Two's Company
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am merely borrowing the characters to play with them.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, magically powerful Harry. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing.
"Fawkes!" Minerva blurted out in shock, as the phoenix abducted her grandsons. "Albus?" she then turned to the headmaster. "What did you do, you manipulative old coot? Fawkes would never abduct children if not somehow forced by you."
To her surprise, the headmaster slumped in his seat, putting both hands in front of his face.
"Yes, I was stupid," he admitted. "I forced him, and Fawkes will probably leave me now. How could I be so stupid?" he added in a small bout of weakness.
"Well, you deserve it," Minerva replied, angrily. "Do you want me to put you to court for child abduction this time?" she added, her voice raising to dangerous heights. "I am their magical guardian, and there is no need for you to interfere and decide where they have to spend their holidays – against mine and their wishes at that."
"Your deputy is absolutely correct," Godric Gryffindor spoke up from his portrait. "You should at least lose your position as headmaster for abducting her grandsons."
"I am sorry, Minerva," Albus turned to her in a soft voice, "but you must understand that it's all for the Greater Good. It is important…"
"No!" Minerva harshly interrupted the old wizard. "Your logic is beyond my understanding. I will go and fetch my grandchildren back later today, and together we will decide on any possible reactions. Good day, Albus."
With that, she left the headmaster's office and immediately transformed into her feline form to let off some steam while returning to her quarters.
HP
Leaning against each other, Harry and Henry instructed their magic to take them to Susan and Sandra, knowing that their funny godfather and their Aunt Amelia would be happy to have them stay over the holidays.
The four members of the Black-Bones family were gathered in the living room decorating their Christmas tree, when Harry and Henry appeared right next to them, only to be pulled into bear's hugs by the girls.
"Harry and Henry," Amelia greeted them in apparent surprise. "Where did you come from?"
The twins took turns telling them about their abduction by the headmaster's phoenix.
"We don't want to spend the holidays with the Weasleys though…"
"… May we perhaps stay here?" they then enquired.
"Of course," Amelia and Sirius replied, simultaneously, while the two girls cheered in apparent happiness.
Hearing that they had simply left the Burrow without telling anyone, Amelia headed to the fireplace. "I'll at least inform Minerva," she decided. "Otherwise, she'd be sick with worry."
"Just invite her to spend the holidays together with us," Sirius suggested, grinning.
HP
After putting up a fight with the headmaster, Minerva returned to her rooms with the intention of giving the twins a few hours' time at the Weasleys' before fetching them back home – just in case they might like it there, unexpectedly.
'Oh well, they probably won't even stay there and will return by themselves. I wonder if they'll be able to simply floo back home and how long it's going to take them,' she thought, longingly looking at the fireplace. 'As much mischief as they do, they're really good kids, and I'm already missing them,' she admitted to herself.
She should not have to wait long though. Mere five minutes later, the fireplace flared, and Amelia Black-Bones' head appeared in the flames. "Minerva, we just wanted to let you know that Harry and Henry are here with us," she informed her, only to add, "Why don't you come and stay over Christmas together with them?"
"I will," Minerva replied, giving the younger witch a broad smile. "Thank you so much for the invitation. Just give me a few minutes to pack some things."
First of all, she called Poppy and Theresa and informed them about the matter, only to add, "Please do not tell anyone where I am and that I'm together with the twins. If Molly Weasley informs Albus that the twins are missing, don't tell him otherwise."
"Of course not. Let him worry about them," Poppy promised, shaking her head in apparent annoyance at the headmaster.
"He doesn't deserve otherwise," Theresa added, grimly.
"Please tell Severus, Remus, Pomona and Filius the truth though," Minerva replied, sighing. "I wouldn't want them to worry about the twins."
"Of course, we'll do that," Theresa promised. "Now take care of yourself, Minnie."
Minerva profusely thanked her friends, before she floo called the headmaster.
