Twins of Terror

Twins of Terror (3/?)

"September first, Dylan. Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Dylan replied, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Draco, what if I'm not in Slytherin? What if I'm in-" he paused for a moment for dramatics- "Gryffindor?"

"And what," Draco drawled, smiling slightly, "are the chances of that? Most people don't get to be Death Eaters until they're at least nineteen, and they don't learn the Unforgivable Curses until they're about thirty. Even I haven't been initiated yet."

"What about Michelle?" Dylan asked, thinking of the gorgeous girl he had seen the previous day. Draco shook his head, and Dylan whistled. "So I've got a question. How do we capture Potter, Weasley, Granger, and Evelyn again once they're at school?"

Draco's jaw dropped- not a very attractive emotion on such a good-looking person. "We're not letting them get to school, Dyl. They'd go running off, maybe even go crying to Dumbledore. And plus, we can't do magic outside of classes at school."

"You said you can't do magic during the summer either," Dylan pointed out. Draco shrugged. "And I bet you don't follow that stupid rule about no magic in the corridors anyway." Draco raised his hands in an expression of defeat.

"All right, all right, you win. But we're still not sending them to school. That really is a stupid idea, isn't it?" Dylan nodded, copying his friend's gesture of defeat.

"Then how will Evy get sorted?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Draco shrugged carelessly. "Okay then. Ready to go?" The other boy nodded, and together they walked over to the fireplace.

Holding up a jar of what appeared to be multicolored dirt, Draco stepped onto the ledge. "You toss some of this stuff- it's called Floo Powder- into the fireplace. Then you step into it and say, 'King's Cross Train Station.' Dylan did so, rolling his eyes, and before Draco could blink the other boy was gone. So he followed Dylan.

* * *

"So you're saying," Dylan repeated, "that I have to walk through this solid wall?"

"Keep your voice down!" Draco hissed, covering his friend's mouth and indicating the non-magic people in the vicinity. "And yes, that's how it works. I'll go first, okay?" And he did, driving his cart right into the brick wall. A moment later Dylan appeared next to him, cart in hands. He was followed by Lucius, dressed in a Muggle tuxedo.

"Ugh, Father, what are you wearing?" Draco asked, disgusted. Lucius chose not to answer, and Michelle smiled as she admired her father's Muggle clothing.

"You too, Michelle," Dylan put in. And he was right. She was wearing a jean skirt and a tank top, a casual Muggle outfit that clashed horribly with Lucius' formal suit. She was, of course, too young to attend Hogwarts, but as she pointed out, her tenth birthday was in a month and twenty-nine days. Oddly enough, that would be Draco's sixteenth as well.

"Have a nice term," Lucius said robotically, his eyes across the area at Arthur Weasley. Draco, following his father's gaze, smiled nastily. "Shall we?" Lucius asked, indicating the balding man. Both young Malfoys nodded, and so Dylan followed them.

The entire Weasley family (except, of course, for Ron) stood there- Arthur, Molly, William, Charles, Percival, Frederick, George, and Ginevra. Spotting Lucius approaching, Molly tried to shepherd her family away, but everyone refused to move. "Lucius," Arthur snapped. "I thought I told you to stay away from me and my family."
"Ah, but I have just the same right to be here as you do," Lucius informed the other man. "More, in fact, as I am a school governor." Arthur scowled, as if being a school governor was nothing to be proud of. "Let's see... Draco, I believe they're missing a piece of their nine-piece- and far too large- family. Aren't they?" Draco replied, right on cue.

"Yes, I believe they are, Father. Or have I just lost count? What was that kid's name again? Wasn't it Ray? Or Rif?" Of course, he knew perfectly well what the boy's name was, but it gave him far too much pleasure to taunt his least favorite family in the world.

"Ron," Bill corrected him. "I'm sure you know exactly where he is, Malfoy."

"Do I?" Lucius asked him, cocking his head. "And what, exactly, would I do with one of your clan?" Bill attempted to pull his wand out of his pocket, fuming, but his mother stopped him.

"Now, now, Bill. Don't do anything rash, please. He's not worth it," Molly whispered, forcing the wand back into her son's pocket. "He's just trying to get to you. Don't give him that satisfaction."

