Chapter Text
"Looking for trouble, he'd say. You're gonna look til you find it.
Trouble is the looker, she'd answer. It keeps looking till it finds you. Might as well find it first.
Why do you want to die?
I don't, she'd say. I just want to live. ”
- Victoria Schwab
Chapter 1 :
In Which Underage Wizards Wander Where they Shouldn't and Get Tangled in Strange Situations
~ Scorpius & James ~
Shopping in Diagon Alley should have been the most thrilling activity of August; and it was, for most young witches and wizards, but Scorpius Malfoy was not one of them. He had been in Diagon Alley countless times. The shops filled with magical objects and fascinating ongoings that were a daily occurrence there; familiar and predictable for him. Hence, he was impervious to the cloaks that ranged from Egyptian cotton to Chinese silk, he didn’t bat an eyelash when concoctions erupted and produced dashing results, and he certainly didn’t ask foolish questions about the magical world.
He was Scorpius Malfoy, and he was on his way to a prestigious school where the darkest wizard attained his knowledge, the greatest Headmaster in all the magical world had once taught and one of the greatest wizarding battles had been fought. All this he knew by reading The Twentieth Century: a History and from his own father, of course, who had first-hand accounts of this great battle.
That fateful day, his parents accompanied him to buy the required supplies for first-years. In front of Amanuensis Quills his mother, Astoria Malfoy, took out the yellowed envelope with emerald writing, which contained his acceptance letter and his list. She reached for the list, tapped it with her wand and handed it to Draco. He removed a pouch from his pocket and along with the list, he offered them to Scorpius.
Intrigued, Scorpius took them, marvelling at the item that landed with an audible thump in his open palm. Among the to’s and fro’s of the lively wizarding community, his father had entrusted him with everything necessary to shop by himself for school. He looked at his father, just to make sure he was certain of giving the money to him and not about to snatch it back on the pretext that he had made a mistake.
It jingled with any slight movement; it was filled with galleons. Flying broomsticks, my father gave me a pouch full of money!
“It’s yours, Son. There’s enough to buy your school supplies and have some sickles left over for your term.” Draco’s gaze was a soft one, his words were anything but. “I suggest you use it wisely.” Sometimes, like now, he never truly knew if his father loved him. Did that mean he trusted him, or was he just trying to keep him busy with the money instead of having to give him more attention?
He nevertheless nodded, “Aye, Sir.”
“Good. Your mother and I are going to pick up some décor for the manor. You are free to go.” His mother’s gaze filled with love and pride.
Given free rein, Scorpius went out and about, visiting all the shops that caught his attention to collect the required things from his list. Soon after his first purchase, he saw a tick mark, a faint brush of dark ink onto the paper, next to the word Inks on his list. He realized Astoria enchanted his letter, so that every single thing he bought was marked with that same tick afterward.
His shopping progressed quickly, thanks to Pennyweather, the house elf loyal to the Malfoy family, who waited for him outside each shop, relieving him of the weight of his shopping bags, which she transported back to the Manor. Shopping came to an end quickly, but he didn’t want to look for his parents just yet. Content to just cruise around, he strayed away from the widest and most crowded alleys and ended up in nooks long forgotten, dirty and utterly deserted by anything animate.
Knockturn Alley was dark and sombre; hags and the weirdest of blokes were to be found there. But he had paid a visit there a couple of times, some with his father and others with his grandfather, but never alone. Yet, what did he have to lose? More than sick of seeing happy and merry families shopping, or worse yet, kids milling around shops laughing and jostling, he decided to venture deeper.
As a child, Scorpius had been afraid of the lecherous and cunning eyes of hags and wizards alike. Father soon taught him never to show fear, for it was a weakness, something these people fed on as one might find a pastry with chocolate truffle on the top particularly tasty.
Passing various shops made him realize that he had never been so far in. Display windows became murkier with grime encrusted on the surface, and the cobbled ground became nothing more than broken stone and plain dirt. Dark shadows lurked in corners out of sight, hooded figures kept their eyes averted to the ground, and as his feet travelled further, even those became scarce. All the while, his curiosity kept him from bolting out of there, even though he was scared witless.
