Chapter 1
Arthur and Molly Weasley stood holding their new born twin sons Fred and George. Their three other sons, Bill, Charlie and Percy stood behind them. Percy was two years older than the twins. Charlie was four years older than Percy and Bill was two years older than Charlie. While being held in their parents' arms, Fred and George were reaching around, trying to grab anything they could. Their dad's tie, their mom's hair, Percy's glasses, Bill's shirt, Charlie's jacket, anything.
"These two are going to be trouble, mom," Bill said, foiling George's newest attempt to grab his shirt.
"Oh, I'm sure they'll be fine," Molly replied. "Sometimes trouble is an okay thing."
"I don't know dear," Arthur said. "More often trouble is worse than we think. Sometimes people are victims of more trouble than can be imagined. But, it happens anyway." While Molly and Arthur had been talking, Fred and George had turned around to grin happily at them. Molly and Arthur smiled down at them, and then their sons and they proceeded to take Fred and George over to their crib.
Eleven years later…
Fred and George were now eleven years old. They stood with their parents, Percy, Charlie and their younger nine year old brother Ron for their first time at King's Cross Station. The Weasleys were wizards, and the children all went to one of the greatest wizarding schools in Britain, Hogwarts. Bill had graduated two years before, and Charlie was in his last year. Percy was in his third. Young wizards started going to school when they turned eleven, so it was Fred and George's first year. Ron still had to wait for two more years. Molly, Arthur, Ron, Charlie and Percy had just helped them get through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, to get to platform nine and three quarters, and the twins were starting to think this was the coolest thing in the world. Percy and Charlie walked off to find their friends, and Molly, Ron and Arthur helped Fred and George find a compartment. Fred and George safely stored their trunks, and then went to a window to say good bye to their parents. Charlie and Percy came back to say goodbye too.
"Now, boys try not to cause too much trouble," Mrs. Weasley said. "Fred…"
"He's not Fred, I am," George said. Mrs. Weasley had been looking at the real Fred, but the twins liked to pull this trick all the time.
"Oh, sorry George," Mrs. Weasley said to Fred.
"No, I'm Fred," Fred said.
"No, I am," George said.
"Boys stop that," Mr. Weasley said. Fred and George laughed. Mrs. Weasley gave them a stern look.
"You're being a bad influence on your brother," she said.
"He doesn't need us," George said. "He's got three other brothers for that job."
"Yeah sure!" Ron exclaimed. "But, why can't I go now?"
"Too young bud," George said.
"Only two more years," Fred said, "Trust me, it'll fly by. See you soon, bud. And I really am Fred. Love you mom."
"Love you mom," George piped up.
"Oh I love you too," Mrs. Weasley said. The train whistle sounded. "Bye boys!" Mrs. Weasley called.
"Have a good year!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed.
"Bye!" Ron yelled. The train started moving.
"Bye Ron!" Fred and George yelled back. They waved to their parents and Ron until they were out of sight. Then, they returned to their compartment. Charlie and Percy went off down the train somewhere else. George looked out the window, while Fred pulled out a game of Exploding Snap.
"What do you think it'll be like?" George asked.
"No idea," Fred replied. "Bill said it was great though." Suddenly, there was a loud noise outside the compartment. Fred and George got up and went out into the hallway of the train. A dark skinned kid with thick, black, crazy hair stood a little ways down the hall. A whole bunch of fantastical, magical objects soared around him. Fred and George walked closer. They were almost right behind the boy when it started to smell really bad.
"Oops," the kid said. "That might've been a dungbomb."
"A dungbomb!" George exclaimed.
"Bloody brilliant!" Fred added. The kid turned around in surprise.
"Whoa," he said. "Wait….what? There are two of you?"
"Yeah," Fred replied, smiling. "We're twins. It's not that uncommon of a thing."
"Hi, I'm George Weasley," George said, holding out his hand. "And he's Fred Weasley."
"No, I'm George, and he's Fred," Fred laughed. The kid just looked at them bewildered.
"Sorry," George said. "I really am George, and he really is Fred. We know all these different tricks and things like a dungbomb too. We annoy our parents all the time with it."
"Cool," the kid said. "You probably know some things I don't. I'm Lee Jordan." He shook George's still outstretched hand, and then Fred's too.
"You can come see some of the tricks if you want to," Fred said. "There in our compartment." Lee nodded.
"Sure," he said. The three kids went back to Fred and George's compartment. Fred pulled down his trunk, and took out what he and George had been inventing for a few months. The twins called it Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. They'd had to work on it in their room and hide it when packing it in their trunks. George had some hidden in his too. Fred handed the little bottle to Lee.
"What is it?" Lee asked.
"Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," George replied. "Handy for a quick getaway. It's supposed to fill the whole room with dark powder and then you can escape. You just need to break it open on the floor."
"But, I wouldn't try that yet," Fred cut in, "There's still some things we need to fix and we need to perfect it."
"Cool," Lee said. "You guys are quite the little inventors aren't you?"
"Pretty much," George said.
"Or we're just nuts," Fred said, jokingly. Lee laughed.
"So, what house do you think you'll be in?" Lee asked.
"Gryffindor," George said. "For sure. We have three older brothers and all three of them were in Gryffindor. I think our parents were too, but I'm not quite sure. But anyway, we'll definitely be in Gryffindor."
"That's what I'm hoping to be in too," Lee said.
"Tell you what," Fred said. "If we are all in the same house, we'll teach you how to invent some of the things we have."
"Really?!" Lee exclaimed. Fred nodded.
"Yeah, sure," George said. Lee smiled.
"I think we should probably be putting our robes on now," he said, standing up. "I got to go back to b=my compartment. See you guys on the boats!"
"See you Lee," George said.
"See you," Fred said. Lee Jordan headed back to his compartment. Fred and George opened their trunks and pulled out their robes after putting the powder away.
"I think we just got ourselves a friend," George said after they had pulled on their robes.
"Good," Fred replied. "We'll need friends around here, I'm pretty sure. And, I like Lee. He seems a lot like us. Another big troublemaker. We'll be our own little troublemaker team." The train was slowing down, and soon it stopped. Fred and George closed their trunks, left them where they were, knowing they would be brought in later, stood up, and joined the crowd walking off the train.
