Mystery Mansion

31st of March, 1996.

"So what are we trying to do?" Ron asked.

"We're setting up the game for tomorrow," Harry said. "Some doors will be locked and I don't want anyone in there, but we can use the guest rooms and living room. I was thinking we'll spook it up a bit. Come here I'll show you." Harry walked Ron into one of the guest rooms.

"It looks like someone died in here," Ron commented.

"That's the point," Harry said.

Ron blinked and then it seemed like he finally understood what Harry wanted to do. "This is going to be awesome," he said.

Harry chuckled. He knew they had a lot of hard work ahead of them, but the result would be worth it.

1st of April, 1996.

"Welcome everyone to Ennerdale Mansion. Unfortunately, great misery has befallen our precious home. I hope that you might aid us in figuring out what has occurred." Ron was dressed up as some kind mix between a grim reaper and a mortician. He was smirking as he pushed the door open. "Please investigators enter Ennerdale and solve our great mystery," he said. He turned invisible as he stepped back.

Fred and George looked back at their friends before entering the house. The atmosphere in the house was dark and creepy. It looked nothing like it had at Christmas.

"The living room is this way," George said. "I guess we could go there."

"Is that singing?" Angelina asked.

"I think so," Fred said. He pushed the living room door open. A fallen bookcase lay just inside the door. The books were strewed everywhere and pages had been pulled out.

"This is written in some strange language," Lee said as he grabbed a page.

"It's blank to me," Alicia said.

The sound of thunder was rolling in over the house.

"There was a clear sky outside," Katie said.

"I don't think that matters right now," Oliver said. He pointed ahead of them.

A ghostly figure sat by the windowsill. They were holding a small orb in their hands. Long silver locks draped down over their shoulders.

Fred walked up to them. "Hello," he said.

The ghost turned to look at him.

"What happened here?" Fred asked.

The ghost looked from Fred to his friends. They stood up and walked over to Lee and touched the page he was holding. The strange text changed and a picture appeared.

"Is this a clue?" Lee asked.

The ghost smiled. They moved through the wall into another room.

"I wonder what happened to them," Katie said.

"I have a feeling that is what we are supposed to find out," George said. "Seems like Lee knows something the rest of us don't already."

"So we split up and look for clues," Oliver asked.

"Yeah I think so," Fred said. "I don't think there is any point to us all being together."

"So who digs the graves when we all die?" Angelina joked.

"I'm guessing Mister Grim Reaper," George said with a wink.

Ron tapped a rune that Harry had set up for him and the living room shook. He giggled but the sound coming out was more of a horse wheezing sound.

"What the hell is that?" Katie said. She looked around. Where did the sound come from even?

"Let's pretend that didn't happen," Angelina said. "See you around." She grabbed Fred's hand and they headed off towards the kitchen. "Do we dare to open anything?" she asked. It looked like no one had been there for years. The dust lay thick on the counters and pots and pans seemed to be strewed everywhere. Some even seemed to have dirt in them from old food that had slowly decomposed. Angelina walked up to a dirty window and pulled the curtains apart. She stumbled back as the curtain she was holding was ripped from the curtain rod. The rod fell to the floor with a loud clang. A picture seemed to be drawn on the curtain. "Where is this place?" Angelina mumbled. She studied the picture. It looked like a bedroom.

"What do you have there?" Fred asked.

"A clue, I think," Angelina said.

"Yeah, I can't see anything on that but I guess that makes sense," Fred said.

"Maybe we need to work together to figure out what happened," Angelina said.

Fred nodded. "I wonder if there is another clue in here," he said. He pulled a door open and stepped back in shock.

"What's wrong?" Angelina asked. She walked up next to him. "Oh, Gaia," she said. She walked in slowly. The small skeletal body of a cat-like creature lay in the pantry. "That's so sad," she said. She took a step forward but was stopped by Fred. "I don't think you should touch that," he said.

"We need to bury it," Angelina said.

"Yeah, but we have magic," Fred said. He drew his wand and pointed it at the corpse. He levitated it and they started heading outside. On the way, they ran into Katie and George.

