Early June 1981, London
Fabian groaned as he woke up from his rather peaceful sleep, his eyes fighting against the bright light coming in through the window. He lifted his hand, palm blocking against the blinding rays of the sun.
"You work fast, brother dear," he heard Gideon remark dryly. Fabian's eyes flew open to see Gideon now fully awake with a smirk on his face.
"I practically fought off Death and was unconscious for what, 10 hours, only to find my brother in bed with the Muggle that saved us."
Fabian looked down at his bed, finally remembering the warm body curled against his side. Bryn was asleep next to him on top of the covers, her chest rising and falling with easy breaths. He couldn't even remember falling asleep. The last thing he could remember was him wrapping his arms around her as he whispered soothing words into her ear.
Fabian's throat felt dry as he met his brother's gaze. He was torn between playing it cool and pretending that this was completely normal or asking his brother to sod off and hug the warm body cuddled next to him.
"I would say you were unconscious for at least 12 hours." Playing it cool it is.
Gideon arched his brow at him. But before he could open his mouth to speak, a shout reverberated through the walls of the house.
"MUM! CHRIS! Have you seen Bryn?! I can't find her anywhere!" The feminine voice shouting was paired with the thundering of footsteps running across the hardwood floors.
Oh no.
As much as he was very, very comfortable with Bryn curled up next to him, he figured it was best if he woke her up before anyone came into the room and found them together in bed.
"Bryn," he shook her shoulder, "Bryn, wake up. It's morning."
Bryn muttered unintelligibly and shifted closer to his body. He felt his breath catch as she wrapped her arm across his abdomen and nuzzled into his chest. Her hair, no longer in a bun, tickled his nose and he could smell her lavender shampoo.
This might be considered as torture.
"Bryony, love, wake up," he shook her again, willing for her to rouse or else he might just lose his sanity very soon.
The door flew open and Fabian looked up with a start to see the gobsmacked face of Bryn's sister.
Oh, not good.
"Mia! Did you find Bryn?" Another female voice called out from somewhere in the house.
Bryn's sister snapped out of her shock and managed to reply. "Yes! I found her! She's, uh, looking after our patients!"
Fabian stared daggers at Gideon who let out a guffaw at her reply. Bryn's sister came into the room again, her caramel hair tied messily into a ponytail. There was a teasing smirk on her face now that the initial shock wore off.
"Good to see the two of you awake. I hope you're hungry."
"We're absolutely famished," Gideon declared.
"Great! I'm Mia, by the way," she introduced herself.
"I'm Gideon." Gideon jerked his head towards Fabian, lips quirked. "And that charming fellow is Fabian."
"And I'm sure you've met my sister, Bryony," Mia smirked, pointedly staring at Bryn who continued to sleep soundly in Fabian's arms.
Fabian cleared his throat, slightly flustered. "We've been acquainted, yes."
Mia's smirk just grew wider. "So I see."
Gideon chortled, not even bothering to hide it.
"Well, if you could be dear and wake my sister from what I am sure is a very delightful sleep. We need her down in the kitchen. I'll be back to bring you something light to eat."
The girl left to shut the door behind but stuck her head in at the last second, a soft smile decorating her face. "I'm really glad the two of you are alright."
The door shut firmly behind her and Fabian hastily shook Bryn's shoulder harder. "Bryony, you've gotta wake up now."
Bryn finally stirred, her eyes prying themselves open. "Fabian?" She mumbled sleepily, rubbing her tired eyes. He could feel his heart squeezing at how adorable she looked.
"Time to wake up now, love. It's already morning and your sister came to find you."
"My sister?" She repeated drowsily, looking around the room. He could feel her stiffen when she finally realised she was curled up in bed. Right next to him.
She darted back in shock only to tumble off the edge of the bed. Fabian shot up in bed after her when she fell. He reached out a hand to Bryn sprawled on the floor.
"Are you okay?" Fabian asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. Nothing like falling out of bed to get your morning going," She muttered, a red blush painting her cheeks.
She eyed Gideon, who was rolling around in laughter. "Don't hurt yourself, Gideon. Wouldn't want to save your life only for you to die from laughter."
Gideon finally calmed down, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "Well, that sounds like a wonderful way to go." He grinned and Bryn only scoffed in response.
