Chapter 2: Sharing With Your Brother.

The two boys appeared suddenly in the room across from each other. Distrust and animosity filled both of them at once. Not that this was unusual. These two boys were brothers. Nor were they merely brothers. They were brothers raised to expect disloyalty and deceit from all others in their family. The first boy, the younger of the two, spoke first.

"Dewey, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, Nob, but if you really want the favor you should try asking Malcolm."

"Malcolm?"

The boy on the couch did not even bother turning away from the television. "No."

Dewey snorted. "I knew you wouldn't do it."

Nob sniffled. "You didn't even let me tell you what it was?"

Malcolm smirked. "I don't need to know. I don't have the time. I've got a date in an hour."

Nob smiled. "That's plenty of time. And you don't even have to do anything. Can I at least tell you what it is?"

Malcolm turned to look at Nob. "Sure. Go ahead."

[What the heck. It's a commercial, anyway.

Nob smiled at once. "I got the idea from Johnny. We were playing one of his old RPG's. It was all about wizards and stuff. And they had this spell that was pretty neat. I thought I'd give it a try."

"And the spell is?"

"Shared Enhancement. We link our bodies together by magic so that if one of us gets tired or something, he can get strength from the other. It's really neat. And I worked it out." The seven-year-old was beaming.

[This could be fun. At the party, I'll be able to sneak twice as many beers. If the spell works. And Nob will have to explain to mom why he's drunk.

"Why not? But I should warn you. I'm going to be dancing quite a bit later today."

Nob's grin grew bigger. "That'll be perfect. And if I feel I'm getting too tired, I'll take a nap. That way we'll both feel better."

[That's what I like about Nob. He's still gullible enough to believe me when I tell him stuff.

Malcolm waved Nob over to the couch. "So how does the spell work."

Nob sat on the couch next to his brother. "It's kinda like a binding promise. We both hold our wands out. And we have to hold hands. We say the spell at the same time, then tap each other's wrist."

Malcolm grinned. "And you figured this out all by yourself?"

"Yeah. I've been reading about spells and this sounds like the right way to do it. But I've never had the chance to check it out."

"You also don't have a wand," Malcolm pointed out.

Nob paused. "Dewey?"

"Sure. You can borrow mine."

"Thanks." Nob eagerly grabbed the wand as Dewey held it out. He turned back to Malcolm. "Now, we grab hands like we're shaking them, then we say 'Topoi Desmon Logoi'."

Malcolm smirked. "Greek?"

"Yeah. That way they won't know we're doing magic." He leaned in to whisper. "Dewey found that out when he decided to try the lumos spell and no one came to yell at him."

[That's a useful thing to know. If it's true. Then all I'd need is my Greek dictionary and I can practice all sorts of spells.

The fifteen-year-old held out his hand. "Let's give it a go."

The seven-year-old grabbed his hand. Both boys held out their wands, recited the incantation, then tapped each others wrist. A blue glow surrounded both of them. It faded away to be followed by a loud popping noise and yelling.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU TWO ARE DOING?" David Winter paused when he saw who he was yelling at. "Nob, why are you with Malcolm? What happened to Dewey?"

"I'm over here," Dewey said from the corner of the room. "I wanted to watch them get into trouble."

"YOU LIED," Nob yelled, then looked at David Winter. "He said you couldn't catch us if we used Greek."

David Winter paused to roll his eyes. "Not quite. I can't catch you if you don't use magic."

"Hi, Dave," Lois said as she walked out of the kitchen. "I heard you pop in so I poured you a cup of coffee."

David thanked her as he took the proffered cup. He turned back to the two boys on the couch. "And what did you do?"

"Shared health," Nob said cheerfully.

David gave Malcolm an appraising stare. Malcolm pointed to Nob. David ran his hand through his graying hair as he turned to Nob. "And how old are you?"

"Eight on Halloween," Nob answered.

