Alright. Again. Jk owns HP. I own OC.

Special notice: I really want to try and incorporate as many different variants of the Harry Potter universe as possible. So elements of the books and the movies of course. But also the puppet show, the musical, common head cannons. So if there is anything you want to see from those, I want to hear about it.

Chapter 2: Laughing through the pain

Kat took a breath of the cool summer air and twisted her back, trying to feel if there was something actually wrong with it or if it was just very sore and bruised. It took every ounce of strength she had to stay sitting on the bus, and every horrible turn Erine had taken sent shockwaves of pain up her spine. Grumbling when she couldn't figure out how bad she was injured, she stalked into the warmth and stench of the Leaky Cauldron. It was still busy, even with the late hour, but there were some tables open towards the back.

Kat started to weave her way through the patrons when she caught a glimpse of long black hair tied high in a ponytail. Kat elbowed her way towards that black ponytail to find just the person she was looking for.

"Boston!" Kat called, beaming as the dark-haired girl spun around. An equally brilliant smile spread on her features.

Boston came to meet Kat in the middle, having to dodge a flying brew on the way there. Kat noticed her friend had purple looking smudges under her eyes but was still alert enough to spin out of others' way. She was wearing her typical muggle wear but with a twist that made it Boston. Where Kat had form-fitting jeans, Boston wore baggy cargo pants, held up by what looked to be an actual chain with large, thick links that looked practically deadly. Boston's entire middle was visible, from just under her breasts to right after her hip bones became visible. The long-sleeved grey cropped top would have made Kat feel over exposed, but it just seemed to fit Boston. Kat pulled down her red sleeves of her much less revealing top so that they covered her slightly scuffed palms.

When the girl finally met, they embraced each other as if they hadn't seen each other in years, though it had been less than two months. Kat let out a noise that was part squeak, part hiss, and instantly regretted it, putting a large toothy grin back on her face. Boston pulled away and held Kat at arms length, looking her up and down appraisingly. Kat took no notice.

"I'm so happy you agreed to come!" Kat nearly squealed.

Boston quirked up a dark eyebrow at her friend.

"Oh right, Neely wouldn't have known," Kat continued. "The Weasleys have invited us to The Quidditch World Cup!"

Boston looked intensely into her friend's brown eyes. Kat could see anger growing in the corner of Boston's eyes but didn't say anything.

Boston eventually huffed and shook her head no. Unfortunately, Boston didn't like being social and barely tolerated spending time with anyone other than Kat.

Kat gave Boston an exasperated look and whined, "Yes! You have to come. They've already gotten the tickets, and it'll be so much fun, I promise."

Boston looked at her skeptically.

"Please please please please," Kat began to beg. It was drawing the attention of the others in the bar.

Boston bit her lip then put her hands up in surrender.

"Yes! Oh, I am so excited." Kat cheered and laughed a little, causing a thread of pain to whip from her left side, though she kept the pain from her face.

Boston looked at the ground so Kat wouldn't see the small smile threatening her face and shook her head slightly.

Boston felt her hand meet Kat's, and her arm was jerked in the direction of the large stone fireplace in the back corner of the bar. Kat looked back at Boston and squeezed her hand a bit tighter.

Boston gave Kat an angry look that didn't quite meet her bright emerald eyes. Kat had seen that look many, many times.

"Yes, yes, I owe you one, I get it. Come on! We have to floo in." Kat said.

Boston allowed herself to be dragged into the large fireplace. With her free hand, Kat grabbed a handful of the gray floo powder.

"The Burrow!" Kat called and then threw the powder down at her and Boston's feet.

There was almost a yanking feeling or a pushing feeling; Kat could never tell which while she was traveling in the floo system.

Still holding hands, the girls crashed out of the large brick fireplace in the Weasley home. They had fallen on the stone floor in a heap that had Kat cackling through some pained breathing. Boston grimaced at her wrist, but it didn't look broken, just bruised. At that, a fresh round of harsh laughs from Kat, Boston smiled. Kat felt something crack in her chest and winced but made no move to see if something was truly wrong. She didn't want to worry Boston.

It was an unfortunate fact of Kat's life that injuries followed her around. Boston, who was pretty brilliant at healing charms, had fixed Kat up more than once, but every time she did, she had this panicked look on her face that made Kat uneasy. She had to think that Boston might be just as afraid of losing Kat as Kat was about losing her.

