Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The Order of Things

1

A Weasley Sandwich

I am the universe's practical joke to all of its occupants. Ironic, considering that in this life I was born on April 1st, 1978. I am the soul that died and somehow was placed back on Earth for a second go. I am the girl that shouldn't exist. The daughter that should have never been conceived. The character that had no intended role. And the punchline of it all, no one but me knows that I shouldn't be here.

"Jolly Holly," one of my brothers said in a sing-song voice as he came to sit next to me on the second-floor window seat. It faces the garden and gets the most natural light in the morning. I often have to fight Percy for the pleasure of reading here. Looking up from my book, I frown at Fred as he settles himself, and turn my head to give George the same frown. Their nickname for me, Jolly Holly, is a satire on their parts as I am rarely ever Jolly. George slides up to stand next to my side, effectively boxing me in the window seat. The lack of personal space doesn't bother me. Not with these two. We've been sharing personal space since our time in the womb. "Look what was just delivered". Fred said as George dangled a thick envelope with a familiar wax seal in front of my face.

I close my book and reach up to retrieve, what is no doubt, my letter from school containing all of the supplies I'll need for the year. But George yanks it away. Always making sure that it is just an inch out of reach. "George" I complain, sighing. This is a normal enough occurrence. Even if this behavior is usually more directed at Ronald than myself. In most situations, I would give them the rise they are looking for. Stamp my foot. Wrestle them for the silly letter. Chase them around the burrow for it until mum yelled at us to stop or dad intercepted. But I can't today. I'm just too tired. Too worried. I drop my arm that's reaching for the letter and let my head thump against the window sill. They can keep the bloody thing. We have all of the same classes, except for one elective, so we'll just share books like we always do. I close my eyes and try to ignore my fellow triplets as they no doubt share worrying looks over my head. I'm about to ruin their childhood, and they don't even know it.

George pokes me in the cheek with the index finger of his free hand, and I wearily open my eyes for him. "what's got you so bothered Holls?" He asked.

"Yeah sis" Fred throws his two cents in. "What's got your wand in a knot".

I glance out the window. I've been debating on who I should tell, or if I should tell anyone at all about me. About what I know. Divulging such information has too many unpredictable consequences. I could be thrown into St. Mungos as a mental patient. I could be marked as a vessel of evil magic and locked up in the department of mysteries. Or I could destroy the world as I know it to exist. But there could also be potential rewards for letting people know about my secret. It could prevent misfortune. I look away from the peaceful summer day and glance back at Fred. It could protect my new family and saves lives. I have been having this silent discussion with myself since I first realized exactly where I was. And an answer never becomes clearer. But, with the arrival of the latest Hogwarts letter, I have officially run out of time. "There is something I want to tell you". I said, looking at both boys in turn. "it's big" I add on. "It's something that should probably stay between the three of us".

Fred and George do not look terribly concerned. The three of us has a mountain of secrets tying us together. The mysterious disappearance of Percy's reading glasses. How exactly that garden gnome found its way into Charlie's trunk. Why mum can never find a lone sock's match. Or the reason why there's always a strange smell or puff of an explosion coming from Fred and George's room. But those secrets are all harmless. Mostly, I suppose. Ron and Percy would probably disagree. Still, what I want to tell my fellow triplets is something that no one should ever have to deal with. Especially not at thirteen years of age.

"George, this sounds bad" Fred breaks in. I look at him in suspicion. I think I am about to be exposed to another act of Fred and George improv.

"I was thinking the same thing, Fred," George said. Squatting down next to the two of us sitting on the window seat. "What could it be about I wonder?"

Fred leans forward, closer to George and I. "Girls problems I suspect"

"A romantic interest, possibly".

I look up at the ceiling and roll my eyes. When they start doing bits like this I've learned it's best to just ride it out. To protest would only encourage them, and then we would be here all day.

"Now, who do we know that our Holly could possibly like?" Fred continues. Acting as if I am not there.

"No one from Gryffindor" George chimes in.

"They all know not to mess with our Jolly Holly" Fred finishes for him as he leans forward to squish my cheeks with the palms of his hands.

I slap them away in indignation as George said, "What about Diggory? I've seen them eye each other before in the great hall."

I wrinkle my nose in confusion. Since when has Diggory ever stared at me? Now, I have been caught staring at Diggory a handful of times. Many of the girls in our year have done the same. But in my case, my interest is out of guilt. If I know someone is going to die and I don't do anything about it, am I guilty? "No," Fred said, shaking his head. "No, I don't think Diggory is Holly's type". Oh? Apparently, I have a type now.

"Right you are Fred. If Holly has her eyes set on a bloke-"

"Then our guess would be-"

"Pucey!" They said together.