"Good. We can see about sending you to a special school. I'll talk to your mother about it." David smiled kindly at the boy. "You'll like the school and you won't be alone. Your brother will be there."

Nob became nervous. "Which brother?" he asked, casting quick glances at Malcolm and Dewey.

Nob had the advantage of being very smart. When, as a changeling, he decided on his final form, he chose Malcolm after seeing a picture of his brother when he was Nob's age. As a result, he was just as smart. That is why he instantly realized which brother David Winter was talking about. And it wasn't Francis. Despite his intelligence, he responded to the revelation in what could be considered a normal fashion. For anyone who knew Reese, that is.

"NOOOOOOOOOO. Please, Mister Winter. I'll be good. I won't ever, ever do magic again. I promise. Really."

"It's not as bad as it sounds," David said in a voice that told everyone he was lying. "And if you continue to show such advanced abilities, your attendance at Glen Levitt Academy is guaranteed." He smiled when Nob gulped. "Have I made my point?"

Nob nodded rapidly then went to flee the room.

"Not so fast, little mister," Lois called before the boy could leave the room. "I'm taking you to day camp in ten minutes. So get ready. And if you don't participate today . . ."

Lois ended her statement with a nod toward David Winter. Nob nodded, trying to hide a smile.

"Boys." Lois made the word sound like a curse. "Malcolm, is it me or does he act the same way you did when I sent you to day camp?"

"You sent me with Reese, Mom. I was going to hate it regardless. Nob just hates the fact that everyone's bigger than he is. At least Reese isn't beating him up."

"He'll grow out of it," Lois said offhandedly. "NOB, HURRY UP."

"Malcolm," David called. When the boy looked up, he handed him the now empty coffee cup. "Make yourself useful. And let me know how the spell works out." He smiled to Lois. "Don't worry. I should be able to smooth this incident over. It won't affect Malcolm's returning to school."

[You can believe that. Mister Winter is my personal watchdog. His job is to keep me in Hogwarts. Actually, I think his job is to keep me out of the country as much as possible. He's even going to escort me to England next week with Reese. It's Anthony's birthday. And I get to stay there until after the Weasley wedding, the following week. It'll be great.

Nob sat happily in the car as Lois drove him to the day camp. He didn't even mind his mother nagging him about trying to fit in. For once he was looking forward to it.

"Hey, the shrimp's here," someone shouted as Nob exited the car. Making sure his mother wasn't looking, he returned the other boy's greeting with an offensive hand gesture. Lois looked up in time to see the boy walking over to Nob.

"See, honey. One of your friends is already coming over to greet you. And you keep saying nobody likes you."

"You're gonna die, short stuff," the kid hissed as he walked up to Nob.

"Try it anytime," Nob sneered back with confidence.

"Shut up, you two, or I'll smack both of you. Ronny, take Nob and get him to sign in. And if there's any trouble, I'll tell your mother how you wet your pants last week watching that scary movie."

Ronny's gang snickered upon hearing that. Ronny looked back and scowled. "It was a really good movie. I just waited too long." He scowled at Nob when the smaller boy laughed along with the rest of the gang. Grabbing him a little harder than he had to, he led Nob to the sign-in desk. "So, you signin' up for any of the races?"

"Can't do them all," Nob answered casually. "Probably just the endurance race."

"You kidding? The kid who won last year ran for over an hour. And he'd been jogging with his dad for years. Even ran a couple of 10Ks." Ronny's voice became dangerous. "And he's back again this year."

Nob smiled. "I'll beat him." He looked up. "Wanna bet?"

"Hello, dears," the counselor said as the two boys walked up. "Welcome back, Nob. I'm happy to see you're smiling today. We'll check you in." She made a mark on her check sheet. "And are you going to participate in anything? It is competition day." She pushed forward two sheets as she wiggled her eyebrows in a way that was supposed to say these were exciting. One sheet was for the basket weaving competition. It had three names. If he signed it, Nob would be the only one competing who did not have buck teeth or wear glasses. The other sheet was for the spelling bee. The same three names were on it.