Chapter 2
Fred and George ran into Lee again on the platform.
"Where do we go?" Lee asked. His question was answered when they heard someone yelling at the end of the platform.
"First years this way!" a booming voice yelled. "Come on firs' years, don't be shy!" The twins and Lee turned to see a really big man with a really wild beard.
"That's Hagrid," a voice said behind them. Charlie and Percy were back. "You guys have to follow him. He'll bring you to the castle."
"Alright," George said.
"See you there," Fred said. The twins and Lee walked towards Hagrid.
"Who was that?" Lee asked.
"Our brothers," Fred replied. "Charlie and Percy." They had joined the group of first years around Hagrid.
"Everyone here?" Hagrid asked. "Good. This way to the boats now, come on!" The first years followed Hagrid down the platform to the lake. At the edge of the lake sat a group of boats. Hagrid fit in one all by himself, and the first years fit three in one boat. Fred, George and Lee ended up in one together. Once everyone was settled in their boats, the boats began to move by themselves, across the lake. By now, they could see Hogwarts. It was a huge, magnificent castle, and Fred and George couldn't help thinking about how much trouble they could cause here. The boats stopped at the opposite edge of the lake. Hagrid got out and the first years followed him to the castle. Hagrid raised one giant fist and banged on the doors. They swung open and Hagrid stepped back to let the kids go through. Once the first years had entered, they were met by a stern looking woman with green robes and a pointy looking hat.
"Must be Professor McGonagall," Fred whispered to George and Lee.
"Who?" Lee asked.
"Transfiguration teacher, and head of Gryffindor house," Fred said.
"Also deputy headmistress," George added.
"Why don't you know some of this stuff?" Fred asked Lee.
"My parents don't talk about Hogwarts much," Lee replied. "I don't know why."
"Quiet down there," Professor McGonagall snapped at them. Fred, George and Lee looked up at her and listened to what she had to say. "Now," Professor McGonagall said. "Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few moments, you will enter the Great Hall and join your classmates, but first you must be sorted into your houses. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While you're here, your house will be like your family. Do something good, and you will win points. Any rule breaking and you will lose points. Now, I will go and see if they're ready for us." Professor McGonagall left.
"Oh great," George said. "I feel bad for our house. We're going to lose them so many points."
"Well, I hope I'm not in your house," a snobbish boy in front of them said. Fred, George and Lee looked up at him.
"Nobody asked you," Fred said.
"Nobody asked you either," the boy replied. He looked Fred over and then George. "Red hair, hand-me-down robes. You must be Weasleys."
"What if we are?" George asked. "Got a problem with that?"
"Not unless you make it one," the boy replied. He looked Lee over. "I suppose you'll soon learn that the Weasleys are the sort of people you don't want to be seen with."
"I'll decide who I want to be seen with, thanks very much," Lee replied. Fred and George smiled. The boy turned away. Professor McGonagall came back.
"We're ready now," she said. "Follow me."
"I think we better make a habit of avoiding him," George whispered to Fred as the first years followed her into the Great Hall. It was one of the greatest things Fred and George had ever seen. The room had four tables in it and one long staff table in the front of the room. The ceiling above them was enchanted to look like the sky outside. Candles floated magically in the air. Professor McGonagall led the first years through the room to the front. She left for a few minutes and came back with a stool and a hat. The hat sang some sort of song about the houses and the founders. Fred and George didn't pay attention, because they were paying more attention to the fact the hat could talk. Bill, Charlie and Percy failed to mention that. Then, Professor McGonagall was speaking again.
"When I call your name, sit on the stool and put the hat on your head." She began calling out names in alphabetical order. That meant, the twins would be almost last. They didn't really pay attention until Lee was called. He ran up, sat on the stool, and was sorted into Gryffindor. Then, a few names later, the snobbish boy from the hall was called. It turned out his name was Joshua Marbeck. He got put in Hufflepuff. The twins stopped paying attention again, until their names were called.
"Weasley, Fred!" Professor McGonagall called. Fred walked to the front, sat on the stool and put the hat on his head. A little voice began talking in his ear.
"Ah, another Weasley," it said. "I've had three of you already. Gryffindor!" The hat yelled the last word to the whole hall. Fred stood up, put the hat back on the stool, and ran over to sit beside Lee.
"Weasley, George!" Professor McGonagall called. Fred looked up as his twin went up to the stool. It wasn't very long before the hat was yelling Gryffindor again. George came and sat down beside them. Then, the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore stood up and said a few words. Then, food popped up in front of the kids all the way down all four tables. The students dug in. In what seemed like no time, the food was gone, and Dumbledore was standing up again.
"Now that we've all eaten, and gotten settled in and sorted I have a few last minute things to announce," he said. "First, the caretaker Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that there will be no messing around in the corridors. And also, I must remind you, and tell all the first years, the forest down on the grounds is out of bounds, to those who do not wish to die a painful death. Now, off to bed, go on." The prefects in Gryffindor led the first years up to the Gryffindor common room. The prefects told the first year girls to go to the staircase on the right, and the boys were on the left. Fred, George and Lee ended up in the same dormitory, with two other boys they hadn't met before.
"Hi there," Fred said. "I'm Fred. Fred Weasley. This is my twin, George Weasley, and our friend Lee Jordan."
"Nice to meet you," the boy who's bunk was beside George's said. "I'm Jeremiah Bentley, and this is my friend Jason Hendricks."
"Hi," Jason said. Before any of the boys could say anything else, the room filled with black powdery smoke.
"Shoot," George said. Fred laughed.
"Good job George," he said.
"Why thank you Fred," George said as though Fred had just gave him a great compliment. A few minutes later the smoke cleared. George picked up his now empty bottle of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.
"What was that?" Jason asked.
"An invention of ours," George replied.
"THAT'S why you couldn't show me that on the train," Lee smirked.
"Yeah," Fred said. "It fills up the whole room. That's the fastest it ever disappeared though."
"I bet if we did it on the train though it would've been there for years," George said. Fred laughed. The other boys did too, and then they all put on their pajamas and laid down in their beds, and fell asleep.
