A/N: I didn't think that Fred and George's story would be so long, so I decided to cut this chapter shorter than I originally planed. Therefore this chapter is basically one giant flashback. Because of this, Sirius doesn't meet his love interest (if he has one) yet, so there is still time to vote. Yay!

All spoken language is in English unless specified as otherwise.

Enjoy.

Orthanc, Isengard
February 7, 2568 Third Age

Remus and Tonks ran into the main chamber within the tower trying to catch up to Sirius. When they finally caught sight of him, it was only to see him kneeling on the ground with his head in his hands. Above him stood the Weasley twins, clearly wanting to help but unsure what to do.

Remus took a moment to compose himself before the twins noticed his presence. He would brood over the fact Harry clearly wasn't there later.

"Welcome to Middle Earth Mr.'s Weasley. I assume that you for whatever reason ended up going through the veil in the department of mysteries and suddenly found yourselves here?"

"Too right we did – "

"– and when we arrived – "

"– we were naked!"

Remus felt the corners of his mouth twitch at their indignant statement. Remus still blushed each time he thought about arriving in the strange new world, naked, beside an equally naked Tonks. It didn't help that it only took Tonks moments before she quelled her embarrassment and began to openly leer and wink at him.

"Don't worry, you're not the only ones." Remus and Tonks then proceeded to tell the twins their (and Sirius') experiences in Arda, including the changes in their magic and bodies. By the time they were done, Sirius was composed and ready enough to join the conversation.

"So, care to tell us why you were sent through the veil? And do you know what happened to Harry?"

The last that Sirius knew, Harry was in Voldemort's grasp. The likelihood of him being dead was disturbingly high.

Fred and George looked at each other and through an unspoken agreement George started talking.

"We were actually in the veil chamber to meet Harry before we ended up here…."

Flashback

A lot had changed since Dumbledore died. McGonagall and Moody split the position of leader in Dumbledore's absence, but still didn't make any final decisions without consulting a few others such as Shacklebolt and Lupin first. Hogwarts remained open, but the number of students enrolled had dramatically decreased and McGonagall was now headmistress. People were in a sort of stupor, the unofficial leader of the light was gone.

That was when it really hit the twins that the war was real. It was the same night that Bill had almost died, that the death eaters infiltrated Hogwarts and that Fred and George decided to become full-time Order members.

They had known that the war was happening, how could they not. They had spent their holidays at the resistance's headquarters; almost their whole family was involved in the fight against the dark lord. Not to mention that the chosen one was like a little brother. All those attempted murders and conspiracies occurring during their years in Hogwarts also made them no stranger to danger.

But even then, it still had a surreal quality to it. Like it was just a story and it wouldn't really matter how evil Voldemort was, because the bad guys never win. With Dumbledore's death however, reality came and slapped them in the face. They might lose. Their family might die.

It was a heart-stopping realization. They felt even worse after learning that it was only with the help of one of their inventions that the death eater's raid on Hogwarts was so successful. From then on they limited what items they sold to the public. They spent their time inventing and making weapons and products that could help the war instead of just prank items (though many weapons were created by modifying prank items they had already made).

That's not to say they completely stopped making gags and pulling pranks. Someone had to lighten the atmosphere and remind everyone to live a little. Not to mention that the twins would probably spontaneously combust before they were serious for 5 hours straight.

Indeed, they were quite noble for taking upon themselves the daunting quest of making the Order members smile (they even got Moody to chuckle after making a realistic Snape target which degraded and insulted you while using it. The beauty of it was if you did hit it, the Target-Snape would wet himself). Those opposed to their self-imposed quest of spreading good humour were forced to back down after learning that the chosen one himself supported it; after all, who could deny their saviour? (Though Mrs. Weasley wasn't easy to convince, but she relented once Harry convinced her of all the good the twins were doing to boost morale.)