"I'll try that one." Nob pointed to a sheet that had almost two dozen names on it.

"Are you sure, dear?" The counselor seemed confused.

"Mom says I gotta do something," Nob admitted. He leaned forward and whispered, "I don't have to try to win. Do I?"

The counselor scowled. "No." She handed Nob the pen. "Just sign it and get out of here." As Nob signed his name, the counselor muttered to herself, "why do I waste my time with anyone from that family?"

Nob walked away happily. Even Ronny was impressed that he signed up. He walked over to the refreshment stand and grabbed his complimentary juice box and cookie, then walked over to the field where the races were going to take place. He sat down and waited.

Malcolm knocked on the door and Cynthia answered almost at once. After all these years, she finally had a date with the boy of her dreams. After all, Malcolm was the only Krelboyne who never wore braces. They walked arm in arm and talked casually about how their school years went. When they reached Dabney's house, they didn't stop to knock but simply walked in. They crossed the small living room down the short corridor to Dabney's bedroom, and opened the door. Instantly, two hanging portraits welcomed them. One portrait told them that most of the guests were in the arcade. They thanked the portraits and headed through the foyer into the reception area. Crossing the entrance hall to the wall length aquarium, they paused.

"Malcolm. Thanks for asking me to be your date."

"Hey, I'm just happy you said yes."

Cynthia leaned forward as she said, "You know, there's always something I wanted to do."

[YES!

Malcolm smiled. As he also leaned forward, he asked, "What?"

Their lips inches apart, Cynthia said, "This."

As their lips touched, Malcolm pulled back and said, "OW."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. It felt like someone hit me in the side." Malcolm pulled up his shirt. On his left side, a small bruise was beginning to appear. "How did that happen?"

"What's that noise?" It was Beatrice Whatshername, Belinda's mom. "Malcolm?" She looked at the bruise. "What happened?"

"I don't know. We were . . . uh . . . walking over to the game room and I felt something hit me."

The woman looked around but did not see anything out of order. She shrugged and pulled out her wand. "It's a minor injury. Let me take care of that for you." She cast a healing spell and the bruise faded away. "Feel better."

"Yeah, thanks, OW." Malcolm held up his hand and looked at his fist.

Beatrice and Cynthia both gave him concerned looks. Malcolm shook his hand and shrugged. "I'm OK. But for a moment there it felt like something hard hit my knuckles."

Beatrice nodded. "Fine, then. But we'll discuss this later. I've been hearing stories." She forced herself between the two teenagers and led them into the arcade. "And let's not have any more . . . walking, if you know what I mean."

"Hey, Nob," Ronny said as he walked up. Without stopping, he punched Nob in the side as hard as he could. "Thought I'd give you a helping hand with the competition."

Nob gasped for breath as pain filled his side. Then he realized that the pain was not as bad as it should have been. That meant the spell was working. He might have enough strength to throw a surprise punch. As Nob tried to straighten up, he suddenly felt better. Much better than he should have. His side didn't hurt at all. With all his strength, he swung his right arm and hit Ronny in the mouth. Ronny didn't react for a few seconds. Then he suddenly jumped up and ran away, crying for his mother. Nob shook his head. That kid might be a full head taller, but he was still only six. And he had just proved it. As Nob flexed his fist, the call went out. The Endurance Race was about to begin.

Everyone lined up in three rows for the race. The rules were simple. Each lap had to be completed in a certain amount of time. Anyone who did not reach a certain point before the allotted time was automatically out. Nob has the misfortune of being in the back. He could lose just by the others blocking his way. Before he had time to think, the cap gun was fired and everyone began to run.

The boy who won the previous year did not race forward like everyone else. Nob understood what he was doing. This race was for distance, not speed. He did not have to stay in the lead. All he had to do was stay in the race. He opted for the easiest solution. He ran behind the other boy and paced him.

