Harry sank down into a couch in the common room, exhaling happily. He smiled as Hermione sat next to him, and Ron moved to sit in the chair to the left of them.
The trio had run all the way up the stairs, ignoring the prefect's yells for them to stop, so that they'd be able to claim a place in the common room before the rest of the Gryffindors got there.
Soon, George jumped through the portrait hole, whooping and hollering, followed quickly by Fred, who was singing a terribly off-key rendition of 'Sweet Caroline' to George, who was slapping his shoulder in mock-anger. Obviously, George was dating a girl named Caroline.
The twins ran over to the trio, George grabbing Harry in a headlock and giving him a noogie, making the thirteen-year-old yelp and squirm, trying to get away.
"Aw, come on George! Be nice to ickle Harrykins!" Fred yelled, as he gave Ron the same treatment.
When the twins released their captives (by the insistance of Hermione, who said that the boys were losing thousands of brain-cells by the minute) they plopped down on the floor, staring intently at the portait hole.
"One...two...three!" they counted together, and on 'three', a first year popped his head through the hole. He was followed by a stampede of raging lions, all trying their hardest and noblest to get to their dorms without being mortally wounded.
The flood ended in a few minutes, leaving behind only a few stragglers. One was George's Caroline, whom he immediately grabbed and started snogging, ("Don't tell mum, Ron, or I'll pour itching powder down your shorts!") going into a corner for privacy.
Seamus and Dean took another corner. Obviously, they hadn't finished that copy of Playwitch.
The last person left was the new girl, Arynn, who was standing against the wall, chewing the nail of her index finger and looking at the ground. Fred looked at Harry, and Harry looked at Hermione, Hermione looked at Ron, who looked to Fred. They all nodded in silent agreement.
"Hey!" Fred called to the girl. She looked up, "Yeah, you, sweet thang." he said, pulling an atrocious Southern American accent.
The girl laughed.
"Why don't you just come on over here a sit for a spell, ya hear?" the girl nearly doubled in laughter at this, and once she could breathe again, she came over and sat next to Fred on the floor.
"Guys," Fred said, grinning. "This is Ms. Arynn Thompson. She comes from the great US of A. She is the one who brought us: The Peace Sign." And Fred flashed the sign at Harry, who did it back, making everyone laugh.
"Arynn, this is Hermione," Fred motioned toward the frizzy-haired girl who smiled and offered Arynn her hand. She took it, grinning.
"She's our Resident Genius." Fred said, making Hermione blush. "Actually, I think she must have an identical twin too, because there's no way any girl can be that smart, and still be able to fit all that brain in one head."
Hermione shook her head at his strange Fred-logic, and pulled out Hogwarts: A History, and began to read.
"If you don't mind, Arynn?" she said, motioning toward the book.
"Of course not!" Arynn said. "Actually, I've always wanted to read that. Would you mind if I borrowed it, after you're done?" she said, making Fred and Ron groan, and Harry grin. Hermione nodded emphatically, and would have continued to talk about the book had Fred not intervened.
"And this," He said, taking the girl by the shoulders and turning her so she was facing Ron and not Hermione. "Is my baby brother, ickle wittle Ronnie-poo."
Ron slapped his brother on the head.
"Shut up, stupid."
Fred laughed. "And this, is my other baby brother, Harry." This was said with a slight touch of pride, and much truer affection than when he said the same about Ron.
Ron knew he was Fred's little brother, and had known for a long time. But Harry had only just found it out two nights ago...
The Leaky Cauldron was bustling with young Muggle-born and Pure-Blood witches and wizards alike, all having a wonderful time on the last night of summer, before they all had to take off to Hogwarts.
Molly and Arthur Weasley had dropped their children off at the inn a few hours before, knowing Harry was there to keep them company, saying they had some work to do and would be back soon. Ron filled Harry in later that the two were going on a date.
Percy was holed up in Harry's room, and Hermione had yet to get there (she was coming the next morning), so Harry, Fred, George and Ron were alone together, sitting at the Cauldron's bar, trying to block out the noises behind them from all the drunk seventh years.
George had sampled a bit of the drink the older kids were passing around; not enough to make him completely drunk, but enough to go to his head. He and Ron were now singing 'Hey, Jude' on top of one of the Leaky Cauldron's tables.
"You wanna join 'em, Harry?" Fred asked, his eyes sparkling.
"Uh, no, not right now Fred." Harry said quietly. He hadn't been feeling too happy lately, (in fact he was a bit depressed) and his voice showed it.
He felt an arm around his shoulders.
"Harry, you all right, mate?" Fred said, his voice full of concern.
"Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'm just not a very good singer, Fred."
The red-head looked doubtful. "Well, if anything was bothering you, you know you could come to me, right? I mean, you're like my little brother, Harry. I'll always be there if you need me." He said, smiling softly, though you could see in his eyes that he was worried.
"Really?" Harry said, unable to hide his surprise. He had always known he was welcome in the Weasley clan, but he never would have guessed that they thought of him as part of the family.
"Yeah! You didn't know that? Harry, we all think of you as our brother! And I'm pretty sure Mum and Dad consider you to be their seventh son."
At Harry's shocked look, Fred sighed. "I knew we should have told you. We love you Harry, and I'm not just saying that to be mushy."
When he glimpsed the slightest shine of tears in Harry's eyes, he grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him close and holding him tight.
"Aaw, come here, stupid. Honestly, the boy can't tell when someone's treating him like family. Gosh!" he said, but his voice held the slightest but of worry. After a moment, he released him.
"But you do realize, this means I'm the older brother, right?" he said, holding Harry at arms length and looking stern.
Harry nodded.
"And do you know what that means?" he said, like a teacher to a student.
Harry shook his head. Fred broke into a grin.
"It means I can kick your butt!" he said, shoving Harry off the stool and towards Ron and George, who were beginning a rendition of 'Strawberry Feilds Forever'.
Harry was brought back to the present by a hand waving in front of his face.
"Hello? Harry? You kinda spaced out there, bro," Fred said, smiling.
"Like I was saying, Arynn, this is my slightly slow brother Harry." Harry punched the older boy playfully on the arm, feigning anger.
"Are you two really brothers?" Arynn asked.
Fred smiled at Harry. "As close as you can get," he said, his smile widening as Harry grinned.
"Well, I'd better go make sure my brother doesn't do anything he'll regret in the morning. Have fun, kiddos, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Fred said, standing up and making his way toward George and Caroline, leaving Harry in an awkward silence, staring at Arynn.
After a few moments, Arynn started to stand up. "I think I'm going to turn in," she said.
"Oh, sorry!" she cried, as she tripped and nearly fell on top of Harry. She started to push away, but then leaned in close to him.
"I know who you are, Mr. Snape," she whispered in his ear. "Meet me in the astronomy tower Friday night, 12:00 sharp."
And with that, she got up, and practically sprinted up the stairs to the girls dormitory, leaving Harry alone, his mind reeling.
To be continued...