SORRY SORRY SORRY Just a really quick short chapter that WILL be edited and added to after being put up- it was just distracting me from large plot thingies…so. Had to get it out there. It's just vignettes.

Sasha Payne! You read this thing faster than even me! Thank you so much, my first reviewer on the last chapter! And everyone else that favorited or followed or reviewed :)

DISCLAIMER: Nuffin. Is. Mine.

There were a million things Harry had wanted to say. He had wanted to tell Finny that he had never died. He had wanted to lie…and he had wanted to tell Finny the truth. He had wanted to say that he would never leave him.

That Harry loved him- because he did.

That Harry hoped he would forgive him- because that was all that he needed.

That, if Finny wanted to, Harry would not say goodbye- though one-day, before he got too hurt, he would.

He had said none of those things- Finny actually, had done most of the talking, babbling like a brook. Harry had just…been there. In the same room as Finny. Breathing the same air. Stroking the sobbing teens flaxen locks- 'Blonder than even Fleur's', he had observed idly- and holding him close, so that his magic blanketed the pair like a draft of warmth.

And, even though words came out of his mouth too, "I'm sorry" , and "Twig" and "Finny", all heartfelt and painful; Harry had just been…content. Content to dream of peace and mortality for just…one…more…second…

Content, to forget.

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Of course life wouldn't let him forget for long, and Harry nearly leapt to his feet when one of Finny's warm hands became tangled in the invisibility cloak, underneath his shirt.

"…Harry? What are these?" the boy mumbled into Harry's collar, frowning against the skin there, trailing fingers up and down the seamless rope, until questing fingertips found the Elder Wand, "Why do you have a stick in your pants?"

In an instant Finny had been ripped from his position lounging on Harry's stomach, his elder brothers trembling hands holding him up by his shoulders. "Whoah!" the blonde yelped, flailing, before grinning when he caught sight of his blushing brother, understanding sparking in his blue eyes, "Neh, Harry! I didn't mean it like that! And you sure are strong! That was super fun!"

Harry frowned, before his brothers words and teasing smile clicked, and the color on his cheeks rushed down his neck and burned his ears in mortification. "Wha- aha h-how! you-…Finny!" he shrieked indignantly- gazing at his -apparently- perverted little brother (and maybe, just maybe, it was a little bit funny too, because it was so, so far from the truth…)

The blonde boy laughed happily over his brothers stuttering protests. " I wasn't thinking about that Finny." Harry groused, pouting at his giggling little brother, "Stop laughing!" he said sternly, still pouting and pink, crossing his arms in a huff.

Of course, that sent Finny into peals of giggles and painfull-sounding chortles, rolling dramatically around on the large bed, clutching his stomach and pointing at Harry's annoyed face.

"Y-y-you're face!" he gasped.

"I said stop laughing!" Harry gripped a pillow, and, with a wicked smirk and a satisfied glint to his eyes, flung it at Finny's face. The smaller boy never had a chance. Finny received the pillow with his open mouth and a dull thwack, startling out of his laughter with a choked scream, and tumbling over the edge. A moment of stunned silence, and then, with an awful foreboding, Finny's glowing face popped up over the edge of the bed, grinning widely and mischievously.

"…You do know what this means, don't you Harry?"

"…"

"Pillow fight!"

And with a great cry of battle, the war commenced. And as he scrambled, face stretched into an impossibly wide grin, magic making him dizzy and lightheaded and happy, - for another pillow to fend off his little brothers rapid-fire flurry of attacks, all Harry could feel was bone-crushing relief.

Because for now- Fate would allow him his reprieve. And maybe, someday, he would allow himself, too.

(Little did Harry know, that Finny had seen and felt his brother flinch away from his questing hands and knew, knew, that the questions would have to wait for later. And later would come. For Harry's sake.)

Someday…

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Harry stared up at the window. It was dusk.

"Hey Finny…"

"Mmm?"- came the sleepy groan.

