Chapter 7
It was finally winter break. The twins went home for the holiday, eager to get away from the other students.
They got inside the manor and Harry did a little dance.
"Finally! Peace and quiet!" he exclaimed.
Alex whacked him on the head.
"Let's go report to father," he muttered.
Alex grabbed Harry by the wrist and dragged him to the throne room. His grip was bruising, steel-like.
"Alex, I can get there myself," Harry whined.
"Shut up," Alex hissed.
They got to the throne room. Voldemort was waiting for them. The twins knelt before their father.
"Rise, and give me your report," Voldemort ordered.
The twins stood up. Alex released Harry's wrist. Harry rubbed the already bruised area.
"Father, I have learned that the Order of the Phoenix has begun to be more active," Alex said. "Most of the main members are professors at Hogwarts, such as the Potters and Sirius Black."
"Have you found out where their headquarters are Alexander?" Voldemort asked.
"Not yet," Alex said. "I will have to get closer to a member or a child of one of the members."
"Do so," Voldemort said. "Harrison?"
"Father, I have found the diadem," Harry said, grinning crazily.
"Why have you not retrieved it then?" Voldemort asked, his crimson eyes narrowing dangerously.
"First years don't normally go up to the floor it is being kept on. It'll be suspicious if I knew where the Room of Requirement was," Harry said. "I could not risk blowing my cover."
"Very well, I will accept your reasoning for now Harrison, but do not delay the retrieval for much longer," Voldemort said. "The longer it stays in that castle, the closer that old fool gets to finding it."
"Of course, father," Harry said. "I will retrieve it as soon as it will not suspicious for me to be on the seventh floor."
"Good," Voldemort said. "You two are dismissed."
The twins bowed again before leaving the throne room. Harry made a beeline to his lab. Alex followed him.
"Home sweet home!" Harry exclaimed in delight as he opened his lab.
Harry danced around the lab happily, giggling. Alex sighed in irritation.
"You're giving me a headache," he said. "Could you shut up and stay still for five seconds, moron?"
Harry pouted but did as told. He could tell his twin was on edge and anything would make him snap. Alex sank into a nearby chair, rubbing his forehead. His eyes were closed. Harry went over to his shelf of potions. He went through them, the vials making a gentle clinking sound. Harry found the one he was looking for and went over to Alex.
"Alex, open your mouth," Harry said seriously.
Alex looked at him before opening his mouth. Harry poured some of the potion into his brother's mouth. Alex swallowed the potion and sighed in relief as his headache disappeared.
"Better?" Harry asked.
"Much," Alex said. "Makes me glad I haven't killed you yet."
"Love you too Alex," Harry said, grinning. "It's Yule in three days."
"I don't care for that," Alex said.
"Well I do," Harry said. "Go relax in your room Alex. You look exhausted."
Alex stood up and went to the door.
"Alex," Harry called.
Alex paused but didn't turn around.
"On Yule, in the morning, come to my lab," Harry said.
Alex looked at him curiously.
"Why?"
Harry smiled secretively.
"It's a secret~" he sang. "Now go take a nap or something!"
Alex rolled his eyes.
"Follow your own advice. You look worse than me," he said.
"Aww, you do care for me," Harry exclaimed, giggling slightly.
He dodged a hex Alex sent his way as the elder twin left the lab. The door clicked shut and Harry's smile shrank.
"There's no use in hiding it, Alex," he said. "You just hate admitting you legitimately care about someone."
Harry giggled as he turned to his potions equipment.
"Now then, to experiment," he said.
It was morning on Yule Day. Harry was humming as he finished up the last of his gift wrapping. A second later, the door opened. Alex walked in and sagged into a chair.
"Have you been up all three days or something?" Alex asked.
"What can I say? I was on a roll with this one," Harry crowed in glee.
"You're manic," Alex deadpanned.
"No name calling~" Harry said as he turned around.
"When's the last time you slept?" Alex asked. "And why are you so hyper?"
"Fine, I was up for the last three days," Harry said. "I think I drank about five pots of coffee to keep myself awake and all chipper! I feel great!"
"You don't look great," Alex muttered. "You have problems. You could develop Insomnia if you're not careful."
"Nah," Harry denied.
"You're already borderline anorexic. Don't go adding more problems to your list," Alex said. "You'll kill yourself before I get the chance."
"Good! Death sounds great!" Harry exclaimed.
Harry squinted at the corner.
"Is that a snowman waving at me in the corner?" he asked.
"Oookay," Alex said, standing up. "You've reached the point of no return Harry. Time for you to go to bed. You should not be hallucinating."
"I'm not hallucinating. The snowman's waving at me!" Harry said cheerfully, waving at the empty corner. "Oh wait...I think he's trying to say something. Maybe I should offer him tea?"
