TW FOR THIS CHAPTER: Very slight mentions of possible su*cidal acts

If this is something that you find triggering, I've noted the part of the chapter where it is mentioned so that you can skip over it. Stop reading when you get to the TW warning and pick up again when it says "End TW".

To summarize the part of the chapter without the trigger (chapter content spoiler warning, feel free to come back to this point once you get to the TW and then read on after): It's literally just Jay fussing over Phoenix! Don't worry, you won't miss much at all if you need to skip over it, it's two paragraphs where he goes from angry to concerned. It's just a very brief mention.

Please let me know if there's any element of this warning or the chapter that I need to adjust. As always, my messages are open, please feel free to reach out if you need anything. If you're reading as a guest, you can also private message me on Tumblr (iiowaw), though please know that I'm not always as quick to respond on Tumblr. All the love.

A/N: Sorry that this chapter is a bit behind schedule. I (successfully!) defended my honors thesis this week, so I didn't have time to get this chapter uploaded last weekend. The next chapter will still be posted on schedule!


Chapter Six: Betrayal and Apologies


Behind the portrait of the Fat Lady, just before Common Room, with its sprawling mess of sofas, tables, and scarlet rugs, lies a short tunnel. The tunnel is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of my favorite parts of Gryffindor Tower. Each year, upon returning to Hogwarts, it adds an extra touch of magic to the already enchanting process of coming back to the castle. This tunnel offers just a hint of anticipation, the shortest of waits as one walks down the curve of the passageway, until the warm, sprawling Common Room is revealed in all its glory. It is that brief interval that allows the older students to witness the excitement of first years about to come home for the first time.

It is also inherently useful.

The tunnel provides an out-of-sight place to don the cloak of invisibility when I need to sneak out. Additionally, it makes a great quiet place to compose myself just before I enter the busy Common Room, when need be.

It is also a wonderful place to overhear the conversations that would otherwise conveniently end just as I enter the room.

It's not that I make a habit of eavesdropping. But when I need to know something, or I happen to hear my name fall off of the right person's lips…

Well, it's like my Aunt Fleur has always said: you never have to ask for anything if you never run from information.

And besides, anyone who's willing to discuss something in the hubbub of life that is the Gryffindor Common Room almost certainly wants the information to make its rounds.


I practically danced back to the Common Room after my conversation with Professor Flitwick. Pride that I had received the offer to skip a year in Charms mixed with delight that I was going to be given the opportunity to learn even more about my favorite subject. Professor Flitwick had informed me that I had special permission to use magic over the summer, so that I could learn the spells my new classmates would be taught in the year I would be skipping. He had also given me the go-ahead to owl him whenever I'd like, should I find myself with a question or if I came across something in a book that I wished to discuss. Apparently, my parents had been mailed before he had brought it up with me, and they had readily given their permission and promised to monitor me, to ensure that I was only using magic to practice for my class. I knew that they had probably laughed as they signed the forms, as our house is under the Fidelius, so the Ministry couldn't monitor whether we did magic or not anyways.

I cheerily gave the password to the common room to the Fat Lady, hiking my bag a little higher on my shoulder as I came to a stop before the portrait.

"You're in a good mood," She commented as her frame swung to the side, matching my joy with ease.

"It's been a good day," I responded. "How are you?"

She gave me a warm smile, "You know, you're the only one who asks."

Though I had torn through the halls in my eager haste to return to the tower, I slowed down in the tunnel that led into the Common Room, trying to roll up the parchment Professor Flitwick had given me to sign and review.

I froze completely upon hearing my name.

"-Phoenix when we all know you're just jealous of her!" Came Freddy's voice. He was clearly shouting at someone.

I crept forward slightly and wasn't at all surprised to find the majority of my house watching the fight avidly. Undoubtedly, the entire drama would make its rounds around the school before breakfast tomorrow. Fred's back was to me, but I could see the angry flush on his ears where they stuck out of his deep brown curls.

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous of a stuck-up swot who spends all of her time with her nose in a book? Why would I be jealous of someone who thinks that she's too good for all of her friends? She can spend all of her time being a suck up for all I care. I've got nothing to be jealous of."

My lower lip wobbled as I clenched my jaw, taking a step back. I blinked furiously to stave off the tears that were threatening to spill down my cheeks, betrayal twisted in my gut like a blade. Though I could see no one I knew besides Freddy through the crowd of Gryffindors, I knew my twin's voice as well as I knew my own.