It was quite a spectacle, to be sure. Two girls, covered in soot, rolling on the cold stone floor in a combination of hysterics and pain. One, short brown hair flowing out around her head like a strange halo, laughing and sucking in painful breaths in the same heartbeat. The other with hair so dark it seemed to soak in all the light, smiling at the laughing girl and holding her wrist gently. Side by side, laying there for who knows how long, and if Molly hadn't come in to see what all the noise was, they could have probably laid there forever.

However, Molly did come in to see the girls on the floor.

"Oh, dear, are you okay?" Molly was a small round sort of woman with curls in the same shade of ginger as the rest of the family. Molly was the only person in the Burrow that Kat was actually taller than, though, when she wanted to, Molly had a way of making anyone feel very small.

Kat carefully got up from the floor, dusting off her clothes, Boston not far behind.

"Yeah, Molly, don't worry, we just came in a bit quick, no harm done." Worrying the matriarch of the Weasley family would only make things much worse.

Molly gave her a look that Kat could only describe as motherly.

"Oh, you girls look like you've crawled through every floo in London." She went to wipe a smudge on Kat's cheek, but it just spread the soot around.

"We'll wash up, no worries. Sorry to be getting in so late." Kat talked wildly with her hands.

"Oh, don't you worry about that now. Go, go. Both of you. Bathroom is upstairs. Don't doddle." Molly shooed the girl towards the stairs.

Kat wasn't looking and almost knocked right into the youngest Weasley. Ginny wasn't only the youngest, but also the only girl. Kat had always thought of Ginny as a sort of surrogate little sister but was hesitant to say so, just in case the girl didn't feel the same.

"There you are!" Ginny couldn't hide her excitement at seeing Kat. "Fred and George said they invited you but didn't say if you were coming or not. Hermione and Harry will be arriving tomorrow before the match."

The way the young redhead said Harry's name had Boston raising her eyebrows.

Kat turned to look at her silent friend, seeing the expression on her face. "Oh, don't worry, Boston, we'll have girl talk tomorrow, and I'll explain everything, I promise."

Boston just gave a small nod, and they both followed Ginny up the stairs.

Ginny had just opened her door when two heads popped out of a doorframe down the hall.

"I thought I heard a Kitty Kat," Fred mused. Kat just gave him an incredulous look.

"We didn't think you'd come by tonight," George commented, walking into the hall.

He was already in his nightclothes. Blue and white striped bottoms that looked a little too short on him and a black vest. Kat noted that George had filled out since the last time she saw him, finally getting a beater's body. He was looking at her with a strange mix of joy and concern.

"Bart and Vega were at it again," Kat explained.

George just nodded as if he had heard it all before, and of course he had.

Kat didn't like calling her parents mum and dad when she was with the people she loved. It just felt off. She had always been selective with who she considered family, and her parents hadn't made the cut.

Boston gave Kat's hand a quick squeeze, and she looked back at her friend. In the dim light it was hard to see the soot on her nose that Kat knew was there.

"I'll wash up after you, yeah? I'll talk to the idiots," she motioned towards Fred and George, "and come to bed later. You get some rest, okay?"

Boston shot a glare over Kat's head at the two boys, then looked back at her friend, still holding her hand.

Kat gave a quick nod, and Boston followed suit.

Boston maneuvered past Kat to get to the bathroom at the end of the hall. She might have also bumped into George on her way there.

Kat rolled her eyes and walked over to George, who just smiled down at her. Then without warning, he picked her up into a very tight hug. Kat squeaked a little, and George put her down.

"My turn." That was the only warning before Fred picked Kat up from behind, causing her to squeak again. Everything hurt. Her back, her side, her ankle, which she must have twisted at some point.

"You guys are the worst," Kat chided half-heartedly. She nodded her head towards their room. "Come on." They followed her into their room.

It was a small square of a room with room enough for two twin beds against the two side walls and one desk in between them against the back wall. Both beds were draped in handmade quilts, which Kat loved and secretly wanted Molly to make her one. George slept on the left and Fred on the right. It smelled suspiciously like gunpowder and melted sweets. Kat wondered what they had been up to during the summer to have the smell of cinnamon dowsed from their room.

