HIIIIIII! Omg, it seems like forever since I've updated. But I just needed some time to get the next few chapters together so I wouldn't be behind in the future. I want to thank everyone who's stayed with the story, and I really hope you enjoy the next year of my fic. Enjoy!
Chapter 1, Second Year
Thursday, 28th of August 2031
I wake up to the sun in my eyes, the heat of the sun burning against my cheeks. Sleep-ins were one of the perks of being home. Of course, it meant I didn't do much during the day, but it was better than being up at seven in the morning.
Unfortunately, being home also came with nuisances, such as inconsiderate siblings and annoying parents banging around the house, not caring that someone was still trying to sleep—namely, me.
I glanced at my clock and saw that it was ten in the morning. I sigh, knowing I should get up anyway. Jamie and Quinn had gotten their Hogwarts letters yesterday, so we were heading to Diagon Alley today. I was actually surprised the twins hadn't woken me up yet.
I drag myself out of bed and get ready for the day and then head downstairs for some cereal. Mum tells me we'll be leaving in ten minutes, so I spend the rest of that time sitting on the couch, trying to get a few more minutes of sleep in.
All too soon, it's time to go. We take the Floo to get there, and the twins immediately drag us over to get all their textbooks. Bailey needed new ones as well, but Wyrene and I just decide to use hand-me-downs. The twins only needed a few between the both of them anyway because they had my textbooks from last year and some of Wyrene's.
We had to drag them out of the shop to get their wands and everything else they needed. They didn't want any pets, saying they could use Studs if they needed to send an owl. We bought them cauldrons and quills and parchment, then finally they went in to get their school robes. I was going to stay outside, but then I saw Kimmy and George inside and grinned. I followed the boys in, then went over to the Jones twins.
They greeted me as Kimmy started being measured. I noticed they had gotten taller over the holidays, meaning they just loomed over me even more.
"Are those your brothers?" George asks me, nodding at Jamie and Quinn.
"Yeah," I answer. "The slightly shorter one is Quinn."
I knew it wouldn't help them identify who was who when they weren't together, but there was really nothing else that separated the two. I could only tell them apart because of their personalities and the way they talked. The boys were identical from the way their brown hair sat to the various freckles across their bodies.
"They're starting Hogwarts this year, right?" Kimmy asks.
I nod.
"Alright, dear, your turn," the woman measuring their robes speaks to George.
Kimmy steps away, and George takes her place.
"Do you know what house they'll be?" he asks me.
"Ravenclaw," I answer. "No doubt."
Next to me, Kimmy raises her eyebrows.
"What makes you think that?"
"They've only just bought some of their books today, and I can guarantee they've already read them. As soon as I got home from Hogwarts, they took my textbooks to read them. And the only time they're not reading or doing something nerdy, it's because they're in trouble, they're excited, or Mum and Dad have told them not to," I rattle off.
"We're not nerds!" Kimmy complains.
"I mean..." George begins.
Kimmy silences him with a glare.
"Anyway, I didn't say Ravenclaws as a whole are nerds; I just said they were," I shrug.
Just then, Jamie calls out to me.
"Gena, we're finished."
"Oh yeah, he's a Ravenclaw," George laughs, going off of his voice alone.
I grin as Kimmy rolls her eyes.
"Right, well, I've got to go. See you guys soon," I wave as I join the boys.
We do a bit more shopping and walking around Diagon Alley before we return home. When we do, I walk up to my room and find a letter on my desk. I recognise Ciena's writing as I pick it up.
Hey Gena,
Xinia's coming over to our place on Saturday, so if you want to come as well, you're welcome to. You can stay the night - Xin will be. Send a letter back if you'll come.
Hope to see you then,
Ciena (and Anica)
The last bit was written in Anica's handwriting, and I laugh as I walk back downstairs.
"Hey, Dad," I ask, spotting him first. "Can I go over to the twin's place on Saturday and stay for the night? Xinia's gonna be there as well."
"You'll have to ask your Mum, but I'm sure that'll be fine," Dad nods.
I thank him then go to find Mum. I ask her, and she says yes, so I quickly write out a reply and send Star (the family owl) to deliver it. She comes back with details, and I give her a treat before going back up to my room.