* * * * *
On the complete opposite side of the famed wizarding marketplace, James Potter ran ahead of his parents, happy to be rid of the job of shopping for his own supplies. After a long, tiring day of hunting books, quills, and other objects with no charm compared to shrunken skulls and invisible ink, he finally broke away from his parents in search of his partner in crime: Fred Weasley. It didn't take long to find him. After a short conversation, Fred said that he had something to show him. Unfortunately, Fred was longer-legged than his cousin, and by the time he realised where his winding path was taking them, it was too late. They were in Knockturn Alley.
James looked around as they walked deeper into the alley. It was eerie in and of itself, without taking into account the occasional hags and demented wizards. The brick walls around them were covered in thick slime, ivy and moss. James shuddered. This was not at all what he had pictured Knockturn Alley to look like.
After walking in silence for a while, Fred spoke up. "You know that Muggle fairy-tale? It's called Huntley and Griddle, or something like that."
James nodded. He knew that one. Although it was called Hansel and Gretel.
* * * * *
Farther behind, the two animated voices travelled to where Scorpius was. It felt as if his feet moved on their own accord. Too curious to turn back, he followed the direction of the voices. They were out of place; people knew how to behave here, yet those two had disturbingly open faces. He knew they were lost even before the same voice spoke, "Well, I think we should have left breadcrumbs or something, because I have no idea where I am.”
Scorpius scoffed. What a bunch of foolish kids. It was probably their first time in Knockturn Alley. He could tell by the way their eyes darted around, searching for Salazar knew what. Part of him felt sorry for them, because they were in exactly the same situation as he was, but another part of him felt insanely jealous. He was lost alone; they had each other. Quickly, he shrugged away the feelings of self-pity.
His knee-jerk reaction should have been to ignore them both, but something prompted him to follow them. With hurried steps, he trailed after them, and, in his urgency, he didn't notice a wizard with a scaly face and a glass eye until he bumped into him. Afraid of being left behind, he walked around the wizard and sneaked after them.
Ahead of him was a fork in the alley, and the boys strayed to the left. Scorpius paused, watching their reflection on the window of a grimy shop. The tall redhead marched ahead, while the shorter, brown-haired boy lingered behind, looking at the signs. There was an awfully confusing assortment of wooden arrows, all of which claimed to point the way to Diagon Alley. Little did he notice that something slithered towards him. Scorpius couldn't make out what it was from the reflection on the glass, so he stuck out his head around the corner. There was the longest snake he had ever seen, its scales the colour of dried moss. A hiss came from the snake, and the boy suddenly jumped, startled out of his wits. He looked frantically left and right, checking if anyone had seen him, and Scorpius hid as best as he could. His heart was beating frantically in his chest. He had almost been caught.
Wild snakes were an unnatural sight, even in the depths of Knockturn Alley; even with his limited knowledge on the matter, Scorpius knew that. The first seed of worry began to sprout in his mind. From his hiding place, he began to second-guess his judgement into drifting that far into the notorious alley.
* * * * *
James nearly screamed when he saw the snake at his feet. His tongue throbbed, and a metallic taste filled his mouth; he'd accidentally bitten it. He watched the scaly fiend with wide, blue eyes, uncertain of what to do. Fred had moved on ahead, and, thankfully, there had been no other witnesses to that mortifying moment. For James Potter had a deep, dark secret that even his trusted cousin, Fred, didn't know; fearless little James trembled like a leaf at the thought of a snake crawling anywhere near him.
It was a long story how that particular phobia had taken shape in his heart, but there were a few reasons why it was most inconvenient. The first and foremost was that, as a Gryffindor, he did not want to be afraid of things. And even less of the animal that was Slytherin's symbol. The second reason was that, due to a treasure hunt in his family house, Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he had accidentally gotten cursed at the age of five. His curse was two-sided, although he couldn't see any good in either side of it. Since he had opened a small box with snakes engraved around its lock, he could understand the word of the snakes. He could even reproduce it, although very badly, as a milksnake had once courteously pointed out to him. Most unfortunately, the other side of the curse made him a magnet for reptiles.
