and George shared a worried look as they quickly stood, ready to go find their mate, but the door to their room opened before they could make it too far.

They gaped at the person in the doorway.

"What the bloody hell are you two gawpin' at?" A young looking Ron asked, his arms crossed over his chest. "Mum wants you downstairs for breakfast. Our letters are due any minute, then mum wants to hit Diagon Alley before it gets too busy." With that Ron turned and slammed the door as he exited, seconds later the twins could hear their mum yelling at Ron for the slam.

"Was that..."

"Ron looking like a first year?" Fred finished, "Yeah and that sounded like mum."

"But Nat killed her a year ago," George said with a frown.

Fred hummed and turned to where he remembered their trunk should be. "We need to figure out what is happening. Find Harriet and get back to LeFay Castle before everyone does something stupid." He stopped and frowned at the mess on top of their trunks.

George moved over to his brother and peered over his shoulder to see what had caused Fred to stop, his eyebrows rising when he took in the charred potions equipment scattered on top of the trunk, "If this is some illusion it's a really elaborate one." He murmured.

"This is...the equipment we exploded before our third year?" Fred questioned, reaching down and plucking experimentally at the strangely fractured stirring rod that he distinctly remembered because of the fracture pattern in the shape of a cat. "Merlin, whoever set this up was serious. Even the fracture is the same." He murmured to George.

George's eyebrows drew together, "It's not completely perfect. The explosion that caused this had us knocked out for three days."

Fred nodded as the memory came to him through his bond with George, "Mum had to take us to St. Mungo's."

"We missed our third-year letters." George continued, "We didn't go to Diagon Alley until two days after getting home from Mungos."

"So that rules out Loki messing with us." Fred huffed as they cleared away the mess wandlessly and he opened the trunk. "He wouldn't have missed a detail like that."

The thought of apparating home sprung through their minds before George shook his head, "Not here. If this is the real Burrow then the wards would alert people."

"Diagon then." Fred said, "The magical signatures there would be too muddled for them to pinpoint who it was."

George tilted his head, "Can we still use Mischief and Mayhem?"

Fred reached out for his animagus and was replaced with a fox not a second later, the fox looked down at itself, swishing his black-tipped tail before changing back to Fred just as quickly. "So that's a yes." he bent to start pulling clothes from their trunk, "Who would go through making an illusion of us being younger but leave us our animagus forms?"

"And our wandless magic, we couldn't use that easily until we bonded with Harri." George added, taking a shirt from Fred, "It doesn't make sense."

Fred gave a short nod, "So we need to observe as much as we can and find our way back to Harriet."

A small smile made its way onto George's face, "What a goal."

Fred grinned, "If we can get home and get everything fixed before another chitauri attack maybe we can convince Harriet to show us the stuff she bought in Paris the other day."

"For our Queen then brother?"

"For our Queen!"

Chapter Text

By the time Fred and George reached Diagon Alley with their mum, Ron, Ginny, and Percy, they were even more uncertain of the situation than before.

The first thing that they had encountered upon going downstairs in the Burrow was the sight of a familiar rat lounging on the couch. Luckily, when Fred all but growled the rat's Marauder name only the three of them were near enough to hear it. Fred and George were treated to Wormtail squeaking with fright and trying to make a run for it before being snatched up by Ron.

At breakfast they watched their 'family' closely, trying to pick up any one clue that would give them information. Unfortunately, and rather unsettlingly, there was nothing to find other than what they already knew and that the people eating with them were either amazing actors or the real Molly, Ron, Ginny, and Percy Weasley. Fred and George didn't know which was worse. They also couldn't feel any tell-tale magic or electrical energy that supported their illusion theory. Hallucinations were straight out too as they still would have felt Harriet through the bond if that were the case.

They received their letters with their third-year supplies list near the end of breakfast and quickly ran upstairs to pack their room up before the rest of the house left. No matter what they found out or what happened at Diagon Alley, Fred and George had no intention of returning here. This wasn't home.

Home was explosions from Tony's tinkering at two in the morning and Jarvis' reassurances through thinly veiled exasperation. Home was Clint popping into their room via the ventilation system at the most inopportune times just to be an ass. Home was Steve shouting "Language!" despite his own filthy mouth. Home was Natasha and Loki comparing knife techniques over breakfast and Thor trying to get Bruce to let the Hulk out for sparring. Home was them being able to tease Bucky about his vaguely housewife like demeanor as he stress-baked enough sweets to feed their whole army. But above all, their home was a mischievous green-eyed beauty with wild black hair and a wicked sense of humor.

So no...they wouldn't be returning to the Burrow to live with traitors, real or fake.

A few bits of wandless magic had their room spotless, their trunks shrunk down, and a little surprise set for the first person to try to get into their old room next.

A shout from Molly and they were running down the stairs to meet with everyone else by the floo. Just as they remembered, their mother fussed over Ron and Ginny while ignoring the rest of them; Percy ignored her right back, his nose in a book, and the twins made kissy faces over Molly's shoulders at their younger siblings like the mature adults they were. Flooing into the Leaky Cauldron it was all too easy for Fred and George to give their mum the slip. They made their way through the crowd of Diagon Alley, down to where the remnants of their first shop should have been, quickly ducking into an empty alcove they had discovered in their time living in the alley.

As one they tried to apparate home, only to be thrown outside of the wards violently.

Fred sat up with a groan, "Shit."

"No wonder Strange was complaining." George huffed. They stood and walked to the ward line to feel them curiously, "Our big ward is gone." George noted.

"Probably because of the block between us," Fred said as he dragged his hand along the wards, feeling them flare slightly at his signature before pushing him away again. He frowned, "The wards don't seem to recognize us at all."

"Gringotts then?" George asked.

Fred nodded, "If anyone can pinpoint what's going on it's the Goblins."

With their next move in mind, George and Fred apparated back to the Alley and quickly made their way to Gringotts, keeping their heads down in case this strange (not) illusion/(not) hallucination/'What the hell is going on here Fred?' 'I don't know George.' decided to suddenly throw an enemy at them. Years of fighting and war had them hyperaware of how vulnerable they were without knowledge of the situation and Harriet at their sides; it was only that experience and the need to find their mate though that had them in a somewhat calm state, focused on their goal.

Entering Gringotts they quickly moved to a free teller and drew themselves up as tall as their current third year sized bodies could go. "Greetings! May the"

"gold be flowing in your favor today."

"Could we speak"

"to Griphook please?"

The goblin's wispy eyebrows rose in clear surprise, "And may your enemies be trembling before you this day. Manager Griphook is currently dealing with an emergency, could I get another to help you?"

'Another inconsistency.' Fred thought.

'Griphook shouldn't be a Manager yet. He didn't get that position until Harriet appointed him as hers.' George agreed.

' Start with the tests then?'

'Probably our best bet.'

"Yes please." Fred said aloud, "If we could see a clerk to take the three standard tests we would be grateful."

The goblin nodded, "Names?"

'Weasley or Prewett?' George thought immediately.

'With all this going on?' Fred responded, 'We better play it safe for now.'

"We are Fred and George Weasley." They chorused.

The goblin nodded and took down their names before hopping down from his desk, "Right this way. Bloodfang is free to see you."

Fred and George followed after the goblin as he led them further into the bank, all the while looking around for more discrepancies, like Griphook's position, to give them more clues. Their biggest problem was, even though they knew it was a discrepancy, they didn't know the significance of it. 'Unless Harriet has already been here.' George thought with a small frown.

'If she had we would be able to feel her through the bond already... right?'

Both of them pushed away the thoughts that might lead them down a path to panic as they were stopped in front of a door. Fred politely said the formal goodbye to the teller that had assisted them while George greeted Bloodfang, both goblins seeming absolutely flabbergasted that two wizards were being so respectful toward them.

It didn't take them long after that to mix their blood with the needed potions so Bloodfang could pour them out on the parchment and let them begin their work. 

Bloodfang folded his hands in front of him, "While that is working. What can I start for you two today?"

"We're mostly interested"

"in the results of the third"

"parchment. However,"

"once they are done we"

"would like to claim our joint Lordship"

"and then make arrangements"

"for us to live on one of the properties we own." Fred and George said, professional despite the verbal volley ball they were playing. "We would also like to move our holdings under Griphook's care."

Bloodfang's eyebrows rose, "Is the current Manager unsuitable?"

"Not necessarily." George said, "The Lordship we have claim over has fallen to the wayside a while ago and the only real activity in the account is drawing interests, royalties, and the rights to use a few patents attached to the name."

"The only real reason for the change is that Griphook will be handling our mate's accounts and when our holdings merge it will be simpler for everyone if we have one manager dealing with all of the family money." Fred said bluntly.

Bloodfang frowned, "Mate?"

"Our Soulmate." the twins chimed, a small smile on their faces.

Bloodfang looked between them, obviously unconvinced, but he nodded before going for the first parchment, "This should be done now." he sent a hard look in the twins' direction, "This will tell me exactly who you are. No magic can trick this test."

George raised an eyebrow while Fred suppressed the urge to smirk, "We have nothing to hide and we haven't lied."

"See that you don't." Bloodfang said, going back to the parchment. Moments later his eyes widened and he jumped from his desk, "One moment." he ran from the room as quickly as his short legs could carry him.

Fred and George shared a look before Fred stood to retrieve the parchment that had their information on it, George stood and came over to peruse the document over Fred's shoulder curiously, trying to figure out what had caused such a reaction from Bloodfang.

Names: Fred Fabian and George Gideon Weasley-Prewett

Mother: Molly Weasley nee Prewett (Alive)

Father: Arthur Septimus Weasley (Alive)

Spouse: Harriet Rose Prewett nee Potter (Alive) (Soulmate)

Age: 13/27

Fred frowned, "Our physical and real ages showed up."

"So, shoddy illusion work or not?" George mused, his face twisted into something a sower, "We still have the Weasley name."

Fred let out a quite snort, "It will be even easier to shed it this time."

George laid his chin on his brothers shoulder as his eyes ran over Harriet's name again, "Mum acted just like before." he hummed dully.

"Illusion or not, bet she'd steal some poor kids last piece of candy for shits and giggles." Fred laughed lightly, George smirked.

The office door banged open again and the twins turned to find Bloodfang and Griphook both standing there, "Mr. and Mr. Prewett." Griphook said grimly, forgoing the niceties, "Come with me. I will take you to your wife."

Fred dropped the parchment, "Harriet is here?" he demanded, George tensed beside him.

"Mrs. Prewett has been in our care since this morning. Please, come with me." Griphook said, turning and heading back down the hall without another word.

"What happened?" George asked as they ran after Griphook.

The goblin glanced back at them to assure that they were following close behind, "She came to Gringotts before dawn this morning, declared me her new account manager, and promptly collapsed on the main floor." Worry threaded through Fred and George's twin bond as they sped up, "We moved her to our healers room and ran the three standard tests as well as a diagnostic to find any injuries." Griphook continued, "Unfortunately, all we could do was stabilize her without our healers oaths and our laws interfering. We need her guardian or next of kin to decide if we are allowed to go further. That is you two, no matter how improbable it is that a ten year old has not only one husband but two."

"A story for later." George ground out.

"Harriet first." Fred barely got out without snapping.

"Of course." Griphook said, leading them, at last, through a large archway and into a long room that was brightly lit with a congregation of glowing orbs along the ceiling.

As always, when George and Fred entered the room, their eyes immediately found their wife.

Near the end of the room, laying on a small hospital bed and looking like death, was their soulmate, their home. Search over.

"Harriet!"

Chapter Text

"Harriet!" Fred and George exclaimed, rushing down the infirmary hall, heading directly for their mate who looked so very vulnerable.

Arriving on either side of her bed, the first thing that hit them was how small she was. She looked as she had the very first time they had met her on the Hogwarts Express all those years ago. She was thin and pale, so tiny that even the thirteen-year-old bodies they were stuck in seemed to dwarf her. The second thing that caught their attention was how much worse off she was than even their memory of their first meeting. Her breathing was shallow and her lips were just being to tinge blue. They could see her form trembling under the blanket that was tucked over her and there was a sickly rasp to her breathing that put them on edge.

George and Fred reached for her without hesitation, their hands took hers from where they had been laying on the bed next to her. A shock shot up their wrists and they felt their soulmate bond start to buck violently at the barrier that was blocking them from one another. The twins gritted their teeth at the painful struggle but refused to let go of Harriet's hands.