The scream was ear-piercing as Katie almost collided with the floating cat-hybrid corpse. Thankfully, George grabbed her and pulled her in towards him. "Going outside?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around Katie.

"Yeah, Angie wants to bury it," Fred said.

George and Katie joined up with the other two. When they got outside they could see the ghost rounding the corner of the house. They followed until they reached some newly dug-up dirt. The ghost pointed at the ground.

George grabbed a shovel that leaned against the wall and started digging. They laid the cat-like creature down and covered it with dirt.

"Wait!" Katie said. She grabbed something from the dirt pile. It was a piece of wood. She turned it around and saw a picture painted on it. "Is this a clue?" she asked.

"If you can see a picture on it I would assume so," Fred said.

Katie nodded. She looked down at the picture. It looked like the living room. She started heading back to the house. She smiled up at George as he joined her. "I want to go to the place that this picture shows," she said.

"Sounds good," George said.

They walked into the living room and the door slammed shut behind them. A burst of wheezing laughter sounded from within the walls.

"I'll pummel that shit if I find them," George said as he looked around the room.

"How about you check how we get out while I look for this," Katie said. She walked around the room until finally, she found the angle that matched her picture. Everything seemed to add up just the way they did in the picture … except for that book. She walked forward and pulled the book out.

"Oh, you dropped this," George said as he lifted a piece of parchment up. He turned it around and looked at a picture of the lake outside.

"I think that maybe our clues lead to other clues," Katie said. "Problem is that those clues are for other people."

"This is going to take us a while," George said.

Ron watched as his brothers and their friends scurried around the house. He followed them around and set traps off. He was trying to get his brothers but mostly he just scared the girls.

"Hi ghost," Angelina said as the ghost entered the room. "I think we might know how you died."

The ghost stopped in front of her.

"If we work together I think we can figure out what happened," Angelina said. She spread out her clues and ran her fingers over them. "I have the living room and the main guest room here."

"I have the living room as well," Katie said. "And then I have the garden and the green guest room."

Slowly, they listed the rooms they all had gotten clues for.

"I think the Kitchen is a good candidate since no one has a clue showing that room. None of our clues actually shows a murder scene, right?" Alicia said.

"No I don't think so," Fred said.

Everyone else shook their heads.

"So I think you died in the kitchen," Angelina told the ghost.

The ghost reached out towards her and held something out. Angelina took it. It was a scroll. She opened it up. Her clue glowed and the picture changed. "I think we need to figure out how they died," she said.

"The clues have changed," Katie said.

"This time I think what we need is in the clues," George said. "We should compare these pictures to reality."

"I guess we're better off doing that in groups too," Alicia said. "Who has the blue guest room?"

Oliver and Fred raised their hands.

"How about we head there," Alicia said. She walked up front as they headed out and the stairs suddenly disappeared under them.

Alicia screamed as they fell.

"Alicia!" Oliver screamed. He had grabbed onto the railing and held on as the stairs gave out. Alicia groaned as she landed on the hard cold floor.

"You okay?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Alicia wheezed out. She sat up and looked around. "Where are we?" she asked. It was really dark.

"Lumos," Fred said. He held his wand out and lit up the room. In the corner lay a small skeletal body.

"It's the ghost's body," Fred said. "It looks like they were stabbed with something."

"Looks like they were strangled," Alicia said. She backed away from the body. "What is that black stuff?" she asked as a strange black ooze came creeping from under the body.

"I don't know," Fred said. "But I think that maybe we should get out of here." He stood up from where he had knelt down next to the body, and they hurried across the room. As he pulled down the handle of the door, they heard a strange noise behind them.

He looked back over Alicia's shoulder then he grabbed her hand. The body was gone. "Run!" he shouted as he pulled the door open. They hurried through long winding tunnels.

Hands grabbed at them.

A cold breath against Alicia's cheek had her screaming in terror. "Get off, me. Get off, me!"

Fred pushed her up in front of him. "The ooze is getting closer," he said.

They reached a long staircase that seemed to be going on forever. Maybe there was a light at the very top but it could be from anything. They started running as fast as they could. The ooze was filling the corridor behind them.