She grabbed Fabian's hand, allowing him to pull her up. Fabian bit his lip, suppressing his own grin at Bryn's obvious embarrassment. Her face was practically on fire and she pointedly avoided his gaze as she brushed off the dust from her clothes.
She cleared her throat and looked at Gideon, hands on her hips. "How are you feeling, Gideon?"
"Excellent. You give a great wake up call." Gideon winked at her and Fabian could see her ears turning red.
"You know what I mean," she retorted, a bite of impatience in her tone.
"Muscles are aching a bit but I'm alright. My wound healed nicely and I'm sure I have you to thank for that, Bryony."
Gideon's expression turned serious as he stared at her, sincerity shining in his eyes. "Thank you, Bryn. I think it's safe to say that both of us are alive because of you."
Bryn's stance relaxed slightly and her arms now fell to her side.
"Well, I could also say the same thing. Thank you for risking your life to save me and my sister. We are alive because of you too."
Gideon gave her a genuine smile and Fabian was sure she returned it.
"And speaking of your sister, she popped by just now. You're needed down in the kitchen." Gideon smiled wickedly at her.
Bryn huffed in exasperation and made her way to the door. She was about to reach out to the door handle when she paused and turned back.
"I forgot to bring this up last night - "
"Oh, I bet you did," Gideon sniggered, causing Fabian to glare at him.
"- but is there anyone you'd like me to call? To let them know you're alright?"
Fabian swivelled his head towards Gideon, who was no doubt mirroring the look of alarm on his face.
"Molly," they uttered in unison.
Fabian can't believe he completely forgot about Molly. She must be beside herself with worry when they didn't show up at the Burrow for dinner yesterday. And the Order. They must have come up with the worst-case scenarios since they were MIA for all of last night. He reached out to grab his wand resting on the bedside table while Bryn stood there, completely bewildered by their reactions.
"Who is Molly?" she asked.
"Molly is our little sister," Gideon answered, "Shit, she must be worried sick when we didn't show up yesterday."
"Well, tell me her number and I can call - "
"We don't use those Muggle devices, love," Fabian explained, raising his wand. "Expecto Patronum!"
His silver stoat burst out from the end of his wand and soared around the room. Bryn watched in awe as his Patronus playfully circled around her feet, nuzzling her ankles before scampering to Fabian's side to await his message.
"Send this message to Molly Weasley," Fabian told the silver stoat, decidedly ignoring Gideon's waggling eyebrows at the Patronus sudden affection to Bryn.
"Gideon and I are safe. We had some injuries but we are fine now. We will be back soon," Fabian relayed his message to the stoat and scampered out of the open window, disappearing as silver wisps in the sunlight.
"Wow," Bryn breathed. "What was that?"
"That was a Patronus. I guess you could call it an animal guardian of sorts." Fabian rubbed his neck sheepishly at the look of pure wonder in her eyes. "We can use it to send messages to others."
"That was just - just - "
"Magical?" Gideon teased but she just nodded fervently.
"Yes, there is just no other word to describe it. It just looked so beautiful," Bryn exclaimed in awe. Fabian was not a man who could easily blush but he could feel his cheeks warming at the awestruck look on her face. He was glad though, that he was able to show her the better parts of magic after her horrible experience with Dolohov.
"My Patronus is the same as his," Gideon piped up, "I would regale you with it but I'm feeling rather peckish right now."
Bryn gasped. "Oh goodness, I can't believe - I'm sorry! You haven't eaten anything since last night and with your injuries - I'll bring up some food."
She ran off, slamming the door behind her. Once Fabian heard her footsteps receding from the door, he raised his eyebrows at Gideon.
"Really? There were better ways of getting her to leave."
Gideon simply shrugged and adjusted the pillows to prop himself comfortably in bed. "Eh, I'm really hungry actually. And, I need you to explain to me what happened without you getting distracted."
Fabian rolled his eyes but proceeded to give Gideon a recount on what happened at the alley, how they were brought back to Bryn's house to tend to their injuries with their potions and his talk with her the night before (of course, he excluded the part where they hugged. Gideon didn't need to know about that).
Gideon whistled once Fabian was finished. "Wow, she's one heck of a woman, and a Muggle no less," said Gideon, clearly impressed.
