"Of course, she can stay. I thought you already invited her to stay?"
Fred bobbed in, "We did."
"She wanted to make sure you were really okay with it."
Molly had absolutely no problem with having fun staying the entire summer, but she said that Hunn would be rooming with Ginny while she was here and that there better not be anything funny going on.
Fred and George moved her into their sister's room, and fit right in with Ginny, who was smart and very creative.
It only took them three days to come up with the idea to expand the closet and use it to hide from the twins and Ron when they came looking.
It took the twins almost two weeks to catch onto the fact that they had expanded the space and were using it against them.
When Hermione joined them in Ginny's room, it became a tiny bit smaller, but they made it work.
Molly hovered a small bed for Hermione to sleep in over Hinn's to give them extra space.
Harry joined the towering home halfway through the summer, and Molly was thrilled. She tripped over herself cooking and making sure everyone was fed.
In the cramped home there weren't many places to hide so Hunn was forced to deal with her emotions and cope without hiding. The twins were constantly with her, trying to make her laugh, and went above and beyond to include her in their pranks against Ron, Harry, and Percy when he was around.
"You do it," Fred whispered
"No way." Hunn disagreed, sipping her morning cuppa.
George stood without a word and walked behind his brother Percy. When Percy was engaged in a heated conversation with his mother, George slipped a bit of green powder into his tea.
George grabbed an orange and sat back down.
They were silent while they waited. When Percy took a sip of his tea, he made a confused face and took another sip.
When he went to rant back at his mother, his voice was gone, replaced with a deep frog's croak. His eyes widened, and Molly stifled a snicker.
The table burst out in laughter, Molly included, and Percy took offense and stomped off into his room.
The front door burst open, Arthur walked in with a large smile, and without hesitation said, "We're going to the Quidditch World Cup!"
Everyone was thrilled, they jumped for joy and started taking sides before Arthur Could explain how he got enough tickets for everyone to go.
Fred, Georges Ron, and Harry were off discussing the teams and how awesome the game was going to be.
Hermione and Ginny were gossiping over the cutest players, and Molly was interrogating her husband, "How did you get the tickets?"
"They were a gift from the ministry. I'm afraid they're not the best seats, but we can still take a tent and have fun!"
"That's wonderful, dear! When is it?"
"Tomorrow!"
The volume in the room became overwhelming. Everyone began to cheer, until, "You should all pack a bag. Keep it light. We won't be gone forever."
Everyone split up. The girls went to pack, and the boys did the same. It took all night, and everyone was cheering until Molly made them all go to bed, "You need to be up at the crack of dawn. Get to sleep!"
Hermione refused to stay up late and made Ginny head to bed no matter how many times Ginny tried to talk about the cup the next morning.
Hunn lay in bed and was filled with anticipation and a sprinkle of guilt on top. Her parents were huge fans of Quidditch and had always wanted to go to the World Cup. Now that she was going, it really made her miss her parents. They hadn't been gone long, and life seemed to be pushing her on and onto the next event.
She could feel the tension and pain filling her up as she lay in bed. She choked back sobs and wiped her eyes trying to will herself to bed so she wouldn't wake Hermione again.
Hermione had woken the night before and spent hours holding Hunn in the dead of night. She didn't want to wake her again.
Hunn took a deep breath and started counting from zero to a hundred trying to bore herself to sleep, when the door opened a crack, "Hunn, come out here!" Fred whispered
"Fred, where are you?" Hunn called back in the dark
"How did you know I was Fred?" He asked curiously, peeking his head into the room
She crawled out of bed and met him at the door, "Well when you talk your voice drops slightly lower than George's does."
"Really? I never noticed."
"It's getting late, Fred, and tomorrow is the Quidditch Cup. What do you need?"
He grabbed her hand and tugged her out into the narrow hall, "Come on we have something we need to do outside. Do you have your wand with you?"
Hunn shook her head but held her hand out and summoned it to her palm, "Is it cold? I don't know if I'm dressed properly to go outside."
"Your pants are fine. No need to be fancy, it's only George and me, after all."
They crept down the stairs, and as quietly as they could they snuck past Molly who was bustling about in the kitchen preparing for tomorrow.
The door to outside whined as Fred pushed past but quieted as it softly shut behind them.
The darkness greeted them, their path lit only by the moon, and the air filled with the sounds of small animals and buzzing bugs.
When they were a good way from The Burrow Hunn whispered to Fred as she clutched his hand, "What are we doing sneaking out? It's a full moon, it's dangerous to be out here alone."
He squeezed her hand, "You think we'd let a werewolf eat you, do you? Just trust us. Have we ever put you in danger?"
"Well, not me, but a few Slytherins may beg to differ." She shoved him in the shoulder, and he looked at her wide-eyed.
"You made a joke! I can't believe you made a joke."
She smiled, "You and George must be rubbing off on me."
He laughed and tugged her along the moonlit path. They were close to the forest now at the edge of the dark trees. The wind howled, and the trees loomed over them threateningly.
Fred upped his hands around his math, "George? You there, George?"
"Yeah, here I am. Come on." They followed his voice a few feet into the trees, and Fred led her. The sounds around them made her skittish, and she clutched Fred's hand harder.
They broke through the trees, and there was a small clearing.
