DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or profit from this story in any way. No harm intended.

Trigger warnings: Mention of SA, torture, and death and murder. Underage alcohol use.

XXX

XXX

"Well, isn't this cozy?" Snape's signature drawl broke the uncomfortable silence that has been stretching since the moment we were all seated around the fire.

"Definitely not how any of us imagined our Tuesday evening going, I imagine." It was Remus who replied in a light chuckle, finally disarming the unease that had fallen over the current Gryffindors. Sirius was more than unbothered--he was downright amused.

My body was a thousand live wires all jumbled together, sparking and sizzling. I could even hear a distinct buzzing.

It's your magic, dear. You've got it all in a tizzy. Neviah confirmed, sounding far too pleased with this strange fact.

It's a show of power. Your magic is literally purring with the energy provided from the number of soul bonds you have in this room.

"Enough of this!" I finally said, letting out an exasperated huff that startled everyone.

I didn't let them recover, conjuring a tumbler into each of their hands. I took out one of the bottles of fire whiskey and spelled a measure into each of their glasses.

"What I'm about to tell you isn't going to be easy for any of you to hear, so drink up and get ready to listen." I requested in what I felt was a very reasonable tone, downing my shot easy to look and see everyone staring at me with a stupid expression, their glasses full.

"Blood hell! It's my funeral!" I growled, refilling my glass and making theirs into a double to match. "So bottoms up, wankers."

I tossed back my second shot, working not to spill any as my entire body shook with the force of Sirius laughter.

"You heard the lady, drink up!" Sirius cackled, moving to down his own measure. Sirius definitely noticed me eyeing the bob of his throat as he swallowed based on the wink he shot me.

George noticed it, too, based on the hard grip he had on his now empty tumbler. I looked away to watch Fred down his with a laugh and Remus with a slightly disapproving shake of his head. Harry and Ron with an eagerness that revealed their innocence and a cough that revealed their inexperience. Snape glared at me, his tumbler untouched. We remained locked in a silent battle of wills until Snape finally scoffed and took the shot with practiced ease.

"Right then! Where to go begin?" I contemplated, stalling with my nervousness now that all eyes were on me.

"How about the part involving your funeral?" George said, tone as sharp as his glare.

I felt Sirius grumble at my side but nudged him subtly to keep his temper in check so I could reply, "That's a fair question, but I'm afraid it wouldn't make sense without the rest of it."

"Just start at the beginning, Andrella." Remus offered gently. I returned his calm smile before nodding.

"Okay, this is going to be a lot of repeat information for some of you, so just bear with me." I nodded to Snape and the Twins, who each nodded back their acceptance.

"So, I was raised muggleborn as you all know, but I was actually put into adoptive custody with a muggle family, to keep me hidden from my birth father and his master…Voldemort.." I shuddered, pressing on in a bland tone over the hardest bit. "Right after my mother left me with Dumbledore she was taken by Voldemort, tortured for weeks, and then eventually killed by him."

I took a breath and didn't need to be a mind healer to understand why my eyes were drawn to Harry's, now wide pools of green grief staring back at me. Kindred spirits. Orphans.

Chosen ones. Romona chuckled.

I ignored her. Shaking my head and looking around the circle. It was as expected. Pity and sympathy. I looked to Snape instead. Finding comfort in the lack of those in his ever blank expression.

Snape simply raised an eyebrow at me as Ron asked, "Who is your birth father?"

"Isn't it obvious?" George sneered at Ron, waving his hand in my direction. I recoiled from the harsh tone, looking instead to Harry and Ron who were squinting at me.

I decided to roll with the punches and do my best Draco Malfoy impersonation, crossing my arms over my chest and sticking my nose into the air and I used my haughtiest voice to sneer, "Wait until my father hears about this!"

Everyone's mouth hit the floor besides Snape's and Sirius' as the realization dawned on them. It was Fred who broke the shocked silence this time with his sudden outburst of laughter. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow until he finally had enough breath to reply.

"Sorry, about your father being a racist prick, Andibear, but I'm glad you still have your same sense of humor."

"Which is none at all." George added.

"Watch it, Weasley." I snapped at him, not feeling as friendly as I was used to feeling toward him. "As far as I'm aware, we have a longstanding blood feud that remains unsettled and you damn well know you wouldn't last half a second against me."

The sound of Severus Snape snorting laughter danced around the cave as it echoed, disarming and alarming everyone who had not heard it before. Shocking no one more than himself as he covered his mouth in a futile attempt to silence himself. For me, it was not only a stamp of approval but a boost of confidence. I smiled at him before using the distraction to press on.

