RH and GB

by Skcymooree's Azure

HP multidimentional beings FHP NBWL

17. Chapter 17

[No, Sirius.

I don't think I ever can. But I still love you.

-Moony

-Excerpt from the Marauders Compendium]

George tapped on the table. His fingers were jumping up and down, to their own accord. He stared at the wall, his energy was high, but his spirit was low. "Have you seen anything?" He said a common phrase that he had been saying for literally almost two months. "Like. Anything?"

Fred downed the last of his pumpkin juice and shrugged. "No." And like that, the conversation was over.

A conversation that the two of them wished they had something to actually contribute. The topic of the conversation was, quite literally, missing. Or something of the like. This entire school year has been so exciting. Their third year. They got to take interesting classes, like runes or the care of magical creatures. It should have been, at the very least, more interesting than the last few years. And yet somehow, things got boring again. It started with silence. No more pranks. No more funny little jokes. No cool surprises that got them up in the mornings. Well, besides the pepper-up potion. Suddenly things got dull again, and Fred and George were both going out of their minds.

"Hmm. I saw something." Lee spoke up and the two red-haired twins zeroed in on him like lasers.

"What?" George shot up to his feet, leaning into their friend's space.

"And you didn't tell us before?" Fred protested.

"Hmm. I've seen two big babies moping all the time." Lee sighed, waving a fork around in the air. It still had a bit of lettuce on it. "I'd say you two bastards should just get over it. Big deal. You've been crying about it for two months now."

"But- but," George pouted. "It was so fun. Exciting. How can we move on?"

Fred nodded, "Lee, we love you and support you like a brother. However, we will ignore your advice entirely."

Lee gave them a flat look. "Look at it from my point of view. You guys found competition. Hilarious as it was, and I do wish I had a picture when you were thrown into the air because it was priceless, it's over now. You've had your bit of fun and obviously the other fella felt it was time to end it."

"But-" Fred tried to say, but Lee pointed his fork at him.

"I'm not done yet. The dick measuring contest is over. Hate to say it, you two lost." Lee shrugged, waving his fork around. The lettuce piece on the fork almost flew off. "And you two are just bad losers."

"We-"

"-are-"

"-not!" The twins said in unison.

"Are too. Don't you remember when Hufflepuff won your first game in Quidditch? You switched the barrels for their dormitory and made them all get doused by vinegar." Lee gave them such an unimpressive look.

"That was only a one time-" Fred started.

Lee gave him a glare. "What about the time Penelope Clearwater caught you two sneaking out with two bottles of fire whiskey? You broke fourteen, I repeat, fourteen different bottles of ink in her bag. That was over the course of three months. She was crying because she had a library book in there, three times. Pince nearly had her head."

"Oh, we-"

"Or about that time that Percy got a worse grade than you two? I remember you locking him in a broom closet with his textbooks. He came out gibbering about the gamp's law. You arses." Lee rolled his eyes. "And I remember that one time you guys also-"

"Okay! Okay. We get it." George held up his hands. "So we are a bit bad at letting uh," he glanced at Fred.

Fred picked up where he left off. "Some people are better at us at certain things. But we weren't really, you know, that competitive with the Other Guy."

Lee gave them the most unimpressive look. "You know what, I think I need to go sit somewhere else. I think I smell a fuck ton of bullshit."

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor." Percy the Prefect, the wanker, said as he passed behind them. "Lee I've warned you to keep a clean mouth while in Hogwarts. Next time you swear near the first years I will be giving you detention."

Lee and the twins glowered at Percy but kept quiet. Percy was the kind of jerk that always liked to up the price whenever they protested. Once he was distracted further down the table, George continued. "We weren't really that invested."

Lee rolled his eyes. "You dumbasses, ah, excuse my French, you fucking dumbasses are so full of shit. How many nights did you wake me up because you had this," his voice became lower to imitate the twins, "really great idea, Lee. We need to act on it now before we lose inspiration."

"We would never do that." Fred protested but the sarcasm in his voice gave him away.

"Whatever. You guys liked it. But you have to move on. If I hear 'has anything happened, no, have you?' Anymore I swear I will lose my mind and hex both of you to the ceiling. Or…" a look came into his eyes, "I will stop making pepper-up potion for you two."

The threat silenced the twins instantly.

"Oh, Lee." George said, "have we ever told you that we loved you? That you are the best thing that ever happened in our lives?" He moved like a cobra that was slowly uncoiling itself.

"We would be half the men we are without you." Fred nodded along, copying his brother's movements. "Right Fred?"

"Of course, George."

"Lee we love you!" They both sang out loudly.

Lee threw his fork into their faces. "Shuuut uuup." He moaned. "I'm trying to get Angie to notice me. Not make her think I'm in a relationship with you two bastards."

"Oh but Lee, we can't function without you," said George, or was it Fred now? They switched around a bit. That twin got onto his knees.

The other twin grasped Lee's hands, clinging onto them just as Lee was trying to fling them off. "We need you, Lee. You are our only hope. We can't be the same without you." He sighed romantically.

"I will fucking burn your brooms and destroy your experiments before you two even notice. I will. I fucking will. Don't even try me." Lee hissed out. His face was turning a bright red.

"Leeee!" The two boys sang out. "Oh, sweet and wonderful Lee! Lovely Lee."

"Fine! " Lee shouted in frustration. "I won't stop making pepper-up for you two demons! I won't! Leave me alone!"

Fred, or was it George, got up and sat down like nothing had happened. "Oh, thanks, Lee."

"Wow, you'd do that for us? Man, you're the best friend we could ever have." The other one said.

"I hate you both. But I am serious! You guys are moping around. What do you want anymore? Even if you knew who the Other Guy is, what would you do? Huh? Or would you just want a new prank war to come out?" Lee grumbled, "like, it's over. And what would- why are you guys giving me that look."

The twins were staring at him. An expression mirrored on their faces. "Guys? Why are you giving me that look?" Lee asked, leaning away as both George and Fred began to smile. It was starting to get creepy.

"Well, well, well. Gred, I think Lee just gave us an idea."

"Forge, I must admit I didn't think about it before."

The twins gave Lee a mischievous look. "Thanks, Lee!" They chirped before grabbing their bags and running off.

"Oi!" Lee yelled after them, "what idea? Fred, George, what idea?" Mumbling curses under his breath, he grabbed his bag and took after the two brothers. "Stupid friends, stupid fucking-"

"Detention!" Percy loudly spoke.

Lee flipped him the bird and continued on his way. Uncaring about the consequences. He had to go make sure those two didn't blow themselves up or something. Crazy bastards. They are so lucky that Lee likes them.

Harriet's eye twitched.

MYSTERIOUS PRANKSTER, WE WANT YOU.

-be our friend

-maybe even our minion

-we loved your work!

-come hang out with us

-we can share our notes with each other

-unlimited pepper-up potions available with friendship!

-we miss your company!

(if you or your friends know where the Mysterious Prankster is Please Contact Weasley Twins for a reward, free prank coupons available (valid for a limited time and bring proof))

-just turn yourself in, this would be so much easier!

xoxoxo Forge and Gred Weasley

Harriet's mouth was slightly agape. You have to be kidding her. This has to be some kind of joke. It wasn't even a good one. More along the lines of terrible and insensitive. But as Harriet's gaze tore itself from the paper, she noticed that nearly every forty meters a poster were stuck to the walls of the castle. From what she could see, each and every single parchment said the same thing.

What were those two doing? Harriet could feel her fingernails digging into her palms. Harriet was done with this. She had been done for two months. Ever since they dumped a bucket of goo on her head. She was perfectly fine doing her own thing, and here they were. Digging their way back into her life.

Well, the joke was on them. Nobody knew it was her. And Harriet was never going to be near such selfish, mean, jerks. Weasleys were all the same. What was the saying again? Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me? Well, Harriet had already been burned by them. And she would be a fool if she trusted them with anything ever again.

Harriet sniffed and turned on her heel. Her head held high. Just like the way that Daphne had taught her. In fact, Daphne had taught her a lot of things. Braiding her hair, although still crooked whenever Harriet did it herself, wearing the right clothes, posture, manners, and decorum.

After quitting her midnight explorations, it left a hole in Harriet's schedule. And Daphne was nice enough to allow Harriet to spend more time with her. And it showed. If it didn't, Daphne would have words with Harriet. And Daphne still terrified her a bit. But she luckily didn't blink an eye by Harriet's sudden interest in learning etiquette. Daphne didn't seem to find it annoying, nor did she seem overly pleased about it. She was a Slytherin after all, and if she didn't tell Harriet to get out then it meant that it was okay.

And so, as snobbishly as Harriet could, she dismissed the hell out of the twins.

If only if it were that easy.

Okay, so Harriet hadn't realized how large an impact that poster was. Or how it was going to be the talk for the next three days. April had finally started, and school was slowly winding down to where professors were reviewing content in order to prepare students for the end of the year tests. They had a few more weeks of regular classes. But it was clear that even the teachers were getting tired, and that left the gossip to run rampant.

"-did you hear that Pansy Parkinson tried to cash in the twin's request?" Susan leaned over to Hannah. "She said she saw somebody sneaking around once. An older Ravenclaw student. And managed to get a portrait to confirm her story. Except when she was almost going to get her hands on those coupons another portrait woke up and told them it was all bollocks." The two girls glanced over at Pansy, who was sulking in her new red and gold striped hairdo. That was the common punishment for trying to, apparently, get the coupons by lying. There were already two dozen people who had different colors painted on their heads. Sitting around and pouting.

Most of them were Slytherins.

"Oooh. Did you hear about a Ravenclaw who claims that a portrait in the far east end hallway on the third floor knows the identity?" Hannah whispered back.

"But I thought the third floor was off-limits?" Susan replied.

"It is. Filch has been having a field day by busting students trying to sneak past him and his filthy cat."