"Albus, I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving the castle over Christmas, considering that you sent my grandsons away. There are no Gryffindor students remaining for the holidays anyway," she informed him and cut off the connection, before the headmaster could do as much as respond and possibly ask where she intended to go.
HP
Severus was busying himself brewing six experimental potions at once. The other day, when he was brewing the Wolfsbane potion with the assistance of the twins, one of them had suggested exchanging phoenix tears with basilisk eggs. When he had asked them, where they supposed that he could get something extremely rare such as basilisk eggs, they had merely shrugged and suggested asking the Bloody Baron.
Severus valuated the Bloody Baron very much, not just because he was the house ghost of Slytherin, but also because he was very reasonable in contrary to some other most annoying ghosts present in the castle. He also seemed to have a decent knowledge in the area of the fine art of brewing potions.
To his surprise, the Bloody Baron returned to his side a few days later hovering six basilisk eggs in front of him.
"I hope you will put them to good use," he told him, before he left straight through the nearby wall.
As soon as the students had gone home for Christmas, Severus had begun to experiment. He had decided on six variations of the potion, each with differing amounts of basilisk eggs with and without phoenix tears.
When the door to his private lab opened, he groaned in annoyance. He had not even heard a knock. 'What is it now?' he thought. 'Everyone should know by now that I don't tolerate anyone but these twins in my lab, and they've gone away over the holidays.'
Theresa's voice brought him back to reality. "I am sorry to disturb you," she at least apologized. "I came to fetch you for dinner. Please put everything under a status charm and join us in the Great Hall."
Severus grudgingly obeyed, knowing that all six concoctions could be put under a stasis charm at this stage.
"What are you brewing?" Theresa asked, gently.
Severus let out a deep sigh. "It's probably nothing, but a few weeks ago, one of the twins suggested exchanging phoenix tears with basilisk eggs to possibly improve the Wolfsbane potion, and I decided to try it out," he admitted.
"Listening to the ideas of two six-year-olds?" Theresa quipped, chuckling, only to earn a glare from the Potions master.
"You should know as well as I do that they're not simply normal six-year-olds," he replied, matter-of-factly. "They've had good ideas before, and they're at least as brilliant as Lily was at an even older age."
"That's true, Severus. Will you have Remus try it out?" Theresa asked, gently.
"Yes, he promised to try one of the concoctions during the full moon next week," Severus confirmed. "The only problem is to decide which might be the best variation."
"Perhaps you should ask the twins or even the Bloody Baron?" Theresa suggested. "They told me that he's brilliant at Potions."
"I know," Severus replied, pensively, just when they reached the Great Hall.
To his chagrin, the headmaster cornered him, as soon as he had taken his seat at the table.
"Severus, Molly Weasley floo called me earlier and informed me that the twins are gone.
"Gone?" Severus enquired, feigning innocence, as Poppy had informed him about the matter several hours ago.
"I sent them to the Burrow…"
"You did what?" Severus sneered. "I can't believe that the twins agreed to spend the holidays with these imbeciles."
"Actually, they didn't," Theresa spoke up, "but Albus sent them nonetheless."
Severus let out an uncharacteristic snort. "I'm afraid that it would be your fault then, Albus," he replied, matter-of-factly.
"I know," the headmaster admitted. "I suppose that you won't do me the favour and look for them?" he then asked.
"I'm afraid not," Severus refused, "as I am in the middle of an important experimental potion."
HP
"We must be careful," Minerva spoke up, when everyone sat down for dinner at about the same time. "Albus might call you to ask if you know about the twins."
"Let him call us," Sirius quipped. "I've recently installed a background to the fireplace for incoming floo calls, so that even if Albus called, he'd only see the person answering the floo in front of the background, not anyone or anything else."
"Ah, that's a brilliant idea," Minerva acknowledged. "Would it be possible to add such a feature to any fireplace?"
"Yes," Sirius confirmed. "I can easily add it to yours if you wish."
"Yes please," Minerva replied, eagerly.