Fred looked down to the end of the bed where Griphook was now standing with a stern female goblin who was holding a clipboard, "What did the diagnostic find?"

The healer pursed her lips and pulled the clipboard up to read from, "Mrs. Prewett is currently physically suffering from two broken ribs, a cracked patella, multiple deep lacerations along her back, and a severe concussion. She also shows signs of long-term malnourishment. The third standard test also shows that Mrs. Prewett's magical core is bound and depleted to almost non-existence and that she is currently under the influence of many personality altering potions as well as one designed to suppress her bond with you two which seems to have only partially worked. It also showed there is what appears to be a horcrux within her scar that your soul bond is having trouble fighting fully because of all of her other ailments. Finally, the test and the diagnostic registered the remnants of a strong magic that entered her recently, its signature was similar to that of an ice Phoenix burn." The healer let her clipboard drop slightly so she could look at Fred, "We have been hoping that Mrs. Prewett, her father, or you two would appear to clarify what has happened to her."

Fred and George looked at each other with deep frowns, "Her father?"

Griphook nodded seriously, "Lord Potter would have been able to allow us treatment if he had appeared even if he was not aware of what put her in this state."

"James Potter is dead," Fred said evenly as George brushed the hair from Harriet's forehead.

Griphook silently pulled a piece of parchment from the healer's clipboard and handed it over to Fred so he could read it.

Name: Harriet Rose Prewett nee Potter
 
Mother: Lily Jasmine Potter nee Evans (Deceased)
 
Father: James Charlus Potter (Alive)
 
Spouse: Fred Fabian Prewett-Weasley (Alive) (Soulmate)

Spouse: George Gideon Prewett-Weasley (Alive) (Soulmate)
 
Age: 10/25

Fred's frown deepened and George sent his own curiosity at the development. Fred handed the paper back to Griphook, "We weren't aware he was alive, Harriet didn't either. He won't know what happened."

"And we were separated from her." George continued, "We've been trying to find her to figure out what happened."

"Then our only hope for answers is for Mrs. Prewett to wake up," Griphook said solemnly.

The healer tapped at her clipboard primly, "Before we proceed I must warn you that the since we are not fully aware of what the phoenix signature did to your wife we may run the risk of harming her further with the rituals we would normally use to remedy this sort of thing."

Fred and George's minds ran a mile a minute, undercut by their confusion and constant worry for Harriet. Finally, they came to a tentative answer. 'Can you do it if the goblins can't?' Fred asked.

'I've been practicing with Strange. I'm pretty confident.' George replied with no hesitation.

They looked to the goblins again, "Do you have someone"

"on staff here who could draw out her"

"astral form so we could ask her what happened?"

The healer cocked an eyebrow but Griphook nodded, "We have someone versed enough in the Mystic Arts to do that but unless she has had it done before I wouldn't suggest it in her current state. It can be disorienting the first time and that may hinder her condition."

"She's had it done before by the Sorcerer Supreme," George answered, his focus going back to Harriet.

"I shall call for Clawharper." The healer said with only the slightest of reaction to the declaration before walking away, leaving Fred and George to settle onto the bed on either side of Harriet.

"Shall I have Bloodfang give me your tests?" Griphook asked.

"If you could," Fred said evenly as he ran his fingers through Harriet's limp, dull hair.

"We'd like you to take over our accounts like you have Harriet's." George continued, his hand gripping hers tightly.

"Very well," Griphook said, bowing slightly before walking swiftly from the room.

'How did her core get so depleted?' George wondered worriedly.

'Considering our surroundings and what happened beforehand, Glacia could have trapped us in an illusion so we could fight off the curse and heal.' Fred threw out.

'But why this time? Our time at Avengers Tower or the Gemini Campanile would have definitely been more relaxing.' George said.

'We'll just have to wait to talk to her I guess.' Fred hummed, rubbing his thumb along the back of Harriet's hand. They sat there with Harriet, watching over her sickly form and waiting for the goblins to return.

Griphook appeared first, reading through the three tests that had been done. "You seemed to have been effected by the ice phoenix signature as well." Was how he announced his return, his eyes glued to the parchment in front of him, "Though your seems much more minor that your wife's."

"Does this conversation fall under client-manager confidentiality?" George asked, looking back at Griphook, the goblin nodded, "Harriet's second animagus is an ice phoenix."

"That is most likely why the signature seems bigger on hers." Fred finished.

Griphook pursed his lips, "You three are going to be very interesting clients aren't you?"

The twins gave him small grins, "We'll try our best!"

"Please spare me from too many events such as the one this morning." Griphook gruffed, "I value my sanity."

"Sanity is no fun," George muttered softly.

"Yes, well 'fun' does not make money," Griphook answered.

Fred snorted, "Just wait."

Just then the healer returned with another goblin who Fred and George assumed was Clawharper, the Mystic Arts user.

"Mr. and Mr. Prewett, this is Clawharper, the England Gringotts Branch's Mystic Arts user." The healer informed them quickly, Clawharper bowed to them. "If we could get this underway. I would like to know if I can treat my patient as soon as possible."

Fred nodded sharply and with a flick of his hand, a privacy ward was up. "Whenever you are ready Clawharper." He announced, George shifting up a little bit so the goblin could get to Harriet easier.

Clawharper gave the ward a slightly impressed look before walking over and making a very quick and precise strike to Harriet's third chakra. Harriet's body jolted and the twins locked their jaws, squeezing her hands tighter. Clawharper looked slightly above the bed and waved his hands in a very intricate motion. Not a second later a faded and wispy looking form popped into visibility above the bed with a light gasp.

"Harriet!" Fred and George exclaimed, taking in the full twenty-five-year-old form of their mate who looked much better than her ten-year-old body, with only stress showing upon her astral body in the form of her frizzed out short hair, tense shoulders, and wild eyes.

The astral form of Harriet blinked and looked down at the twins from where she was floating, she smiled, her eyes softened a bit and the line of her shoulders relaxed visibly. "George, Fred. You're alright."

"More than we can say for you!" George answered pointedly.

Harriet looked down at her ten-year-old body and grimaced, "Yeah. Things got a little out of hand."

Fred raised an eyebrow at her, "And Thor is just a little bit of a handful when he's hammered." George snorted.

"Mrs. Prewett." The healer interrupted her attitude no-nonsense and demanding. All three Prewetts looked to her. "You seem to be taking the astral projection well. Could you please clear up what has happened so we can treat you safely?"

Fred and George looked back to their mate, "The last thing we remember is"

"Ron shooting that curse at us"

"and Dumbledore monologuing."

"Then we woke up at the Burrow."

Harriet's face turned serious and she pulled her legs up so she was floating cross-legged. "When Dumbledore was gloating Glacia heard our wishes to protect our family." She looked down at Fred and George with pain clear on her face, "You were dying, your souls were already breaking from your bodies. So I wrapped my soul around yours' and Glacia dragged us away." Her face cleared a bit, "I woke up back in my cupboard at the Dursleys." The twins tensed, clenching their jaws. "Glacia told me that she had used my first burning day to drag our souls out from that particular moment and fling us back along the timeline to a point where my body was weak enough to receive the older soul and then took over my younger form. It was in response to our wishes." She ran a hand through her frizzed out hair with a gusty sigh, "I held your souls with me until they were healed from the curse damage and your younger bodies were weak enough to receive them."

"The potions explosion," George noted, Harriet cocked an eyebrow at him.

"And your wounds?" The healer asked impatiently.

Harriet floated a little lower, "Late last night when I felt Fred and George's souls start to pull away from me I knew that their bodies were weak enough to receive their older souls. I wrapped as much of my magic as I could around them so that they would get there quickly and safely as well as to help heal whatever it was that had gotten them that weak in the first place before I sent them on their way. Unfortunately, not too long after that Vernon came home drunk. Apparently, my labored breathing due to my large magical expenditure was annoying. He pulled me from my cupboard and beat me pretty bad." George fought to keep his face straight even as Fred started growling mentally and imagining ways to torture the Dursleys. Harriet brought her astral hands down subtly and brushed at their shoulder. "I managed to get up when he went for the bat to break my leg and hit him over the head with a book. Luckily, his drunkenness helped him pitch forward and hit his head on the coffee table to completely take him out. After I got the room to stop spinning I got away from the wards of Privet Drive and made my way here."

"On a cracked patella?" The healer tutted, "Tell me you didn't walk the distance."

Harriet rubbed the back of her neck, "No. I called the Knight Bus."

"How?" Griphook asked, "You had no possessions on you and they would not have let you on without pay."

Harri gave them a sheepish smile, "I may have used my fame and had them accept an IOU." She looked to her mates, "We'll also have to reimburse them because I'm pretty sure my blood ruined at least two of their seats."

"Blood is hard to get out even with charms," Fred said as George nodded solemnly.

'If they didn't blab to anyone we'll buy them a whole new bus for this.' George thought, Fred sent his agreement.

"Mrs. Prewett, what of this ice phoenix signature and will it affect my healing?" The healer asked.

Harriet shook her head, "The ice phoenix is my second animagus. It should not affect any healing. She's actually been quite dormant since the twins' souls left us."

"I should think so!" The healer clucked making Fred and George look to her curiously. The goblin just tapped her fingers against her clipboard agitatedly, "Taking one soul back in time would require immense power let alone three then shortly after that you wrapped almost all of your magic around your mates' souls to send them off. And you did all of this, as you said, on your first burn as a phoenix. It's like you had a death wish!" The healer grew angrier as she spoke, "Honestly you are lucky to have retained your magical core at all! What were you thinking!?!"

Harriet's astral form flared and suddenly she changed from Harriet to a bedraggled looking Glacia who seemed to be emitting frost as she glared at the goblin, "I was thinking that my mates were dying and I sure as hell wasn't going to let them die without trying everything phoenixly possible to save them!"

"You could have burned your soul out, making them drop anywhere in the timeline you silly hatchling!" The healer retorted.

"Healer Applebaum!" Griphook shouted, the healer looked over to him and he raised an eyebrow, "As amusing as it would be to see you go up against a phoenix protecting its mates, yelling at your patient is not how we conduct ourselves here!"

Applebaum huffed and looked back at her clipboard, "It should be for stupid ones."

Glacia gave a furious shriek before suddenly shrinking back into Harriet's form. Harri rubbed at her head with a slight moan, "Bloody hell."

"Mrs. Prewett." Applebaum began again, this time stiffly, "Is there anything else I need to know about before I suggest a path of healing? Your mood swings perhaps?" George choked a bit and Fred ducked his head as the comment brought up memories of Harriet's pregnancy mood swings.

Harriet shot her mates a knowing look before looking back at the healer, "It's not a mood swing per say. I've only had my phoenix animagus for a short time and have yet to have time to completely integrate all of the innate knowledge that a phoenix is born with. This gives Glacia more of a personality than my first transformation. She was the one who dragged us back. You affronted her the most with your speech so she reacted."

Applebaum's lips pressed together in a thin line, "I see."

Griphook cleared his throat and Harri turned a kind smile on him, "Mrs. Prewett, your situation is very...unique and as your new manager, I hope to get more answers later but we need to get you healed first and foremost. I assume you trust your husbands with any decisions regarding your care until such time as you regain consciousness."

"Of course," Harriet said confidently.

"Good. Then please return to your body," Applebaum said, "you outside of your body is doing nothing to help anything at the moment."

"Rest Harriet," George said softly.

"We'll take care of you," Fred added.

Harriet smiled at her mates as she sank back toward her body, "I don't doubt you will." With that Harriet's astral form disappeared completely.

George looked at Applebaum, "Do what you need to do to make her well." The healer bowed her head before bustling off to prepare.

'So we're actually back in time huh?' Fred mused.

'Didn't see that coming.' George chuckled.

'We'll have to get the family together again.' Fred said with a mental grin.

'And keep Harriet out of the old man's clutches.' George added fiercely.

'The second Generation of Marauders with the added bonus if the original Marauders that we'll be able to collect and plan with.' Fred thought, ideas already starting to form.

'Oh, this gonna be good!'

Chapter Text

Fred and George let out low relieved sighs as the brick wall that had been blocking their bond with Harriet dissolved with the ritual words chanted by the goblins. This was the last ritual that needed to be done and they couldn't deny the mountain of stress that fell away the second the block was released, allowing them to feel her. All they got from Harriet's side of the bond with her current state was the dark fuzziness of unconsciousness and deep exhaustion but it was better than blank space that the block had given them.

