Chapter 1:

The dark laughs of the twin boys filled the small dimly lit room. They were standing in the middle of a large circle of people, all of which wore white masks with swirling black patterns engraved into them, concealing their slightly fearful and awed expressions. They all watched in silence, standing tall and faithful, as the hooded teenagers both used their powerful dark magic to Crucio a guilty man. Nobody could see their faces for they also wore masks, though theirs were darker. At such a young age the boys struck fear into the watching Death Eaters.

This was the first time they would be making their presence known to the Outer Circle Death Eaters. The Dark Princes' were the name the Inner Circle of Death Eaters called them out of fear and respect. While the Outer Circle of Death Eaters had just learned of these boys, the Inner Circle had known them for years, they knew what they were capable of and knew to never cross them. Bellatrix, Severus, Rodolphus, and Rabastan all stood still as the boys cast spell after spell, being the main tutors for the twins they were why they knew all that they did. Bellatrix was especially the reason for their dark nature, she was kind to her children, but when she trained them her dark side flared and was out of control. It was as if she was a new person when she trained her sons.

"You should think twice before opening that revolting little mouth of yours Goyle!" Lycoris growled, an evil glint gleamed in his eye as Braxton held the Crucio curse onto Damien Goyle, father of Gregory Goyle. During the reports of the evening, Goyle had let slip that his son had informed everyone in the Slytherin house that the Death Eaters were getting steadily weaker. The Dark Lord was in outrage that a little boy would speak out against the death eaters, his own kind.

Since this was the first meeting where the twins would be present with all the Death Eaters, the Dark Lord allowed the twins to deal with Goyle's punishment. Both twins wore long black cloaks made from the material of Dementor robes. The robes were virtually unheard of, no one besides those closest to the boys knew what they were truly made of, the others though they were merely black robes bewitched to protect the boys, but they were really something much more dark and powerful. It signified how much power the twins held, the darkness surrounding both of them in waves. The death the cloaks held would kill a mere human by a simple touch, but the twins had learned control of the cloaks and with them, it made their powers stronger. It also protected them. During an attack, they couldn't get wounded wherever the cloak covered.

When the twins worked together their powers were always stronger. They even gained powers when they were near each other. They had special abilities of their own that made them a powerful threat, but when they combined them together, with their whole lives of practicing, they were almost invincible. They had never lost to anyone when they worked together, they had even mastered combining their spells together to make a deadlier hit.

"You better learn to control your pea-brained brat or we might have to go after him and do it ourselves!" Braxton threatened harshly as he continued his powerful Crucio onto Gregory Goyle. Goyle was having a seizure under his Crucio. A bunch of his muscles had torn and many of his bones had broken, just for being under Braxton's Crucio for a minute. The Dark Lord thought that Braxton had the most powerful Crucio he had ever seen, even exceeding his own, but the Dark Lord would never admit that out loud.

They both still had a lot to learn. They'd only been together for only 13 years even though both boys were 14 years old. The truth is that Braxton Gaunt wasn't born Braxton Gaunt. His birth name was Harry Potter, son of currently living James and Lily Potter. The twins had known since they had turned 11 and at the time it had caused quite an upheaval. Braxton questioned everything he had been taught, but the Dark Lord had showed him time and time again why he should continue fighting on the Dark Side. Once Braxton finally accepted the fact, he knew the past was behind them and he had made it very clear that he would never go back to the Potters, he didn't want to leave his family's side. His true alliance was with them, not his birth family.

"Let's finish him off brother," Lycoris muttered darkly as he then added his own Crucio onto Gregory Goyle. With the power of their spells being so strong, Goyle lay limp, seconds away from death. At the last possible second, they stopped the deadly curse. They had been taught in the art of torture, knowing when to lift a curse if it became too much for the body to handle or when to make it stronger.

