Disclaimer: this work borrows from the world of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books; some plot elements, characters, and concepts are hers.
Chapter 11: Arrangements
As Luna and Mrs. Figg were reading the special edition Prophet three figures appeared with a small popping sound just inside the still locked entrance to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
In fact, they appeared right in front of George Weasley, who was so startled; he tripped, knocking over one of the figures with a crash.
"Bloody hell Harry!" he exclaimed as he climbed off of the unfortunate Mr. Potter.
"Sorry about that mate, you startled me. Are you allright?"
Harry sat up a few moments later "I'm alright now that I can breathe again" he said with a wry grin.
"Hey Harry" George said, coming in from the storeroom in the back of the shop.
Harry waved
"Now Harry, aren't you-"
"-going to introduce-"
"-your friend?" The twins asked together.
"Fred, George, this is Jake Anasazi, Jake, meet Fred and George Weasley."
The three nodded politely to each other, and Harry sighed. "We need to talk."
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Harry, Jacob, Dobby and the twins sat in tense silence for a few moments.
"So, we have you three to thank for today's special edition of the Prophet" George said after recovering from his shock.
Harry nodded; his fear making him feel like an icy hand was squeezing his stomach.
He was praying that he had not just made the biggest mistake of his life, telling the twins what had happened the night before.
The twins looked at each other for a moment, and then looked back at Harry with huge grins on their faces. "Wicked" they said in unison.
Harry blinked in shock, his mouth falling open.
Fred and George leapt to their feet, George going downstairs to their lab in the cellar and Fred heading into the storage room in the back of the shop.
George came back with two small crystals, each dome shaped and about a centimeter across, just as Fred was coming back with two black wizard's hats.
Harry looked confused.
"We think-"
"-these could help" the two said, setting the items on the table.
"You're not going to shout at us?" Harry asked. He had thought that he would be able to trust the twins, but was surprised at their easy acceptance of his actions during the previous night.
"Harry, it's about time-"
"-someone fought back."
"After all, you won't win-"
"-with glamour charms."
The two said, as they sat down, Fred summoning five ButterBeers while George cast a few Collaportus and Imperturbable charms to keep out anyone who may be listening.
Harry nodded. "That makes sense." He said, and frowned, nodding towards the items that the twins had set on the table. "What are those?" he asked.
Fred gestured towards the hats. "These have a rechargeable shield charm on them, initially we thought that they would be a good prank for a duel with a friend, make them wonder why their spells didn't hit." He said.
"But alas, with Voldemort's return, the public has taken a perfectly good joke item and found a practical use for it." he sighed in mock horror.
Harry grinned. "I know a few dark wizards who need a good pranking."
Fred grinned, and George spoke up.
"These little gems are new, something we just finished, but have not released to the public yet." He said, indicating the two small crystals.
"What are they?" Jake asked, looking at the small crystal cabochons.
"They are normal lead crystal." George replied. "The special thing about them is the charms on them." He continued. "They are charmed with Scrying spells, similar to the ones on the Marauder's Map, only these are not limited to Hogwarts." He said proudly.
"These will pick up anything within about 200 meters, so no one can sneak up on you. We initially built these to help avoid getting caught while arranging a prank" Fred put in.
Harry nodded. "How do they work?" Harry asked eagerly.
George simply picked one of the crystals up, and placed it on his left temple, there was a soft pulse of light as soon as it touched his temple, and when he removed his hand the crystal seemed to have disappeared.
"It takes some getting used to" Fred said. "Kind of like Professor Moody's magical eye."
George nodded. "It projects a map into your mind, so it is not too distracting once you get used to it, but it is a little disorienting at first."
"It implants itself inside your head?" Harry asked in shock. The twins laughed. "No, it has an automatic Disillusionment Charm on it, so no one notices it when it is on." George said.
"The whole thing is powered by the magical core of the user; it taps into your magic, and uses it to power the Sticking charm, the Disillusionment charm, and the Scrying charm."
"Won't that drain you magically?" Harry asked.
Fred shook his head, pulling a crystal off of his own temple. "I've worn this one for two weeks straight, even in my sleep, and it hasn't drained me." He said
"All of these are fairly low powered charms." George continued, removing the crystal from his temple and setting it on the table. "Though I must say, having two of them on is disorienting even after you are used to having one on."
Harry stared at him in confusion for a moment until he realized that George had already been wearing one when he put the Scrying crystal on to demonstrate for them.
"Guys, can you two do me a favor?" Harry asked the two.
"What is it?" They asked in unison.
"Don't release these to the public; they would be too useful to a death eater." The twins nodded.
"We were already considering not releasing them, and the request of our first-"
"-And biggest-"
"-And, in fact, only-"
"-investor settles it." the two said in their uncanny manner.
"In fact, we'll do one better than that."
"Jake's house got blown up last night, and we would sooner send someone to Azkaban than those Muggle relatives of yours, so if the two of you don't mind sharing a room, we can put you up for a bit" George offered.
"We even have an extra storage room in the Cellar that Dobby can use." Fred said, turning to Dobby. "That is, if you want it."
Dobby nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes Mr. Weasley Sir! Mr. Weasley sir is a great and kind wizard sir!"
Harry looked at the two sheepishly. "I don't like taking one of your rooms." He said.
"Harry, don't be a git!" the two said in unison. "We don't mind."
Harry nodded, feeling a little foolish. George grinned. "It's settled then."