As the ritual ended Fred moved forward before the goblins could and plucked Harriet's limp form from the middle of the ritual circle, using a feather weight charm to off set the awkwardness of them no longer having a height advantage on Harriet and their lack of muscle built up over war time. George drew her hair out of her face with a small smile, 'Is it just me or does she look better already.'

'No, she doesn't look as gray any more.' Fred answered, 'Now she's just pale.'

The clearing of a throat had Fred and George turning to find Griphook standing nearby, his hands folded in front of him and a stern but patient look on his face. "If you would like to move Mrs. Prewett back to the infirmary we can finish your business. Once that is done Healer Applebaum should have her final instructions prepared and you can take your wife home."

Fred nodded even as George though 'Shit, home! Can we even get into the Castle with Harriet like this?'

'Do we even want to?' Fred asked as they followed Griphook back to the nearby infirmary. 'It would only be the three of us until we can get everyone back. Might be a bit depressing.' And they were getting the family together again, it wasn't even a question. The real question was how and how long it would take.

'The Campanile?' George suggested, 'It's small enough for their absence to not be so glaring.'

'But what we want to do with Dumbledore will require a close watch on him and the rest of the magical community.' Fred argued.

'Just Harriet then.' George said gently, 'You remember when she almost completely drained her core containing Loki when he was sick right?'

'She slept for two weeks then was sluggish for another month and a half after that.' Fred mused, 'Damn. And with the second drain and just coming off of all those damn potions again as well as her luck it will take her longer to recover this time.' He let his gaze momentarily drop to Harri, allowing George to lead him back down to Harriet's infirmary bed. 'It will be best for her to be somewhere far away and protected until she's back up to her usual form.'

'No matter how much she'll complain about us treating her like a damsel in distress when she finds out.' George agreed seriously.

Fred groaned mentally as he set Harri down on the bed, 'We'll be on the couch for a month.'

George cocked his head as he looked down at their mate, a deviation to their half formed plan forming, 'Or we could try to temper it with a surprise.'

Fred caught his train of thought and raised an eyebrow at his brother, 'Prongs.' A grin spread over his face, 'And we can pull off a big prank on the Marauders while we're at it!'

'It meshes perfectly with our plan for Dumbledore too!' George crowed internally.

Behind them Griphook cleared his throat again, making them both turn from Harriet to look at the goblin. "Why do I feel as if those looks will bring chaos?"

Fred chuckled as George pasted on an innocent expression, "You must be some"

"sort of seer Griphook."

The goblin's mouth twitched, "Yes well, please keep it from impacting Gringotts overly much."

"Don't worry,"

"what we have planned"

"should help Gringotts"

"instead of hinder it."

Griphook gave a short nod, "I hope so."

It took them three hours to get everything straightened out with Griphook; accepting their Lordships once more, retrieving the portkeys to the two properties they planned to use, getting a Gringotts card, and moving their investments around appropriately. They had also put in motion the only part of their plan that they had cemented, which was returning Harriet's Hogwarts letter with a note saying that she would attend. It had come while she was being healed and the response would keep Dumbledore from realizing Harriet was gone for a while. Especially if they took care of the Dursleys as quickly as possible, not giving them enough time to contact the Headmaster.

Finally though they were ready to leave, to take Harriet home so she could recover in privacy, to get started on this new opportunity she had given them.

They once again found themselves beside Harriet's infirmary bed, looking intently at Healer Applebaum who was shuffling parchment around. The healer leveled a stern look at them and Fred and George straightened subconsciously. "If you wish for your wife to recover fully and without complications you'll need to follow my guidelines. And make sure she follows my guidelines as well. Understand?" She asked sternly.

'Merlin look at that glare.' George huffed.

'She could cow Nat no problem!' Fred chuckled. "We understand Healer." Fred continued out loud.

"We want our mate safe and healthy. We'll make sure she follows the rules." George added solemnly. 'Even if we have to tie her to the bed.'

Fred groaned mentally, 'Don't say stuff like that Georgie. She's sick and in the body of a ten year old!'

George fought not to show his frown at the thought; the three of them didn't need sex all the time but they flirted and fantasied in their shared minds on auto pilot, the younger bodies would definitely get weird at some point, 'Aging potion?'

'May have to steal a certain apple to make it stable.' Fred mused.

'It will certainly help throw off the goat if you can perfect it.' George replied.

Healer Applebaum nodded, completely unaware of the conversation they had just had in seconds, "Good. Let's start with how she is doing now. We have healed most all of her physical ailments. She does seem to have extensive scarring on her back which can be lessened by a few different potions but her next burn should take care of them. She is still extremely malnourished. She will need special nutrition potions to build her up to a healthy weight. The rituals did their work. She is free of the potions, though I'm sure that you felt that when the soul bond suppression potion was removed. The bind on her core was also taken off successfully and the Horcrux within her scar removed and destroyed." The Healer eyed Fred and George for a moment to see if they understood everything before continuing, "Currently she is in a coma as her magical core heals. I was not exaggerating earlier when I said she was lucky to have retained her magical core at all. She has completely run her core dry. It will take three to four weeks for her magical core to heal enough to begin retaining magic again. You should fully expect her to sleep through that time. After that she should wake up and slowly begin to rebuild her magical stores and physical energy. I recommend bringing her back a month after she wakes the first time so I can gage her progress but no magic until her reserves are at least to 50% and even then she can only use it sparingly until she has let her core completely fill up once." Applebaum pursed her lips, "I would say not until her second burn which should clear up any remaining issues but I have a feeling that she would ignore that."

Fred grinned, "You'd be correct."

George chuckled, "We'll do our best to keep her from doing anything strenuous until her next burn."

"Thank you." Applebaum said, she dropped her gaze to the parchments again, "That is it for now. I have written the potions I recommend so you can have them made." George snorted internally as Fred scoffed softly. "I've already given her the nutrition potion she needed for today, so you wont need to give her another until tomorrow. I've also written down some exercises you will need to do to make sure her muscles don't atrophy while she's comatose. Any questions?"

"We can share magic between us."

"She's almost drained herself before and we pushed magic through because it was an emergency."

"Would doing that help once she's woken up?" The twins asked.

Applebaum shook her head, "I wouldn't recommend that. If her reserves fill too fast after this type of injury then it could mess with her core more. Making her unable to retain as much magic as she did before or making it harder for her to gather magic on her own which may make her core syphon off your cores. Wait until she has reached her original levels before trying to share again." The twins nodded in understanding. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you Healer." George said politely.

"We've taken care of her when she was sick before. We'll come back if we have a problem." Fred continued.

"Ah yes, your...time travel." Applebaum said as she rolled up the parchments, "Do tell your wife that I don't recommend doing something like that again."

George laughed as Fred accepted the parchment from the Healer, "We'll let her know."

Applebaum nodded, "Very well. You may take your wife home if you have finished your business here."

"Thank you Healer." George said as Fred bent to collect Harriet from the bed, putting another feather weight charm on her to ease the way. "We will come see you a month after she wakes up."

The Healer nodded again with a toothy smile, "Until then Lords Prewett."

George gripped his brothers shoulder and activated the portkey to take them to the Gemini Campanile.

Fred grinned as they landed in the entrance hall of the campanile, 'Never thought I would say it but its good to be back in America.'

George laughed even as he stretched upward, 'You're just happy to be so far away from the Asshole Brigade.'

'True.' Fred chuckled.

"Mo!" George called as they started their way up the twin bell towers. The Gemini Campanile didn't have any house elves permanently assigned to it, so they would have to bring in one from another of their properties. They certainly didn't have Dobby or Winky with them like they might have preferred but they would get to that.

A pop sounded ahead of them as they passed the second floor on the staircase; a small male elf appeared, his nose almost touching the floor as he bowed, "Masters Prewettes. Mo is being very happy to meets yous. How can Mo be being of service?"

Fred rolled his eyes at the little elf but George smiled down at him, "Hello Mo. We'd like to transfer you here to the Campanile for the time being. You'll only need to really focus on the kitchen, the family room, the Masters' Suite, and the potions lab. Can you do that?"

Mo snapped to attention and ran to catch up with Fred and George who were still ascending the stairs, "Mo be doing his best! He not be letting Masters down!"

George nodded, "Great, please start with changing the bed sheets in the Masters' Suite. Then if you could prepare something quick for a late lunch we'd appreciate it."

"Yes sirs!" Mo saluted before popping away.

George sighed as they passed the fourth floor, catching a quick glimpse of the library through the archway, 'Is it bad I already miss Winky and Dobby?'

'No, but its a new record.' Fred mused, 'Mo will take a little bit to train.'

'Even longer without Harriet's guidance. We wont remember to correct him.' George sighed.

'And he's certainly no Winky.' Fred added, 'She would have scolded us about something already.'

George rolled his eyes at his brother, 'We have to give him a chance.'

'Yeah, yeah.' Fred huffed as they finally reached the double doors that led to the Masters' Suite. George pressed his Lordship ring to the gilded Gemini symbol that sealed the doors closed. The symbol shimmered and split down the middle to allow the doors to open.

Stepping into their room the twins smiled. Harriet had said it the first time they explored the Campanile and it held true even the second time. There was such a thing as too much Gryffindor.

Fabian and Gideon Prewett had been the last ones to live in the Campanile and they made it reflect their school house unashamedly. The large bed in the center of the far wall was made up in the only kind of bed clothes the previous Lords had left, Gryffindor red and gold sheets with a comforter that had the Gryffindor crest plastered over top of it. The grand fire place had golden lions prowling across the mantle under a pair of framed Gryffindor quidditch robes. The comfortable chairs that made a small sitting area in front of the fire were red as well with gold stitching. The dark hardwood floors were covered in garish gold carpets. Every little nicknack in the room currently was red or gold or a lion of some kind. Even the little rope that would pull the ladder down so they could reach the deck on the roof was a red braid with gold rope woven through it.

'No matter how many times I see these carpets it still hurts my eyes.' George huffed good-naturedly as he waved a hand, banishing the carpets.

'Like the lion blanket is better.' Fred snickered as he walked over to the bed. He shifted Harriet slightly so he could move the blanket down with a flick of his hand. Once the comforter was moved he laid Harri down gently, carefully moving her to the center of the bed and laying her head on one of the pillows.

George was at the foot of the bed, unshrinking their trunks, he dug into one of the compartments dedicated to clothing, 'When we go shopping tomorrow we need to remember to get her some clothes that will work until she can go pick her own.' Fred gave a mental hum of acknowledgement even as he pulled Harriet's infirmary pajamas off of her. George moved over to the opposite side of the bed with one of their own pajama sets. 'Merlin, its been forever since we've seen her this small.'

'Those damn Dursleys.' Fred growled mentally.

'We'll be the ones to get her her revenge this time around.' George soothed, brushing his hand against his brother's reassuringly as they worked to get the pajama top on the limp form of their mate. Fred gave a short nod as he carefully pulled Harriet's long hair free of the the pajama top. They quickly moved on to the bottoms, maneuvering her as gently as possible.

Just as they were bringing the comforter up to tuck Harriet in, Mo popped up at the foot of the bed. "Mo has Masters' foods!" He announced, bowing even as he held a tray up over his head.

"Thank you Mo." Fred said, reaching down to accept the tray from the elf, "Please start on the potions lab next. I'll be needing it soon."

"Yes Master." Mo said, popping away before Fred could get out a word about the title.

George laughed as they moved over to the sitting area. They settled into chairs easily and munched on the sandwiches and crisps that Mo bad brought them while they ironed out plans mentally. Frustration undermined their efforts, simmering just below the surface, as the lack of a certain third voice was becoming more apparent. Despite the fact they had lived it, it was hard for them to believe that they had once had no problem planning like this without the other half of their soul adding her ideas, nudging them toward different answers, subtly breaking up stalemates, or just being a calm presence to make them slow down their whirlwind thoughts.

Finally, George put his sandwich down with a huff, "Not even a day without her and look at us." He moaned, dropping his head back against the seat.

"No Avengers to distract us this time." Fred muttered, glaring at his own sandwich. He stood suddenly and walked over to their trunks, George followed his progress curiously. Fred stood from the box brandishing their quidditch bats, "A little Dursley hunting to take your mind off of things, dear Gred?"

George grinned at his brother and jumped up from the chair, "Don't mind if I do Forge."