Saturday, 30th August, 2031
When Saturday comes around, Mum apparates me to the twin's place. Xinia was already there, so I said goodbye to Mum, and then the four of us headed upstairs while Ruth and Mum spoke for a bit.
"Ugh, I don't want to go back to school," Anica groans, flopping down on her bed.
Ciena and Xinia give her an unimpressed look while I just laugh.
"I mean, on the bright side, we'll be able to see each other every day," I point out. "We won't have to go back and forth between our places."
Over the past few months, we had had several days over at each other's places, and we had also done a few things with the other four. Although it was good to see each other, it was much more hassle than just meeting up somewhere in the castle.
"At least you guys get a small break from everyone," Ciena gestures at Xinia and me. "I'm stuck here every day with her," she scowls at Anica.
"Hey, it's not like I choose to live in the same house as you," Anica rolls her eyes. "If I had the choice, I would be out of here in a second if it meant being away from you."
Xinia and I laugh as the twins fight. I stop paying attention until something catches my interest.
"I mean, when was the last time you cleaned your room?" I hear Ciena ask a little later.
I frown, wondering how they had gotten onto that topic. I take a look around Anica's room, and see a few clothes on the floor and her textbooks scattered across her desk. Her bed was unmade, but apart from that, her room was actually pretty clean.
"I dunno, this is pretty good," I say. "You should have seen her at school," I laugh.
Anica was notorious for leaving her stuff anywhere and everywhere, excluding Susie and Penny's area. More often than not I would have to kick a few things out of my way just to get to my bed, and I had to keep an eye out in the bathroom to make sure I didn't trip over a brush or a bottle of shampoo.
Xinia and Ciena shudder at the thought of the mess, and Anica just rolls her eyes. The conversation moves on and, eventually, Xinia suggests moving to one of the studies.
"Good idea," I say, standing up.
As the girls had their own rooms, neither liked having to stay in the others so we would always move to a different room to avoid problems. Just before we enter the study, however, Finn comes out of his room. Xinia grins.
"Oh. My. God! Hi Finny!" Xinia shrieks across the hall to Finn.
"Oh, piss off, Xinia," he rolls his eyes angrily.
"Finn Wore, say hello, she's just trying to be nice," Ruth yells from downstairs.
We all laugh as Xinia smirks and Finn puts the finger up. I shake my head, a small smile on my lips as we enter the study.
"Is that really necessary, Xinia?" Anica rolls her eyes, albeit with a smile.
"Just keeping up the tradition," Xinia laughs, shrugging.
"Right, of course, how could I forget," Anica smacks her forehead. "It's not like you do it every time you come over, is it?" she asks sarcastically.
We laugh, and the conversation moves on. Eventually, Ciena and Xinia pull out a wizards chess set, and they sit quietly, both trying to thwart the other.
"What's the score again?" Anica asks me as we watch.
"Um, fourteen to twelve, Ciena in the lead," I answer.
"No, I'm winning. I'm on seventeen," Xinia says.
"No, you're not, those three games didn't count," I say, recalling the aforementioned games.
"What do you mean, they didn't count?!" she shrieks.
"I mean, using a spell on the pieces doesn't count," I roll my eyes.
"Well, that still means I'm on fourteen, numbnut!" Xinia exclaims.
"Numbnut?" Anica comments quietly, laughing a little.
"The other two were a tie; they don't count to anyone," I counteract.
"Have we really played thirty-one games this summer?" Ciena interrupts.
"Yes," Anica answers. "Which means after this one, no more until school starts."
"That's not fair. I don't get a chance to win!" Xinia complains.
"Fine, two more games, only if you win this one," I compromise.
"Three," Xinia pushes.
I stare her down for a moment, but she doesn't back down. I glance at Anica, and she sighs, giving a helpless shrug.
"Only if you win the next two games," I don't leave any room for arguments.
"Alright then," Xinia turns back to Ciena. "Game on!"
I shake my head before turning to Anica.
"Can we go do something fun?" I ask.
"Oh, do you not like watching these two play this utterly stupid game?" she laughs.
I shake my head.
"Not one bit."
"Hey!" the other two complain, but we ignore them.
We get up and leave the room and wander around for a bit, trying to think of something to do. As we go downstairs, Ruth looks at us suspiciously.
"What are you two up to?" she frowns at us.
I mock hurt and glance at Anica.
