Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
One Down
"Glitter bombs are always effective", said Fred as we exited the Great Hall; leaving the cheerful sounds of chatter and clinking silverware behind us.
"Dung bombs are a satisfying alternative", George suggested. They were talking over my head; sounding like two petulant children. The only thing that was soothing them was the promise of retribution.
"We haven't tried setting anything on fire in a while", Fred commented as we started in the direction of the charms' classroom.
"No", I broke in before Fred and George could continue that train of thought. Both of my fellow triplets were firebugs in the sense that they were entertained by watching dancing flames at work. Hence their currently developing interest in fireworks. That said, what they were presently hinting at had to be stopped before it was even a thing.
"Singed eyebrows aren't too damaging", George tried to assure me. "Just ask Finnigan in Ron's year".
But I stayed firm. "No". Because only Merlin knows what Adrian would do to them if Fred and George burnt off his facial hair. Not to mention that such a prank wouldn't just punish Adrian but me as well.
We moved into the right corridor in relative silence. I'm not sure what Fred and George were thinking about, but I was still trying to figure out why Adrian would give all three of us detention for no good reason. Although it came to no real surprise when we stood in front of the charms door and George suggested. "We could charm Pucey's belongings to stick to the ceiling".
Fred's eyes lit up as I reflexively started saying, "N-" But instead it came out as one lone /n/ sound when I fully interpreted what my brother had said. "Okay, that would be funny".
Twin grins met my agreement as I opened the door. Swinging it open revealed Adrian leaning against one of the rows of desks with his arms crossed. "You're late", he commented as soon as all three of us had set foot in the classroom.
Fred squeezed around me, heading for the row of desks across from Adrian. "Holly's the only reason we came at all". He leaned against one of the desks and folded his arms. I'm not sure Fred realized he was copying Adrian's stance, but the result was having two boys staring each other down with hostility. Merlin, these two. Maybe this tension would break if I forced all of us to play an icebreaker game. You know, the kind they make you play at orientations and company retreats.
One of the benefits of being a multiple is that we never have to fight our battles alone. So, George quickly moved around me to join Fred; leaning against the same desk and glaring at my boyfriend. "Otherwise, we'd skip. Thanks to our dear sister, we've recently learned crying a certain amount of tears can get us out of detention". George said in reference to yesterday morning. I assume George only said that to get on Adrian's nerves. Surely, he knows that trick I used on Percy would only work if Ginny or I did it… Maybe Ron; if he caught Percy in a good mood.
Adrian didn't react. Which is just as well. Considering Fred and George weren't done. "It is good to have connections", Fred continued.
"Yeah", George agreed as I moved further into the classroom, choosing to stand where the rows of desks started. This way I wasn't standing on either side. I didn't want to stand next to Adrian and make my fellow triplets feel like I was on his side. But I also didn't want to stand with Fred and George and make Adrian feel unsupported. It's a complicated thing, relationships. "You know our brother Percy, right?" George asked Adrian.
"Head boy", Fred supplied.
"Your boss", George took a bold leap. Causing Adrian to roll his eyes and drop his arms to his side. Probably having already filled his Fred and George quota for the month.
"You should be careful giving us detention", Fred warned. "Especially if you're planning any rendezvouses with our sister disguised as detentions".
I squinted my eyes as I tried to will my brothers to stop talking, which was probably asking too much. But they could at least drop this subject. Either Fred and George were a little too aware of some of my more private urges, or they hadn't figured out Adrian was more like a blushing schoolgirl than I was.
"Holls is Percy's favorite, after all", George went on.
"We'd hate to see what he'd do to someone who took advantage of the situation and our Jolly Holly", Fred threatened; ignoring me when I scoffed. "It might even be worse than what George and I would do to you".
"Okay", I broke in after realizing I should probably have done so earlier. After all, I don't want Adrian to think everyone in my family disliked him. I trusted Percy to be indifferent and…. Well, at least Adrian knew Ginny liked him. "It's too early in the year for us to kill each other".