Alex grabbed Harry by the shoulders.
"Harry, go to sleep," Alex ordered.
"But I haven't given you your present yet," Harry said.
"Shut up and go to sleep!" Alex shouted.
He grabbed Harry by the hair and slammed his twin's head into the table, knocking the younger twin out cold. Alex caught Harry in his arms, sighing in annoyance.
"What a drag..." he muttered. "You're more trouble than it's worth."
Alex dragged his twin to his room, which was connected to the lab. He dumped Harry onto the bed and left, not even bothering to arrange the blankets over the younger twin. He walked back into the lab. He saw the gift still sitting on the counter. He tilted his head and huffed in laughter.
"I'll wait until you wake up Harry," he said. "You can give it properly to me then."
He left the room.
Alex entered the lab that night only to find it empty.
"Still sleeping eh?" he muttered.
He walked into the bedroom. Harry was tangled in the covers, sleeping soundly. Alex raised an eyebrow before going over. He shook his brother. Harry stirred away and his green eyes blinked open.
"Alex?" he asked.
Harry sat up and yawned, stretching.
"Why the bloody hell does my face hurt?" he grumbled.
"Because I knocked you unconscious," Alex said. "I'm leaving soon, so if you want to give your gift to me, it better be now."
"Leaving? For what?" Harry asked, suddenly more awake.
"Father has issued a raid," Alex said. "He assigned me to be part of it. By the time it finishes, it'll already be morning."
Harry sighed and got up. The twin went into the lab.
"You didn't peek, did you?" Harry asked, picking up the neatly wrapped small gift.
"No," Alex said.
"Well...here you go," Harry said, holding out the small gift.
Alex took it and unwrapped it carefully. He opened the small box and saw a single vial of potion within. He took it out and studied the contents. It was a red potion, somehow more vibrant than any other red potion he had ever seen.
"What is this?" Alex asked.
"It is a healing potion, extremely potent," Harry said. "It'll last you a very long time. You only need to consume one drop for it to work. I found a way to incorporate phoenix tears in with other healing ingredients to form this potion. This is the first working batch. Just don't consume too much at one time...it has side effects."
Alex raised an eyebrow at him.
"Side effects?" he asked. "Elaborate."
Harry coughed awkwardly.
"I experimented with the potion on myself and it made me a little...hyper to the point of hallucinations," he said.
"So it wasn't the copious amounts of coffee you drank," Alex stated.
"The coffee probably helped," Harry said. "The point is, don't drink too much. A drop is enough to heal all injuries, no matter what extent. It is in a special container enchanted not to break, so you don't have to worry about that."
"...Thanks," Alex said softly.
Harry blinked in surprise before smiling. Alex never said any words of gratitude. He saw them as a weakness, so whenever he did say those words, Harry cherished them.
"Be careful that you don't let anyone know about this potion Harry," Alex said. "If what you say is true about this potion, Dumbledore will want it."
"I know," Harry said. "But no one would enter my lab willingly except for you Alex. For anyone else to do so, only a painful death awaits them."
"Don't jinx it," Alex said. "Be careful with this stuff."
Harry nodded.
"And before I regret this," Alex said.
Alex flicked his wand and a small package appeared on the counter.
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"Just open it," Alex hissed.
Harry opened it carefully and his eyes widened. A soft dark blue scarf laid in his hands. It looked handmade, but better done than the gray scarf he wore around his neck.
"Alex you...?" Harry asked.
"Shut up," Alex mumbled, blushing slightly. "I was just getting tired of seeing that old thing around your neck all the time."
Harry looked between his brother and the new scarf in shock. He grinned and lunged at Alex. He tackled Alex to the ground in a tight hug.
"GAH! Get off me!" Alex shouted.
Harry squeezed him.
"Thank you Alex!" he exclaimed.
Alex kicked him and flipped their positions, his hands wrapping around Harry's throat. Harry smiled regardless.
"Don't do that again," Alex hissed.
"I forgot how much you hate affection," Harry said, giggling happily.
Alex stood up and Harry got up. He attempted to tame his messy hair to no avail. Harry gave up quickly before turning his attention to the dark blue scarf. He unwrapped the old dark gray scarf from around his neck. Alex's icy blue eyes zeroed in onto the pale jagged white line across Harry's throat. His eyes narrowed slightly but he said nothing. Harry didn't notice his twin staring as he wrapped the new scarf around his neck, effectively hiding the pale line. It was warm and soft. Harry buried his nose into it and sighed happily. He looked at Alex, giving a genuine smile, something very rare for both of them these days.
"Seriously Alex...thank you."
Alex sighed and turned to leave the lab.
"Don't mention it," he muttered almost inaudibly.
Harry heard him anyways.