A/N: The title's not a typo, it's me being a punny smart-ass. Again, your feedback has been kind and gracious. Thank you so much!
As per usual, Harry and Ron's room looked as though a small, recalcitrant hurricane had whipped through it. Hermione was sprawled across Harry on his bed. She had laid her head on his chest and was fidgeting slightly. Harry's chest rumbled under her in a chuckle.
"What's bothering you, love?" he asked. His voice was getting deeper, she noticed idly, storing the information away for later.
Hermione thought for a minute. Could she tell Harry about her relationship with Fred and George? Did she have the right to do so? Maybe not the bond, that was sort of heavy. Guess what Harry? I got married when I was five! That seemed the way of screaming and recriminations, and nobody could scream or make you feel guilty as hell quite like Harry Potter. She'd already had one round of that when he'd arrived and she wasn't quite ready for another. She sighed heavily.
"I'm in a relationship," she muttered to his chest. He looked at her. She could feel his green eyes piercing through her layers of protection.
"Who?" He asked cautiously.
"The twins," she muttered to his chest again. Refusing to look at him was a sort of subtle rebellion because Harry's eyes saw everything.
"Ah," he said, and there was a wealth of knowledge in that ah. He seemed to relax under her cheek.
"You're okay with that?" She asked curiously. Harry chuckled under her cheek again.
"Love, you've been in a relationship with the twins since first year," Harry said, amusement in his voice.
"No, Harry, I mean I'm dating them," Hermione said, irritation coloring her tone. Harry seemed surprised.
"What, the both of them?" He asked curiously.
"Well, yes," she said with a shrug. She echoed Ginny. "Which one of them would I leave out?"
"Huh," Harry said to himself. "I suppose that's true. Either George or Fred would be terribly hurt if you only dated the other. They are sort of a package deal, aren't they?"
"It's not common, but it is a normal thing to have happen in the wizarding world. I have a rather impressive volume on the history of different types of bonds by Bathilda Bagshot. Do you want to borrow it?" Hermione offered slyly.
"Er, no, that's fine," Harry said in a slightly panicky voice. "I'm sure it's a great book, but I'll take your word for it."
"I just…I wanted you to know. I don't know how open we'll end up being at school," Hermione said thoughtfully. Harry snorted.
"The twins have done everything but brand you on the forehead," Harry said dryly. "That's why Krum was the only one stupid enough to try and ask you to the Yule Ball. It shocked a lot of people when they went with Johnson and Bell. I believe the girls thought it would be funny to prank them."
"That might be part of it, but they've liked the twins for years," Hermione said with a small smile. She'd watched the girls try to flirt with Fred and George, and fail miserably, for years now.
"Hmm. You know, I think Dean Thomas was taking bets on whether or not Krum was going to live long enough to complete all the tasks. If looks could kill, he would have died several times over just at the Yule Ball." Harry teased her gently. Hermione smacked him on the chest. Then she stilled, and he knew her thoughts had taken a different track. "Hermione?"
"I was so worried about you," she confessed in a small voice. "Sirius was furious with Mundungus, they all were, but I thought they might actually let Sirius choke him to death."
"Who, the Order?" Harry asked in surprise. Hermione nodded against his chest.
"Yes. You have to remember who all belongs to it, Harry. All the Weasleys who are old enough: Arthur, Molly, Bill and Charlie. And of course there's Remus, Sirius, McGonagall and Dumbledore. There are others as well, but well they don't know you personally." Hermione said quietly. Harry put his arms around her briefly and gave her a tight hug. It felt comforting, safe, loving. She snuggled against him for a moment.
"I'm not sad about it at all. It meant I was able to come see Sirius and spend some time with him this summer. I missed him, you know?" Harry's voice was rough with emotion. Hermione sat up next to him and looked at him for a moment.
"I do," she said quietly. "He missed you, too. I tried to hug him, the way I would you, but I think I just made him nervous. Harry, you know that I care for you," Hermione said a little uncertainly. Harry paled and sat up.