" Don't you have work to do?" his sharp gaze flitted down to his brother, taking in the blondes lithe frame molded into Harry's side, half obscured by a pile of broken pillows and snowy feathers, " You know- for the Earl or whatnot?"

A faint scowl twisted Finny's relaxed features.

"You mean fo' Ciel?" Finny mumbled into Harry's stomach. The thin boy wrinkled his nose and snuggled in close to his brother.

" Don' wanna. 'M gunna stay here." As if to prove the point, Finny wound his hands into Harry's shirt - plain, white, with opal buttons- and burried his nose in it. Harry chuckled.

"Okay." Harry murmured fondly, looking back up at the stars. The smile slid off his face. Up there, twinkling condemningly down at him- was a Ron, and probably a Hermione. Neville. Luna. Lily. Sirius. James. Remus. Harry's family.

"Hey Twig?"

"Mmmm…!" More angry. Little hands tugging him away from the starlight and to the warm bed.

"…I'm working for the Earl now. I won't leave you. Ever again."

Harry couldn't see, but he could feel Finny smile against his skin. His brother didn't answer- and with one last, longing look towards the sky, Harry nestled down into the dark folds of the satin covers, shimmying into the warmth and his brothers embrace. Finny shifted automatically so his arms looped across Harry's wiry shoulders, small fingers digging into the wizards neck and spine, holding him like a teddybear close to his face. The warmth was drowsy, and the indigo veils of darkness swiftly pulled Harry's drooping eyes downward, sleep lurking in the corner of his eye.

"Hrrrry." Finny slurred against Harry's chest, " 'Mmm gonna…gonna…show 'oo aroun'… 'm home…tomorrow."

" Home.." Harry hummed a vague, happy sound, "Thnks."

(And for once the ancient wizards dreams were clouded by snatches of soft and fluffy memories, and the morning held no bloodcurdling scream, or echo of loss.)

They fell asleep smiling.

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Harry woke up to the startling gaze of two large, cornflower blue eyes.

"Ron…?" he mumbled in disbelief, his shaky fingers slowly reaching up to trace their confused contours. The skin was smooth, and warm to the touch. They crinkled under his fingertips, and Harry blinked as the movement brought two blonder -blonde- eyebrows dipping down in a confused scowl. He started, sleep vanishing swiftly from his eyes, leaving the world - pillows, feathers, golden strands, blue, blue- clear cut and icy with morning light.

Because Ron was definitely not blonde. and Draco had grey eyes, with silvery flecks of almost purple in them not so blue tha-

"Finny!" he murmured, rubbing the past from his eyes, "Oh Merlin! G-good morn-"

"Good morning!" interrupted Finny brightly, his breath ghosting over Harry's nose, his eyes sparkled with curiosity, "You slept forever Harry! But I didn't feel like waking you up, 'cause you looked really peaceful."

Harry found himself screwing his eyes shut against Finny's blindingly sweet smile. He nodded absently.

"Neh, Harry?" another nod, "Who's Ron? Is he a friend?"

Harry blinked drowsily again, and nodded complacently, still floundering for awareness. He vaguely realized that his arms were looped around Finny's waist, and Finny's were around his, their foreheads touching slightly, and their noses just centimeters apart. Spicy, hot breath puffed over his nose and lips, mingling with his own, and flaxen locks wormed their way into his right ear. Their noses… Just…centimeters…apart… Harry leapt up with a startled shriek, found himself impossibly tangled in many, shredded pillowcases and a mingled rope of his fathers cloak and the knotted duvet, and then promptly fell off the bed and collided with the floor.

"…" Finny peeked over the bed at his brother, sprawled spread eagle on the floor, his eyes rolling and mouth making vague flapping noises, "…Harry?"

"Uuuurgh."

"You do know that you are very weird? Right?"

"Uuuuuuh…"

"Mmm." Finny smothered his desperate giggled as the wizards hand tremulously made it's way to rub at his dazed green eyes. Harry had the most handsome eyes- bottle green and lit like grass in sunlight. He perked up, noticing something long and thin clasped in the hand Harry was combing dazedly through his hair.