Harriet stabbed at a piece of carrot. Two seats away from Susan and Hannah, she could still clearly hear them. They weren't really trying that hard to stay quiet. But honestly, they hardly registered that Harriet was there most days. At this point, Harriet didn't care. She had taken to sitting further away and on the opposite side of the table that she used to sit on. This way, her back was to the Gryffindors. And she faced the Slytherins.

But apparently, what the whole school cared about, was the fact that the twins were offering coupons. The whole world has gone insane. Absolutely bonkers! Daphne had told her that Slytherins loved to hoard 'favors' and the more that you had the more power you owned. Which was kind of strange, but then again this was Hogwarts. But Harriet had apparently underestimated the fact that the twins were a set of powerhouses. Only third-years, they had made an incredible name for themselves. They could do anything. And if a Slytherin had their hands on those coupons, they could be considered vastly more powerful than the Slytherin leader. The Snake King or whatever they were called. Slytherins were so dramatic.

The other houses on the other hand...

"What would you do if you got those coupons?" Susan asked Hannah.

The brown-haired girl hummed before answering, "I would love to make Justin Finn-Fletchy eat brussel sprouts for once. He only eats pork and meat all the time. He needs veggies in his life. What if they like, hexed him to only eat veggies? That would be sooo funny!"

Harriet wanted to suffocate.

Instead, she turned her head away from the two gossiping girls and peered over the rest of the hall. Ravenclaws were bent over books, parchments taking over most of the space on the table as they wrote out things. A few younger ones, who didn't have major tests at the end of the year, held up one of the posters. Those had gotten rare now after Filch had a field day with the twins making them remove each poster by hand. But what were those two idiots thinking by putting their name on their prank? Obviously they got detention for it.

The Slytherins were all prim and proper. Draco caught her eye and gave her a simple nod. Harriet returned it. Crabbe and Goyle tried to do the same but were less than regal due to the fact that they had so much food stuffed in their mouths that their cheeks were extended. Harriet gave a soft smile to that and gave them a less-than-proper wave. But some of the Slytherins, the older ones, bent their heads together and whispered. Far too quiet, unlike what Hannah and Susan were doing, to be overheard. One older boy, with sharp yellow eyes, glanced up and looked past Harriet. She knew what they were looking at.

The twins.

They were planning something. Something… bad. Honestly, Harriet felt a little bad for the twins. But that feeling went away quickly. Super fast. Because they deserve it. They are Weasleys. And Weasleys are just plain awful.

And with that thought, Harriet grabbed her bag and left. The Herd didn't follow her on these days, they knew where she was going. To Snape's remedial class. Harriet left the Great Hall behind her, walking down the steps to the dungeon on the east side of the castle. The Slytherin side. A few moments later, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle came up from behind her. Casually strolling up, like they hadn't been waiting to walk her to class. Harriet didn't want to say it. And she didn't think the boys would have liked her to point it out. But ever since she had a bucket of slime dropped onto her, they shadowed her movements. It wasn't bad, like how the Herd used to act. Although the Herd did try to swarm Harriet after the incident, trying to console her and hold her hand and tell her it was okay to cry. It was insulting. But Harriet had quickly disappeared into her room to avoid everything and everyone, licking her wounds and her bruised ego. But Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle only watched but didn't push her. Sometimes they would hang around in the library with her. Other times they would find her after dinner and offer her a walk back to her dorms. And after Harriet was done eating they would walk her down to Snape's classroom. It didn't feel like she was in prison. Or that she was constantly being guarded. No, Harriet was more bemused about it. Slytherin's were scary as hell. But Draco and Crabbe and Goyle were just big goobers. And it was nice to know that they cared for her.

It made her feel comfortable about her decision to cut Neville from her life. They were better friends than he was.

(It was unbeknownst to Harriet for a long time how much they did care about her. The three boys once went bonkers after Harriet came into their class with a scraped elbow and bruised knees. She had slipped on one of the stone steps outside and banged herself really good. But they had been convinced that somebody had tried to mess with her again. For a solid week, they lurked in the shadows around Harriet. Waiting to see who would dare touch one of theirs. It was only due to the convincing of Daphne that they backed off. But Goyle still cornered Ernie Macmillion in an empty hallway and cracked his knuckles menacingly. He was convinced it was Ernie. Why? Who knows. But he did it anyway. Scaring the shit out of Ernie.

There wasn't much they could do about the Gryffindors. Their rivalry caused a lot of tension between the two houses. And it wasn't like they could easily start another war because of what they did to Harriet. They had hurt her. And Harriet was normal and that was a rare thing for a Slytherin to have. Their hierarchy demanded them to act a certain way with other Slytherins, and it was nearly impossible to find friends outside of their house. It was an unspoken rule. For those who wore green and silver, friends outside of their house were coveted. They were also off-limits.

Crabbe and Goyle liked Harriet because she was like a pet. Almost. She was quiet and smiled at them. And she didn't make them do things that were really hard, like reading or maths. Goyle had to explain things to her too. Just like how Draco did to him. And he felt really smart. And sometimes she brought them treats hidden in handkerchiefs. And once she had shown them where the kitchens were they were bonded for life. In the eyes of those two, Harriet was their minion. But she was too small to do minion-y stuff. And sometimes she got pushed around, and that wouldn't do. So they ought to protect their minion. Who then would fetch them some great chocolate afterward as a thanks? It was the best deal they had ever made.

Draco liked Harriet because she never batted an eyelash against the rivalry Slytherin had with Gryffindor. Everybody liked the golden house. Gryffindors were the most popular. It was the house that everybody tried to get into. And yet Harriet never looked at the Gryffindors with admiration or humor for their idiotic actions. And instead, she simply nodded along with Draco's rants about how dumb they all were. And she never used the fact that he was a Slytherin against him. Never looked at him like he was evil.

Draco never would have dreamed of getting the loyalty of a Hufflepuff. In fact, at the beginning of the school year, he would have scoffed at it. But with the ceaseless drama and usurpers in Slytherin, the hierarchy constantly shifting around, backstabbing people with ease, and the constant conniving nature of the other students, Harriet's silent but comforting companionship was like a breath of fresh air. She reminded him of his mother. Not that he would ever say it out loud. Never. But she never turned him away. And she always listened, catching his eye every once in a while and it showed that she never zoned out or ignored him. Her green eyes were so expressive.

For a half-blood, she wasn't awful. Draco told himself.

Although she was awful with potions. Practically hopeless. He honestly didn't know how she could mess up such simple recipes. It was like she had a knack for ruining them or something.)

The next morning, glitter rained down from the ceiling. Random pies floated in the air in the evening, smashing themselves into the nearest person's face. Chairs slid out from underneath you as you began to sit down.

Harriet watched as the yellowed eyed boy from yesterday stood up, walked over to the Gryffindor table (the silence and tension that descended on the room was thick. A Slytherin walking up to the Gryffindor table? Heresy), and stopped before the twins. "I," the boy said, "am the mysterious prankster."

There was a pause. Not even the teachers moved to stop this. McGonagall didn't rise up and shout, nor did Dumbledore shake his head at this admission. No, this was live drama. And everybody, even the teachers, wanted to see it. Harriet was almost surprised that nobody summoned a house elf to get popcorn.

"Alright then," one of the twins stood up. Gary? Or was it Frank? Harriet couldn't remember their names, let alone which one was which. He hooked his fingers into his jacket pocket and pulled out three glowing tickets. The holy coupons. He held them out, and when the Slytherin was about to take them, he pulled them back. "One question though, just to make sure."

The other twin stood up. "What was the prank that you pulled in January?"

There was silence.

Absolute silence. A pin could drop and everybody could hear it.

Because… according to the school, there wasn't a prank in January. Nothing happened during that month. Even now, in April, the gossipers didn't talk about the two subtle pranks that happened. Because honestly, nobody noticed. The only people who knew were Harriet… and the twins.

They had realized that the staircase's timing was off.

The knowledge hit Harriet. Her mouth twitched upwards. Her pride in her trick once again hit her. She was rather smart, wasn't she? And the twins also knew it too. If that was the question they were asking about.

Shame they were bastards.

"I see." Said Slytherin boy. "I made all the firewood in the castle unburnable."

Harriet covered up a snort in her hand. That wasn't even one of her tricks. That was one of the Weasley's. What a fatal error. And a few Gryffindors chuckled out loud. They knew it too. The whole house leaned in to see the humiliation that was about to happen.

One of the twins made a sad sound. "Ohhh, so sad!"

"Too bad!"

"You answered wrong!" They sang out, and the Slytherin's face flushed slightly.

"That prank was before Christmas!" One of them said.

The Slytherin puffed his chest. "You didn't say which mysterious prankster I had to be. And I, very clearly, was one! Nobody knew I was doing all those pranks today!"

One twin snorted, "oh yeah? For one day! The real Other Guy had been pranking for months without anybody noticing them doing for ages!" He struck a pose that a damsel in distress would make, his hand on his forehead in a dainty manner. Harriet rolled her eyes so fast that she saw the inside of her head. "That's how we were to be blamed for so long for things we didn't do!"

"Nobody," the other twin said, "can do what the Other Guy did for so long and not get caught. Anybody who can do it is obviously the person we want. They get to have the coupons!" He waved them in front of the Slytherin boy. "In fact, if anybody who can do what the Other Guy has done can get them. If they stay uncaught for a few months. The coupons are theirs."

"Mr Presinky," Professor McGonagall finally came forward with a stern expression. "You have detention with Filch. You are going to clean up every bit of glitter in this room."

The Slytherin's eyes widened, and he wisely clammed up. After all, no Slytherin would protest in front of the entire school to get out of his punishment. And everybody had quite clearly heard him confess to the daily shenanigans. He had trapped himself in his corner. And he was rather upset for not gaining his prize. It might have been worth it. To get the coupons meant more power, even if he had to do detentions to get it. But he had lost the game.

The drama ended, the school went back to its usual gossiping. Hannah and Susan had to talk in detail about what happened, even though everybody was there. Harriet tuned it all out. Looking at all of the calculating looks that everybody had on their faces. What were they thinking, she wondered. She also wondered how all of this got out of hand so fast. And honestly, when did everybody lose their minds over coupons?