Chapter 3
Fred woke up before everybody else the next morning. Fred got up, and went to the window. It was still dark outside, and Fred figured it was either really close to dawn, or just became dawn. Either way, it was still a few hours until breakfast would be ready in the Great Hall. He went down into the common room. He was at the top of the stairs, when there was a crash down in the common room. He ran down the stairs and found two girls standing by themselves in the common room. There were no other people there. Fred kind of remembered the one girl being called just before Lee. Angelina Johnson or something, her name was. The other girl Fred remembered seeing on the platform. They were both in the same year as him. Fred heard people running down the stairs. George appeared at his side.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I don't know," Fred replied. Other Gryffindors came running down the stairs.
"Oh shoot," Fred heard one girl say. "Look at what we did." The Gryffindor prefects came down the stairs.
"What is going on?" the girl prefect asked.
"We were trying out spells," the Angelina girl said. "We kind of messed up on the last one. Sorry."
"Won't happen again," the other girl said.
"Alright," the boy prefect said, obviously annoyed. "Everyone back to the dormitories! Hurry up now!" Fred stopped George before he started going back up.
"What?" George asked. Once everyone else but the two girls was gone, Fred led George over to them.
"Hi," Fred said. "I'm Fred Weasley. This is my twin brother George." George waved a small wave.
"I'm Angelina Johnson," the first girl said. "This is my friend Katie Bell."
"Hi," Katie said.
"Hi," George said.
"Well," Fred said. "I just wanted to introduce us, and I thought maybe you guys would like to help make some of the things we invent sometimes."
"Mmmm….Maybe," Angelina said.
"Cool," Fred said.
"Well, see you later then," George said. Fred and George went back to the common room.
"Why exactly did we have to do that?" George asked.
"I don't really know," Fred said. "I just thought they looked like they needed friends."
"Sometimes, I think you're wacko dude," George muttered. Well, the twins knew they were never going to be able to sleep after they were already awake, so they got dressed and headed down to the Great Hall with some other Gryffindors. As they sat eating, schedules were passed down the table by Professor McGonagall. The twins and Lee looked them over. Their first class was Charms. So, when the three friends got done eating, they stood up, and headed up with a few other first years to Charms. Among the group was Joshua Marbeck. Fred, George and Lee hung at the back of the group, trying to stay out of sight of him.
"What are the odds of us and him having our first class of the day together?' Fred muttered to George.
"I know what'd you figure," George replied. They walked up to the Charms room. The door was being held open by a small, old man. Fred, George and Lee took a seat at the back of the room, as far away from Joshua as they could get, and tried to make sure he didn't notice them.
Miles away, a man entered a room. Another straight-backed, thin, tight man sat in a chair in the room already.
"How are they doing?" the man asked. "Are they well prepared? Will they satisfy for the task?"
"I think so," the other man replied. "But I still think…" The man in the chair stood up and made his way over to the door.
"Fred and George Weasley will have no idea what they're up for," he said. He walked over, opened the door, and stepped out.
"You should leave them alone!" the other man yelled after him. The door slammed shut.
Chapter 4
George felt like his brain was fried when Fred, Lee and him left Charms at the end of class. Professor Flitwick, the little man that had been holding the door had only given them a short introduction to Charms, and then went on to teach them a very complicated charm that hurt George's brain. He'd only heard a little bit of how to perform the charm. But, he had taken a few notes. Lee turned down a different hallway after saying goodbye. He was going to a different class than the twins. A snobby voice behind Fred and him jolted George from his thoughts.
"Oh look who it is," the voice said. George groaned as Fred, Lee and he turned around. Joshua stood behind them with a few more of his crone buddies.
"What, scared to take us on, on your own?" George asked, with a little bit of attitude.
"We'll see how brave you are when our wands are against your throats," Joshua said.
"Threatening us, eh?" Fred asked. Joshua looked at him. While he wasn't looking, George snuck a hand into his bag, and pulled out a dungbomb and his wand. Joshua looked back at George, and then motioned at his croons. They all slowly began pulling out their wands. Behind his back, George lit the bomb with his wand, and then threw it on the ground in front of them. The dungbomb went off in a sea of smoke. George and Fred ran. They turned around the corner, and bumped into someone. They both fell back onto their butts. The twins looked up into the face of the Hogwarts caretaker, Mr. Filch.
"A dungbomb in the corridor!" he boomed. "I can only guess it was you two who did it! Come with me!" Filch pulled the twins to their feet and started pulling them down the corridor. He pulled them into a dark, damp office that was almost scary-looking. Filch pointed at the chairs in front of his desk, and he went to the other side of the desk. "You could get detention for this," Filch said. "Or even better disembowelment…" Filch trailed off as he busied himself looking for a pen and paper. George was just sitting there, wondering what was going to happen, scared out of his wits, when Fred elbowed him in the ribs.
"What?" George whispered. Fred pointed to a cupboard behind Filch's desk. George leaned to the side to get a better look. The drawer read: Confiscated and Highly Dangerous. George nodded at Fred, and pulled another dungbomb out of his bag.
"Too bad they don't let us do that to students anymore," Filch said, finishing his earlier sentence. George lit the dungbomb again, and threw it onto the desk. It went off, and George saw Fred disappear from his side. George could hear Filch's yells of rage, and quickly used his wand to make it look like it had gone off in his bag. The remains of the bomb soared back into the bag, and the bottom blackened a bit. Fred sat back down in the chair, and the smoke from the bomb cleared. Filch glowered at the twins.
"It must've gone off in my bag," George said, innocently, showing Filch the bottom of his bag. Filch sighed.
"Alright, since you're only first years, and aren't quite used to how it runs here, and I'm really not allowed to do anything else, I'll just give you detention. Eight o'clock, two Thursdays from now." Filch handed them a small slip of paper, and told them they could go. Fred and George ran out of the office. When they were sure no one was around, they stopped.
"What'd you grab?" George asked. Fred pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket. "What is it?" George asked.
"I don't know," Fred replied. "But, it was in that drawer, there's gotta be something good about it." Fred gave him a mischievous smile, and the twins continued up to their next class. "And next time we're in trouble with that Marbeck guy, we should try the powder instead," Fred said, turning around to look at Fred as they went up the stairs. George was a few steps behind him, and Fred was walking ahead, still looking at the parchment. George couldn't help but feel that the trouble they knew how to cause was about to go up a few hundred knots.