Instantly I groan aloud. Not this again! Adrian Pucey is one of the many filler characters of Harry Potter. He is in the same year as Fred, George and I are. He is in Slytherin house and plays as a chaser for his house team. Adrian has also been my potions partner for the past two years of school. We get along rather pleasantly for a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. And by that, I mean that we don't try to curse each other whenever we cross paths, and can actually hold an enjoyable conversation. All of those factors have made Adrian extremely unpopular with my triplets. "No!" I try to insert.

But Fred and George talk right over me. "They're always whispering together with their heads lowered in potions class," Said George.

"Because we're partners," I said, trying to be the sane person in our trio.

"And then there was that time they exchanged love letters in the hallway". Fred inserts his own antidote of what is supposedly my very sordid love affair.

"They were notes from class!" I correct, my voice increasing in volume.

"And it would make perfect sense that Holly would want to keep him a secret," George said, ignoring me.

Fred nods as if George had just discovered a very important clue. "Because very few would approve of a Weasley dating a Slytherin".

"I'm not dating Pucey!" I said as firmly as I possibly can when dealing with these two.

I'm ignored again. "But worry not Sister dear" Fred goes on to say. Lunging over to my side of the window seat to engulf me into a bone-crushing hug.

"We'll always love you" George adds on as he turns Fred's hug into a Weasley sandwich. I can feel the vein above my left eye starting to twitch. This is not how I envisioned this conversation starting out.

"Even if you do have horrid taste in men," Fred and George said in sync.

These gits. "I AM NOT DATING PUCEY!" I yelled, trying to shake the two of them off of me. They can never just let me control the conversation. They always find a way to spin it for their own entertainment.

A startled cough pulls our attention to the stairway. Charlie stands there with an arm full of books, looking at us as if we had just shouted out you-know-who's name at the top of our lungs. He's packing. In a couple of days' time, he will be on his way to Romania to start his exciting career with dragons. "I'm sorry," He said after a moment of just staring at the three of us in the midst of our very uncomfortable bear hug. "dating?" Charlie asked as if it was some type of terminal illness I had contracted.

Fred and George let me go in favor of flopping on the floor and laughing out loud. I shoot up from the window seat, causing my book to fall and hit George on the stomach. With my face burning, I hold my hands up for Charlie to see. As if I am suggesting that I have nothing to hide. Even though that couldn't be further than the truth. "I'm not dating," I said, trying to sound as earnest as possible. That's the problem with having so many brothers, the majority of them being older or the same age as you. And in a family, as tight-knit as the Weasleys, they all want to protect me and keep as far away from the opposite sex as they can. "I swear" I promise Charlie. The last thing I need this school year is for Charlie to sic Percy on me as some sort of chaperone. "I don't even think about boys in that way".

"Um," Charlie said slowly as he shifts the books in his arms. He looks down at his armload with a conflicted expression. When he looks back up at me, he asked very carefully, "In what way are you thinking about boys?"

That's sets George and Fred off on another round of hysterical laughter. Sometimes I wonder if they force themselves to laugh so loudly. "No," I said, waving my hands around. "I mean-" Charlie continues to look at me in fear. Merlin forbid his younger sister grows up to be intimate with someone. "I'm not planning to-" But I quickly stop as the remaining color drains from Charlie's face. "Oh, nevermind," I said, as I reached down to pull Fred and George up by the backs of their shirts. Still laughing with every other breath, I start to haul my fellow triplets in the direction of their room. "Come on" I mutter to them, as we push passed a very uncomfortable looking Charlie, leaving my book and school letter on the floor by the window seat. I can come back for them later.

Fred and George managed to compose themselves by the time we make it to their room. I walk into the room first, trusting that one of them will close the door. With all the elicit experiments that go on in this room, Fred and George are big on privacy. "Are you ready to listen?" I asked them once I hear the door click into place. I turn on my heels to start pacing the length of their room. This is it. I am about to destroy any hope I had at having a normal life. Well, as normal as a life in the wizarding world can be.

"We're all ears, Jolly Holly," George said as he and Fred cupped their hands behind their ears in emphasis. They're trying to get me to smile. Usually, it would work too. But not today. Not when I am standing on an edge with unforeseeable depth.

"This will be easier if you don't interrupt me," I said as I continue to pace. "It's going to sound outlandish". It is outlandish, I correct in my head. "farfetched, unbelievable". I start to list, stalling for as long as I can.

Fred and George look at each other before they each sit on their individual beds. "Try us," they said at the same time, crossing their arms as if to say, 'bring it on'.

Nodding my head, I steel myself. It's just like ripping off a band-aid. I tell myself as I pause in my pacing and turn to face my brothers. "I'm not actually Holly Weasley". I said. Instantly I wished that I had started differently.

The boys exchanged another look. I can read the conversation they are having with their eyes. Is she playing a prank on us? Should we get mom? But they settle for saying in perfect harmony, "come again?"