Braxton shot a strong revival charm at Goyle, who immediately woke up, turned his head, and promptly coughed up blood all over the smooth black stone of the floor. He looked over to the masked twins with bleary eyes, his brain barely holding on the conciseness. But it seemed that he still had some sense because in movement clearly showing his pain he pulled himself into a half kneeling half bowing position on the floor.

"Thank you, my lords. I'm sorry for my mistake, thank you for sparing my life." Goyle coughed out, his throat raw from all his screaming and his breaths coming out in short pained gasps that showed he had more than one broken rib. All Goyle wanted to do was get away, to flee and never look back, but he knew that he would stay, for he knew that the Dark Side would win. The Light Side would never be prepared for the terror the twins would do if the Dark Lord sent them on a raid.

"Get up and leave, you are dismissed." The Dark Lord said in his silken voice, his anger and disgust for the wizard in front of him clear in his voice.

"Thank you, My Lord." Goyle said and he struggled to get up only to fall again with a groan of pain he was unable to suppress.

"Someone get him out of my sight. The rest of you are dismissed, keep in mind what happened today if your mind ever strays from the Dark path." The Dark Lord announced in a low demanding tone, while the twins stayed silent. The Death Eaters all quickly vanished, one rushing forward and latching onto Goyle before following suit, everyone except for Bella. She ran up quickly to the twins and pulled them in for a fierce hug once everyone was gone.

"Now that's what I call a torturing," Bella praised ruffling their dark hair in a proud gesture and the twins laughed lightheartedly, their moods completely changing. The boys removed their masks and hoods, revealing their identical faces. There was nothing different between them except for their eyes. Both boy's eyes had the same piercing sharpness, a glint that never seemed to fade, one that promised mischief to their family and pain to the guilty. The only difference between them and the only way anyone could tell them apart was their eyes. Because while Lycoris's eyes were the same deep brown of his father's, Braxton's were the rich emerald green of his mother's, his true mother.

"Thank you, mother," Braxton said almost sheepishly, his cheeks turning slightly pink. He always flushed when he got praised for his work and when he got scolded for not performing well enough it would only motivate him to do better, to work harder.

The Dark Lord came up behind the boys placing both of his hands on each of the twins' shoulders, causing them to look up at him, "I must agree with your mother, boys. That was executed very well, excellent for sparking fear into the Death Eaters. Now it's getting late, I expect both of you up in your room asleep in an hour." The Dark Lord said in his soft silken voice that never seemed to change, even when he talked to the boys. The only difference was his gentle tone that spoke of care, not malice. He wouldn't admit it openly, but he'd come to care for his sons. He felt pride at their accomplishments, joy at their happiness and disappointment at their disobedience. They were becoming powerful dark wizards, ones that he knew he could soon trust to run Death Eater raids and plan meetings.

"Yes, father." The two replied in synch, their voices so very similar, yet so different.

'Do you want to grab something from the kitchen first?' Lycoris transmitted to Braxton's mind.

Ever since the mind linking ritual done on them when they were one, they could communicate telepathically. They rarely spoke to each other verbally in front of their family, they just had to send a message and the other twin would receive it, it was very usefully when they didn't want their mother or father hearing what they wanted to say. They'd even tested it long distance. They were pretty sure that they could speak to each other no matter where they were.

'Sure, but let's get mother and father off our trail first. You go and grab some food, I'll apparate to our room.' Braxton replied instantly. Braxton looked over to his brother and Lycoris grinned, signaling he understood.

"Goodnight mother," Both boys said and pushed up on their toes so that they could kiss their mother's cheek, each taking a side.

"Goodnight Lycoris, Goodnight Braxton. Do listen to your father and go to bed, I don't want to be told anything from the House Elves about you two sneaking around again, do you hear?" Bellatrix replied with a stern look at both of her mischievous sons, both of who were wearing matching innocent grins. She was extremely over protective over her sons, but that's how she showed that she loved them. When they'd been caught sneaking out of the manor to cause trouble in a muggle town nearby she'd been furious. And although their father was proud to see them wanting to cause trouble, leaving the manor without permission was unacceptable so he'd put them on house arrest for a month, which was hell for each twin.