Presinky's failure became the catalyst. Within two hours of the first day things were getting out of hand. People bit into their breakfasts to find out that somebody had put rocks in them. Harriet herself was a victim of that stunt. And now she was a little wary of biting into treacle tarts. Three different traps were placed on the Great Hall doors in one hour. The teachers were quick to remove them. And by the end of that day, the halls were buzzing about the tricks that had been pulled in every class. Quirrel had been half scared to death when somebody released a bat in the classroom. Flitwick's stool had slowly shrunk until it was a little bigger than a book. Much to the ire of the smaller man. Sprout's class had been the most affected as people were switching plants around. Most students didn't know what the different types of seedlings looked like and one boy, an older Gryffindor, accidentally got acid spat into his face from an angry poffin-plant. The Great Hall suffered as the windows were broken a few times, the owls were bespelled to give packages to the wrong people, plates were sabotaged and forks were missing. Elves were running around, trying to set things back in order. The flags above each table were missing by lunch. Then returned by dinner. Each of the different colors. The Slytherin snake was gone, instead replaced by a little bunny rabbit. Five minutes later, the Gryffindor flag had been hit with so many charms from the green table that it turned into a dirty brown color and the Gryffin was a mouse. Suits of armor walked the hallways. The ghosts were now tattling on people. There was a sudden influx of bat-bogey charms in the hallways that several kids got sent to the infirmary. There were dozens of students who visited Madam Pomfrey every hour. Some were throwing up snakes and slugs. Others had their hair hexed off. A few girls had tentacle fingers, crying like banshees. A boy somehow got a third eye. An older Ravenclaw girl had been jinxed that everything she touched she got zapped by electricity, making her absolutely miserable.

This was only one day. And the whole school took the twins bet seriously. They wanted those coupons. Harriet herself had been cursed a few times. She had to walk backward for three hours. She tripped over the air. At one point, an invisible force slammed her head into the table in front of her. When she glanced out the door she saw the flutter of red and gold ties and snickering in the hallway. She almost got hit with a spell but moved out of the way, luckily. Susan got hit though and was unfortunately started to throw up frogs. Toads, actually. Harriet took her to the infirmary. Her lips pressed tight and a scowl on her face.

In fact, it was getting so bad that by the next morning Dumbledore himself stood up and tried to shame the student population to cut it out. But with more senile old man words thrown in there. But Harriet could tell what he was trying to say. She could see through him. But the worst bit was he implied that what the Gryffindors were doing were just fun little tricks. But the other houses could hurt people by their mean pranks and they should stop immediately.

By the end of the week, four dozen students, most of them from Gryffindor, were caught after curfew. Every house had hundreds of points taken away. Practically resetting them to zero. Neville, Hermione, and Ron had been caught. But so had Draco, resulting in detention with all four of them in it. Draco told her later that they had gone into the forbidden forest, and something creepy was killing unicorns. He had managed to get away. But man, detentions sounded awful.

Harriet wisely decided to stay in her room instead of venturing to her sanctuary at night. The patrols were more common these days. Prefects were taking shifts for all the hours during the night now. Head boys and girls were checking in on classrooms every so often, so nobody was hiding in there after curfew. In fact, as a precaution, in case somebody stumbled in and found the place, Harriet packed up her potions lab in her mother's trunk and hid it. Clearing it out. Stopping all experiments. Momentarily, of course. She still wanted to do things. But it was too dangerous when every student was about. She even stopped disappearing on the Herd. Too many eyes would see Harriet vanish. Too many questions would be aired. And Harriet was done pranking people. She would rather just make potions in the peace and quiet that the night time air provided her.

Except that didn't happen. Everybody and their pet cat try to get up early to place tripwires and buckets over doors. If they were mysterious long enough then maybe the twins would give them the coupons! The bet was simple. Whoever did it the longest without being caught won. To her, they were being morons.

Filch was having a field day. So many students are getting detention. So many messes for them to clean up by hand. It was like he could use chains on students all over again. Harriet once saw him humming a song. Like. He was actually happy. It was bewildering.

Unable to do anything, Harriet decided to turn her attention to the one mystery in her life. Investigating the ritual. She's tried to study the symbols, the runes, the way things work, but to no avail. She can recognize her runes, see what they mean, but without interpreting the connections and placement of the runes, she was just as lost as when she first started. And not to mention certain components when added to runic circles, would change the meaning of the symbols entirely. By the fact that she has to spill blood for it to work, the runes could mean anything. They could do anything. And Harriet wasn't going to do this without studying it thoroughly first. She had the time, right? She'd take however long she had to in order to know what she was dealing with.

But she immediately hit a snag.

You'd think that by adding a common thing such as blood would be studied and well documented, right? Wrong. Harriet couldn't find anything that dealt with blood, let alone rituals that required it. In Hogwart's vast library, Harriet couldn't find anything. So that meant she had to do it the hard way- reading the books to see if there was a footnote somewhere or not. She grabbed the thick tome that she had been slowly working her way through, 'Runic Circles and Rituals' by some dumb old wizard and tucked in.

It wasn't ending.

People kept going up to the Weasley's and telling them that they were the mysterious prankster. The twins, erm, what were their names again? They would ask them what the prank was in January. There hadn't been a satisfying answer yet. Although one idiot said he made it snow. That made Harriet snort.

Other people were more certain that if they were to harass, pester, trick, and hex other students while remaining anonymous in the hope that the twins would magically recognize their talent and call them the mysterious prankster. Filch's unending supply of students was not coming to the end. Detentions were so common it was ridiculous. Teachers stopped taking points away because otherwise, they would be in the negatives. But on the plus side, Hogwarts had never been cleaner. So many students were mopping hallways and cleaning windows.

Day by day, things were settling down into a weird but kind of normal schedule. If Harriet could call suffering through dumb pranks normal. Although there were a few older students that put the time and effort into their tricks. Those were actually enjoyable. Somebody had made the candles above the Great Hall change color. Or when the giant squid in the lake inked itself and made the entire lake black for three days. Another prank caused books to be read backward for a day. The Ravenclaws had a meltdown. It was great. But for the most part, a great deal of seventh-year students ignored everything and threw themselves into studying. A pity, because Harriet would have loved to have seen almost-graduates try their hand at it. She wondered what kind of magic they knew, and how they would use that knowledge.

It was interesting to see what people would do with spells and charms. Harriet was only limited to runes and potions, with a few muggle items thrown in. People actually had magic, and they could use their wands. Madam Pince, the librarian, quickly locked up all of the books that had 'hex' 'jinx' and 'curse' in the title. But there were some well-known hexes that students knew, like the bat-bogey one. That was fairly common. And rather painful. Some of the tricks pulled on students were interesting to watch because Harriet could never do it. Chairs that could not be sat on. Tables that moaned as you set things on it. Ink bottles that would shoot their contents in the air. A suit of armor that would jump scare kids. Interesting. But not particularly brilliant.

Weeks went by. From the corner of her eye, Harriet would sometimes glimpse the Weasleys. The twins sometimes seemed a bit haggard. Other days they were peppy like dogs. Harriet truly wondered if an unlimited amount of pepper-up was actually involved. At first, Harriet was sure that they would get tired of it. They officially caused the most chaos the school had ever seen. And they have an unlimited amount of detentions because of it. She wondered when they would just give up.

At first, the younger students didn't seem to get tired from hexing other students or creating a tripwire somewhere. But slowly, as the days passed by and the closer the end of the year came, even the most stubborn of kids were giving up. Time ticked on by, like usual. And the hype that first drove everybody into doing these things was dying down. The reason why was either getting caught too many times by Filch and his cat, or by the fact that they weren't going to get the coupons. Detentions started to dwindle, and Harried had completed reading her sixth runic book and was going onto the seventh.

Each of these tomes was twice the thickness of her arms. None of them talked about blood in rituals. And the more she read the more she was also convinced that the rune textbooks were more like the potions textbook. Everybody had a different opinion. There were different rules that changed every time she read a book by a new author. Harriet wanted to smash her head into a book and close it. Her brain was spinning. One book said that spherical circles are dangerous and could explode. Another said the same thing about hexagon circles. And the same for any type of circle. She was starting to think that none of these books held a single bit of logical information in them that she could use.

But still, she soldiered onwards. Hoping one day, she'd actually learn something useful. (How did her rune prank work in the first place? She must've done something correctly! But from what she had read she should've died. Or maybe her arm might have been ripped off or something. There was something wrong with these books. They didn't add up. They contradicted each other.)

The passage of time also took it's toll on Harriet too. No midnight excursions. No experiments. No sanctuary. Harriet waited for it all to die down finally, for the whole farce to be over with. She couldn't afford to get caught. But with every day she became antsier.

Bored bored bored. Harriet was so bored. She wanted potions. The ones that she didn't purposely mess up in the most tragic of ways. Draco had been moved to help her in her class. Crabbe and Goyle didn't make their cauldrons melt every single week. And honestly, Draco was nice to help her. And very patient. He would cut up all the ingredients and hold a pocket watch and help timed Harriet as she added in the components. It made her feel bad that she still tried to sabotage her own work. Just a little bit. What was the point of making a better potion with him as her partner? When by herself (and Snape looming above her), in her own class period, she'd probably destroy Hogwarts by making a single mistake? Realistically, she couldn't have Draco hovering by her all the time. They didn't share a class. And Harriet was bored. Out of her mind going crazy kind of bored. Sometimes she let him make a perfect potion with her. Draco would smile and tell her that she was getting better. But other days she might 'accidentally' throw in something that had been hidden in her sleeve. Messing the potion up so badly that even Draco, who was brilliant with potions in his own right, didn't know how to fix it. Even Snape would come over and glower at the destroyed potion before vanishing it away. Draco would then just try again until they were able to make it acceptable for Snape's standards.

Time was slowly dragging its feet. And all Harriet wanted to do was to go back to the way things were. Where she could spend nearly all night in her hideyhole, and the world would ignore her again.