"How hurtful. She expects the worst from us."
Anica laughs.
"Well, I wouldn't if you didn't run amok every time you're left alone," Ruth says sternly.
"We do not!" Anica protests
I turn to her, raising my eyebrows.
"Ok, so maybe we do," she admits.
"Honestly, though, first we get called culprits for a harmless prank, and now we're…" I trail off, scrunching my eyebrows as I try to think of the word. "Amok..ies? No, that sounds stupid. Amok...ers? Come on, give me some help Anica," I say, getting sidetracked as I try to think of a word.
She just looks at me in amusement. I glare at her, and she hastily thinks of something.
"Amokinums?"
"That's not a real word Anica," Ciena suddenly says as she walks around the corner.
"Is it fifteen to twelve?" I tease, seeing Xinia behind her.
"We're even, thank you very much," Xinia pulls a face at me.
I shake my head before turning back to Ruth.
"Dinner will be ready at seven and Warren will be home at five, and he can take you somewhere if you like," she tells us.
"So that gives us…" I check my watch. "'Bout three hours."
"If I might ask, to do what?" Xinia gives us a scrutinising look.
Anica and I shrug.
"This and that," Anica answers nonchalantly.
"You know, I think I'm going to call you four the Amokinum from now on," Ruth sighs before walking off.
Ciena looks mildly offended and confused.
"What made me part of that? Also, what is that?"
I laugh.
"Being friends with us. And, nevermind."
Xinia shakes her head in amusement before pulling Ciena off again to finish their chess competition.
"So what should we do?" I ask Anica once they're gone.
"Dunno," she shrugs. "Up to you."
I purse my lips as I think. Then, I get an idea.
"Say, how much exploring have you done about your house?"
She gives me a disbelieving look.
"Um, considering I've lived here all my life, I'd say a fair bit."
"Come on," I whine. "This place is three stories, and there's got to be at least a dozen studies and other rooms on the second floor. Plus, it's magic. There's got to be something you haven't come across yet."
"So we're going to explore the place I've lived in for practically thirteen years, to try and find something new?"
"Yup."
She rolls her eyes at me but follows me down the hall anyway. We walk past every door, opening each to see what's inside. Each time Anica tells me what's inside before I do just to prove she knows every room.
"You know I also know what's in most of these rooms?" I tell her when I get sick of it. "But obviously we are going through every room anyway, just in case."
"Whatever," she says as we start to search through the second to last study on the second floor.
Unfortunately, we don't find anything, and we continue moving through the house. We walk up the stairs to the final floor, and Anica opens the first door to reveal another study.
While she looks through it, I glance around the rest of the floor. Mostly just open space, it's a fair bit smaller than last time I saw it. Of course, it had been expanded to accommodate a Quidditch game then. A few other doors are in the hall near the stairs, but then it opens up. We check the rest of the rooms but find nothing. Anica gives me an I told you so look. I glare at her.
"There's still one room we haven't looked at," I point out, glancing down the hall.
"Yeah, my parent's room. The one room in the whole entire house we're not allowed in."
"Ever wondered why?" I ask, starting towards it.
She follows my focus to the door, and we stand there for a minute.
"No, not really. Privacy? Adult stuff? Why wouldn't it be off-limits?" Anica shrugs.
I stare at her in amazement for a second.
"Why would it be?" I retort. "I'm allowed in my parent's room all the time as long as I knock. And they actually had a secret to hide for 11 years," I point out, indicating the whole adoption thing.
This time she stares at me in surprise.
"It's just one of the limited rules we have," she shrugs.
I shake my head, knowing that they are basically allowed to do anything they want.
"Still think there's nothing to find?" I grin, reaching out to turn the door handle.
"Wait!"
She walks over to the steps that lead down the second floor.
"Mum? Can you make Gena and I something to eat please!" she calls.
"I'm not hungry," I frown.
Anica rolls her eyes.
"So she doesn't come up, stupid."
"Oh," I say. "Wait, so does that mean you're in?"
She nods slightly before walking back to the door I stand in front of. She turns the handle, and the door swings open. She steps inside, and I quickly follow, shutting the door behind her.
"Huh," I say, looking around.
The room is big and spacious, but simple—king bed in the middle, dresser and wardrobe on one wall, mirror on the other. The ensuite leads off into another room where I see a two-person bath and a regular shower and toilet.
