Fire And Ice - Yin and Yang (Harry Potter fanfiction)

Perhaps...

When Periwinkle and Azalea knocked on Mrs. Figgs' door, they hadn't expected for the old lady to contact Dumbledore personally about their refusal to return to the Dursleys. Nor had they expected Dumbledore to show up an hour later, in person, looking as cheerful and twinkly as ever, even though there was a serious look in his blue eyes.

Now seated in the living room- Azalea and Periwinkle on the rickety old green couch, Professor Dumbledore in an old armchair- and listening to Mrs. Figgs putter around in the kitchen, the old wizard gave the twins a glance over his half-moon spectacles.

"Azalea, Periwinkle," he began softly. "The reason I am asking you to return to your relatives-,"

Azalea pulled a face, thinking that the Dursleys hardly qualified as relatives.

More like people we unfortunately are related to, Periwinkle added.

"-is because it is the only way to ensure your protection over the summer, while you are away from Hogwarts."

"Aunt Petunia said something about us having to stay, otherwise the same thing that happened to our parents will happen to them," said Periwinkle quietly. "What does that mean?"

Dumbledore sighed. "The night Voldemort-"

There was a loud crash from the kitchen when Mrs. Fighs dropped a pot.

"-came to Godric's Hollow, where your parents lived, he tried to kill you two. He would have succeeded, had it not been for your mother, Lily. She threw herself in the way of the killing curse, trying to protect you."

The twins' eyes went wide.

"Her love cast a protection shield upon you. When Voldemort-"

A pan banged to the floor.

"-once more tried to kill you, the curse rebounded onto him."

Professor Dumbledore paused for a second, to give the twins time to digest this. When they stared at him in silence, he continued, "From there on, you would be protected by an ancient magic of which Voldemort-"

BANG!

"-knows, which he despises, and which he has always, therefore, underestimated – to his cost. I am speaking, of course, of the fact that your mother died to save you. She gave you a lingering protection that he never expected, a protection that flows in your veins to this day. I put my trust, therefore, in your mother's blood. I delivered you to her sister, her only remaining relative. And while you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort."

CRASH!

"He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, whilst you are there, he cannot hurt you. So your aunt may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly- yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother's sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you."

The twins exchanged a look.

"There's one problem, sir," said Azalea and faced their headmaster. "We never considered the Dursleys' place as our home."

The look in Dumbledore's eyes saddened.

"When Quirrell tried to kill us," Periwinkle said, "something saved us. Was that our mom's shield?"

Dumbledore slowly shook his head. "No," he said. "That was a form of magic I have never seen before."

"But doesn't that mean that we don't need to stay at the Dursleys?" Azalea continued. "If we have this other weird shield?"

"If you would be able to control it, to summon it at your will, then perhaps things would be different," Professor Dumbledore replied gently. "However, that is not the case. Could you say for certain that if someone would attack you in this moment, that you would be able to summon this shield? Could you do it on your own, without having each other?"

Azalea opened her mouth, then closed it unsurely.

If we stayed with the Weasleys, said Periwinkle to her sister and traded a miserable look with her, we'd put them in danger. Same with Mrs. Figgs.

But what if we stayed at Hogwarts? said Azalea hopefully.

Do you really thing there'll be anyone around, wanting to babysit us?

We could ask.

The twins turned to Professor Dumbledore, who'd watched them curiously.

"Sir-," Azalea began, her fingers playing with the hem of her sleeve, "- could we- I mean- isthereawayforustostayatHogwartsoverthesummer?" The rest of the sentence rushed out in one breath.

The pity in Dumbledore's eyes made Periwinkle uncomfortable.

"Unfortunately, Hogwarts will be empty for most of the summer," he said. "The staff usually returns home to their private dwellings."

The twins' faces fell.

"Sir, the Dursleys are awful," Periwinkle tried again. "We can't stay there. They'll lock us away, like they did last year. Isn't there any possible way we could stay somewhere else?"

Mrs. Figgs showed up in the doorway, cleaning a pot. "Dumbledore," she said with her raspy voice, "what about the Order? We could take them to the headquarters."

What's the Order? Azalea thought.

Dunno, but it sounds better than the Dursleys, Periwinkle replied.

The old wizard looked at Mrs. Figgs. "That thought crossed my mind, Arabella, but if Voldemort-"

The pot clattered to the ground.

"-would manage to breach our wards, there would be no guarantee that the twins would be safe."

"Bollocks," said Mrs. Figgs stubbornly and picked up the pot. "Headquarters is as safe as Hogwarts is and our best Order members are stationed there. Besides-"

She looked at the twins, while meticulously wiping the rim of her pot. "There are many ways to keep someone safe. Wouldn't it be for the blood magic, I'd say that the Dursleys failed in all of them."

I love you, Mrs. Figgs, the twins thought simultaneously. They gave their professor their best puppy-eyed look, desperately hoping he would say yes.

Professor Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Perhaps- you do have a point," he mumbled and stroked his long beard. "But still- I don't know."

"They would have been introduced to the Order anyway," said Mrs. Figgs. "Might as well do it now."

Periwinkle and Azalea grabbed each others hands and held their breath.

"Mhm...perhaps...," Professor Dumbledore looked out of the window at the darkening sky. Several minutes ticked by, during which Mrs. Figgs kept cleaning her pot and the twins continued to stare at the headmaster.

"I will alert the Order members," he finally said. "We will have to make sure that several of our highest members are always present at headquarters."

Azalea's eyes went wide, but she bit her lip to hold her questions in.

Periwinkle started to bounce from excitement- the sofa screeched miserably.

Professor Dumbledore rose from the armchair, still deep in thought. "Arabella, would you please send a letter to Minerva and Severus? I will contact Remus and Tonks and see if they're available."

"Sure thing, Dumbledore," Mrs. Figgs said satisfied and marched back into the kitchen.

Periwinkle and Azalea traded an excited look- then they both froze.

Did he say SNAPE? said Azalea.