~*A/N: Yeah, I know, I'm horrible at updating this, I get it. I still hope you review, though, because you know how I feel about those. Just a couple words to let me know what you think really isn't that hard, guys. I hope you enjoy!*~

Hogwarts was filled once again as the tidal wave of students flowed back into the halls with stories fresh from the holidays. Gifts were being displayed by everyone, and hugs were distributed freely as if the students hadn't seen each other in ten years. The Gryffindor common room was no exception to this.

"And the Eifel Tower, my God, those Muggles can do a lot without magic!" Sri was finishing retelling the adventures she and Hermione had over the holidays. "I don't know how they did it, but they did."

"Sounds like you had a great time," Maggie laughed.

"You could say that. So, how was your holiday?"

"Don't say it like that, jeez. It was good. Tried to get caught up on the gap in education, slept, ate, snogged… the usual."

"So where should I not sit?"

Maggie threw a pillow at her friend. "So unnecessary, Sri. There was no shagging involved; not even close."

"How disappointing. Ah well, there's always summer holiday."

"What about summer holiday?" Harry and Ron chose that moment to join the girls.

"Oh, nothing."

"We just got back from Christmas, and you're already discussing the next break?"

"Calm down, Ron, it's just speculation. It's perfectly reasonable for me to want time away from this fine educational facility."

"Actually-"

"Quiet, Crawford."

Maggie grinned. She had no idea what she was going to do with her friends sometimes. While everyone listened to Ron talk about his time with Charlie, she chose to space out. She loved the magical part of England she'd experienced. She had great friends and a wonderful boyfriend. It was quite possibly one of the better years she'd had at school.

~*~

"Neville, I asked for your rat to be a teacup, not a tart."

"Sorry, Professor."

Transfiguration had started out just swimmingly when class resumed. To add to the humiliation that many were experiencing, it was a double class that day with both Gryffindor and Slytherin. McGonagall had assigned partners that day, mixing the two houses in a way that had a lethal potential.

"Poor guy," Artimis whispered to Harry, "I feel bad."

"Yeah, me too, but it's always like this."

"Always?"

Harry nodded as McGonagall made her way to their table. She looked at the two teacups sitting in front of the pair and nodded. "Very good, Miss Crawford. Mr. Potter, you could stand to pay attention a bit more; I can't think of anyone who wants a furry teacup, can you?"

"No, Professor, I can't."

She moved to Hermione's table, which was perfect of course. Harry and Artimis looked back at each other, relishing in their good fortune to be working together. It had been difficult for the two to find a minute to spend any time together since school started, so even times like this were appreciated.

"Hey, can you meet me in the library after dinner," Artimis asked as they exited the room. "We need to talk, if that's okay."

"Um, yeah, I think I can do that."

"Cool; I'll see you later, then." She smiled at Harry and disappeared in the throng of students moving down the corridor.

"Ugh, I thought we'd never get out of there," Roan moaned.

"You're just upset because you had to sit with Crabbe today," Hermione was saying, "and your teacup still had a tail."

"That's not the point!" He tossed an arm around his girlfriend. "Harry, why are you always spacing out?"

"Huh? I'm not, really."

"Right, sure you aren't. Come on, we've got Herbology, and you know that I can't afford to miss anymore."

"Ron, are you actually taking an interest in school?"

"No more than I have to."

"Harry, please tell me that you're still better than Ron."

"Um, sure, why not."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the pair. "What am I going to do with the two of you?"

"Love us?"

~*~

Harry was pretty quiet through dinner. He contributed to the conversation, but his eyes kept darting over to the Slytherin table. Seated somewhere in the middle was Artimis, the center of attention for her friends. He had no clue what she wanted to talk about, but dinner couldn't be over fast enough for him.

People finally started to drift out of the great hall, and he watched his sister rise from her table and shoot him a look. She winked and exited the room. Harry headed back to the common room with his friends before dashing to his room to grab some books. Potions, Transfiguration, he didn't care what he had. They went into his bad as quickly as possible before he all but jumped down the steps.

"Where're you going, Harry?"