A year later the ministry of magic fell. Not that it was doing much good anyway. Fred and George were just thankful that Mr. Weasley wasn't at work at the time due to an order mission. Unfortunately, they lost the first Weasley casualty of the war; Percy. It made the loss even worse in that things were still tense between Percy and the rest of the family at the time of his death.

After that many magical British citizens tried to emigrate out of England, to somewhere the war hopefully wouldn't affect them. Almost the whole Diagon Alley shut down, no one was willing to be out in the open shopping or even man a shop and be like a sitting duck waiting to see if it were costumers or death eaters that entered. Fred and George decided to close Weasley's Wizards Wheezes. They still sold products via owl-order however.

It wasn't much later that they would experience the next tragedy to their family. The Burrow was attacked while Fred and George were still finalizing the move out of their shop. Their mom, dad and little brother all died in one fell swoop. The Weasley's, Harry and Hermione isolated themselves from the Order and the war for a week to help each other through their grief. Even looking back, it was hard to believe that it happened. They didn't want to believe that anyone else they loved would die. And the Burrow, their home since birth, was gone. They knew every knick and cranny and had so many memories of running around and causing mischief there.

After that Fred and George started training and working harder than ever. They wanted to make sure that those bastards that killed their family would go down.

They were glad when Ginny was finally finished Hogwarts and came to headquarters; the remaining Weasleys (and unofficial Weasleys) could be together. Or at least they could be if Harry and Hermione didn't insist on going globe trotting all the time for who knew what reason.

It was not only the Weasleys (official or not) that made up the younger generation in Headquarters. Actually, there was now more than one headquarters. It was one of the first things that Moody decided once Dumbledore died; he didn't want everything and everyone in the same place. It would make a bigger target and if it were infiltrated the whole Order would collapse. Without anyone else knowing, the highest members of the Order started to make several safe houses. They made some for refugees, others as training areas, one as a research center/library, etc. Depending on how high up you were in the Order, the more access you had to more safe houses.

Another reason for the increase in space was to make way for the increase of new recruits. Before the Order had to limit the number of recruits since they were hiding from both Voldemort and the ministry. Without any ministry to stop them and since Voldemort already knew who and what they were (bloody Snape), they had more leniency to approach those they thought would fight with them.

It wasn't long afterwards that Hermione died. One day Harry had stumbled into headquarters looking half dead and covered in blood, holding Hermione's mangled body to his chest. A week after her funeral the twins approached Harry. They knew he would take her death hard, especially since Ron was already dead, and they didn't want him to shut everyone out.

It was after many long talks (and drinks) that Harry opened up enough to confess what he was doing when traveling with Ron and Hermione. Which was just as well since he didn't think he could finish the search for horcruxes alone. Harry, Ron and Hermione were able to find and destroy one of the Horcruxes, and locate some potential hiding places of the others.

Another thing the trio was working on in secret was the animagus transformation. Unfortunately only Hermione was completely successful. She had had the form of an Australian Stock Horse, which is known for their intelligence, courage, toughness and good stamina and temperament. When she further researched it and horses in general (as if anyone doubted she would) she found that according to the Chinese horoscope horses are seen as energetic, organized, and fond of travel and are continuously working and moving from one project to another; a definition she thought rather suited her. Add that to the deep love of horses that she's had since she had been a little girl and Hermione was very satisfied with her form.

Ron's form was an Irish Setter. Irish Setters are known for their playful and happy demeanor. They have good endurance, are friendly and are very sociable. They are also affectionate and enjoy a lot of activity and wide open spaces. Irish Setters also have the unfair reputation of being stupid because they are usually too stubborn and resistant to be properly trained. Though Ron is definitely quicker to anger and more aggressive than his animagus form, it's still a good fit.

Unfortunately Ron still had problems with the technicalities involved in the transformation and usually got stuck part-way through. He wasn't able to fully transform by the time of his death.

As for Harry, he had the skill and a suitable form, just not the power. Then again no one has ever had enough power to successfully transform into a magical animagus before. Harry's form was a phoenix. It was no surprise that his form would have wings – he always felt most comfortable in the air.