I sigh and touched the bridge of my nose as I briefly close my eyes. I should have rehearsed this. But then I open my eyes and I'm off once more. "No. I mean I am Holly Weasley. But before we were born" I said, gesturing my arms at all three of us. "I was someone else. Someone else who died" my voice trails off as I pace to the end of their room; to the side with the window. My death is not something I like to think about. I turn around to walk back up the length of the room. "I died and then I was born again except this time I was Holly, your sister".

I pause again, this time to gauge my brothers' reactions. George is leaning forward on his bed. And Fred as an expression curiosity on his freckled face. They take my silence as permission to speak. "It's very rare, Holls," George said. "But it's not unheard of."

Fred nods in agreement. "There's been other witches and wizards who remember past lives. And we know it's possible thanks to phoenixes".

I turn away and run a hand through my ginger hair. "It's a lot more complicated than that," I said. Trying to decide how I should inform them that they, in my previous world, were fictional characters.

Fred snorts, drawing mine and George's attention to him. "What? It's not like you were you-know-who in your past life."

George barks a laugh at the thought, reclining back in his bed a little. But when I don't join in, or even retort he leans forward again. "Wait?" He starts to say, the question clear.

"No," I said firmly. The boys nod as if they knew it all along. "I can't be you-know-who reborn," I said, forcing myself to take a breath. "because you-know-who hasn't died yet". And then I'm talking faster than I ever have before. I mention J.K. Rowling and how I grew up in my last life reading the books about wizarding icon Harry potter. I tell them about how our family will end up being very important to Mr. Potter. How Ron would be his best friend. And everything I can think of in one go. I tell them about the philosopher's stone, the basilisk in the chamber, the innocent Sirius Black, the return of the dark lord, the trip our younger siblings will take to the department of mysteries, the death of Dumbledore, and how Harry Potter will save our world.

Fred and George hang on my every word. By the time I was done their eyes had grown to the size of saucers. A tense moment passes of the three of us just staring at each other. In the back of my mind, I seriously hoped that I hadn't broken them. But it is me who cracks first. Feeling lighter than I've ever felt before, but entirely too exhausted, I sink down onto the foot of George's bed. "You don't believe me," I said more to myself than them.

"What am I going to have for breakfast tomorrow?" Fred asked out of the blue.

I look at him and squint. "What?" I asked, utterly confused.

"Fred" George intercedes. "She was reincarnated. She's not a seer". Then George turns his attention back to me and asked an equally confusing question of his own. "What's your name?"

I squint my eyes at him this time. He knows my name. "Holly," I said slowly. Maybe with all of the information I dumped on him, I've forced him into a state of shock.

George shakes his head. "your name before you were our sister" he clarifies.

Oh. "Jessie" I mumbled. The name feels weird leaving my mouth. I haven't said it in thirteen some years.

"Do you want us to call you Jessie?" Fred asked, sounding a bit guarded.

"No" I answer quickly. I cannot imagine them calling me by any name other than my Weasley name. "Jessie's been dead for a long time". I force myself to look George and Fred in the eyes. "I am Holly" I try to assure them. "Jessie is just a bunch of memories at this point".

Fred nods once. "good".

"Good?" I asked.

"Yeah," Fred said. "the only thing that rhymes with Jessie is messy".

"and that's not nearly as fun to say as Jolly Holly" George concludes. I shake my head in disbelief. That's what they're focusing on? "Why tell us now, and not sooner?" George goes on to ask.

I purse my lips. "Ron starts school this year. Which means Harry will too. So…" I started to say.

But Fred cuts me off. "This is the year they'll be a three-headed dog guarding a stone at Hogwarts".

I nod to show that he is correct. "But why tell us at all?" George asked.

At that moment it feels like my heart stops. Like a band-aid, I remind myself as I shudder. "I don't know what's going to happen, not really. Because just me existing changes things. There is… was no Holly Weasley in the books. But if things do happen as they did in the books". I pause to take a labored breath. Crying a little, I reach out to grab both of Fred's hands in my own. They feel warm, and callused from too much quidditch. I give them a hard squeeze, too afraid to let them go. "then in about seven years from now, during the war, you're going to die protecting Percy". And there it was. The thing I was dreading the most out in the open.

Through our clasped hands I can feel Fred go limp as tears start to fall from my eyes in a flurry. George too had gone catatonic. I suppose, after learning of your own death, the next worse thing is to learn about your twin's death. Though I guess in this case, they aren't twins. I decide to push forward. It's the only thing I can do. "Me being here, me telling you all this might make the future worse. But I thought if I told you guys maybe we can… maybe we can stop it from happening. We can protect our family".

I barely get the last word out before Fred is kneeling in front of George's bed. He pulls me into his arms; crushing my ribs. "I'm not going to die," he said, his voice shaking but sounding none the less determined. George joins us, wrapping his arms around both of us.

"I'm not going to let him die," George said, sounding equally as shaken. What have I done?

"I promise," they said together. I melt into my second Weasley sandwich of the day. I feel so relieved that I haven't lost them and hopefully, I never will. "We're going to have to come up with one hell of a plan". I said after a moment.