Destiny smiled down at her children, preparing to set them in one of the newer Harry Potter universes. These were ruled by both Destiny and Fate, so she was a bit worried, but this AU had already been claimed by a creator, and a rather powerful one at that. Fate would only be able to interfere if the creator allowed her to. Of course, the same could be said for Destiny, but she happened to have met the creator, and knew he had a soft spot for Error! and Underswap!Sanses. She trusted him to keep the two skeletons in her arms safe. Well, as safe as they can be, considering that this universe was in the middle of Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts, when Tom Riddle was beginning to rise again. Yes, she said Tom Riddle. No, she would not refer to him as "Voldemort". In fact, Destiny thought that Voldemort was a stupid name, perfect for a stupid wizard.

...Now that she thought about it, wasn't Blue a Harry Potter fan? She had watched him rave to Error about how amazing the books were, and how the movies, as great as they were, didn't do them any justice, and Error definitely knew every single plothole and issue Blue had found, book- AND movie-wise, as he had ranted about them quite often. A smirk grew upon her lips as she thought about how much fourth-wall-breaking and story-altering there would be, and she began imagining all the different things that could happen.

Destiny was startled out of her thoughts when she felt a creator's presence approaching her. She whipped around to find the creator that had claimed the universe in question, and she gave a respectful nod. To her surprise, the creator- she could never remember his name, but it started with an E, or was it a D? Maybe an A... -returned the nod, before immediately dropping all formalities. "Oh, hey, Destiny!" the creator exclaimed. "Never thought I'd find you lurking amongst the Harry Potter universes!" He noticed the skeletons in her arms. "Oooohhhhh," he said, grinning slowly. "You want a place to put your kiddos!" Before Destiny could reply, he continued. "You can just use my universe." The creator gestured to his universe. "It's not much, I didn't really make any changes or anything. To be honest, I kind of forgot about it until I sensed you were poking around." He suddenly looked a bit sheepish. "That is, if you even want it," he mumbled. "You have your pick of the Omniverse, don't feel pressured to accept my offer just because I'm technically more powerful than you."

Destiny smiled at her friend. "Of course I want it," she said. "After all, it belongs to you." She gently placed the two skeleton kids in {Harry Potter #1004} and turned to the creator.

"I trust you to keep my children safe."

-----

Harry Potter was having an average day. Until he wasn't.

He'd been wandering around outside Hogwarts, gingerly rubbing his hand. He had just gotten out of detention with Professor Umbridge, and had the slowly healing cuts on his hand to show for it.

I must not tell lies.

Umbridge was stupid, Harry decided. He didn't normally think negative things about people, much less believe them with all his being, but Umbridge was an exception. Even Malfoy had a bit of good in him, right? Even Professor Snape. Maybe even the Dursleys. But Umbridge? She was evil in a pink flower-patterned outfit.

Unknowingly, he began straying into the Forbidden Forest, but he was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice his surroundings until he tripped. Sprawling onto the ground, Harry looked to see what tripped him. This is when his day really started to get weird, because there were two skeletons, holding each other as if comforting a lover, sleeping- why sleeping? Harry asked his brain. Why use that particular word to describe them? -against a tree. Harry had tripped over one of their legs, which was stretched out. Before he could process anything more, the darker-boned one shifted and opened its eyes. Or was it eyesockets? Harry didn't know. He wondered if the skeleton would get offended if he asked.

Several moments passed while the skeleton just stared at Harry with its unsettling pupil-things. They were like tiny balls of light. The skeleton seemed almost confused, as if trying to recognise him. Harry broke the silence. "Er, hi," he said shyly. "I'm Harry." Something seemed to click with the skeleton, because it said, "4s 1n, HaRrY PoTt3r?" Its voice was glitched and static-filled, going up and down and sometimes lingering on a sound just slightly too long. It almost reminded Harry of a scratched CD, but he didn't comment on this, as he wasn't sure whether the skeleton would laugh or kill him. Maybe both. "U-Uh, yeah, that's me," he confirmed, feeling rather nervous.