"But Mum--" Bill groaned, indicating his sister crying. "Where else would Ron be? You know he's got him, don't you?" Molly shrugged, but she did not speak. Instead, she took off Charlie's dragon-hide scarf and wrapped it around Bill's neck instead. He shook his head, but his mother insisted.

"Go on, Ginny. Get on the train, it's going to leave in ten minutes," Charlie insisted, snatching his scarf out of his older brother's hand. Naturally, his stubborn sister refused, but Fred and George lifted her up by the elbows and carried her onto the Hogwarts Express.

"Fred! George!" Molly exclaimed, surprised that they would do that. At the twins' innocent looks, she buried her face in her hands and murmured, "When will they learn?" However, it was impossible to miss the smile creeping onto her face.

"I wish I was going to Hogwarts this year," George commented. "New Defense teacher is supposed to be an old softie."

"Probably just a rumor," Fred muttered back. "And anyway, now is not the time to be discussing this." George nodded reluctantly. "Let's beat up Malfoy and get to the shop, okay?" he offered hopefully, but George shook his head. "Just beat up Malfoy?" Fred asked. George scowled.

"Fred, shut up. I'm trying to listen to what they're saying!" he exclaimed, annoyed. Fred obeyed and strained his ears to catch what his parents werer saying to Lucius Malfoy.

"I'm telling you one last time, Malfoy. You are not to come near my family, understood?

"And I'm telling you, Arthur- I don't have to listen to Muggle-loving smart-alecks like you!"

"Arthur, please, come on. We ought to be out looking for Ron--"

"Just a minute, Molly. I'm arguing with him, can't you see I'm busy?"

"But Arthur--"

"Yes, yes, Arthur. I advise you to go chase your son off a cliff. Perhaps he's run away because he's tired of living in a shack?"
"Malfoy, take your 'advice' and shove it up your--"
"Charlie!" That was Mrs. Weasley, astonished with her son's comment. Fred and George looked at each other mischeviously- they really had a lot in common with Charlie sometimes, despite the six-year age difference. In the past month, they and Lee Jordan had picked up many new and colorful swear words. Of course, Molly would 'Scourgify' the twins' mouths if they used those words at home, but it was still nice to know all those great ways of expressing feelings.

"Yes, Charles, do shut up," Michelle sneered.

The tall, broad-shouldered twenty-four year old looked down at small, nine-year-old Michelle. "You're telling me to shut up?" he asked incredulously. "You? You must be seven or eight years old! You can't tell me to shut up?"
"Do you have any idea how spoiled you sound, Charlie?" Fred asked his brother. "Sure, I think you ought to shut up before you say something you really shouldn't say... you know what I mean." Lucius looked at his children and Dylan, smiling nastily. Of course, they knew exactly what Fred was talking about.

"You wouldn't mean the Order of the Phoenix, would you?" Draco asked casually. All seven Weasleys spun around to look at him.

"What did you say?" George demanded.

"I think you heard me," Draco snapped. "I said-"

"Shut up!" Molly hissed, slapping her palm over Draco's mouth. "Where did you hear about that?" She released her grip on him, enabling him to speak again.
"The Great Harry Potter himself," Draco muttered truthfully. The Weasleys all looked at each other.

"So you do know where they are!" Bill exclaimed, stamping his foot.

Just then, the train pulled into gear. Draco hugged Michelle and ran onto the train, hand-in-hand with Dylan. A moment later, Lucius lifted Michelle into the air and they disapperated.

* * *

"So this is a Chocolate Frog, this is a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean, and this is a Cauldron Cake, right?" Draco nodded. "And this is a Pumpkin Pasty, and this ugly thing is a..."

"A Canary Cream. Courtesy of Gred and Forge Weasley." Dylan laughed. Just as he did, four people marched into the room.

"Malfoy," the kid in front sneered. "Who's this? Another official recruited member of the Young Death Eaters' Club?"

"Yup," Dylan replied.

"No, actually, he's my new sidekick Dylan Burkhard. And he can speak for himself, right Dyl?"

"Yup."