“Come ,” the snake whispered to him, its forked tongue flicking between its jaws.
James gritted his teeth, willing the snake to disappear. Unfortunately, it did not. Quite the opposite, it had pushed its body against the wall, its mouth coming increasingly closer to his face. He took a couple of steps backwards, but the snake leaned forward.
“Come ,” it repeated. James walked further down the alley.
He considered throwing something at the snake and making a run for it, only he had nothing to throw. His eyes scanned his surroundings for possible weapons, but he froze as a human voice spoke in very fluent Parseltongue. "Start at the abandoned pond. First left, then right. Straight for a time, then right once more. Five paces back the way you came, then sit down. I will find you upon the stroke of midnight. The night before they assemble… Remember that it will be a full moon. Watch for wolves of unusual size." James turned around slowly. He had carelessly run into an old, wrinkled wizard. The wizard was so absorbed repeating directions to himself that he paid no mind to James or the snake.
As a matter of fact, James had a bigger problem than an elderly wizard mumbling to himself in the middle of the street. The huge snake was after him again, slithering on the cobblestones towards him. Despite his fear, a sudden thought popped into his head: Perhaps the snake knew how to get out of Knockturn Alley.
James never took his eyes off it, even when Fred reappeared, smacking him in the shoulder. "James! What in the world are you thinking, falling behind like that?! Stand up right now and get away from that snake... and that bloke! He's hissing!" Fred was in a complete panic. James realised that his cousin didn't understand the words as he did.
Before Fred could say or do anything else, James spoke to the snake using its native tongue. The sooner they got out of there, the sooner he'd get away from the snake. He would find a way to explain the rest. "Excuse me…” He paused, thinking of the next words. “Could you tell me how to get out of Knockturn Alley?"
A voice replied in Parseltongue, but it was obviously not the snake's. "There's no point in asking him. He doesn't know his left from his right. He's blind, you see. Even so, it wouldn't really matter that he has been denied the right to see. All snakes have horrendous orientation skills." James stared at the old man with raised eyebrows.
He heard Fred make a sound of surprise, but he ignored it.
"Then may I ask you how to get out of Knockturn?" James asked politely, hoping he didn't accidentally insult the man in Parseltongue.
"You may, but I have the option of not answering you, if I choose so." He smiled a toothless grin at the boy.
James frowned, not sure how to answer. "If I ask, will I waste my breath?"
"I believe I'm wasting my breath, conversing with someone who speaks Parseltongue as dreadfully as you do!” he exclaimed. “But even so, it all depends on what you want to hear.”
"Sir?" He decided politeness was the way to win the answer to his question. "What is your name?"
"My christened name is for my ears alone, but I am called by some Milton. Timothy Milton."
His demeanour was quickly making James lose his nerve, but he was able to keep his composure through sheer will. "Mr. Milton, I need to know how to leave Knockturn Alley."
"I will teach you the way out, if you swear to me, on all that you hold dear, two things."
"Anything!" James replied eagerly. Fred took a step back; from his point of view, James was hissing in a rather terrifying way.
"Firstly, do not tell anyone about this meeting. It is for you and I alone to know of. Secondly, when you return to school this year, you will meet a boy who goes by the same name that I do. He also speaks our language." It was obvious that he was referring to the language of snakes. "At this time, I shan't tell you how Timothy and I know each other, or why we share the same name, but there will come a time when he needs your help. You must assist him, as payment for what I am about to do for you. If you do not, I will make sure you perish. Do not underestimate me, James Sirius Potter."
James took a deep breath. He needed to keep himself calm, if only for Fred's sake. "You have my word."
"Would you be willing to do an Unbreakable Vow?"
"Pardon me?"