Instead of attacking him, or even sneering, the skeleton's face lit up. Its eye-things seemed to glow with happiness. "0h, $t4r$," it kept whispering. "0h My $t4r$. 1 jUsT m3t HaRrY PoTt3r." It gently shoved the other skeleton, who was still asleep, off of it and stood. Harry realized it was several feet shorter than him, and he was quite short. It glanced down at itself and frowned, muttering, "1 tHoUgHt 1 w4s TaLl3r," before going back to being excited. It produced a pen and... a book? from who-knows-where and asked for an autograph.

Harry blinked. "...Sure?" He took the pen and opened the book to its title page. "Who should I make it out to?"

"3rRoR aNd BlUe," the skeleton replied. Harry would have said it was bouncing if he did not know, for a fact, that ancient and powerful beings do not bounce. Especially if it's because they met some boy who wasn't even supposed to be there. In his neatest penmanship, he wrote,

To Error and Blue, who were 'bone' to be wild.

-Harry Potter

When he handed it back, he was half-expecting to get killed, or at least frowned at, for writing a horrible pun, but the skeleton- was its name Error or Blue? -just fan-skeletoned more.

Finally, the other skeleton stirred. "RuRu?" it called out sleepily, sitting up. "Where-" It stopped as it caught sight of Harry. Looking at 'RuRu', it asked, "Is that who I think it is?" In response, the skeleton grinned and tapped the book it made him sign. Not-RuRu beamed, shooting up from its spot on the ground. "Oh my stars, it's Harry Potter. Oh my stars," it repeated. Suddenly, it turned to RuRu with an accusing glance. "Why, in the name of all AUs, didn't you wake me sooner?"

RuRu raised its hands in mock-surrender, but before it could escalate, Harry said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I've really got to go. It's past curfew." The skeletons immediately looked at him. "We're coming with," they simultaneously declared, reminding Harry of the Weasley twins. Idly, he wondered if the two skeletons were pranksters as well. "Wait, no!" he exclaimed as he realized what they said. "You can't- I can't just-" He groaned. "I'd be in SO much trouble if I got caught sneaking skeletons into the castle."

"...Remind me why I'm doing this, again?" asked Harry quietly as they crept down a hallway.

"BeCaUs3 w3 a$k3d NiCeLy?" suggested RuRu.

"Because we bribed you with cookies?" Not-RuRu said at the same time. RuRu glared half-heartedly at Not-RuRu for a second before freezing. It grabbed Harry and Not-RuRu and pulled them behind a tapestry just as Filch walked past. Harry flinched at the skeleton's strong and sudden grip on his injured hand, but said nothing. Not-RuRu looked at him with slight concern, but it was soon forgotten once they set out again. RuRu grumbled something about teleportation and magic, but Harry never got the chance to ask what it was saying, for they had finally arrived at the Gryffindor commons.

"What's the password?" asked the Fat Lady, looking sleepy.

"Destiny," Harry replied, making the skeletons giggle for whatever reason. The Fat Lady nodded and allowed them to enter.

"Eeeeeeeee!" Not-RuRu whisper-shouted. "It's even better in person!" RuRu began exploring the room, running around touching everything. Harry quirked an eyebrow. "In person?" he wondered aloud, then, "Don't touch that, that's one of Fred and George's things!". RuRu looked at the device in its hands like it was a ticking time-bomb and gently set it back where it had been.

"0h, Th4t ReMiNd$ m3," said RuRu. "Wh4t Ye4r 4r3 y0u 1n?" Although Harry had no idea how one of Fred and George's gizmos could remind RuRu of Harry's age, he answered, "I'm a fifth-year."

The effect was immediate. RuRu dropped the quill it had been inspecting and Not-RuRu was instantaneously at his side, even though Harry could have sworn the skeleton had been on the other side of the common room. Not-RuRu practically snarled the words, "So Umb*tch is teaching DADA and Voldemort has risen." Harry had to supress a shudder as the previously childish and carefree skeleton looked ready to commit a murder or two. "C-Calm down," he said, attempting to placate the being. "We can't do anything about it right now-" He stopped at the fierce glare Not-RuRu leveled at him.

