Adrien.

Katie and I were halfway up the winding staircase the next night when I heard the sound I'd been hoping to avoid all day.

Footsteps.

Then silence.

Then—

"Going somewhere?"

We stopped.

Draco leaned against the banister halfway up the next landing, arms folded like he hadn't been standing there waiting — like the casual posture could hide the storm behind his eyes.

Blaise was beside him.

Straight-backed. Too still.

Katie shifted beside me. "Really? Now?"

Draco didn't move. "Seemed like now was our only chance."

I held my ground. "You're not going to stop us."

"We know," Blaise said, softer than I expected.

He was looking at me. Not challenging.

Just... looking.

Draco's gaze flicked between the two of us, then settled on Katie. Something passed between them — unspoken, unreadable — but it didn't feel cold.

Then Blaise stepped forward.

Only a little.

And my chest tightened before he even opened his mouth.

"I don't want you to go," he said.

The words hit like a bruise I didn't know I was still carrying.

I stared at him. "You don't get to say that."

"I know," he said quickly. "I know I don't. But I still had to."

"You had your chances, Blaise," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "You don't get to be jealous now."

"I'm not jealous," he said. And for once, he sounded like he meant it. "I'm scared."

That undid me more than the rest.

"Look, we gotta go..." I shot, tugging on Katie's sleeve and stepping back from the duo, only for Blasie to step forward and catch my wrist—immediately electricity shot through me as I glared at his touch.

"S–sorry," he exhaled, letting go and holding his hands up.

Draco hadn't said a word this whole time.

But as we turned to leave, I felt his eyes on Katie. Like the words were caught between his ribs and couldn't claw their way out.

Katie didn't say goodbye.

Neither did I.

But I didn't look back, either.

Because whatever Blaise was still holding onto—I couldn't carry it for him anymore.

And this time?

Someone else was choosing me.

The last time I used a portkey, I threw up in a professor's shoe at Beauxbatons. I didn't say that out loud.

Yet.

Katie and I rounded the corner toward Dumbledore's office just in time to hear George's voice carry:

"If it's a boot again, I'm revolting."

"Revolting is your natural state," Fred replied.

"No mate, you're getting me and the mirror mixed up again," George shot, earning snorts from Katie and I.

Fred looked deeply offended. "I'm a delight."

I cleared my throat, and five heads whipped toward us — Ron, Harry, Hermione, the twins.

Fred's entire face lit up.

"Blackwoods," he said, with a dramatic flourish. "Right on time." He stepped forward with a bow so theatrical I almost clapped. "Adrien Blackwood. Destroyer of pink offices, breaker of chalkboards, ruiner of uptight bureaucrats."

I gave a slow blink. "You forgot 'goddess of chaos and emotional damage.'"

"Oh, I didn't forget." He winked. "I just didn't want to get ahead of myself."

Katie snorted beside me. Ron looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. Hermione smiled tightly.

Dumbledore's voice floated down the stairwell. "Come along then."

The twins exchanged a look — not mischievous this time. Serious.

As we climbed the stairs, Harry hung back for a moment. His expression had gone tight. "Before we leave... Dumbledore told me. Ron's dad — Mr. Weasley — he was attacked."

My stomach dropped.

"He's okay," Harry added quickly. "They found him. But... I saw it. I felt it happen. Through the snake."

"The snake?" I arched my eyebrow.

"And you're a Gryffindor?" snorted Katie.

"I feel like we missed two movies and need to catch up..." I muttered as Harry chuckled and reassured me that we'd be filled in accordingly.

We just walked in silence the rest of the way up.

Portkey travel still sucked.

I landed on a dusty rug shoulder-to-shoulder with Katie and Hermione, my shoulder slamming into Katie's ribs as Fred groaned behind us, muttering something about "trauma bonding" and "wizards not believing in stairs."

The house was dim. Cold in a way that made your bones twitch. The air smelled like secrets and stubborn ghosts.

And then—

"Careful, that staircase bites."

I turned fast.

A tall familiar man in weathered robes leaned casually in the hallway, greying hair tucked behind his ears, eyes soft in a way that said he'd seen far too much.

"Remus Lupin," he said with a smile. "Though I suppose I'm more infamous in the detention wing."

Katie blinked. "You taught Dueling and Defence Against Dark Arts during our third year."