"Right, so fast forward the first eleven years of my life. Actually, the first sixteen really. Lucius only became suspicious of me after the World Cup." I quickly explained. Or at least hoped to, as Harry chose to interrupt.

"Why did he become suspicious of you suddenly?"

I felt the knowledge of my mother's journal wrap me like a hug, pushing the truth from me. "He had never seen Draco and I standing close to each other before he stopped you in the stands. He sent Greyback after me immediately after, just in case. If he was wrong, what was another dead mud blood to him?"

I didn't notice how everyone winced at the word, Snape hardest of them all.

I used the distraction to press on, once again.

"When I recovered from Greyback's attack, he knew it was true. He knew he had to eliminate the threat–me. And when that didn't work, he set up a sneakier plan. He used Draco to get to Renae, put her under the imperius curse to gain information about me.

"Then he had Draco take polyjuice potion to become me to–to-write those letters and to-to-" I knew I was stuttering but I didn't know I was shaking, too. Not until I felt Sirius' hand clamp down on my bouncing knee.

I nodded once in gratitude, hurtling to finish the end of this part. "He sent Greyback to my parents house, and was there when I fled the hospital wing. I guess he's been prowling around places he thought I might show up and today he got lucky."

"What does this have to do with your funeral?" George huffed impatiently.

The same time Ron asked why I had to flee from the hospital wing.

I ignored George again and gave Ron a patient smile, choosing to answer them both but address Ron. "Now that the dragon's blood inside of me has been awakened, Dumbledore is afraid of me reaching my full power. He is not the only one."

"Dragon's blood? What does that mean?" Harry asked, eyes wide as he surely recalled his own tangle with the Hungarian horntail.

"Yes. Ismerte are direct descendants of Merlin, the last and current Dragonlord. He can awaken the call to that power in the blood of the descendants he knows direly need it and will not misuse it once the power is given." I answered, adding the rest before I could be interrupted. "Those who will understand the gift is a curse as much as a blessing. An additional weight to bear as much as a weapon to wield."

"Dire need?" Fred questioned, his wit sharp but his voice soft.

I nodded my head, unable to look at his face, so close to the image of George's that I spoke into the fire instead. "Dragons are brutal defenders of treasures and it is innocence they treasure most. When that innocence is forcibly taken, instead of willingly given, the Dragon is born in last defense.

"The dragon's fire must destroy the defiler or else a cursed child will be born, a sacrifice for slaughter living on borrowed time from first breath. Even after the death of the father, the child may still be born to test the burden of the curse."

The words pushed through my lips didn't sound like something I would ever say. Maybe something I would make up to count as Divination coursework.

When no one spoke, I continued, never once looking away from the flame. "My mother was born of dragon fire, as was my grandmother, as was I…"

It was Remus who gasped, breaking the somber silence as he realized what he meant. But it was his words that shocked me from my staring match with the fire.

"That's why she was so broken when she showed up at the shrieking shack!"

But he wasn't looking at me when he spoke again, he was staring straight at Sirius when accused, "You knew, didn't you?!"

Sirius stiffened at my side, glancing down at me apologetically before admitting, "She told me."

"Why didn't she tell us? We could have helped!" Remus shot back defiantly, clearly triggered by something that happened involving my mother.

"No, you couldn't. No one could. She knew that. She knew what was going to happen…to all of us…" Sirius choked out, his voice tight as he spared a glance at Remus, Snape, and then finally stopped at Harry.

"She knew that there was nothing she could do to stop it, even if we knew. She knew that if she shared anymore than she did, we'd all be dead right now, all of us and so many more. Voldemort would have won the war, Harry would have been killed before his second birthday and…and Andrella would have grown up as his prisoner." He finished with a violent shudder.

It was me grabbing his knee this time, trying to give him back some of the support he had for me when I needed it. His hand came to rest on mine. I didn't glance up to see how George felt about it. In the scheme of things it didn't seem to matter. Sirius needed the comfort. And after his next statement, I needed it from him.

"You guys knew Andi's mum?" Ron asked, ever the quick one.

"Not well." Remus confessed. "She transferred into 6th year when we were in our first. Ravenclaw."

"She spent some time in the Slytherin dorms. She was very close with Narcissa, especially in their last year once Lucius and Bellatrix graduated." Snape added.

"So, what were you talking about before, Remus? She showed up hurt?" Harry asked the question I didn't have the words to ask.

"It was a few years after she graduated. Had to have been the end of our fourth year. We were at the shrieking shack. About a week before the full moon. They wanted to try and complete this transformation with me, I wanted to make sure they had an escape plan. Because it was so close to the change…my wolf could smell her."