"That was kind of anti-climatic," I sigh.
"Yeah, after everything you said I was expecting skeletons or, like, stairs or something leading down into a torture chamber with dead bodies," Anica jokes.
I laugh, wandering around the room.
"We don't have long, Gena," Anica warns. "Mum will be finished making whatever she's making soon."
"I know, but let's just take a quick look around before we go down," I say.
We walk around the room, looking under the bed and behind the doors for anything that might be of interest. After a few minutes, Anica sighs and declares the room as dull as all the others. I groan, throwing my hands up in the air.
"How can there be literally nothing interesting in a house this big?!"
Anica flops down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She shrugs her shoulders and gives me a What can you do? look. I humph, turning away from her. A few seconds later, Anica speaks up.
"Gena, is it normal to have a square thing in the middle of the roof?"
"I've told you - Wait, what?"
I whirl around and look at where she's pointing. Right above the bed, hidden slightly by the light, is indeed a square bit of roof that looks separate from the rest of the ceiling.
"No, it's not," I answer her question.
She nods, moving into a kneeling position to look at it.
"Thought so."
I clamber up onto the bed beside her, standing up to try and reach it. It's several inches out of my reach though, so even Anica can't reach it. I tell her to move over a bit, and then I concentrate before morphing myself to grow taller. I stop just before my head touches the ceiling and reach up to fiddle with the square. It pushes up slightly but seems to be locked or held in place by something. I'm about to give this information to Anica when I hear Ruth shouting up the stairs that our food's ready.
I know she won't hear us reply from up here, so I tell Anica to hurry. Just before we exit the room, I notice the bed is rumpled from where we were moving around on it. Anica notices as well, and together we fix the covers. I survey the room again and am satisfied that everything is in place. I push Anica out of the room just as Ruth calls out again.
"Girls? Did you hear me?"
She sounds closer, probably on the second floor now.
"Yeah, mum, we're coming down," Anica yells.
We rush down the hall and down the stairs to the second floor. I see Ruth halfway down the hallway.
"What were you two doing up there?" Ruth asks.
"Uh, just looking through the study to see if my Charms textbook was up there," Anica answers.
Ruth rolls her eyes with an affectionate smile.
"Typical Anica, leaving things all over the house," she laughs before glancing at me and doing a double-take. "Gena? Why are you so tall?"
I glance down at myself and notice I was still morphed from before. I was now about a head taller than Ruth.
"Oh, I was looking on the top shelf," I lie, morphing back down to my regular height. "Figured it was easier than standing on the desk," I laugh a little.
"Well, come on, your food is ready."
We nod, following her downstairs. Despite not being hungry, I ate the chips and crackers she had made. Just as we finish, Xinia and Ciena come downstairs. Xinia's face is glowing with glee, and I quickly assume she won the games.
"What have you guys been doing?" Ciena asks as she pours herself a glass of milk.
"Looking for my textbooks," Anica lies again because Ruth is still in the room.
"Hey, I brought my laptop. Do you guys want to watch a movie?" Xinia asks.
"You brought what? Watch a what?" Ruth asks in confusion.
"It's this device, a muggle device, that, um, you use to, like, watch recorded performances," she struggles to explain. "The performances are called movies."
"Oh, okay."
"Yeah, I'd love to watch a movie," Anica smiles.
We all follow Xinia up the stairs to one of the studies where her laptop sits surrounded by pillows and blankets.
"What do you guys want to watch?" Xinia asks.
"How should we know?" I raise my eyebrows at her. "You're the muggleborn."
Xinia's face scrunches up in thought for a moment.
"There are these muggle fiction books written by a squib called J.K. Rowling. A/N: Yes I am aware how far fetched this is. Do I care? Absolutely not! She got the Golden Trio's story from listening in on her cousins and parents. She then turned it into a children's book series, and now they're movies."
"Wait! Muggles know about us?" Ciena cries.
"Not exactly, they think it's a made-up story," Xinia explains. "The movies were made by muggles and muggle actors and everything. Although it is a big thing in the muggle world, they don't know it's real."
"What are the movies called?" I ask, my interest piqued.
"The titles are pretty boring actually. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first one, and then all the others are just the same, except it's whatever they face that year."