"Zacharias here. Look, you don't want to hang out with him." He pointed at Draco and scowled. "Are you Muggle-born?"

"Yup."

"He means no, of course," Draco told Smith quickly. "He's my friend, and he's totally pureblood. Just his parents never told him that they were Magic, because they weren't sure if he would be a Squib. Right, Dyl?"

"Yup."

"So you don't know about magic?"

"Sure he does!" Draco exclaimed, sounding offended. "He just thought it was science, the apparating and the Floo. Right Dyl?"
"Yup."

"Do you know Harry Potter?" Zacharias demanded.

"Yup," Dylan replied, rolling his eyes. "Who doesn't?" Draco smiled. This was exactly what he wanted Dylan to say.

"Know about the four Houses?"

"Yup."

"Don't you say anything else?" Zacharias demanded, exasperated.

"Yup."

Zacharias stormed out, leaving the three other students to talk to the Slytherins.

"Hey Blaise," Draco called to the person in the back. "This is Dylan Burkhard. Were you at the Initiation?" Blaise nodded. "Well, he's the One."

"How old are you? You can't be eleven," Blaise insisted. Draco nodded convincingly. "You're no smaller than Draco, and he's going to be sixteen in a month and twenty-nine days. That's on a Sunday."

"Well done, Blaise," Draco drawled. "So you've finally learned the days of the week. Oh, this is Blaise Zabini," Draco said, jabbing his thumb at the newcomer. "And over there, that's Morgana. She's my girlfriend." Blaise scowled, as if she didn't think Morgana made a very good girlfriend for Draco. "Yes, Blaise, we've been over this before. Why don't you go out with Dylan, or Vincent, or Greg? Even Weasley?"

"Oh, speaking of Weasley..." Morgana prompted, "Is he back at the Castle with Potter and his Mudblood friend?" Draco nodded, grinning slightly. "And... your sister, right?" She looked pointedly at Dylan, and Dylan nodded. He tried to imitate Draco's cool, unconcerned look, but it failed miserably. "What's wrong? Worried you won't be in Slytherin? I know how you feel. My mum was in Gryffindor. Ugh."

"Really?" Draco asked, wrinkling his nose. "Your mum, a Gryffindor? No way in hell." Morgana nodded, just as disgusted as her boyfriend. "Dylan's mum... she went to Beauxbatons," he lied. It was very convincing. "And his father was in Slytherin. He and my dad go way back, right Dyl?"

"Good practice, Draco. Keep that story in mind for future reference," Morgana sniggered. "You can't fool me the way you can fool everyone else. From Pansy to Millicent to Potter... but I'm an exception." She planted a row of kisses on his cheek and he returned them, although he was glancing at Blaise out of the corner of his eye.

"Did you hear?" Blaise asked, disgusted with Draco and Morgana's display of affection. "Vincent got expelled, and Gregory failed his exams."

"Really?" Draco asked enthusiastically. He punched a fist into the air. "Finally!" Morgana smirked at Blaise, who had obviously been hoping to be the bearer of bad news. Blaise returned Morgana's smug look with a scowl, but Dylan decided to get into the conversation before it could turn nasty.

"So, um, what year are you in, Morgana?"

"Sixth, of course," Morgana snapped. "Just like Draco and Pansy and Blaise. And my surname's Nott. Morgana Nott.

"Nott?" Dylan asked, his brow furrowing. "Wasn't there a Death Eater--"

"Shut up!" all three hissed. Draco reached out a hand and covered Dylan's mouth a millisecond before a very unwelcome guest walked into their compartment.

"Weasley. How kind of you to join us," Draco drawled. The redheaded girl scowled at him, but he took no notice. "Come to accuse me of kidnapping your brother? Don't know why you'd bother, honestly. Even if I did take him, I should think you'd be pleased."

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"Is that all you can say? Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy. Never Draco. Why? Is that 'cause you want to be a Malfoy yourself one day?" Both Slytherin girls cracked up into their laps, and Dylan couldn't help but smile as Draco continued. "Well, I've got news for you, Gin. My sister's not gay, unfortunately for you, and so you'll have to go out with someone else. Isn't there a girl named Lavender in your House?"

