Snakes and Ladders (Fem!HPxLM) (DISCONTINUED)

Caim

The trip to Hogsmeade was blissfully simple. No longer was she having to deal with the adoring stares of people who didn't even know her and yet idolised the idea of her. They had all a carefully crafted image of her in their brains that they had put on a pedestal so high that it must be valid in their minds.

The hardest part of the trip had been convincing her father to allow her to go. And even that had been much easier than Hyacinth initially thought. No longer walking the streets with a face that wasn't hers, she found getting around much more simple. 

The further she and Draco walked, the more the people became more concentrated around one particular spot. A vibrant and bright place with a notably ginger mannequin, spelled to move and tip its top hat at new customers as they entered. 

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was sprawled across the top of a turret-looking window in a bright gold that glittered in the sun. On the wall was a crude spray-painted dark mark that had Hyacinth laughing in shock. Even Draco got a chuckle out of it as they gently pushed through the growing crowd of those who wanted to go in but didn't for whatever reason.

Inside was somehow even more chaotic, packed with people and oddities. Staircases led to more stuff on large, balcony-esque ledges, all while magical fireworks exploded at random. The whole place had her staring, open-mouthed, before she suddenly turned to Draco, who also had a look of pure awe on his face. 

"We can't let Bella come here. She'd cause absolute chaos."

Before Draco could respond, two in-synch voices piped up from behind them.

"Ah, but chaos is our middle name", the twins proclaimed, and Hyacinth tensed up with nerves before she slowly turned to face them. The twins took one look at her and then shared an unreadable look before they each took her by a hand under her armpits, promptly lifting her into the air and then marching off, both chanting 'left, right, left, right' as if army men.

Draco stared after them in shock before it dawned on him that the two trickster redheads had essentially kidnapped his friend. He ran to catch up with them, not even having to elbow people out of his way as he went as the sight of the two students turned businessmen carrying an unidentified confused girl had its perks in clearing a path.

The twins put her down when all four were situated in a spacious backroom, shelves high with Merlin knows what kind of pranks, the main shopping area separated from the room with a thick velvet curtain and wards.

"Hi Hazel." one twin, George, said. 

"Or should we say not Hazel" Fred fired back, shocking Hyacinth and Draco. Hyacinth sighed, figuring that fighting it would only egg them on. 

"How did you know?" she asked, slumping against one high shelf, and the twins both shrugged simultaneously. 

"Your magic," they said in time with each other, "we'd be able to tell that magic anywhere. Besides that, Hyacinth," Fred continued, surprising her at the use of her actual name because how could they possibly know that? "We took a trip to Gringrotts, and it turns out you're our soul sibling", the redhead grinned a cheeky thing that Hyacinth always found somewhat endearing despite who it was attached to.

"Wait, what's a soul sibling?" she asked. She had never heard of the term, and Draco looked just about ready to pass out at the mention of it. 

George pulled four chairs from seemingly nowhere, and all four sat down before he took the initiative to explain.

"From what the manager of our vault said, there are two common cases regarding soul siblings. One is a lot more brutal than the other. Someone who does have siblings but does not feel like they are part of the family or don't feel safe among them will reach out, searching for magic to comfort them. That soul-sibling bond usually forms in early childhood. In this case, the guardian of the first to discover the bond will receive custody of the child or children. Someone will automatically be sent to receive the children the moment that the bond is known. That's not what happened here."

Fred picked up the explanation as George seemed confused as to how to describe their unusual case. "In our case, it seems to have happened in our fourth year. It must have been triggered by you, Hyacinth, as it takes only one child to form this type of soul sibling bond, and it must be an only child. The only child who desperately wants a sibling subconsciously reach out with their magic attaching onto someone, causing a Soulbond." he explained, understanding washed over Hyacinth and an overwhelming sense of guilt.

"I'm sorry", she muttered, lowering her head to hide the welling tears in her eyes and missing the matching looks of concern and confusion on the twin's faces.

"What are you sorry for?" they asked in tandem, voices laced with worry.

"I've put an unwanted bond on the two of you", she explained, not knowing how to elaborate further. The twins shared a look that Draco thought was akin to the look someone would give a kitten before they lunged forward and pulled Hyacinth into a tight embrace.

"It was surprising, yes. But we saw you as a little sister the first day we met. You were the first ever person to be able to tell us apart, and that was because you took the time to see past the jokes and pay attention to us." George said before Fred continued.

"Even our own mother couldn't look at us and tell us apart. Growing up in the family we did, it felt like there was never enough love to go around. Mum never paid us any mind, and dad was always at work. We started pranks to get attention, but all that got us was spankings and no dinner. This soul-sibling bond was a surprise, sure. But is not unwanted for either of us. Your magic latched onto ours because it recognised that we wanted a sibling too," He finished, wiping tears from Hyacinth's face and placing a loving, brotherly kiss at the crown of her head.

Hyacinth took a deep breath and a moment to compose herself, conjuring a mirror to remove any mascara stains before she turned to Draco. 

"I have a lot of explaining to mum and dad to do," she said.

Draco just nodded, mute and still in shock. The twins shared a secretive look that neither Hyacinth nor Draco noticed.