"What's the best one?" Anica asks. "We'll watch that one."
"Well that answer is debatable, but I'd say the third one, the Prisoner of Azkaban."
The twins and I share a confused look before we all get comfortable and start the movie. Afterwards, we're all burning with questions and criticism.
"Weren't Sirius and Remus like mid-thirties when they met Harry? Those actors were like forty or fifty!" Ciena complains.
"There are flaws of course, but they're like the best in their business, so…" Xinia trails off, shrugging.
"But Harry Potter's eyes are green! Hermione had buck teeth when she was younger, and her hair was insane! And Ron and all the Weasley's have millions of freckles and red hair, not ginger!" Ciena lists the main things that were wrong with the movie.
"Daniel Radcliffe, Harry's actor, had an allergic reaction to the contact solution. The teeth were too hard for Emma Watson, Hermione's actor, to perform with and red and ginger are basically the same to muggles. Also to apply makeup freckles for every single scene would be a lot for the makeup crew to deal with," Xinia explains.
Ciena rolls her eyes.
"That's no excuse!"
Anica and I shake our heads.
"We should watch the rest of them sometime. It'll be cool," Xinia suggests.
"Yeah, it would be pretty cool to practically live the whole Harry Potter era," I say.
"As long as the others don't have as many flaws I'll be fine with it," Ciena agrees.
"Don't get your hopes up," Xinia laughs.
"It's not like Voldermort is going to hug Draco Malfoy," Ciena says.
Xinia quickly covers her mouth as a smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth. Ciena's eyes widen in shock, and I block my ears as Ciena squeals.
"Merlin! What was that?" I groan, rubbing my sensitive ears.
"Voldemort hugs Draco!?" Ciena cries. "What the hell? When? Why?"
Xinia just laughs and ignores her questions.
"What's the time?" Anica asks, turning to me.
I look at my watch and notice that it's almost been three hours.
"It's practically five," I answer. "Your Dad'll be home soon. What should we get him to do for us?"
Whenever Xinia or I visited, Warren would always do something small for us when he got home from work. It was always fun seeing how far he would go.
"Ooh, do you reckon he'll get me that nice muggle candy that costs a fortune?" I ask excitedly. "Not very daring but I'd do anything for that stuff."
"Which one?" Anica laughs. "They're all worth a bit, and you love it all."
"The ancient stuff," I try to remember its name. "Um…"
"Doesn't matter, cause I don't want candy," Xinia interrupts.
I slump, scowling at her.
"Party pooper," I mutter under my breath.
"You got any ideas then?" Anica asks her.
"Why do I always have to come up with the ideas?" Xinia complains.
"Because you always shoot everyone else's ideas down," I sulk.
"Do you have an idea?" Ciena asks.
"Of course," Xinia smiles. "I wouldn't mind sleeping under the stars. So what if we asked him to get us a camping set and to enchant the ceiling to look like the ceiling at Hogwarts in the Great Hall."
"I feel like the magic required to do that would be a lot, but we can ask," Ciena nods.
I shrug, not particularly minding what we do now that my candy idea had been shot down. Anica agrees, so we head downstairs. Sure enough, Warren was just entering through the front door as we reached the bottom step. Ruth and Warren came through to the living room, and Ruth smiles.
"Ah, here are our Amokinum."
Warren looks at her in confusion as she laughs. Ciena hmphs as she greets her father. Anica grins.
"All rights go to me for the name," she announces.
When none of us reacts, she frowns.
"Well, don't clap and cheer all at once," she rolls her eyes sarcastically.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Xinia mocks and begins a slow clap.
"Thank you, thank you," Anica bows dramatically.
I just shake my head at their theatrics.
"Anyway," Ciena cuts in. "Dad, we have a request."
Warren smiles and waits expectantly.
"You know the Great Hall at Hogwarts?" Xinia starts.
Warren nods, looking slightly confused.
"Well, we were wondering if you could replicate or modify the spell that's on the ceiling to make it look like the sky. We wanted to, like, get some camping equipment and sleep under the stars."
He takes this into deep consideration before he answers.
"I don't know about replicating it, but I reckon I could create an outside room with a glass roof if that's any consolation?"
Xinia considers it for a moment then grins.
"Works for me."