HP
They were still having dinner, when Albus Dumbledore floo-called the Black-Bones to enquire if they had seen the twins.
"No Headmaster, we haven't seen them," Sirius lied, while Amelia hurriedly cast a silencing spell around the rest of the family, as the two couples of twins could not stop giggling. "Aren't they together with Minerva?" he asked, innocently.
"No, they were supposed to spend their holidays at the Burrow," Dumbledore admitted, causing Sirius to let out a snort.
"Why in the world would they stay with the Weasleys? Don't they have a sufficiently large brood to feed already?" he asked in disbelief, only to add, "Oh well, I have no idea. Please give my regards to Minerva and inform me when you've found them."
"You're really mean," Amelia told him, only to admit, "but a brilliant actor."
"Albus really deserves it this time," Minerva added, sighing. "Thank you, Sirius."
"Thanks for letting us stay here," one of the twins spoke up.
"It's much better here than with all the redheads," the other added.
"We're happy to have you here," the girls replied, simultaneously.
HP
The next time the fireplace flared was in the morning of Christmas Eve, and once again, Sirius headed to accept the call, motioning for everyone to remain quiet. To his relief, it was not the headmaster but Severus Snape.
"I am sorry to disturb you, but would it be possible to step through to speak with the twins please?"
Sirius cast Minerva a questioning look, uncertain if the Potions Master merely wished to spy on them to inform the headmaster.
Seeing Minerva nod, he accepted, opening the fireplace to allow his former classmate to step through.
"Thanks Black," Severus said, as he elegantly stepped out of the fireplace. "Sorry for disturbing you on Christmas Eve morning, but I have an urgent question for Harry and Henry."
"Do we need to help with the Wolfsbane…"
"… or did you try out a new potion for Uncle Moony?" the twins asked, causing Sirius to stare at them in surprise.
The Potions Master smirked. "In fact, I've brewed six possible variations, and the question now is which to try first," he admitted, unfolding a parchment, which he placed onto the table in front of the twins.
"Severus, please sit down and have some tea with us," Amelia invited the man, who, after a glance at his wristwatch, accepted.
The twins remained quiet for the better part of ten minutes. 'If I didn't know that they're only six, I'd suspect that they telepathically communicate with each other,' Sirius thought, looking from them to Severus in expectation.
"What is the potion supposed to do?" he finally asked.
Severus shook his head. "It's just an attempt to improve the Wolfsbane," he informed him.
"Thanks for doing this for Remus," Amelia said, warmly, causing the Slytherin to slightly incline his head.
Finally, the twins seemed to have made up their minds and pointed to one of the recipes on the parchment.
"Either this one…"
"… or the one without any phoenix tears," they spoke up, shrugging.
"Thank you, boys. I'll have him try this one first then," Severus replied, seemingly pleased with their choice. "That would have been my first preference as well," he added in a soft voice.
"Snape, remember that my godsons are only six," Sirius reminded his former nemesis, who returned a smirk.
"They're good for six-year-olds," he stated, before he excused himself and returned to Hogwarts.
HP
To everyone's disappointment and relief at the same time, Remus still transformed during the night, however, kept his mind and was able to simply change back into his human form at free will.
"This is an enormous improvement to the Wolfsbane," he informed Severus and Poppy, when he came into the hospital wing after spending a quiet night in the Shrieking Shack just to be sure that he remained in his human form. "Severus, I don't know how to thank you. This is the best Christmas present I ever received."
To his surprise, his former classmate shook his head. "You're welcome, Lupin, but don't thank me, thank the Potter twins. It was their idea to use basilisk eggs instead of phoenix tears. I don't know where they got the idea, but it was theirs."
"Anyway, you actually brewed the potions, so I thank you as well," Remus replied, smiling. "I believe a visit to see my honorary godsons is in order now."
"Can you wait a moment please?" Severus enquired. "I'd like you to take my Christmas present for the two couples of twins with you."