"No wonder you're so smitten with her," he added cheekily, winking at Fabian.
"What - I am not - "
"Fabian, we've shared a womb together. I know you. I think I can tell when you're besotted with a girl. Not that it was hard to find out. Your Patronus gave you away."
Fabian scrunched his face in disgust. "Well thank you for giving me that image."
"You got all the life-changing secrets out of the way and you've already slept in bed together. What's stopping you?" Gideon grinned.
Before Fabian could reply, there was a knock on the door and a man came in, balancing two trays in his hands with ease. He seemed younger than Fabian, but not by much. He had the same brown hair and blue eyes as Mia. He shared similar facial features as the two girls but his jaw and nose was more defined and angular. This had to be the older brother that Bryn mentioned briefly last night.
"Good morning," the man spoke brusquely. "Good to see both of you alive."
His tone was impassive and his expression was guarded as he placed the trays on their laps. Fabian murmured his thanks as he took the tray.
The man stood near the foot of their bed, his muscular arms crossed over his chest as he stared at them with a discerning gaze. "I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to ask you some questions while you eat."
It wasn't so much of a request, more of a statement.
"Alright," Gideon said cautiously, "What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Bryn and Mia have given me the rundown on what happened yesterday but I'd like to hear it from you as well."
In between bites of their porridge (they were just too hungry), Gideon and Fabian recounted the events leading up to and during the Death Eaters' attack, why would the Death Eaters target his sisters and ultimately revealed who they are. The man listened without interruption, his expression betraying nothing.
The man sighed deeply once the twins were finished. His stoic appearance finally cracked as his lips formed a wry smile. "Never would I have thought that magic existed in this world. It's a lot to take in," he confessed, running his hands through his hair.
"We spent all our lives hiding from Muggles - non-magical people - so it's understandable if you feel overwhelmed," said Gideon as he polished off his breakfast.
"I am more overwhelmed by the fact that there is a group of fanatics going around, torturing normal people like me. And what's more alarming is that we had no idea and there is no way we can protect ourselves from people like them," the man scowled.
The man sighed again before glancing at Fabian and Gideon, his hard expression softening slightly. "I suppose I should thank you for coming to my sisters' aid in the alley. If you didn't turn up, I can't even - I don't want to imagine what they might have done to them."
Fabian smiled reassuringly at him. "Well, then don't. It's our job and well, your sisters are the reason why we are even alive. Bryn came back and saved our asses in the alley."
"Ha, that's Bryn for you. Always rushing headfirst into danger," the man muttered vexingly but Fabian could detect a fondness in his tone for his dark-haired sister.
The man shifted his stance, his face hardening once more. "As much as I am grateful for you two for saving my sisters, I need to know if your presence in my house would pose a danger to my family?"
Gideon furrowed his brows in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't understand. We're not going to use our magic to hurt them if that's what you mean."
"No, would those Death Eaters be able to find us through you? By detecting your magic or something?"
Gideon shook his head, trying to appease the man. "No, not to worry. They won't be able to track us like that. We've warded ourselves against it. But they might be able to track us if a physical object was left behind with the person's blood."
"That's good. I don't think the girls left behind any- ," the man cut himself short, his eyes widening in horror as something dawned on him.
"Shit," he swore before he ran out of the room, the door banging against the wall in his haste.
"What," Gideon turned to Fabian, "just happened?"
Fabian just looked at his brother grimly. "Whatever it is, it can't be good."
༻⸻⸻⸻⸻༺
Bryn continued to wash the dishes from breakfast, resolutely ignoring Mia's suggestive looks and constant nudging.
"Come on, Bryn," Mia sang, "you can't avoid this forever."
"But I didn't," Bryn said shortly, flicking the soapy water at her sister. "I already told you what happened. I went to check on them and Fabian happened to be awake. We talked and I accidentally fell asleep next to him. End of story."
Mia leaned forward, a coy smile on her face. "Uh huh and remind me again, how would talking next to him on a chair lead to falling asleep beside him in the same bed?"
It would if the man pulled you into a hug on top of the bed, Bryn replied silently. But as her mind flashed back to her being in Fabian's comforting embrace as he gently soothed her with his words, she could feel herself blushing. Damn it.