Being a phoenix was something Harry could definitely live with – he had been fascinated with them since he first saw Fawkes in his second year. It would leave an impression on anyone to have a bird spontaneously combust in front of them. Not to mention the fact that Fawkes saved him from certain death by crying on a poisoned wound.

A phoenix's elements are fire and air – Harry always liked fire, maybe having something to do with the fact that he grew up in a dark and dank cupboard. Or the fact that his family never bothered to buy him decent clothes in the winter (or ever really) so he was always cold walking to and from school. After finishing his chores in the winter Harry would often sit in front of the fire and let its warmth wash over him and lose himself to the hypnotizing flames (it's not like he was allowed to watch TV). The fact that he enjoyed the fire so much was what spurred Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon to cover the fireplace and have an electric fire instead. As for air - one word. Flying.

Phoenixes are immortal. Harry was the Boy-Who-Lived and sole survivor of the killing curse. Harry definitely didn't want to be immortal though. Harry figured that neither did Fawkes. He couldn't think of a worse fate than to linger forever, watching as those you love die around you while you can do nothing to stop it (something he already sympathized with since he already had people die for him). You can't even join them since you'd be forever stuck in the land of the living. Harry was extremely glad that a witch's or wizard's animagus form's talents and traits didn't transfer to the witch or wizard themselves when not transformed. He didn't want to live forever.

Phoenixes were generally wise and serious – but that's only because of their age's and the fact that they usually only wander into the wizarding world in times of war to bring hope and guide a witch or wizard it had decided to bind itself to. Young phoenixes – and old ones in times of peace as Dumbledore could've attested to – can be very mischievous and playful. Harry always felt old for his age and never really knew what it was like to be a child. And almost everyone he knew told him he was usually too serious for a boy his age. They also could say that Harry loved a good laugh and has pulled a prank on all of them at least once – being one of the few to successfully prank Sirius, Remus and the twins; all at the same time to boot. The fact that he used them all against each other without any of them finding out about his role in the scheme of things until months later, when he was safely in Hogwarts where they couldn't reach him (it was right after Fred and George left), which left no possibilities of immediate retribution, was an added bonus. Harry credited the success of that prank on Slytherin cunning, Gryffindor bravery, his own stubbornness, trustworthiness (or at least the others had thought that he was trustworthy) and his puppy-dog eyes. He's told that he could make even the most cold-hearted death eater melt with that look.

Phoenixes have tears that heal. While trying to cram as much information into their heads as they could during their horcrux hunt, Harry found out that he had a natural gift with healing. He actually enjoyed healing, finding it soothing and uplifting even if it was quite draining.

A phoenix is also a symbol of light and hope – well, Harry was the Saviour of the wizarding world, the Chosen One and all that jazz. It was this fact that made Harry think he might not a phoenix animagus after all; he certainly didn't ask or want to be the symbol of light and hope and would have loved to be an ordinary wizard. It was Hermione who convinced him that a phoenix form was still for him:

"Well Harry, I don't expect anyone asked any phoenixes if they minded being the symbol of hope and light either. If you think about it they are an awful lot like you – they prefer to stay away from large crowds and fawning humans, only coming to help others in times of need. They only gained their reputation since they help others when they could just as easily ignore the problem and not get involved. Considering your saving people thing, you're all set to have a phoenix as a form."

Well Harry could think of many animals that were worse than a phoenix. The only bad thing with a phoenix form is that he'd never be able to transform; the power needed to change into a magical animal – let alone a phoenix – was mind boggling.

Fred and George listened to Harry's experiences of the past 2 years in silence. They convinced Harry to tell the heads of the Order about the horcruxes.

That was how it came to be that the most trusted Order members spent the next 2 years searching for horcruxes (and all the information they could find on them) as well as training (and recruiting) new order members and stopping the usual death eater raids.