"Uh, Hermione, I care about you, too, but…um…like a sister," he blurted out and flinched as though she were going to hex him. Hermione laughed at him.
"I know how you feel, Harry, trust me," she said dryly. His affection never bothered the bond, or made her ill. According to Bathilda Bagshot, their magic was mostly likely highly compatible, and most likely had meshed in the way of family. "I can prove it, even."
"Really?" He asked curiously. That would be interesting, a way to prove how people felt. She nodded at him.
"Wanna see?" She teased him. He found himself nodding back. She pulled out her wand.
"Familia cordis exhibeo." She said clearly and distinctly. A subtle warm glow had settled around them. Harry could see soror flash briefly every time he glanced at Hermione in the right way. She smiled at him.
"It says frater, every time I look at you." She said happily.
"What was that spell?" Harry asked curiously. Hermione looked pleased with herself.
"It shows your heart's family." She said with satisfaction. He smiled back at her.
"So it means you're my sister?" He said in surprise. Hermione shook her head.
"It means I'm the sister of your heart. There's a spell to make me your sister, but you'd have to make me a Potter." Hermione teased him with a smile. Her smile faltered at the happy expression on his face.
"That would be kind of cool," he said softly. Hermione blinked.
"Harry, it's a very serious spell. It would be a legally binding magical contract. It's not something you should take lightly." Hermione explained nervously. "It's not like the muggle world where you could claim that you're underage. If you can do the magic, and the magic forms the bond, you're done."
"Would it be so bad to be Hermione Potter?" He asked sadly. Hermione blinked.
"Well, no, of course not, Harry." She said softly. "It might cause some issues at Hogwarts. Can you imagine the backlash if I'm officially listed on everything as Hermione Potter? The first thing anyone would assume is that we're married. Heaven help you if the twins assume you're my husband before asking either of us."
"Er, that might not be good," he agreed faintly. He knew for a fact that Fred and George could be jealous and possessive, and if they thought he'd gone and married their spitfire behind their back…well, his life would become exceedingly interesting to say the least. Hermione smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek. Then she stood up.
"I promised Mrs. Weasley I'd help her in the kitchen," Hermione said with a fond smile for the older woman. "Why don't you go find Sirius? He's probably playing chess with Ron."
F/H/G/F/H/G
"Oh, come on, spitfire, you know we were just having one over on ickle Ronniekins," Fred wheedled. The intense glare he received made him turn to George for support.
"We're actually very proud of you," George said quietly. "It's not our thing, mind you, but we know it's yours."
"You could have fooled me," she muttered, still refusing to look at either one of them. "You didn't say a single thing to me at the party your Mum threw for us."
"We were conducting a business transaction," Fred said weakly. "Harry was helping us."
"Hmph. He's not high on my list at the moment either," she said darkly.
"What's he done?" They asked in surprise. She shrugged.
"I think he's a bit miffed about the whole thing," she said finally with a sigh.
"Come here, spitfire," George said in a husky voice, and against her better judgment, she allowed him to pull her against his chest. Fred's strong hands were kneading the muscles in her back, and she allowed herself to relax.
When Fred kissed the back of her neck, she shivered, and she could feel his lips curving into a smile against her skin. Git. He pressed another kiss where her neck met her shoulder and she gasped. George kissed her lips then, teasing her with his tongue. She sighed into his mouth and he made a sort of moaning noise when she pressed against him. Fred, evil man that he was, had not stopped paying attention to the very sensitive skin on her back. He lightly raked his short nails up her spine while he nibbled on her neck. She pulled back from George slightly to arch her back and her eyes rolled back slightly. She shivered again, and Fred bit into the tender flesh of her shoulder. She gave a low, throaty moan that stopped both boys in their tracks. They looked at her with glazed eyes, and she felt a flare of lust so strong that she was glad she was sitting down. They all moved toward one another at the same time, but there was a knock at their door.