"Shut up, Malfoy. No, I'm here because I know... you." She cast a condescending finger on Dylan. "Burkhard, isn't it? David... Daniel... Dominic... Drac- ugh... Dan... Don... Dylan! You're Dylan, right? And your sister's... Elizabeth?"

"I don't have a sister," he replied coldly. Ginny's eyes widened for a moment, but she remained silent as he went on. "I never had a sister, and as my mother is forty-two, I doubt I ever will." Draco's jaw dropped, but he closed his mouth before the girl could see. Morgana, on the other hand, was looking pleased and proud.

"You don't? You look exactly like a kid I know. His name is Dylan. But he's a Muggle... and so was his sister. Evelyn! That's her name- Evelyn."

Dylan wrinkled his nose. "Eve-what? I've never even heard that name before. No, I don't have a sister. Only a brother, Mark." Draco was impressed now with the boy's lying skills, something he thought only Malfoys managed to obtain on such short notice. Surely no eleven-year-old could have so much convincing fabrications.

"Oh. Sorry to bother you, then," Ginny snapped. She walked out, slamming the compartment door as she did so.

"What was that all about?" Draco wondered of his friend. Dylan only shrugged.

* * *

"First years over 'ere! Firs' years this way! C'mon, hurry up!" Dylan bit his lip as a huge, giant-like man marched over to the train.

"Uh... Draco... who's that?" Dylan asked, freaked out.

"That? More like what's that. He's a half-giant, Hagrid. Savage, if you will. He's taking the first-years to boats so they can sail over to Hogwarts. Go on, follow him." Dylan obeyed as Draco and his two potential girlfriends walked off to the carriages.

"Four to a boat, c'mon!"

Dylan stepped into one of the small boats just as another boy made to step into it. "Slytherin?" the boy asked cautiously. Dylan nodded, and the other boy slowly followed him into the boat. "I'm Randy. Randy Zandral."

"Dylan Burkhard."

"You are? My father's talked about you!" But Randy shut up the moment a small girl passed by the boat. "Go away!" he snapped to her, and she obeyed, scowling. "Anyway, you're... show me your are." Dylan wearily pulled back his black sleeve and quickly let Randy see the Mark shining there. A moment later he covered it up, so as not to let a teacher see.

Another moment, and the boats started forward. "You pureblood?" Dylan asked Randy. Randy nodded. "I- me too. My dad... he was a Slytherin. Mum went to Beauxbatons. Dad was friendly with Draco Malfoy's father."

"Wicked!" Randy exclaimed. "My dad was friendly with Macnair, Avery, Nott... you know. But not Lucius. Lucius was never hanging with any of them. Always alone, off to the side, from all the idiots like my dad. There were smart Slytherins, though- bet your dad was one of them."

"Yeah... I bet. My mum, though. She went to Beauxbatons. That's where my sister Emily goes." The lies spilled out of his mouth easily, without him even having to think about them. "When she was there, nobody understood the Dark Arts like my father. When my mother met him, when they were nineteen, she was excited for him to teach her the Dark Arts. So they were a perfect match."

"And Emily?"

"She's going to Beauxbatons because she's not confident about her being in Slytherin. She really wants to, you know, but she also wants to be like my mom. And Beauxbatons has no Houses, you know. If she came here, to Hogwarts, she would worry about being in--" he spat--"Gryffindor. Or even Hufflepuff."

"Ugh! I would leave if I were put in Hufflepuff!" Just when Dylan opened his mouth to respond, the boats stopped in front of what could only be Hogwarts Castle and the first-years began to exit them.

"Oh My God. We're here," a girl commented, stunned, as she stopped in front of the doors. Spotting Dylan, her jaw dropped. "Oh My God. You're Dylan. Dylan Burkhard. I was there. Did it hurt? You were screaming terribly!" Dylan nodded, eyes wide. He did not have to ask what she was talking about. "Wow. And the Veritas Curse... oh wow. You were so brave, to pledge your allegiance to Him like that. I mean, talk about commitment..."