"You sure?" George asked for the mere purpose of making me frown at him. "We did spend the summer learning about mummification". There was just a little too much glee in George's voice.
Gesturing with my hands, I stated very clearly, "I don't want a mummy for a boyfriend".
Fred raised an eyebrow as he took to the idea. "It would be a conversation starter".
"I don't want a mummy for a boyfriend".
"But no one else would have one", George tried to convince me. As if I was Ginny, and he was trying to get me to lie to Mum for him.
"At least, no one living,'' Fred piped in.
Before I could repeat myself for the third time, Adrian interjected. "Despite what you three may believe, I didn't arrange for you to waste my time. We have work to do".
Adrian had our full attention. Even though it would have been easy to use his choice of words to stroke the fire, Fred and George held their tongues. All of us were confused about Adrian's decision to give us this detention.
"Did you bring it?" Adrian asked after a moment when no one offered up anything. As if suggesting we were being impossibly slow.
"Bring what?" Fred asked a bit gruffly. I couldn't blame him. Adrian hadn't done a good job of communicating with us.
Adrian raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. One waning patience sigh later, and Adrian answered, "The diary, of course! What else?"
My spine became rigid at the mere mention of that cursed object. Although it was never far from my mind, the diary coming up in conversation was still enough to make my blood run cold. Because the diary meant thinking about Riddle, and Riddle meant thinking about Lockhart, and Lockhart made me recall some very bad memories.
But where I was silent, Fred and George were not. "The diary's our problem", George insisted.
Followed by Fred adding, "We're handling it".
"We don't need you".
"The death eater reborn".
"It's bad enough we're letting you snog our sister".
"So, leave it alone".
Whatever further complaints or comments they may have on the matter were cut by Adrian reaching into his pockets and pulling out a small, slim vial filled with a clear liquid. He set it down on the desk he was leaning against with a loud thump to direct our detention to it.
For a moment my mind whirled as I tried to think about what it could be. Fred and George must be in a similar boat because they kept their mouths shut. Adrian was not a person inclined to act randomly. So, for him to pull out that vial in the middle of Fred and George trying to slam a metaphorical door in his face means it must be related to the subject at hand. But what would a vial containing an unknown substance have to do with a Horcrux? The answer appeared obvious after asking myself that question. "Is that…." I started slowly as I started to unfreeze. "Basilisk venom?"
My guess made my brothers tense. And at Adrian's confirming nod, they both started shifting their weight uncomfortably. "Where did you get it?" Fred asked suspiciously.
The smug smirk Adrian sent in his direction did nothing to help Fred's suspicions. "I have connections", Adrian replied; mocking Fred's earlier words.
Fred and George shared an aggrieved frustrated look. It's a look most Gryffindors adopt when Slytherin bests us at something. But at this point I was pretty used to Slytherins pulling aces out of their sleeves, so I started drawing some conclusions. "The basilisk under the school….." I trailed off to let Adrian finish my thought for me.
"Is dead and has been harvested", Adrian said.
"Why wasn't it reported in the daily prophet?" Was my next question. Because a basilisk leaving amongst school children sounds like first-page material to me. Of course, it hadn't been printed last year when the investigation in Hogwarts' bowels had first begun.
"It wasn't something the board of governors wanted to be released", Adrian answered.
George snorted. "Yeah, after they got Dumbledore sacked, why bother to continue to report the news".
At the mention of Dumbledore, guilt caused me to reach up and touch my hair. But other than that impulse, George was ignored. When my hand brushed against the feather tied in my hair, I took a deep breath. Okay… I guess this is good. Unexpected to the point that it was hard to process but still good. "Then we'll just need something goblin made", I said; imagining something like a dagger that could take in only what strengthens it. A dagger would be nice. Smaller than the sword of Gryffindor, so it would be easier to travel with. But the only thing we had that was goblin made was Great Aunt Muriel's tiara. I'm not sure how we could get our hands on it, considering that Mum guarded that thing like a dragon. And even then, a tiara isn't a blade. Would it be able to impale Horcruxes?