But the Weasley twins were still happily being the center of attention. Harriet figured it out one day. They were waiting her out. Trying to smoke her out of hiding. Well, they could wait all they wanted, but Harriet was never, ever, going to talk to them.

Nope! She was so firm in her resolution that she honestly felt pride in her actions. Waiting was hard. And she was so uninterested in anything else but potion. But she still had her research. But runes were not potions. There was a set of laws (which changed in every book) and you followed them to create your runic circles. That's where the imagination part comes in. You make your runic circle, even if it wasn't a real circle, and by placing the runes in a certain pattern like a ritual, it causes the different types of outcomes. It was interesting to learn about it from the beginning. But the rules that followed every action were stifling. In potions, it was 'mix whatever with whatever and bam! Something happens!' A true testament with Snape, who truly hated Harriet and watched over her like a hawk now. After being sent to the infirmary with burns for the fifth time in one week, he refused to let her out of her sight while she was in his class. Even with Draco sitting next to her. To 'make sure she won't burn Hogwarts down next' he said.

Well, jokes on him. He didn't realize that Harriet was doing it on purpose now. And it was the only thing that made the lessons bearable. Harriet still shook after each class. And she still had to rush to the bathroom afterward. But the satisfaction of ruining a potion after Snape watched her to make sure she didn't ruin the potion was a heady feeling. Like she was getting away with it now. Her own secret little joke, like the how the Marauders Compendium had been locked up without her realizing it. (She still felt dumb for not knowing it had been jumbled up purposefully for years. Her dad got her good on that one.)

So although Harriet was still doing research, via knowing what reaction causes what destructive explosion a potion could create, she was itching to make any kind of potion! She had been on the brink of finishing yet another potion. She was on a roll! It was great! An invisibility potion that only worked on inanimate objects. A revision to the clothes-stick-to-your-face potion. Except she figured that clothing wasn't the right tool to put it on. And so Harriet wanted to see through walls.

And she was so brilliantly close. The last potion managed to make the wall semi-transparent. The potency of the demiguise hair had been a bit weak. Maybe she could boost it with something else? But with everybody roaming the castle, and a higher alert at night, Harriet was simply trapped with her daydreams. Unwilling to come forward. Hoping that the Twins would just give up.

And it probably would have stayed that way if it wasn't for Ronald Weasley.

May had appeared around the bend and was inching it's way to June. And school was slowing to a crawl. A few hopeful students still wanted those damned coupons. Some idiots thought to try their hand at a joke every so often. But some of them, very few, used that chaos as a cover. And it was just pure happenstance that Harriet caught Ronald Weasley doing just that.

It was late in the evening, and Harriet's legs shook. Snape had been awful. Well, more than awful. He was downright attacking her again. Saying meaningless things but cutting barbs that still stung. Harriet did her best to forget his words. But the aftermath still cut her open. She was slowly climbing the steps to cross one of the main junctions to the Hufflepuff dorms when she saw somebody at the top of the stairs. Tan with black hair, but young. Another first-year, but a Slytherin that she never interacted with. He ignored her. And she ignored him. All was right in the world.

Until Harriet saw a flash of red hair and a red and gold tie, and the boy at the top of the stairs gave a shout of surprise. It was a brief glance, but Harriet knew it was Ron Weasley. His face burned into her brain. He darted from behind the Slytherin boy and suddenly the boy was falling face down onto the stairs! Harriet darted upwards as fast as she could, and managed to awkwardly catch him before he knocked his face into the stone steps. She crashed into the stairs as the boy's weight fell onto her. Harriet could feel her body, combined with his, sliding down the steps painfully and she slammed her palms onto the ground and was able to keep herself from falling further. The most painful part was the bruises quickly forming beneath her stockings as her knees were knocked against the rock when she dove to catch him. Her heart was beating a mile per hour. They made an awkward jumble of limbs and frizzy hair.

"What the hell?" The boy pulled himself upright from on top of Harriet. He looked as frazzled as Harriet felt. She had never seen a Slytherin so undone before. Like he couldn't believe what just happened. "Somebody pushed me! Did you see who did it?" He had a weird accent. She had never heard of it before. He stared her down, and very hesitantly, Harriet shook her head. No. She hadn't seen them. Her palms began to throb now. But that was ignored by the sudden confliction she felt.

Why? Why did she cover for Ron? Denying it had been her first reaction. But the Slytherin was so focused on her that she felt nervous. It felt like he could see everything. And her first instinct was to lie. Because- because if he knew she saw who did it then he would make her tell people. And professors. And Snape is the head of Slytherin and he would interrogate her and make Harriet speak and that was awful. She couldn't do that.

Harriet was a coward. Guilt rose up and gripped her by her neck. Making it hard to breathe.

"I see." The boy sighed disappointedly and rubbed at where his shin had met an unforgiving stair. He hadn't gone unscathed either. "Thank you for stopping my fall. I am Blaise Zabini. If you hadn't caught me I could have been hurt a lot more. I... owe you for this." He said the words like they were hard to say. Since he was a Slytherin, it probably hurt his pride more than his bruised shin.

Harriet patted him on his arm super awkwardly, got up, and left. Her heart still hammering. Blaise made her nervous. He was an unknown factor. She didn't glance back, but she could feel him looking at her as she finished stumbling up the stairs and went to her dormitory.

An icky feeling was settling in her stomach, and it rose up and covered her like a blanket of tar. The guilt she felt did the same thing. Making her feel… dirty. She was letting Ron get away with it. And it hadn't been the first time that she had heard of somebody 'slipping' down the stairs. And now that Harriet realized it, they were all Slytherins too. Crabbe had missed class one day to sit in the infirmary. And Harriet was allowing this to continue. She was letting Ron be a bully without stopping him in his tracks. Her hands shook. What could she do about it though?

Harriet sat at her small desk. Staring at the numerous ink stains that blotted the wood. All from her clumsy attempts at writing. Her mind was whirling. What could she do to make Ron stop? How could she make him stop? If she pranked him, humiliate him, would that only let the cycle continue? Her credibility of being a prankster had long since gone down the drain. They would think she was just another wannabe student who targeted the Weasley's. And besides, would it really make him stop? Would he just shrug it off, as everybody else did in the castle? Tricks and jokes were commonplace now. It would just be a normal day. What if Ron figured it was a Slytherin who did it and tried to get even a worse type of revenge against them? Harriet knew from experience that he would, and could, drop people from the rooftops if he wanted to. Her once broken wrist ached at the memory.

A prank wouldn't keep him from hurting other students. Harriet would have to tell somebody. But that was so terrifying. And impossible. She couldn't! The second she'd open her mouth her voice would fail her. And there was the fact that she had a reputation. She was dumb. Stupid as hell. Who would even believe her if she were to say it was Ron? Nobody. Everybody knew that she didn't like Gryffindors. Hermione would chase her down and try to scold her for spreading lies and whatever. Neville would get all sad and the twins would-

The twins.

Would they… believe the mysterious prankster?

Harriet's thoughts abruptly halted. And she bit her lip.

Would they believe her?

She made a promise to herself. Harriet wouldn't break that. Harriet would never reveal herself to those bastards. Those egotistical asses hurt her. They were Weasleys and Harriet would never allow herself to be targeted by them again. They used her in order to get out of trouble. They showed their true colors. Every Weasley was terrible. And who knows really why they wanted to know who Harriet really was? Did they want to get back for what she did to them? Did they want a target to practice their pranks on? Did they want to further humiliate her? Make her spill her secrets? Would they force her to tell her how she did things?

No, Harriet would still firmly stay in the shadows, thank you very much. There was no reason to reveal herself to them. Ever. But… Ron was their younger brother. And surely, even those two knew how dangerous Ron was. And how shoving people down the stairs could really hurt the victims. Sure, there were magical remedies for everything these days. But there wasn't a way to reverse a broken neck or bleeding to death. If they weren't going to stop Ron for the fact he was hurting people, maybe they might stop him because he could ruin his life by accidentally harming somebody too much.

Thus, she should send an anonymous letter.

Harriet pulled out a small piece of parchment. And rolled a muggle pen in her fingers nervously. What would she say? 'Hey, your brother might kill somebody, stop him before I do.' That's a bit too… threatening. 'I hate you please stop looking for me.' That's a bit on the nose. Harriet stared at the parchment for a long, long time. Trying to formulate the best letter with the least amount of words. But she found herself at a loss. She didn't truly want to say anything to the twins. Nothing really came to mind.

After a clock chimed the hour past midnight, Harriet finally and reluctantly put the pen to the paper.

Your brother is pushing people down the stairs.

Please stop him.

He could really hurt somebody.

(You moved everything to the left by three centimeters in January. I made the staircases unsynchronised.)

Honestly, Harriet couldn't think of anything else to say.

Fred and George received a note the next morning. A school-owned barn owl swooped in and gave them a deep glare before handing off a piece of paper. It was not sealed in an envelope. It was a scrap of paper that had been abused by its flight inside of the castle. But the words were still legible. The handwriting was small but each word was neat, without the pompous swirls and cursive that some students had.

Fred looked at George.

George looked at Fred.

(Let's talk about the Other Guy later, was what the look said. Let's deal with the problem first. )

"Was it Percy?" George said, tilting his head.

Fred snorted and shoved his brother, shaking his head. "Be realistic, Gred." He picked up the note and studied it again. Their breakfast was mostly consumed, but they ignored it now. "Percy is too much of a stickler for rules to be trying to hurt students. He'd rather eat hippogriff dung."

"So that means," both twins looked over to see their little brother. Ron was shoving a plate of meat into his face. Ignoring the perfectly placed bowls of fruit nearby, their brother had the uncanny love for just meat. All that was on his plate was sausages and bacon. As they watched him silently, as he shoved food into his mouth and talked at the same time. Neville seemed indifferent to it, but they could see Hermione cringing.

"Yeah, I could probably see him doing it." George shrugged, getting onto his feet. Fred followed. "Oh, Ron!"

