The Guardian
Didn't plan for this chapter to be up so early already, but I figured why not post it now.
Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and are interested in the story. I know it's confusing and very different from the usual HP stories, especially considering how this is part of a series that focuses on Severus Snape. But please, bare with me on this. I promise you that this will lead to something. Just stick with it.
As a reminder, this is part of my 'Severus Snape Series', so it will be relying on the three already established stories before it. You can easily find them on my profile.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! Or the Archer poster I'm using for the front cover.
Please enjoy Chapter 2!
Chapter Two:
A Visit To Diagon Alley
"Pass me the hammer, Brandon!"
The sound of steel against nail echoed through the windmill as the shadows of two small figures worked to repair the broken structure of the building, though their effort seemed to amount to very little, as there was very little wood around and lack of materials to help them in such a task. They had managed to board up some of the windows, clear the floors of anything that didn't need to be there, and set up a lookout position on the very top floor.
"Well, I guess we can call that a day's work well done," Brandon smiled as he laid down on his stomach to look out from the hole that his brother and he made for their lookout position.
"See any intruders, Lieutenant Bran?" Derek asked, pretending to sound like a military officer.
"No intruders, sir!" Brandon peeked through the hole with one eye, looking around the vast grassy fields around him. "Our base is secure!"
"Good, then we should start setting up our defense positions!"
"Um, Derek? You do realize we literally have nothing left else to use for our base, right?"
"That's Commander Derek to you!"
Brandon rolled his eyes as he stood up, using his hands to remove the dust from his robes.
"I'm not kidding. We just the last of what we had to board up the windows and any weak spots. And we still haven't done anything about the holes in the ceiling."
"What?!" Derek's smile faded, finally dropping the act. "How can we be out of wood and nails? There's no way we could have used them up already."
"We've been working on this windmill for weeks, Derek. Of course, we ran out of the wood and nails. Haven't you been paying attention to what I've been telling you for the past few days?"
"Sorry," Derek smiled, sheepishly. "I kinda lose track of what you say when I'm not interested."
"Gee, thanks!" Brandon glared at him. "Anyway, since we can't work on the base anymore, I figured we could read the Daily Prophet." He reached into his robes and pulled out a folded newspaper of yesterday's news, having snatched it from the trash after his mother was done with it.
Derek raised an eyebrow, "Mum know about you stealing her mail?"
"It's not mail, Derek-"
"It's delivered by an owl, like everything else, so it's pretty much mail, bro."
"And it isn't stealing if she already threw it into the trash," the boy unfolded the newspaper and laid it on the dusty floor, getting onto his stomach to begin reading.
Rolling his eyes, Derek sat down next to him and looked over his shoulder to read as well.
"Man, that Grindelwald means business. Says he's killed four more Aurors who were in pursuit of him."
"And gained more followers as well," Brandon added as he turned the page.
"Ah, nothing interesting here. Just your usual crime reports and politics."
"Let's see, there's an article about werewolves and the Ministry's future plans for how they're going to control them."
"Pass."
"Something about a growing feud going on between the Malfoy and Prince families."
"Pass."
"An article about Albus Dumbledore and his growing reputation at Hogwarts."
"As much as I am intrigued, I think I'll pass on learning anything about him until we get to Hogwarts. Better to let the mystery behind the man continue to hold my interest."
"Oooh, there's something here about a woman who went missing from her house three nights ago. Aurors say they have no leads, though they suspect Grindelwald's followers may be involved. A witness came forward and reported that he saw people in cloaks watching the house. When she didn't show up for work the next day, the Aurors got involved and found her place empty. Even weirder, they discovered a secret basement that wasn't supposed to be there. According to the landlord, anyway."
"Interesting, but no thanks."
Brandon frowned at his brother, "You are hard to entertain. You know that?"
"Just keep reading, smarty-pants," Derek placed his hand on top of his head and turned his attention back to the newspaper.
"Well, there's a story about what's happening in the muggle world. Apparently, Germany has become a powerful country now."
"Meh, the muggles are boring. What else is there?"
Moaning in frustration, Brandon turned the page and continued on, reading out a few more articles and reports.
After a while, the two finally gave up and disregarded the paper to the corner of the room, climbing the stairs to the roof the building, sitting down to enjoy the view.
"You know, I could live like this forever," Brandon smiled.
Derek nodded, "Me too. We have a pretty good life here, don't we."
The younger brother nodded back, "I just hope it doesn't change."
The very thought made the two shudder, a chill running down their spines. They couldn't imagine losing any of this. Not now, not ever.
Their thoughts drifted to Hogwarts and imagined what their lives would be like once they got there. What Houses would they be Sorted into? What friends would they make together? What adventures awaited them at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? The questions made the possibilities endless as they lost themselves in their own worlds.
Turning his attention towards the river below, Derek smiled as he got up and removed his robes, leaving only his undergarments.
