Chapter 30
"Alex! Harry!"
The twins turned around in unison when they heard Hermione's call. It was end of their third year and they had just boarded the train to go back to London.
"Come sit with us," Hermione said, catching up to them.
Alex and Harry looked at each other.
"Sure," Harry said, smiling kindly. "Every other compartment is probably already full by now."
The twins followed Hermione to a compartment towards the middle of the train. Eric and Ron were already there. Hermione closed the door behind them and locked it with a spell muttered under her breath.
"So, you guys have plans for this summer?" Eric asked.
"Go home, do homework," Alex said.
"That's it?" Ron asked. "No fun or anything?"
"Well...none that I can think of," Alex said, frowning thoughtfully.
Of course he couldn't mention that he was probably going to go on raids during the summer on his father's command. Harry chuckled lightly.
"We don't get out much," he said.
"How about spending some of the summer with us?" Hermione asked.
"What do you mean by that?" Alex asked.
Hermione glanced around and then casted a silencing spell over the compartment.
"You two have been welcomed into the Order's headquarters," she said.
The twins blinked.
"Headquarters?" Harry asked. "You mean...?"
"Yep," Hermione said, smiling. "Granted, the others weren't very happy that we told you without asking them first, but Dumbledore said he would let you into the headquarters. He knows you don't have a very good home life. You won't be attending any meetings or learning any sensitive information though."
"You'll be in the same situation as us basically," Ron said. "We're too young to be included in the meetings, but we're still there in the same building as the Order."
Harry snorted.
"Anything beats being home with the parents," he muttered.
Alex sighed.
"We have to at least tell them so they don't panic and call the Aurors," he said. "But if we tell them we're staying at a friend's house temporarily, they won't be able to stop us since they don't know which friend. I'll send a letter."
"How long are we welcome for?" Harry asked.
"For as long as you want to stay really," Eric said. "As long as you don't do anything suspicious, you can stay as long as you want."
"Nice," Harry said. "Thanks guys; we really appreciate this. It'll be nice to not stay cooped up at the house all summer."
"Sure," Hermione said, smiling happily.
They were greeted by Lily, James, and Sirius at the train station.
"Alex, Harry, good to see you again," Lily said, smiling kindly.
"Likewise," Alex said, nodding in greeting.
"Let's get going," Sirius said. "Everyone else is expecting us."
They Apparated out of there and landed in a muggle street. Sirius pulled out a slip of paper and held it out to the twins.
"Read that and commit it to memory," he said.
Alex took the paper and held it up so both he and Harry could read it. As soon as they read the single sentence, the building began to shift, revealing an entirely different building in between. The small group went into the house.
"Welcome to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, ancestral home of the Black family," Sirius said with a fancy gesture. "This is where I grew up. It's now the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."
Alex admitted to himself that it was impressive.
"The entire place is under a Fidelius spell with Dumbledore as the Secret Keeper. It's got every safety measure you can think of," Sirius continued. "Really, it's the ideal place for a headquarters."
"Yes, it is," Harry agreed.
Molly Weasley came out a room.
"Welcome back, all of you!" she exclaimed.
She caught sight of Alex and Harry.
"And you two must be Alex and Harry Evans," Molly said, smiling widely. "Albus told us all about you two. We're happy to have you for as long as you want to stay, all right?"
She began fussing over them.
"You two are far too skinny! I'll get you something to eat." she said, already leaving to the kitchen.
"I'll go help her," Lily said. "Any requests?"
"I'm vegan," Alex said.
"Vegan?" Lily asked, looking surprised.
"He hates meat and dairy," Hermione answered for him. "And Harry doesn't eat much to begin with."
"I eat when I want to," Harry said.
"Yeah, that's not often enough," Hermione said.
"Just give him a bloody steak and he'll eat it," Alex said, sighing.
"Bloody...?" James asked, looking slightly queasy.
Harry hummed and smiled at the thought of his favorite food.
"It's the only thing he'll eat. Other than that, he'll just drink tea," Alex said.
"All right," Lily said, frowning. "I'll tell Molly."
She went into the room they now knew was the kitchen.
"Everyone else will be coming later," Sirius said. "How about we take you two for a tour around the house?"
"We'll do it," Eric said.
"Good idea," James said, smiling once more. "Although be sure to stay out of the more dangerous rooms."
"Dangerous?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, this is a house of the Black family," Sirius said. "We were known for supporting the Dark side...not me though. We have some dark artifacts and books that I haven't cleaned out yet, so be careful of anything you touch."
"Will do," Eric said. "Come on, you two."
The twins followed the trio up the stairs. After a twenty minute tour, they entered a bedroom with four beds.
"You'll be staying here with Ron and I," Eric said. "Hermione's staying with Ginny in another room. We'll leave you to set up for now."
"Mum will probably call for you when food's ready," Ron said.
The trio left. Alex and Harry glanced at each other. Harry flicked his hand at one bed and set it up simply. Alex did the same. Alex then set up a silencing spell.
"Any clue where the locket could be?" he asked.
"I expected this place to be big, so no, I don't have a clue," Harry said. "But we have the entire summer to search and I'm sure I'll find something soon enough."
Harry let Hedwig out of her carrier. The black cat meowed and stretched before leaping up onto Harry's bed, settling down quickly.
"Lazy cat," Harry muttered.
"I'm surprised she's still alive with your track record with animals," Alex said.
"Yeah, well, she's lucky she's cute," Harry grumbled.
"Father won't be very happy that we did this without informing him," Alex said. "He does know about this, right?"
"I probably mentioned it to him earlier on; I don't remember," Harry said, shrugging.
"We're going to get cursed for this," Alex muttered unhappily.
"But if we come back with the locket, he'll be happier," Harry said, holding up a finger.
"He thinks we know only about two of his Horcruxes, not all seven of them," Alex said. "He already doesn't trust us, and he trusts you even less. I'll most likely get off lightly because finding the Horcruxes isn't my mission."
"I know about his Horcruxes, but I don't know how they're made yet," Harry said. "I plan on finding out though."
Alex narrowed his eyes.
"Don't tell me you're-
"Nothing of the sort," Harry cut him off. "I have no intention of destroying my soul like father did to his. I'm not driven to find immortality..."
Alex stared at him for several long seconds before looking away.
"I know you're still hiding something from me," he said. "But I'll let it go for now."
"I assure you, brother, I am keeping nothing from you as of this moment," Harry said. "I have no intention of making a Horcrux of my own."
Alex frowned in suspicion.
"Then why do you want to know how they're made?" he asked.
"Call it a curiosity," Harry said.
There was a knock on the door. Alex brought down the silencing spell quickly but carefully.
"Food's ready," Ron's voice sounded through the door. "Come down and eat before it's gone."
"We'll be right there," Harry called.
Harry looked at his older twin brother.
"Let's go then~" he purred.
Alex sighed but stood up to follow Harry out of the room. Hedwig's head lifted and watched the twins leave. She yawned and laid her head on her paws, golden eyes closing.