"Of course," Remus agreed, smiling, feeling happier than he could recall having ever felt before.
HP
The twins grudgingly allowed Padfoot to hug Moony first, before they happily hugged the older wizard, glad to unexpectedly be able to see him on Christmas.
"How come you're here?" Sirius asked in surprise, which the twins full-heartedly shared.
"Severus brewed an advanced version of the Wolfsbane for me, apparently with Harry's and Henry's assistance, and it allowed me to simply transform back into my human form." Turning to them, he added, "Harry and Henry, thank you so much. You and Severus managed to give me the best Christmas present ever."
"You're welcome, Uncle Moony," the twins replied, grinning happily, just before the fireplace flared and two Unspeakables stepped out.
"Grandfather Ra, Uncle Raros!" the twins shouted in excitement, causing Sirius to look from them to the two newcomers with narrowed eyes.
"It's all right dear," Amelia told him in a soothing voice. "I've invited them to spend Christmas with us."
"Who are you?" Sirius asked, bluntly, glaring at the Unspeakables. "Grandfather?" he mouthed in the twins' direction.
"Meli, will you please take his wand away?" Ra quipped, and Sandra quickly pulled Sirius' wand out of the back pocket of his jeans.
"What a place to keep your wand," Raros sighed, dramatically, before he pulled down his hood at the same time as his grandfather.
"Is that a joke?" Sirius enquired, sounding very upset. "Grandfather? Regulus?" he asked, incredulously.
"Sorry it took us so long to reveal ourselves," the older wizard apologized.
Sirius shrugged. "Oh well, let's just hope that you had good reasons for it," he replied, matter-of-factly.
"The main point being that you let yourself be thrown into Azkaban," Regulus pointed out, rolling his eyes at his older brother.
"I had to assume that you were both dead," Sirius replied, glaring at the two Unspeakables, before he turned to Amelia, wearing a concerned expression. "Are they really who they appear to be?"
His wife nodded, smiling.
"Padfoot…"
"… We like Grandfather Ra and Uncle Raros…"
"… so don't be upset," Harry and Henry told their godfather, whose expression lightened some.
"You're right," he admitted, nodding his head in agreement.
"We're all happy to have you here, and I suggest that we head to the living room and look for presents," Amelia spoke up, smiling.
"Yes, presents," Susan and Sandra cheered and ran ahead with Harry and Henry following on their heels.
HP
Hours later, when everyone had unwrapped their presents and was engrossed with their new books, toys or whatever they had received for Christmas, a phoenix appeared in a bright flash.
"Fawkes?" Minerva blurted out, alarmed.
The phoenix nodded and apologetically inclined his head. At least, Harry and Henry took it as an apology.
The phoenix hovered in front of them and trilled a soothing melody, before he directly spoke to them.
#I am sorry for what I did to you earlier. The old, grumpy one forced me to abduct you, and I could not help it,# he explained with soft trills. #I was not able to fight him. Do you understand me?#
"Yes…"
"… we can understand you," the twins replied.
"… And we accept your apology," they added, simultaneously.
#Would you be willing to bond with me?# Fawkes enquired. #After what the old, grumpy one did to me, I cannot well remain his familiar. As you might know, phoenixes are light and not grey.#
The twins exchanged a look, before they replied.
"Listen Fawkes,…"
"… right now…"
"… we don't want to bond with you."
Fawkes let out a sad melody.
"Sorry Fawkes," Harry added.
"But we will think about it," Henry continued.
"We suggest…"
"… that you remain Dumbledore's phoenix…"
"… however, adequately punish him…"
"… for what he did to you and us."
The phoenix straightened his head. #That I will do,# he agreed, before he trilled a happy melody, which sounded outright mischievous to the twins' ears, and flashed away in a bright flame.
tbc...
Thank you for your kind comments on the previous chapter. Please tell me what you thought about this chapter and what you expect from this story. My muse appreciates the feedback.
Next chapter "Tales".