I frown in disappointment and stare at Xinia, still hung up on her shotting my candy idea down. I notice Anica begin to smile until she spots my stare and crosses her arms, putting on a neutral face. I roll my eyes, although silently thank her.
"I can take you girls to one of those muggle camping shops so you can get what you like," Ruth suggests. "Warren can start on the room."
We all nod, and Ruth tells us she just has to grab her bag.
"We've never been camping before," Ciena informs Xinia and me.
"What?!" Xinia exclaims.
Anica nods and even I'm kind of shocked.
"I mean we've stayed in a cabin, but that's as close as we've gotten."
"Come on. Even I've been camping once or twice," I say.
"My family always goes camping, most of the time Wendy's family comes with us," Xinia says.
"Yeah, well, you guys are muggles. Well, your family is. Plus you live on the outskirts of the city. We live in the middle of London," Anica defends her and Ciena. "Not many spaces for camping here."
"We'll have to bring you one time," Xinia decides.
Ruth finally walks back in, and we all hold onto her arms. A second before we leave, I remember that Xinia has probably never apparated before, but it's too late. We apparate, and I notice we are in an alleyway that Mum and Dad always take us to.
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Xinia groans. "I haven't apparated before."
I turn to see her holding her stomach. My slightly sour mood instantly lightens, and I laugh.
"That's payback," I tell her.
Ciena looks at me unamusedly, and I shrug. Xinia just glares at me.
"It'll pass. First time's always the worst."
Before we cross into the muggle street, Ruth reminds me to change my hair. I look at her in confusion for a moment, then realise that it was a light purple colour; probably not the typical twelve-year-old muggle look. I quickly change it to a natural-looking orange and then we head over to the store.
"What do you girls want?" Ruth asks as we look around.
"Well, what are we sleeping on?" Anica asks.
"I'm not sleeping on the floor," I immediately declare.
"Well, what do you want to sleep on then?!" Xinia retorts.
"A camping bed? Or at least a mattress of some sorts!"
Xinia mumbles something unflattering under her breath before voicing her thoughts.
"So I think this is what we'll need; four single stretchers or two queen mattresses, a firepit, some firewood, a lantern, four sleeping bags, maybe camping chairs and a table, marshmallows and sticks or marshmallow skewers, and depending on how or what we're cooking for dinner we might need a camp oven unless we're cooking inside. Oh, and I'm hoping you have matches or a lighter at home?" she rushes through.
"You know it's not illegal to take a break when you speak right?" I joke. "Also, can't we just have a normal meal rather than buy a whole camp oven?"
"Oh, you think you're so funny," she rolls her eyes.
"I know I'm so funny," I grin.
"Of course we can have a normal meal, it was just a suggestion."
"Okay, well, I think we can let Xinia take the lead on this," Ruth interrupts.
Xinia smirks before leading us off to collect everything. She loads all the things from her list into our arms, and I quickly find mine growing heavy and sore.
"Xin, I think we have enough now," Anica winces as Xinia loads yet another camping chair into her arms.
"You think? I'm positive!" I cry, my voice muffled by the sleeping bags and firewood currently making my arms numb.
"Oh, is that too heavy for you little Genie?" Xinia laughs, pulling a pouty face as she drops a lantern on top of my pile.
I stick my tongue out at her, grunting slightly.
"Don't worry, it'll pass," she uses my earlier words with a sweet smile.
I glare at her as much as I'm able to through the camping items. Luckily, she only loads a few more things onto us before she deems herself satisfied.
"Come on, girls, let's go home," Ruth says as we walk to the counter.
She pays, and I see Xinia wince slightly at the price. I don't understand muggle currency, but I can guess that it would cost quite a lot. Ruth doesn't seem to mind, though, so no further comments are made. We make our way back to the alleyway where Xinia helps Ruth put everything into a magically expanded bag, before we apparate back to the house. We begin setting everything up while Warren makes the finishing touches on the room.
By the time everything is done, dinner is ready. Ruth had left before to start it, and she called us out to collect. She had made Spaghetti Bolognese, which we decided to eat around the camping table under the stars.
"Hey, girls," Ruth begins. "Warren and I have to go out for a little bit after dinner, so Finn will look after you."
I glance at Anica and suddenly realise the opportunity.
"How long will you be gone for?" Anica asks, catching on.