Malcolm looked around for the birthday boy but Dabney was nowhere in sight. Someone said he had to go somewhere but would be back shortly. And Missus don't-do-anything-fun decided she would chaperone. Because of that, everyone except Lloyd was annoyed that Belinda had come to the party. Several cases of beer were gradually becoming warm all because no one risked an adult witch finding out about them.

Malcolm sat down at one of the tables with his juice box. Like Cynthia, he set it down without bothering to open it. "I have a plan," he whispered. "All we need is to get someone to distract Belinda's mom for a few minutes. I'll transfigure the beer bottles into juice boxes, then all we have to do is switch them for the real ones."

Cynthia's eyes went wide. "You can really do that."

"Yeah. Just like magic."

Cynthia laughed, cast a quick look around, and gave Malcolm a quick peck. "You're amazing. Who should we get to distract her?"

Malcolm nodded his head toward Belinda. "The one responsible for her being here in the first place."

"Hey, Malcolm," Kyle said as he and Alex walked up. He added in a whisper, "drag about the chaperone."

"Malcolm's working on a plan," Cynthia told them, then turned to Malcolm and added, "unless she becomes suspicious about everyone suddenly wanting something to drink."

"Transfiguration?" Alex asked, adding, "Good thinking."

"Would you like to help?"

"In a second. Malcolm, some friends came to visit. HEY, GUYS!"

Three apparitions turned away from watching the competition at the foosball table and floated eagerly when Alex called. All were dressed in ghostly jeans and sneakers, and Grateful Dead T-shirts. The middle one was wearing an old-fashioned English schoolboy's cap.

"Malcolm, isn't it? Good to see you, mate? You remember Charles and Basil, of course."

"Yeah, Edwin. Are you here to visit?"

Edwin nodded his ghostly head. "A chance to visit the States, you know."

"I never spent much time here when I was alive," Charles admitted, "so a lot of this is new to me, too."

Malcolm turned to the third ghost. "Basil, you're looking good. The clothes, I mean"

"Thank you, Malcolm. It was much easier to form than I thought it would be. After all, it has only been a fortnight or so. I was terrified at the wedding. I was afraid my clothes would fade in the middle of the ceremony."

[That was great, too. Argus Filch was best man at his twin brother's wedding. He was in such a good mood he even asked me to watch Mrs. Norris for him. I held her up at the right time and she ended up catching the bridal bouquet. And I know she liked that. She ate the whole thing.

"He did fine," Edwin noted.

Charles nodded. "And it helped convince Edwin to try changing his outfit as well. I thought the fancy suits came off rather well."

"Wedding?" Cynthia asked.

"The principal at Reese's school in England got married. The whole family was invited." Malcolm smiled, then suddenly took a deep breath. He shook his head. "I feel tired for some reason."

Cynthia became concerned. "You're not in pain or anything."

"Pain?" Belinda asked as she and Lloyd walked up.

"Right after we got here, Malcolm yelled as though someone had hit him. And he has a brand new bruise just under his arm."

Malcolm looked up. His face was flush and he was breathing more heavily now, almost gasping for each breath. "Belinda, get your mom."

"MOM," Belinda yelled and waved her mother over. Beatrice ran to the table.

"Malcolm? What is it?"

"I'm . . . getting . . . tired. Don't . . . know . . . why?"

Beatrice pulled out her wand and pointed it at Malcolm. "Rennervate." After the golden glow faded, she asked how he felt.

"Better," Malcolm admitted. "But I feel like the spell didn't work completely."

"Rennervate," Beatrice said again, and smiled when Malcolm's color returned to normal. "Can you walk? I think you may have been cursed. Let's get you to the hospital."

"No need for that," David Winter said as he walked into the game room. He strode toward the table that everyone was gathering around. He nodded to Beatrice who still had her wand out. "Did you use energy enhancement?"