"I uh, wanted to work on some stuff for class in the library before it closes."

"Okay, let me get my things-"

"It's fine, Hermione, I think I got this one."

"Oh, alright. Um, good luck."

"Thanks." He walked to where Maggie was sitting with a curious look on her face and kissed her cheek. While there, he whispered Artimis's name in her ear, which made everything a lot clearer.

Once he cleared the portal, Harry all but ran to the library. There were still some students scattered inside, but he didn't care so much about them. He walked slowly through the rows upon rows of bookshelves looking for his sister. As he approached the back of the library, someone cleared their throat to his left. Artimis was sitting at one of the tables, smiling at him. Harry dropped his bag on the floor next to her and sat down.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself," she smiled. "Glad you made it."

"Me too. So um, what's going on?"

"I just wanted to see you. It's probably not the best thing for the two of us to be seen hanging out too much in front of everyone. I mean, I'm in Slytherin, you're in Gryffindor… it could get messy."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Um, I've been meaning to ask," he rubbed the back of his neck, "do you know why you're in Slytherin?"

Artimis leaned back in her seat, chewing on her lower lip. "When the sorting hat was chewing away at my scalp, it said that we were a lot alike. But, it also told me that my desire for revenge was stronger than my desire to be with you."

Harry stared at her. "Revenge?"

"This is why we needed to talk, Harry. There's so much that we don't know about each other. I have so many reasons for coming here. I mean, I could have just stayed with my family stateside and never met you. That would be so wrong, though. Ever since I was told that I was adopted, and that you were still alive, my desire to meet you has been one of the strongest emotions I've had.

"But then I heard the story of what happened. How, after I was sent away, what happened to our parents. It's never been in my character to let that kind of shit stand, Harry. I mean, I know you're the Chosen One and all that, but when that day comes, I plan to be right there next to you, fighting."

Harry was having trouble processing. There were about a million questions for every word that had just left her mouth, and he didn't know where to start. She was waiting for him to say something, but he didn't know what to say.

"I went off a bit there, didn't I?"

"A bit, yeah. Why don't we start at the beginning?"

"Okay."

Artimis began with what her adoptive family had told her. How she was given up and sent to the States with one of Lily's friends. It was difficult for her to talk about it without a lot of emotion, but Harry was good and held her hand. From there, it went to growing up in one of the more prominent wizarding families in the country and finding out about who she really was. How that had triggered not confusion, but anger in her, and intensified her desire to see the one person left in the world that she was truly related to.

When she finished, Harry squeezed her hand. "At least you've had a good life so far."

"I can't complain. I've heard some things about you, though. So, your turn, brother."

Harry took a deep breath and recapped his life with the Dursley's and forward. It was an old story, but not one that many had actually asked about. Artimis stayed engaged the whole time, letting each word sink into her memory. When he'd finished, both teenagers looked at each other.

"Well, we grew up quite differently, didn't we?"

"A bit, yeah."

"You became a decent human being, and I've turned into a first-rate bitch. What shall we do with each other?"

Harry laughed. "I don't think you're a bitch, Art."

"Oh goodie, a nickname." She smiled. "I like those. And you're only saying that because we don't spend enough time together for you to know better. It's okay, I like that you don't."

"We could spend more time together."

"Harry, I need to be clear about something: me announcing to the world that I'm your twin sister is probably not the best thing right now. I mean, we're sixteen years old. Think about how many people would be asking for an interview with us if we came out with that news. Our parents didn't want us together for a reason. What, I have no idea, but there had to be something right? They couldn't just not want me."

"Of course not. But, if not now, when?"

"I don't know, Harry, I just don't know. I don't think you need to be any more popular right now, though. And frankly, as much as I love attention, being a teenager's tough enough without dealing with that."

"Okay. It's weird when I think about it."

"What is?"

"How you're my sister, and I'm dating your sister. A bit odd."

"Perhaps, but there's no blood there, so it's fine. And I like you two together. My approval is given for both sides."

"Thanks. So should I be taking the role of protective brother here with someone?"