I waited for Teddy to tell James off or to move the fight upstairs, so that my name was at least trashed in private. When that didn't come, I prayed that one of my other cousins would speak up. A deep ache started to develop in my jaw as I fought off tears, waiting for a voice that I was beginning to realize wasn't going to come.

Finally, after a long, horrible silence, Freddy's voice came again. "The only people that feel that way are the pair of you. Everyone else can handle her having interests outside of their own."

I could hear that there was more to his statement, but I realized that I didn't want anyone else sticking up for me. Swiping furiously at my eyes to make sure that there was no evidence of any stray tears, I carefully trained my face into one that I typically wore for the press. The crowd of people parted as I stepped out of the tunnel, the gazes of my family members shifting to me, most showing a mixture of horror and embarrassment.

I stopped in front of my twin brother and, to my disappointment, Roxy. The way that I placed myself before them left only Freddy standing behind me, an intentional arrangement that I was certain wouldn't go unnoticed.

James and Roxanne both opened their mouths to speak, but I cut them off.

"I work hard at school because it's something that I enjoy. I don't call you, James, out for enjoying socializing and making yourself popular. And I let you be, Roxy, despite the fact that you spend most of your time obsessing over clothes and makeup. Do you think any of those things are interesting to me in the slightest? They aren't, but I pretend to be interested in looks and people for the two of you, because you're my family and I would never let anyone make you ashamed of what you enjoy, let alone do it myself. And besides, I think everyone knows that the real problem here is that you two can't stand the fact that Freddy and I have become better friends with each other. You feel like you're being left behind, or missing out on something, and you can't stand it."

My tone was icy, but I kept my voice flat, refusing to stoop to their level and yell. I could tell James was still angry, but I was through with him for the moment. Roxy was crying, and I knew I would be receiving a thousand apologies from her as soon as I had calmed down enough to hear them. I whipped around to face Ted, my curly hair flying around my face as I did so.

"Family business stays private, right Ted?" I asked him mockingly. "Up to your room for anyone's name to be slandered except mine, I suppose."

I didn't wait around to hear what Teddy, or anyone else, had to say. Shoving the piece of parchment that had been a source of joy for me only minutes prior into Freddy's hands, I stormed out of the Common Room.

"Going out again so soon?" The Fat Lady called after me.

I nodded, hearing her coo when I sniffled, trying to avoid bursting into tears. My pace remained at a walk until I turned the corner, breaking into a sprint the moment that I was no longer visible from the Common Room.

I didn't stop running until I stumbled out of the doors to the school, tears finally beginning to stream down my face and joining the rain that was rapidly soaking my clothes. The ground was slick beneath my feet as I rushed down the grounds towards the pitch, wanting to physically escape from my hurt. The rain that was lashing against the side of my face barely registered in my brain as more than a slight nuisance, as it had been pouring for days.

I threw the door to the broom shed open so hard that it nearly hit me in the face when it bounced off of the wall and came back towards me. A kick of my muddy boots had it closing with just as much force, and a part of me was grateful that it didn't crack under the strength of my rage. The soft ground made it difficult to kick off well, but I made up for that by accelerating as much as I could.

My thoughts were clamoring in my head, but I was determined to outfly them. Whipping my broom around to turn as sharply as I could, I imagined that my troubles were great, winged things, flying through the air after me. A nosedive increased the distance between us. Corkscrewing through the air confused them.

So intent was I on my imaginary pursuit that I completely forgot to pay attention to my surroundings.

The sky lit up suddenly, all of the hair standing up on my arms as the stormy sky around me disappeared in a blinding flash of white light. I could physically feel the heat of the bolt of lightning that had struck just a meter before me, causing me to rear away from it with fright.

A scream wrenched itself from my throat as I overbalanced, toppling sideways off of my broom. My fingers closed around air as I frantically reached for the broomstick, which was already being blown away in the storm.

When I was eight, I fell off of my broomstick while flying over our house, terrified for all of three seconds before smacking into the roof with enough force to give me bruises. For one shining moment, I had relaxed, thinking that I had been spared from more than my rapidly forming contusions by the shingles beneath me. It was then that I had discovered how slick a roof still covered in morning dew could be, my fingers scrabbling uselessly at it as I slipped over the roof's edge and back into gravity's clutches. My momentary feeling of safety had only served to make the second drop that much more agonizing, and it had taken me two weeks to climb back onto my broom afterwards.

