"The Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore said, causing the trio to glance at each other. Fred, George, and Tori were all called up to the Headmaster's office where he had explained to them about the order.

"A so far— secret organization used back in the day when we first fought Lord Voldemort." The three flinched at his name.

"And you want us to join it?" Tori asked, narrowing her eyes. She was very confused.

"No, not yet. Your parents have been informed of this organization as well. You will be staying at their headquarters for a part of the summer. Preparations will be made for you to meet the other members. This is a fight we cannot win unless we have help. There is one thing, Mr. Harry Potter must not know. There is too much risk, especially if he is going to be targeted."

The three of them were silent, all glancing in between one another. "I assume the train will be leaving soon. Mr. Weasleys you two may go, I want to have a word with Miss Silvers." Dumbledore said. "I just wish to speak with her. She will come to no harm." He added when he noticed Fred hesitate. The twins walked out, leaving Tori to face the headmaster.

"I'm sure Harry has told you about what happened in the graveyard." He began calmly. "Only a little bit," Tori admitted, shifting uncomfortably.

"It is not easy to face against family." He said, getting up from his chair and stroking his phoenix that sat in the corner. "It is also hard to do what is right. You have a choice, Miss Silvers."

"How do you know what to do?" Tori asked, her voice nearly a whisper. Dumbledore chuckled fondly, like he was remembering an old memory. "You just know. Your decision defines who you are. Not your family's."

"I wish everyone could think like that."

"The world would be much calmer, wouldn't it? So, Tori Silvers, what is your decision?"

✧    ✦    ✧

"You've picked the losing side, Potter! I warned you! I told you you ought to choose your company more carefully, remember? When we met on the train, first day at Hogwarts? I told you not to hang around with riffraff like this!" Draco Malfoy jerked his head at Ron and Hermione from outside their compartment.

Fred had thought it would be a good idea to follow the gang the moment they passed their compartment. Tori was glad they did. She held her wand out, a dark look upon her face.

"Too late now. Potter! They'll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord's back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first! Well - second - Diggory was the f-"

Tori had heard enough, she pointed her wand at Malfoy. "Auris Pervellerit!" It seemed she wasn't the only one angered by Malfoy's words. Both Fred and George had their wands pointed and quickly cast a hex.

It was as though someone had exploded a box of fireworks within the compartment. Blinded by the blaze of the spells that had blasted from every direction, deafened by a series of bangs, Harry stood blinking and looked down at the floor.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were all lying unconscious in the doorway. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on their feet, all three of them having used a different hex.

"Thought we'd see what those three were up to," Fred said matter-of-factly, stepping onto Goyle and into the compartment. He had his wand out, and so did George, who was careful to tread on Malfoy as he followed Fred inside. Tori purposely gave the boy a hard kick, watching Goyle's ear twitch from her own hex.

"Interesting effect," said George, looking down at Crabbe. "Who used the Furnunculus Curse?"

"Me," Harry said.

"Odd," said George lightly. "I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldn't be mixed. He seems to have sprouted little tentacles all over his face. Well, let's not leave them here, they don't add much to the decor."

Ron, Harry, and George kicked, rolled, and pushed the unconscious Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle - each of whom looked distinctly the worse for the jumble of jinxes with which they had been hit - out into the corridor, then came back into the compartment and rolled the door shut.

"Exploding Snap, anyone?" Fred asked, pulling out a pack of cards.

They were halfway through their fifth game when Harry glanced up at the trio.

"You going to tell us, then?" He asked George. "Who you were blackmailing?"

"Oh," George said darkly. "That."

"It doesn't matter," Fred tried to assure them, shaking his head impatiently. "It wasn't anything important. Not now, anyway."

"We've given up,"  George sighed, shrugging. Tori bit her lip nervously, wincing in pain as one of the cards snapped at her.

But Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept on asking, and finally, Fred said, "All right, all right, if you really want to know...it was Ludo Bagman."

"Bagman?" said Harry sharply. "Are you saying he was involved in -"

"Nah," said George gloomily. "Nothing like that. Stupid git. He wouldn't have the brains."

"Well, what, then?" Ron pressed. Fred hesitated, then said, "You remember that bet we had with him at the Quidditch World Cup? About how Ireland would win, but Krum would get the Snitch?"

"Yeah," Harry and Ron said slowly.

"Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold he'd caught from the Irish mascots."

"So?"

"So," said Fred impatiently, "It vanished, didn't it? By the next morning, it had gone!"