But Adrian had another ace up his sleeves, so to speak. A second later he was reaching into a different pocket and pulling out a thin silver blade.
"Goblin made?" George asked in disbelief as Adrian held the knife up for all of us to see.
"Goblin wrought silver", Adrian confirmed. "A steak knife from my- my mother's finest silverware".
Fred threw up his hands, "Unbelievable", he expressed.
And it was a bit… too convenient; that Adrian had everything we needed to help prevent a war. But, still… we didn't have a clue about how we were going to get our hands on basilisk venom, so I guess it's better to not look a gift hippogriff in the mouth. Turning my head in Fred and George's direction, I made my voice soft; hoping that would be enough to not turn this more into a confrontation. "Fred", I said. And that was enough for both Fred and George to know what I was suggesting.
Exhaling loudly, Fred ran a tired hand over his hair. He looked at George before turning his eyesight to study me. As much as he may have liked to turn down Adrian's help and continue with the mindset that we should stop meddling with things, Fred knew this was something we couldn't pass up. "I'll go get the diary", he caved.
With slightly heavier steps than normal, Fred left the room; shooting Adrian a glare as he did so.
The door hadn't closed behind Fred for longer than a second before the silence became too much for George. "I'll go with him", he declared and soon he was chasing after his identical brother.
When the door closed for a second time, there was only Adrian for me to focus on. Our eyes connect. But it was such a familiar sight at this point, that the action didn't make my stomach do flips like it did in the past. Instead, I got the sense of putting on my favorite sweater. "You said you had a plan", I commented as I took a step closer to him.
Adrian set down the steak knife nice the vial before standing up straight and copying my step. We both had to take one more step before we met in the middle. Reaching out, Adrian gripped both my arms and gave them a gentle squeeze. "I'll always be able to get you what you need, Holly", he promised. "But only when you're being honest with me". I wasn't sure if I should be touched by the sentiment Adrian was trying to press upon me. Or feel patronized because he was assuming I couldn't fulfill my own needs.
Twenty minutes later Fred and George were back. The four of us huddled together as we watched Adrian pour some of the venom onto the goblin-made steak knife. "How long do you think we have to wait until it's Horcrux proof?" I asked as Adrian carefully resealed the vial, making sure that there was not a single stray drop. Considering that we didn't have any phoenix tears on our persons, it was wise to be cautious.
Adrian pocketed the vial as he raised an inquiring eyebrow. "You don't know?" Which was his way of deflecting the fact that he didn't know. Git.
George shrugged. "We could just try stabbing the diary until it works".
With no other suggestion offered, we came to a silent mutual decision that that was our best option. With his nostrils flaring, Fred placed the diary in a center spot in the middle of all four of us. He opened it to a random page as George reached for the handle of the steak knife. Was this it? After a year of things going horribly wrong, this could be the moment when we could finally kiss all that bad luck goodbye. From the diary ending up in Lockhart's clutches. To Lockhart becoming possessed by Riddle. And all those close and uncomfortable encounters with a deranged teenager trapped in a narcissist's body. That's without mentioning being pulled out of school and forced to live through the wizarding version of law and order. "Wait!" I broke in right as George's finger's touched the knife's handle.
Three pairs of eyes swiveled in my direction. "What?" George asked in alarm as he withdrew his hand.
Judging by the slightly worried expressions I was getting; I may have interrupted a little too strongly. "May I do it?" I asked in a normal volume. Worried expressions became searching, so I quickly explained. "It's just…. I know Lockhart made all our lives hell last year, and him being stuck in St. Mungo's made up for some of that. But he and Riddle both give me nightmares…." I trailed off as I thought about Riddle/Lockhart calling me pet names, invading my personal boundaries, and touching me without my consent. I didn't want to say I had it worse than them. And I definitely didn't want to explain to them why I thought I had it worse. So, I ended one sentence and started another. "I just really want to be the one who does it".