Chapter 5
A few months later, the twins sat in the common room during their free period after lunch, trying to figure out how to work the parchment. They had been trying almost every time they had a free period, but they hadn't found anything. Filch still had no idea they had it. They sat at a table in the corner, even though no one else was around.
"There's got to be a sort of spell to make it do something," Fred muttered. He took out his wand. He tapped the parchment. "Um… I swear I am going to cause nothing but trouble," he said. Nothing happened. "You try," Fred said. George took out his wand.
"You sure it's gotta be something with 'I swear'?" George asked. Fred nodded. He saw his twin ponder about what to try. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," George said. Words sprang to life on the page. Fred looked at George, surprised.
"You did it, Georgie!" he exclaimed. George looked at him.
"Our little kid nicknames, really?" George smirked. Fred smiled. "Right then," George said. The twins looked down at the parchment. Spirally writing had begun to appear.
Messers. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present:
The Marauders Map
Fred looked at George in surprise. George returned the look, and then they looked back down at the parchment. Designs had started to dance their way across the page. Suddenly, the twins realized what they were seeing was a map of Hogwarts. Eventually, the lines finished moving, and the map was formed. Some of the pictures were moving. And there were people labeled on the map. It showed some of the teachers in the teacher's lounge, and Dumbledore was walking around in his office. Fred saw Percy sitting in the Potions room, and Charlie upstairs in a room the twins hadn't been in yet. Then, Fred spotted a few corridors leading away from the school, but it didn't lead anywhere.
"George, look at these," Fred said, pointing to one of the tunnels. George looked at the one Fred pointed to, and then at the rest of them.
"What do you think they're for?" George asked.
"I don't know," Fred replied. "You want to go check them out?" George looked at his watch.
"Well, we've still got about twenty minutes left, so I suppose we can go look at a few of them before we have to be in our next class," George replied.
"Cool, let's go," Fred said. He stood up, and grabbed the map. George stood up too, and the twins walked out of the common room. They went down to the ground floor of the castle, which was where most of the tunnels were. The tunnel they went to, was blocked by a door locked with a heavy chain and lock. Fred took out his wand and tapped the door, and it unlocked and burst opened. It was dark in the tunnel behind the door. George lit his wand beside Fred. Fred lit his too. Together, the twins headed down the tunnel.
Only a few feet down the corridor, the tight man from the room hid behind a pillar watching the twins go down the tunnel. He knew by now that Fred and George would serve the purpose he needed them for perfectly. Once the twins had disappeared, he quietly slipped out from behind the pillar, made sure no one was around, and then followed the twins down the tunnel.
Chapter 6
Fred and George walked down the widening tunnel, with the only light coming from their wands. There was a swooshing sort of sound coming from just ahead.
"I think this leads outside!" George whispered. Fred didn't answer. A little bit of light had started shining down the tunnel. Pretty soon it was so light that the twins didn't need their wands lit.
"Nox," they whispered at the same time. Their wands went out. They came to a door hanging slightly open. Fred pulled it the rest of the way open. Just outside the tunnel was a big tree. The wind whipped around outside, and the sun was low in the sky. Fred slowly stepped out. George gulped, and stepped out behind him.
"What'd you think this is for?" Fred asked.
"Probably nothing much," George replied. "I mean…it's a tree isn't it?" George followed Fred as he began to walk towards the tree. Suddenly, one of the branches whipped down and hit George right in the forehead. George flew backwards, almost back to the front of the tunnel.
"You alright?" Fred asked when George sat up. George felt his forehead. There was a little cut that was only bleeding a little, and otherwise he was fine.
"Yeah," George replied. He stood up. "I think this is the Whomping Willow! Bill told me about it a few weeks before we came to Hogwarts." He spotted a branch bearing down on Fred. "Look out!" he yelled. George heard Fred yell the same thing at the same exact time. Confused, George turned around. A blue light hit him right in the chest, and George went flying backwards once again. George hit the ground hard, and pain flew up his back. George found it hard to breath. A man walked towards him. He was thin, upright, and in a weird suit. The man's eyes never moved away from George, but his wand flickered towards Fred. George wasn't quite sure how he managed it, but before the man could do anything to Fred, George yelled, "FRED RUN! GET OUT OF HERE! RUN!" The man brought his wand back to pointing at George. George heard feet running. He hoped against hope that it was Fred running away, not being stupid.
"Let him run," the man above George said. "I will have both of you soon enough. Yes, I do believe you will serve the purpose quite well."
"What do you want with me?" George choked out.
"Oh, you'll find out," the man said. George shot a look over to the ground beside him. His wand lay only a few feet away. If the man didn't notice, George knew he could grab it. George glanced back at the man. For some reason, the man was looking up at the sky. George knew this might be his only chance. He jumped up, rolled, grabbed his wand and came up behind the man.
"Expelliarmus!" he yelled. The man's wand flew from his hand. George caught it. He was glad to see his finally paying attention in class had paid off. The man turned around slowly to look at him.
"Well, well, well," he said. "A little fighter are you? No matter. They're coming any minute now."
"Who?" George asked, his wand pointed at the man. His question was answered almost immediately. The sound of many flying things came overhead. George glanced up. They were too far away for George to tell what they were, but George figured it was probably time to get out of there. George aimed a spell at the man. He didn't say anything, so he wasn't sure what had happened, but he didn't stay around to look. He ran through the front entrance to the castle. He nearly mauled Fred over in the front hallway.
"Are you alright?!" Fred exclaimed.
"Yeah," George breathed out. "But, they'll be here any moment."
"Who?" Fred asked.
"I'm not actually sure," George replied. "But, they're with him." George noticed Professor McGonagall behind Fred. "They're by the Whomping Willow," he said to her. She nodded, and began to run out the door. She turned back before she'd left.
Then, Professor McGonagall said, "Get back to the common room, and stay there. Tell any teacher you meet on the way what's going on, and have them warn the school and then meet me at the Whomping Willow." Fred and George nodded, and the twins charged up the stairs. Professor McGonagall ran out the door.