"And you're Randy Zandral. I know you, I went to your brother's seventeenth. His name's Jesse, right?" Randy nodded. "Do you remember me?" Randy shook his head, cheeks going a faint red. "Oh. Well, I'm Jenissa. I hate that name, so everyone calls me Jenni. Or Jen. Or Nissa, or even--"

"Okay, that's enough. We get it. We won't call you Jenissa," Dylan assured her. "Let's stick together, if we're all in-"

"Slytherin," chorused all three.

The children were shocked to realize that without noticing, they had walked into the Great Hall and were about to be Sorted. Dylan, Jenissa, and Randy stepped to the back of the crowd and it was lucky they did. Three girls walked through and knocked two kids over, and they had been standing right were Jenissa, Randy, and Dylan had been standing moments before.

"Anklodge, Stephanie!" Professor McGonagall called, and a girl with very ugly glasses stepped forward. A moment of silence, passed, and she was soon declared a Hufflepuff. Several minutes of calling names, and finally the woman reached Dylan's name. "Burkhard, Dylan!"

Trembling, Dylan relased his two best friends' hands and stepped forward onto the stool. Instantly, the Hat began to speak to him. "Ah, Dylan. I've been expecting you, although you will not understand what I mean." 'Damn right I don't,' Dylan thought, and the Hat laughed- as well as a Hat can laugh, anyway.

"You are very like him... although you do not know him, you share many of his traits. Brilliance, kindness, friendship. And yet...you can lie easily, the words come easily to you. You feel the rushes of power that all Slytherins feel, and of course your circle of friends is very well-chosen for a Slytherin. Remember this, Dylan- it is your choices that make you who you are. Slytherin!"

Puzzled, Dylan raced over to the table on the far left to sit next to Draco. "Hey!" he whispered to his friend the moment he sat down. "That Hat is definitely losing its touch, if it ever had any." Draco nodded appreciately and told him to shut up so he could watch the Sorting. "Okay," Dylan agreed casually.

Ten or twenty minutes went by, and finally "Frenchoise, Jenissa!" was called. Five seconds passed, and Jenissa was dashing towards Dylan eagerly and sat down next to him on the other side of Draco. The last person to be Sorted, Randy, was declared a Slytherin as well and he sat down right next to Jenissa. The food appeared, and they indulged themselves in chatter, delicious food, and beverages fit for a king.

* * *

"You? A Prefect?"

"That's right, Burkhard. Come on, this is your dormitory, and this is the girls'. Don't even think about it, Matthew!" Draco yelled as he caught a sixth-year halfway to the seventh-year girls' dorms.

"Hey," the kid whined. "That's not fair. You can't say that Blaise, Millicent, Morgana and Pansy are all yours, you know, Draco."

"They've all asked me out on numerous occasions, Samuels. That qualifys them as 'mine.'" The boy made a very rude hand gesture at Draco and trudged up his dormitory stairs. Draco eyed him until he was out of sight.

"Jenissa, Ashley, Bethany, and Crystal. This is your dorm," Pansy explained. "Since I'll be your Prefect this year, I'd like you to know you can always come to me." Apparantly Pansy treated the Slytherins a lot nicer than the Gryffindors. "And Draco, too. Oh, and do any of you have nicknames you'd like to go by?"

"Anything except Jenissa. Jen, Jenny, Jennifer, Nissa, Sissa, Sizzle-"

"Okay, I get it!" Pansy yelled, cutting the girl off.

A murmur of agreement followed her words as she turned to the boys. "Dylan and Randy, is that right?" The two boys nodded. "I'm Pansy. Draco and I will be your Prefects this year. Here are your schedules." She fanned out six identical schedules that the first-years took. "Oh, and one more thing. Come in closer." They obeyed and stepped into a small, tight circle. "We've paired you all up with kids in other Houses to make their lives miserable."
"Awesome!" Bethany yelled, punching a fist in the air. The others all seemed to take just as much delight in Pansy's statement, however, although none of them copied Bethany's outburst.

"Bethany, you have Amanda Thompson in Hufflepuff. She's a Mudblood. Randy- Andrew Longwood in Gryffindor. Crystal, you get Stephanie Anklodge in Hufflepuff. Jenn, you have Rachel Spotswood--Gryffindor. Ashley, you have Brittany Flisstma in Gryffindor. And Dylan, you get Shawn Breakritz in Gryffindor. Don't forget to get their friends too!"