"AHA!" Mia cried smugly, pointing to Bryn's red cheeks. "I knew it! You are holding back on me. Spill. What happened last night?"
"Amelia, stop teasing you sister," her mother admonished Mia when she walked into the kitchen having wiped down the table.
"Thank you, mum," said Bryn, relieved that she was finally free from all the teasing. Seems like she spoke too soon.
"Don't scare her off when she's finally found someone she's attracted to."
"Mum!" Bryn exclaimed, scandalized. She didn't know what was worse: Mia's annoying smirk or her mother's completely serious expression.
"Oh don't give me that look, Bryony. You've always had your head in the books and I've never seen you spare a glance to any guy before," Diana said, leaning against the kitchen counter.
"Oh I'm sorry that I am focusing on getting through medical school, mum," Bryn muttered sarcastically, viciously scrubbing the pan.
"Come on, darling. You know I don't mean that." Diana looked at Bryn reproachfully.
"And besides! I have liked other guys before! Remember Richard Burns? Eddie Chang? I even had a boyfriend, people!" Bryn declared, waving her sponge in the air exasperatedly.
Mia scoffed. "Okay, first of all, Richard and Eddie were crushes you had when you were in primary school. As for your 'boyfriend', you only dated for 1 month before you decided to just be friends. I don't even know if we should call it a relationship."
It was hard to deny all of that.
"Sweetie. I've seen you with those boys but I've never seen you act the way that you have with that red-headed boy in your room." Diana said, resting her hand on Bryn's forearm.
"Don't you just feel very comfortable around him? Like you completely and utterly trust him?" Diana questioned shrewdly. Bryn stilled at her mother's words.
"Mum, I just met him. How can I feel all that so soon?" Bryn asked weakly.
"I was instantly attracted to your father the first time we met at university," Diana recalled fondly. "Sparks flew the moment we set our eyes on each other and for some inexplicable reason, I felt so myself around him. Like I've been with him all my life. Attraction can happen in an instant, Bryn, but I have a feeling that what you have with the boy - what you could have - would be something special."
Bryn let her mother's words soak in, her heart strumming wildly. "No one tells Chris about this," she warned, glaring at Mia especially.
"Hmph, no problem there. He's still reeling from his own heartbreak anyway," Mia snorted, folding her arms decisively.
"Mia," Diana chastised.
"It's been a year, mum, and he's still pining for her!"
"He loved her so much, Mia," Bryn said softly, "He still does. You remember how they were together. You used to like her a lot because Chris was just so happy around her."
"That was before she dumped him and broke his heart without any reason," Mia refuted heatedly.
"BRYN!" Chris' sudden shout caused all the ladies to jump in fright.
Bryn ran out of the kitchen to the living room, brows furrowed in concern as she watched Chris fly down the stairs, a rare look of panic on his face. "Chris, what on earth - "
"Did you leave the Swiss Army knife behind in the alley?" Chris demanded.
"W-wha?" Bryn stammered, caught off guard.
"Mia's Swiss Army knife," he repeated, "the one that you used to protect yourself against those Death Eaters. Did you leave it behind?"
"Y-yes, I guess I did. I didn't really remember to pick it up."
"You said the man caused it to heat up. And that's how it burned your hand. Is it possible that it could have melted?"
Bryn scrunched up her face, thinking very hard. "No, it wasn't hot enough to the point it would have melted. I remember it fell to the ground still pretty much in its solid form."
Chris gripped her shoulders, the anxiety rolling off of him in waves. Bryn was alarmed. Her brother was always cool-headed, no matter the situation. To see him this agitated was scaring her. "Did you leave any of your blood on it?"
"Chris, what is going on?" Mia asked nervously.
Chris ignored Mia's question and continued to stare at Bryn. "Bryn, did any of your blood get on the Swiss Army knife?"
"I-I would assume so. The blade nicked my hand after I fell to the ground so my blood should be on it."
"Shit," he cursed. "Shit, shit, shit!"
"Christopher Elliot Harper!" Her mother raised her voice angrily. "Stop your swearing and tell us what is going on!"
"They can track you using that object," a familiar voice sounded out above their heads. They looked up to see Fabian and Gideon in their coats, standing at the top of the stairs, both wearing grim expressions.