"Do you still have the Marauders Map?" George asked Fred as they ran.
"Yeah," Fred said. He pulled it out. The twins stopped running.
"Where's the closest teacher?" George asked. Fred didn't answer for a few moments.
Then, he said, "Most of the teachers are in the teachers' lounge."
"Alright, let's go," George said.
"That's way out of the way of the common room," Fred replied.
"I don't care, I'm not leaving Professor McGonagall out there with those people all by herself!" George exclaimed.
"Alright," Fred replied. The twins continued running up the stairs. They found the door to the teachers' lounge. They burst in right beside each other. All the teachers looked up.
"Fred, George, what are you doing in here?!" their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher asked.
"Professor McGonagall needs help," Fred breathed.
"The castle's under attack," George said. "She's down by the Whomping Willow. She told us to tell the rest of the teachers, warn the school, and get her help." Some of the teachers were nodding, and almost simultaneously they got up, and ran towards the door. Fred and George jumped out of the way and let them go through. Once the teachers were all gone into the corridor, George and Fred ran out and started running up to their common room again. They made it up to the Fat Lady, and breathed out the password. The door swung open, and the twins entered the common room. Only a few older students were there. George guessed that some of the teachers had told them what was happening. He walked over to the window. Fred followed him. The window let them see a little bit of what was going on down below. The teachers were putting up a good fight, but George could tell they were being pushed back. They were losing. George went over and sat in the chairs beside the fire. He put his face in his hands and groaned.
"What?" Fred asked, coming to sit beside him. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I can't just sit here and do nothing!" George exclaimed.
"There's nothing we can do," Fred said. "Two first years against a whole bunch of fully trained wizards, we'd be eaten for breakfast!"
"But, they're here for us, Freddie," George said, looking up at his twin. "The man told me we would serve well for his purpose. They're not attacking the school, just to be attacking the school. They're coming for us." Fred looked at him, wide-eyed.
"You're right," Fred said after a few moments. "We have to do something." He took the Marauders Map out and laid it on the small table in front of them. George leaned forward to look too. As far as they could tell there were only nine secret passageways leading away from the castle and went off the map. It looked like only one of those went down by the fight, and that was the one they'd gone through before.
"It's the only path," George said. "That's where we've gotta go." He stood up. Fred stood up beside him, and tucked the Marauders Map back into his pocket. They turned and walked towards the portrait hole. Before they got there, it swung open. Lee, Jason and Jeremiah were on the other side.
"Where are you two going?" Jeremiah asked.
"To help," Fred replied.
"You're going down there, are you mad?!" Jason demanded.
"We'll tell you later," George said. The twins walked passed them and headed down the corridor.
"If you make it back!" Lee called after them. "I'm coming with you." He got out of the portrait hole to stand beside them.
"No, Lee," George said.
"Us too," Jason said. He and Jeremiah came back too.
"No, guys," Fred said. "These men are here for us."
"What?" Jeremiah asked.
"We'll explain later, I said," George said. "I couldn't bear it if you guys got hurt because of us. Stay in the common room. We'll see you later." The twins turned and began walking down the corridor again. They heard the door close behind them. George turned and looked back, and saw the door closed, and Jason, Jeremiah and Lee were gone. It didn't take them long to find the passageway again. The door was hanging wide open. They didn't even bother looking around this time. George charged down the corridor, with Fred right beside him. It took them almost half of the time it took last time to get down the corridor. George pulled his wand out. Fred followed suit. Then, together the twins charged out to the Whomping Willow.
Chapter 7
Fred and George looked around. The fight had moved away from the Willow, closer to Gryffindor Tower. The twins ran towards it. It occurred to Fred as they ran, that neither of them knew very many spells, and that this idea was really stupid. Fred didn't know why he hadn't thought of that before. But, he kept running right behind his twin. They were almost right next to the fight before someone noticed them. Professor McGonagall was in trouble. The man fighting her was putting up a good fight, and was wearing her out. Fred yelled one of the only spells he knew. "Stupefy!" Blue light flew out of his wand and hit the man in the back. The man went flying against the tower, and fell to the ground unconscious.
"What are you two doing out here?!" Professor McGonagall yelled at them. "They're after you! Get out of here!"
"Can't do that Professor," Fred said. "We can't just stand by while people fight for us. Sorry, but we can't." Fred ran into the fight. George ran in too, a little farther away. Fred spotted Professor Snape backed against the wall fighting another man. Fred didn't like the man very much, but he wasn't going to let him die. Fred sent a spell at the man's back. The man turned slowly around. It was the man that had followed them down the tunnel, and attacked George earlier. Snape slid down the wall behind him, winded.
"So," the man said. "You're back. I should've known. Yes, you two will suit the purpose perfectly."
"You need to sort out your priorities, mate," Fred said. The man aimed a spell at him. Fred deflected it. He heard something behind him, but didn't think anything of it. The man sent another spell, but it wasn't at him. It was behind Fred. Fred spun around. A huge scorpion stood behind him, coming closer. The man was controlling it with spells. The scorpion's tail was slithering towards him. Fred aimed another spell at it. But, he didn't know any more besides the one he'd already used. "Stupefy!" Fred yelled. It didn't do anything to the tail. Fred couldn't move. The scorpion was in front of him, the man was behind him. He was stuck. The scorpion's tail hit him in the ribs. Pain burst through what felt like Fred's whole body, and Fred cried out in pain. He spotted George turn to look at him. He scorpion disappeared behind him. The man began walking towards him. Fred's knees buckled.
"Fred!" George yelled. Fred fell onto his stomach. The last thing he saw was the man standing right in front of him. Fred blacked out.
Fred woke up with a dull ache all over his body. That was the first thing he noticed. The second thing was that he was on something soft. Way softer than what he thought he should be laying on after what had just happened. Amazingly he still remembered what had happened. Fred opened his eyes a slit. He saw walls and beds and a few people. He opened his eyes more. Then, Fred realized he was in the hospital wing. His mother and father along with Charlie, Percy, Ron and George were around his bed.
"Fred, get George some more blankets," Mrs. Weasley said. Fred was about to ask why, and then he realized she was talking to George.