Ron grunted when he saw his brothers come up. The trio of friends had apparently been discussing something they didn't want George and Fred to hear as their conversation halted. "Hullo guys," Fred started.

"Would you mind-"

"-if we-"

"-stole our brother for a minute?"

Ron gave them a grumpy look. He was definitely not awake yet. Too bad he didn't have any pepper-up potion. And too bad Fred and George never shared. They didn't even want to see what Ron would look like with that much energy. Lee was their coveted resource. Not his. "What do you guys want?"

"Oh it's nothing bad." George chimed in.

"We just want to talk to our little brother."

Ron sighed and got up. "I'll see you guys in class, I guess." He said to his two friends, and Fred and George looped their arms around his shoulders and practically dragged him away. Ron spluttered as his two brothers manhandled him, but he knew better to fight back. Instead, they led him to an abandoned classroom and closed the door.

"So what is this about?" Ron asked, folding his arms.

Fred looked at George.

George looked at Fred.

They had to tread lightly. Ron had a fragile ego. And could take anything offensively. His temper was not a thing they wanted to stir. And if Ron went crying to mummy about their accusations then it could potentially mean a summer spent inside and doing nothing but cleaning. But it was something that had to be addressed. Just. They had to do it very gently.

"Well," started Fred. "We got a note. Saying, and we don't want to offend you, that you've been pushing people down the stairs." He said as softly as he could. Brother to brother. "And we just wanted to check to make sure it is true. That's all."

The twins were expecting all sorts of emotions to explode in their faces. Bracing themselves, they watched to see what Ron would do. Would he cry? Throw insults at them? Fall to the ground and temper tantrum? Or would he be so offended that he would storm out and ignore them for the rest of the year? Ron's temper was infamous. And as much as the twins loved to poke at him, sometimes he got a little too nasty. Ron liked to keep as much hurt inside of him until he could unleash it at the worst moment.

Instead, this was what the twins received. A smile and a gloating laugh. Ron gave his older brothers a goofy smile.

"Oh, you guys finally figured me out, huh?" Ron said, leaning back against an old table with a smirk. "I wondered how long you guys were going to take. I've been doing it for months. I figured you guys would have caught on ages ago."

Fred and George exchanged alarmed glances at each other. The look they exchanged said what the actual hell. This was a more serious problem than they had thought. It was like how the world shifted beneath their feet, making them off-balanced. How could they respond to this? What could they even say? What words could they speak in order to change Ron's impossible stubborn thick head? Before they could say anything Ron was already boasting about it.

"I'd figure it was my turn, you know? Since everybody was doing a prank. At one point it was like a rite of passage in Gryffindor. You had to do a prank. Ever since you left that open challenge. And everybody was doing one!" Ron paused, thinking. "Except 'Mione hasn't done one but she also likes the teachers. Neville told Seamus and Dean his prank was when we got caught after curfew, but it was really taking Norbert to the tower so everybody believed him. But I knew I hadn't done one yet. And Seamus said I should light a curtain on fire or something. But I really wanted one that was super good." Ron pulled out Bill's old wand and flicked it in his hands a few times. "And then I saw one of Malfoy's minions loitering on the second floor. And it just occurred to me that I could just give him a little nudge and nobody would know!"

Fred and George stared at their brother. Like they had never seen him before. And it was true. That note. They hadn't seen this side of Ron before. When had they stopped carefully watching him? Fred was still struck speechless at his younger brother's attitude. George was making small choking noises.

"And it was really fun! I think I figured out why you two always liked doing all those tricks on people before. So I just kept on doing it. Not that I needed your coupons, but it was kind of cool to plan out what to do and to get away with it."

"Stop," George said, raising a hand. His tone was blunt. He couldn't hear it anymore. "Ron, you need to stop. That isn't a prank. We pulled you in here not to brag about it. What you are doing is wrong."

"You don't hurt people." Fred was frowning. "We do what we do because we like to trick people. Not give them actual physical harm. Pushing people down the stairs can lead to some bad injuries. The kind that-"

"So what if they break a wrist or a leg?" Ron's ears were turning red. Ah, here was the reaction the twins were looking for. "They can go get healed and be back to normal by the next morning. That isn't bad!" He scoffed.

"Those are light injuries. When you fall down the stairs you can hurt your head or worse, your neck. And it doesn't matter if it can be healed in a day or not!" Fred was raising his voice, all of his calm was gone. Screw being gentle. His brother was going to get the blunt truth. "You caused them pain! It doesn't matter how long they hurt for you made them feel it. And that is unacceptable!"

"Talking to slimy Slytherins is unacceptable!" Ron bellowed, matching his brother's voice in volume.

"What are you talking about?" George asked, also getting heated. "We are talking about your behavior, not-"

"I only pushed Slytherins down the stairs! They ratted me out to you two. Nobody else saw me!" Ron tried to storm out but with a wave of George's hand, the door was locked. He rattled the door in his frustration. Then tried to kick it. "Let me out!"

"Not until you understand one thing," George said, his voice low. He approached his brother and leaned in. "If you ever push another person down the stairs, we are not going to protect you. In fact, we will tell Percy. And Professor McGonagall. Then we'd send a letter to dad."

"Why would you do that?" Ron was practically steaming with anger. His voice was cracking. "I'm doing what you guys do all the time!"

"We don't hurt people. And it's because you need to learn." Fred said. He leaned into George, both of them doing their best to loom over their dumb little brother. "What you are doing will have consequences. We are trying to tell you this. And if you don't listen to us, then we will make sure you will learn what your actions result in. Even if you get expelled."

Ron looked at them with fury. "You're my brothers. You can't get me expelled!"

"You are going to get yourself expelled if you don't stop. What you are doing is a serious thing. And if Snape finds out that it was you who was harming his students then he will do his best to get you kicked out. Or he'd make your life hell. Stop what you are doing. Or we will ensure it will end. Got it?"

Ron snarled. "I figured you two were friends with snakes. You two were always the sneakiest out of all of us. You'd let me get expelled to protect evil people?"

"We aren't talking about that now." Fred spoke, "we are talking about your behavior."

"You two have such double standards!"

"We aren't the one pushing people down the stairs."

"I hate you!"

"No, you don't. Get out. And don't forget what we said." George snapped his fingers and unlocked the door. "You need to get your head out of your ass, Ron."

Ron cursed at them a few times before stomping away. His face was red like a tomato, and the twins were certain that by the end of the day there would be some sort of new rumor about them circulating the school. Ron lashed out before really thinking. The twins were used to this behavior. But it still hurt. Whatever. As long as Ron kept his nose clean then nothing would happen.

"I can't wait until he grows up." Fred sighed. "What a brat."

"I know we were annoying when we were kids. I hope we were nothing like Ron." George mimicked his brother and took a deep breath. "He'll learn one day. I think. I hope."

"I'm sort of horrified with him now." Fred shook his head. "Did you see his face? He was so proud of what he was doing. I know for a fact that if he skinned his elbow he'd be howling for vengeance. What makes him think that the Slytherins wouldn't do that? They are an intimidating lot. And they never forget a slight against them. They're fucking crazy. Like what the actual hell. Out of all the people to piss off, you shouldn't target Slytherins. We've tried not to."

"That doesn't stop some older years." George muttered, "remember last year how a guy got suspended for attacking a Slytherin? They all targeted him. I think he was actually happy to go home after that."

"If only people actually learned from that," Fred replied. The subject of this was morose. "I know a few second years who've targeted Slytherin's this year. One of them got hexed and sent to Saint Mungo's."

George paused, silent in the conversation. Both of their minds whirling. "Then. Do you think the Other Guy is a Slytherin? Like Ron said?"

Fred pulled out the parchment that they received. "It makes sense. This has to be the Other Guy. He sent the note. We were right about the staircases. And nobody else knew the three-centimeter shift we did." He opened it up to look at the neatly penned words. "Why haven't they come forward? Unless they are a Slytherin. They might be too afraid to come forward."

George started to get excited. "That would make the most sense! That's why they stayed hidden so far! Why they never came forward. If they lost their standing with the Slytherin Hierarchy then they could lose everything, yeah? Or they could get targeted by the older students."

"Yeah... " Fred hummed, still a little unsure, "this is the first thing they ever sent to us. So that means we're getting somewhere, right?" He looked up with hope, "even though Ron is being a terror to other students. They trusted us to resolve it! So that means they like us. Right? They know what we would have dealt with him."

George flashed him a grin. "That's the spirit! We just got to drag them out! We can keep their identity secret. No problem. All we have to do is just reach out to them and tell them it's all good, and then we can meet them! They already trust us!"

The two shared a high five. "Now we just got to send a message. It'll be fine."

Everything was not fine.

Harriet found herself having a moment of deja vu. Staring at the posters that littered the hallways. Students gathered around them, the murmur of their chatter filled the air. Once again, one of her eyes started to tick. Annoyance was her first emotion. And for the first time in a long time, Harriet wanted to rip the poster in half and scream at everybody who glanced at her. She had put up with this shenanigan for far too long. And she had made a mistake. She… she encouraged it. Somehow. That letter was a sign they had been looking for and suddenly the interest in the Mysterious Prankster was now afoot again. Just when it was finally dying down. The gossipers had been talking about Prefect Weasley and some girl named Clearwater. And how they kept 'holding hands' which meant they were destined for marriage. Harriet had plans to reopen her lab the following weekend.

Harriet had shot herself in the foot.

Thanks, Mysterious Prankster!

We love you! We took care of it. Come hang out with us pleeeaassee!

xoxo Gred and Forge Weasley

Harriet slinked away. She wasn't pouting! No! They were just being annoying. And now she would have to keep her potions lab locked up again! Again! When could she finally do her hobby without fear of people stumbling into her sanctuary? She blew it. She destroyed her chance. People would go crazy and it'll all start up again. Harriet resigned herself to yet another wave of mediocre tricks on people and sighed. Maybe this school year was a bust? She'd have to wait until getting back to the Dursley's to do magic. But that was weeks away. And she was certain she would have little time to do her homework, let alone anything else. She already felt tired just thinking about the chores she'd have to do at the Dursleys.