Petunia Dursley plopped the charred beef roast sourly onto a serving platter. "How dare she run off." She muttered to herself as she slopped the boiled vegetables into another serving dish, they were wilted and brown, nothing like the food she, Vernon, and Dudley had come to be used to. "Making me do all the work. Little Freak. Probably used her freakishness on the food. There is no other way she could have gotten such food out of something so difficult." She walked over to the table where Vernon and Dudley sat and set the dishes down none to gently before dropping into her seat.

"What is this?" Vernon asked in disgust.

"Where is the rest?" Dudley inquired mournfully.

Petunia softened at the sight of her sons face, "Oh I'm so sorry my Diddikins. I've tried but I'm afraid this is all. The freak never came back and I had to throw this together rather quickly."

"But there's not enough for all of us!" Dudley protested.

Vernon nodded, "He's right. He's a growing boy and I'm a man. We'll need more than this."

"Actually, we think"

"you both could use"

"a little less." Came two nearly identical voices from the living room.

The small family all spun to find the source unfamiliar voices and gaped when they saw two young redheaded boys standing nonchalantly in the entrance to the living room twirling what looked to be leather bats idly.

"Who the bloody hell are you!" Vernon demanded, jumping to his feet, "How did you get in here?!"

"Who we are aren't important just this second." One said.

"And we picked the lock. It's not like we could use magic without setting off the wards." The second scoffed.

"Magic!" Vernon roared. Petunia jumped up and rushed over to Dudley, pulling him close to her protectively. "You two must be more of those Freaks! You aren't welcome here! Get out! I will not have another one of you under this roof."

"Ah but you've lost the one you did have." The first said, deadly calm; Petunia tightened her hold on Dudley, the age of the two in front of her made the tone all the more unsettling.

"That Freak? You're here for her? She's gone! Hopefully she's dead!" Vernon spat.

"She's not dead!" The second growled, his eyes flashing molten gold for a moment.

"Pity." Vernon said, not sensing the danger he was in. "Still, she's gone and good riddance I say. Now you freaks better leave before I call the police!"

They stopped twirling the bats and gripped them confidently, "You'll have to get past us then." They said cockily in unison.

Vernon sneered down at the two young boys and rushed at them, hoping to use his bulk to push the two out of the way. The first side stepped as the other took two steps backward, Vernon tripped over the foot of the first and the second moved forward and pulled Vernon even further into the fall, planting a knee in his gut. The first slid around behind Vernon and swung his bat full force at Vernon's head. The large man dropped onto the floor with a groan and laid still, his breaths coming out shallowly.

Petunia cringed as the two boys turned to her with hard eyes, eyes that were far to old on the likes of these two who looked to be barley in their teens. Dudley was just staring at his father's sprawled form in disbelief, Petunia slid a hand over his eyes, "P-please." She stuttered, "Ju-st leave my D-Diddikins alone!"

"Did he leave Harriet alone?" The first asked.

Petunia's eyes widened and she pushed Dudley toward the kitchen and the clear exit, "Run Dudley!" She shouted as she lunged at the two boys. She shrieked as the second split off to go for Dudley and the first just sidestepped like he had with Vernon, he didn't even have to trip her, she stumbled on Vernon's tangled legs and the next thing she knew she had her arm pinned behind her back and her face pressed into the pristine floor. "Please." She sobbed, "Please don't kill us."

"After what you did to her?" The first said asked in a harsh tone, "You don't deserve such a quick end." Petunia shuddered and the boy chuckled, "No, we're just getting started."

Chapter Text

Arthur Weasley paced in his tiny office, muttering under his breath as be tried to make sense of what he’d recently found out.

Earlier that day he had been on an urgent muggle baiting case (tea bags charmed to sing and dance) when he had felt it. A sharp pain in his chest that had dulled but remained constant after it had appeared. At the time he had ignored it, the tea was driving the muggles batty after all, so it wasn’t until he had returned to the office and begun the paperwork for the case that he had pinpointed the feeling.

The feeling of family members disowning themselves.

The identified feeling weighed heavier at his acknowledgment and Arthur had collapsed back in his chair. It had taken very little from there to discover exactly who had disowned themselves from the Weasley family. A simple internal survey of the family magic that centered around his patriarchal role showed him that it was Fred and George who had disowned themselves and Arthur could say honestly that he was stunned.

Only he wasn’t.

Arthur couldn’t identify any recent significant memories of his twin boys, and he’d dug deep. The man slumped against his desk as he tried to find any memory at all. The most recent memory he did have was of the twins asking about the car he was working on and to his confusion and frustration, the second Ron had interrupted to ask him something, Arthur had dismissed the twins to focus on his youngest son. But that surely couldn’t be bad enough to warrant them disowning themselves, right?

Arthur pushed from his desk quickly and looked over to the smaller table where his assistant was going through the Department’s meager pile of mail, “Perkins go ahead and leave it for the day. I’ve got a bit of a family situation. We can continue tomorrow.”

Perkins blinked but smiled, “Yes Mr. Weasley.”

Quickly gathering his things, Arthur all but ran from his office. It took him ten minutes to get to Gringotts, pushing through crowds while apologizing more and more as his breathing rose. He did not understand this but he would find out. He loved his children and right now he had two thirteen year olds who had disowned themselves, out in the world, alone and vulnerable.

Arthur hurried up to the first free teller he saw and fidgeted as the goblin took its own sweet time in acknowledging him.

Finally the goblin looked down at him with a sneer, “How can I help you today?”

“Yes, I need to find information on two of my sons.” Arthur said, wringing his hands. “Fred and George Weasley.”

The goblin’s mouth twitched at the edge but it kept its gaze steady as it gazed at Arthur, “We have no record of any under those names.”

Arthur clenched his jaw, “You did...they disowned themselves this morning. They should be nonames now.”

“There are currently no nonames on record at this Gringotts Branch.” The goblin said, “And if they were your sons and have disowned themselves you have no rights to demand information about them unless you have a formal request from your Ministry. Something that is only granted for potential criminals. Are these two potential criminals?”

“No!” Arthur exclaimed, “Of course they aren’t! They’re only thirteen! That’s why I need to find them! They can’t take care of themselves at this age! There must have been some accident that ended with them disowning themselves...”

“That is not possible.” The clerk interrupted, “The disowning of oneself must have both the word and the intent, if they didn’t mean it it would not have been accepted by magic.”

The heavy words fell like a boulder on Arthur’s shoulders and he blinked up at the goblin, “Please, I need to find them. They are my sons.”

“Not legally speaking.” The goblin replied harshly, “Now, if you have no other business with the bank then I will have to ask you to leave before I call security.”

Arthur’s eyes widened before darting over to where two armored goblins with spears stood watching the floor. “Please,” he began, looking back up at the Goblin, “I don’t know why they disowned themselves but I need to at least know they are safe.”

The goblin gave him a look filled with such disdain Arthur flinched back, “If you don’t even know the reason they left your family I find it hard to believe that their safety is you concern.” He gave a subtle wave and the guards came over, spears dropped to point at the redheaded patriarch. “This is your last chance, remove yourself from Gringotts’ property.”

Arthur let out a frustrated breath and made for the door, unaware of the silver eyes that followed him from a nearby line and the blacker, beadier eyes that followed him from above.

“Lee! Come down here please!”

Lee looked up from his comic book with a frown, “Can I finish this real quick?” He called back, eyeing the seductive last four pages of his Batman comic.

“No! Right now!” Came his father’s voice, stern in a way it only was when he was about to be in deep shit.

Lee huffed but put his comic down and rolled from his bed to head downstairs. He was surprised when he came into the living room to see his father standing with Arthur Weasley, whose face was pulled into a worried look. “Mr. Weasley? What’s up?” Lee let his eyes go over to his dad.

“Now Lee I expect the truth from you.” His father said sternly.

“Alright...” Lee trailed off.

“Have you seen Fred and George?” Mr. Weasley asked, eyes frantic. “Or heard from them?”

Lee frowned, “I got a letter from them two days ago.”

“About what?” His father demanded, Lee’s eyebrows shot up.

“Fred had a break through and they were going to try another test of the potion once they caught a gnome and cut off a few hairs.” Lee stated truthfully, his own worry for his best friends beginning to rise, “Why? Are they okay?”

“Nothing else?” His father pressed as Mr. Weasley wrung his hands.

Lee thought back to the letter, “No, it was pretty standard. Jokes. Quidditch. New pranks. Threat to use said new prank on me if I didn't respond."

"Nothing about the family?" Mr. Weasley asked, his voice choking up enough for Lee's frown to deepen. "Nothing about wanting to leave home?"

Lee blinked, bewildered, "Did Fred and George run away?" he asked in return.

"Lee!" his father exclaimed, "Answer Arthur! I know they are your best friends and if I find that you've been hiding them in this house..."

"No!" Lee shouted, angry, "They aren't here! You can go check!" he looked over to Mr. Weasley, "They haven't said anything about running away. The only thing they ever tell me about your family is that they feel like outsiders and they want to prove themselves." Arthur looked devastated but Lee continued, the twins were his friends, his loyalty to them outweighed the need to spare their father's feelings. "They've told me about being ignored and passed over and how nobody in their family listened or took them seriously but they never talked to me about running away." he crossed his arms, glancing up at his dad who looked thoughtful. Lee knew that his father knew him well enough to know that he was telling the truth about the twins not being here and that his focus was now on what Lee had just revealed. "Now what's happened? Where are my friends?"

Mr. Weasley sighed, drooping in place, "I don't know. They disowned themselves this morning and now I can't find them." the man looked to be fighting back tears, "I don't even know why."

Lee's mouth dropped open in a shocked 'o' face before his closed his mouth with a click, "I'll try to owl them. My owl, Mic, knows them well enough for me not to need their full name."

Mr. Weasley nodded shakily and gave Lee a small smile, "Will you let me know?"

Lee frowned again, "The twins are my friends..."

"Lee." his father interrupted sternly, "They don't know how to live on their own. They could be in danger."

"Fred and George are geniuses." Lee shot back at his dad, "And you always taught me to be loyal to my friends." his father shot him an exasperated look, Lee looked over to Mr. Weasley, "I'll tell you if I think they are in danger or if I think they're in over their heads so that they'll be safe but if not I'll keep their secret."

"Lee..." his father began again but Arthur stopped him.

"No." he said with a sniff, "No it's alright." Arthur gave Lee a watery smile, "I'm glad Fred and George have a friend like you Lee."

Saying goodbye, Arthur left the Jordan residence and Lee went back upstairs to write his wayward friends a very scathing letter about giving him a bit of warning.

After finding no real information on the twins at the Lee residence Arthur could hold off no longer. He'd have to tell Molly that two of their sons had disowned themselves.

Arthur arrived home and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that only Molly was on the first floor, moving around the kitchen as she started up dinner. Despite his own apparent failure to be a good father to the twins, Arthur was sure that his wife would take the twins disownment hard, so he was glad that the rest of the children weren't present for this conversation he was about to have.

"Molly." he called out after composing himself and coming into the kitchen slowly.

Molly turned quickly, her eyes wide as she looked to her husband, "Arthur! You're home early!" she smiled at him, "How was your day dear?"

"Quite terrible." Arthur said, coming further into the warm room and gently moving his wife away from the cooking pot, "Sit down Molly. I have something I have to tell you."

Molly looked up at him worriedly even as she sank into one of the kitchen chairs, wiping her hands off on her apron, "What is it Arthur? What's happened?"

Arthur sat down in a chair next to his wife and took her hands, "Today, the family magic alerted me to something." he swallowed hard but he could see Molly's brow furrowing and knew he couldn't put this off. "It told me that someone had disowned themselves." Molly drew in a deep breath, "Molly, it was Fred and George." he stated.

The Weasley Patriarch wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting. Crying. Maybe. A scream may have been more likely coming from Molly, followed by demands and a furious whirlwind of action. What he was not expecting was her real response.

"Oh." she breathed, her body relaxing from the rigid line it had made before Fred and George's names had been brought into it.

"Oh?" Arthur asked.

Molly smiled at him and Arthur was a bit startled to see the patronizing look on his wife's face, "Arthur," she chided, "you know Fred and George wouldn't actually do something like that. They're probably doing one of their silly little pranks on you."

Arthur gaped form a moment before sputtering, "But they aren't! Family magic can't be fooled and even the Goblins no longer have records of them under the name Weasley!"