"An Unbreakable Vow!” Mr. Milton repeated. James stared blankly, and with a sigh, the old wizard began to explain. “It is a magical incantation in which one wizard makes an oath to another. In other words, you pledge an oath to me. If you accept the conditions of the Unbreakable Vow and you break them, you shall die. I have yet to know someone who has broken this vow, so I am unable to tell you how. I only know that it is excruciatingly painful.
“Anyhow!” he shook a wrinkled hand in the air, as if to get back to his train of thought. “We will join hands, and a third person, designated as the bonder , shall place the tip of his wand onto them. I shall ask you three separate terms of the Vow, where you will respond ‘I will.’ I cannot even begin to fathom the fact that you have never heard of this," he said impatiently.
"I hadn't until now, sir." James gulped. He had already forgotten half of what he'd heard. "But… couldn't you just… take my word for it? I don't want to die."
"Of course not. Especially not now that you have proven that you are considering the possibility of breaking the vow. But, then again, the only way you and your friend will get out of Knockturn Alley is if you comply."
As he said this, James’s thoughts automatically went to his family... Fred's family. He couldn't imagine how distraught his uncle George would be if he lost another Fred. And his own parents. He realized at that moment, that both Fred and his own namesakes had died at young ages. They were the living memories of both Fred Weasley, Uncle George's twin brother, and James Potter, his dad’s own dad. He couldn't imagine how his dad would feel, if he lost that connection to the past that he didn't even remember.
"So… What is your answer?"
"I'll do it," James replied, his voice shaky.
"Excellent!" He turned to look at Fred, who had moved so far from them, that his back was touching a mossy wall. "Friend of James Potter, do you know how to perform an Unbreakable Vow?" Mr. Milton asked this in English, shifting his attention to James's cousin.
* * * * *
Scorpius’s breath caught once he’d processed what the old goon had said. Did he really mean the Unbreakable Vow?! Oh my days, an Unbreakable Vow wasn’t simply done in an alley! Few wizards ever did it because of what it implied. He knew of it only because his father had mentioned it on one rare occasion, when he’d taken Scorpius to his work. He learned the hard facts: few people are foolish enough to commit to it and in case of not keeping the vow, you were to meet a certain demise. Were these two blockheads that thick, or just that gullible?
Knockturn Alley wasn’t the place to trust someone. Why would it be the place to make an Unbreakable Vow? Scorpius kept observing from his hiding place with wide eyes.
* * * * *
Fred shook his head and took one more frightened step back. James had never seen his cousin at a loss for words like that. "Asubio, bring me my prey," Milton said in Parseltongue.
He watched as Asubio wound himself around Fred's legs. "He won't hurt you unless he has to," Milton said coolly.
"You... you speak snake!" Fred said, looking at Milton in shock. “And, James, so do you too!”
James nodded at Fred and started to speak in Parseltongue before correcting himself. "Fred, Mr. Milton is going to show us how to get out of here. But you have to come closer and help us with something. I've made a promise to him that I will assist his... friend, at Hogwarts this year, but he wants me to make an Unbreakable Vow so that he knows I will keep my word. If I don't… he said he'll kill us. Or his scaly mate will." There was no need for further persuasion. Fred ran forward, stumbling as he tried to walk with Asubio's body still twisted around his legs.
He stopped short right next to James. "Now, boy, you need to know the basics for bonding an Unbreakable Vow. All you need is your wand." Fred drew his wand. James was surprised that he had it with him. "Very good. Now, James, grab my hand." He nodded approvingly as James did so. "Remember, all you must do is say ‘I will' after each condition." Milton looked at Fred, "Place the tip of your wand on our interlocked hands." After Fred did this he added, "No matter what happens at this point, do not pull your wand away, otherwise both of you will die." Fred looked extremely pale, but nodded.
Milton took a deep breath and stared James down. If it wasn't for his family, James would have risked trying to run away, despite Milton's threats. He had half a mind to do so and most likely would have, except he couldn't be responsible for Fred's death. Even if Fred had been the one who had gotten them both into this mess.