"Her clothes were shredded to pieces, hanging off of her in rags. And she was covered in cuts and bruises and scratches and so much blood. Peter had to take me away for a minute to…calm down." Remus finished with a shudder.

I knew I could have seen it from my mum's diary but I hadn't dared to open it since I learned the identity of my father. I was too nervous for what else she could possibly reveal, no doubt shattering my reality for the hundredth time this year. I felt the weight of unshared truth push toward me but I ignored it.

"Why did she come to you?" Ron asked.

"Emmalenna was always too kind to be a Malfoy. It was clear she was different since the time we were kids. She was in love with my cousin, that was clear since we were kids, too." Sirius said in a way of an explanation.

"But if you weren't close, why would she risk coming to you? How would she even know where to find you?" Fred questioned.

"She had a special way to find me and I suppose she didn't have anyone else to turn to by then. My brother and I were the closest thing to family she had left." Sirius answered with a shrug.

"What special way did she have to find you?" Harry asked.

"Family? I thought you said you weren't close?" George quizzed at the same time.

"Their families were close. Members of the Royal Twenty-Eight and all that nonsense." I surprised everyone by speaking. "Emmaleena's adopted father was Lucius' uncle—Abraxis' brother. My mom and Lucius were raised as cousins."

"Cousins! But he—your mom—" I halted Harry's sputtered indignation with a sad smile and raised hand. Sirius saved me from speaking by answering himself.

"Lionel was one step from being cursed off the Malfoy family tree after the nature of her mother's adoption was aired by my own mother in a meeting between families to arrange marriages amongst the new generation. They arranged a marriage between Emmaleena and myself to be hashed out when I turned fifteen."

"You were arranged to be married to Andrellas's mum?!" Ron cried out.

"Astute observation, Weasley." Snape chided and if there were two less degrees of sarcasm, I could have sworn it could have passed as teasing.

"Yes, not that it would have ever happened. For several reasons. My disowning, her death being some of the fewer obstacles." Sirius said the heavy words with a chuckle and a squeeze to my hand that wasn't trying to be subtle.

"What were the greater ones?" Harry asked, totally absorbed in the story.

"Besides her being a lesbian in love with his cousin?" Remus snorted, unable to resist the urge to tease his friend. Sirius gave him a beaming smile of pride as he answered his godson.

"She had a vision that led her to this very cave, to me. Not how I was then, but as we are now. She showed it to me, but it was more than a vision. It was feeling and knowing, too. Emmaleena knew I would keep her safe because keeping her safe meant keeping my soulmate safe." Sirius said matter of fact. Shocking everyone in the circle.

"Your soulmate was Andrella's mom?!" Ron exclaimed, ever so eloquently, the thought on everyone's mind.

"No." Sirius laughed as I blanched at his sudden attention on me. "My soulmate is Andrella."

"Bullshite!" George refuted, standing to his feet with sudden aggression.

"Sit your arse down, Weasley." Snape seethed, surprising everyone with his uncharacteristic cursing. "Despite anyone's feelings about it, it's true. Andrella and Sirius are bonded soulmates, but so are you and Andrella, George."

Now everyone including me but excluding Sirius looked at Snape too confused to react. It was Harry who was brave enough to voice the question we all felt too stupid to ask. "I thought you could only have one bonded soulmate?"

Snape regarded Harry with patience he had never had for the boy before. A fact that startled Harry and Ron but brought a smile to my face as Snape answered him, not unkindly. "You are not necessarily wrong, but not quite well informed enough to understand. Not a lot of people are these days, frankly. No one seems to remember the most important caveat."

"What caveat?" Harry pressed.

"One can only have one bonded soulmate per lifetime." Snape answered plainly, the bare truth enough to sink in with enough effect to have everyone shudder at his words.

"You…you died, Andi?" Ron asked softly, looking at me as if I were in fact a ghost.

"Again." George growled. "She died again."

I felt Sirius tensing at my side, could feel his whole body coil into action, ready to spring forward and attack at my defense but it wasn't necessary. One look at George and I snapped.

Leveling George with a gaze icy enough to chill the air around us as I said, "And who's fault is that?"

George recoiled as if I had physically slapped him. And that was enough for me to let it drop, but it was Ron who surprisingly pressed him.

"What does that mean, George?" Ron's voice was hard, his gaze suspicious as he looked at the guilty expression on his older brother's face and the deep set frown on mine.

George said nothing, just shook his head at his youngest brother and stared at his feet with a shamed expression.