Hopefully, things will die down. Quickly this time. And she could get a week in her potions before having to go back to England for the summer months. Yeah, this time people won't prank, right? People were tired of it. They were working on reviewing for tests now. Nobody would waste time on this besides gossiping about it. Right?

Turns out there were some people who were not actually tired. Probably from all the pepper-up potions they once bragged about having. At dinner time, the sky had darkened above the Great Hall. People were talking about the message. And Harriet kept her head down and tried to will her soul to exist elsewhere. She hated this place. There was a weird pop bang that echoed through the halls. And above everybody's heads, outside in the nighttime sky, lights blossomed into beautiful colors. Fireworks lit the sky. A message appeared in the colors. Several times. Come talk to us. The fireworks burned the words into her retinas.

Harriet's jaw dropped. As the occupants of the castle looked up to see the colors and beautiful shapes the fireworks were creating. There were pretty. Bursting greens, blues, pinks, reds, purples, and oranges. They lit up the starry night sky. Susan and Hannah were oohing and ahhing. Harriet watched, entranced. Her mind was blank but filled with astonishment. Until the end of the firework show. When the finale broke apart and exploded into the image of the twin's faces. And underneath the words they said, come be our friend!

Harriet blinked away the message. The bright flashes had created spots in her visions. "Oh wasn't that so sweet?" Susan said. "I really liked the colors!"

"I wonder who they are asking for?" Hannah said, twirling a piece of brown hair between her fingers. "Seems like they are a bit desperate. Maybe we should ask around? And help them?"

That was the worst thing they had ever said. Ever.

Harriet swallowed roughly. Her appetite, although rare, dissipated altogether. She wasn't hungry anymore. She hunkered down and hid her head in her arms. A few people clapped after the show finished. It had been nice. But in a terrible, awful, no good way. And Harriet felt very tired about it all. She wished that all of this could finally just die down.

The next morning at breakfast, hundreds of flowers littered every single table. The head table was vandalized by one word painted onto it. Please. Practically every Hufflepuff girl thought they were lovely, and Hannah and Susan spent the day weaving them into their hair to make flower crowns. They were transfigured, they discovered later that evening when the flowers slowly disappeared into grass stems. Harriet refused to touch the flowers or to even acknowledge that they existed. Although she was incredibly tired of reading about runes she still pulled one book out and burrowed her head into it. She didn't see anything. Nothing was going on.

The next day was worse! Harriet hadn't thought that it could happen. Flowers. Fireworks. Those were flashy and awful. But no, the Weasleys kept on bringing out more and more terrible ideas. This time the twins got up onto the Gryffindor table and started to sing a song about their long lost companion.

Harriet's eyes never stopped twitching. A little piece of her dying inside. Curling up into a little ball of shame. They were singing to her. If she wasn't so hungry she could have crawled underneath the table and pretended not to exist. Hannah and Susan were practically going nuts over it.

"It was so good!" Said Susan.

Hannah replied, "I loved it so much! This is so cute! I hope we get to see who it is!" Harriet slumped into her seat even more, and morosely chewed on a bit of sausage.

Chocolates were put onto every single plate the next day. More flowers were delivered to every house homeroom. Elves were popping in and giving a transfigured flower to everybody, regardless of their gender or house. The elves were bowing and giving little silly smiles. And they gave Harriet the secretive kind of smiles because they knew. They had helped her once or twice with her midnight excursions. They knew it was her and they kept on giving her red roses. Harriet threw them into her bag and tried to ignore how suddenly everything smelled like flowers around her.

If she keeps on ignoring everything then it will all just go away.

The day after that, the twins suddenly had a guitar this time and were singing again. Their friend Lee joined in this time. However, Filch came into the room and chased them out with a whip in his hand before they could finish. The twins cackled as they left, and Harriet could finally breathe from the crushing embarrassment. There had been a three minute solo with the guitar. And listening to it was horrific. Filch saved her. Which was ironic. But there wasn't anything the man could really do to them anymore. The brothers were already up to their eyes with detentions until the end of the year.

Dumbledore stood up. Sunflowers were woven into his beard, matching his brightly colored robes. Harriet could only watch with wary eyes. What would he say now?

"Good morning everybody!" Dumbledore announced, "this year has been very interesting indeed, hasn't it? I have loved to see how creative you can be. It opened my eyes and reminded me of how I felt about magic when I was a child. It is wondrous." He gave a chuckle, "and now as the school year progresses I still find myself amazed by how ingenious some of you are. Magic is a great tool. And I am constantly impressed by how all of you have used it thus far. I hope all of you have witnessed this too! I think this whole thing is quite amazing. What a great way to relax before the end of the year!" He raised his wand and with a puff of smoke flowers appeared tied in a ribbon. He then gave them to McGonagall who smiled at him fondly.

Harriet put her head down and covered it with her arms. If she wished hard enough, she wouldn't be here anymore. If she just wished hard enough she wouldn't be here anymore.

But alas, Harriet's wish did not work out.

It continued for another solid week. More roses from chuckling elves. More chocolate was found in people's bags, all of which Harriet shoved to Crabbe and Goyle. At one point the Weasley's were busted trying to convince Hagrid to bring in a unicorn. (Which Harriet was bitterly curious about. What little girl didn't want a unicorn? She actually wanted to see it. But she also didn't! Because that would be giving in! But she also wanted to see it…)

There were bubble enchantments filled with their song of lost companions and friends. It was becoming a hit in the hallways. Harriet could hear people humming the tune, much to her ire. At one point the ceilings just started to rain flower petals while candles lit the tables, the regular lighting spells had been turned off. At this point, Harriet was a little scared to ask if this was still a platonic thing or not, because this was getting uncomfortably romantic. She ended up taking one look at it all and turned and went to the kitchen to get a sensible lunch. One evening the house elves only served fondue. Goyle gained ten pounds and Crabbe was close behind. They were in love with the constant snacks that appeared. Malfoy was even caught eating a few chocolate frogs. The only reason Harriet knew that was because one of them jumped into her hair. She snatched it up with quick reflexes before it made another escape attempt, and it squished in her hands. Much to her disgust.

After that, the teacher's complaints along with numerous student's objections made Dumbledore reluctantly stop the twins. They stopped the love bombing. But it didn't stop them from trying to reach out to people and ask them if they knew anything. Missing posters were put up and torn down as fast as possible. The Hufflepuff Herd somehow joined in, asking people if they knew who the Other Guy was. It was a madhouse. Susan and Hannah were just going gaga over it. Constantly sighing and dreaming about whoever the Weasley's were after.

And the funniest thing out the entire bit was that somehow the Slytherins got it worse than any other house. When the petals fell, they were rained on. When the chocolates came, they had mountains of it. When the twins sang their dumb stupid song, they pointedly sang it to that table. Draco came to the potions classroom smelling of perfume, grumbling about how they had gotten a package from the twins in their homeroom that made everything smell girly.

After everything happened, after all of this. Harriet tried to look the other way. She forced herself to push all thoughts aside. She physically 'noped' her way out of everything. Mentally blocking everything out as much as possible.

But there was one thing that made Harriet stop. One action that caused her mental shields to fracture. Her stubborn thoughts halted. And for the tiniest moment, Harriet felt hope. But then she squashed it all down and locked it in a box and tried to forget about it. It was stupid. Super dumb. But she had overheard it from Madam Pomfrey after a bad exploding cauldron in Snape's class. Snape dragged her there, and after Pomfrey was done rubbing salves over her burned flesh, the two adults had a quiet conversation. Harriet was supposed to be 'resting' but she could still hear the whispers through the curtain around the bed.

"Any more?" Snape had asked.

"From what I have seen? No." Pomfrey replied, in a hushed tone. "Not in a few weeks. I haven't had a single child in here with a broken wrist or arm since the last report."

"The perpetrator must have been scared off. The last report given to me said that there was a witness. But they said that they didn't see who it was." Snape replied.

There was a pause. A rustle. A clink of vials. Before Pomfrey spoke again, "I wish we knew who was doing it. But it is good that they stopped. At least children aren't being pushed down the stairs anymore."

It still made Harriet pause.

And her iron resolve had a crack in it.

Harriet was conflicted. Indecisive. Why she was debating between something that she had made her mind up before, she didn't know. Harriet was done with the two brothers. The message was a fluke. They were boys and boys were dumb. Even worse, sometimes boys had cooties. But it wasn't like Harriet was debating about Neville, who was once a sweet friend who could talk with her for hours. How he was the first friend Harriet had ever made. No, she was debating about the twins who were Weasleys. And how could Harriet forget that, even for a second? She thought of Ron, of his loathsome rat-like face. How he was so inconsiderate and rude. How he ridiculed her, made her fall on her broom, how he attacked her and laughed at her. He made her feel bad about herself. He was just the worst and yet Harriet was somehow considering the identical twins yet again? Uh, Horatio and Stephen? Those were their names, right? She had just read them on a poster a few days ago. But their names escaped her head.

So why was she going to let them into her life again? They hurt her too. They attacked her, and she probably knew why. They liked Neville, they were in the same house. And because Neville got his feelings hurt by Harriet they felt like it was okay to humiliate her in front of the school.

Harriet had to try and remember if she had done anything like that. Where she singled somebody out to give them a terrible day. All she could think of was Ron, where she did target him a few times. But she always did it to him where he was in privacy. And they did it to her in front of the school. And then they used her alias, her alternate identity, to blame. As if Harriet would ever do that to herself.

So why was she thinking about them again?

A finger tapped Harriet on her head. "You are not listening." A chiding voice interrupted Harriet's thoughts.

Harriet looked up to see Daphne, the picture-perfect Slytherin. The girl was giving her a mild glare. "Am I really that boring?" She asked, and Harriet shook her head. Daphne was a terror when she thought Harriet wasn't paying enough attention. Already, Harriet was earning her ire. "Back straight." Daphne poked at Harriet's slumped shoulders. "I swear, you start daydreaming again and you go right back into your hunched position. It's like you are an elderly witch who spent her entire life bent over a cauldron. It's unbecoming of you."

