Talia woke up to the creepy sensation of something large and slimy oozing over her leg. It took about a full minute for her to slide into full consciousness, then realizing the severity of her situation she bolted upright and looked down.
The gargantuan squid-like tentacle exploring her pale leg cringed at the sudden movement, and moved away from her rather quickly, slipping back into the uncannily smooth surface of the lake, she supposed, to rejoin the rest of its body.
A lake? What lake? She had never been anywhere with such beautiful green grass and garden plants surrounding a lake, with a lovely path leading up to the castle...
Castle? What castle? Merlin's beard....! Where the hell was she?!
Talia looked around frantically for any clues to her location, and spotted Fred and George adjacently sprawled face down on the dew-laden morning grass, sleeping soundly...
And suddenly it all came back. Her parents. The Death Eaters after her. The spell so powerful that it knocked the three to the ground. She grabbed at her back pocket, her mind racing, and was relieved to find her wand still there.
She walked over to Fred and George and sighed, wincing with pain as she eased her sore muscles down to the grass next to the twins. After watching their lanky, peaceful, snoring bodies, Talia decided to wake them up.
"Oy, Fred. George." she said softly, shaking them both. There was no movement. "Fred." she said sharply, shaking one of them harder. The blood pounded in her ears. What if they were both killed? Who knew if they were strong enough to survive a spell of that magnitude? "Fred!!!" she said, frantically, not realizing she was now clutching him with an iron grip.
"My name is George! Get off me, woman! Back!" a very irritated and shaken (in the literal sense) George managed to say. "Someone needs to be more flexible." he grumbled.
Whoops. Ah, well, at least he wasn't dead! By this time, the real Fred had waken up and was looking around.
"Blimey." he said, in awe. "How the hell did we get here?"
"Where?" said Talia.
"Here!" said Fred.
"No, I mean, where is 'here'?" she said irritably.
"You don't know?" said George. "Oh no, that's right, your parents"-Talia's heart skipped a beat-"schooled you elsewhere."
"So we're at… Hogwarts?" she said in disbelief.
"The one and only. S'funny, though, it all looks different." said Fred, pensive. "I mean, the lake's the same, the grounds are the same, but it feels different, you know?" he addressed this to George.
"Codswallop." said George matter-of-factly. "You don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."
"So……." said Talia. "You reckon we just walk in, or……?"
"I suppose." said George slowly. "But it's queer... we set out for our great adventure and it lands us right back where we escaped from."
"Well... maybe you should work on being more flexible." Talia mimicked with a smug grin, then "Ow!" as George shoved her slightly.
"Shall we set off, then?" Fred asked, impatient.
"I reckon so," said George, sliding a grin rivaling that of the Cheshire Cat himself to his other half.
The three set off, Fred and George with a jaunty gait and Talia joining them apprehensively.
When they reached the tall, ornate double doors, Fred and George stopped.
"Right then." said Fred quietly, reaching in his pocket, then "Just one moment..." as he slid what looked unmistakably like a stretched human ear out of his pocket and slid the thinnest end through the crack between the massive doors. He leaned in to it, then removed it carefully. "Right. All clear," he said conversationally, slipping the thing back into his pocket.
"Mind telling me what just happened?" asked a bewildered Talia.
"Ah, yes. Extendable Ear." said George as if this explained everything.
"You can hear into a chamber without actually entering it. We invented it" said Fred smugly. "I was just having a listen to make sure we weren't interrupting a feast or meal."
"See, these are the Great Hall doors." said George. "Think how much more trouble we'd be in if they knew we were back and freely wandering the grounds during classes. Umbridge'd have a fit!"
"If we get caught now, there's no escape from her." said Fred grimly. "No brooms this time."
"Who's she?" asked Talia, now thoroughly confused.
"Never mind." said Fred peevishly. "Wish we had the Marauder's Map with us, there'd be no trouble staying out of teachers' ways."
"What?! Who?" asked Talia in a final act of desperation.
The twins sighed. "Just follow us."
They carefully pushed open the heavy doors so as not to make a sound- "Good thing Filch oiled them last week"- and the three were inside. Talia gaped.
The incredible bewitched ceiling, the beautiful stonework- this was nothing like she'd ever seen before.
"C'mon!" whispered Fred, tugging her by the arm towards a large painting of a wizened old man wearing strange clothes and a bird on his head.
He pulled his wand out of his pocket, looking around to make sure they weren't being watched. He muttered something intelligible and tapped the gilded frame twice. The portrait seemed to stretch and squeeze until a passageway was visible behind it. Fred and George quickly stepped inside. Once again, Talia was breathless. "How-?"
"Hold on." said Fred. "First we need to get back to the common room, get warmed up. Then we'll show you to Dumbledore's office."
Talia cringed. The Dumbledore? The hated doddering old fool, supposed to be the only one with the power to defeat her ma-
No. Not her master. Not anymore. Her allegiances changed. There was no going back. She mentally reprimanded herself for not keeping an open mind.
"OK." she said finally, though not truly sure of her willingness to do so.
