Vanessa woke early the next morning. She was still so mad about the events that had transpired the night before that she didn't even want to see the twins. She grabbed some clothes from her trunk and went to find the bathroom. She showered and changed, opting to let her hair air dry.
She went down to the kitchen, where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were talking with Charlie. The three looked up when they heard her enter.
"I'm sorry, I can come back later."
"Don't be silly, dear. Sit down, and I'll make you a cup of tea. Charlie is just getting ready to head back to Romania.
Vanessa was a little disappointed by the news, and it showed on her face.
"Don't worry, Nessa. I'll be back for the holidays. Going to be weird not having you around the place anymore."
"This Order work isn't going to be as fun as working with the dragons either."
Mrs. Weasley returned a moment later with a cup of Earl Grey tea, which she set down in front of Vanessa.
"You two seem to have gotten along well while you were there then," Mrs. Weasley asked.
They both nodded. So much had happened in that month, and she wanted to savor the memories. She and Charlie grew closer as friends that summer, and she would be forever grateful for that.
"Well, I best be off. Mum, Dad, it was great seeing you again. Nessa, good luck." Charlie hugged both of his parents and then Vanessa.
"I'll walk you out."
The two walked to the door in silence. "Thank you again for everything, Charlie. It meant a lot. And ignore any hateful mail your brothers might be sending your way."
Charlie raised an eyebrow and looked at her curiously. Before he could ask what happened, she rolled her eyes.
"They slipped Veritaserum into my tea last night. I told them everything."
"Those prats don't know when to stop."
She just shrugged and hugged him again.
"I'll see you soon then."
"Yeah, see you soon." He kissed her on the cheek before turning around and leaving the house.
She walked back to the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley had started to make breakfast. She sipped on her tea, asking if she could help with anything.
"Not with breakfast, but we've been cleaning the house and would love some help with that when you're finished with breakfast. We think there's a Boggart in the drawing-room upstairs. We're going to have Moody take a look tonight to be sure."
"If it is, I would be more than happy to take care of it."
"Thank you, dear. We would appreciate that."
Mrs. Weasley waved her wand, and a plate of food appeared in front of Vanessa and Mr. Weasley.
"Did you settle in last night? I know it's not home."
"Yes, thank you."
She didn't want to talk about what the twins had done. She didn't even want to think about it. Cleaning the house would be the perfect way to avoid the twins that day, or so she thought.
With a faint pop, both boys Apparated behind her and took a seat on either side of her, their mother setting plates of food down in front of them.
"Thanks, Mum," they said in unison.
"Since you're both up, you can help Vanessa with cleaning the drawing-room. Since you know what needs to be gotten rid of and what can stay."
They just nodded and proceeded to eat their food. She felt so uncomfortable and wanted to hex the two on the spot. When she finished eating, she got up and took her plate and teacup to the sink, and thanked Mrs. Weasley for breakfast.
She hadn't explored the house at all the night before, so she opted to look around. Anywhere was better than where the twins were. Upon talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley that morning, she found that the screaming picture in the hallway had been Sirius' mother. The portrait would come to life anytime a loud noise was made.
Entering what she suspected to be the drawing-room, she looked around. She heard the desk in the corner shaking and realized that was what Mrs. Weasley assumed must have been a Boggart. She took out her wand, lit the lamps in the dark room, and started looking at all the artifacts. She could tell some of them had possessed dark magic.
"That's some of what we've got to get rid of," a voice said behind her.
She turned to see George had just entered the room, standing several feet away from her and looking cautious.
"If you tell me everything that needs to be disposed of, I can do it myself. I don't need your help or Fred's."
He started to walk closer to her.
"Nessa, we never meant to upset you. We just wanted to know what was going on with you. We hadn't heard from you in over a month, and then you just showed up here."
"So you slip me some Veritaserum? If I wanted to tell you things, I would have. But you don't need to know everything. I knew me seeing Viktor again would bother you. I knew telling you Charlie shared my bed would upset you. That's why I wasn't going to tell you. I'm sure you two don't tell me everything you do."
"Vanessa, come on, we feel terrible about this."
"Then where's Fred with his apology? Or are you here to speak for the both of you like usual?"
"That's not true."
She twirled her wand between her fingers, so tempted to hex him.
"Sure, Georgie."
He closed the space between them, taking her free hand in his. She could see in his eyes that he was genuinely sorry. But she couldn't forgive him that easily.
"Just show me what needs to be taken care of, please." She spoke calmly, not wanting to cause an outburst, and wake the portrait of Mrs. Black, let alone the whole household.
George dropped her hand and pointed at the cupboards.
"Sirius doesn't care much about this stuff, so it can all be thrown out. Mum wants the cobwebs cleaned and anything that can be done to the carpets and furniture to make the place look a little less frightening. I'll go get you some bags for the garbage."