Harriet straightened her back again. It was… a struggle to keep Daphne's lessons in mind all the time. To keep her head up high, her posture straight, her knees bent, to take small dainty steps, and to- well. So many rules that Harriet had already forgotten most of them, except the ones that Daphne took the most offense to. Harriet had to continually remind herself which forks to use for salad and which forks to use for pastries. Hogwarts did provide them, but Harriet had to ask the house elves to set them for her. Once, Harriet had used a spork (a muggle invention) and lifted up a whole sausage to gently nibble on it whilst reading an entertaining book about the laws of corruption in a cauldron, and Daphne had nearly bitch slapped her for daring to do so in public.

Books were outlawed at the table after that.

So many lessons. So much stuff to learn. Harriet felt dizzy trying to recall it all. But Daphne was helpful and patient. Most of the time. "Head back," Daphne ordered, and Harriet tilted her head back to allow Daphne to comb through her hair. It had gotten long. Her hair always grew fast. Harriet figured it was because of Aunt Petunia's struggle to shave Harriet constantly. And now it was past her shoulder blades, near her mid-back now. And Daphne seemed to enjoy having more length to create complicated braids in. But even as she did so Harriet's hair grew whisps and curled around her ears. The braids held in the worst of the waves. But it was still trying to take its revenge against her.

There was a comfortable silence. Normally Harriet would let her eyes land on the fireplace, and watch the fire lick on the logs. Turning them into ash. The yellow and red were so beautiful, and Harriet could fall into a trance. Watching the fire consume. But now Harriet couldn't ignore the niggling thoughts that kept appearing in her head. The twins. They were pushing themselves into her thoughts again and Harriet couldn't keep them out. No matter how much she willed it to happen.

She didn't like them. She wanted them to leave her alone.

But somewhere in the back of Harriet's head, something said, 'they're funny though. '

Funny didn't make the cut. Not in Harriet's book.

That voice said, 'they listened to you.'

"You seem distracted again." Daphne broke the silence. The comforting feeling of her hands gently pulling and tugging on Harriet's hair "What are you thinking about?"

Harriet could only shrug. And Daphne tugged sharply on a lock of hair was a warning not to move. Braiding was a delicate art, after all. The Slytherin girl never chided or mentioned Harriet's lack of speech. And she somehow figured out how to read Harriet's motions. Those were enough of an answer.

"Hmm. Tests are in a few weeks." Daphne mused to herself, "and I know we don't have any large projects left in our classes. I don't think you are worried about academic studies. Is it a person? Somebody troubling you?" Her voice was light. But something caught Harriet's attention in it.

Harriet stayed silent. It was all she could do. And Daphne took it as her answer.

"I heard through the grapevine you caught Zabini on the steps." She changed the subject. Her fingers tugging and twisting gently. "He is so elusive. It drives Malfoy mad sometimes. But Zabini knows how to play the game very well, and refuses to give out any favors." Then suddenly Daphne's voice was next to Harriet's ear. In a teasing tone, she said, "did you hold him like a princess in your arms? Hm? Or was he the prince?"

Harriet flicked her fingers out in irritation. But she could feel her cheeks warming up. It wasn't like that! Daphne let out a dainty laugh behind her. "Oh, you are too sweet." Her mirth was clear. Then she went back to her job. "Hold onto that favor as much as you can, Harriet dear. I know eventually Zabini will be impatient to get it back. And he will try his best to trick you into giving it up." Then Daphne's voice turned flat, "use it after Hogwarts. Maybe you can find yourself in a well-known family."

What did she mean? Harriet wasn't that smart, but it also didn't mean that she was dumb either. Sometimes Daphne said things that were confusing, and she figured it was a Slytherin thing. But this… this did not feel like that. This felt like something else, and without realizing it Harriet turned to look at Daphne. Her red hair slipped from Daphne's fingers, and the Slytherin looked down at Harriet with an unreadable look on her face.

"You remind me of my sister," Daphne said softly. "Did you know that I have a little sister? Her name is Astoria." And then Daphne reached up and touched the back of Harriet's head. "She has a scar here too."

Harriet took in a deep gasping breath. And before she knew it, she was standing up. Stumbling back from Daphne like she had hit Harriet with a physical blow. It felt like it too. Harriet knew that spot on her head. Sometimes it gave her the worst migraines. It had been one of the worst head wounds that Uncle Vernon ever gave her. From when he threw her into the wall. A corner clipped her head. Harriet hadn't realized- she hadn't known there was a scar there. She didn't-

"Astoria got it from being in the wrong place at the wrong time." Daphne tilted her head, her expression still stony, "after our mother died. Father was having one of his mood swings. And Astoria was acting… unladylike. It upset him greatly." Daphne rose to her feet, graceful and strong. "So he threw her down the stairs." She said the words with a light tone. As if they didn't hold a dark meaning.

Harriet's heart was racing. But she was held captive by Daphne's eyes. She couldn't move.

"I see that scar every time I braid her hair. She doesn't have the same type of hair that you have, but she enjoys having her hair braided more than anything." Daphne spoke in that low voice of hers. "She has me to watch over her. I keep her away from our father, and he likes it that way. So tell me, Harriet. Who is watching over you?"

Words thick and mouth swollen, Harriet did not respond. But Daphne could pick apart her answer without her voicing it. She was good at that. Even more so since Harriet spent all that time with her. She could see the conflicting emotions, the turmoil in her eyes. The sudden danger that Harriet felt. Because nobody should know about the Dursleys. Nobody should know. Harriet at least had a life here. People treated her like a human. Her deepest and shameful secret was how lesser Harriet was in her relative's home. And if people found out about it they would treat her the same. Like she was a freak. And yet Daphne was picking her apart. Piece by piece. Dissecting her. Uncovering her dark secrets.

"Who is your magical guardian?" Daphne asked. She glided across the floor to stand in front of the door. Blocking the exit.

Another secret uncovered. Harriet felt threatened. Her mouth was heavy but the words managed to spill out of it. "It's none of your concern." Harriet tersely replied.

Daphne's eyes narrowed. Displeased. She didn't even blink at Harriet speaking. "You were hurt. An heiress of the ancient Potter family should not be tossed around like a doll." Harriet flinched at those words. "You should have learned how to dress yourself. How to brush your hair. How to act like a proper girl of your class. You are a rare resource to our society. A pureblood treated like this? To be taught nothing of our culture and our ways? Who is your magical guardian?" Daphne demanded again.

Albus Dumbledore.

"It doesn't matter." Harriet's voice cracked, emotion rising up. There was nothing she, nor anybody could do against the headmaster. Harriet had long ago accepted she was nothing but a pawn. But with time and effort, with that ritual, Harriet hoped she could break free. She just had to wait it out. To make herself better. Her relatives couldn't hurt her after this. They'd be too afraid of her with her magic. Harriet hoped that Dudley would remember the pig tail he got from Hagrid and take that as his lesson. Because even though she was a failure, Harriet was still a witch.

"I don't believe you," Daphne said daintily. "And it does matter. And I will find out. They should have never lifted a finger against you. Your family holds seats on Wizamagot. You have powerful assets and they should have treated you like the heiress that you are. Instead of hurting you." Her voice softened, "Harriet. There is so much of this world that you don't know. And you are so," she paused, "exposed. You need protection. And if you play your cards right, you can get that. Zabini is a good family, if foreign. If you use your connections correctly, you can ally yourself with them and they will take you in. Even Malfoy could do the same if you were to make a deal. You don't have to go back to your guardians." Daphne sounded calculating.

The idea of not having to deal with the Dursleys was like a dream. But there was always a catch. Always. "What kind of deal?" Harriet whispered.

"A great deal of wealth," Daphne replied. "That, or marriage."

Thoughts flashed through Harriet faster than she'd ever like. Her marriage contract. Ronald Weasley. Trapped. Unable to get out. Could she sell her freedom again like that? Just to get out of her relatives' grasp for a couple of years? It was only two months out of the year. She could just terrorize them. And she couldn't trap herself. Not when she was already caught inside of a binding marriage proposal. The thought of entering one willingly made her sick.

"No." Harriet shot back. "No. I won't. I can't. No."

"It's your only choice!" Daphne replied, her voice gaining an edge of irritation. "You are clearly being abused!" She did not raise her voice. Ladies of their stature did not yell. But the words felt accusing.

Harriet flinched back like she had been struck by an invisible blow. Abuse. A dangerous word. Harriet knew it to be true but she didn't want to think that she was being abused. Because it meant that she was weak. Too weak to fight back. To stand up against those who hurt her. She was a little girl who needed other people to save her. And Harriet didn't want to think that she was being abused. She was strong. She was powerful. She had magic.

"I said no." Harriet could feel tears start to well up in her eyes. This whole conversation was horrid. She didn't want to talk. She didn't want to fight. She didn't want to think about the Dursleys. She didn't want to think about Dumbledore. Or the contract she was committed to. Or the bindings that prohibited Harriet from using her magical core, and her natural-born abilities. She couldn't use her finances, they were used by Dumbledore. She didn't have an escape. Harriet didn't want to acknowledge how trapped she felt all the time. She didn't want to confront those fears. And Daphne was dragging it all out. She was pulling and pulling and Harriet didn't want to look at the deep and dark mess of her life. She didn't want to argue about this.

The conversation took a turn for the worse. "Then what are you going to do when you go back to them?" Daphne still pushed. "Summer vacation is coming up. What are you going to do when you don't have any magic?"

Don't… have any magic?

"What?" Harriet felt weak.

"The magical trace. Didn't you know? You can't use any magic outside of Hogwarts. Or you'll be suspended, or worse, expelled. What will you do then? How will you protect yourself?"

"I- I don't," Harriet stammered out. Her thoughts weren't working. Her head was not thinking. She couldn't have magic? Why would they not let her have her magic?

