The Liesmith Twins
Tyene: Was the nuke necessary?
Wanda: It's writer's block. the last explosion didn't do shit!
Tyene: You're going to wake Godzilla at this rate.
Wanda: I'd do just about anything to shake off my creative freeze at the moment. I refer you to the first chapter for the disclaimer.
**~Year 3: The Prisoner~**
Tracey pulled an epic bluff when Vernon confronted them – she threatened to turn him into a gerbil, banking on the chance that they didn't know about the restriction of underage magic.
(they were fairly sure they had gotten rid of the Trace, but this wasn't the best place to test that.)
They didn't, so Tracey stayed.
After a day of getting a taste of what the Dursleys were like, Tracey made a point of carrying her wand everywhere with her and sticking right next to her friends. So whenever Dudley and his gang walked by, the bully would flush in panic and make up excuses to avoid those who had originally been his favourite targets.
As a consequence of that, his gang lost respect for him.
With her help, the summer was almost tolerable...right until Aunt Marge came to visit.
"WHERE'S MY NEFFY-POO!" The huge woman roared, throwing her massive bag (which contained metal and heavy objects) into Harry, knocking him over.
Aunt Marge was Vernon's sister, so Harry and Fray had been forced to call her 'aunt' all their lives. The woman was a dog breeder with a personality that made Darth Vader look like a Care Bear; the only mercy with her was that she didn't visit too frequently.
Every time she came over seemed worse than the last – on their tenth birthday, Ripper tried to maul Harry for stepping on his tail and bit Fray hard enough to warrant stitches. And she didn't know anything about magic, so she was less easy to threaten.
Aunt Marge restarted her barrage of verbal insults and intimidation from the moment she unpacked. "Still here are you? Clearly they aren't caning you enough, if I had a trouble making brat like you I would have dumped you right at an orphanage."
"I'd keep an eye on the girl and her friend if I were you, Vernon. Dudley is a growing boy. Young women are dangerous things; they'll try and sway him to their wicked ways - I promise it."
"You gave them a bedroom? Preposterous! Comfort is a privilege! It must be earned."
"Do you think I'll be arrested if I murder her?" Tracey asked through her teeth one evening. Fray just shrugged.
"Let's not find out the hard way." Harry said with a sigh. It was a mark of how badly he and Fray wanted to be able to go to Hogsmeade legally that they were mostly tolerating Aunt Marge's bile.
"...You sure? Because I'm certain we'd be let off on the grounds of temporary insanity."
"I'm pretty sure."
That resolution didn't quite last to the end of the week. The dinner that night was chicken and lots of wine. Marge had downed eight glasses by the third week.
"So! Your sister never married? You don't know who produced these runts?" Aunt Marge said tipsily.
"Yes." Petunia answered reluctantly. "I only saw him once – some dark haired stranger; a completely different person from that Potter freak who claimed to be her fiance."
"It's no slight against you, Petunia. There's always a whore in the family somewhere."
CRASH!
Everything made of glass in the house exploded. Dudley screamed and threw himself onto the floor; Petunia got several chunks imbedded in her arms.
Fray and Harry both rocketed to their feet, eyes blazing with anger.
"Never. Ever. Call our mother that."
"She was twice the woman you'll ever be."
Marge surged forward and tried to hit Harry with one of the pots; Tracey got there first. She hit the woman with an overpowered bone breaking hex and all three of them bolted from the house, barely stopping long enough to gather their things.
%&%&%&%&%&%&&%%&&%
Together they made their way down the darkened streets, Harry glancing warily over his shoulder every now and then to make sure they weren't being followed.
Tracey was the one who came up with calling the Night Bus. It brought them straight to Diagon Alley. The bus ride was kind of insane – there was a talking shrunken head hanging from the windshield next to the driver – Harry decided he would rather walk when that was over.
After a run in with a man in a stupid bowler hat, it was confirmed that Finite did in fact remove the tracking charm from their wands. Tracey was giddy.
Given that it was still a month before they had to go back to Hogwarts – they had taken up residence in the Leaky Cauldron for the meantime – Fray and Tracey decided to go clothes shopping.
Harry found himself kicked out around the half way point, with Fray muttering that it was girls apparel she needed.
Harry wisely accepted this and suggested they meet up at the ice cream parlor.
"Harry!" "Fray!"
Harry grinned and fielded a massive bear hug from his bushy haired friend as she and Ginny greeted them with enthusiasm. Ginny was looking a lot healthier than she had at the end of last year; obviously whatever Fred and George did to help her feel better had actually worked out.
(In any other case, Harry would have found putting 'Fred and George' and 'feeling better' in the same sentence ominous)
"Good to see you too, Hermione."
"Are Reyna and Melissa with you?" Fray asked curiously.
"They'll be here in a few days – I called them over the weekend. Reyna's mum went super nuts during June – kept her locked inside the house and other crazy stuff. It took time for her to get away; she and Mel are still making their way down here." Hermione explained, looking troubled at the mention of Reyna's mother.
"Neville said he'd meet us on the platform." Ginny added. "His grandmother doesn't take him shopping until a day or so before school starts."
It turned out the reason the Minister had come to meet Harry and Fray was because there was a breakout from Azkaban.