Brandon frowned at him, "Um, what are you doing?"
"Going for a swim!" he cried out, running towards the edge and leaping off, landing into the water.
Looking towards the house, in search of their mother, Brandon removed his robes once he realized he was in the clear and jumped off the edge of the windmill. Feeling himself being engulfed by the cool water, he held his breath and swam to the surface, rubbing his eyes free of the water so he could search for his brother.
"Derek?" he called out. "Where are you?"
Suddenly, he felt something quickly surface from behind and grab him by the neck.
"Haha! Got ya!"
"Derek! You scared the living shit out of me!" he struggled to free himself from his brother's grasp, using his legs to keep himself afloat.
"You kiss your mother with that mouth... little man?"
Anger shot through him as he elbowed Derek in the ribs, earning a painful howl from the boy as he let go of him.
"How many times have I told you not to call me that?!" he splashed water at his face before lounging himself at him as the two began to wrestle.
"Oh, come on, you know you love to hear it," Derek teased, dodging each attack his brother threw at him.
Losing track of time, the two failed to realize that someone was watching them from the riverbank. An unexpected guest who was smiling at the two boys in their moment of innocence and naiveness. A loving mother who enjoyed these little moments with her sons.
Druella Thorne was born to a pureblood family during the 1890s, eventually meeting and marrying Vincent Gray after her graduation from Hogwarts. While it was a disappointment to her parents for marrying someone who didn't come from a wealthy family, they at least were happy she married a pureblood wizard, though that was never her intention. Since her wedding, she's seen very little of her parents, though they were usually busy with their daily lives.
Ever since she gave birth to the twin brothers, she vowed never to raise them in the ways that her parents tried to do with her. She would see to it that they would marry out of love and treat others equally. They would never judge by blood or appearance, only by the actions of others. A vow she was happy to see paying off in the ten years since their birth into this world.
"Brandon! Derek!" she called out, smiling as the two turned towards her with curious looks, while one was held in a headlock by the other. "Come get dried and dressed. We're leaving."
Obeying her, the two retrieved their robes from the top of the windmill, which earned them a look of disapproval when she released how and why that was, and redressed themselves for the journey they were about to take.
"Where are we going, mum?" Brandon asked as the three of them stood in front of the fireplace.
Druella smiled at him once she was going checking her small bag, "There's a place I want to take both of you. A place I've been waiting years to show you."
"Is it Hogwarts?" the two boys asked at the same time, eyes filled with excitement.
Druella laughed, "No, sorry, boys. Not Hogwarts." She reached into her bag and pulled out some Floo powder. "Derek, you first. Like we practiced."
Handing him the powder, he stepped on into the fireplace and prepared himself.
"Say 'Diagon Alley'."
"Diagon Alley!" the boy cried out, throwing the powder down at his feet as a green flame consumed him. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a large room, filled with other fireplaces. Taking a step out, he looked around in awe at the people coming and going. Behind him, his brother came next and finally, their mother.
"That went as good as one could expect," she took each of them by their hand and led them to the doors of the large room, "Welcome to Diagon Alley!"
Once the light receded from their vision, both Derek and Brandon's mouths fell open at the sight before them.
Wizards and witches filled the streets, carrying all sorts of things that they didn't even know existed. There were all kinds of shops, each different from the other. The buildings themselves were amazing in their style and design. And then there were the animals that some of the people were carrying with them.
Families moved from shop to shop, children laughing and teens getting serious into their conversations about Quidditch or other things that they wouldn't talk about in the presence of their parents.
It was so loud that one wondered how anyone could hear what the other person was saying.
"Mummy, can I get my wand now?"
"We're going to crush Slytherin next year in Quidditch, boys! I plan on training as much as I can!"
"Maximillian! Stop staring at those potions and help your sisters with their bags!"
"You think there's a chance I've got a chance with Yui this year?"
For everyone else, it was a normal day in the marketplace of Diagon Alley, but for the boys, they felt as if they were in heaven.
Druella laughed at their expressions, unable to control herself.
"Your father and I had the same expression when we were your age."
"Can we buy what they have?" Brandon asked, unable to tear his eyes away from his surroundings.
"Of course, dear. That's why I brought you here. Figured we could get a headstart before this place really gets busy by August."
The eyes of both boys' widened with shock, speaking at the same time, "You mean there are more people than this?!"
Druella laughed again, almost collapsing from how sore her stomach was at their reaction.
"Come on, the first stop is the most important," she declared as they began to walk down the large pathway. "Gringotts Wizarding Bank!"
The moment they had entered the bank that their mother spoke of, both Brandon and Derek were completely left speechless by the sight of the goblins, who seemed to pay no attention to them as they approached the front desk.