RuRu stepped between them, trying to diffuse the situation, although its eye thingys were glowing with emotion. It grabbed Harry's hand rather roughly, making Harry wince slightly. "Do YoU- CaN 1-" RuRu struggled for the words. "1s 1t 4lRiGhT iF 1 t4k3 a Lo0k 4t YoUr HaNd?"

"Well, you could have asked before you grabbed it," Harry grumped, only half-joking. "But yeah, of course."

RuRu held the hand gently, carefully prodding the inflamed cuts, muttering things like, "1t'$ eVeN w0r$e Wh3n 1 c4n $e3 iT," and, "3v3n 1nKy WoUlDn'T d0 tHiS." Although Harry had no idea who "Inky" was, he had the feeling RuRu was right. Finally, the skeleton declared that the wound would heal fine, if left alone, to which Harry bemoaned, "But I still have the rest of the week's detentions, and Umbridge is sure to give me more, the old toad!"

RuRu's eye thingys twinkled, reminding Harry of Dumbledore for a moment, and it suggested hesitantly, "1 c0uLd TrY t0 h3aL iT. My WaY m1gHt NoT eVeN w0rK, tHoUgH."

"But it wouldn't harm me either way," Harry said, "so let's try it?" He could tell that the method in question, or perhaps just revealing that it could do it, made the skeleton uncomfortable, so he tried to phrase his approval as a question. RuRu bit its lip, or, at least, the skeleton equivalent of a lip, but nodded. "My MeTh0d 0f He4l1nG- w3lL, b0tH m3tHoDs, BuT y0u'Ll 0nLy $e3 oNe ToNiGhT- i$ r4tHeR... uNoRtHaDoX, s0 t0 sPe4k, $o DoN't Be 4l4rMeD wHeN 1-" The skeleton traced the blue lines on its face, making Harry gasp as sky-coloured strings came from its eyesockets, looping around its fingers. "Do Th4t," RuRu finished.

It began wrapping the strings around Harry's hand, and they glowed softly in the dim candlelight. The sharp ache immediately lessened, then disappeared almost entirely. "1 kNoW iT f3eLs FiNe NoW," warned RuRu, "BuT iT's $t1lL h3aLiNg. TrUsT m3, iT'lL b3 a Wh1l3 b3f0r3 y0u c4n 3v3n Th1nK oF r3m0v1nG mY sTr1nGs." Harry nodded in agreement, but had a request. "Can we play a game while we wait? Like, say, Twenty Questions?"

Not-RuRu smirked, knowing exactly what Harry was getting at. "Careful, Harry," it teasingly admonished. "Your Slytherin is showing." It frowned as Harry stiffened. "Oh, right! I'm not supposed to know that!" RuRu gave its friend a sharp look, saying, "$oRrY. We Pr0b4blY sHoUlD'v3 m3nTi0n3d Th4t We Kn0w 4 l0t MoRe Th4n We 4r3 l0g1c4lLy 4bLe To Kn0w. 4 g4m3 oF tWeNtY qUe$t1oNs SoUnDs FiNe, BuT w3 d0n'T h4v3 mAnY qUe$t1oNs FoR y0u, $o YoU sHoUlD g0 f1r$t." At Not-RuRu's warning look, it added, "4nD 1 sWe4r 0n My S0UL tHaT 1 w1lL t3lL tHe TrUtH, bUt 1 r3s3rVe My RiGhT t0 n0t 4n$w3r Qu3sTi0n$."

"I also swear on my SOUL to provide truthful answers, as long as I am comfortable doing so," said Not-RuRu, and there was a sudden feeling of magic in the air, so strong that Harry might have fallen if it weren't for the fact that he was sitting down. This was clearly their form of a Magic Oath, Harry realised, which meant that they trusted him. A lot. He pushed this line of thought to the side for the moment, reminding himself to think more on the subject later. For now, there were a few questions he needed answers to.