Bryn felt like a pile of bricks had collapsed on her. "W-what?"
Fabian slowly walked down the stairs. "If you left behind a physical object that you own with your blood on it, they can use it to trace you."
No, no. This cannot be happening.
"But the Swiss Army knife is Mia's. So they shouldn't be able to find us if it has my blood on it, right?" Bryn looked frantically at Fabian and Gideon, hoping by some miracle it would be true.
Gideon grimaced. "There is a grey area for siblings. It may not be not as clear if it was your own item but they can still track you back here using it."
Bryn wanted to collapse on the floor from horror. She was barely holding herself, her legs were shaking too much.
"Bryn, look at me," Fabian told her. Even though it was a highly stressful situation at that moment, his tone was nothing but tender. Bryn slowly lifted her eyes to his.
"I did this. I put my family in danger. I-!" She could feel herself starting to spiral but before her own guilt could overwhelm her, Fabian rested his hand on her face, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. The heat from his palms anchored her to reality and calmed her down significantly.
"It's not your fault."
"But - "
"It is not your fault," Fabian insisted firmly, his other hand gripping her hand. "You couldn't have known. The only people that are to be blamed are those Death Eaters. Do you understand me?"
Bryn swallowed and nodded. At her nod, she could see Fabian's face relaxing slightly. He rested his forehead against hers, his eyes almost a blue blur from how close he was.
"I promised you didn't I? I told you I would keep you and your family safe if anything were to happen. And I intend to do just that."
"How?" Bryn whispered.
Fabian gave her hand one last squeeze before he pulled away.
"Your house has been compromised. They might come at any time so we need to get out of here right now," Fabian ordered, giving Gideon a quick glance. As if they read each other's mind in that brief moment, Gideon gave his brother a nod.
"Where are we going?" Chris asked warily.
"Somewhere safe that you can stay in the meantime. Somewhere they can't find you. We can perform a spell that would stop them from ever tracking you but it would take too long to do it now. Not only that, Fabian and I are still recovering from the fight yesterday. We'll need as much energy as possible to be able to bring you there," Gideon explained.
"But -," Chris was about to argue but Bryn placed her hand on his forearm, halting his words.
"Chris, please trust them and do as they say for now," she implored. Chris hesitated, glancing dubiously at Fabian and Gideon.
"Chris. I trust them. They won't hurt us. If you can't trust them yet, then at least trust me." Bryn held his gaze unflinchingly.
Chris finally relented, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, I'll trust them for now. We won't be able to come here anytime soon, won't we?"
At Gideon's grave nod, Chris turned to his family. "5 minutes. Go and grab only what you need."
Her mother and Mia nodded, their faces pale and afraid as they realised the gravity of the current situation. There was an instant flurry of movement as everyone, except Fabian and Gideon, rushed into their rooms to pack their essentials.
Bryn and Mia haphazardly stuffed their clothes and other important valuables into their respective backpacks, faces tight with anxiety. In her panic, she accidentally knocked over the photo frame on her table. The frame fell to the floor, the glass shattering into a million shards.
Bryn gasped and hurriedly went to pick up the broken frame, pausing to stare at the picture. It was a candid shot of her family, when her father was still alive, at the beach. Mia had thrown her arms around Chris' neck, hugging him from the back, while Chris had Bryn in a playful chokehold. Her parents were standing behind them, fond exasperation clear on their faces as they looked at their smiling rambunctious children.
Bryn felt a tug at the corner of her lips despite the tense situation. She pulled out the photo and stood up, sticking it in her pocket. She absentmindedly glanced out of the window and to her horror, she saw a group of men materialising at the end of the street, wearing the same white masks and black robes as those in the alley yesterdays.
The Death Eaters. They're here.
"Mia, we gotta go. Now!" Bryn cried, flinging her bag over her shoulders.
Mia turned to look at the window herself and her face turned deathly pale. The Death Eaters were on the move, coming closer to their house. Bryn shoved Mia and her bag out of the room but she stopped briefly to grab her father's watch from the vanity before running out into the foyer.
"They're here!" Bryn yelled. "We gotta get out now!"