"James Sirius Potter." Just then, James realised that Mr. Milton had spoken his name twice, but the boy had never supplied him with his name. A shudder went down his spine. "Do you promise that no matter what, you will do as I have asked, and assist my acquaintance in what he must do at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"
He asked this condition in Parseltongue, and James gave the reply in the same language. "Yes– I mean, I will."
A rope-like flame emerged from the tip of Fred's wand and tied itself tightly around their hands. His skin felt hot, as if the spell was tangible. James nearly pulled away right then and there. Fred jumped a little as the first term of the vow was completed.
"And, if you must, will you protect him from any danger he may encounter, while doing this?"
James took a deep breath, "I . . . I will."
Another tongue of flame came out of the wand and wrapped itself around the first.
"And, will you be sure not to tell anyone about what we have spoken of?"
"I will..." James almost added not, but realized that the third term had been phrased strangely, and he might be able to use that. The cogs in his head turned, thinking of ways he could bend the rules. The moment the last flame wrapped itself around their clasped hands, the three knotted flames turned into smoke and disappeared in the air. Fred removed his wand hurriedly.
Milton continued to look at him, even as he released the boy’s hand, "Do you have your wand so that you can perform the same act on your friend and I?"
James shook his head. He didn't carry his wand everywhere. It was in his trunk at home. Potter rules to narrow down the possible pranks he could do.
"Then I suppose I will have to do this the old-fashioned way." Milton sighed as though he was getting tired of this. "Obliviate!" Fred looked at Mr. Milton, first in surprise, soon replaced by confusion. James looked alarmed, but the old wizard reassured him, "I only erased his memory up to the moment before you ran into me. Do not forget your vow. Keep walking forward, you are going the right direction. Do not get off the path. In about a minute you will return to Diagon Alley," he said and disapparated with an audible pop.
* * * * *
Blast my luck that had me pinned between following the two and the man! Scorpius thought to himself. Afraid of losing sight of them, he decided to risk everything and follow their trail. Only when he saw the darkness receding and light touching the alley, did he breathe a sigh of relief. He was back in Diagon Alley.
Scorpius decided enough was enough. They might have saved him from being utterly lost in the alley and dragons know what else, but they were clearly a magnet for strange things. For one, one of them spoke ‘snake’. They were foolish enough to venture into dark places and make Unbreakable Vows with the first wizard that lost his Merlin's marbles. They both reeked of trouble just waiting to happen. Yes, that was enough for him.
Decisively, he turned the other way, not sparing one backward glance. His parents waited by the entrance of the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shop. “Did you get everything, Scorpius?” Astoria asked, stroking his hair. He appreciated the loving gesture, but not Mother's public display of affection in the midst of Diagon Alley.
He nodded numbly and returned the list to her.
“My, my,” she murmured, tapping a long, perfectly manicured nail over the list. “You forgot one thing. The most important of all.”
“Did I?” Scorpius asked, barely able to keep up with the conversation.
“Your wand! Well, worry not, we still have time!” She led him through one of the most crowded streets, their shoes clicking every time they touched the cobbled pavement. Draco lingered a few steps behind all the way, as if he was putting a distance between himself and them. “Are you coming, dear?” Astoria asked.
Draco gave her a grim smile and waved his hand. “I have a few things to take care of. I'll meet you later.” He left, his dark cloak waving behind him.
* * * * *
Less than a week had passed since that fateful day in Knockturn Alley, but the excitement of the upcoming school year was more than enough to make the terrifying experience slip away from James’s mind, as the Potters walked across King’s Cross Station.
"I'm sorry Albus, you're just doomed to be in Slytherin. You have all of the characteristics of someone I knew who ended up there," James said solemnly to his younger brother as they walked across the crowded train station. Teasing Albus in this way had become a daily occurrence ever since he'd received his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. It had yet to become boring, because his brother’s reaction changed each time. James almost grinned at his expression, but managed to compose himself.
