A Life Debt, Doubly So.

Fred had never felt so confused in his life, and considering George and he had always tested their products on each other first, that was saying something. A second ago he'd fighting that crazy death-eating bitch Bellatrix and now he was… where exactly? A room, maybe? It was white anyhow. Wait… it was… fading? Getting darker? How was that possible? Here was something he'd rarely ever felt before. Panic. And then, nothing.

Harry saw the bolt of light coming, but he was ready for it. He stood his ground. And woke up in a weirdly clean, brightly-lit Kings Cross Station.

"Wha…?" Harry mumbled to himself, madly trying to untangle his thoughts from one another. Ok, so Riddle had sent the spell his way and he should be dead… Merlin, was he dead? This was a strange Heaven, he thought. Or Hell? Hopefully not Hell. If it was anything else, bring it on. As long as he could see his parents at the end, and Sirius, and Remus, and Dumbledore, and Dobby and everyone else he'd lost.

Suddenly, he did see Dumbledore. And they chatted. Later on, Harry would recall this to be the strangest conversation he'd ever had, but at the moment, he was just trying to follow what was being said. Which was difficult, because Dumbledore liked his riddles. A little while later, Harry asked what he thought were straightforward questions:

"So… Am I dead? Is this real? Or is it in my head?"

Dumbledore, though, had never been one for straightforward answers.

"Harry, my boy, of course it's in your head. But that doesn't mean it isn't real."

And then Dumbledore left. Left Harry alone. On the platform. In his mind. Great. But wait… was that someone? Harry stumbled up and marched forward in what he hoped looked like a determined fashion. This was his heaven, or his head, and he'd be damned if some stupid Death Eater fucked it up for him. But then he got closer and they didn't attack, he assumed it wasn't an enemy. Still, Harry didn't announce his present until he'd gotten a better look.

The young man (Harry thought he was maybe 20) was sitting with his back against a wall, knees bent up so he could rest his elbows on them and cup his head in his hands. He made a sad picture. The man's jacket was so coloured by blood and dirt that Harry couldn't even tell what it had been originally… green maybe? And his black slacks were torn in a number of places. His hair was a kind of muddy brown, but Harry realised that it was mostly mud so it wasn't a fair judge of what he looked like.

"Hello?" Harry spoke softly, not wanting to frighten the man into a fight. The man jolted up, the fingers of his right hand springing out as if there was a wand between them.

Harry gasped. "Fred?". He stepped closer to have a better look. Harry saw the shock reflected in Fred's own eyes.

"Harry…" Fred stuttered. "But… I… Bellatrix…. You… NO! You can't be dead!"

"I'm not. We aren't dead. At least, I don't think we are. Or maybe. I don't know." Harry said, then realised how stupid he sounded. He sent Fred an apologetic look before continuing. "I had to stop anyone else from being killed. So I went to the Forbidden Forest and found Voldemort."

"Harry!" Fred groaned. "You blithering idiot! We died so you could kill him! Not be killed."

Harry gave him a soft smile. "I was a horcrux, Fred…" he said, expecting to have to continue, but Fred gasped in recognition. He saw Harry's surprise and managed to laugh a little.

"You think there's anything going on with you, or Voldie, or Hogwarts, or evil plans that we don't know about?"

Harry allowed himself a small smile. "I suppose not." The he got serious. "But you… ?"

Fred nodded. "Bellatrix."

Harry snarled. "That BITCH! I'm going tokill her. I normally wouldn't say this because it sounds so selfish, but I'm dead so who cares? (At this point, Fred said "Not me, mate.") I'm glad I'm not alone here. I think I might've freaked."

"Yeah, I know what you mean… I couldn't stop thinking about Georgie." He sighed dramatically, before looking up at Harry. "I mean, I couldn't live without…. AH! Harry!… you're fading. AS IN, DISAPPEARING." Fred was shouting by the time he got to the word "disappearing" and frantically jumping from foot to foot.

"NOO!" Harry cried. He grabbed Fred with both his hands, locking them around Fred's forearms so tight he was cutting off the circulation. "I'm not leaving you here," he forced out between grit teeth.

Harry's determined eyes locked on Fred's nervous ones, but when Fred saw Harry's he gave a slight nod, forced his own teeth together and his eyes became so determined no fear could be seen.

Harry had thought he would gasp awake dramatically, but in reality he sort of just floated back into his body and began breathing again. This could work, he thought. He lay still and listened to the Death Eaters arguing ridiculously about whether or not they should check he was dead. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming towards him and a body leant over his.