"About an hour," Warren answers, looking at Ruth, who nods.
I fight back a grin as Anica nods, looking disinterested any further. A whole hour! Finn's 'looking after us' always consists of him telling us not to go out of the house and then going back to his room until his parents come back. It had always been like that, so I saw no reason for it to be different this time. That meant we had just under an hour to investigate Ruth and Warren's room and the square in their roof. Xinia spots my face and gives me a questioning look, but I ignore her for the time being.
Once dinner is finished, we help clean up and then Ruth and Warren prepare to go out. When they're ready, they tell Finn to keep an eye on us before leaving. He turns to us, looking exhausted.
"Four rules. Don't break anything. Don't leave the house. Don't come near me. Don't die."
With that, he returns to his room, and Xinia begins to lead us back to the room Warren had fixed up for us, but I hold her back.
"What?" she asks irritably.
Then she spots my look and immediately starts shaking her head.
"Oh, no. No! I know that look. Whatever you're planning, it's not happening."
"I don't have a look!" I protest.
Xinia just stares at me.
"Whatever. Listen, we found a secret room or something up on the third floor. Trust us," I say.
"Where upstairs?" Ciena asks.
I see Anica's wince, and her question is met with silence.
"Just come," I beckon.
Ciena and Xinia follow us up the stairs to the end of the hall where the twin's parent's room is.
"Why are we outside Mum and Dad's room?" Ciena questions, a suspicious look on her face.
"Well, the thing, it's, kinda, inside, their room," Anica closes her eyes and winces.
Ciena looks enraged while Xinia's eyes widen.
"I'm telling Mum that you went in her room!" Ciena cries.
"No, you're not!" Anica shouts.
"I'm older!"
"Well, I'm the oldest, so I say we go in!" Xinia smiles.
Ciena looks as if she's about to pass out.
"You are not!" Ciena cries.
"Yes I am, genius!" Xinia says.
"Why are you agreeing to this? You know how strict Mum and Dad are about us not going in their room!"
"Yeah, but have you ever wondered why?" I interrupt. "Look, there's absolutely nothing suspicious about anything, except this one bit of roof. It's locked, though. So chances are we won't even get in."
"Then what's the point?" Ciena asks.
"To have an adventure!" I exclaim. "Come on, Ciena. Pleeeease?" I pull my best puppy face, knowing it won't help in the slightest but doing it anyway.
"Come on," Xinia turns to her. "You know how much I hate doing stuff I'm not supposed to. We'll only be in there for a few minutes; I'm amazing at picking locks."
Ciena seems to take this into consideration before answering.
"Fine. But I'm not going in."
"You can stand watch then," Anica claps her on the shoulder before walking in.
I quickly follow her and Xinia enters the room behind me. Ciena doesn't follow. We show Xinia to the square on the roof. She stares up at it, looking thoughtful.
"Quick question," she says. "How do you intend on reaching it?"
"Have you forgotten that your best friend is a Metamorphmagus?" I raise my eyebrows.
"Yeah, that solves your problem," Xinia replies. "But not ours," she gestures at Anica and herself.
I shrug.
"We'll make it work."
We climb onto the bed and all stand under the square. I focus and morph a few feet taller. I reach up until my hands touch the ceiling. I lift the square and feel resistance, like last time.
"It's locked," I report. "Considering there's no lock on the outside, I'd say by magic."
"Okay, Gena, let me on your back," Xinia says.
I sigh but crouch down a little. She climbs on, and I grunt under the extra weight.
"Don't suppose I can stand on something sturdier than a bed?" I mutter.
"Hush," Xinia scolds me. "Just give me a moment."
She struggles to reach the ceiling but tries to lift the square anyway.
"Ok, it's definitely locked," Xinia tells Anica.
"Oh, no shit," I exclaim. "You think I want you crushing me?"
"I'm not crushing you."
"I beg to differ," I say, shifting as Xinia almost makes me topple. "Hey, watch it," I snap.
"Girls, just try and open the thing," Anica interrupts.
Xinia mutters an insult under her breath before going back to the ceiling to inspect it further. She reaches for her wand but pauses for a moment.
"Finny's over seventeen, right?" she asks.
Anica nods and Xinia pulls her wand out. She points it at the ceiling.
"Alohomora."
Nothing happens.
