Luciscura / Fred Weasley

Lettie leaned against the wall, arms crossed, as Harry recounted his conversation with Ron and Hermione.

Fred sat beside her, playing with a strand of her hair absentmindedly, while Theo, Susan, and Luna listened.

"They think I'm replacing them," Harry finished, sighing.

Lettie hummed in thought. "They're insecure. They're used to being the only people in your life."

Susan nodded. "They probably don't even realize they're being unfair."

"Still," Theo drawled, "sounds like Weasley's taking it harder than Granger."

Harry shrugged. "Ron's always been like that. If something changes, he gets defensive."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Sounds like someone needs to grow up."

Lettie nudged him. "Be nice. Ron's got a point—Harry did spend four years with just them."

Fred huffed but didn't argue.

Harry leaned forward. "I just... I don't want to lose them."

"You won't," Lettie said firmly. "They'll come around."

Luna tilted her head. "And if they don't, maybe it means they weren't as good of friends as you thought."

Harry didn't answer, but he looked troubled.

Fred ruffled his hair. "Come on, Potter. Enough sulking. You're with us now, and that means butterbeer, pranks, and actually enjoying life."

Lettie smiled. "And just for the record, you belong here too."

Harry's lips twitched. "Thanks, guys."

Ron sat in the corner, pretending to read his Quidditch magazine while secretly glancing at Harry, who was laughing with Fred, George, and Lettie by the fireplace.

He hated this feeling. It was the same one he got in fourth year when Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire.

That same knot in his chest.

Jealousy.

It wasn't fair. They were supposed to be Harry's best friends.

Hermione, sitting next to him, sighed. "Ron, just talk to him."

He scowled. "And say what? 'Sorry for being a git, please come back'?"

Hermione gave him a pointed look. "Well, if the shoe fits..."

Ron groaned. He hated when she was right.

Sirius slammed an old tome shut, his expression grim. "Well, we've got a list."

Finnick sat across from him, flipping through another book. "The ring in the Gaunt shack, the cup in Bellatrix's vault, the diary—which was already destroyed..."

Sirius tapped the locket on the table. "That just leaves Nagini."

Finnick exhaled sharply. "And the piece inside Harry."

Silence stretched between them.

Sirius clenched his fists. "We have to get that thing out of him."

Finnick nodded. "We will."

But neither of them knew how.

Not yet.