Once Fred closed the door behind them all, Kat turned around and shucked off Charlie's jacket, letting it tumble to the floor. Then she pulled her red long-sleeved shirt over her head, allowing the boys to get a good view of her back.

"How bad is it?" Kat sounded worried that it was bad; she felt like it was really, really bad. George went around to the desk to grab the candle holder and bring the light closer. When he did, Kat tucked her arms in close to her chest to preserve whatever modesty she was still trying to hold on to.

Kat could feel the heat from the candle move around her back as the boys looked at it, poking at it every now and again, making Kat hiss softly. The boys were careful where and how long they touched her, George doing most of the prodding.

"How are you still upright?" Fred asked, finally. The heat was still moving around her back, and she guessed they were still looking at it.

"How could you stand us hugging you?" George's voice was right next to her ear, moving the hair there to tickle her neck.

"It's that bad, huh?" Kat was almost afraid to hear their answer. Hopefully, they would just tell her the truth and then not say anything else to anyone.

There was a long pause before Fred's voice came from somewhere near the door. "It's swollen, and there is more purple than red, and your side is black."

Kat twisted to see her left side, the one that hurt the most. She hissed in a quick breath when she realized she couldn't turn that way.

"Bugger."

"What happened?" George sounded gentle and overly concerned.

Kat shrugged, sending a new wave of pain up her back. She must have been in shock or had her adrenaline going through the roof earlier because this was so much worse than before. Every movement felt like she was hitting the ground all over again.

"I fell out of a tree." George sighed. Kat thought perhaps he was sitting on the floor now.

"Take off your jeans," Fred said.

The order alarmed Kat. She almost spun around to confront Fred, but George placed a hand on her calf.

"What?"

"Not like that, Kitty Kat. Trust me, we have no interest in seeing you in your knickers like this, but we have to see it all." Fred sounded so sure, so determined. Kat honestly wondered if she actually needed a Medi Witch.

"So, you want to see me in my knickers under normal circumstances?" She was trying to lighten the mood. It had all become too serious for her. It was Fred and George. Serious wasn't a good look on them, Kat thought.

"Come on, Kat, or we'll call Mum up here to take you to St. Mungos." George was still seated behind her, hand still on her leg.

Kat let out an irritated huff. "Fine, but turn around so I can at least sit down. This isn't going to be graceful or pretty, and I would prefer you still think I'm the image of grace and poise."

"When did we think that?" And there it was. Fred finally made a joke. Everything felt right again.

When she was sure both boys had turned around, Kat stumbled slightly to the bed on her right, mostly because she began falling that way. She sat with an oof and had to sit still for a long moment while her vision became clear again. Did she almost pass out? She raised her arm to the back of her head and felt a large lump forming, and something cold and slick stuck to her fingers. It was either sweat or blood. Kat didn't let that thought linger too long in her head.

She looked at the boys then, their backs turned to her and their heads lowered. They seemed almost sad.

For the first time, Kat realized that Fred was wearing nearly identical nightclothes, though his bottoms were red and black striped instead.

She shook her head and tried to bend over to untie her trainers. She involuntarily let out a small pained sound. Thankfully neither George nor Fred turned at this. She couldn't bend over then.

She tried to lift her foot so that it rested on her knee, but she could only lift it to the middle of her shin.

"This is stupid. I'm fine. It probably looks worse than it is," Kat tried, not wanting to admit that a Medi Witch was sounding better and better every second.

"Don't," George warned.

He knew her too well. She glared at the back of his head. The boys had let their hair get nearly to their shoulders. It was as long as hers now.

"Look Kitty Kat," Fred started, and when he did, he turned around.

Kat registered shock on his face, but it faded quickly. She wondered what sort of mess she must have looked like to them. Fred hit George's arm, and he turned as well, looking her up and down. If she weren't in so much pain, she would probably have felt embarrassed.

Kat looked down at her still tied trainers and sighed. "I can't do it," she said to the floor.

"Can't do what?" George took a step, but only one, closer to her.

"I can't get anything else off." She didn't want to look at them. "It hurts too much."

"Alright, I'm getting Mum," George declared and started for the door.