Lupin nodded. "You disarmed that Slytherin Parkinson in under ten seconds. That sort of thing sticks in the memory. And you," Lupin flashed his gaze over me. "You flattened Millicent...you two are sensational! So glad to see you two again!"

I gave a little bow. "Glad to know our finest moment wasn't lost to time."

Then the second figure appeared in the doorway — and Katie made a sound.

A very human, very flustered, not-at-all-Katie kind of sound.

Because Sirius Black was standing there like trouble in tailored robes. His hair curled perfectly around his jawline, his shirt was halfway unbuttoned like he hadn't bothered pretending to be decent, and his grin was a warning label.

"Looks like hell followed the twins," he said.

Katie didn't speak.

I elbowed her. Hard.

She blinked like she forgot English. "Oh. Um. Hi."

Sirius smirked. "Brilliant."

Fred passed me a second mug of cocoa, fingers brushing mine just long enough to make it obvious.

I gave him a look.

He gave me the smuggest shrug I'd ever seen. "What? Cocoa's romantic."

"Only if you spike it."

George appeared behind us with two steaming mugs. "Way ahead of you."

"Twins," Katie muttered, accepting it anyway.

We took over the creaky sofa in the corner of the kitchen, firelight bouncing off the dusty walls like it was trying to make them look warmer than they were. Katie was across the room pretending very hard not to stare at Sirius, who was talking animatedly to Ron about magical motorbikes and chaos theory.

I leaned closer to Fred. "How long before she asks if he's single?"

Fred took a sip. "Ten minutes if he keeps flexing his jaw like that."

Then—

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

The door burst open and two bodies barreled through — one in lavender corduroy with too many rings, the other wearing sunglasses indoors and a combat jacket that had definitely been hexed more than once.

"Maddie?" I blinked.

"Sage?!" Katie leapt up.

"You didn't—" I started.

"We did," Fred said proudly.

"Early Christmas present," George added.

Maddie tackled me in a hug that nearly knocked my cocoa out of orbit. "No one told me this secret headquarters came with ancient tapestries, eldritch wallpaper, and hot twins."

Sage threw herself onto the sofa beside Katie. "Also, is that Sirius Black? I thought he was supposed to be brooding, not fine."

Fred choked on his cocoa. George high-fived Sage.

"You're welcome," Fred told me with a wink. "We know your type."

"You are my type," I said, without thinking.

The room went quiet.

Katie stared at me. Maddie made a noise like a kettle boiling. Sage mouthed, oh my gods.

Fred blinked.

Then grinned. "Well. I hope I live up to your standards."

"You're cocky," I muttered, sipping again.

He leaned in. "You like that."

Gods help me, I did.

Sage and Maddie fell naturally into their usual hurricane of commentary, trading barbs with the twins so fast Hermione nearly had a nervous breakdown.

We were barely two sips into our second round of Dobby-spiked cocoa when chaos found a microphone and demanded attention.

Sage leaned back in her chair, legs kicked up over the armrest like this place belonged to her. She pointed her spoon at the twins.

"So which of you was born first?"

George answered immediately, as if he'd been expecting the question. "Technically Fred."

Fred nodded solemnly. "Emotionally? George."

Maddie made a face. "So you're both the problem."

Sage raised her cocoa in a salute. "Excellent. We'll fit in perfectly."

Fred mock-gasped, placing a hand over his heart. "You two are trouble."

Maddie gave a flawless hair flip. "We're the Blackwood Effect. Chaos, charm, catastrophic decisions. You'll get used to it."

George grinned. "I think we're already in love."

"Speak for yourself," Katie deadpanned from across the room. "I'm still emotionally recovering from Fred's last attempt at flirting through cocoa with Adrien."

Fred turned to me, full offense in his eyes. "You told her about the cocoa line?"

"You said it in a room with ears," I said, sipping. "I'm not responsible for how loudly you flirt."

George looked between the four of us girls. "So is there, like... an application process for surviving you girls, or is it just trial by fire and inappropriate wand usage?"

Maddie beamed. "It's both. Mostly fire."

"And glitter," Sage added. "So much glitter."

Katie raised her mug. "And if you survive us, you get a sticker."

George blinked. "A sticker?"

"Of Fred's face," I chimed in. "Labeled 'Poor Life Choice.'"

Fred looked personally betrayed. "That's slander."

"You literally said my eyebrows could make a mandrake purr," I replied.

"That was a compliment."

"...and yet I still have the emotional damage."

George burst out laughing so hard he choked on his cocoa.