After Druella spoke with one of the goblins, they found themselves being taken down a series of hallways and boarding a weird cart, which was manned by a goblin. Taking their seats, the cart started to move and began going down a long, dark tunnel, only lit by torches every few feet or so. But as they got faster, both Brandon and Derek started to laugh and cheer, enjoying the ride until they came to stop in front of a vault.
"Aw!" they both whined at the same time, earning another laugh from their mother.
Being left in the cart, their mother went to gather the money from the family fault and came back with a small bag that rattled with every movement.
Though their family was by no means rich, they weren't poor either.
Enjoying the ride back for as long as they could, the family exited the bank and began their shopping for the day, starting with a famous wand shop known as 'Ollivanders'.
As they entered the wand shop, a middle-aged man appeared from behind the shelves of the front desk, carrying a series of boxes as he placed them down for the moment.
"Druella Thorne," the man nodded. "Haven't seen you since your last visit before your seventh year at Hogwarts." He turned his attention to the two boys in front of her. "And these two, without a doubt, much be your sons. My, my, they appear to be quite... curious, at first sight."
Druella smiled, "It's good to see you again too, Ollivander. Derek and Brandon need wands for their first year of Hogwarts."
"Oh, twins, hm?" Garrick Ollivander studied them both closely, making the two back up against their mother. "I wonder if they will be similar or different. Or better yet, if one of the two will one day have twins of their own as well."
The two lit up red at the last remark, while Druella laughed.
"Thankfully, they have a long while before we find that out. But we'll settle on seeing what their wands will be like first."
Ollivander nodded and motioned for Derek to come forward, who obeyed with hesitation. Heading to the back, he picked out a box and brought it over. Removing the wand from the box, he wanded it over to the boy.
Derek took the wand in his hand and studied it over before giving it a swish. Right on queue, a lamp fell over and hit the floor.
"Nope!" Ollivander declared, snatching the wand away from him. "Too weak. Too weak."
Placing the wand back into its case and storing it away, he picked out another. And then another. And then another. Before coming right up on the boy's fifth try.
Holding the wand in his wand, the wind picked up around the shop, but never in a way that threatened to cause damage. There was a threatening feel to its power, but one that held restraint.
"It would seem that the wand you hold is one that carries a deep, troubled past. Mistakes made, vows broken with masters from before, and an unforeseen future yet to be told." The old man paused, studying the boy over. "I'm very curious what life holds in store for you, young man."
Keeping a firm grip on his wand, Derek retreated back to his mother, while Brandon approached.
After three failed attempts, the fourth wand accepted the boy with high colors, displaying magic like a magical rainbow.
"Hm, interesting," Ollivander studied him with interest. "Interesting, indeed. The wand you hold is one that values peace and love, above all. No matter what has come its way, it always remembers what's truly important in life. And like your brother's, it too has an unclear future."
Brandon swallowed as he struggled to find his voice, "Um, sir... Why do you speak of wands like as if they're actual people? They're only sticks that help us produce magic... aren't they?"
"Oh, no, my dear child. They are more than just sticks. They're alive and real. The wizard does not choose the wand... the wand chooses the wizard. Even after we die, wands have the potential to outlive us and are therefore wiser than us because of their experience. Always remember that."
Nodding, Brandon backed up next to his brother and took his hand for comfort, while their mother paid for the wands with the galleons in the bag she had. Despite not speaking to one another, they both felt their fear and discomfort from the man's words. And as their hearts raced at great speed, their hands tightened together, a silent promise being made between them.
After their little ordeal at the wand shop, their fear was instantly forgotten as their mother took them to even more shops to buy school books, school supplies, new robes and finally some owls so they can send letters from the school to their home. The entire experience was a thrill ride that didn't seem to have an end. They talked with other kids their age or slightly higher, quickly getting advice in what to expect for their first year. Just hearing about Hogwarts was enough to get them excited for the day when they would finally be able to go.
Once their shopping was complete, the three of them stopped at a local wizard restaurant for a meal and some dessert, taking their time before they would finally make their way back home to store their stuff away until the first day of Septemeber.
Finishing up the chocolate pies they had ordered, the trio walked back to the building that held the fireplaces, entering one to make the return trip back.
But unknown to them, a woman watched them from afar in the dark corner of the large room, listening carefully to the name of their house they each used. Once they had disappeared into the fireplace, one by one, she moved out from his hiding spot and exited through the door.
For those who are wondering why the story is being written in 'Italic', it's because I wanted to give it a nice edge of feeling like a flashback, just in story mode. After all, the mysterious person at the beginning of Chapter 1 is pretty much telling his story to Severus, who is a representation of the audience. Not to mention it'll help separate the past from the present-day stuff.
Please let me know what you guys thought in the review section below. Please a comment or something. Big or small, I love reviews. :)
I apologize for any grammar errors. I will try and go back to correct anything I find.
Nothing much else to add except, see you guys in Chapter 3! :)