Molly stood and went back to her pot, "Oh tosh, you know Goblins hate wizards. They would have told you anything just to inconvenience you."

"But the family magic..."

"You must have read it wrong Arthur." Molly waved off as she started searing some meat. "Honestly, those boys will do anything for attention. They'll be back home when they don't get any. Probably staying with their little friend."

"But they're not Molly, I checked with the Jordan's." Arthur interjected.

"Then they'll be home when they're hungry." she dismissed.

"I think..."

"Arthur!" Molly said sharply, turning to look at him. They locked eyes, "Drop it. Those trouble makers are just doing this for attention. You will not give into their childish attempts. Do you understand?" 

The Weasley Patriarch felt his mind haze over, his worry falling to the wayside under his wife's gaze. "Yes, Molly." he said docilely. 

Molly gave him a smile and came over to hug him, "There you go. Why don't you go ask Ron how he's feeling? We went to get his school supplies today for his first year and he was pretty excited."

"Of course Mollywobbles." Arthur said, hugging his wife back before heading toward the stairs. With his wife's confidence in the situation Arthur wasn't going to worry about the twins absence just yet.

Later that night, back across the pond, Fred and George settled into bed on either side of Harriet.

After manually tying up the incapacitated Dursleys they had made quick checks to the house. They had been pleased to note that the wards would hold until at least the start of school; which was fine in their opinion, by that time everyone would know that Harriet and the Dursleys had vanished so as long as they didn't come down before that they would be set. They also checked Harriet's cupboard for anything that she may want, they didn't find anything other than her blood and the shit conditions that she had been kept it. It took them several minutes to compose themselves and not just burn the house down with the Dursleys inside. Next, Fred had gone upstairs to pack the Dursleys going away bags in case someone came looking for them before their plans were in place. George slipped out into the backyard, just beyond the wards, and conjured a large wooden crate which he quickly burned some simple weightless runes into. That done, they quickly shoved the three Dursleys none to gently into the large crate and sealed it. After making sure that the didn't have any observers, especially one of the crazy cat lady persuasion, they loaded the suitcases and the crate into the Dursleys' silver car and drove off.

It hadn't taken them too awfully long to find a secluded place to stop, but was long enough for the Dursleys to wake and start making a ruckus. Fred and George pulled the crate free of the car, making sure to let it crash harshly onto the ground, before casting fiendfyre on the car and its remaining contents. From there it was easy enough to apparate back to the Gemini Campanile with their new prisoners and stick them down in the small dungeon area beneath the bell towers. They had never gotten a straight answer out of any of the Prewett portraits as to why they felt the need for this place to have a dungeon but Fred and George couldn't deny its usefulness now. They played a bit with their new hostages but soon left in favor of their soulmate.

So here they were, gripping Harriet tightly between them as usual, content with their first days work and happy to be cradling their mate between them.

"Tomorrow we go shopping and start to build up our stores again." Fred hummed lazily, nuzzling into Harriet's hair.

"Yeah." George agreed, "We'll wait until the effects of the full moon is over before reuniting the Marauders, that way they can start right away."

"I'll need to make Padfoot the dementor potion anyway." Fred said lightly, "And we'll need to take a bit of Harriet's blood to find Prongs."

George smiled softly at his brother, "Sounds like a plan."

"Sounds like half of one." Fred snorted.

"We're working with only half a soul here. It will have to do." George laughed, tightening his arm over Harri's stomach.

"We used to be able to do this just the two of us." Fred fake pouted.

George chuckled and settled down further beneath the comforter, closing his eyes and inhaling the mixed scent of he, his brother, and Harri. Nothing better.

Chapter Text

Fred and George woke up to Mo’s frantic voice coming from the end of their bed.

Fred moaned pitifully and buried his face in Harriet’s hair but George managed to open his bleary eyes and look at the house elf. “Say that again Mo?” He asked roughly.

“Mo is not knowings what to dos masters’! Little witch be showing up in Masters’ homes! Little witch be being very strange!” Mo squeaked, “Should Mo throw little witch in the dungeons with the bads who hurt Masters’ mate?”

George sighed and settled back down with Harriet and Fred, “Does ‘little witch’ have long blonde hair?”

“Yes, Master.”

George nuzzled into Harri’s shoulder and pulled the sleep warm blanket higher, “That’s Luna. Feed her. Leave her be. We’ll be up in a bit.”

Mo frowned, “As you says, Master.” He popped away.

“Wondered when she’d show up,” Fred mumbled.

“Half expected her when we got back last night.” George agreed. They lay in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, enjoying that special heat between the blankets and the peacefulness of their room. Unfortunately, they knew they had things to do and they were unlikely to be able to go back to sleep knowing that Luna was in the Campanile. So with token protests and their far share of whines, they got up to greet the day.

Twenty minutes later, after showering and getting dressed, they were kissing Harriet’s forehead, putting a monitoring charm on her, and making their way downstairs. They made their way past the two levels of guest rooms and went directly to the kitchen to find a familiar airy blonde sitting at the table, eating muffins and writing on a piece of parchment.

“Morning Luna.” Fred greeted as he dropped into a seat across from her. George moved behind him, grabbing a couple muffins and some tea that Mo had left out, “Whatcha doing?”

“Good morning Fred, George.” Luna responded airily, not looking up from her parchment, “I’m making you two a list so you don’t forget anything. The nargles said that without big sister awake you’re more likely to get distracted.”

“So they did fill you in.” George hummed, setting the food down next to Fred and taking a seat. He didn’t bother to deny getting distracted, there was no point, and the list was something Harriet might have given them if she was going to be far away for an extended period of time.

“Yes, they have been telling me the most interesting stories.” Luna giggled.

“I’ll bet.” Fred snorted into his muffin.

“Does your dad know you’re here?” George asked.

“He knows I went to visit some friends.” Luna responded, “I’ll tell him more if you’re alright with it.”

George nodded and smiled, “We were going to find someone to stay in the Campanile with Harriet while she is recovering.”

“It’s already on the list.” Luna said, bringing her quill down to tap on a particular line, “Daddy and I have some plans for the Quibbler so I won’t be available all the time.”

Fred’s eyebrows rose as he read ‘a guard cat’, “We were going for an actual human, not a cat.”

“Any magical cat that would be smart enough to do so would need training beforehand,” George added.

“You’ll find one,” Luna stated confidently, the twins traded an exasperated look. She finished the last line and looked it over before sliding it across the table to them, “There you go.” She reached down into her pocket and pulled out two letters, “I also intercepted these at your London Townhouse so the poor owls didn’t have to fly all the way across the ocean.” She put them on top of the parchment and stood, “I’m going to go see my sister now.” Luna said dreamily, swaying toward the door with her muffin still in hand.

“See you in a bit Luna.” Fred chuckled as they watched her go fondly.

“Guess she’ll help us make sure we don’t miss anything.” George laughed softly, pulling the list and letters to him.

Fred took the letters as George began going over the list which Luna had helpfully organized by item type. She had also put strange little notations by each item which made George grin as he read further.

“Lee’s mad at us,” Fred noted, reading the first letter. “Apparently Arthur showed up at his house.”

George looked up, surprised, “Why?”

“According to Lee, he was freaking out about our disownment. He’s trying to find us because he thinks we’re too young to be out on our own and can’t take care of ourselves.” Fred said, reading further. “He thought Lee would know and so he went over to the Jordan’s house.”

“Why does he care now?” George huffed, going back to the list.

“Our age I guess?” Fred offered, “Last time we disowned ourselves we were already twenty.”

“Yeah.” George said distractedly, “He’ll forget about it once Ron or Ginny try to get his attention.” He frowned at the next item on the list. “Luna put the golden apple on here.”

Fred raised an eyebrow and leaned against his brother to get a better look at the list, “Really? We weren’t going to go get one until at least after Harriet woke up. We’re not in any shape to go against Asgardians at the moment. We only have one year of beater training built up.”

“She did note that we should bring our brooms.” George pointed out, “We might as well get it out of the way. Loki won’t have found out about his heritage yet so they should still be enjoying relative peace.”

Fred hummed thoughtfully, “It will also bring eyes down on Midgard which may get us Thor and Loki earlier, potentially before the bigger break between them forms.”

George nodded and circled the line that read Golden Apples (brooms to sweep up afterword), “Definitely do that then.”

Fred nodded and moved on to their second letter which was addressed to the Lords Prewett. “Apparently Arthur went to Gringotts too. He had to be forced out.” Fred read, frowning down at the parchment in his hands, “Griphook says he made a scene in the lobby.”

George groaned, “How many were there?”

“Quite a few but Griphook said the only one close enough to hear the entire conversation was Lucious Malfoy,” Fred said.

“Small mercies I guess.” George snorted, “Malfoy doesn’t know enough at this point to be a problem but he’ll probably be the first one to connect us with Harriet when it comes out that she’s gone. Even with the fact that we aren’t supposed to know her yet.”

“And we’re more powerful than him.” Fred pointed out, “Politically and magically.”

“Which will be fun to rub in his face.” George snickered, Fred grinned. “Let’s write back to Lee then we’ll get started.”

Shopping wasn’t Fred and George’s favorite activity. Harriet usually did that and enjoyed it, scoffing in people’s faces if they commented on her being relegated to the position of the typical housewife. The twins liked ordering and having the various things they needed delivered rather than walking all over the place to maybe find what they were looking for, it led to much to many distractions. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t have a computer to order from the muggle side of things and the magical owl ordering in America had to be set up in person with the different places before they could have things sent directly to their home.

They braved the magical shopping center first, knowing it would be easier to get the shop owners to overlook their physical age there. Fred went to the apothecary and stocked up on what he needed for the various potions he would be making before quickly heading over to another shop that carried a variety of things that muggles commonly associated with ‘crafts’ but that wizards used for creating charmed items. While Fred was doing that, George was off at the robe shop getting them proper robes for whenever they would need to blend in with the British Magicals before heading off to the paper supplies store and getting parchments and fancy wrapping papers for their upcoming prank masterpiece.

With the magical supplies taken care of they moved on to the more mundane part of New York, the part they had spent so much time in with the Avengers. So they hit Fifth Avenue, Luna’s list still in hand, to get the rest of what they needed for their plans, themselves, and the Campanile in general.

They started with bedding, eager to cut through the red and gold motif of their room and make it more them. They didn’t know what sheets Harri had bought last time and they certainly didn’t have a way to order it from the custom shop Tony did at the moment, so they spent a fair amount of time going over the choices. The blankets were the easy part because Harriet had gotten such a kick out of the brand’s name last time, ‘London Fog’. They bought enough of the large, soft blankets to satisfy an Avengers puppy pile before finishing up at the store. They did have a bit of trouble with the cashier who was suspicious of the young looking twins, they ended up having to subtly compulsion her wandlessly to even get through checkout.

The next stop was clothes. This time the more comfortable, muggles clothes that they had come to be used to. They quickly found clothes that suited them in their current thirteen-year-old forms before moving on to the girl's clothes. Fred and George had picked out clothes for Harriet in the past but those were usually their final say between two dresses she had picked for a gala or cheekily gifting her lingerie that she would strut around in for them. Now, picking out clothes for their ten-year-old mate, they unashamedly tried to find the cutest and often most ridiculous things they could find for her, knowing she would likely get a kick out of most of them when she woke up. Fred picked out a couple pajama sets, one that was Wonder Woman themed, one that had an owl with a sleeping cap plastered on the front, and another that had foxes all over it. George picked up simple pants before focusing on the funny t-shirt selection before giving up on deciding and just grabbing most of them. At checkout, they once again had to compulsion the cashier.

Finally, they found their way to a store that sold StarkTech. This time they set charms on themselves beforehand, charms that would make those who spoke to them see them as someone the workers would respect. Hilariously, this made the worker they approached see Fred as Tony and Fred went with the act full force as George snickered behind him. They got laptops, phones, and StarkPads, three of each.

Once that was done they headed back to the Campanile. They had debated getting televisions and games but they knew that they wouldn’t really have time for them as they started out, so they would get them later.

Getting back the Campanile they took some time to prepare for their trip to Asgard. Fred made up some quick potions that they may need while George made a quick trip to procure Instant Darkness Powder before spelling on of their newly bought bags to have an expanded inside.

George sat at the end of the lab table as Fred bottled up the general pain potion he had brewed, the healing salve was already put into its container and the two prank potions that were easy enough to make in a short time already bottled and put away. “You realize since we didn’t find this guard cat of Luna’s while we were shopping, we’ll probably find it on Asgard.” He commented lightly.