As terrifying as that drop had been, however, I now found that an all-out freefall was worse.

There were still white spots dancing in my eyes from the bolt of lightning, making it hard to see the ground that was rushing up to meet me. My arms wrapped around my middle unthinkingly, as though I could hold myself together when the impact inevitably tried to pull me apart.

I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing that I needed to try and relax in order to minimize my injuries as much as possible, but unable to force my muscles into cooperating. There was a painful jolt, my body tensing further as I collided with something, but the force was not enough for me to have hit the ground.

I opened my eyes to find Jay glaring at me through a curtain of sopping wet brown hair. Normally a light shade of green, the stormy sky and his obvious fury caused his eyes to appear amber. His broom lilted dangerously with the way that he held me close to his chest, but he did not let me down until he stood with both feet on the muddy ground.

Before I had the chance to say a word, he was kicking back off from the ground, darting into the air in search of something. I was still sobbing silently, my earlier distress mixing with the aftermath of what would have been a brutal fall had Jay not intervened. Moments later, Jay landed before me, my broomstick clutched in his hand. His expression was one of pure rage, a muscle in his jaw jumping as he struggled to speak.

"What the fuck was that?" He finally managed; his voice thick with anger. His accent was far stronger than I had ever heard it. With one hand, he shoved his hair back from where it had been sticking to his face. The other was still clutching my broomstick, his knuckles white.

TW

"Seriously, Phoenix, there's a difference between stupidly in love with something and just plain stupid, and you crossed the line with that stunt. Are you trying to get yourself killed? I will walk you straight to McGonagall and have her send you to Mungo's if that was on purpose."

Jay froze suddenly, the fury melting from his features as he gave me a look of pure horror. My broomstick slipped from his fingers, joining his in the mud below our feet. "Wait…you weren't out here trying to get yourself thrown off your broom, were you? Because I know how you fly, Phoenix, and I've never seen you fly like that."

END TW

Jay stepped forward, his hands coming up to cup my cheeks. His thumbs brushed the wet hair from my face, his head ducking slightly so that he could meet my gaze. His expression had softened immensely, concern causing wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. "Are you okay? What happened?"

I stuttered out my story to him, watching as the fire once again grew in the Scot's eyes. Where my rage had been replaced by cold betrayal and sticky sadness, I knew that Jay's would burn hot enough for the both of us.

"Your family is notorious for their privacy, yet they let James and Roxy go on a jealous spiel about you like it's nothing? What the fuck?" He yelled, his temper flaring. I recalled how difficult it had been to get him talking to Roxy and James after their behavior last year and wondered if I would ever be able to get him talking to them again after this.

"I don't know," I sobbed, my voice cracking embarrassingly.

Jay started, looking at me as though he had only just realized that I was crying. Before I could fully grasp what was happening, he had wrapped me up in a fierce hug. It was cold, wet, and I was more miserable than I had been in a long time, but I wasn't sure that I had ever been privy to a hug that was as comforting at the one that I was currently wrapped in. Turning my face so that it rested fully against Jay's chest, I allowed myself to cry in a way that I hadn't in a long time. Misery at my bitterly spoilt joy, humiliation over the way that everyone in the Common Room had heard my own twin spout such nasty things about me, and residual terror from my crash-course on gravity spun together to create a thick unhappiness that left me nearly hyperventilating into Jay's shirt. His only response was to tighten his arms around me and mumble something soothing into my ear that I was unable to hear over my own jagged breathing.

It took a few long, wet minutes before I was able to get control of myself. One of Jay's thumbs was rubbing circles against my back while he patiently waited. I focused on trying to time my breathing with his, trembling as my muscles relaxed slightly.

"Thank you," I whispered when I finally calmed down, awaiting the intense embarrassment that I was sure would befall me when my thoughts caught up to my actions. To my surprise, it didn't come. My mother had always told me that I should be around people who I was comfortable with seeing me at my worst, and I suppose I was coming to understand what she meant.