BANG! The front door was blown off its hinges just as Bryn shouted. She hit the ground, pulling Mia with her as bits of wood flew through the air. Bryn turned to the gaping entrance and she could just make out the dark shapes of the Death Eaters advancing through the dust-filled cloud.
"Confringo!" Fabian shouted. A fiery orange ball hit the doorway and exploded on impact, the ruined doorway collapsing on top of the Death Eaters.
"Incendio!" Fabian ducked the incoming spell but it hit one of the chairs in the corridor. Bryn yelped as it spontaneously erupted into flames.
"Bryn! Mia! You have to get over here!" Gideon yelled, furiously blasting spells from his own wand as he protected Chris and her mother at the other end of the hallway.
The fire was starting to spread, licking up the walls and engulfing all the other furniture in the hallway, trying to block them getting to the other side. Bryn grabbed Mia's wrist and started running through the flames, the intense heat almost close enough to burn their skins, but she didn't stop running.
All of a sudden, one of the Death Eaters appeared in front of them with a loud crack, his wand held out menacingly.
"Diffindo!" Bryn and Mia swerved slightly, just avoiding the incoming jet of light. Bryn could hear a loud hollow crack behind her, as if a piece of wood had been broken into two, but she forced herself not to look back.
She sprinted forward, barreling into the Death Eater and used the momentum to push him out of the way. The man was shoved hard against the railing and he flailed hopelessly before he tipped over the ledge. Bryn stumbled from the impact but quickly recovered as her legs propelled onwards almost reaching Fabian.
"Bryn! Take my hand!" Fabian yelled before he released a burst of light, temporarily blinding the Death Eaters.
With one last spurt of energy, she lunged forward and seized Fabian's outreached hand. Instantly, she felt herself being pulled and twisted into some kind of black vortex. It was almost suffocating, invisible walls pushing against her in all directions as the pressure in her lungs built up painfully. Then-
She was abruptly pulled away from the dark void, landing on a patch of wet grass. Gideon landed right next to them shortly after, with Chris and her mother clutching his hands. Mia tugged out of her grasp only to collapse to muddy ground, dry heaving. Chris looked rather green and disorientated as he held Diana who was gasping, frantically trying to take in oxygen. With legs like jelly, Bryn would have collapsed to the floor if Fabian hadn't caught her in his arms. His blue eyes scanned her face worriedly.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"What," Bryn heaved, her eyes still streaming from the uncomfortable sensation, "was that?"
Fabian frowned, slightly confused, until he realised what she was referring to. "We just Apparated. Er, we basically just travelled from one place to another. The feeling takes some getting used to."
"I'll say," Bryn choked out. "If this is what teleportation feels like, I think I'll stick to taking public transport."
Fabian said nothing and just gave her a small grin. Bryn let herself lean into his hold, just until she reclaimed her bearings before pulling away. She hunched next to Mia, who was still kneeling on the ground with her eyes tightly shut.
"Are you alright?"
"Peachy. I just need a moment," Mia wheezed, giving Bryn a shaky thumbs up and she tried to stabilise her breathing.
"Where are we?" Chris asked, surveying his surroundings.
"Devon." Gideon replied.
"Devon?" Bryn exclaimed. "We've travelled that far?"
"This was the best place we could think of that would be the safest for you and your family," Fabian said, nudging his head towards something behind her.
Bryn spun around and she could only gawk at the sight that stood before her. It was a stone house - at least that's what she hoped it was - with additional rooms stacked precariously on top of it. She counted five chimneys on the red roof, spewing black smoke into the blue sky. The front lawn was littered with boots and at the entrance, there stood a lopsided sign painted with the words 'THE BURROW'.
"This house is defying the laws of physics." Mia ogled the house, dumbfounded. "Or it is so ingeniously designed that it just obeys the laws of physics."
"Might be a little bit of both," Chris muttered. "Although, I'm betting that magic might have a bigger part in holding the house together."
"Whose place is this?" Bryn turned to the twins, her head tilted questioningly.
"Our sister Molly. Come along, then. She should be awake right now." Gideon herded them towards the front door of the strange house.
Gideon could even raise his fist but before he could even knock on the bright red door, it was flung open to reveal a plump red-headed woman.
A very pregnant and very angry red-headed woman.