“Which means it will be too dangerous for its own good.” Fred huffed in agreement.

“If this guard cat is anything like a bilgesnipe I vote we leave it there and find someone here to sit with her,” George said. “Even Wade would be a better choice.”

“Agreed.” Fred chuckled as he capped the last vial before settling it into his brand new field potion case. “Alright, ready?”

George moved over to Fred and hooked their arms together, “Let’s do it.”

They pooled their magic and apparated, straight onto a branch of Yggdrasil. Fred blew out a deep breath and George let out a small moan, rubbing at his chest. “Merlin, that is much simpler with Harriet’s flames or Loki.”

“Maybe we can hitch a ride back with the Bifrost,” Fred suggested with a small grin.

“Oh, that'll go well.” George snorted.

“Bout as well as the dragon.” Fred laughed as they started up the branches.

“We almost died.” George huffed.

“We almost die on a weekly basis.”

“Exactly, what even is our life?”

“Fun!”

They bantered back and forth to fill the silence as they made their way carefully up through the branches of Yggdrasil. The familiar path reminded them of Loki, who had been the one to show it to them and nagged until they had the path memorized so they would never be unable to reach him if he was in Asgard. Truthfully, though the entirety of the Avengers team was close, the trio of soulmates were always the closest with Loki. Their personalities had just clicked once the twins had gotten over their hero worship and Loki had begun to slowly recover from his enslavement by Thanos. Of course, it helped that they all had magic, that the trio didn’t like to make assumptions and would listen, and that Harriet had been the one to save Loki.

Fred and George fell silent as they came to the back entrance of Asgard, which led directly into the royal paddock. They put on a few notice me not charms and made their way through the break.

‘Orchard would be too well protected.’ Fred muttered mentally as they ran across the grassy field.

‘Kitchens then.’ George answered, ‘Thor was always trying to get Harriet to make her apple crumble like the golden version from Asgard.’

They moved quickly through the few outlying buildings that made up the servants quarters, heading toward the palace. Fred and George knew they had to be quick with this. Anyone even passingly familiar with Loki’s illusions here on Asgard would be able to see through the weak notice-me-nots but if they used anything stronger it could bring Odin or Loki himself down on them. They moved swiftly and silently through the halls, constantly scanning for danger even as they searched for the palace's kitchens. It took them almost an hour of sneaking around but finally, they found the kitchens. Luckily the place was almost empty, just a few servants moving around the place at a sedate pace. The huge room was similar to the kitchens of Hogwarts, only on a much grander scale, which was a must for Asgard as they closely subscribed the to 'bigger is better' mentality and that included their appetites.

Peeking up over the first able they had hidden behind, it didn't take the twins long to locate a basket of golden apples. It was near a baker who was currently rolling out some dough. Target in sight, the twins started forward, unaware of the curious green eyes that had found them.

'Extra gentle with the compulsion. We don't want Loki getting blamed.'  George reminded his brother quietly as they edged up to the other side of the work table the baker was working at.

'Got it.'  Fred acknowledged as he drew his wand, he cast a very subtle compulsion on the woman across from them and watched silently as she started to fidget, her hands pausing in her task. 'Just a little more.'  he sent another subtle compulsion to build on the first. The woman stopped completely and hurried out with the sudden need to ask Frigga about the menu for the next feast. In a stroke of luck, two of the five remaining servants went after the woman worriedly. The last three were over tending the fires and cleaning the dished from the previous meal.

George shot to his feet, his eyes still watching the other servants, and summoned the basket of golden fruit to him before ducking back behind the work table, 'Easy as pie.' he chuckled internally as he and Fred quickly moved the apples into their expanded bags.

"And just what are you planning to do with those?" a familiar voice drawled from behind them.

Fred and George let out surprised yelps and jumped about a foot in the air as they spun, wands out and spells passing their lips in reflex. All they saw was a flash of green and gold before it disappeared under the light of their spells. Before they could take in the damage their spells had caused, the three servants screamed in surprise and Fred turned quickly to stun them, unfortunately not quickly enough though because the clanking of armor approaching soon reached them. "Shit." Fred and George chorused.

*What have you done to me?!* a tiny voice demanded frantically.

The twins' gazes dropped to the floor to find a tiny black kitten glaring up at them with emerald eyes. The kitten was only slightly bigger than a pygmy puff, it had glossy black fur over its body with accents of gold fur wrapped around its front paws and in two little lines between its ears.

"Loki?" George choked, looking down at the kitten with wide eyes.

"Intruders! Halt!" came the orders from the entrance to the kitchen as guards rushed in.

"No time!" Fred huffed, he swooped down and picked up the kitten Loki, plopping the yowling ball of fur into his bag with the apples.

When Fred and George looked up they were surrounded by guards who all leveled spears at them. "Surrender!" one guard ordered, "And the Allfather may grant mercy!"

The twins snorted, "Yeah, the Allchap isn't one for mercy." Fred snickered.

"We'd rather just go home thanks." George grinned, with that he tossed down some Instant Darkness Powder and the room went black.

Fred and George mounted their brooms on the fly as the guards started swinging wildly. They avoided being hit out of pure instinct before swooping toward where they knew the entrance to be. Once they cleared the Darkness Powder, they shot through the halls, avoiding guards with ease and swooping on unsuspecting servants to create new obstacles for their pursuers. 'Outside. Outside. Come on, where is the window in this Goblins wet dream!'  Fred huffed, frustrated.

'Really? You want to go with that?' Goerge laughed.

'Oh hush...Window!'

They swerved violently and shot through an opening, straight up into the Asgardian sky.

'To the Bifrost!' Fred cackled, George rolled his eyes at his brother with a smile.

As they circled around to find the Rainbow Bridge, the telltale sound of thunder sounded overhead, clouds beginning to gather. Fred and George split from each other as the first bolt of lightning lashed violently from the clouds. They bobbed and weaved through the strikes as they looked for the familiar form of Thor.

He flew in from the left suddenly, leading with Mjolnir just as he had near the beginning of the time the twins had known him. George drew back in just enough time to dodge. 'You had time to make that potion right?'

'Worthiness Potion on the thing we based it off of?' Fred snickered.

'And if that doesn't work then...maybe Thor just isn't worthy to lift that gaudy cape of his.' George suggested.

Fred laughed out loud and quickly pulled the needed potion from his field pouch. George charged Thor with a dramatic warcry and Fred was there to meet the Thunder God when he predictably dodged. He carefully spilled some of the prank potion on Mjolnir's head and grinned when Thor was suddenly jerked downward, his face pulled into surprise and disbelief as Mjolnir pulled him toward the ground. 'Ha! It did work on Mjolnir herself!'

George chuckled, 'Now to the Bifrost.'

They continued on their way, Fred quickly corking and putting back the remaining bit of potion as he went. They shot down the length of the Rainbow Bridge, diving down to fly pretty close to it so they didn't end up sucked into the Void. 'Plans for big Creeper in the Sky?' Fred mused as Heimdall came into sight, sword at the ready.

'We need his sword to work the Bifrost so...canary?'

'Canary.' Fred agreed.

"Halt!" Heimdall boomed as he raised his sword, "None shall pass me!"

"Already passed you!"

"Better luck next time!" the twins teased as they flew in circles around the gold guardian.

After a particularly wide swing where Heimdall missed George by only a few millimeters, Fred leapt from his broom and landed behind Heimdall, pulling out another prank potion. George jumped from his own broom and landed in front of the large man who lunged, his sword thrusting forward; George spun along the blade and ducked past the man's hip. Heimdall took a couple steps forward before turning to find the twins, his eyes alight with battle and his sword up and at the ready. Seeming Fred and George standing there with innocent expressions, Heimdall charged at them with a warcry. Fred smirked and promptly threw the new prank potion in his face. Heimdall only had a chance to splutter once as the potion entered his mouth before he transformed into an enormous canary and his sword dropped to the bridge underneath him.

Fred snickered as Heimdall looked down at himself and squawked in horror, "Aw, sorry mate. Canary creme without the creme. You'll be like this for an hour or so with the dose you just got."

George grinned as he bent and picked up the enormous sword hilt to drag it behind him, "Just think bird brain, no one will tease you about being a pretty bird once they find out you were beaten by two thirteen-year-old mortals."

Canary Heimdall squawked indignantly and tried to move forward on unfamiliar limbs only for Fred to cluck his tongue patronizingly and conjure the top of a birdcage to place over the bird gatekeeper. "Better luck next time mate."

George moved into the Observatory quickly as hooves sounded in the distance, 'Get in here. We'll have to tune it blind.'

Fred rushed over to his brother and took the hilt with him, 'Focus on our bond with Harriet, aim there and then a little bit to the left so we don't lead them to the Campanile.'

George gave a sharp nod and they both pulled on their soulmate bond as they hefted the big sword into the slot, turning the Bifrost on around them. Power shuddered through them and Fred and George gritted their teeth, fighting past the pain that felt like one of their own fireworks exploding inside their skin. Canary Heimdall shrieked from the confines of his cage. 'Focus.' George mumbled through their connection, 'Where is she?'

'There.' Fred pointed out mentally, following their bond down through the realms to where their mate was resting, oblivious to the chaos they were creating. 'Now to the left.' the pain grated as they forced the observatory just to littlest bit to the left.

"Stop in the name of the Allfather!" came the shouts.

Fred and George glanced up to see the guards bearing down on them, "That will have to do!" George huffed, they both released the sword and jumped into the spinning vortex in front of them with shouts of delight.

Traveling by the Bifrost was only marginally better than side along aparating, Fred and George really preferred Harriet's flames or Loki's teleportation but as neither were available they braced themselves for a harsh landing. They weren't disappointed as the lack of control up above lead to them being slammed rather harshly into the hard dry ground, the Bifrost continued to shine down on them for several seconds before it sputtered to a stop. 

"That's gonna bruise." Fred moaned.

George staggered to his feet, "Let's go before they come to their senses and send guards down after us." he looked around, "Where are we?"

Fred looked around for something to give them a clue, they stood in an empty field between a cornfield and a rickety old barn. A license plate on an abandoned car caught his eye, "Indiana."

George snorted, "Definitely far enough left."

"Let's head home then." Fred chuckled.

 They apparated back to the Campanile and quickly locked the wards into place to keep any ambitious trackers from finding them. They knew that they would be in the Campanile for the next couple days preparing anyway.

As soon as the peacefulness of the Gemini Campanile washed over them, they were finally able to hear the vicious cursing coming from Fred's bag.

George swallowed hard as his wide eyes looked to Fred's bag, which Fred was holding away from him now like it might explode. "Did we just..."

"Kidnap the God of Chaos? Before all the big things happened? Yeah."

"And turned him into a cat." George choked.

"Not just a cat, a kitten," Fred stressed with a groan.

Geroge rubbed his hand against his forehead, "Guard cat. Damn it, Luna."

"Is it still considered kidnapping if your wife's seer sister kinda sorta made you do it?" Fred hedged.

"I think it is." George huffed in defeat. Fred grimaced but carefully set his bag down on the kitchen table, allowing the sides to fall away slowly. He retreated back to his brother's side and they waited for what was to come.

The sides of the bag slowly crumpled in on itself, revealing a pile of golden apples with a furious kitten perched on top. The kitten's ears were pinned back and his fur was puffed up in agitation as he glared at the twins, emerald eyes pinning them in place as a tiny tail lashed back and forth behind him.

"Loki." Fred and George chorused, their greeting shaky as they stared at the first of their wayward family that they had not even begun to plan to retrieve yet.

Chapter Text

“Loki.” Fred and George greeted shakily.

*What have you done to me?!* Loki projected icily. Fred and George looked at each other hesitantly and the kitten Loki stamped his front paw on his apple perch, *Cease your collusion! Answer me! Where am I? Why have you captured me? Why am I a feline?* he was exuding a dull green glow that clung to his fur more and more with each demand, *And why can’t I change back?!* he hissed in frustration. The magic clinging to him was trying to lash out but it wouldn’t get more than an inch from his little body.

George held up his hands in a placating gesture, “Just calm down Lokes...”

*Lokes?!* the kitten sputtered indignantly.

Fred huffed, “Calm down Prince Loki, God of Mischief and Chaos.” He said exaggeratedly, he rolled his eyes at the god-cat, “Is that what you wanted to hear?” Loki hissed at him.