Jay held my shoulders, looking into my eyes. "Don't thank me. You're my best friend. This is what I'm here for," He said softly, and I thought I might be blushing at the intensity of his words if I weren't so cold. "Now, let's put these broomsticks up so that we can head over to see Madam Scamander. I want to make sure that I didn't bruise you up when I caught you, plus I'd like some Pepper Up so that we don't get sick from standing out in this storm," Jay said, taking my hand in one of his and using the other to scoop up our muddy brooms.

Madam Scamander, who had taken on the role of school healer a few years ago, dreamily gave us our potions, asking me if I wanted something for my wrackspurts as well. Once I had assured her that I was fine, she allowed us to leave with a faint smile. I felt a bit guilty for the mud and water that we were dripping as we made our way back to the Common Room, Jay still clutching my hand in his. Just before we rounded the corner that would put us in view of the Common Room, Jay tugged me to a stop.

"Hey," He said, taking a hold of my shoulders once again. "I didn't have the chance before, but I want to tell you before we go in there and everything gets crazy."

I could feel my brow furrowing slightly as I looked at him. I hadn't the faintest idea what he was going to say.

"I am so proud of you. It's incredible how much your hard work is already paying off. I don't think that there's another student at Hogwarts right now who spends more time on their studies than you do, and you manage to do all of it and have a life on top of it. You don't neglect your friends, so don't let Roxy and James make you feel like you should feel guilty for that. If they wanted to spend more time with you, you're not a difficult person to find. Anyone who knows you knows that you always have time for the people that you care about. I'm sorry that your family has sucked in all of this, but don't let it distract you from how amazing you are," He told me sincerely.

I felt tears welling in my eyes at his words, and I could only nod and offer him a shaky smile in response. Somehow, he had told me exactly what I needed to hear, and I found myself more prepared to enter the Common Room with his words ringing in my ears.

The Fat Lady fussed over us for several long minutes, not even allowing us the chance to tell her the password while she tried to discern why we were so wet. Apparently, my eyes were red, which didn't help our case as we tried to get a word in without cutting her off completely. Finally, she muttered something about how we needed to change into something dry and crawl into bed, swinging open practically as Jay told her the password.

At first glance, the Common Room looked much as we had left it. People once again parted as we cut through the crowd, where I was horrified to see Freddy lying in a heap before the fire.

Ignoring everyone else, I sprinted to Freddy's side, flipping him over so that I could press a hand against his brown skin. His forehead was warm, but it could have been due to how cold my fingers were.

Jay crouched down beside me, waving his wand and reviving Freddy.

The boy shot up off of the floor with a start, causing me to rear backwards to avoid smacking our foreheads together, for I had still been hunched over him when he awoke. Jay surged forward as I flew back, his hands pressing against Freddy's shoulders to keep him from climbing to his feet.

"What the fuck?" Freddy yelled at someone over our shoulders. He then directed his attention to me. "Merlin, Nix, why are you all wet?"

"We took a walk," Jay answered for me, much to my gratitude. The only answer that my brain had provided had been to tell him that I fell off of my broom. Releasing Freddy, one of Jay's hands gripped my shoulder, absently rubbing a random pattern against my shirt as he spoke. I was grateful that he didn't tell Freddy in front of everyone else.

"In this weather?" Teddy asked, sounding half stunned and half furious. I flipped around to see that my older brother was sporting a spectacular bruise and standing in precisely the spot that Freddy appeared to have been yelling at. He was glaring, not at me or Freddy, as I had been expecting, but rather at my best friend. "Jay, what were you thinking, letting her out in this? Do you want her to catch her death?"

I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, but Jay beat me to it.

"Let her? You think I let her do things? Merlin, Teddy. You act like you don't know your sister at all; I couldn't tell her what to do if I tried! Stop treating her like she's an object!"

Had I been less angry, Jay's words probably would have earned him a smile. I realized that I didn't especially mind that Jay had spoken up for me. In fact, I didn't feel like speaking to Teddy at all.

Turning away from my brother, whose hair was a rather remarkable shade of crimson, I looked at the two boys at my side. "I'm tired, and I'm wet. See you two in the morning?"

Jay gave my hand a squeeze, while Freddy gave me a look that told me that we would be discussing the evening at a later date. I just gestured to Jay, knowing that he would tell Freddy what had happened after I left the Common Room and save him from worrying all night. Freddy then flashed the parchment that I had given him at me before tugging on my sopping hair. I nodded, understanding that he would be giving it to me once I wasn't in danger of ruining it with the rain that was still dripping off of me.