Finally they thought they located a horcrux; placed in what was left of the miniter's office in the ministry of magic. Harry, Bill, Lupin, McGonagall, Tonks and Hestia Jones all went to retrieve and destroy it.

Only McGonagall came back.

She explained how they were ambushed and captured (except for Bill who died in the skirmish). She was unable to tell of anyone else's fate, since she had to flee with the horcrux or risk being captured as well.

It wasn't long before Voldemort announced the capture and life-long enslavement of Harry Potter to himself. He also announced what fate was left to those who opposed him; if captured alive a (highly biased and unfair) trial would be given with only two possible outcomes depending on your rank within the Order; becoming a slave to a loyal death eater or public execution.

They found out that Tonks and Remus were sentenced to death and Hestia was given to Walden McNair as a slave.

At least they had managed to find and destroy another horcrux so the mission wasn't a total loss.

The next year was pretty uneventful, which was a good thing since morale was very low after the loss of the chosen one. Even the common death eater raids were fewer in number and did less damage than before. No one was really willing to think on why that was and what the dark lord was spending all his time doing/planning.

A few months later hope came from an unlikely source; Luna Lovegood. Luna had been captured before the ministry mission that resulted in the capture and death of Harry and Bill respectively. She had also been working in the research and development department within the Order alongside the twins. Her ideas and inventions were often random, ludicrous, unexpected and mad but they almost always worked efficiently and effectively. Suffice to say that the more the twins got to know her, the more they respected and cared for Luna.

Luna had been captured and assumed dead when she had left headquarters to gather materials for her latest project. It turned out that she had managed to convince her captors that she was no threat, and was only forced to become a servant in the Dark Lord's new fortress where Azkaban used to be. While there she made the best out of a rotten situation; she eavesdropped on all the death eaters she could, she found ways to work around her magic-suppressing collar and managed to send anonymous messages to the Order (the order was relieved to find out that the tips they've been getting where from a reliable source).

The most important thing she's been able to do though was come in person a full 2 years after her capture (almost a year and a half after Harry's capture). It took a lot of work to find loopholes in the wards, enchantments and other spells both around Voldemort's fortress and her magic-suppression collar, but she managed it. But even though she was now able to leave, she would have to return within 46 hours of her departure time and then it would take another few months (if not longer) to work through all the magic and wards to enable her to leave again.

She was able to tell the order that the Dark Lord wasn't quite as independent as everyone thought; there was another dark being, one who didn't seem to be a wizard even though it could perform magic. She hadn't seen or heard of him before except recently she caught a glimpse of it talking to Voldemort with familiarity, as if they knew each other for a long time. This other being was working as a sort of advisor for Voldemort which would explain his uncharacteristic show of restraint and patience since Dumbledore's demise (Voldemort would have already tried taking over the whole of Europe by now, not just being content with magical England).

She also told them that Voldemort was doing some sort of experiment on Harry to gain immortality with his 'advisor's' guidance. She wasn't able to see Harry a lot, but through quick messages via other loyal (to them) servants, she found that it has been altering his body and magic.

After her departure, the order worked harder than ever to find a way to free Harry and the other unfortunate captured allies within the dark lord's fortress.

It wasn't until over a year later that Luna was able to visit again, bringing more unpleasant news. Voldemort had bound Harry to himself; Harry would only be able to bypass the wards and sneak out of the fortress once every few years, if that due to the amount of magic keeping him captive. Not to mention that Harry would still be forced to return and only be truly free once Voldemort was dead (which could only happen once all the horcruxes were destroyed). But the good news was that Harry was already working his way around the wards and would soon be able to leave the fortress for a brief period.

Meanwhile the order was stretched to its limit. It seemed that Voldemort finally got tired of waiting and took over the whole of the U.K.; muggle and magical. This caused a mass panic for the world due to the sudden revealing of the magical world. Most likely Voldemort used this time of political unrest to secure positions in other counties' governments and ensure an easier way of conquering them. Not to mention that there were no new leads for the horcrux hunt and no one had any idea who Voldemort's supposed advisor was.