"Twice," she acknowledged.

"As expected. Excuse me while I make a call." He pulled out a cell phone, turned it on and pressed a number. "Yes . . . just arrived . . . like he's completely fresh? . . . Good. I'll tell Malcolm." He closed the phone and turned it off. "Your spell works perfectly. Nob is running around the track as though he just started out."

"Spell?" a room full of people asked.

"You mean . . . ?"

David Winter nodded. He spoke loud enough for everyone to here. "Malcolm has developed a spell whereby two people can share health. His little brother is running in an endurance race to prove that point, and after one hour he is still going strong."

"How strong?" Malcolm dared to ask.

"The race is down to two children. Nob is one and the other is a professional jogger who is three years older than him."

"Him?" Lloyd asked. "He's a total jerk. Even normal kids don't like him."

[An expert has spoken.

"And you're cheating?" Cynthia asked with glee. "I hope Nob beats the pants off of him."

Almost every non-wizard in the room cheered Malcolm for what he was doing. Alex raised his hand. "You don't mean that kid who flooes to the private school."

"Excuse me," David Winter asked.

"Yeah, his mom's a witch but his dad's this 'I'm so bad' muggle."

One of the other wizard-born laughed. "You mean that ten-year-old punk's cheating in a muggle race? Just to get a trophy for his wall? You're right, Lloyd. He is a total jerk."

[Wow. Lloyd was right about someone. It must be that maturity thing.

After hearing everyone's reaction, David pulled his phone out and pressed redial.

Lois watched from the parents area as Nob began the race. She knew something was up when David stopped by. He told her of the spell and of what he suspected. Lois nodded. As she watched, the boys and girls were quickly dropping out. After a half hour, only three were left. Now, Nob was beginning to fall back and Lois looked worried. Then, "as if by magic", Nob seemed to get his second wind. He picked up speed and even passed one of the other runners. That runner left after the next quarter turn.

When David called to confirm what happened, Lois decided what to do. She wasn't going to let any of her children win by cheating. She made her way to the side of the track, mostly by intimidation, and waited angrily for Nob. Nob was coming by as the phone rang. Lois flipped her cell phone open as she pointed at Nob to come to her. Nob ran over and stopped as Lois hung up the phone. "I know what you did," she hissed. Then she yelled

"YOU LISTEN TO ME, LITTLE MISTER. IF YOU DON'T WIN THIS RACE, YOU WON'T SIT DOWN FOR A WEEK."

Nob ran off as quickly as he could in a mixture of delight and fear. Lois walked over to the proud parents of the other remaining contestant. "Hi," she said kindly to them to get their attention. She spoke loud enough for only them to hear. "You put your wand away right now or I'll show you what I can do with my wand."

"Do I know you?" The woman said frostily.

"I think you should leave," the man said forcefully, "you bi . . ."

"Sorry, I'm late," David Winter said as he suddenly walked up and stood slightly forward of the couple. He smiled at Lois who nodded and turned to watch the rest of the race. David looked at the gentleman and smiled. Holding out his hand he said, "My friends call me Dave" adding in a lower tone, "Department of Muggle Security."

Both parents froze. The woman's sudden movement betrayed the fact that she had been covertly holding her wand but had put it away.

David shrugged his shoulders. "Your boy's a good runner. He trains?"

The man's tone said he didn't want to talk. "We jog together on a daily basis."

"Hmmm." David made it sound like he thought that was incredibly interesting. "Nob doesn't train at all. He never slows down long enough. I swear he would eat dinner on the run if his mother would let him."

"Dirty lowlife filth, that kid is," the woman whispered to her husband.