“Loki if you’ll calm down we’ll explain.” George soothed, “You‘re safe here. We promise.”

*How could I possibly be certain of that!* Loki snapped, *I have no idea who you are! You have bound me to a feline form and have kidnapped me!*

Fred rolled his eyes, “Kidnap is such an ugly word, we prefer forced liberation.” Loki glared.

George just huffed, “We’ll swear on our magic. How about that? Will you calm down then?”

Loki narrowed his eyes as best he could in his current form, *I am no ally of yours. You would not be so foolish.*

Fred snorted before he and George pointedly drew their wands and held them up, “We, Fred and George, twin Lords of House Prewett, swear on our Magic never to intentionally or maliciously cause harm to Loki, God of Mischief unless he intentionally or maliciously causes harm to our mate. So mote it be.” They chorused.

Loki relaxed just the slightest bit as the twins’ wands flared in acknowledgment of the vow, *Will you answer my questions now?*

George gave a short nod, “You are on Midgard.”

“And we didn’t plan to take you.” Fred continued, “We were only there for the apples.”

*You still took me after forcing me into this form.* Loki noted dryly.

George shrugged, “When your wife’s seer sister tells you to pick up a guard cat you do as your told.”

Loki leveled a flat disbelieving look at them, his ears twitching, *A seer told you to capture me.*

“She told us we needed to pick up a guard cat to sit with Harriet.” Fred corrected, “She never said where we would find that cat or who they would be.”

Loki didn’t look pleased but moved onto the next question, *Why am I a feline? And why can I not change back? Your magic cannot be stronger than mine. You are children!*

“Oi! We’re twenty-seven!” George retorted.

Loki tilted his head and only the twins’ self-preservation kept them from cooing at the admittedly cute sight. *Twenty-seven? You speak as if you...you are mortal?*

“We are mortal,” George answered.

“Well, at least for now.” Fred commented, “Our wife is a phoenix so we’ll have to find a way to stay with her eventually.”

“But that’s not our priority at the moment.” George continued, “At the moment, we’re mortal.”

*Was that not your goal when stealing the apples?* Loki inquired.

“Nope!” George answered, “We took those to stabilize an aging potion so we could look our real ages again!”

“Besides, obtaining immortality through the apples is tedious.” Fred huffed, “You have to keep up a steady diet of them if you want to keep the enhanced physique if you weren’t born as an Asgardian and even if you don’t care about that you still have to eat it every one hundred years to remain immortal. There are other ways for us to match our wife’s lifespan.”

*Your wife, the phoenix.* Loki deadpanned in disbelief.

“Yep! Ice phoenix extraordinaire!” Fred crowed.

“That’s our Harriet!” George laughed.

Loki’s whiskers twitched, *I’ll believe that when I see it.*

“You’ll believe that two mortals are holding you hostage in the form of a cat but you won't believe said mortals’ wife is a phoenix?” George chuckled.

*One is slightly less impossible than the other.* the kitten drawled in response.

“Fair enough.” Fred laughed, “You can’t reverse our spell for two reasons. One, your only using half of your magic.”

*I most certainly am-*

“You are.” George cut in, “There are things you aren’t aware of in your history. Things Odin has kept from you that has led to your magic separating itself. You’re only using half and despite our appearance, we’re more than a match for that half.”

Loki reared back, his little ears pinning to his head, *Of all the-*

“Of course there is also the fact that we are very familiar with your magic.” Fred interrupted again, “That gives a bit of an upper-hand anyway since we’re familiar with the patterns and moves of your magic. It allows ours to instinctively hold tight rather than give in to your attempts to throw it off.”

*I’ve never met you in my life! Let alone been around you enough for your magic to get that familiar with mine!* Loki protested.

“You may not have met us but we’ve certainly met you!” Fred grinned, “Because you see...”

“We’re from the future!” The twins announced together with a theatrical wave of their hands.

*That’s even less likely than you being married to a phoenix!* Loki practically screeched.

“You’ll get used to the unlikely around us,” George said with a shrug.

“And since you’re being a stick in the mud about this I think we’ll just let you stew in those little tidbits until Harriet wakes up.” Fred huffed, “She’s better at dealing with you in your moods anyway.”

Loki let out an attempt at a snarl that looked way too adorable on his kitten face to be effective, *Your insane ramblings matter not! I will not be staying! You will change me back and I will leave!! I refuse to be held hostage here!*

“Hostage is the wrong word.” George deflected. “We’re not demanding ransom from Asgard.”

*Prisoner then.* Loki snapped, *Unless you plan on releasing me now.*

Fred smirked internally before pasting on a sheepish look, “As much as we’d love to, only Harriet can undo the spells that got tangled when we cast at you.”

Loki narrowed his eyes at Fred, *You’re lying.*

Fred pouted, “Would I lie to the God of Lies?”

George rolled his eyes, “Come on Loki.” The kitten looked over at him, “You have to be curious about what we told you. Just stay here and watch over Harriet while we’re gone. When she recovers enough to talk with you then you can get your answers. In the meantime, you can use the library here to learn about Midgard magic.”

*Midgard doesn’t have magic anymore.* Loki answered reflexively. The twins cheered internally, for as much as their friend was the epitome of Slytherin he could be a real Ravenclaw whenever new knowledge was within his reach.

“Of course it does.” George said lightly, “The magic communities hid away after the witch burnings, but they’re still here. We are part of those people. We’re Midgardian.”

“Just think of it as a vacation.” Fred added, “Away from Asgard and its ridiculous ideas about magic being inferior and a women’s art. A majority of the magical community's most powerful and influential magic users were male.”

*And what all would this ‘watching over’ your wife entail?* Loki asked hesitantly.

“Exactly that.” George said, “She’s in a coma right now from draining her magical core completely. She’ll be in the coma for about a month and then weak until she fills her core back up completely or until she goes through her next burn, whichever comes first.”

“We just don’t want her to be alone while we go take care of some things to keep her away from the man that wants to use her as a weapon.” Fred continued.

*You would trust me to be around her when she is so weak?* Loki asked, cocking his head in confusion.

“We vowed not to harm you unless you harm her. You wouldn’t give that safe ground up, especially when you’re so vulnerable yourself.” Fred snorted.

*You’re not going to change me back if I agree?!* Loki hissed.

“Only Harriet can reverse it remember?” Fred said innocently.

*We both know that was a lie!*

George took out his wand and flicked it over top of Loki, “There, now it's not.” Fred stuck his tongue out at the bewildered kitten. “Now, are you ready to get started on your vacation Loki?”

The god-cat dropped unhappily to his belly on top of his pile of apples. *It would seem I have no choice in the matter.*

“Nope!” Fred said jovially.

Over the next few days, Loki took time to familiarize himself with the space. With the twins still in the Campanile, he didn’t want to truly do anything but he noted interesting places that he could explore once the twins were gone. The top of that list being the dungeon that seemed to currently have residents and, of course, the library.

When he wasn’t sneaking around he was either stretching his magic bit by bit so he wouldn’t be so helpless in this form or getting to know the three Prewetts in the house.

The first was slow going. Whatever these mortals had done to him was really sticking. He couldn’t get his magic to go much past his fur for any magic beyond levitating which was rather simple when his used his tail to direct objects. Even then, his levitation was weak through the spells that kept him as a cat, he could only levitate things about two feet from his body. It frustrated Loki to no end that he was stuck with perhaps the simplest form of his magic and such a weak form of it at that, but that didn’t stop him from hoarding a few knives that he had managed to float from the kitchen all the way to the room he had been provided with.

Getting to know the Prewetts was a bit harder, especially since one was comatose. The twins had shown Loki to their room where their wife was resting tucked under blankets with only her head visible. Just from the edge of the bed where he had been sat, Loki could see that the girl was tiny, fragile even. It supported his disbelief of her being a phoenix. From what he’d heard in legends, phoenixes, though delicate, were strong and powerful. This little thing seemed neither but Loki knew that looks could be deceiving, especially since she was drained. He would be wary around her until he could get a better read on the girl and examine her more closely without her husbands' watchful eyes.

The twins were a bit easier for him to study.

It took hardly any time at all after he had calmed down to realize that they were magical twins, something that was rare but certainly not unheard of. They seemed able to have two different conversations at all times, one aloud and another in their connected minds. Contrary to the other magical twins he had come in contact with, these two seemed to have little trouble with being apart but Loki figured that it was because they felt safe in their home.

The eldest, Fred, was apparently the Potions Master of the two. Loki spent no small amount of time watching him brew from a hiding place behind jars of ingredients that made his sensitive cat nose twitch uncomfortably. Fred moved with confidence and seemed to be the more dominant of the two brothers. From what little Loki had witnessed thus far, he was a tad reckless and more aggressive, if their morning sparring was anything to go by.

On the other hand, George was the Spellcrafter. He wasn’t submissive per say but Loki could tell he was the enabler of the two, following his brother and helping him put ideas in motion. George also moved with confidence but his was a bit more measured than Fred’s. He was the planner, finding the nuances that they would need to put plans into action. It showed in his fighting too, while he seemed plenty ready to strike back, his were more precise than Fred’s full-on assault.

Both of them had a mischievous streak that Loki could truly appreciate. He had first caught bits and pieces from their upcoming plans from spying on them but when he had snuck into their planning area to look at the prepared bits they had happily explained each piece and the plans attached to them. Loki still wasn’t clear on why exactly these people had earned such treatment from these two mortals and George had told him that they would have more time to explain it after the first set of pranks were set off but he could see that the plans were a masterpiece. Loki knew he would be hard-pressed to come up with something his elaborate in such a short amount of time without exhausting himself. He couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased that the twins had readily agreed to allow him to see memories of the chaos would be setting into motion.

Watching them, Loki really didn’t have too much trouble believing that these two had been able to sneak into Asgard and get past the muscle-headed brutes that populated it.

So, despite the fact that he had been brought here against his will, Loki thought he may really enjoy this vacation. He would reserve judgment on the phoenix and time travel issues until Mrs. Prewett woke up to really talk to him. For now, he had a plush bed, delightful fresh fish that the serving elf called ‘sushi’, and many new books to read.

A week after accidentally kidnapping Loki, Fred and George were ready to finally put things into action. They had a whole bunch of training that they still needed to do to get back up where they were before the time jump but they were certainly capable enough to do what was essentially a stakeout to watch their plans unfold and to monitor reactions from the pertinent people.

They had already told Loki at breakfast that morning that they were finally going to start today and he had already gone off to the library to pick out some books to read while he stayed in their room with Harriet. Loki had appeared to calm down since he got there, but Fred and George knew that he was still wary. They knew about his stash of cutlery and had replaced it with throwing knives with a shared eye roll. They didn’t have any reservations about leaving Harriet with him but had still erred on the side of caution and wrapped a stronger monitoring ward around Harriet so they would know if anyone at all entered the room with intentions of harming her.

Just as they were kissing Harri’s forehead before heading out they heard the door swing open with a soft swish. They looked over to see tiny kitten Loki trotting in with a book almost twice his size floating close behind him.

“Why don’t you just stand on it and levitate it from there.” George pointed out even as Fred snickered quietly.

Loki glared at them before looking back at the book consideringly, after only a few moments the kitten zoomed off the ground with his book beneath his paws. *Adequate.* he announce haughtily as floated over next to Harriet with the book, *Would be unnecessary if you hadn’t left me as a feline.*

Fred grinned, “Where is the fun in that?” Loki gave a delicate sniff in answer.

George smiled, “We’ll try to come back periodically but we don’t anticipate a break until maybe a week from now when we’ll be able to leave most of it to the cameras.”

*Yes, yes, we will be here. If you take long enough for me to read through your entire library do not expect the tower to be in one piece.* Loki said distractedly as he carefully opened the book he had selected.

Fred laughed, “Won’t be gone that long Lokes. We’ll come back sooner if we feel her wake up before she’s due to though.” He reached down and ruffled Loki’s ears, much to the God’s displeasure.

*Cease crushing my ears. If you stay any longer I shall never get my entertainment.* Loki grumbled.

George rolled his eyes, “We’re going, we’re going.” He looped his arm through Fred’s and with a last smirking wave they apparated away.

*Finally.* Loki muttered as he settled in. He would explore after this book.