"I won't! I won't be in Slytherin!" Albus cried in dismay, looking up at James as though he had been completely betrayed.
"James, give it a rest," Ginny chided. She was tired of the constant teasing of her youngest son.
James grinned widely at Albus. "I only said he might be. There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slyth–" The expression on Ginny’s face stopped him mid-sentence.
James turned and saw the barrier between platforms nine and ten. He quickly took the trolley from his mum and sprinted away. In the blink of an eye, he was enveloped by the wall and was on Platform 9 ¾.
Pushing his luggage over toward the train, he found the conductor, who was putting everything into the train with levitation charms. James quickly relieved himself of his luggage and began looking for familiar faces. Most of the people he found were older and he knew only those who were in Gryffindor and an occasional Ravenclaw here and there. The air was thick with steam from the train, but he was able to make his way around well enough.
He turned a corner and stopped abruptly as he saw familiar people... Teddy and Victoire... snogging! He watched them for a few moments in shock. Teddy was practically family. In fact, he was closer than some of the family. And Victoire was family! James was horrified. He almost walked away, but he decided that he needed to say something.
James walked over to Teddy and tapped him on the shoulder. "What are you doing? You do realize that this is completely wrong, don't you? She’s family! What if Uncle Billy finds out? You may just start a blood feud for all you know! But all you care about is the fact that you are lip-locking each other and transmitting Muggle diseases."
Teddy looked more bewildered than James had, for reasons that the young boy couldn't fathom. "What are you talking about James? I don't think you even know. Haven't you ever seen your parents snog each other? It isn't just Muggles that do this kind of thing. And what blood feud? Besides, I'm not technically part of your family. So, I am allowed to snog Victoire all I want, thank you very much! All I am doing is seeing Victoire off. I'm not going to see her for a while. Now get out of here!" James really didn't want to get on the wrong side of Teddy. He could have quite a nasty temper when he wanted to. The boy turned and walked away.
He began looking for his family in earnest, wanting to tell them what he had seen. He ran through the crowd, occasionally pushing someone when they didn't move quickly enough. After a few minutes he found them. All of them. Standing around... doing nothing.
"Teddy's back there. Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!" James said breathlessly. He looked up at the adults, glancing from face to face. None of them seemed remotely fazed by the news. He decided he needed to emphasize. " Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin ! And I asked Teddy what he was doing–"
"You interrupted them? You are so like Ron–" Ginny cut him off.
"–and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!"
"Oh, it would be lovely, if they got married! Teddy would really be part of the family then!" little Lily whispered excitedly.
"He already comes ’round for dinner about four times a week," Harry pointed out, "Why don't we just invite him to live with us and be done with it?"
James liked this idea. "Yeah! I don't mind sharing with Al– Teddy could have my room!”
Harry shook his head. "No, you and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished." He looked down at his watch, "It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."
Ginny walked over and hugged James, "Don't forget to give Neville our love!"
"Mum! I can't give a professor love!" he retorted.
"But you know Neville–"
James once again rolled his eyes at her, "Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him love.” He looked at his brother. “See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."
He smiled at Albus, as he swung his leg out to kick him. James’s shoe successfully made contact with his shin. Albus didn't even notice.
He looked at Albus and saw a look of pure terror on his face. "I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!"
James smiled mischievously before boarding the train. Fred was waiting for him. He had obviously overheard what his cousin had just said to Albus, because he was grinning ear to ear. "Couldn't have done it better myself," he said in approval as he grabbed his hand and pulled him into a headlock. "You're getting better and better every day, James."
"What's that supposed to mean? That I'm still learning?" James scoffed as he pulled away from his grip and headed into the nearest compartment. Fred followed and held up a variety of supplies that he had snuck onto the train. The items ranged from Portable Swamps to Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. It was going to be a good year.
James took a Headless Hat from him and sat down on one of the seats in the compartment. Fred began searching through a black bag for something, but James had no idea what it was. Suddenly he pulled out some Stink Pellets. He held them up as if he had just won the Triwizard Tournament. James couldn't help but smile at him.