"Harry?" he asked, " What is it you're holding?"

Harry's knuckles went white around the knotted handle of the Elder Wand, and he made an absent sketch in the air, trying to push himself up. He still felt out-of sorts, all sleepy, and then Finny's face so close, and then hitting something really hard, and his legs wouldn't move for some reason and… He smacked himself lightly, trying to establish some grounding in the spinning world. Jesus- his head did hurt.

" It's a charm." Harry grumbled, twiddling with the stave, "It's supposed to help…with things."

Finny snickered, but cast his brother dubious look, " Doesn't seem to work, " he said with mock worry, he looked pointedly towards the bump on Harry's head- "Maybe you should get your fairy godmother to give you a new one."

Harry shot his kid brother a half-hearted glare, lips quirking as he reached up and was pulled back onto the bed by the thin blonde- and his words were bitter as he said, "Don't be stupid. I don't have a fairy godmother."

He sighed. Sirius wasn't a fairy godmother, just a wizard godfather…

Finny shot his brother a look, and caught the faint shadow of disquiet in Harry's green eyes. The dark-haired teen slumped against the headboard, the hand with the wand knotted in his raven locks and propped on one knee, eyes distant and wistful, trained on some memory far away. Finny looked stiffly away too, aware of a faint moistness in Harry's glittering emerald eyes, and knowing that it probably wasn't because she was sleepy. In an act of comfort, Finny shuffled over, his shoulder and side pressed into his brothers, and let his head drop onto one bony shoulder.

Harry blinked and look down in surprise. "…Finny?"

"Hey Harry?" Finny said, inspecting the wall opposite, but finding no memory or dream captured in it's pale walls, "Did you know you look sort of like a girl?"

Harry snorted, and chuffed his brothers head lightly, "Do not. Brat."

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"Ciel? His first name is Ciel?"

Finny nodded. "Ciel Phantomhive. We all call him Master Ciel, usually." the small boy explained, his finger waving sternly in his brothers nose. Harry just smiled a little dopily at the blondes open expression, his hands gently massaging his tenter abdomen , where he could still feel the tingling of newly healed and then regenerated skin.

"…We?" Harry frowned, trying to remember. He could vaguely recall several other people rushing into the ante-room when he first broke in. A woman and…a soldier? A man. "There are more of us?"

"Oh no, no, no. There is only us- the rest are the others Ciel picked up." he grinned, "Strays. Mey-Rin and Bard! Mey Rin has really cute glasses, and Bard always burns stuff!"

Harry raised an eyebrow, shoving away the thrum of memories, "Interesting." he smirked.

"Sooo, " he drawled slowly, "Does this make Ciel that crazy cat lady that always picks up mean-tempered strays?"

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"Oh…that makes sense." Finny nodded his head decisively, expression comically solomn as he muttered other affirmations self-importantly. Harry couldn't quite stifle the wave of bemusement, or the small smile that swept across his face.

"It does?" he questioned fondly, ruffling his brothers mop of ludicrously bright hair, "What exactly about that explanation makes sense?" he said indignantly. His brother grinned mischievously, but brightly up at him, the hand holding his squeezing ridiculously tight - and when did Finny get such a grip anyhow?- as they rounded another corner of the hallway.

"Because." said Finny, laughing, " Harry is the best big brother the whole world! Of course he would be insanely hard to kill! Besides…"

"Besides?" Harry raised a questioning eyebrow, but Finny had turned to face forward again, leading him firmly forward, and when he spoke again, his voice serious, Harry didn't need to see his face to know it's expression was dark and sorrowful.

"Besides." the boy said softly, "Harry was there for much longer than Finny was. He had to be strong."

Harry really wished he could have stopped smiling- but being near Finny just made him happy, almost delirious. So Harry just smiled, bitterly, and said nothing.

It was true, anyhow.

" Comme on!" Finny called abruptly, smiling brightly over his shoulder at Harry's cooled face, "I want to give you the tour!"

(Later, later…)