Adrian kept his eyes on me; studying. While Fred and George looked at each other over my head. Whatever look they were sharing must have been in my favor because it ended with George pushing the knife in my direction.
Steeling myself, I grasped the handle. But I wasn't holding it like I normally would with a steak knife. Instead, I gripped it like a butcher's knife. Very similar to how the knife that killed me was held in my dreams. With my other hand, I held the diary steady. Aware of my audience, I decided not to delay much longer. If I did, one of them might try to take the job from me. In one fluid and forceful movement, I stabbed the page on the left. It wasn't as easy as cutting through butter, but neither was it as difficult as I imagined. Goblin-made indeed.
Thick, sticky ink squirted out in all directions, drenching each of us. I felt it oozing through the fabric of my blouse.
"I think it's working", George said as he wiped a relatively clean portion of his sleeve over his ink-stained face.
"What was your first clue?" Fred asked as he tried to shield himself from a jet of ink.
"Hurry up", Adrian growled as his appearance became more and more of a mess. What would the rest of his house say if they saw him looking so untidy?
But I obliged. Freeing the steak knife from the left side of the diary, I turned my attention to the right. In my mind, I imagined Lockhart screaming in agony from his hospital bed in St. Mungo's as Riddle was ripped out of his body. I made the same fluid and forceful motion and soon Ink was squirting out of the right side of the diary too. If I didn't have one hand holding the diary steady, it would probably be spinning; the two spots of squirting ink acting as propelling force. A goldish light started to shine out of the seams of the diary; reminding me very much of the second Harry Potter movie when Harry had done the same thing I'm doing. Only with a fang instead of a knife.
Pulling out the knife, I closed the diary so the front cover was facing us; somewhat cutting off the ink flow. I made the same motion for a satisfying third time; stabbing the knife through the leather cover. The light was brighter as more ink drenched us and the classroom. Two seconds. Three seconds. Maybe five passed before the light dimmed out of existence and the ink flow stopped and everything was still.
First, I looked at Adrian, then George, and finally at Fred. It's over. My shoulder felt looser than they had in a long time. Setting the knife down next to the destroyed diary, I stared at my ink-stained hands as if I expected them to be changed. I mean, that was awesome, right? At the very least, it was empowering. The diary was gone. Riddle's reign of terror was officially over. And no one would ever have to read another Lockhart book ever again. Vaguely, I wonder if Lockhart was waking from a daze at this very moment and wondering why he was a mental patient.
When I was done expecting myself, I glanced around the classroom. Flitwick was not going to be pleased. There was ink dripping from the ceiling. The nearby desks and chairs were covered in the sticky substance. And the floor was just a slipping hazard waiting to happen.
"Well,", Fred started now that we were at the anti-climatic part of this evening. "Good work, I suppose".
George nodded in agreement. "Definitely better than some of our previous detentions. More productive than gutting toads".
Adrian had his arms held out from his sides as he studied the front of his robes with a critical and displeased eye. His splattered and ink-stained clothes were far from his normal immaculate style. But after George spoke, Adrian said, "Speaking of detentions, you can spend the rest of this one cleaning the classroom".
Fred and George started letting out voiceless laughs, assuming Adrian was joking. We had all destroyed the diary together. By Weasley standards that meant cleaning up together. But I knew better. Fred and George stopped laughing when Adrian pocketed both the vial of venom and the goblin-made steak knife. "I'll be in the prefects' bath", Adrian said as refinedly as he could in his current state. He swept past us triplets with his head held high. Like he wasn't bothered at all by the annoyed and slightly angered eyes Fred and George flashing in his direction.
The prefects' bath? I thought as I examined the ruined classroom again. A bath the size of a swimming pool with many different types of bubbles and scents sounded nice. "I think I'll join him", I said as I tried to step around my brothers.
But Fred reaching out to grab my arm kept me in place. "I think you're going to clean the desks", was his retort.