Alicia took off up the stairs as quickly as she could until suddenly she heard Fred fall down behind her.

"Run Alicia!" he shouted.

She could see how the black ooze seemed to spread over his body. "I'm sorry," she said before she turned around and continued running up towards the door. She burst through and threw the door closed behind her. Her body was shaking uncontrollably, and she was breathing heavily. She sank down to the floor and buried her face in her hands.

"Alicia you are back!" Angelina exclaimed. "What happened? Where is Fred."

"The ooze got him," Alicia said. She turned around frantically. The door she had just come through was gone.

"No, where is the door? What happened?" She saw the ghost floating by the door to the living room. "What happened to Fred?!" she shouted.

The ghost gave her a shocked look and hurried into the library with Angelina and Alicia following.

They stopped in front of a hanging drape that certainly had not been there before. Angelina reached out and grabbed the drape. Behind it stood an antique mirror with Fred trapped on the other side.

"Tick-tock, time flies. The water rises. Soon he dies. If you want to save your friend solve the murder before the time ends," Ron hissed out in a hollow voice.

Fred banged against the glass of the mirror as water started pouring down around him.

"Gather everyone. We have to solve this," Alicia said.

"Breathe Alicia," Angelina said. "I'll get the others."

The ghost nodded and floated up.

Soon enough they had all gathered in the living room again.

"So we found the ghost's body," Alicia said. "They were either strangled or stabbed to death."

"Okay that means we can remove a few things from deliberation," Oliver said. He wrapped his arms around Alicia. He was glad she was alright.

"What is the ghost doing?" Katie asked.

Everyone turned to look at the ghost as they pressed against the mirror. Slowly, they merged into the glass and as they appeared next to Fred they were a ghost no longer. Long golden hair framed a heart-shaped face and big brown eyes looked out at them. They smiled at the group.

"Do you think they will solve it?" Fred asked.

"I think they will," Harry responded. "They are doing well so far."

"Why did you add the scary element?" Fred asked.

"Time," Harry said. "We have invited people, and they will be here soon. We needed a hard out that could lead into the party."

"Who is the Grim Reaper?" Fred asked.

"Ron," Harry said.

"Really?" Fred looked impressed. "I actually had no idea. I didn't expect that from him."

"He is the one messing with things. He sent you falling. We had a few traps like that setup," Harry said.

"So there was no escaping this?" Fred asked as he looked down at the water. "Should I look a bit more concerned?"

"Nah, you can probably wait for a bit before that. I have some pretty sweet ideas for if they fail too," Harry said.

"I guess I can just relax for a bit then," Fred said. Then he smirked as he grabbed Harry and pressed them up against the glass. He leaned down and rested his head against their shoulder.

Harry sighed and rolled their eyes. They knew exactly what this looked like from the outside, but they also knew that Fred was well aware so there was no point in saying anything.

"What are the chances that the ghost is Harry?" Katie asked as she looked in the mirror.

"Ninety-nine point six per cent chance," George said.

"You are leaving a point zero four per cent that he hired someone else?" Angelina said she gave her boyfriend a humoured glance. "How about you save that for later love?" she said a little louder and Fred looked up at her with a smirk on his lips.

Ron smirked as everyone went back to figure out the murder weapon. He looked around the room. What did he have to play with? He touched a rune that sent all the books in the room flying.

Then he pulled at a lever that increased the water flow in the mirror. He grimaced as he looked at his brother. Fred had to know that the person he was embracing was Harry. Sure he didn't look like Harry but still.

Fred looked down at the water. "Is it just me or is the water rising faster?" he asked.

"Looks like it is," Harry said.

"I guess I should start panicking now, huh?" Fred said.

"What is that noise?" Katie asked. She looked around and her eyes widened. The mirror was halfway full and Fred was banging frantically on the glass.

Alicia looked down at the pictures in front of her. "It wasn't a knife," she said as she threw pictures away. She looked back at Fred. Then she looked at the ghost. Then she grabbed a bunch of pictures. "Were you strangled in the kitchen with a belt?" she asked. She felt how the room spun and she landed outside the house. She must have been wrong.