"What is she talking about, Georgie?" Fred's voice was quiet and pleading.

I took no disrespect at his pleading disbelief–I didn't want it to be true either. I wasn't surprised George hadn't told Fred—meaning he hadn't told anyone. Probably realizing how horrible it was of him. Good.

It was enough to break through to George. Addressing his hands in the smallest voice I had ever heard from a Wesley, let alone George, he answered truthfully.

"She called out to me…through our bond. And I went to her, but I misunderstood…and I left her. I left her when she needed me most. I–it's my fault. "

Fred and Ron badgered him to explain himself further but George was lost in soul- shaking sobs. His face pressed into his knees as he cried. I stared at him, blank faced, unable to process his confession. Unable to let my walls down to hear it, unable to do that and keep my own pain at bay.

It was Sirius that answered their question of what that meant.

"Elliott attacked Andrella and he–" Sirius hissed, pointing a finger at George, "left her in the hands of that monster because he thought it was consensual. Leaving her to be raped by him, awakening the dragon's blood and forcing her to fight for her life in the only way she had left. Merlin eliminated the threat, but she fled in panic and got hurt. She was dying when I found her in the forest. She did die because he is a selfish bastard!"

Sirius was screaming at the end of his rant, shaking with his rage. He remained seated but his hand no longer held mine as they were clenched on top of his quaking thighs.

"You're right." George agreed in a choking voice through his sobbing, not looking up from the floor once. "You're right. It's my fault."

Sirius growled his frustration but said no more. Sirius wouldn't fight with George if he wouldn't fight back. When it became clear that no one else was going to speak, I decided I would.

"And so now that the dragon blood is awakened, it calls for the death of the defiler that was spared, against Merlin's wishes–the blood of my father."

"Is that why Lucius is hunting you? Because he knows that you are prophesied to be his end?" Snape asked, curious about the missing piece of the puzzle.

"Yes. Right after my mother was attacked, after she changed into a dragon, she was meant to kill Lucius for… his crimes. But…Narcissa came into the dungeon, she saw the 'beast' my mother had become and she went to Lucius' side, pulled her wand on my mum…" I choked through the remembered pain of how this betrayal felt for my mother. I coughed and continued on.

"With her first breath of dragon's flame she cursed with prophecy deeper and darker than could be broken, an ancient curse that he had no hope to break, a curse from Merlin himself." I surmised for them, not wanting to say the words of the curse out loud.

A curse for my father, a test of fate for me.

As I stared into the fire, my vision tunneled.. The ancient curse rang in my mind like a bell, spoken in the voice as it was then–the voice of the Dragonlord–Emrys.

"May the birth of any daughter of yours

be born to end your life;

The birth of any sons

be born to you breed strife.

May they come together in grand design

to spell the end of your bloodline.

For the crime of crossing the dragons,

there is no worse and for all time on,

Your time is borrowed and your soul is mine.

Your demise is by your own hand,

And in death's shadow you will stand,

Until you are called to answer my demand."

XXX

I felt the unmissable feeling of a tip of a wand nudging my forehead, still warm from a recent spell. But it wasn't the sensation that roused me. It was the humming. The melody I couldn't identify, but also the way it rumbled in the chest of the person humming. The person my head was pressed against.

The sting of deja vu had me inhaling deeply. The scent was familiar, but not quite right. Smoke, but skunkier. Apples—baked, not fresh. Butterbeer, not firewhiskey.

Fred.

"Andrella? Andibear? Are you there?" I heard his voice but it still sounded too far. I could feel the way his stomach moved as he spoke but it sounded like I was leagues under water.

"What's up, Freddiekins?" I tried to laugh but it sounded more like a hoarse cough. I tried to open my eyes but found it hurt my head too much. "What happened?" I groaned.

"It was pretty freaky, Andi." Fred said with a nervous laugh, as he began to speak so quickly I had trouble hearing him even as the volume drew gradually louder as my hearing settled.

"You were staring into the fire and then your head shot back and you blew a column of green fire into the ceiling and your eyes started glowing gold and you started speaking in a hissing, weird language. And then your eyes rolled back and you fell off the couch into the fire and hit your head."

"What's all that noise?' I groaned again at the sound of something shattering as it was thrown against the wall.

"Sirius and George are having a pissing match it seems. Too busy with hitting each other to even make sure you're okay. Some soulmates they are." Fred chided harshly, snorting once before he added in a conspiratorial tone. "Why don't you ditch both of them and give a chance to the bloke who took the time to pull you out of the fire and bandage you up, eh?"