Vanessa took out her wand and waved it several times in multiple directions while George left the room. Fred had been standing right outside with the bags in his hands.
"So she doesn't want our help?"
"Doesn't want anything to do with us more like it. I told you we shouldn't have used the Veritaserum on her. You can bring her those. I think if she sees me again, she might hex me."
Fred nodded and walked into the room. Vanessa had already cleaned all of the dust off the shelves in the cabinets holding all the Black family valuables.
"Don't bother speaking to me, Fred. I have nothing to say to you. Just leave the bags on the couch."
"We really are sorry." But he left it at that. He set the bags down where she had asked and stalked out of the room and after his brother.
Time seemed to fly by. She had four bags of garbage from everything she had cleaned out of the cabinets. Thankful for her magic, she didn't have to touch some of the items, worried they could be cursed. She had cleaned the carpet and furniture in the room, dusted all the surfaces, and cleaned the walls of the thick dust that had previously lay upon them.
When Mrs. Weasley walked into the room several hours later, she gasped.
"Vanessa, you've made more of an improvement in one room than the rest of the kids have since they've been here."
She turned to Mrs. Weasley and smiled.
"My pleasure. Let me know if there is anything else you need me to clean. And I think you're right about the Boggart in the drawer."
"Dear, you should go upstairs and get cleaned up. You've got more dust on your clothes and hair than the walls did when you first started. Lunch will be ready soon." She laughed and ushered her out of the room and up the stairs.
Vanessa did as she was told, and when she was finished with her second shower of the day, she went back into her room and pulled out a book from her trunk to read. She had just sat down on the chair in her room when Hermione and Ginny walked in.
"What happened with the twins?" Ginny asked, sitting on the couch next to where Vanessa was seated. Hermione followed, sitting next to Ginny.
Knowing she couldn't keep much from the two girls, she proceeded to tell them what the twins had done the night before and what she had told them. Their eyes were both wide with shock when she finished the story.
"They could have hurt you if the potion wasn't made properly," Hermione stated.
"Those two just never learn, do they?" Ginny questioned.
"Don't worry about it, Gin. I'm just not talking to them right now. I'm sure I'll get over it eventually. It's just irritating, is all."
They continued to talk until Harry and Ron had come to get them for lunch. When they walked into the kitchen, Fred and George were already eating. Remus and Sirius were also there. Vanessa sat between Ginny and Hermione, and the trio continued their discussion from upstairs.
Once lunch was finished, Mrs. Weasley sent everyone but Vanessa back to work, claiming she had already done enough for the day. Vanessa insisted she could do more, but Mrs. Weasley wasn't hearing any of it.
She went back to her bedroom and started the book she hadn't been able to earlier. She must have read for several hours, because around six o'clock, Mrs. Weasley was knocking on her door to let her know dinner was ready.
When she came down to the kitchen, Moody, Kingsley, and Tonks had come to join everyone for dinner. The only open seat at the table was currently between Fred and Moody, so she took it. She ate in silence, occasionally talking to Moody about being an Auror.
Moody had confirmed that it was indeed a Boggart in the drawing-room. Lupin had offered to take care of it, but Vanessa once again said she would deal with it. No one seemed to object.
Fred had leaned over to her during dessert and looked concerned.
"Doesn't your Boggart turn into your Dad? Do you really want to see that?"
"Yes, it does, but I want to help out while I'm here. And a Boggart is easy enough to get rid of."
Once everyone finished eating, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny went upstairs to their rooms, while everyone else remained in the kitchen for some tea. Vanessa had excused herself to take care of the Boggart.
When she had learned about Boggarts in her third year, her Boggart had taken the shape of her father. But she wasn't young and naive anymore to let it bother her. She didn't even stop to think about it taking the shape of something else.
She approached the shaking desk cautiously and opened the drawer. Vanessa held her wand in her hand, waiting to see the figure of her father, but it never appeared. Instead, there on the floor lay the lifeless body of her brother, just as he had looked the day he was killed, but then it changed. George was lying in front of her dead before Fred took his place. Then her brother returned. And it kept switching between the three.
Vanessa screamed, tears streaming down her face as she looked upon the dead bodies of the people she loved the most.
"Make it stop, please make it stop," she yelled. She moved to the corner of the room, the bodies of Cedric, Fred, and George following her, until she collapsed. "No, please."
Lupin came into the room, followed by the twins and Mrs. Weasley, who had gasped at the sight of her son's bodies on the floor. The bodies vanished, and a full moon appeared.
"Riddikulus," Lupin spoke clearly, and the Boggart vanished.
The twins went to her side, holding her and trying to calm her down. But she couldn't stop seeing their dead bodies flash before her eyes. Lupin leaned down in front of her and offered her a piece of chocolate. Did he always carry this stuff around? She wondered. She took it from him, taking a bite between sobs.