His hand was on the knob when Kat nearly shouted, "No!"

He turned and looked at her, and she stared straight back.

"She'll call a Medi Witch, and she'll insist on paying because she's too nice and stubborn. Then they will call Vega or Bart because I'm underage, and they have to." Kat took a breath, trying to brace herself on the bed. "You can't do this, Georgie, please."

He looked angry for a split second, and Kat had to wonder if she had ever seen him angry before.

"Fine." His voice sounded clipped, but at least he agreed. "We'll try and help as much as we can."

"We're not the best at healing magic," Fred began.

"But it's better than nothing," George finished.

Kat let out a breath, then nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a really brilliant idea."

She carefully lowered herself completely on Fred's bed, her back on full display. George had lifted her legs, so they rested on the bed as well, and a tear slipped from Kat's eye, but she wiped it away on Fred's pillow before they could see it.

After an hour or two, the Twins had called it quits.

"We don't know what else to do," George resigned. Kat looked back at him, instinct telling her to comfort him.

"It feels so much better," Kat called from her place on the bed.

She hadn't moved, not even an inch. Not when they poked her some more, this time with their wands. Not when Fred had snapped a rib back into place. Not when her whole back felt like they had cast fiend fire on it.

It did feel better. Loads better. It was still otherworldly tender, but she could move again, and that's really what mattered. Sweat coated her forehead, causing her hair to stick to it in strangely funny ways.

"Yeah, well, swellings gone down, and the black splotch has gone purple again, so that's good." Fred rubbed the back of his neck. "Why didn't you ask Boston. She's loads better at healing magic than we are."

Kat bit her lip. "She worries too much."

"I think in this case she's got a right to," Fred retorted.

"Yeah, but you guys are smart enough not to worry." She smiled at them. "Now hand me my shirt. I still have to shower." She pointed towards the red shirt that was inside out on the floor.

"Yeah, alright," George wasn't looking at her as he gathered up her shirt and the jacket she was wearing. He tossed them on the bed beside her.

"Hey, come on, Georgie. I'm fine, aren't I?" Kat soothed.

"Are you?"

"Course. You did brilliant, both of you." Kat smiled.

"We are pretty brilliant," Fred interjected.

"We just worry," George added.

"Yeah. I know." Kat moved to get up, and the boys turned around again, obviously ignoring the fact that they had already seen her in her bra. "I won't try and swing around on trees anymore."

"Yeah, Tarzan you aren't," Fred laughed.

"Jane maybe," George joined. Kat could hear the smile behind his words.

"Jane? Really? We all know I leave the bookishness to Hermione and the lot," Kat quipped back.

"But, Hermione can't draw," Fred chimed at the same time George did.

"Neither can I," Kat pointed out.

"Or sing," George and Fred added at the same time again.

Kat had half a mind to throw something at them, but the only thing in reach was her wand.

"You guys aren't going to get into trouble for underaged magic, are you?" She hadn't even thought about that until now.

"Never," they answered in unison.

"Ministry only tracks where magic is being used," said Fred as he turned back around to see Kat tugging down her shirt.

"Not who exactly is casting the spell," George added, turning with his brother.

"So, you use magic all the time?" That sounded way too reckless, even for them.

Fred put a hand over his heart in mock pain. "You wound us."

George laughed. "Too much magic, and they'll get wise to what we're doing."

"Ah, and we can't have that." Kat slowly got to her feet, holding the jacket to her chest. She swayed a little; it wasn't bad at all, at least not to her. George reached out instantly to keep her upright between his hands. "I'm good, Georgie, honest. Let me go wash off all this grime, yeah?"

"Maybe a bath," George started.

"I will hex you if you keep mothering me," she threatened.

The twins laughed. Kat thought perhaps they did this more often than people gave them credit for, helping and comforting.

"Fine, but if we hear something hit the floor," Fred began.

"We are coming in," George finished.

Kat just shook her head. "Anything to see me naked."

She caught the red spreading on their noses and smiled. It took a lot to make them embarrassed, so she took it as a personal victory. She went to the door and swung it open to the cool hallway. It had apparently gotten hot in the boys' room, and she didn't even notice.

"Don't wake me unless there is food already on the table," she called before she closed the door, and then she was gone.

Poor poor Kitty Kat.