"What happened to your vows and promises?" I goaded him as I tried to gather my bearings.

My whole body was in pain and I seemed to be laying on the couch with my head in Fred's lap. I dared a peak at him, but found the light still too binding to see clearly. The pain wasn't worth it. It was safe and warm here in Fred's arms.

I could mostly block the sound of George and Sirius fighting in harsh and vicious half whispers on the other side of the cave. And honestly? It was a total buzzkill.

"Fuck them. Fuck my vows, and my promise to my idiot brother. If he's going to act like an absolute arsehole when he should be groveling at your feet–fuck him, too…" Fred vowed easily. I laughed at the absurdity and the absolute sincerity of his words. It was all the encouragement he needed to continue.

"As for Black, if he's stupid enough to get caught up fighting with my idiot brother instead of caring for the most beautiful and wonderfully perplexing woman on this planet then fuck him, too. If they're too busy to do what they should be doing, someone needs to step up to make sure you get what you deserve and more." Fred finished with a gentle stroke of his thumb across my cheek.

"You're my best friend, Freddiekins. You really are. I love you so much." I sighed, relaxing into his palm as it cupped my chin.

His movements to sew me up stopped some time ago but I was too distracted to notice until now. I only did because the other hand was suddenly moving to stroke my hair. He began to hum again and I relaxed into the soothing motions of him brushing through my hair with both hands.

"I know you were there the day we had the talk…I know you are aware of my promise to George." Fred took a deep breath and stopped his moments to tense on my scalp for just a second before he went on. "I love you, too. And you're my best friend. But I can't pretend that I could have loved you as much more…"

"Oh, Freddie," I signed, caught off guard once again by the impossible situation in front of me.

"Please just let me finish, Andi." Fred pleaded and I nodded into his lap. His hands continued to soothe my hair for some time before he spoke again. "Thank you." He said and paused again.

"I'm not asking you to consider me as a lover. I'm not trying to complicate things further by adding that into the mix…although there's no denying you're gorgeous. I mean…why in Merlin's name were you wearing baggy jeans and blasted huge jumpers made by my mum when you could be wearing whatever that delightful ensemble of lace and leather you have on now because–"

I cut him off when I couldn't bear it anymore. "You're getting off track, Fred. Get to the point before I lose my patience."

"Sorry, Andibear, but can you blame me? It's hard not to desire you.Fred's answer was too raw in its honesty, and he laughed it away quickly. "But what I desire from you is a bit more selfish."

"Go on." I was encouraged when he stopped speaking, leaning into the touch of hands until they started moving again.

"What I desire from you is your unshakeable vow to be my best friend forever, for always, not just for life." Fred's voice was steady and calm, but I knew just by the way his breath hitched he was nervous.

"You were my friend first. My first friend, and I, yours, and I want our relationship to always be that, different from your bond with George…or Sirius…but just as strong."

"Just as strong." I repeated his words, my hand snaking up his stomach to rest in the center of his chest, moving to cross his heart.

I didn't know exactly what I was feeling, but I knew for certain I felt a spark. A tug on the magic inside me in a way I didn't quite understand. Without consciously trying, I felt the pureness of his soul, I felt its entirety all at once, flowing through our connection, pouring into my mind. I saw every moment of his life, felt every emotion.

I felt his shame at his words toward me, his actions, his remorse and his desperate need to be forgiven, to make up for it. I felt his undeniable love and loyalty to me. I poured my own back into the bond, the forgiveness that wasn't necessary.

It was with the ancient voice that I spoke again, hearing it for the first time as a warm breath in my own ears, a sweet syrup on my tongue.

"Fred Gideon Weasley,

I have seen your soul,

Felt it's pure intent

and weight of devotion.

With a test of heart,

You will bathe in fire.

If your body does not burn

Your soul will be bound,

in brotherhood, as kin."

I felt the fire surge from deep inside me, flowing freely through my chest and arm down to the palm outstretched on Fred's chest. I felt its heat leave me and push forward into Fred. At the sound of his gasp, I dared to open my eyes and check for signs of pain.

I saw no pain in his ever blue eyes, only glowing awe as he looked at me. I saw myself reflected there, saw the fire burning through his robes but not his skin. I saw my hair blowing with sourceless breeze, whipping so strong around us that everyone else had to hold onto the wall to keep from being blown away. I saw the glow gold of magic of my own eyes reflected in his and I smiled.

My magic was accepting him.

The fire and the wind extinguished at once, but before anyone could blink a giant dome of crystal erected around us, keeping the others from hearing or getting to us but being able to see us behind the cracks of clarity in the smoky quartz barrier.