"Rough huh?" Lee asked. Harry had asked him if he was willing to help with the party prep and he had been all over it. "How about you grab something to drink?"

"They'll be fine right?" Alicia asked.

"Harry made it," Lee said. "Of course, they'll be fine. He likes all of them too much to hurt them."

Alicia smiled. "Yeah, I guess you are right," she said. "I hope someone makes it."

Angelina pressed her hand against the glass of the mirror. Fred had submerged entirely just a few seconds ago. She looked down at the clues. Had they even found enough to figure things out? Stabbed or strangled. They knew the murder happened in the kitchen.

"Let me guess," Oliver said.

Angelina nodded and pointed at her guess.

"Were you killed with a carving fork in the kitchen?" Oliver asked.

Angelina watched him disappear. She looked back at Fred who was clawing at the glass. Then the person that they all assumed was Harry swam up next to him and grabbed him. They pressed their lips to Fred's and offered him air.

Angelina looked back at the pictures. "Were you strangled with the silk ribbons in the pantry?" she asked.

The glass of the mirror cracked and then it broke. Water washed out over Angelina and Katie.

Laughter cut through the shock.

Fred sat up slowly. He was gripping his midriff and laughing hard. "The look… on your… faces," he got out as he laughed.

Angelina pushed him playfully. "You meanie," she said. Then she looked around. "Where is Harry?" she asked.

In the commotion, Harry seemed to have disappeared.

"Thank you for solving our great mystery," Ron said as he stepped out of the darkness. "Now if you would please step outside for this evening's festivities." He threw his robes off and smirked at them.

George snorted out a peal of laughter as he saw his little brother. "Oh, it is Ronald the Grim Reaper," he said.

"You were scared," Ron called back and Katie elbowed George as he started mocking his brother.

"Hush you," she said.

As expected, Harry was standing outside with the other guests when they came out. Food was spread over several tables and there was enough cake and biscuits to satisfy just about anyone.

"That was awesome," George said as he reached Harry. "The suspense at the end there was a killer."

Harry laughed. "I'm glad you had fun," he said.

"Come here," Angelina said as she walked up to him and hugged him. "Even though I knew you were behind all of this, that still was a little too close for comfort." She looked down at him. "No more like that," she said.

"Promise," Harry said. "They will have to manage their own birthdays from now on. They are big boys now."

Angelina laughed.

Bill roped his brothers up and Ron lit fireworks and everyone had fun and chatted for several hours. The twister mat was brought back out and a couple of games were played until it was time for everyone to head back either home or to Hogwarts.

Harry was standing with Fred, George and Angelina as people headed out. He waved goodbye and gave hugs until it was only the four of them left.

"Well," George said. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He grabbed some floo-powder and headed through the fireplace to the Three Broomsticks.

"Time to go I guess," Harry said. He turned around to look at Angelina and Fred who seemed to be deep in a silent discussion. As they noticed that he was looking at them they stopped.

"We have a request," Fred said.

"Oh, and that is?" Harry asked.

"We," Angelina pointed at herself and Fred, "would like to partake in a threesome, and we wonder if you are interested."

Harry looked from Fred to Angelina. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Fred nodded, but Harry could tell that Angelina wasn't quite certain. "Is it my age that bothers you Angie?" he asked.

Angelina nodded slowly. "I mean you are fifteen and we are eighteen. I'd rather not end up in trouble and I don't want to well…" She stopped as she noticed the grin on Harry's face. A similar grin was present on her boyfriend's face. "What am I missing?" she asked.

"A story too long for tonight," Harry said. He walked up to her slowly while reaching in under his shirt. He deactivated his glamour and suddenly he was easily standing taller than her. "Better now?" he asked.

Angelina blinked. She had noticed the change in Harry's behaviour the year before. She hadn't thought much of it, but now seeing him easily five years older than just a moment ago it made sense. He had matured and that was why he acted differently. A part of her wanted to know what had happened, but frankly, that part wasn't all that important right now. She smirked. "Oh, this is going to be fun," she said.

"Take this," Fred said as he handed a vial to Harry.