She stepped into the passageway, and the picture frame stretched again so as to hide its entrance. It was dark, but there was just enough head room to walk comfortably along.
"Just hope we don't run into Filch- the caretaker." added George. "He knows about this one." They were climbing higher and higher, and slowly curving left, until-
SMACK.
Talia ran straight into George's back as the twins stopped, knocking the three of them over. "Sorry." She mumbled, embarrassed, disentangling herself from the twins.
Fred looked amused, turning back to the apparent door in front of them. "Right then: you go first," he said to George. George opened it slowly, revealing what looked to be the backside of a tapestry. He pushed it forward to make space for his descent, and jumped. "Mademoiselle, you next." Said Fred with a little bow. She pushed the tapestry away gingerly and jumped, landing on a cushy armchair in the corner of a cozy looking room. There were other chairs and tables dispersed throughout and a large, warm fire on the opposite side.
"Scoot." Said Fred pleasantly, and she moved off the chair to make room for his landing. "We'll be right back." George called, both twins walking up a staircase. "Just stay there." This gave her an opportunity to look around what she assumed was the common room, noticing the many books and bags strewn about the tables.
Minutes later they returned, flushed and slightly panicked looks on the twins' handsome faces.
"We have to get to Dumbledore. Now!" said George, puffing. "Something's wrong."
Fred looked nervous. "Come on!" he pleaded to the seemingly inanimate wall, opening what appeared to be another portrait-hole door with a picture of a rather obese woman on the reverse. "New students?" she said, beaming. "I haven't seen you before!"
The twins ignored her, full out sprinting down the corridor outside with Talia close behind. The three came to a stairwell, and they flew down it, stumbling, but keeping the pace. Talia recognized the Great Hall ahead of them, but they merely sprinted down another corridor and stopped abruptly in front of a large statue of a gargoyle. Fred and George had been here countless times before in the spirit of their mischief-making, enough to guess at the password.
"Cockroach Cluster?"
"Lemon Drop!"
"Sherbert Sucker!"
"Pepper Imp?"
The gargoyle moved aside, and the trio raced up the stone passageway up to Dumbledore's office. "Funny." said Fred, at the top, "I don't recognize the decorations."
Neither George nor Talia had the time or sense of mind to realize the implications of this, by the time the three reached the door to his office. George flung it open, throwing caution to the wind, and the three burst into his office.
Talia saw a wizened old man sitting at a desk, around the room were various magical objects which she did not recognize. A large bird was in a cage in the corner……
"My name is Albus Dumbledore. Can I help you?" he said, very calm
"Is that a…… phoenix?" breathed Talia, astounded.
"His name is Fawkes." said the man. "And you are……?"
"Talia." she said, reddening.
"Professor, the queerest thing happened, we were in the Gryffindor common room, and-" started Fred impatiently.
"Slow down." Dumbledore said gently. "What is your name?"
"You must be joking!" said George in obvious disbelief.
"I assure you, I am not. Sit down."
He conjured three cushy purple armchairs out of thin air, and the trio sat down.
Fred stammered. "I……I'm Fred and that's George Weasley."
"Any relation to Molly or Arthur Weasley?" asked Dumbledore, curious.
"Yes. Our parents." added George.
"I was not aware that Molly and Arthur had children." said Dumbledore, still calm.
The twins looked at each other in disbelief. "But they did attend Hogwarts, right?" said George incredulously.
"Yes." said Dumbledore.
"Then how do you not know us, sir? We've been in here loads of times!"
"I haven't the slightest." said Dumbledore calmly, his eyes twinkling. "It is quite possible that you come from a place or generation of which I am not aware. And your parents, miss?" he added, ignoring the stunned looks on the twins' faces.
"I doubt you would know my parents." she said, feeling nauseous.
"Very well." said Dumbledore fixing a bright, keen eye upon her, making Talia shiver.
"You two-" he continued, addressing Fred and George-"seem rather familiar with Hogwarts. How is this?"
Once again, the twins looked at each other.
Fred started out, "Professor, we went to Hogwarts, we were in Gryffindor, seventh years."
"'Were'?" asked Dumbledore.
Fred grinned. "Ah…… well, we reckoned what with the new headmistress- she was a bit of a prat-" George snorted, "we had outgrown full-time education..." The twins launched into the rest of their tale vigorously, Talia looking down when they reached the part of finding her in the seemingly abandoned house.
"So this morning we found ourselves on the school grounds, and we reckoned we'd better try to find you."
"I see. And now you are back?" Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Er…… for the moment." Fred said hesitantly.
"Would you like to stay and attend classes here for the rest of the year? Due to Voldemort's current power," the twins cringed, gaping, "I believe it would be safest if you were to remain here."
"We haven't got robes, or our books-"
"That can be arranged." said Dumbledore. "And you?" he asked, addressing Talia.
"Er……All right, then." she said, following George's vigorous nod.
"Very well. I am curious, however," Dumbledore addressed the twins, "as to how you two were able to enter Gryffindor Tower without a password."
The devious twins were saved from having to answer this by the sudden opening of the door to Dumbledore's office.
"What now, Mr. Black?" Dumbledore said, sighing.