"Fred? George? Are you two in there?" Bill's deep voice came through the door. All three of them blinked and stared at one another, their eyes still slightly glazed.
"Er, yeah, Bill. What can we do for you?" Fred asked in a slightly thick voice.
"Are you okay?" Bill asked in surprise. He opened the door and stared at the three of them for a moment. The twins were sitting on the bed sort of curled around Hermione who was leaning against one of them for support. They all looked sort of flushed, and Hermione's bruised lips and the obvious bite mark on her shoulder made it quite clear what they had been up to. They stared back, and Hermione could feel her face burning. "Ah, er, well, um, Mum needs you two. Sorry."
"We'll be right down," George muttered with a distracted air, staring at Hermione. She shook her head at him slightly, and he sighed heavily. "Give us just a minute, Bill, yeah?"
"Oh! Uh, yeah," Bill muttered and went out into the hall. He left the door open, though, because he wasn't about to let them continue whatever it was they'd been up to. He flushed slightly. When the twins came out a minute later, looking a little flushed and their eyes still a bit glassy he strongly repressed a grin. "You guys are being careful, right?"
"Don't be an ass, Bill," One of them said with a glare. "We've been disgustingly careful. We've got the hour long cold showers to prove it."
"We should receive some sort of medal," the other muttered with a backward glance toward their room. Bill snorted.
"I doubt Mum will agree, especially if she sees that bite mark on Hermione's neck," he said dryly. One of the twins flushed, and Bill assumed it was the perpetrator. He grinned to himself. "Although, it might make for lively dinner conversation."
"Shut it, you," they told him darkly.
F/H/G/F/H/G
Free reign in the Black family library allowed Hermione access to a variety of books that Hogwarts didn't have, or if it did they were most likely in the restricted section. She spent many happy hours sorting through dusty, ancient tomes until she found one that made her pause. The Magic of Triads by Damocles Diggle seemed familiar somehow in its heavy weight. She hefted it for a moment and frowned as some sort of memory teased at the edge of her consciousness. She moved to a nearby chair and started leafing through it carefully. She was partway through the book when she turned to a specific page and stopped. Her fingers traced the manuscript decorations at the top and bottom of the page. She took off her bracelet and held her wrist against the page to make sure, even though she already knew. It matched. She put her bracelet back on and held the book up so that she could read the page carefully.
The bonding of a triad is something that must be done with particular care, as the triad itself is a powerful force of magic in our world. The magic of a triad has been used as a focal catalyst for Great Works of a significant nature for centuries, but the bond itself must not be forged with only these Greater Works as its focus. If one wishes a True Bond, one must secure three witches or wizards or a mix thereof who are each the other's soul's mate. While twins are more prone to forming triads, this is not necessarily the case. It might be that three disparate souls belong one to the other. This spell is therefore not concerned so much with Great Works as with uniting witches and wizards with their soul's mates.
Hermione read through the information carefully, and what she found frightened her. Triads were incredibly powerful, able to perform magics most people couldn't attempt because they were able to support and lend focus to one another. As a result, they were sought after and manipulated by dark wizards on a regular basis. It was one of the reasons that they were so rare. Gideon and Fabian's deaths took on a terrifying significance. Their third was dead, she knew that by reading into what Remus and Sirius had said. Had Gideon and Fabian died protecting her? The spell the boys had performed, that she had performed as well because it clearly said that all three participants must say the spell together, was innocuous by itself. However, if others discovered them—what they were to one another—Voldemort would most likely want them quite badly. Hermione had just realized a very strong personal reason for wanting He-who-must-not-be-named gone forever. She was shaking with fear, her face pale and her eyes staring.
"Hermione?" Remus could smell her sudden fear. She looked at him, terrified and her shaking grew worse. Fred and George apparated into the library and, ignoring everyone, went to her with concern. Fred looked at the book in her lap and was surprised.
"Hey! You found it!" He said cheerfully, but his smile dropped when he saw her face.
