"We don't like that man." From the beginning, even as babies, the Potter girls did not trust Dumbledore. Now, ten years later, the Potter twins Beatrice and Meredith are re-entering the wizarding world, and it is definitely not prepared for two Potter girls who are far too smart – and know it. And when the girls learn that someone intends to manipulate them to their will, there is going to be hell to pay. Au with twin!fem!Ravenclaw!Powerful!Raised By Sirius!Harry.

Instead of being raised by the Dursleys, they were raised by their proper guardian – Sirius. By a stroke of luck, two ministry workers happened to witness the conflict with Sirius and Peter, and Sirius was never a convict, while Peter is still on the run. Dumbledore still wanted them with the Dursleys, but Sirius informed him that he had blood adopted the girls when they were infants – Lily's idea – and that he was genetically one third their parent.

The girls were raised in the Black castle, only seeing Sirius, Remus, and the Muggles they went to school with. They are aware that they're wizards and know that they're well-known in the Wizarding World, but don't know exactly how well. They know they're being kept in the Muggle world until they're old enough to attend Hogwarts.

Now, however, they're about to turn eleven. Who will be surprised more - the girls, at the level of their fame, or the Wizarding World, at how different the girls are than they thought they would be?

This story will contain some Dumbledore bashing - For-The-Greater-Good!Dumbledore herein - and same-sex pairings in the far future, not graphically explored, but mentioned. For pictures of how I see the characters, their rooms, pets, clothes, etc., see the album link on my profile - warning: spoilers.

Chapter One: The Chess Master's Mistake

The twinkle was still there, even if Albus's plan had fallen through spectacularly.

Two red haired girls with far-too-large, far-too-smart eyes looked out at him from the crib in the Hogwarts infirmary. One was called Beatrice Mabel Potter and the other was Meredith Bethany Potter. Albus couldn't tell them apart; even the newly scabbed-over scars on their foreheads were on the same side – the right.

The plan had been simple: it was irrevocable that the Dark Lord would target either the Longbottoms or the Potters. Albus had expected Voldemort to go for the Longbottom child – Nathan, he thought his name was – simply because he was a boy, but then again there was no fathoming the mind of a Dark Wizard. Voldemort had gone for the two small Potter girls, and, like Dumbledore had expected, killed their parents, but was destroyed when he attempted to kill them.

However, everything had gone downhill from there. The two girls were supposed to go straight to the aunt and uncle's home in Surrey, but then that Sirius Black had to go meddling in things. All of that would have been fine as well – Dumbledore had expected Sirius to track down his best friend's betrayer, Peter Pettigrew, and try and apprehend him himself. Dumbledore then expected Pettigrew to kill Sirius, perhaps, or fake his own murder to frame him, but while Peter had tried to frame Sirius for his murder, two blasted employees from the ministry of magic – Amelia Bones and Mafalda Hopkirk – had seen everything, and therefore now everyone knew that Peter was guilty (even though he had still not been caught). Albus did not want Sirius murdered or in prison, of course, but it would have all been for the greater good. Now, Sirius was on his way to Hogwarts castle to take the two girls away to Black Castle to be raised.

Dumbledore sighed. His plan was going to need some rethinking, that was for certain. If the two girls had gone to their aunt and uncle's home, there may have been some hope of salvaging it; Petunia Dursley, sister to Lily Potter, had always hated her younger sibling, and Dumbledore knew that the Dursley family would not have been kind to Beatrice and Meredith. Obviously Dumbledore did not in any way condone the abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of children, but this was all for the greater good. If the Potter girls had gone to stay with their aunt and uncle, chances were that they would arrive at Hogwarts meek, timid, and more than ready to accept friendship from anyone. That would have made the girls perfect for his plan, but now…

Still, if it were up to the older man, Beatrice and Meredith would still have been going to their relative's home – the better to keep them isolated from the Wizarding World until they were older, and therefore more impressionable towards the beliefs that were, in the end, right. However, in a turn of events that Dumbledore hadn't anticipated, Sirius informed him that James and Lily had performed a blood adoption ceremony with the girls when they were mere months old. Therefore, he was one-third their parent, and his rights were absolute.