"Draco. Is he still alive?" Harry would've recognised Narcissa's voice anyway, but her asking about Draco made him decide to trust her. She was a Malfoy, so her loyalties were to the family. Lucius and Draco would always come above the Dark Lord. Harry moved a millimetre, nodding his head just once in a miniscule movement he hoped only she could see.

"HE'S DEAD!" Narcissa roared, standing and walking quickly back to the other followers.

"NOOOOOOO!" Harry heard a strangled cry. Hagrid. I'm sorry, Harry thought. I hope you'll forgive me. Then he focused on laying still and a minute later he felt the half-giant pick him up and begin the long trek back to the castle.

Fred came back to consciousness… and life, he supposed, in a serene way. He was not there, and then he was. The best way he could describe it was like coming home. Fred could feel a body draped over him, the person's chest heaving with almost silent sobs. George. Thank Merlin he was still alive.

"Georgie," Fred whispered. "Pretend I'm still dead if there are people around. Carry me somewhere private."

Fred had felt George's body seize up when he'd first heard the voice. That made sense, Fred thought. There was no way Fred would've believed it wasn't some evil magic if his brother's apparently-lifeless body had breathed his name. But still, George wouldn't take any chances.

Fred felt his body slowly be lifted up by strong arms and cradled gently against his brothers chest. It felt safe. He honestly knew he couldn't live without his brother. They depended on each other for everything from emotional support and back-up in an arguement in their crazy family, to fashion sense (Fred's was better) and picking up dates. George walked carefully, stepping over things Fred hoped weren't bodies, but he couldn't open his eyes to check.

"Hey!" Someone shouted. "Where're ya takin' that body?"

"AWAY!" George roared. "He is my brother and you will kindly FUCK OFF!"

The unknown voice sounded so surprised at his twin's outburst, Fred had to hold back a laugh. The wizard probably didn't even know what "fuck off" meant. He wouldn't have if he hadn't spent much time in the muggle world, anyway, but it was hard to misunderstand George's tone of voice.

"Err… alright then. Seein' as you're family an' all…"

George walked for barely three minutes before stopping and gently laying Fred down.

"Fred… are you really… hello?" it was an awkward jumble of words, but Fred knew just how George felt. He opened his eyes and smiled up at the man kneeling by him.

"Brother," Fred greeted with a small smile. Suddenly Fred was encased by strong arms almost crushing the life out of him and he knew he was crushing back just as hard. Then suddenly, he was pushed back and had to put his arms out behind him to catch the fall.

"Explain," George growled at him. So Fred did. George didn't gasp theatrically or cry with laughter a he normally would in their conversations, but his eyes grew more determined, especially when Fred got to Harry being a horcrux, when George simply muttered "so we were right… but Harry? We would never have guessed that."

Fred finished his account and grasped his brother's forearm. They knew each other so well, it didn't even surprise Fred when George said; "We owe Harry a life debt. Doubley so. I could not have lived without you." Fred nodded, feeling the same, "we will make it up to him."

Suddenly George looked at Fred with pained eyes. "We lost people, brother."

"Who?" Fred demanded, immediately fearing the worst.

"Moony… and Tonks," George said in a rough voice. Fred's eyes involuntarily closed with shock and pain. He felt terrible for thinking that they weren't the worst. Imagine Gin, or Ron… but Remus and Tonks were loved like family anyway.

"We have to go and fight," Fred said.

"Can you, brother?" George asked softly. "You were just… err… reborn."

Fred nodded as he rose and headed for the door, "I can and I will. We will."

George raced to catch him and stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Your wand, brother," he said, handing it over. "And we cannot go out like this. People saw you die."

Fred shook his head. "We can. It's nothing for those on the light side, who know only good magic… only Harry's magic, could have bought me back and still have me fighting against the Death Eaters. And for the dark side, let them assume the worst, and they will fear us for it."

George smiled at that. "Ok, Freddie. But we should have some fun with them. Take off your jacket," he said as he took off his own. Then he waved his wand to repair their pants and waved it again to change their shirts. Their short sleeves lengthened into long and both shirts became darkly black, with the Gryffindor lion shining the colour of their hair on their breasts.

"Let's go," said George. "But Fred? You are not to die on me again, you hear me?"

And with that they strode out into the battle. They heard snatches of conversations as they passed and heard that Harry had been bought back dead. They breathed a sigh of relief when next they heard he had come back to his life and was fighting to hold onto it. Fred and George made themselves known. They killed almost a hundred Death Eaters, six of whom they found torturing fourth years. The battle ended in a splendid fight, but there were too many casualties to be happy.

A week later, they received Orders of Merlin, First Class, for bravery. A month later they offered their services to Harry as private bodyguards, as well as best friends and confidents but agreed they should be disguised to do it. A year later they, and the rest of the Wizarding world, were almost back to normal. Almost.