"We will mother," Lycoris said though his mother saw that glint in his eye and she made a mental note to have a house elf check on them in a little to make sure that they really were in their room sleeping. They both apparated their separate ways. Braxton arrived in their huge bedroom, while Lycoris went to see how many snacks he could score from the kitchen.

They had been inseparable since they first met so they had been allowed them to share a room. The twins were close to each other, never doing something without the other by his side and both had thrown a royal tantrum at five years old when they were told they were too old to be sleeping in the same room. In the end, both parents had relented and the boys had stayed together.

As Braxton flopped over onto his full-sized bed he was once again glad that they had put up such a fight. He didn't know what he would do without his twin at night, just Lycoris being away to get their snacks was unpleasant enough.

He gave a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. He was happy, so very happy. He was a Gaunt, the son of the Dark Lord and every day that went by he proved his worth over and over, he loved that he could be one of the few people to make his father smile, loved the people around him that helped him be better and do better, loved that he was excepted here with open arms even though he truly wasn't a Gaunt.

Only by blood, He reminded himself for the millionth time since he'd learned of his true parents, and it was true, he was a Gaunt by everything except his blood, and even then, he knew that he had his father's blood running through his veins. Yes, he may not be a complete Gaunt but he proved himself to be and he hoped that was enough.

Braxton's eyes opened as a loud crackling sounded and Lycoris entered the room.

"Alright so, I got us some popcorn, chocolate frogs, and every flavor jelly beans. I wanted some cauldron cakes as well but the house elves wouldn't give them to me, said it was too late for us to be eating so much sugar. I hate it went they boss me around, bloody creatures," Lycoris said muttering the last part darkly as he strode toward his own bed, not looking up at his twin as he read off all the things he's managed to snag and therefore he didn't see the troubled look on Braxton's face. Braxton quickly schooled his features into one that displayed relaxed amusement.

Braxton opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the sharp tapping at the window. Immediately Arstrive, their snake, raised up from his place curled up in the darkest corner of the room and hissed.

"Calm yourself Arstrive." Lycoris hissed in parseltongue as he dumped the food onto his bed. He headed over to the window and unlocked the hatch. The owl perched on the sill of their third story bedroom window and like always, once the bird felt the dark magic of the wizards it only stayed long enough to deliver the two envelopes tied to its leg. The second Lycoris untied her leg the bird quickly flew away. Lycoris laughed at the terror the bird felt for just being near them while Braxton frowned slightly. He loved animals and he didn't like the terror birds or any other creature felt around him. He always felt slightly upset that the owls never stayed to accept treats or rest. He didn't like it when creatures fled in terror at the mere sense of his power. Didn't they know he would never hurt them?

"Who's it from?" Braxton asked curiously from his bed, hiding his feeling easily. He really didn't want his brother to tease him about his soft spot for animals.

"Draco and Lauren," Lycoris replied and Braxton couldn't help but grin.

They had been writing to their best friends, Draco Malfoy and Lauren Snape, since they first learn how to use a quill. Since Lucius Malfoy knew about the twin's existence before they even turned three, the Dark Lord had allowed Draco to meet them at an earlier age with the hope that they would connect and form alliances, the same went for Severus Snape's daughter. Draco was their best friend while Lauren and Lycoris had a secret relationship. They had been seeing each other for the longest time ever, they knew from the moment they met that they liked each other. They were childhood crushes that grew into something more.

Lycoris broke the seal on the envelope and he pulled out the letter from Draco.