A thud echoed as something rolled out of the bag and onto the floor. James spotted the source of the noise, but couldn't believe his eyes. "You told your mum and mine that you weren't, under any circumstances, going to sneak one of these onto the train, let alone the school!" he cried out. He picked up the circular tube that was clearly labelled Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks.
"You need to learn to lighten up about a lot of things, James." He shook his head at him. “Has anything I taught you sunk into that skull of yours?"
Fred grinned jokingly, and James relaxed. "I suppose you're right. We can plan the most magnificent pranks with these fireworks. The professors, Mr. Crubs and Mr. Filch will lose their minds!"
"Exactly!"
“Fred? Did you maybe see where I put my–” Roxanne asked as she stormed into the compartment, her dark brown hair pulled in a high ponytail. The light dancing on her face lit it up, revealing an array of freckles spread across her dark skin. The expression on her face was priceless.
“Hello to you too, Roxanne,” James said, grinning from ear to ear.
The eyes of Fred’s twin sister were stuck on a small, deep, purple pouch, the one James was one hundred percent sure that she’d recognize as Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. Helping her Dad at the shop all summer long, it was guaranteed that she could spot that kind of thing from miles away.
“I have some spares for you too, sis,” Fred said with a smile that reminded James of the Cornish Pixies they had to immobilize last year in their final DADA exams.
“I don’t want any of that!” she exclaimed, her eyes still huge. “How did you manage to sneak all that in here?”
“Roxie, you sound like Aunt Hermione!” Fred mocked. “Chill!”
Fred’s mischievous pixie grin was mirrored on his twin's face. “Seriously now… How did you do that?”
James rolled his eyes. He should have known! At first glance, the twins looked so different from each other. Roxanne was quiet and calculating, while Fred acted on impulse, getting himself constantly in trouble. Deep - but not too deep - inside, they were like two sides of the same coin. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with…
“Well…” Fred started mysteriously. He interwove his fingers and crossed his knees, placing his hands on top of them. “It wasn’t easy…”
Roxanne’s attention was fully turned to her brother, fascinated by his achievement. At times like this, James wondered if Roxanne had potential of becoming a skilled prankster, just like her father and brother.
“What’s that look for?!” Roxanne asked her cousin, half accusing and half teasing.
“Me?” James asked innocently, lifting his eyebrows.
And just like that, James was able to push the idea of the mysterious Timothy Milton to the back of his mind, ignoring the goosebumps on his arms and the vow he had made to protect his cousin and himself. Just as he oftentimes thought about any mischief he'd done. Out of sight, out of mind…
As promised (for like half a year - if not longer) I am posting little character sheets for my characters! I made avatars for them on Picrew (I'll give credit to the individual creators for each) and made character sheets inspired from Mochiisart template (https://imgur.com/t/hogwarts_mystery/BNFiyP7) in a format that I could edit it and suited my needs best. I made detailed profiles with many fields for the protagonists and other characters who will appear a lot (or I have a particularly soft spot for) and there's a chance I'll extend those to the new Hogwarts staff also. For the rest there's a simpler sheet with name, zodiac sign (because why not?) and year of birth, bloodline, likes, dislikes and best friend(s). In chapters where too many characters appear I might leave out a few who appear in the next 2-3 chapters and will present them there, so that it's not too overwhelming. Also, in the "best friends" section I won't mention who will be friends with Albus, Rose & Scorpius, because that might be a bit of a spoiler. I hope you like them!
Credit for the picrew avatar makers goes to @uomo for Fred, @bestsenpie for Teddy, @ALIGOM666 for Victoire and @volcanicmode for Roxanne. Some of the avatars in this or the next chapters have been retouched by me to get the colours right when needed. Please give me credit if you share my character sheets, some characters belong to JK, the OCs are made up by me, I don't mind you sharing but at least mention my part (@anophelia or @anopheliamiratio)