"Then make a deal," Daphne said in a tone that spoke of the end of a conversation. "Some families are nice. You just need to learn-"

"No!" Harriet raised her voice. Her word echoed in the quiet room. Not even the fire crackled anymore. It was the first time she raised her voice in the conversation.

It was a line Harriet had crossed. And Daphne's face shut down.

"I see." Daphne straightened her spine. Her voice was dangerously calm. "Well then. I cannot help a person who does not want help. If you are so certain of your own decisions, then I don't think you can learn any more from me. I think that our deal has run its course. Good day, Potter." And she turned and left.

Just like that.

It was over.

Harriet fell to her knees. Why was this constantly happening to her? Why was she always being hurt? Why was she so weak? First Neville and now Daphne. She had liked them so much and they turned their backs on her so easily. Why couldn't Harriet have happiness? Why was she always losing so much every time she turned around? Harriet clenched her fists and wanted to hit something. To see red and yell and scream and beg the universe to stop hurting her.

Why was she so weak?

She figured it out. After a long time. When curfew had long since past. When the fire had turned to embers. When Harriet left the room for the final time. Harriet knew what she had to do. She had time to think. And Harriet finally puzzled it all out. It took a long time to do so. But now she knew it. The answer to why this was happening to her. She wiped away her tears and buried her emotions.

She was weak because she was magically bound. She could remember the spells and enchantments that restricted her magic written down on the Gringotts parchment. The words, 'magical core - bound. Blood adoption - suppressed. Natural affinities - bound' written in ink that her blood had made still haunted her sight every time she closed her eyes. Harriet could barely use her wand, she was so feeble compared to the other children. There was so much of her that was inaccessible. Because Albus Dumbledore put it on her. He put them on her to make her feel like this. Powerless.

No more.

Harriet was not going to take it anymore. She pushed aside the fear of knowing that she wouldn't have magic when she went home. The Dursleys would love to take a pound of flesh from her if she had no way to raise her defenses. Why hadn't Harriet known about it? Why was there a magical trace?

Fuck research. Blood magic was a bust. And Harriet couldn't find anything after months of searching anyways. She wasn't going to wait around any more. She had a way to be free of at least one trap. And she was going to claw her way through it. Harriet was finally going to be free. And she was going to stop being so weak. She was going to stop letting people hurt her and she will be fine.

Harriet stumbled her way back to her room. She couldn't sleep that night. Instead, she started to plan. Pushing aside the thoughts of the twins, they were so irrelevant anymore they didn't deserve her attention, Harriet pulled out the E. Weasley book and started to go over the ritual again.

She was going to break the enchantments. And she was going to do it before school was let out. And nobody could stop her.

(The Entity was sitting in their meeting, staring out into the abyss that was beyond the office windows of their work. How many lifetimes was this meeting going to be? Who really knew. All they knew was that as soon as the slideshow began of Mary's, the HR representative, hundred-year long vacation in Tahiti all bets were off. This conference was going to take as long as it was going to be. And the Entity could have been staring at the wall for eons, and probably would have too, until a Higher Up came into the room.

The Higher Ups were legendary. They were on a level beyond a simple minion that the Entity was. In fact, it had been quite some time since a Higher Up had been seen at a low level in the office building. They always were at the lowest floor (typically well-known demons) or on the highest level in the office (angels of myths). The middle ground was where all the lesser-known beings and newly turned gods tend to hang out. Nobody particularly powerful just dragged in to do the jobs that the other, more experienced, beings didn't want to do.

The Higher Being was unexpected, to say the least. Mary stopped mid-sentence. She hadn't stopped talking for the last four hours, and silence hit the room of the Harry Potter Department like a delayed punch. Even Joann's jaw dropped. Greg looked like he was hallucinating.

"Please excuse me. I am looking for the being that is in charge of the Harriet Potter sections?" The Higher Being asked in a voice that whispered in different languages at once. Power hummed from their speech alone. Incredible.

Caught up in awe, the Entity didn't notice everybody staring at them until one of them, maybe it was Mary, coughed politely. The Entity blinked and then flushed as it was apparent that the Higher Being was looking for them. And hesitantly, they raised their hand.

"Please follow me." The Higher Being turned and walked out without another word spoken. The Entity scrambled for their things, acutely aware of how they were suddenly the focus of attention. The Harriet Potter sections of the universe were small and limited, it was nothing compared to what the other beings handled on a daily basis. And suddenly it was the Entity who was being called to follow a Higher Up.

It was one of two things:

The Entity did something incredibly amazing.

The Entity did something horribly wrong.

It was a fifty fifty decision. And the Entity hoped they did something right. Although they had no idea what. They ran out of the room, hurrying to catch up to the Higher Being. Hugging their laptop bag to their chest, they nervously began to sweat. The Higher Being called an elevator, and it appeared without a second delay. Normally elevators were a rare treat if you managed to get one in time. But it seemed like the Higher Being could get one at any time they pleased. Although, maybe it wasn't a power they misused often. Most of the Higher Beings liked to use ozone and flash into places like the mighty and powerful beings that they were.

The Entity's blood pressure skyrocketed as soon as they saw the Higher Being pressed the button for the very, very top. "Am I…?" The Entity asked timidly.

"You are going to go meet the Big Boss." The Higher Being gave the Entity a look. Thank goodness this Higher Being wasn't one of the angels that were made up of thousands of eyes. But even only having two of them they still made the Entity cower.

The elevator shot up into the abyss. The Entity could feel how some floors' gravitational fields tried to slow them down, but technology these days mostly ignored physics. The elevator didn't even struggle as they pushed upwards, and the Entity only had maybe a minute to figure out why they were going to meet the Big Boss. The most powerful being ever. Past. Present. Future. They were so incredible that the Big Boss had founded the entire organization. In the hope of helping universes align correctly, he collaborated with Fate herself to make this the Office possible. And somehow, the Entity had gained their notice? What was going on?

The elevator stopped, and the Higher Being stepped out first. The marble flooring was pure white with inky black streaks going through it. It looked more like the most sophisticated office that the Entity had ever seen. Cherry trees were painted in detail on the wall. Swaying with an imaginary breeze, their pink petals lazily flowing onto the ground. The Entity didn't have time to really soak in their surroundings, as the Higher Being ushered them in through wide double doors and into an office.

"Please sit." The Higher Being ordered, and the Entity sat down in a plush leather armchair. Clutching their laptop bag to their chest. Staring around with wide-eyed fascination. The room itself wasn't too opulent. It didn't have a fountain or a dozen birds singing, like how the Entity had seen their bosses have in their offices. The floor was made of dark wood. Bookshelves lined the walls. Plaques were hung with care, and accomplishments were displayed. There was even a picture of a family on the desk. A red-haired freckled woman, with three teenagers around her who all looked somewhat grumpy. The woman gave a wide smile to the Entity, and one of the teenagers flipped them off, before getting smacked by their mother. A wide fireplace merrily crackled behind the desk, an impressive painting the size of a car hung above it. It depicted a dinosaur. A velociraptor. Wearing sneakers and a baseball cap. It bared its teeth like a smile.

Jeffrey the Dinosaur.

The doors opened. The Entity jumped, startled. But remained seated. Their eyes locked onto the Big Boss. And all reasoning flew out the door. For they knew him. They knew this person.

"Excuse me for being a few seconds late," said a mild-mannered man, as he sat behind the chair and gave the Entity an easy smile. "I got caught up in a time loop. But it's resolved now." He pulled a file that lay on the desk towards himself. He flipped it open with a smooth motion that told of his experience handling such items. He picked up the first page, scanning it. "I have to say, this is a new one. It's so rare to see a new problem arise, I tend to take those cases personally. And boy, this is a doozy. Mis- excuse me, I'm so sorry, you are non-binary now?"

The Entity nodded, mute. Staring wide-eyed. Unable to look away at the man with the frumpy black hair who looked at her. Middle-aged. Caught forever looking youthful, yet experienced. There was a shadow of a beard on his face.

He shuffled papers around. The Big Boss reviewed the information. "I see you haven't chosen a name besides Entity. I can understand. Took me a long time to finally understand my role in life. But that being said, there has been a rather large problem that appeared. It was one of your universes that you have been keeping an eye on if I am not mistaken. It is Harriet P-B, Hufflepuff, Prankster, Universe 4,325,243. Does that universe ring any bells to you?"

The Entity shook their head. While being in charge of the Harriet Potter department there were quite a lot of universes they were responsible for. To know each and every one was practically impossible.

"Well. What I am going to say is rather unusual. In fact, this is the first time that I have ever seen this clause ever enacted. I practically forgot it existed until Death sent his messengers. Turns out- this universe is no longer our jurisdiction."

"What?" The Entity asked. "Did Harriet Potter die in it?" That was the only reason that they would no longer have access to it. But they also didn't know what it meant if Death had it now, instead of belonging to the Office.

"I can honestly tell you I have no clue." The Big Boss shrugged. "We can no longer surveil, influence, or do anything with this universe. It is now under the jurisdiction of Death itself. And from what I can tell, Death has already sent a Peverell brother to monitor the situation." He huffed at that. Then he picked up another paper. "However, the catalyst for such a drastic change is something unusual. Our minions managed to pick this up in a pocket dimension before the universe changed hands." The paper transformed itself into a book. Charred and slightly damaged, but the title of it was still visible.

The Entity sucked in a breath. They hadn't seen that in a long time. The Big Boss pierced them with their vibrant green eyes, a dangerous look settling on their face. Gone was the mild-mannered man. The Entity wanted to cower. And they did, as the full force of the Big Boss looked down at them. So much power. So much strength. It radiated off of him. His face held a dark shadow that covered it, but the Entity could still see the wrath on his face.

His finger tapped on the cover of the book. 'How to Unblock Your Magical Abilities and Other Things,' by E. Weasley. "Didn't you write this?" The First Master of Death asked them pinning the Entity to the seat with his question.

The Original Harry Potter patiently waited for his answer.