Once it was up, I dropped my hand from Fred's chest. We both looked down to his chest at the same time. On his skin now sat a magical tattoo of my dragon form, glowing gold eyes included, prowling across his chest. I glanced nervously up to see his reaction and was greeted with a mischievous grin.

"That's pretty kinky, Andibear." He teased me. "I mean, you basically just branded me."

"It's not like that! It's to protect your idiotic arse." I scoffed, utterly embarrassed by it being perceived that way.

"Still, it feels a bit like you're marking your claim on me. I mean how am I going to explain this to my future wife, Andibear?" Fred heckled me.

"You'll tell her it's a friendship tattoo and she'll just have to accept it or get over it." I shrugged his concern off easily.

"Aren't we both supposed to have tattoos if it's for our friendship?" Fred pouted.

"Fine, then." I huffed in fake exhaustion. "Pick a place for me." I waved my hands over myself.

His smirk was lecherous as he dared to glance at my cleavage. "Nice try, but no dice, Freddie. Try again." I laughed at his crestfallen expression.

"Okay, fine. Get off of me, woman so I can see what I'm working with. You're so bony, there's not a lot of room." Fred teased back.

"What happened to all that about me being desirable?" I grumbled as I sat up next to him.

"Lies to get into your pants." Fred tossed back.

"You're an arsehole." I cursed without heat.

"You know you love me." Fred shrugged, one hand crossing his chest, just underneath his stalking bond mark. His other hand stroked his chin as his eyes roamed over my body in consideration.

It was hard work not to blush under his gaze as the moment stretched on. Fred looked at me like an artist and my skin was his canvas. Finally his stoic face broke until his familiar grin and he pointed at my right shoulder.

"Here?" I rolled up my sleeve and put my hand in the spot he pointed out. "Are you sure?"

"No, here." Fred corrected, his hand dropping over mine to move it into the correct position. I accepted it without question.

"Alright then, let's do it." I nodded at him and he nodded back.

"What do I need to do?"

"Keep your hand over mine, keep your eyes locked on mine and squeeze. Push forward every single emotion, feelings, memory, and experience that bonds us. The good, the bad, the ugly. All of it." I stopped my instruction until he nodded his understanding. " I will do the same. This time will be different for you. You will see it. You will feel it. You will bond with my soul."

He nodded his head again and gave me a smile. It was genuine but tight around the eyes.

"Are you sure, Fred? Absolutely sure?" I asked again, squeezing his hand for a minute before letting it fall slack.

Fred gripped it tightly, keeping it in place. "Yes, I'm bloody sure, Andibear, but if you're too afraid to get tatted up just say that."

"As if." I snorted at him, but squeezed back. Thankful for his humor and the comfort it provided me.

Always and forever. If I would let it.

"Okay. Just don't look away, don't let go. No matter what you see until it's over or else the mark you leave on me is going to be royally fucked up. Got it, Freddiekins?"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, Andibear. This is going to be wicked." Fred sassed back.

I rolled my eyes at him and when they refocused on him I saw the reflection of the glowing gold fire back in my eyes. We smiled at each other as we felt the warmth of the fire surge through us, through the connection that was already formed. My magic swelled to meet him, accept his end of the bond of friendship, of kinship.

I watched as my memories of him, my emotions, my thoughts, swelled between us so he was filled with the full knowledge of them. Of what I was, of who he was to me. There were no more secrets between us. The ancient magic that swirled between us wanted to make sure it was fully felt, understood and desired before the bond was completed.

As the perceived younger, less powerful, less primal form of magic in question, the completion of the bond was up to Fred and his magic. I felt Fred's love, his loyalty, surge forward stronger and more devoted than ever. I felt the bond sink into my skin like the warm kiss of the summer sun at high noon.

I felt the power of its completion ripple forward, shattering the crystal barrier. I absently hoped their combined defense mastery kept everyone safe but I couldn't do anything to protect anyone. My magic was still swirling with Fred's.

From the both of us came the colors I came to associate with…other activities. It even felt like we had just finished…other activities. The subtle glance I shared with Fred told me he felt the same way. He gave me a shy smile as a blush rose to his cheeks, he quickly looked up at the colors before they faded back into us.

"What the bloody fuck?!" George and Sirius both shrieked over each other as they appeared at our sides. They both stood with their arms crossed over their chests as they glared down at us.

I ignored them both and scowled at Fred instead. "Look at the mess we're in now. Thanks to you and your BFF tattoos."

"Let me see it!" Fred giggled excitedly, swatting my hand away to look at it.