"I'm not Fred, he is!" George exclaimed.
"Oh, sorry George," Mrs. Weasley said. Fred sat up.
"Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother," he said. Everyone looked at him surprised. Fred would've laughed if his body hadn't hurt so much.
"Fred!" George exclaimed. Suddenly, he was being squashed by his twin. Then, Percy and Charlie were squashing him too. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there next along with Ron.
"Guys, I can't breathe," Fred said after a few minutes. His family backed up.
"Are you alright?" Ron asked.
"I'm fine now, bud," Fred told him. "Why aren't Lee, Jeremiah and Jason huddled around my sick bed?"
"They were," George replied. "But, the teachers made them go back to class. They only let us stay because we're family."
"Okay, skipper," Fred joked.
"Hey, when do I pay attention really, anyway?" George joked.
"Boys!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, indignantly.
"Just kidding mom," George said, smiling.
"Yeah, we do pay attention," Fred said, smiling too. "Sometimes," he added out of the corner of his mouth. George laughed. Mrs. Weasley sighed. Soon afterwards, the nurse Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and told the Weasleys they had to go so her patient could get proper treatment.
"Get better Freddie," Mr. Weasley said.
"We have to go back to the Burrow now," Mrs. Weasley said.
"I'll write when I'm back in classes," Fred said. "Bye mom, bye dad."
"Bye honey," Mrs. Weasley said.
"See you later, Fred," George called.
"See you Georgie," Fred said. Then, his family was gone and Madam Pomfrey was taking a look at his sting.
"I think it is already starting to get better," she said. Then, she was ordering him to sleep. Fred thought he probably wouldn't be able to because he'd just been knocked out for hours, but amazingly once he laid down, he fell right to sleep.
Chapter 8
After a week in the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey was finally satisfied that Fred's wound was healed. Fred left the hospital wing at the end of the day and headed up to the common room. He nearly jumped out of his skin as he opened the door to the common room. Everyone was cheering for him. George, Lee, Jason and Jeremiah pulled him the rest of the way into the common room. Fred looked around the common room, still not quite sure what was going on.
"We're famous," George said. "Don't worry, they did the same thing to me the first time I got in the common room after the fight."
"I still think we should've gone too," Jason said.
"Yeah, we could've prevented you from being stung," Jeremiah added.
"Nah, it would've still happened," Fred replied. Someone shoved a drink into his hand suddenly, and the other's hands too.
"What is this stuff?" Lee asked.
"No idea," George replied. Fred drank some of it.
"Whatever it is, it's really good," Fred said. The five friends sat in the corner drinking their drinks. A little while later, someone brought food in, and brought some over to them. They sat in their corner, eating, drinking and watching the party go on until Fred got tired and headed up to their dormitory. After a while, the others followed him.
The next morning, in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall told Fred and George that Professor Dumbledore wanted to see them. So, George and Fred took their bags, and headed up towards his office.
"You do realize we have no idea where his office is right?' George asked. Fred pulled the Marauders Map out of his pocket. It was blank again.
"Now, how'd it do that?" Fred asked.
"No idea," George replied.
"Oh well," Fred said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He tapped the map with his wand. The words popped up again, and Fred opened the map. George looked over his shoulder at it.
"There!" he said, pointing to Dumbledore's office on the map.
"Cool," Fred said. "Looks like it's just down this corridor." The twins began walking again. They got to where Dumbledore's office was labeled on the map. But all that was there was a stone gargoyle.
"What do we do?" George asked. Fred shrugged. They looked down at the map again. It showed them as two tiny figures outside the office. Suddenly, it showed them going over to the gargoyle, and saying "Chocolate Frog."
"Chocolate Frog?" Fred asked. "Alright…" The twins walked up to the gargoyle.
"Um…Chocolate Frog," George said. The gargoyle sprang to life. They backed up, surprised. The gargoyle began spiraling up, and stairs appeared. The twins stepped onto the stairs, and rode them up until they came to a door, which they guessed was the door to the office. Fred knocked, and a voice from inside the room told them to come in. So, slowly the twins entered Dumbledore's office.
"Welcome Mr. Weasleys," Professor Dumbledore said.
"You wanted to see us?" George asked.
"Yes, I believe I did," Dumbledore replied. "Please sit down." George exchanged a glance with his twin, and then they both sat down. "Now," Dumbledore said. "There are some things you need to know. First, is that the man who attacked you boys escaped. After the scorpion stung you, Fred, he ordered his men to retreat, and suddenly they were all gone. We're still not quite sure why."
"Sir," Fred said. "Do you know why he attacked us? He kept telling us that he wanted us for something, and that we would serve his purposes well, but that's all he would say."
"No, Fred," Dumbledore replied. "I'm afraid, we have no idea why this man was after you. But...have you boys ever heard of a man called Voldermort?"
"Oh, yeah," George said. "Dad's told us all about him!"
"Yeah and how he was all big and evil, and then he was stumped by a baby named Harry Potter who's the same age as our little brother, and now some people think he's hiding in the woods somewhere, or he's gone for good!" Fred added.
"Yes, well…we believe this man might be in league with Voldermort in some way. And, he might want you boys for some reason of Voldermort's. So, what I'm really saying is, watch your backs," Dumbledore finished. "Now, you boys may go back to class." George and Fred nodded slowly, and then stood up. Then, they turned and went out the office and back down to Transfiguration. They had just entered the room again, when the bell rang signaling the end of class. The twins grabbed up their stuff, then went back out into the corridor where they ran into Lee.
"Have you seen Jeremiah and Jason?" Lee asked. "They went to the bathroom around the middle of class and never came back."
"Well, let's go look for them," Fred said.
"But we're due in our next class," George said.
"Yeah, but they're our friends," Fred replied. "We have to go find them more importantly than getting to class."
"Yeah, you're right," George replied.
"Well let's GO," Lee said. The three friends turned and walked down to the bathroom. George opened the door.
"Jeremiah?" he called. "Jason?" There was no answer. Fred and Lee joined him, and they went through every single stall. The bathroom was empty.
"Where do you think they could've gone?" Lee asked.