"What's wrong, spitfire?" George asked urgently.
"You, we," she whispered, her eyes staring at something she couldn't see.
"We what? What's wrong?" Fred asked, kneeling by her side.
"He killed them," she whispered. "If he finds out, he'll kill us, too."
"What are you talking about, Hermione," Remus asked with a frown. Hermione jerked suddenly as if she had forgotten that he was there. She looked from him to Sirius and then to Fred and George.
"Nothing," Hermione said in a strained voice. Remus could smell her fear, but he could sense that she was trying to throttle it down, make it harder to sense.
"You know Hermione, it's impossible for an amateur like you to lie to the four of us," Sirius said with a smirk. Fred and George smirked slightly at that as well.
"Fine. Everything is wrong and I'm going to die, probably a horribly painful, gruesome death," Hermione said flatly. Fred and George blanched.
"That's not funny, spitfire," George said hoarsely. She frowned at him.
"We need to talk," she said in that same, flat voice. Fred and George frowned at her and then at one another.
"Fine. Let's go upstairs," they muttered and led her from the room.
"Trouble in paradise?" Sirius asked Remus after the three teenagers filed out of the room. Remus shook his head.
"No, she was terrified. Something's bothering her, and she wants to talk to them about it, but she doesn't want us listening in," Remus said thoughtfully, wishing she hadn't taken the book with her. He would like to know what had upset her so much.
Fred and George sat on George's bed and eyed her warily as she paced back and forth in front of them. She was muttering under her breath and wringing her hands. They could feel the fear that still dogged her, and the bond pulled them toward her, but they stayed on the bed.
"Spitfire, what is going on?" They asked finally.
"We are in huge trouble," she said finally, stopping and staring at them. She explained everything that she'd read, and what she'd gleaned from reading between the lines. She even mentioned her suspicions regarding their late uncles.
"They took out five death eaters before they went down," she said earnestly. "I'm sure they were brilliant fighters, and I'm sure they were fighting for their lives, but that kind of tenacity hints at them protecting something."
"Her," they said softly, staring at Hermione, understanding dawning in those warm chocolate eyes. They glanced at one another uneasily. They knew they'd lay down their lives gratefully if it meant their spitfire would be safe.
"They were killed for their potential. They hadn't even formed the bond yet. We have, so we're going to be in even more danger—if they find out," Hermione said fretfully.
"I bet," Fred said thoughtfully, "I bet they wanted to do the Greater Battle Magics. No one can do those anymore, there's no one strong enough, and it usually required a bonded group to support the wielder. That's why they waited for her. They wanted her to fully consent, understanding everything they were asking her to do. Wow."
"I would bet that the Order suggested it. The first war…it was going really badly, spitfire. That's one of the reasons everyone treats Harry the way they do. He saved us all. After their potential triad was wiped out, they must have been devastated. They didn't have the dark creatures that You-know-who commanded, they were really vulnerable." George said slowly.
"Greater Battle Magic? How do you guys know about this stuff? No, don't tell me, it's because you're pureblood," Hermione groused. Fred and George shrugged.
"Sorry, spitfire. We're just culturally advantaged?" Fred offered with a shrug. She wrinkled her nose at him.
"I don't think that's even a word," she said.
"Look, no one knows, right?" George said. Hermione thought guiltily about Ginny, but Ginny would never do anything that would risk her brothers.
"I think your Mum suspects," she whispered. Fred and George discounted that immediately.
"She sees the potential. She doesn't realize the bond is already there," Fred said firmly.
"I suppose," Hermione said quietly. "But—"
"No buts, Hermione," George said just as firmly. "You're safe, we're not going to let anything happen to you, and that's that."
They got off the bed at that point and pulled her down with them. They held her until the fear ebbed and their bond stopped tugging. She sighed and leaned against Fred. She reached out for George's hand and he threaded his fingers through hers.
"It'll be fine," Fred whispered, kissing the top of her head.