"Mrs. Weasley, I'm so sorry. You didn't need to see that. No one needed to see that. My Dad, I thought it would be my Dad again. I'm sorry."
She was barely audible between crying and trying to eat her chocolate.
The twins had finally gotten her to her feet, George with an arm around her and Fred holding her hand. Mrs. Weasley looked at her with sad eyes, as if she understood. Little did Vanessa know that Mrs. Weasley's Boggart was similar to her own. The matriarch of the Weasley family's Boggart took the shape of her husband, all of her children, and Harry, all of whom appeared dead. Thankfully that was not the real case.
"Get her up to her room, both of you. I'll make some tea to help calm her down."
Fred and George nodded at their mother.
"I'll bring more chocolate for her," Lupin said, following Mrs. Weasley.
The picture of Mrs. Black had come to life, but someone quickly took care of her. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came into the room, looking worried.
"What happened?" Ginny asked, looking from Vanessa to her brothers.
Vanessa was still crying, holding onto both boys for dear life.
"Let's get you back to your room, Nessa," George whispered in her ear. But she still couldn't move. Instead, he picked her up, cradling her in his arms. Her hand left Fred's, and George left the room with her.
Ginny blocked Fred from leaving.
"What the bloody hell did you two do to her now?"
"It was the Boggart Gin. It used to be her Dad, but it's not anymore. She saw Cedric the night he was killed, and then George and I, dead. Our bodies kept switching with one another. It was a bit frightening."
He pushed past his sister to follow George.
When they got to her room, Gorge put Vanessa on her bed. She had curled up into the fetal position, not looking at either of them. She just continued to apologize.
George sat on the bed next to her, rubbing her back, trying to help calm her down. Mrs. Weasley appeared moments later, carrying a tray with a pot of tea and chocolate, which she sat on the nightstand.
As if silently speaking amongst themselves, the twins left the room, closing the door behind them. Mrs. Weasley took George's spot.
"There, there dear, it's going to be alright."
She felt like a child. All this worry because she couldn't get it together and take out a Boggart. She was so disappointed in herself but still haunted by the sight she saw. What if that was the future? She had already lost her brother. What if she lost the twins too? What if she never got the chance to tell George she loved him. She sat up and hugged Mrs. Weasley, crying onto her shoulder.
"I'm so scared."
"I know you are. You lost your brother not long ago. No one can blame you for feeling this way."
"But the twins are still here. And I can't think about losing them. I wish you didn't have to see that."
Mrs. Weasley continued to hold her.
"You can't control it. I know that. After my brothers died during the first war, I would see them when I had to deal with a Boggart. Then it became Aurthur and the children. But it did tell me one thing."
Vanessa broke away from Mrs. Weasley and looked at her.
"What's that?"
"You've known them all your life. You clearly have feelings for George. His body stayed longer than the other two. Just tell him how you feel. Life is too short."
"I know I shouldn't feel that way about him, but I do."
"There is a war coming, Vanessa. Now isn't the time to hide your feelings. As I said before, you have my support no matter what you decide to do." She leaned down and kissed the younger girl's forehead before standing from the bed. "I'm sure they both want to see you. So I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything."
"Mrs. Weasley, thank you."
She nodded her head as she walked to the door. The twins were standing in the hallway.
"She needs to rest, so don't be too long," she heard her say as the twins came into the room. George sat next to her on the bed again, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close to him. Fred stood in front of them, wanting to give them space. He wished they would both just come out with how they felt about each other. He hated keeping this secret from both of them.
"I can't believe I couldn't stop it."
They both looked at her, concern and sadness on their faces.
"You were scared," Fred said.
"You shouldn't have seen that. None of you should. Your poor mother."
"Hey, Mum understands, and so do we," said George.
"Why is it I can never stay mad at the two of you for very long?"
"We're charming," they said in unison.
"If you ever slip something into my drink again, I'll hex the both of you."
"We are sorry about last night. We shouldn't have done that. It was more my idea than George's though."
"Thanks, Freddie."
"We should let you sleep, so Mum isn't yelling at us later," George said.
"No," Vanessa started. "Please don't go."
"Are you sure?" they asked, looking down at her.
She nodded her head and got out of the bed to grab her pajamas. She went to the bathroom to change, and when she came back, George was still there waiting for her.
"Where did Fred go?"
"We decided to take shifts. He can stay with you tomorrow night."
She got into bed and burrowed under all the blankets. George turned out the lights in the room before getting into bed next to her. He pulled her close to him, and she rested her head on his chest. He never wanted to let her go, not after everything that had happened over the last few months. He cared about her, and she cared about him. It was just a matter of them finally telling each other and doing something about it.