George was about to say he didn't know, when a voice yelled, "Expelliarmus!" George felt his wand fly out of his pocket. He whipped around, and so did Fred and Lee. The man from before stood in front of him. Two other men stood beside him. Fred, George and Lee's wands were in their hands.
"Stay quiet or you will never see your friends again," the man said.
Chapter 9
Fred, George and Lee slowly nodded.
"Spread out," one of the other men said. Fred, George and Lee slowly stepped away from each other.
"What have you done with Jeremiah and Jason?" Fred demanded.
"Shut it," the middle man said.
"We should just knock them out," the man on his left said.
"Yeah," the last man said. "It'd be much easier to get them to Master."
Master…Fred thought suddenly. And then, there was nothing but blackness.
Fred woke suddenly in a dark cavern in the middle of a forest somewhere. George lay beside him. Lee was nowhere to be seen.
"You alright man?" George whispered.
"Yeah," Fred replied. "Where's Lee?"
"I don't know," George replied. "They might've left him in the bathroom."
"Shh!" Fred hissed. He'd heard voices coming their way. Quickly the twins pretended to be still knocked out. Fred recognized three of the voices as the men from the bathroom, but there was a fourth, unfamiliar voice.
"So, these are the boys you've been telling me about?" the voice asked.
"Yes Master," the man who'd been following the twins around answered.
"Yesss," the unfamiliar voice hissed. "They shall do quite nicely until I regain my full form." The voices walked away, and soon they faded. Fred opened his eyes. So did George. The twins looked at each other.
"You…" George stammered. "You don't think…"
"Yes," Fred said, understanding what he was trying to say. "Voldermort. And by the sounds of it, he wants to use us for bodies until he gets back to full form."
"What, both of us?" George asked.
"Shh!" Fred hissed again. The voices were coming back.
"What happened to your man you called lieutenant?" Voldermort's voice asked.
"He's dead," the main man's voice answered. "I killed him because he was getting in the way of me getting at the boys."
We have to get our wands back, Fred thought. Somehow… He risked opening his eyes a bit. The man and Voldermort looked down at him immediately. Shoot, Fred thought.
"You might as well open your eyes," Voldermort said. "We know you're awake." Fred reluctantly opened his eyes the full way. George after a second did too.
"Now boys," the other man said. "We need you to do something for us."
"Yes," Voldermort said. "We need you to help me live until I can have a body of my own."
"So you'll take over our bodies," Fred said, not sure where the sudden bravery came from.
"Oh yeah, that's REAL tempting," George said. Fred shot a glance at him, warning him not to push it too far.
"What's in it for us?" Fred asked. Stall for time, he thought. Find out where our wands our and figure out a way to get the heck out of here.
"How about your friends' lives?" the other man asked. Three more men entered the room. Fred didn't know where the last one came from, but the other two were the ones form the bathroom. In front of them, the three men held Jason, Jeremiah and Lee. Fred heard George gasp beside him. Fred jumped to his feet. George did too.
"Leave them out of this," George said.
"Yeah," Fred said. "We'll…We'll do what you want. Just let them go."
"Not until after it's done," Voldermort replied.
"Why do you need two of us?" George asked. Fred shot a glance at him, and realized George was doing something weird, like he was getting him to notice something. Suddenly, Fred noticed the table behind Voldermort and the other man. And on the table were five wands. Their wands. He glanced back at George and gave him a small nod. George smiled a bit. Voldermort had begun to answer the question, but Fred didn't hear. He was busy trying to think of a way to get at their wands. Then, he realized none of the fools around them had their wands out.
I could run for it, Fred thought suddenly. I could make it. He heard George saying something else to Voldermort. Fred took off running. He charged passed the man and Voldermort, and crashed into the table. He ended up on his stomach. The table slid away, and the wands fell onto the ground in front of him. Fred grabbed his wand, and threw George his. He threw the other three at Jeremiah, Jason and Lee. Lee's went a little bit higher than expected and hit the guy holding Lee in the nose. Then, Lee grabbed it and blasted the guy back. Jeremiah and Jason got rid of their holders. Fred rolled back over beside George and stood up, his wand pointed at Voldermort and the other man. Suddenly lights appeared everywhere around the room. Fred looked around confused, until people appeared out of the light. One of the people who stepped out was Professor Dumbledore.
Chapter 10
"You shouldn't have done this, Tom," Dumbledore said. George didn't have time to wonder. He was too busy looking around at the rest of the people now coming out of the lights. George didn't know most of the people, but his mouth fell open when Bill Weasley stepped out.
"Bill!" he exclaimed. Nobody paid attention to him.
"You shouldn't have come here tonight old man," Voldermort said to Dumbledore. Suddenly, more people appeared behind Voldermort.
"Oh this'll be fun," Fred commented. George shot him a look. "Just trying to diffuse the tension," Fred whispered to him. George shook his head and rolled his eyes. Suddenly, spells broke out everywhere. George and Fred joined the fight. George aimed a spell at the man that had been holding Lee. The man fell backwards from the person he'd been fighting and turned to face George.
"Stupefy!" George yelled. The man flew backwards, hit the wall, and then fell to the ground.
"Look out!" someone yelled behind him. George leapt out of the way just as a spell flew passed him. George whipped around to find himself facing the man in the suit.
"Once again," the man said, "It is a fight between you and me. Tell me, how did the scorpion sting feel?"
"You've got us mixed up mate," George said. "Your scorpion stung my twin, and now you're going to pay for it. Expelliarmus!" The man jumped out of the way. George heard him yell something, and barely dodged out of the way as the spell came flying towards him. He heard someone yell another spell behind him. He hit the floor as the spell flew over him and hit someone else on Voldermort's side.
Well that worked, George thought. He jumped back to his feet. The first man aimed another spell at him. George jumped out of the way again, and found himself against the wall. Both people who had tried to attack him stood in front of him, blocking any chance of escape. They both fired spells at him at the same time. Pain rippled through Fred's chest all the way down the rest of his body. George cried out, slid down the wall, hit the floor and blacked out.
Fred was locked in his own fight when he heard George cry out. He blasted his opponent against the wall and turned around. He saw George slide down against the wall.