On my arm now grinned a hyena with fiercely glowing blue eyes, prowling across my shoulder blade as it hunted.

"Bloody awesome, Andibear!" Fred exclaimed with glee but being the idiot he is, taunted, "Mine's still cooler, though."

I looked at him blankface before the amusement settled into my features, smiling honey sweet at the trap he just set himself in. " Of course, it's cooler, Freddiekins. Yours is the picture of me. Not only is it cooler, it's prettier, too, literally hotter even"

"Forget what I said earlier." Fred huffed, pushing me away from himself lightly. "You're an idiot, too, and you deserve them. Both of them. You need two ordinary idiots to keep up with how extraordinarily idiotic you are."

"And doesn't that make you the biggest idiot of them all?" I shot back, crossing my arms and legs in a way I knew his eyes followed. "Soul bonding ceremonies are usually sealed with sex…and you settled for a tattoo?"

Fred scowled at me and crossed his own arms as he engaged in a staring match. He knew he had been had, but his pride wouldn't let him admit it. We both knew it.

Sirius knew it too and his barking laugh broke the intense match between us as we both glared at him, saying in unison, "Shut up, wanker!"

George glared at us both, shouting, "I repeat, what the bloody fuck is going on here!"

"You tell him; he's your twin." I barked at Fred, waving at hand at George.

Fred waved his hand at me instead and shot back without missing a beat. "You tell him; he's your soulmate."

Sirius growled and Fred's smirk deepened as we both felt the upper hand shift to him. "In fact, why don't you explain to both your romantic soulmates how your first official soulbond was between us because they're such idiots."

I glared at him but said nothing. Fred pressed on with his gloating." Don't be mad because I'm right and you chose to mate with such violent, stubborn fools when you could have picked a gentleman."

I snorted at his apparent belief he was included in the later category but didn't fight him on it. At least, I wasn't going to until he opened his mouth to press on again. I snapped my fingers and took his voice away.

I bottled it up and tossed it to Harry who caught it with the finesse of the second finest seeker in Britain. He'd go back to fist once Krum went back to Bulgaria. I grinned at his bewildered look, chuckling at Fred's outrage at being silenced before I shot a wary look at everyone else.

"Now if we could all resume our seats and continue this chat without any more interruptions," I shot a pointed look at both Sirius and George. Their crossed arms dropped to their sides as their surly expressions dropped into one of remorse.

"That would be best for us all to get through the worst of it. There's still so much more to happen, for us all to endure." My voice trailed off as I looked into the fire, the visions of what was to come dancing in the flame for me alone to see.

Maybe it was the powerful display of my ancient magic, or the way my voice still rang with mystic truth, or the sad way my shoulders slumped with knowledge no one should bear alone. Regardless of reason, when I felt Fred's hand squeeze mine I looked away from the fire to see everyone was sitting in new arrangements around me, but they all sat looking at me with an open expression and an empty glass in their hands. I looked to the left where I felt a hand hovering over my shoulder.

I turned to see George holding my glass out to me as a peace offering. My hand rose to accept it without my awareness but hesitated before I could touch the glass.

George offered me a kind smile in return. "I am ready to listen without interruption. We all are…" I watched as his eyes slid to where Sirius sat across the fire between Remus and Harry. Sirius nodded once and George returned it before he looked back at me. "That is if you are still willing to share your story with us?"

Any hesitation I had melted away and I reached out to take the glass, not flinching when our fingers brushed and sparks of color shot out. We both smiled and pulled away with a nod of our own.

I waved my hand and everyone's glasses refilled. I looked each of them in the eye. When I landed on Fred's, who was still sulking, I rolled my eyes and returned his voice to him with a begrudging huff. He grinned at me and I couldn't contain my answering smile if I wanted to, which I was pleasantly surprised to find I didn't. It was easier to get through this all knowing I had a true friend at my side. Not that I'd ever admit it to him.

Not that you can hide it anymore, Andibear.

Without further ado, I raised my full glass and smirked at them all, repeating my earlier sentiments. "Drink up, wankers!"

When we had all finished our shots—without prompting this time—it was Ron who broke the silence, asking, "So how is it possible for you to have three soul bonds? Isn't tying your soul to one person risky?"

Snape answered before I could. His tone was remarkably less kind when he addressed him compared to Harry earlier. "We've already been over this, Weasley. If you would just pay attention."

"Now, hold on, Snape." Remus interjected. "I think that's a fair enough point. I mean have you ever heard of friendship being strong enough to form a soul bond?"

"No." Snape answered begrudgingly.