"Doesn't that only open locks? Why would it work on a magical seal?" I ask.
"I didn't expect it to. But it doesn't hurt to try."
She inspects the ceiling for a little bit longer, occasionally muttering spells under her breath.
Anica and I eventually start up a conversation, trying to distract myself from Xinia's constant shifting on my back.
"Anica Erin Wore, Ciena Grace Wore, Finn Josh Wore," Xinia suddenly says.
"Um, Xinia?" Anica asks, startled by her. "Why are you saying our full names?"
"48 Duncannon St, London, England, A/N: No idea if this is a real place, just a quick disclaimer! second of September 2018, twenty-third of June 2013," Xinia continues.
"XIN!"
"What?"
"What on Earth are you doing?"
"Guessing things that might be a password."
Xinia goes back to trying different words. Having already tried names, addresses and birthdays, she goes on to previous pets, houses and other random things. Deciding she doesn't need to stay on my back, I set her down. She barely notices though as I turn to Anica and give her a sceptical look.
"Are we just going to stand here while she guesses random things?"
"Well, I mean, it worked for the library passage," Anica shrugs.
"Because we had a painting to get an idea. Something tells me if it needs a password it's not going to be a simple detail. It'll probably be a special word or memory or something between your parents. I doubt it would be something that's common knowledge to their family or their guests."
"Since when are you smart?" Xinia comments before going back to guessing words.
"It's not smart," I say. "It's called being logical. Why would you make a password something that anyone could guess? That's like, what's that thing...laptop! That's like setting a laptop password to 'password'."
"Hey! That was when I was 8!" Xinia cries. "My password is much better now."
"Anyway," Anica rolls her eyes, grinning a bit. "Gena's right. My parents know how snoopy I am. Gena and you too. I don't think the password would be that simple."
"Well, what would it be then?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know?"
I can feel the glare Xinia is giving even though it's not directed at me.
"Ciena! Get your butt in here!" Anica calls out to her.
"No!" Ciena protests. "I told you, I'm not coming in."
"You'll get a chance to prove how smart you are…" Xinia tries to convince her.
A couple of seconds pass before I hear Ciena huff and then walk in. She takes in Xinia on the bed and me and Anica next to her, all staring up at the roof.
"What do you need me to do?" Ciena asks.
"We think this needs a password to open," Xinia explains, gesturing at the square in the roof. "But we don't know what it could be. Do you have any ideas?"
I see Ciena's wheels in her mind start to turn, taking her time to think.
"Well, I -" she begins before Anica cuts her off.
"We don't need the whole run down Ciena. What do you think the password is?"
"FCA20WR05."
All three of us look at her in shock as the square in the roof clicks open. A moment of silence passes before I shake myself out of it.
"Yes, because that makes sense," I comment sarcastically.
"It's the password Mum and Dad use for everything," Ciena explains.
"Why?" Xinia asks. "What does it mean?"
"FCA, that's Finn, me and Anica," the Ravenclaw starts. "2020 is the year they started using it. WR that's Mum and Dad, and 05," she falters. "I have no idea why that."
Anica shrugs and pushes past her.
"Give me a hand, will you Gena?" Anica beckons me over.
"What is this, climb on Gena's back and use her as a cushion day?" I mutter, complying anyway.
It takes a bit of persuading from the three of us but eventually we convince Ciena to come up with us. Anica goes first, then Ciena, then Xinia. Being the shortest, she requires a little more reach and before I can morph, she uses my face to push herself up. I splutter and groan as her shoes dig into my nose and I have to twist my face, so she doesn't crush my eyeballs.
"Thanks, Genes," she grins sweetly once she's through.
I glare up at her before hauling myself in, morphing back to my normal size once I'm in. I slap Xinia hard before looking around the room.
"Can someone please turn a light on," Anica complains.
"Lumos," Xinia mutters, the end of her wand acquiring a glow.
The room lights up, and all four of us gasp.
Don't we just love cliffhangers? Haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Hopefully, I update soon, but in the meantime, don't forget to leave a review and check out my Instagram page (username is in my profile description).
Also, I know the HP think and books and movies is completely unrealistic, but this is fanfiction, so who cares:)
Also, I know Amokinum is a very weird word but it's going to stick, so, in the nicest way possible, get used to it.
Okay, bye now!