Hope finally came in a message from Luna; Harry was ready to try his first break out of Voldemort's fortress.

"Wait! So Harry got away? Did you get to see him? Was he alright?"

"They would tell you if you would just sit still for a moment Padfoot! We want to hear this as much as you do! Sorry about that Fred, George, please continue."

"Ahem. So as we were saying – "
"– through the spy network Luna had in Voldemort's fortress –"
"– we were able to set up a time and place to meet Harry…"

Flashback...again

They decided that the best place to meet was the veil chamber in the former ministry of magic. The dark lord's forces had long ago stripped the ministry bare of anything valuable, and the building was more or less ruins now. Not to mention that due to the bad memories from this very room made the likelihood of Harry Potter coming here willingly unlikely.

Fred and George insisted to be the ones to come for this mission. The Order agreed that only 1 or 2 people should come to meet Harry; any more was asking to be caught. It was also best if those who went were very familiar with Harry; better to tell whether it really was Harry, or a trap. This also allowed Harry to be more comfortable and be assured that he was speaking to a real Order member (versus a spy), therefore making Harry more likely to divulge important information. Ginny and Neville had both wanted to go, since they had been good friends with Harry and were good fighters (Neville was well on his way to becoming the leader of the order within 10 years if he kept it up).

Fred and George were both against it; Charlie had died 2 years ago and Ginny was the last Weasley left besides them. They didn't want her to go, she was their baby sister (even if she was turning 23 soon). Not to mention that Ginny and Neville were engaged to be married and therefore had a lot more to lose than they did. The fact that the twins were undeniably resourceful, had a knack for getting out of trouble and worked well as a team did nothing to hurt their argument either.

Neville and Ginny finally relented. So Fred and George soon found themselves making their way through the remains of the ministry building to meet their brother-of-another-mother for the first time in three years.

When they first saw him they were shocked. Luna had mentioned that Harry's magic and body had been modified, but they didn't expect this.

Harry was still short and skinny (what do you expect, he grew up malnourished and in a dark cupboard), only reaching to about 5'6. His hair had gown out to just past his shoulders in a messy curly mass of jet black hair with deep red highlights. His eyes were as green as ever, but he no longer wore glasses, making his eyes seem brighter and sharper. Even though this was obviously Harry, and his features haven't really changed all that much, it was still very shocking. He seemed...otherwordly. And awfully pretty, nomething they never remembered thinking in terms of the scrawny boy.

Honestly speaking, the twins had expected him to be covered in scars, with mutilated-beyond-recognition body parts. Luna should have been more specific when she said that his body had been 'modified'.

"Don't say it. I know what you're thinking, and don't you dare say it."

Even though Harry's voice had gained a musical lilt to it and his appearance had obviously been altered, it was refreshing to see that Harry was still Harry even after 3 years in Voldemort's clutches.

Fred and George smirked knowingly at each other.

"But Harry my good man, –"

"– how are we to refrain ourselves when –"

"– this is the first we've seen from you in 3 years –"

"– and here you are, looking absolutely –"

"– ravishing –"

"– beautiful –"

"– gorgeous –"

"– pretty –"

"– eye-catching –"

"– spectacular –"

"All right! All right! I get it! That's enough!" Harry interrupted, laughing all the while. "I sure missed you guys."

They shared a smile then got down to business.

"I don't have a lot of time. Do you have a way of contacting the Order?"

Fred pulled out his notepad and pen. The notepad was designed after something called 'instant messaging' that a muggle-born order member had told them about. Basically whatever was written on the notebook that Fred had would show up on a notebook in headquarters. This invention made coordinating attacks and delivering information a lot easier for the Order. And as for pens; they are a lot easier to use and transport than quills and ink bottles.

"Ready when you are."