"NO!" Fred yelled. He ran at the two people his brother had been fighting. They were advancing on his brother again, probably going to finish him off. "Expelliarmus!" Fred yelled. One of the men's wands flew out of their hands. Fred caught it, and aimed both wands at the man's back. He began yelling. The men fell onto the floor. The other man turned around to face him. "STUPEFY!" Fred yelled. The man flew backwards into a shelf in the corner on the other side of the room. The boxes and the whole shelf fell on his head. The rest of the fight went on around Fred, but he didn't care. He ran over to George and knelt at his side. "George?" he asked. "George?" His twin didn't move. "Georgie?!" Fred exclaimed. There was still nothing. Fred put his ear down beside his twin's heart. He couldn't hear anything. "NO!" Fred exclaimed. He turned his head towards the fight, and yelled, "Somebody help me!" Jason, Jeremiah and Lee appeared at his side. Together, they lifted George to his feet. Fred put George's arm over his shoulder, and Jeremiah took George's other arm over his shoulders. Suddenly, all of the adults stood in front of the kids.
"We've got them, let's go!" one of the adults yelled. Some of the adult put their arms behind them.
"Grab on kids!" a woman yelled. Jason and Lee grabbed on. Fred secured his grip on George, and then grabbed on to Bill's arm. Jeremiah grabbed Bill's other arm. And then the cavern in the woods was gone. The group was flying through the air, and then they were in the Astronomy Tower. Fred immediately let go of Bill. Jeremiah, Jason and Lee let go of whoever they were holding too.
"We need to get to the hospital wing!" Fred said. "Immediately."
"Alright, let's go," Dumbledore said. Fred, Jeremiah and George went first followed by Lee and Jason and then the adults. Once they arrived at the hospital wing, Jason and Lee went ahead of Fred and Jeremiah and George and pushed the door open. They stepped back and let Fred and Jeremiah through. They stumbled over to a bed, and pulled George onto it. Fred heard voices yelling his and George's name, and only then he realized his parents and Ron were there.
"I'm okay!" Fred exclaimed. Madam Pomfrey ran over to the bed. "I don't know what's wrong with him, but help him please," Fred said. Fred and Jeremiah backed up. Fred was so busy watching Madam Pomfrey that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Angelina Johnson the girl who'd been practicing spells in the common room what felt like three months ago.
"I heard what happened," she said. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Fred replied, his voice a little bit husky. Angelina gave him a comforting hug, which surprised him very much, and then she looked over at George.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," she said. Fred nodded, and she left. Lee walked in, and shot a glance at her retreating figure.
"Who's that?" he asked. Fred blinked, his surprise slowly fading.
"Angelina Johnson," he said shrugging. Madam Pomfrey came over.
"Well, he wasn't breathing at first but I made his heart start again, and I think he'll be fine in a few days," she said. Fred nodded, and then walked over to George's bed. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came over.
"She said he'll be fine," Fred said.
"I know," Mrs. Weasley replied. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine mom," Fred said. "Bill is too."
"Bill, what?" Mr. Weasley asked. As though he'd heard his name, Bill came away from the others and over to them.
"Bill what are you doing here?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Dumbledore contacted me and I made it just in time," Bill replied. "The rest of the Order came too."
"The Order?" Fred asked.
"The Order of the Phoenix," Bill said. "It's the group of us that last fought against You-Know-Who."
"Him?!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "You-Know-Who was there?! He kidnapped two of my sons?!"
"Yeah, mom," Bill said. Mrs. Weasley looked at Fred again.
"I'm FINE mom," Fred said again. He sat down on the bed beside George. His parents and Bill stopped talking. Fred didn't know how long it'd been when Mrs. Weasley came over and told him that she, Mr. Weasley and Bill had to go. Fred nodded and told them all good-bye. Then, he lay down in the bed he was sitting on and fell asleep.
Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Fred, Jeremiah, Jason and Lee in the hospital wing for the next few days. Fred was glad. It was the last week of school and all that was left were exams and after all the crazy stuff that had happened lately Fred didn't really remember anything he'd learned that year at the moment. Pretty soon it was the afternoon of the last day. George still hadn't woken up. Fred sat watching him, and was just beginning to wonder what was going to happen if George didn't wake up before the end of the school year when George's eyes flickered open.
"George!" he exclaimed.
"Fred?" George asked, sitting up slowly. "What…What happened? Where's-"
"It's alright," Fred replied. "We're fine. Everyone's fine. Everything's going to be alright."
That night, Madam Pomfrey let Fred, George, Jeremiah, Jason and Lee go down to the feast. She said they were all fine now. Slytherin won the House Cup, but Fred didn't care. George was fine, and so were the rest of his friends. They'd gotten out of all of the end of the year exams. The food was great. Fred couldn't have been happier. Soon, the feast was over and the twins and Jeremiah, Lee and Jason headed back up to their dormitory. Fred packed a little bit of his stuff, and so did the others. But soon, they were just tired so they lay down in their beds and slept in their dormitories for the last day of their first year.
The next day, Fred, George, Lee, Jeremiah and Jason did their last minute packing, and joined the rest of the Gryffindors in the Great Hall for their last breakfast. Then, they and the rest of the school headed down to the train. The five friends sat in the same compartment. They played games, played around with some of Fred and George's inventions, and ate once the trolley came around. Around the end of the train ride, when they were almost back to platform 9 ¾ Jason spoke.
"Man, I can't wait until next year!" he said.
"Me too," George said.
"Except for with a little less injury and kidnapping, but no less trouble," Fred said.
"Oh yes," George said. "As dad would say, 'you boys cause more trouble than can be imagined'."
The others laughed, and then Lee said, "I'll agree with that!" The train stopped, and the boys went around gathering their trunks. The five friends got out onto the platform, and headed back into the Muggle World.
"See you next year guys," Fred called to the others as the friends split up to find their families.
"We'll write to you!" Jeremiah called.
"Yeah!" Jason said.
"Me too!" Lee called.
"Bye guys!" George said, last. The twins went over to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
"Fred, George!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "I mean George, Fred!" The twins exchanged a look and smiled. They turned to look back at Mrs. Weasley.
Then together they said, "Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother?"
The End
31