Artimis grew a bit pale. "I don't know what you mean."

"You spent Christmas with Malfoy, right? Maggie let it slip, sorry."

"I knew it," she muttered. "Yeah, I was a cover girlfriend so his mother wouldn't go medieval on him and marry him off."

"But you fancy him."

"I do not! How could I? Besides, you hate him."

"But you're also in Slytherin. And as much as I hate him, if you two, y'know, get together, then I can't do anything about it without blowing some serious cover. Though I might hex him."

"Harry, really? This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about. He doesn't like anyone. And you sound like a gossip."

The lanterns flashed, signaling the closing of the library. The twins picked up their things and slowly left the room, continuing their argument in hushed tones.

"Well, this is my stop," Artimis gestured to the dark hallway by the dungeons. "I'll see you around, yeah?"

"Sounds good. I'm glad we had this chat."

"Me, too."

The two stood there awkwardly for a minute, and finally hugged.

"G'night, brother."

"Night, sister."

The two broke apart and went their separate ways. Harry went back to the common room in a particularly good mood, which Ron noticed when he started to get ready for bed.

"And what was going on in the library that's got you in such a good mood?"

"Nothing; lots of productive studying."

Ron gave Harry a look, but said nothing.

"What is it, Ron?"

"Harry, the only person who's happy about studying is Hermione, and she was here with me, so I don't see how that could have rubbed off on you."

"Really, Ron, it's nothing; can't I just be in a good mood because I'm in a good mood?"

"I guess so-"

"Great. I'm going to bed. Night."

"Night, Harry."

Harry's mood was too up to notice the irritation Ron had with his secret-keeping. He'd gotten to know his sister, more than he had in the months she'd been at Hogwarts. Her intensity scared him a bit. She was so determined to get revenge for what had happened, it was unnerving. But to him, that was far less important than having someone in his life who just wanted to be with him. And aside from Ron and Hermione, he'd found two people who fit the bill perfectly.

~*~

It was the middle of the night when Artimis was jolted awake by ice water being dumped on her head.

"What the fuck?!" She sat up, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Thought that would get your attention."

"Wha- Parkinson? What the hell was that for?"

"We need to have a little chat."

"I thought we 'chatted' earlier this year. In fact, I recall that being the end of it."

"And now we need to have another chat." She sat on the foot of the bed. "We need to get a few things straight. One, Draco is mine, and the sooner you figure that out, the sooner we can move on with our lives. Two, I can make things quite painful for you here if I really wanted to. Therefore, you and your sister should both stay out of my way. Do I make myself clear?"

Artimis looked at Pansy brushing the last strand of wet hair from her face. "Let me get this straight: you woke me up at three in the morning to tell me that you want someone who has no interest in you, and that you're going to take out your rejection on me and my sister? Pansy, honey, it's you who needs to get a few things straight."

She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "If you ever threaten me or those I care about again, I'll be sure to make you beg for mercy that will never come as I torture you. Your insecurities, hilarious as they are, are getting on my nerves. I'm sorry that Draco has no interest in you, really I am, but telling me that my life is about to become painful because you can't do anything about it is hardly the route you should be going. What you should be doing is going back to bed, because this room is the last place you want to be right now."

"And why is that?"

"Because you woke us up."

Artimis continued to look at Pansy as the girl looked at the Yank's roommates who had been woken up from her antics. Áine, being the closest, had her wand out and was more than ready to hex Pansy back to her room. The other girls had similar expressions on their faces, furious that their beauty sleep had been interrupted.

Moriko and Gwen grabbed Pansy's arms and threw her out the door, throwing it shut and bolting it. Artimis thanked them as they climbed back into bed, trying to get back to sleep. She rolled onto her stomach, ignoring the wet state of her clothes. She knew Draco liked her, it was obvious. Did she like him? Maybe a bit. Pansy's jealousy was the least of her worries, though. She was busy trying to pass class, deal with the dragon, have a social life, and hide the fact that she wasn't a Crawford by blood, but a Potter. She hoped that Maggie's year was far less complicated than hers.

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