"Amazing boy, you know," David said as though he hadn't heard anything. As he spoke, he deliberately kept his hands in view to show that he had no wand. Anyone watching without knowing what was going on would only see a man gesturing as he spoke. "His Godfather teaches at Hogwarts . . . have you heard of it? It's an old school. Up past the Scottish border. I've had a chance to visit it. Beautiful place . . . oh dear, your boy seems to be flagging . . . and . . . see that, Nob just had a new burst of speed. Amazing boy. And I can assure you that I made sure there was no one here helping him, such as his brother, Malcolm."

A gleam came to the woman's eye. "I've heard of him. Is Malcolm here?"

"Definitely not. He's at a friend's house. I left him sitting at a table with a colleague watching him with her wand drawn. She knows to strike him with a spell if she thinks it's needed."

"A colleague."

"Yes. She teaches at Brentwood Academy and assists the department during the summer. Amazing woman. Oh dear." Despite the tone, he was smiling. "Your son failed to complete that last lap." He held out his hand to the man. "Please accept my condolences." The man glared at him. David shrugged. "Or not." He dropped his pleasant manner. "After all, turnabout is fair play."

"You cheated," the man hissed.

"I stopped a cheater from winning," David hissed back. "And I lied to do it. I'm not with Muggle Security."

"That is a felony offense," the woman said, almost with glee. "You represented yourself as part of the government."

"It is perfectly legitimate," David noted, "for any government official to represent himself in a lower capacity if he should deem it appropriate."

"I deal in wizard law," the woman added. "You would have to be higher than the entire Department to make that claim, Mister . . ."

"Winter. You might have heard of me."

The woman paled. Of course, she had heard of him. His official title was United States Consul of Magic to the Court of Saint James. She whispered quickly to her husband, then both just as quickly walked away to console their son.

"What happened?" Lois asked as she carried her son, to the car. He was sound asleep and wearing a blue ribbon.

"The spell. It gives extra energy, but it can only do so much. The body still demands enough rest to compensate. He'll probably sleep through until morning."

Lois smiled as she laid him in back of the station wagon and threw a blanket on him. "Sleep well, my little RoadRunner."

"What happened?" Cynthia asked.

"He ran out of energy," Beatrice told her. "I expect he'll be asleep for the next twenty hours." She raised Malcolm with her wand and floated him out of the arcade to one of the upstairs bedrooms.

Cynthia sighed. This was the worst date of her life.

"At least Nob won." Kyle tried to console her but it didn't work.

"It was supposed to be a date."

Alex smiled. "Then why not date me? I'm still awake. And I have . . . juice boxes."

"Whoopee," Cynthia said without enthusiasm.

Alex handed her a juice box. The flavor was pilsner. She looked up and Alex grinned. "He was an excellent diversion."

Minerva McGonagall examined the list of all children in Great Britain who had been born with the ability to perform magic. She tapped the list and it became much smaller. It now showed only the names of those children who would be eleven on the first day of September. As she read the list, her eyes widened as she spied a familiar name. She would make it a point to invite herself to the birthday party of a certain boy who was supposed to become sixteen. And she would bring the letter with her. Just in case.

A thought occurred to her, and Minerva decided to change her plans. As she would be intruding, she would take someone with her. And, in case her worst fears were realized, she would bring a second letter, the name blank, as well.

"That was a great spell," Nob said as he showed off his blue ribbon, again.

"And I've got a reward for you," Lois told her youngest son. "I've arranged it so you can go to that birthday party, too."

"But I won't know anybody," Nob complained.

"You'll know your brothers, and they'll introduce you to people."

Hal smiled as he heard the conversation. He stood up from the breakfast table and kissed Lois. "And we get to be alone for an entire day."

"Will he be staying for the wedding?" Malcolm asked.

Lois smiled. "I owled Molly and told her Hal and I couldn't make it. It's only going to be you and Dewey."

"I'm not going?" Nob asked.

"We're stuck with Reese," Hal told him. "You can distract him for us."

"Great," Nob said as he slumped in his chair. "I get to spend the whole day with you two."

"No you don't," Dewey explained. "Reese is already at the party. You'll be in the kitchen, helping him."