"Good. I assume that Minerva was able to escape with Hufflepuff's Cup? And you guys did destroy it right?" at Fred's nod, Harry continued "Then there are only 2 horcruxes left to go, unless you managed to find another one the in the past 3 years. There's Ravenclaw's Bracelet and Gryffindor's Scabbard.¹ I think that the scabbard is located in Lifford Ireland, but I'm not sure."

"Don't worry Harry," George said as Fred continued to jot down the information "we'll have it destroyed in no time. You'll be free soon."

Harry just smiled in response and opened his mouth to reply when the spheres in George's pocket which were connected to the perimeter wards Fred and George had put up starting buzzing and flashing a violet colour.

"Are you done writing brother-mine, it appears we have company."

"Yup, all done. You'd think for being a bunch of pureblood pansies they'd have more manners than to interrupt a planned meeting. Shame on them!"

"Quick you two! They won't dare risk killing me, only Voldemort gets the privilege and he wants me alive for now. I can try to distract them while you guys get away!"

"As much as we'd like to take you up on your offer, for the sphere to turn purple means that there is anywhere between 25 and 50 death eaters surrounding the place. There's no way we are going to be able to sneak around them. The least we can do is give them one hell of a fight before we die."

So Fred and George (and Harry when it involved anything non-magical since he still had a magic-suppressing collar on) made as many booby traps as they could to take out the death eaters and block the entry points.

Soon all you could hear was explosions, the screaming of unlucky death eaters and the crumbling of stone as the roof in many areas collapsed. Fred and George took the time their traps gave them to close off more doorways and make a strong ward.

"But you're still trapped inside. It will only be a matter of time before they brake through and we're still surrounded. We need to get you out somehow."

"I'm sorry to say dear Harrykins that we aren't getting out of this one."

"Indeed. But that's not to say that we will let those buggers tell us how to die, we're going to do it our way or no way at all."

Harry looked at them not really understanding until Fred tilted his head towards the veil. Harry felt his eyes widen; they were going to kill themselves before the death eaters had a chance to. It suddenly reminded Harry of his fifth year; Fred and George knew that it was only a matter of time before they were expelled, so instead of waiting for the inevitable they caused as much shit as they could and left before anyone could make them leave.

Harry knew that nothing he said would dissuade them, so he gave them both a brief hug and waited beside the dais on which the veiled arch sat.

"We'll miss you little bro."

"You could come with us. You said yourself that Psycho-mort doesn't want you dead yet. You could stick it to him one last time."

Harry gave them a sad smile. "As much as I'd like to go with you, I've got to stick around to make sure Snake Face will be gone for good."

"Don't worry, we understand."

"Tell Ginny we love her –"

"– and if Neville doesn't take care of her properly –"

"– we'll torment him from beyond the grave."

"Don't worry, I will."

"Bye Harry."

"See you on the other side."

End Flashback

Sirius, Tonks and Remus sat in silence processing all they heard while Fred and George went to get water to sooth their now dry and raspy throats.

There was still hope; Harry was still alive and could still find his way to them.

I forgot to mention this last chapter, but I got the info of the animals that the characters had as animagus forms from wikipedia. Also from the Chinese horoscope; I don't remember what site I used but just google 'Chinese horoscope' and voilà! There's the site.

¹ - I'm making up what Ravenclaw's and Gryffindor's items are, because the I don't know what they really are. And in this HP tangent world, living creatures can not be used as a horcrux, so no Nagini. Also as a reminder, Dumbledore destroyed the ring, Harry destroyed the diary and the locket and the Order destroyed the cup, leaving only two horcruxes left.

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Very, very, very last chance to vote for pairings:

1) Haldir/Sirius...(2 votes so far)
2) Random female elf/Sirius...(2 votes so far)
3) Haldir/Random female elf/Sirius
4) Erestor/Glorfindel/Sirius...(1 vote so far)
5) Nobody/Sirius
6) Other/Sirius

Again, if I don't get many votes for a specific pairing I'll have Sirius with no one. I mean it!