As I climbed the stairs, I wondered if maybe Jay was right. Perhaps I did forgive people too easily. Already I could hear the apologies that I would be receiving in the morning, and I could also hear myself accepting them with little fanfare. It was just the way that I did things, for, when I was able to step back and think things over without being blinded by anger, I was always able to see where people were coming from.

Still, I thought, maybe I could forgive my family and also give them a reason to avoid doing what they had done to me ever again.

Everyone had been cueing for Freddy and me to be the new "prankster twins" for so long; maybe it was time that we gave the people what they had been asking for.


I woke up even earlier than I normally did in anticipation of the plan that I had stayed up late creating, making sure to exit the room silently. The first year boys' room wasn't hard to find, as it was precisely where the girls' was down the opposite hall.

Despite how many beds filled the room, it was easy to determine which bed was Fred's. There were posters of motorcycles and dragons on the walls around it, a transfiguration book on the nightstand, and half a dozen motorcycle magazines on the floor around it. I pulled open the curtains and jumped lightly on top of him.

I clapped my hand over his freckled face before he could shout. He stared at me with wide eyes for a fraction of a second, before his mouth stretched into a crooked grin.

"Good morning, favorite cousin of mine," He whispered when I removed my hand from his face.

"Good morning. I have a proposition for you; would you care to join me for breakfast?"

"I would love to. I'll meet you down in the Common Room in ten," He muttered with a wink, his eager expression leaving no doubt that he already had some idea of what I wanted to do.

I snuck back out of the dorm as quietly as I had come, nicking one of his magazines on my way. When he came bounding down the stairs less than ten minutes later, he found me with my feet hanging over the side of an armchair, eyes trained on the magazine that I had taken.

"You like that one?" He asked. I nodded, not bothering to look up as I tried to finish the paragraph that I was on. I hadn't realized that there were so many different types of motorcycles. His voice was amused when he told me, "You can borrow it if you want. So, breakfast?"

I stuck the magazine in my bag, ignoring his chuckle as I led the way down to the Great Hall. The table was empty save Levi and a few girls in Molly and Dom's year. I ignored the way that their eyes lingered on me as we sat down.

"Phoenix."

Levi sank down onto the bench beside me, causing me to withhold a sigh. His hand rested on the table between us, fingers adorned with multiple silver rings. If he tried to make a case for me to forgive Teddy, I was going to attempt to turn them all into very angry spiders.

"I just wanted you to know that I wasn't in the Common Room last night when it happened, but Teddy's an ass and I'd have told him so if I had been there."

I turned to look at my eldest brother in surprise.

"Don't give me that look!" He exclaimed with mock offense. "Ted doesn't think sometimes. That's my job."

I giggled, and he looked relieved to hear the sound. "Yeah, I don't know how you were the only one of us to avoid the famous Potter impulsiveness."

Levi smirked. "I'm not certain either. Your parents practically raised me as well, so by all logic I should be just as bad as the rest of you. You're the most impulsive lot I've ever met. Mind you, it could have something to do with me being wise enough to avoid angering Ginny at all costs."

My hand came up to cover my mouth as I gasped at his words, realizing suddenly that my siblings were about to be in a world of trouble. I had no doubt that someone had ratted them out, and my parents were deadly serious when it came to family. "Oh, they're so dead."

"Yep, they're definitely fucked," He chuckled, leaning back slightly with a cocky grin, "I wrote Ginny and Harry last night, and I'm certain that I wasn't the only one. I love our brothers, but that was proper fucked up. We're out of having to do chores this summer, that's for certain."

"Thank you, Levi," I told him sincerely. "You're a good brother."

He ruffled my hair affectionately. "One of us has to be. Though, if it were only one of us, it would probably be Al. Whatever. You know what I mean. I'll see you later, Phoe."

I waved as he exited the Great Hall, still giggling slightly as I turned around to face Freddy.

"I think Levi swears more than any person I've ever met," My cousin chuckled.

"You've met Uncle Charlie, so that's most definitely untrue," I laughed. He tipped his head to the side, conceding my point with a smile.

"So, let's hear this proposition of yours," Fred said, handing me a buttered piece of toast as he spoke.