"Then how can you be sure there isn't a risk involved?" Remus reasoned.

"There is no risk." Snape seethed, his voice a tight wire razor that sliced through the circle.

"But how can you be sure?" Ron pressed his original point.

"Merlin gave her certain gifts so she can be as prepared as possible when she tries to break the curse. The bonds are one of them." Snape answered.

"But how do multiple soul bonds help her break the curse?" Remus pushes to the point of exasperation.

From the tight line his lips became, the thin slant of his eyes as they pulled into his signature glare, Snape was reaching his as well. I decided to take back control of the conversation before Snape snaps.

"Because in order to break this curse, I need to die and stay dead…at least for a while."

"What do you mean you have to die, Andi?" Ron asks, his heartbreak clearer than his confusion.

"It won't be forever, Ron." I reassure him.

"How is that possible?" Harry asks. His voice is even, his expression unreadable. For hating the man so much, Harry sure has picked up some of Snape's mannerisms.

"It's a part of the curse. The last trial. I will die, but my soul will not move on. It will go to the land beyond the living to wait." I explained.

"Wait for what?" Remus asked.

I take a moment to collect my breath and look around the fire at the faces looking back at me. Remus, Harry, and Ron are looking at me with rapt attention and curiosity. It is a distinct difference from the rest of the stormy expressions staring pointedly into the fire instead of meeting my gaze.

"Wait for one of my soulmates to find me in the land beyond the living." I answer.

"You mean—" Ron gasped, covering his mouth with his hand when he's faced with the inability to close it. His blue eyes are round as saucers as he looked between me and his older brothers.

"Yes, Ron. Their death will be the final test. If they pass it, we both come back. If they don't…"

"If they don't?" Harry encouraged me when Ron looked ready to keel over at my unfinished words hanging in the air.

"If they don't, then neither of us will. We'll both stay dead and the curse will live on." I finished.

"What?!" Ron cries out, shooting to his feet. "How could you bond with my brothers knowing it would cause them to die?"

I flinched at the accusation and was immediately pulled into Fred's side. His hand settled atop the bond mark, squeezing gently before he handled his baby brother's outburst.

"Sit down, Ronald. There will be no more scenes tonight." Fred says in such a serious way Ron is shocked into compliance. When he sat down, Fred continued.

"There's no way to cheat death. That's a fact. Except is it?" Fred inclined his head to Ron's left where Harry sits besides him. "Maybe it's more like a rule. With select exceptions."

"And what, the rules of death can be broken?" Ron scoffs.

"They can certainly be bent. It's all about finding a loophole." Fred explained.

"And the loophole is one of you die so Andi can live?"

"No." I answered Ron before Fred can. Ready for his heated glare this time.

"If I die as I am destined to die, then this is not a bent rule. This is my willing sacrifice. Just like it will be my willing sacrifice to leave literal nirvana to save my soulmate when they are fated to die.

"They can not sacrifice themselves for me, they cannot commit suicide or the curse will remain in tact and we will remain separated. But if by the time their death comes and our bond is strong enough for me to detect it in time? Yes, we will both get a second chance at life."

When I finish my rant, I am seething. The air is thick with my anger as it grows the longer the silence stretches.

"But you can only do this once…that's the catch, right?" Harry showed his cleverness in such a bold way I couldn't justify directing my anger at him.

"Yes." I answered simply.

"So, if Greyback were to burst in here with his pack right now and kill everyone, you would come back. And you would have to choose between bringing George, Fred, or Sirius back?" Ron bit out a ridiculous scenario.

So ridiculous I couldn't hold back my snort of laughter. "That won't happen. I put wards over this place powerful enough that Dumbledore and Flitwick couldn't break even if they teamed up with Voldemort himself."

"Okay then. If we all spontaneously combust? What then?" Ron posed an equally ludicrous cause of death.

I decided to answer him just so he didn't have the chance to come up with another one.

"No. The only way I have a chance of coming back, of bringing someone back when it is their destined time is if I also die by destiny's design."

"And how does Destiny want you to die, then?"

"By letting Lucius kill me."

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'Ello lovely readers!!!

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. I know it's a bit long and I hope you like that because the next chapter is just as long. I originally planned to split this chapter into two and I'm sticking with it. So buckle down, mates.

The second part of this chapter is prewritten and comes out this week.

I hope you like the twists and turns so far because we are officially entering the third act of this story and things are about to get real bendy.

As always, the greatest gift you can give to someone like me is sharing your thoughts. I have no one to talk to this story about other than y'all. So please, do feel free to drop a comment.

Ex's & Oh's

Audrey V. Sullivan