"But - it must've been an accident, mustn't it?"
Hermione asked, glancing at Tori.

George laughed very bitterly.

"Yeah, that's what we thought, at first. We thought if we just wrote to him, and told him he'd made a mistake, he'd cough up. But nothing doing. Ignored our letter. We kept trying to talk to him about it at Hogwarts, but he was always making some excuse to get away from us."

"In the end, he turned pretty nasty,"
Fred sighed, wrapping his arm around Tori. "Told us we were too young to gamble, and he wasn't giving us anything."

"So we asked for our money back,"  George said, glowering.

"He didn't refuse!" Hermione gasped. "Right in one," said Fred. "He's a nasty man." Tori sighed, leaning her head on Fred's shoulder.

"But that was all your savings!" Ron nearly yelled.

"Tell me about it," George agreed, sighing with defeat. "''Course, we found out what was going on in the end. Lee Jordan's dad had had a bit of trouble getting money off Bagman as well. Turns out he's in big trouble with the goblins. Borrowed loads of gold off them. A gang of them cornered him in the woods after the World Cup and took all the gold he had, and it still wasn't enough to cover all his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. He's lost everything gambling. Hasn't got two Galleons to rub together. And you know how the idiot tried to pay the goblins back?"

"How?" Harry asked, glancing at the three.

"He put a bet on you, mate," Tori replied. "Put a big bet on you to win the tournament. Bet against the goblins."

"So that's why he kept trying to help me win!" Harry exclaimed, the pieces coming together. "Well - I did win, didn't I? So he can pay you your gold!"

"Nope," George said, shaking his head. "The goblins play as dirty as him. They say you drew with Diggory, and Bagman was betting you'd win outright. So Bagman had to run for it. He did run for it right after the third task."

George sighed deeply and started dealing out the cards again.

The rest of the journey passed pleasantly enough; Tori wished it could have gone on all summer, in fact, and that she would never arrive at King's Cross... but as she had learned the hard way that year, time will not slow down when something unpleasant lies ahead, and all too soon, the Hogwarts Express was pulling in at platform nine and three-quarters. The usual confusion and noise filled the corridors as the students began to disembark.

"Fred - George - Tori- wait a moment."

The trio turned, a confused look on their face. Tori figured Harry was going to thank them for taking care of Malfoy. But Harry pulled open his trunk and drew out his Triwizard winnings.

"Take it," He said, and he thrust the sack into George's hands.

"What?" Fred asked, looking flabbergasted. Tori's eyes widened so big, she thought they'd fall out.

"Take it," Harry repeated firmly. "I don't want it."

"You're mental," said George, trying to push it back at Harry. "You must be sick," Tori replied.

"No, I'm not," said Harry. "You take it, and get inventing. It's for the joke shop."

"He is mental," Fred said in an almost awed voice.

"Listen," said Harry firmly. "If you don't take it, I'm throwing it down the drain. I don't want it and I don't need it. But I could do with a few laughs. We could all do with a few laughs. I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long."

"Harry," George said weakly, weighing the money bag in his hands, "There's got to be a thousand Galleons in here."

"Yeah," Harry grinned. "Think of how many Canary Creams that is."

The twins stared at him. Tori tugged on Fred's arm excitedly, smiling up at him.

"Just don't tell your mum where you got it...
although she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry anymore, come to think of it...."

"Harry..." Fred began, but Harry pulled out his wand.

"Look," He said flatly, "Take it, or I'll hex you. I know some good ones now. Just do me one favor, okay? Buy Ron some different dress robes and say they're from you."

He left the compartment before they could say another word, stepping over Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were still lying on the floor, covered in hex marks.

"It's a gift. He's forcing you to accept." Tori told the twins, who were still in shock. She grabbed Fred's hand, leading them out of the compartment.

"Harry - thanks," George muttered, while Fred nodded fervently at his side once they reached Molly.

Tori went to pat Harry on the shoulder but instead pulled him into a hug. "Take care, alright?"

"You too," Harry replied, giving her a grin. He then turned to talk to Ron and Hermione.

Tori stared at a section of the station, a bit sadly. Only a few years ago she would greet and say farewell to Cedric there. She felt tears brim her eyes and she quickly wiped it away.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Fred whispered, squeezing her hand. Tori nodded, smiling up at him.

Tori Silvers has made her choice, and with Fred Weasley by her side, anything felt possible.

omg year six is done

you all should be proud of me. the hex tori performs doesn't have an incantation so i looked up "ear twitch" in latin lol

next up, year seven!