"You want me to take this now or later?" Harry asked. He knew what was in the vial and it would be kind of interesting to see just what Rhavaniel and Tara had felt like.

"Later," Angelina answered his question. She felt an arm wrap around her and suddenly they were standing in a completely different room. She looked around. If she had to guess this was Harry's bedroom.

"Come on," Harry said. "Let me give you a show."

Angelina grinned as Fred took her hand. Oh, this was definitely going to be fun.

2nd of April, 1996.

Harry came too slowly the following morning. He could feel the warm body next to his and hear the breathing of two additional beings. For a split second, he was back in Skyrim with Rhavaniel and Ria. Until he opened his eyes that was. Unlike other times when he had realised that Rhavaniel wasn't with him, he didn't feel empty or lost. His time with healer Green seemed to have helped a lot. He sat up slowly and for a moment he just watched Fred and Angelina as they slept. Slowly, he made his way to the bathroom and stepped into the shower. He was standing with his back to the open door and didn't notice someone else joining him until he felt hands on his back.

"What happened?" Angelina asked as she ran her hand over the scar running over both his shoulder blades.

"It was an honour duel and my opponent would not admit defeat. He forsake his honour to hurt me," Harry said.

"Spells usually don't leave scars like this," Angelina said.

"It wasn't made by a spell," Harry said. "I was cut with a blade. And it was considered impolite to heal it with magic. It was the wedding of a friend of mine. We were fighting in her honour. I wasn't about to chicken out just because I wasn't an orc like the rest. I represented the Queen after all."

Angelina shook her head. "You are going to have to tell me the whole story someday. I assume that most of it will sound fantastical and unreal," she said.

"Remember the story of Ronja and her friends?" Harry said.

Angelina nodded. "Sure," she said.

"That story is loosely based on the things we went through in Skyrim," Harry said.

Angelina nodded slowly. She grabbed a bar of soap and helped Harry clean his back. "So very Lord of the Rings," she said.

"Kind of yes," Harry said. Angelina handed him the soap as Fred walked into the bathroom. Harry chuckled and placed the soap down so he could switch places with Fred. "I'll get breakfast ready," he said.

Winky was bustling around the kitchen as Harry entered. "Master Harry be eating home?" she asked.

"We would like some breakfast yes," Harry said. "Fred and Angelina are here as well."

"Winky will fix. Master sit down," Winky said and Harry chuckled. "Did Master have a good time?" she asked.

"Yes," Harry said. He watched Winky as she moved around the kitchen. "Winky would you like a partner?" he asked.

"Winky be house-elf. Master has to decide if partner is alright or not," Winky said.

"And I'm asking for your opinion on the matter," Harry said. "It is your life. I won't force someone on you if you don't want them. If you want a partner I will gladly help you find one you are happy with."

Winky blushed. "Master Harry is too kind," she said. "There isn't enough work here for more elves. Winky would get nothing to do."

"Then we will look into it in a few years then," Harry said. "I'm sure we will have more to do once I'm out of Hogwarts."

Winky was nodding slowly as she placed three plates filled with food on the table. Angelina and Fred entered the kitchen just moments later.

"This looks good," Fred said as he sat down. He grabbed a fork and stabbed a sausage. He hummed as he ate. "Better than Hogwarts that's for sure," he said.

Winky smiled happily.

They ate and then it was time to head back to school. They did have classes to attend.

"There you are," George said as they walked into the entrance hall. "Had fun did you?" he asked.

"Oh, plenty," Angelina said with a smirk playing on her lips. "These guys really know how to treat a girl," she said as she wrapped her arms around the shoulders of both Fred and Harry.

"What do you mean by that?" Ron asked as he walked up behind his brother.

"Never you mind," Angelina said. She kissed Harry's temple. "See you later Captain," she said.

Ron looked like he was in pain for a moment before he burst out, "Wait! You had sex with my brother?!"

Harry sighed. He didn't need the whole damn school to know.

Of course, Ron screaming in the entrance hall right after breakfast was enough to get the rumour mill going. Thankfully, Hermione was happy enough to scare people off.