Fred turned to Maddie. "You see what I deal with?"

Maddie smirked. "Yeah. And you love it."

Fred glanced at me. I raised an eyebrow. He grinned.

Okay. Maybe he did.

Sirius passed behind them, muttering under his breath, "I feel younger just listening to this."

Katie dropped her cocoa.

Sage snorted into hers, barely covering her mouth, eyes immediately locking on Katie. The grin that followed was nothing short of evil.

"I know your type," Sage said, winking as she watched Sirius leave the room with Lupin. "And that? That man is textbook Katie Blackwood."

Katie looked like she was trying to melt through the floorboards. "Shut up."

George perked up like he'd been waiting for this moment. "Wait—you know her type as a friend, right?"

I choked on my cocoa.

Maddie actually doubled over.

Fred raised his eyebrows like this was the best show he'd seen in months.

Even Harry and Ron turned to stare, conversation completely forgotten. Hermione sighed without looking up, and somewhere behind us, Ginny was definitely giggling into her jumper.

Sage didn't blink. Just sipped calmly and said, "No."

The room lost it.

Katie groaned into her hands as Maddie and I collapsed in sync, laughing way too loud.

"I hate everyone here," Katie mumbled.

"Liar," Maddie grinned. "You're in love with a war criminal."

"That's slander."

Fred leaned toward me. "So... when's the wedding?"

"Don't encourage this," Katie warned.

"Oh, we're way past encouragement," I said. "We're planning a matching set of vows."

"And I," Sage added dramatically, "will officiate."

A little later, back by the fire, Fred nudged my knee — casually, like he hadn't just been holding court across the room with Sage and Maddie in a war of one-liners.

"That thing you said earlier..." he said.

I tilted my head, already smirking. "You're gonna have to narrow that down. I say a lot of concerning things."

"The part about me being your type," he said, softer now. "Before Maddie screamed about it and Sage tried to auction off your diary."

I rolled my eyes. "Right. That."

He studied me for a beat. "Did you mean it?"

I stared into my cocoa.

Then — very deliberately — looked back at him.

"No," I said dryly. "I just say deeply flirtatious things to people I have absolutely no emotional interest in."

Fred blinked. "Wow."

I cracked a grin. "That's sarcasm, genius."

Fred's smile started slow. But it wasn't cocky this time.

It was real. Warm. A little careful.

"I'm asking because... I'm trying," he said, voice lower. "Not just to be funny. But to actually show up. For you."

I froze.

Because gods help me — I felt it.

The way his words didn't skim the surface. The way they landed.

"You're not doing a terrible job," I said, pretending to sip. "Yet."

Fred leaned in slightly, shoulder brushing mine. "And the kiss?"

My heart stuttered.

I didn't pull away.

I didn't laugh it off.

Instead, I said quietly, "It made things messier."

Fred nodded. "And?"

"And I don't regret it."

He smiled again — full this time, like he was finally breathing right.

"Good," he said, nudging me lightly. "Because I've been thinking about doing it again since the moment it happened."

"Flattering," I murmured. "And mildly threatening."

"I'm multifaceted."

Before I could make another joke, the door to the drawing room creaked open.

Mrs. Weasley bustled in like she'd personally declared war on dust, a stack of knitted scarves in her arms and an aura of maternal domination radiating off her like a spell.

"Is everyone here?" she asked without looking up. "I swear, you lot would miss a war if it didn't come with cocoa—oh!"

Her eyes landed on me and Katie like she hadn't expected us to be real. Then they flashed over Sage and Maddie and a small grin formed across her lips.

"Oh, girls," she said, voice softening instantly. "You're here."

Katie stood. "Hi, Mrs. Weasley."

Fred nudged my arm before standing too. "Try not to steal their hearts too fast, Mum."

She swatted at him with a dish towel. "Hush."

That's when Mr. Weasley stepped in behind her — slower, more cautious, and with a look I'd come to recognize in grown-ups who were about to say something serious.

His eyes found mine. Then Katie's.

"If I could borrow you two for a moment," he said gently. "Just for a quick word."

The room quieted instantly.

Even Maddie and Sage stopped mid-snark.

Katie glanced at me. I nodded.

"Sure," I said, setting down my mug.

And as we followed Mr. Weasley into the quieter corridor just beyond the drawing room, something in my chest curled tight.

Because I knew that look.

Whatever he was about to say — it wasn't going to be about scarves.