The moonlight glowed, and George stood in the center by a blanket.
Fred and George pulled Hunn down onto the blanket across from them.
"Okay. Why are we here?" She looked at them, eyes narrowing, they had to be up to something.
"We are here to prove something to you." George began
"First, we want to say a few things."
She watched them as they talked, their hands moving and their voices softening.
Looking a bit frustrated, George explained, "You think we're going to leave you alone? And after losing your mum and dad, that would be bloody awful!"
"We wouldn't leave you like that. We're not Slytherin!"
"We know you don't like to talk about it, but we see how you've changed."
"You only eat when mum asks you to, and you have nightmares every night. The walls are thin. We hear everything." He shuddered
"You're struggling, and we can tell you're a little lost. We want to help you as you find yourself again."
"You think we're going to leave you." He took a deep breath, "That's not the way Gryffindor's work. We are brave, and we are loyal to those we care about."
"But we can't do that if you think we're going to abandon you one day."
"So today, we are going to do something a little crazy, but it will show you we're never leaving you." George leaned forward and took her hand.
"We are going to bind our friendship together for life," Fred finished taking her other hand
"You both pay much more attention than I give you credit for. I didn't think you'd notice. You're right, though I am having trouble. I can't seem to find out where to start. I know what I have to do, but how?" her voice lowered, and she looked at them, hoping for an answer.
"We don't know the answer to that, Hunn, but we want to be there when you find it."
"So, what are we doing tonight?" She asked
"Tonight, we are performing a bit of old magic," George told her, taking out his wand.
"We are performing a Latin binding spell."
"I don't know about this. I don't speak Latin, I wouldn't know what was going on." Hunn rambled, sitting upright
"We translated it. Don't worry."
"You just repeat slowly after us."
"But you don't speak it either! How do you know it's all right? What if something goes wrong?"
"Nothing will go wrong. We've translated it three times and know what's happening."
"Yeah, we've never gotten you into anything too bad."
"Plus, the spellbinds us. It keeps us together in whatever way we want it to. We'll be able to feel each other like another mind inside here." He pointed to his heart
"So, it makes us best friends forever?" She asked
"Yes! Exactly!"
"Are you sure you want that?"
"Yes, we've thought long and hard about this and want to be there with you through everything. Your partners in crime!" George declared smiling
After a moment of thought, she decided, "What do we do?"
"We repeat the spell together in Latin under the influence of the full moon, and if each party is willing and wants the binding, then the power of the moon will declare it so and bind us together heart, soul, body, and mind."
"We'll be able to feel each other's pain and emotions and communicate by thought if necessary. In the end, we cross our wands over our hearts, and then it's done. It is the ultimate binding. And we will be connected forever as friends." George explained.
"Alright. I trust you. But I swear if anything goes wrong, I'll ensure you can't enjoy the game tomorrow." She warned
"Okay, that's fair. Alright, so it's called Semper Tres Amantium.
"Semper Tres Amantium." She repeated tasting the words
"Nice. From now on, you say what we say while looking at us."
Hunn nodded, looking at them nervously.
George and Fred spoke together slowly, "Tantus tenet circa nos Aeternum."
She repeated slowly and softly, nervous.
The words were choppy, not being any of their first language.
"Qui teneant duos Iussit ut ligatis pedibus duobus unum, aeternum."
She spoke a little faster.
This time, they spoke slowly together. Her mouth moved independently, forming words she had never spoken, "Nihil ab haedis trio, Semper tenetur in unum."
"Et ostensio secretorum, mendacium non abscondam veterascet, aeternum"
"Inter tres tangere, voluptatem, aeternum."
They spoke in tandem, their words flowing strongly. Her hands reached for theirs and held tight.
"Liberos ex tribus, In vita amoris et curant, aeternum."
"Et amor corda clausa sunt, sic magnificat, aeternum."
"Semper amantes exitum Tres."
"Semper Tres Last Amantium."
The night air blew through them, and they shivered together.
"Gloria in saecula saeculorum." they finished and looked at each other, taking in the night as they reached for their wands and pulled down across their collars, over their hearts, sealing their promise.
No one spoke for the longest time.
They sat there under the light of the moon and waited.
Sitting there, she felt scared, excited, and confused. These emotions felt different, jumbled, and more intense than normal. Disconnected and connected all at once. She looked at Fred, and in his eyes, she could see the excitement she was feeling, and on Goerge's face, she could see the confusion she was feeling in her core.
She was feeling their emotions. It felt like she was inside their heads. In her heart, she could feel a pull to them, a strong, developing connection. Hunn ran a hand over the center of her chest and felt a cord connecting them, pulling them together.
"Come on. We should head back before we get sick in this chill." Hunn said, meaning to speak loudly but coming out in a whisper instead.
"Yeah, let's go."
They stood together. Hunn in between them both as they began to walk slowly back to The Burrow. Arms brushing each other softly repeatedly, Hunn made a quick decision and took their hands in her own.
They walked the rest of the way feeling connected and safe.
Entering the Burrow quietly was easy. Everyone was asleep, and the house was silent.
They walked up the stairs and into Fred and George's room, careful to avoid any inventions lying about. They lay together for a while in the same small bed before they fell asleep.
The twins' arms and legs wrapped around Hunn, nestled between them.
She didn't feel alone.