"I'm thinking that I want revenge. Teach them-and the rest of the school, since they decided to make things public-that no one messes with me. And I want pictures."

Freddy grinned at me, leaning forward eagerly. "So, what are you thinking? Dyed hair and skin spots? Something flashy and maybe itchy? Or…?"

I smirked at him, shaking my head and clucking my tongue lightly, "Oh Freddy. Think bigger. Think bold. What if, instead of doing the same thing to all of them, we thought of something…special…for each of them?"

Freddy was now grinning from ear-to-ear.

"I love the way you think. What's our plan?"

"Well, the first thing that we'll need to take care of is letting them make their apologies and accepting them all. We have to make sure they never see this one coming. We'll let them all apologize to me, I'll accept, you'll apologize to Teddy for hitting him, and then we'll wait until they stop walking on pins and needles around us. Perhaps we can have our prank extend from the last day of school to after we've arrived at King's Cross? That way, both our fellow students and the parents will get to appreciate our handiwork. Plus, that will leave us plenty of time for some serious research. We'll also need to let Jay in on the basics of things. I think he deserves to know that we're doing something about it, but he should be fine without all of the details." I smirked a bit. "We want him to be able to appreciate the finished product, after all."

Freddy stared at me with wide eyes for so long that I wondered if perhaps I wasn't going a bit too far. Before I could really begin to fret, however, he simply told me, "You would have made a good Slytherin."

I smirked at him again. "Thank you very much, favorite cousin of mine."

He raised an eyebrow at me before sipping his tea. We ate a piece of toast each in silence, waiting to properly eat breakfast until the rest of our family showed up.

While we waited, I pulled out a piece of parchment and began to sketch the willow tree that I so loved. I could feel Freddy's eyes on the paper, but did my best to ignore it. Albus had been pelting me with questions about Hogwarts in his most recent letters, no doubt growing more eager for his rapidly approaching first year. I did not want to show him too much of the castle in my art, as I knew first-hand that our parents' refusal to let us so much as visit Hogsmeade really did make coming to Hogwarts more magical, but I didn't see any harm in sending him a drawing of one of my favorite spots on the grounds.

Once I was satisfied with the sketch, I tucked it into an envelope containing notes for both of my younger siblings and my parents, which I had been holding onto until I had a drawing for Al. I slipped the mail into my bag and pulled a face at Freddy. He was just beginning to make a face back at me when the rest of our family began pouring into the Great Hall.

I pulled out a piece of toast as though I had only just sat down. Across from me, Fred began pouring us fresh cups of tea.

I wasn't surprised when Teddy all but flung himself into the seat next to me.

"Phoenix, I'm so sorry. You were absolutely right to be angry with me. I let things play out because I felt like James and Roxy needed to get things out of their system, but I should have made them move it upstairs and wait for you. And what I said-about Jay letting you go out-that was inexcusable. I'm so sorry. I was just worried, but I should have thought about what I was saying before I said it. It's just…it's hard, always having to be the responsible one. I know that it's no excuse, but I'm not always perfect and I really messed up this time. Can you forgive me for that?" He begged, his hand halfway outstretched towards mine like he watched to clasp my palm between his, but had decided it wasn't a good idea. His eyes were more grey than green today, his normally vibrant blue hair faded.

I turned to look at him. "Teddy, I was really angry at first, but I get it. I forgive you."

It was true; I did forgive him. What he said made sense, and, while what he had done was hurtful, I understood where he was coming from. If I was being perfectly honest with myself, I felt rather bad for him. Still, I was trying to make a point with the prank that I was planning, so letting him off of the hook was out of the question.

"We're sorry too, Annette," Vic said softly from behind him. The rest of my family nodded, all but Roxy and James, who were still waiting for their turn.

"I forgive you lot as well," I replied.

"Hey, Ted, sorry about hitting you last night. I was just upset and lashed out," Freddy said, shame-faced. I knew he genuinely felt badly about hitting Teddy, as Fred wasn't a big fan of physical violence, but he was an incredible actor all the same.

Teddy immediately accepted his apology before throwing out one of his own.

Shortly after that the whole family gathered, waiting anxiously to see if we had made the papers. I decided to wait with them, and the relief I felt when none of the newspapers and tabloids we subscribed to mentioned a word about our fight was immense.