"Dear the twins,

Hogwarts is going to be getting interesting. I've heard from Father that Hogwarts is going to be hosting the Triwizard Tournament! That hasn't been played in 202 years! It's so stupid that you must be 17 years old to be allowed to enter the tournament. It's basically only half of the 7th years that can be chosen to be our champion. A Slytherin must be chosen, they would be the only ones powerful and smart enough to survive the tournament. Merlin forbids that a weak Hufflepuff would be chosen for the Hogwarts champion. Could you imagine! I think I would leave and transfer to Durmstrang if that happened. Anyway, how are things going at the manor? I miss both of you, you're the only ones that I can actually have an intelligent conversation with. Crabbe and Goyle are morons that can't add two plus two and Lauren is going girl crazy missing her 'snuggle muffin' so I'm slightly lacking in the people to talk to department.

On other news, my trip to Australia was dull but I did get to try that muggle sport, Surfing? I think that's what it was, Father was not pleased when he learned I'd tried anything that had to do with mudbloods but he got over it. Hope your past couple of weeks were more interesting than mine, I wish I could have just stayed with you guys instead of going with Father and Mother. I will never understand why they insist on taking me on business trips. I can't wait to see you guys for training in a couple days. It'll be dreadful when I have to leave for school.

Do you guys have any new missions that will take you to Hogwarts? Keep me updated with the stuff going on, I don't want to be kept in the dark if there's going to be a surprise attack on Hogwarts before we even get there, that would not be pleasant. Don't work yourself too hard with all your lessons and let me know if I can do anything for the both of you.

Your best friend,

Draco Malfoy."

Lycoris read the letter to his brother as he flopped ungracefully onto Braxton's bed, grinning as he finished.

"I wish we could have some fun with the Triwizard tournament, send in a dark wizard and make him the Triwizard champion. He could control the tournament and end up unleashing chaos onto the light wizards, show them what the dark side can do. We can also show ourselves, 'The Dark Princes', to the wizarding world." Braxton replied and emphasized 'The Dark Princes'.

"How do you think dad would react to that?" Lycoris asked with a laugh, they played this game often, coming up with scenarios on how they would be revealed to the world. Both boys wanted to make a good long lasting impression of terror and destruction. Something that history books would be writing about. "He doesn't want his powerful sons to be revealed as his sons to everyone this soon."

"It would be the perfect unleashing. Plus, during raids, they'd already see us in masks leading the death eaters." Braxton replied as he tilted his head back and tossed a piece of popcorn into the air only to catch it with ease in his mouth.

"You're the one proposing the idea to Father," Lycoris replied and smirked. "Good luck with that." He turned over onto his stomach to grab some of the chocolate frogs and winced slightly when the letter from Lauren he'd snuck into his pocket poked him sharply in the leg, she'd obviously put something in there for him. Whenever Lauren wrote to them, it was meant for Lycoris and he always got flustered when Lauren would call him 'adorable' names in front of everyone else. Braxton and Lauren got along quite well, they weren't as close as Lauren and Lycoris, but they agreed on a lot of stuff and they both loved to tease Lycoris together.

They could only be their normal selves to each other, Draco, and Lauren. They had to be the cruelest and vicious people whenever in front of the death eaters, sometimes even their parents. When they weren't with family they had to watch how they acted and make sure they didn't reveal anything about their background, only that they were twins. Well anyone could tell that they were twins. They were identical, except for their eyes. Lycoris had dark brown eyes while Braxton had dark green eyes that reminded people of the killing curse. The Death Eaters knew that they were young, their voices could easily show that, and it just scared them more since they were afraid of what the boys would grow up to become.

"Once Father hears the compelling argument I make he'll have to agree," Braxton replied and Lycoris just shook his head as he laughed. They went through the whole night roasting each other and discussing future attack ideas. After a couple of hours, and the sweets had been gone for quite some time, the twins decided to get some sleep. Braxton pulled the covers over himself as Lycoris nonverbally cast the lights off.

Braxton closed his tired eyes, his mind and body shutting down. He was tired both physical and magically from the torturing they had done that evening and soon he was in a dreamless sleep.