"Yeah," Draco agreed. "Oh... um, Dylan, can I talk to you for a minute? Everyone else, up to bed. Now." The girls shot Draco wistful looks and headed upstairs, grumbling about unfair bedtimes.

"Sit," Draco ordered the moment Pansy left. "I'm definitely not supposed to be having this conversation with you. It's more like a Gryffindor planning session for their Side. Not like you can call it a Side. But whatever. I want you to make sure that on every weekend, you meet me outside. No later than nine. Right near that savage's hut. Don't let him see you, though. I'll be bringing an Invisibility Cloak, and we'll go into the Forest with that on and then we'll Portkey."

"Can I bring my friends?"
"Morgana will be coming. Jenissa will be allowed to come, yes. If you must, bring Randy along as well."

"Will Blaise come?"

"From time to time," Draco told the boy, smiling slightly.

* * *

"Morning!"

"Why are you so damned cheerful today, Zandral?"

"I dunno. Good question. Whoa! Look at the size of these showers!"

"I'm in bed, stupid. And so are you, for that matter. How the hell can you see the showers through the door?"

"Busted," groaned Randy. "How'd you know I was in my bed? It's halfway across the room from yours."

"You snore."

"Not when I'm awake," Randy pointed out.

"Yeah you do. You go 'uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.'"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do NOT!"

"Do SO!"

"Do not!"
"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Ha ha. I got you. Ha ha. So how'd you know I was in bed?"

"Because the door creaks. I'd've heard you go into the bathroom."

"Does NOT!"

"Does SO!"

* * *

"Okay, you were right. I don't get to go to school. All because of Dylan. And Malfoy."

"Look, Evelyn, we'll find a way out of this. I promise. They can't hold us here forever, can they?" Harry asked.

"Uh, yeah they can. I bet they will, just until they find out what they need to know. Or until we do what they need us to do. What time is it, anyway?" Hermione wondered. She had long since lost the opportunity of teaching Evelyn magic because Lucius had caught them and taken the wand.

"I DON'T KNOW. You asked me that approximately three hundred and fifty-seven times since this morning," Ron yelled. The yelling, however, was a mistake. Lucius Malfoy walked into the room, tossing something red and shiny into the air. "Go away, slimeball," Ron muttered.

"What was that?" Mr. Malfoy asked, pulling his wand out of his pocket.

"It's cold in here?" Ron suggested, biting his lip.

"I thought so. However, I am not here to speak with you. I spoke to your father yesterday, you know. And your mother, and your brothers and sister. They seem genuinly carefree about you." Ron snapped.

"You take that comment and shove it up your--"

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. Partly she did not want her boyfriend to swear, but she was also unsure about what Lucius would do if Ron disrespected him.

"No, no, let him finish. Would you like to continue, boy?" Lucius offered sweetly, pulling out his wand and fingering it lovingly. Ron held up his middle finger to him.

"I said, take your comments and shove them up your-"

"Crucio!" Like Father like son, they always say, and it seemed that Lucius was quite the spellcaster, just like Draco. His curse had an extraordinary amount of power behind it, and Ron was unconscious in a matter of seconds. Hermione was in tears. Tonks, still invisible, was refusing to make a sound. Harry, however, leaned against the wall looking careless. Tonks had her arm around him, stroking his back gently.

"It is you, boy, that my Master wishes to see," Lucius informed Harry.

"Super. Tell him to take a number," Harry snapped. Lucius' eyes bulged, as if nobody had ever said that to him before, but his shock wore off quickly.

"If you do not come willingly, I will have to force you."

"You do that." As Harry said that, Ron awoke and saw Lucius Malfoy, infuriated, but decided not to get himself Crucio-ed again.

"Your tongue will get you into trouble one day, Harry Potter."

"As will your wand," he retorted coldly.

And with that, Lucius Malfoy snapped his fingers, unbinding Harry as he did so, and dragged the boy out of the dungeon, leaving the others prisoners very downhearted.