"I think I'm going to head to the library," I said loudly, once we had finished skimming the papers. My gaze was trained directly on my twin as I spoke, half challenging and half expectant.

Heads turned at the table, waiting for him to say something. When he remained silent, Freddy stood as well, his expression twisted with frustration.

"I'll walk with you, Nix."

Two steps of footsteps caught up to us before we had made it down three corridors. I tried not to audibly breathe a sigh of relief. If James had resisted apologizing, I honestly wasn't sure what I might have done. We never went very long without speaking after a major fight like the one that we had just had.

"Phoenix, you were right. I was jealous that you and Fred seem to get along so well. But it doesn't excuse saying the things that James and I did," Roxy apologized, tears shining in her eyes as she tugged me around to face her.

James and Freddy steered us into an empty classroom while I accepted Roxy's apology. I wasn't entirely certain what she had said before I entered the room the other night, but Freddy had hinted that it wasn't nearly as bad as what James had, so I wasn't so angry with her.

James turned to Freddy first. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"No hard feelings," Freddy responded immediately.

James sighed as he turned to me. The silence stretched on between us until the other set of twins took the hint, excusing themselves to the corridor with no small amount of awkwardness. Once they were gone, James traced the lines in the stone flooring with the toe of his shoe, not meeting my gaze.

"I won't say it again, but Roxy was right."

I arched an eyebrow. "In saying that I was right?"

James clenched his jaw stubbornly. "Maybe."

I rolled my eyes. My brother was impossible, but I knew better than to argue when an apology was coming.

"I'm sorry," He mumbled, the words barely audible. Still, his blue eyes lifted to meet mine, and I knew that he meant the words. "I didn't mean what I said. Even if I do think that you study way too much, I know that you think that I'm an idiot for what I do with my time, and you don't give me crap for it." He was still shuffling his shoe, waiting until I offered him a half smile before continuing. "Plus, you're obviously fixing to be a huge part of the Quidditch team, so it's not like you can totally ruin my reputation with your nerdiness."

I had to laugh a bit, even as I began to protest.

"Hey! I'm just saying, between that and the fact that everyone thinks you're fixing to become some amazing prankster-"

I had to suppress a smirk.

"-you and I are already far cooler than Lily and Al will ever be," He finished proudly. Then, hesitantly, he finished, "I'm sorry, Phoenix. Really. I was out of line."

"You were most definitely out of line," I muttered, stamping down the bitter feeling that attempted to creep up my chest as I recalled how happy I had been yesterday, "But…I do forgive you."

"Thank you," He said immediately. I could see relief spreading across his face.

That quickly faded when the door to the room flew open, Teddy barreling in, a smoking red envelope in hand. He flung the letter onto the ground, yanking out his wand and pointing it at the door.

The rant began moments after he managed to cast a few privacy spells. My mother made it very clear that she had been forced to keep the details of our fight a secret, and she wasn't happy about it in the slightest. Ted was thoroughly scolded for not defending me at all. It didn't seem that she had heard about what he said to me later in the evening, and, to be frank, I was glad. I knew that he would never hear the end of it from any of our aunts, had that leaked.

I was not in trouble, but the letter ended its tirade by turning to face James with an ominous "you're next".

Both boys were white.

"She started it by quietly telling me I had 30 seconds to make my way to somewhere private. Told me on the way over here that normally she wouldn't do Howlers, but, since I hadn't given Phoenix her privacy, she didn't feel the need to give me mine."

As he spoke, he removed the spells he had cast. Immediately Fred's hand darted into the room, chunking a smoking letter through the door.

"Let me leave before you recast those spells," I yelped, scrambling out of the room. I had no need to hear my twin get the ear boxing that he deserved, and my mother's Howlers left my teeth rattling.

Freddy stood alone outside.

"Those famous Weasley tempers," He jokingly shook his head.

I grinned at him. "Did Rox go back to breakfast?"

He nodded.

"Alright, then it's away to the library with us!" I said cheerily, hooking his arm through mine and dragging him down the corridor. Freddy began humming an odd tune as we went, something jaunty and upbeat. The sun created shining, swirling patterns over the stones of the hall, and something in my chest lightened slightly as my cousin reached into his bag and pulled out the parchment that Professor Flitwick had given me the day prior, handing it to me with a proud smile.


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