Dumbledore shuddered at the thought of what the two girls would be like the next time he saw them. Haughty mischief makers like their godfather, no doubt. And being heirs to both the ancient Potter and Black families, perhaps the girls may even believe in Blood Supremacy. They wouldn't be right for their future tasks at all, no.

But…perhaps…

Slowly, Albus Dumbledore began to smile. Oh yes, he knew just how to save what was left of his plan.

At that moment, the door to the hospital wing burst open, and Sirius Black ran into the room. He had not yet seen the girls in person since Voldemort's apparent defeat; he and Albus had been communicating through the Floo Network and Patronuses.

"BEATRICE! MEREDITH!" Sirius yelled, running down the aisle to the end, where Albus stood beside the crib that had once been a bed. The two girls burst into happy giggles and baby-talk as they saw him, holding up their arms to be picked up. Sirius grabbed them both, laughing happily as well as he spun them around in a circle. For a moment, Albus stared in shock. All the children had done since he arrived in the hospital wing to check on them was glare with their unsettling gazes, but now they seemed like they had never been happier.

Now Sirius was busy cooing nonsense at the two children, who talked animatedly back in complete gibberish. Dumbledore suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

He cleared his throat until Sirius quieted down and turned towards him.

"Now Sirius, since you have your heart set on taking the girls, I must suggest some ground rules." Sirius nodded skeptically for him to go on. Dumbledore readied himself to lay out his points quickly and then explain before Sirius could interrupt. "Firstly, that you send the girls to a Muggle primary school for their pre-Hogwarts education. Second, you should keep them away from the Wizarding World completely until they are eleven years old. Third, they should see no other witch or wizard except for yourself until the same time. Now before you protest," he held up his hand as Sirius looked ready to interrupt. "I am only suggesting these things because I think the girls will be safer that way, for one, and because the level of fame they have already achieved in these few short hours is enough to turn any child's head – imagine what that fame will grow to in the years to come! There will be books and songs about them – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Beatrice and Meredith Potter Day in the future!"

"I suppose you could be right…" Sirius said slowly, and Dumbledore knew he had won. "I wouldn't want them to feel smothered by their fame so quickly, or to become spoiled by it either…Yes, yes I think that's just what we'll do."

Maybe, Albus thought, just maybe…his plan could be salvaged after all.

But little did Albus Dumbledore know that the twin's so-called 'baby talk', was anything but. Perhaps he should not have been so quick to dismiss the two children simply because they were small and spoke in a way he couldn't understand, but then again, perhaps it was better that he did not know what Beatrice and Meredith Potter were trying to tell their godfather…

We don't like that man, Sirius!

Now we don't. He's not very nice. Just stared at us the whole time and mumbled about a 'plan' and some relatives of ours we were supposed to go to –

And about you and Uncle Peter. Very strange, that man!

Very strange! But Sirius, we miss mummy and daddy!

We remember a scary man came to the door –

And daddy said for mummy to run with us, but while she was trying to activate the Portkey in our room, he came in and used a green light to make her fall down!

Then he tried to use that green light on us, only it didn't work and we think he exploded or something because everything went white, and then when we could see again, part of the house was gone, the man was gone –

–And our heads hurt really bad! That man says –

–That mummy and daddy are dead, Sirius! He says they're not coming back!

But we don't believe him, do we?

No we don't!

And we don't believe that man is gone either!

Nu-uh!

We think we can find a way to bring mummy and daddy back when we're bigger, but we think that bad guy will come back all on his own.

And we don't like that.

No!

We're going to learn a lot about magic when we get big, so that when he comes back we can kill him once and for all!