Harry, after a short period of deliberation, decided to ask, "Well, I know that your names are Error and Blue, but who's who?" This had the effect of both skeletons nearly falling off their chairs in a mixture of shock and laughter. Not-RuRu told him to guess, so he figured that Not-RuRu, since it was wearing a blue bandana, was Blue, and RuRu, who seemed to have computer glitches attacking its body ("1t'$ c4lLeD p1x3l3x1a, HaRrY, aNd 1t Do3sN't HuRt Me," RuRu reassured), was Error. The skeletons told him, speaking simultaneously and reminding Harry of the Wealey twins, that he was correct, but that "Names are just names, and we could easily go by each other's", which prompted them to begin making plans for a prank involving some sort of illusion or glamour to make one look like the other, and vice versa. "Hah! Wait until Nightmare hears about thi-" Blue stopped. "Oh..." The two pranksters suddenly seemed so much older and sadder. "NiGhTm4r3 w1lL n3v3r He4r 0uR pRaNk1nG iDe4s 4g4iN," whispered Error dejectedly.

"Maybe we'll find a way back," Blue suggested, but the skeletons knew, deep in their SOULs, that there wasn't one.

As much as Harry would have loved to get answers to the numerous questions that that exchange had raised, it would just make the skeletons sadder, so he chose a different topic. "So... what are you, anyways? I've never heard of any sort of creature like you before." Blue seemed to cheer up, answering, "We're Sanses! And we're not from any place you would have heard of, so there's no way you could have known about us!"

"$aNs3s 4r3 a TyPe 0f MaGiCaL sKeLeToN," explained Error, anticipating Harry's next question. "We HaVe MaNy PoWeRs, BuT aLm0sT eVeRy $aNs Ha$ aT l3a$t 0n3 uNiQu3 aBiLiTy. FoR eXaMpLe, 1 h4v3 mY sTr1nGs, 4nD mY b0yFr1eNd CaN sUmMoN a WaRh4mMeR."

"Who's your boyfriend?" wondered Harry. In response, Error indicated Blue, blushing slightly. Harry tilted his head. "So you're a girl?" was the only response he could think of, although he regretted it when both skeletons frowned. "Oh, right," said Blue. "It's still the 1990's here, yeah?" Harry nodded. "That explains it. See, Error and I are gay. We're both boys."

Harry blinked. "Both... boys?" he said, feeling rather lost. Sure, he had heard of gay couples, briefly, but the Dursleys never said anything about it, aside from them being "horrible degenerates" and "wretched thieves". The two skeletons in front of him were definitely neither, though, and Harry was not one to doubt his gut instincts. Besides, it was definitely not the first time the Dursleys were wrong about something, and it wouldn't be the last.

Harry continued thinking for a bit, before nodding slightly. "Both boys it is, then. Next question, who are Inky and Nightmare?"

Blue smiled sadly. "Ink and Nightmare were- are my friends. They're back in the place we're from, and we probably won't be able to get back to them."

"1nKy 1s Th3 y4nG t0 mY y1n, My RiVaL, aNd NiGhTm4r3 i$ mY b0s$ aNd 0n3 oF mY Be$t Fr1eNd$," Error explained. "1'm Gl4d 1 g4v3 NiGhTy 1n$tRuCt1oNs 0n Wh4t To Do 1f 1'm De4d 0r Mi$s1nG."

Before Harry could ask his next question, he yawned, and Error said, "1t'$ g3tTiNg LaTe. We'Ll 4n$w3r MoRe Qu3sTi0n$ t0m0rRoW, m4yBe YoU c0uLd 1nTr0dUc3 u$ t0 y0uR fRi3nDs." Harry didn't see any real reasons to disagree, and besides, he really was tired, so he went up to his dorm and collapsed on his bed.

He was asleep before his head could hit the pillow.

-----

Hey, thanks for reading! I've been working on a lot of requests at the same time, which is why there are a few parts being published simultaneously. Sorry for uploading them after so long. I have no excuse. Leave questions, comments, and concerns in the comment section. Even if I don't respond, I do read all of them.

2775 words