As soon as they landed they took stock. Fred and George had tracked Moony to this area, Hackney, where he had a tiny bedsit that he had managed to secure in one of the more rundown areas of Hackney with what little he managed to make from the odd jobs he did. It certainly wasn’t the best place for them to be, let alone Remus, but it would allow the Marauders to speak to each other without interruption before they started out. After that, the twins had no doubt that James and Sirius would pull Remus out of there quicker than a snitch making a break from a seeker.

That in mind, Fred and George made sure that they had the deep hoods of their hoodies pulled up as they made their way into the brick building and knocked on Remus’ door.

The door opened just a crack and a single amber eye peeked out, “Yes?” The voice came warily.

“Hello, Moony.” The twins chorused in greeting.

The eye widened and the man jerked backward but before he could close the door, the twins joined together and shoved inside. Fred ducked a cutting curse as George hit the wolf with three stunners, effectively putting him on his ass.

“That went well.” Fred huffed as he straightened and closed the door behind them. The bedsit was truly minuscule. It had a twin bed, a single burner stove/sink/refrigerator combination that Fred was sure Tony would have an aneurysm over, and a tiny little square that could potentially pass as a desk if it had the space for more than one piece of paper.

“Better than we expected at least.” George agreed.

“Ro,” Fred called.

An elf popped up immediately and bowed to him, “What can Ro be doin for Masters’ Prewettes?”

“I need you to go to Azkaban and retrieve a prisoner alright?” Fred said as he helped George move Moony to the bed that had been shoved against a wall.

“Yes, Master.” Ro piped, “What prisoner is Ro to get?”

Fred looked down at the little elf sternly, “Prisoner 390. His name is Sirius Black. He may currently be in his animagus form of a big black dog. It will be best for you to put him to sleep and then transport him here so he won't fight.”

“Yes, Master!” Ro saluted and quickly disappeared.

With that George set about rearranging things in the room for the start of the prank and Fred apparated away to find James.

It had taken them a fair amount of Harriet’s blood and several maps for them to pinpoint the Potter Lord’s actual location but that was all. They were thankful that whoever (wonder who it could be?) had taken him hadn’t put up anti-trackers. Granted no one should be tracking a supposed dead man but still, it was an oversight.

Fred appeared close by the target and, finding the land dotted with trees and bushes, transformed into Mayhem. He shook his fur out as the transformation settled and set his sights on the cottage ahead of him. The wards were simple which, again, it wasn’t like there were many people look for its current inhabitant.

Mayhem shot toward the house in a blur of red and slid through the wards before coming to a sudden stop with his ears perked up, listening for anyone arriving. After a tense minute, he slunk around the edge of the cottage, looking for a way in. An open window was his way in and he squeezed through the space with little trouble. Mayhem scrambled under the kitchen island and listened intently to the sounds of the house for several minutes; noting one breathing pattern, the leaky sink, the wind hitting the improperly insulated roof, and the rustling of cloth.

‘Padfoot is here.’ George reported.

Sending acknowledgment, Mayhem tore from under the island and ran toward the only other person in the house. He jumped up onto the bed without hesitation and changed back, smoothly grabbing for the vial of cleanser that he had in his pouch as James Potter startled from his drugged sleep groggily.

Fred smirked at James’ raspy, “Whuh...” before sticking the vial between the man’s lips and forcing it down his throat. James struggled weakly before the potion started to take effect and he slumped as sweat started to pour from him, Fred managed to tilt James away from him just before he threw up. “Bloody hell.” James moaned, clutching his head.

“Pain potion.” Fred offered, holding it over the older Marauders shoulder. It wouldn’t do as much to help with the cleanser still so fresh in his system but he’d definitely need it to deal with Moony and Padfoot in a little bit.

“Who...” James started as he moved to turn back over, “Where...”

“Sorry mate, you’ve got to sleep to leave,” Fred said with a grin beneath his hood. He hit Prongs with a very light sleep spell before he could fully turn around, making him slump awkwardly on the bed. ‘Ready for him?’

‘Drop him right above the bed, they’re both on it. It will be great.’ George snickered.

Fred smiled as he pulled out a little plastic Marauders Emblem that they had conjured a couple days ago and set to making the portkey. ‘I’ll head to the Ministry to catch reactions.’

‘See you at the Dursleys later for the big show.’ George laughed.

Fred dropped the emblem on top of James and said the activation that took James away and tore a nice sized hole in the wards. ‘All yours.’ With a last smirk, Fred set the bed on fire and apparated away to the Ministry, fully tearing down the wards in the process.

Mischief was crouched in the dusty vent of Remus’ bedsit. Below, Moony and Padfoot were already sleeping lightly on the bed. Sirius looked terrible but Azkaban would do that to you, Mischief had given him a cursory refresher charm just to make sure he wouldn’t overwhelm Moony’s nose but beyond that had left the evidence in place.

‘All yours.’ Fred sent and Mischief edged forward in anticipation.

James Potter appeared in the air about a foot over the bed before dropping harshly on top of the other two, effectively jolting the other two into awareness before they were bounced off the bed by the force. Remus ended up wedged between the bed and the wall while Sirius was dropped down between the bed and the stoveinkerator with James landing on top of him.

Mischief covered his nose in silent laughter as Sirius wheezed incoherently and Remus moaned against the wall.

Sirius shoved at James to try and get him off but there wasn’t space for that where they had been wedged. Remus, however, caught the sound and quickly moved to the edge of the bed to peer over it cautiously, wand in hand.

“Sirius?!” Remus choked out.

The dog animagus stopped trying to shift James and blinked up at him, “Remus?” He asked, his voice rough from his time in Azkaban.

In the next second, the werewolf had his wand pointed right at Sirius, “You broke out of Azkaban?! How could you?! After betraying James and Lily you didn’t have the decency to at least pay for your crimes?!”

“Remy you don’t understand! I didn’t-“

“Don’t you lie to me, Sirius Black!” Remus snarled, “I’m taking you to-“

“Merlin’s soggy balls Moony, let me sleep!” James moaned suddenly, interrupting Remus’ rant.

Remus and Sirius froze at the voice, so familiar but one they hadn’t heard in almost ten years. “James?” Remus asked weakly.

Sirius shoved the body on top of him up so he could see the face attached. James simply frowned, “Pads stop it! I already feel nauseous and you jerking me around isn’t helping.” He whined.

“You can’t...” Remus started, levering James off of Sirus and looking him over, “Impossible! It has to be some cruel joke.”

James frowned as he took in the werewolf holding his arms, “The only cruel joke here is you, Remus. Merlin, you’re thin. Haven’t you been taking care of yourself?”

Remus gave a slightly hysterical laugh, “When I have two dead best friends and a third who is a betraying murderer who was put in prison there isn’t much reason for me to take care of myself.”

James cocked his head, “What was that?”

Sirius scrambled to his feet, “People think you’re dead James.” He patted along the stag animagus’ shoulder hesitantly, “You feel real.”

“Of course I’m real!” James snorted, Sirius and Remus didn’t look convinced so James rolled his eyes, “Moony smell me.”

Remus hesitated but leaned in close and drew in the man’s scent slowly. It was pure and strong, with no hints of anything malicious or artificial, just pure Prongs scent that Moony had grown so used to over many moons at Hogwarts. Remus’ eyes started to water, “It’s you! You’re alive!”

If Mischief had had eyebrows he would have raised them as Remus tackled James in a hug and began crying into his shirt.

James looked down at the werewolf attached to him in bewilderment but dutifully patted his friend’s back soothingly, “Hey, it’s alright Moony. What happened?”

“Voldemort killed you and killed Lily and Sirius killed Peter and was taken to Azkaban and-“ Remus started to babble.

“Whoa, what is this about me and Lily being killed?” James asked, startled, “And why was Sirius in Azkaban?”

“He betrayed the secret of your location to Voldemort and got you both killed.” Remus blubbered.

“Lily was killed?” James asked quietly.

Sirius gave his friend a sad nod, “Right after you supposedly were. She went out protecting Harriet.”

“Harriet!” James exclaimed, shooting to his feet as his eyes went wide and practically dragging Remus with him, “Where is she?” He demanded, looking to Sirius who winced.

“I don’t know mate. I was in Azkaban from about a day after your ‘death’.” Sirius said with his head bowed in shame.

“Why were you in Azkaban?! You were supposed to be taking care of my daughter!” James shouted.

“He was there because he betrayed you James!” Remus snarled wetly, “He told Voldemort the secret.”

“No!” Sirius snapped, “I didn’t!”

James nodded, “Remus, Peter was our secret keeper, not Sirius. He was too obvious a choice.”

Remus paused, sniffing softly as that sank in, “But that means...”

‘The aurors have found Sirius missing.’ Fred reported.

‘If they don’t hurry along I will speed them up.’ George acknowledged.

“It was Peter.” Sirius pointed out, “Why do you think I went to kill him?”

“You abandoned my daughter for revenge?!” James snapped.

‘Didn’t think he’d bring up that point so quickly.’ Fred said, listening in now.

“She was safe with Hagrid! I didn’t plan to end up in prison!” Sirius defended.

James pressed his lips into a thin line before looking at Remus, “Do you know where she is?”

Remus winced, finally standing on his own and wiping at his eyes, “I’ve never been able to find her exact location. Dumbledore put up wards around her, some are geared to keep dark creatures out. But I do know she is living with the Dursleys.”

“The Dursleys!” James shouted, his face thunderous, “Those horrid people? We expressly forbid her going there in our wills! I’d rather her be raised by Siri’s mum’s portrait than by them!”

“Well then let's go get her!” Sirius enthused.

Taking that as the best cue he was going to get, Mischief sent a light cutting curse that dropped a box directly onto the tiny desk in Remus’ bedsit.

All three Marauders jumped at the sound, spinning to find the source.

“What’s this?” Sirius asked, finding the box rather quickly. James and Remus crowded around it to take it in. It was a relatively small box wrapped in rich Gryffindor red wrapping paper and topped off with a gold bow. “To: The Marauders From: Her Majesty’s Knights.” he read from a tag on the bow

“Is Queen Elizabeth pranking us right now?” Remus asked faintly.

“I doubt its that Queen,” James said before unwrapping the bow and then taking the lid off.

Inside was a small fawn plushie, its ears were extra long and the spots along its back were shaped like little stars and hearts.

“Prongslette.” Sirius identified almost immediately as James pulled the little doll from the box.

“There’s a scroll,” Remus noted, pulling said scroll from the box and unrolling it.

“What’s it say?” James asked, absently rubbing the toy fawn’s ear.

“Dear Marauders,” Remus read, “Welcome back to the land of the living.” Sirius snorted, “Before you go off full speed trying to find the heir to Marauder Glory...”

“Like that one,” James noted.

“Here are three things to consider before you go off without thinking.” Remus continued, “First, the rat is in the Burrow.”

“He’s still alive!” Sirius growled, Remus ignored his outburst.

“Second, Dumbledore is not a friendly. Plenty of evidence with the goblins.” Remus read with a raised eyebrow, James frowned.

“Finally, one of you is wrongly accused of murder. Clearing his name may smooth your efforts.” Remus frowned, “signed, Her Majesty’s Knights.”

Sirius looked sheepish, “I didn’t even think about clearing my name.”

Remus huffed, “Of course you didn’t.” He looked back in the box, hopeful that there may be some clue as to its origins and noticed something wrapped in tissue paper at the bottom. He pulled it out carefully and heard the tell-tale jingling of potions vials. Unwrapping it from the tissue paper he found a case of potions with a note that read, “Dementor recovery potion. Once a day until gone.”

Sirius took the box warily when Remus offered it to him, “Who are these people?”

“Whoever it is, they seem to know us,” James said, clutching the fawn to him.

“There was two of them.” Remus spoke up, “They came and knocked me out earlier.”

“The elf that took me from Azkaban must have been theirs then,” Sirius added.

James rubbed a hand over his eyes, “My memory is really fuzzy but...I’m getting...I think there was one that gave me a potion that made me sweat and throw up before I woke up here.” He shook his head, “We’ll figure it out later. We need to get Siri cleared and then find Harriet.”

“Right.” Sirius and Remus agreed together.

Mischief watched as Remus quickly transfigured Sirius’ prison clothes into something more appropriate and they quickly packed the werewolf’s belongings before heading out the door.

As soon as they were gone, Mischief pushed himself out of the vent and transformed back right before he hit the ground. ‘Heading your way.’ He reported to Fred, ‘I’ll be setting up at the Dursleys.’

‘Got it.’