After all, that particular building hadn't earned its reputation by being like that American mental institution, Arkham.
According to the news, mass murderer Sirius Black had managed to achieve the impossible and escaped without leaving any hints as to how he had managed it. Not a lot of information had been compromised – after all, this was extremely embarrassing for the Ministry, to have an escape for the first time in centuries – but the man was confirmed to have been loyal subject of Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Riddle.
That was the reason bowler hat guy, aka Minister Fudge had met up with the twins – he wanted to make sure they were alive.
Harry and his gang made an oath to stick together and never go anywhere alone. Fray gave Ginny one of her knives, much to Hermione's horror and disapproval. Ginny, however, was thankful – she was in no hurry to turn into a victim again.
"So do you think security will be any better this year?" Melissa asked as they piled into one of the few remaining empty train compartments. Well, almost entirely empty – the new defence against the dark arts teacher, one Professor RJ Lupin, was already there and asleep.
She was balancing the wicker basket holding her familiar – a black tuxedo kitten – on her knees. The little kitty came as a package deal with Hermione's pet Crookshanks. Apparently the two cats had befriended each other and thus had to be bought as a pair. Little Ashley was one of the few animals that made cranky, cool headed Melissa smile.
"Well, considering that there's a highly dangerous lunatic running around, I would bloody well hope so." Neville grumbled.
"What do you suppose the 'extra safety measures' the pamphlets were talking about are?" Reyna asked.
"I have a few theories, and none of them are good." Hermione said unhappily.
Before anyone could ask her what she meant by that, the train came to a screeching halt. Tracey yelped as she was thrown into Harry's arms as the ground pitched below them. The lights went out a second later.
"What the fuck?"
"What's going on? Have we derailed?"
"We can't be there yet..."
"Ouch, Neville! That's my foot!"
"Does anyone else hear that?"
"Quiet!"
Professor Lupin had woken up. He brought light into the compartment with a quiet spell; it outlined how tired and prematurely aged his face looked. In Harry's opinion, he didn't just look tired – he seemed downright unhealthy.
Reyna, who'd been leaning against the window, suddenly yanked backwards with a started yelp. "Gah! Cold!"
Harry turned to see frost creeping up the side of the window. But that couldn't be right...the weather had been at least twenty degrees when they left the station...
A horrible chill swept over the room. The door creaked open on its own...a slimy, decayed hand wrapped around it, pushing it aside...
It was a halloween horror monster come to life...a tall, swaying figure wrapped in black that rank of rotting flesh and dying plants. A deep, rattling, wheezing breath echoed in the compartment...the chill turned freezing...
That's when Harry and Fray heard the woman screaming.
"NO! NO, NOT MY CHILDREN, NOT MY LITTLE ONES, KILL ME INSTEAD – PLEASE – HAVE MERCY – HAVE MERCY -"
A horrible laugh followed this cry, along with a sickening flash of green light, and suddenly the twins found themselves plunging into darkness.
Meanwhile, many of their friends were experiencing similar things...
Reyna screamed and clutched at her chest. She felt the bullet that nearly took her life five years ago rip a hole in her, the burning agony consuming her every thought. She struggled to breath, the frantic beeping of a machine thundering in her ears, the worried mutter of nurses, her mother screaming bloody murder-
Melissa wrapped herself up in a ball. That Siberian winter had been particularly unforgiving – she'd been locked up in the orphanage attic as punishment for robbing a nearby convenience store. She had no blankets and the building had no central heating. The chill set into her bones and she was going to die there in the cold, alone, unmourned and forgotten -
Ginny was tearing at her hair and sobbing. The basilisk snarled in her ears; she could feel its jaws snapping shut inches from her face, her body moving against her will as Tom ordered her to murder her friends and fellow classmates. She saw herself lure Malfoy towards the monster, saw Penelope's terror when she realized she was cornered, she could hear Tom laughing and the horrible violation she'd experienced waking up in the chamber-
Neville saw his parents locked up in the St Mugos ward. His mother looking at him, not recognizing him, his father unable to do anything without the assistance of the doctors. Then he found himself danging out of a window, held there by his great uncle, except this time the water was dark and deep and his magic didn't break the fall -
Tracey was panicking; her uncle had torn her blouse on her eleventh birthday when her father announced that they would marry when she was of age to have children. She remembered hiding in her room, hating and fearing everything, desperately trying to avoid being alone with the disguising older man who she would be sold to on her fifteenth birthday – she would be a brood mare, locked up in the bedroom to avoid miscarriages and to prevent any attempts to escape the hell waiting for her -
Luna saw her mother die again. They had been experimenting with potions that day; her mother had always enjoyed trying to create new and exciting things. But something went wrong, the plants were reacting violently, and as the water turned red her mother pushed her away and absorbed the explosion with her own body. Blood rained everywhere as Luna could only hold her hand and scream for help-
And then it was over.
The Hogwarts gang woke up in the infirmary. It wasn't just them, either – there were a lot of other, younger kids there with them, some of whom still hadn't regained consciousness.
The school nurse, Poppy, was pissed.
"Dementors, bringing dementors into a school full of vulnerable children. If Fudge ever comes into the Infirmary, I'm going to force feed him poison for doing something this stupid!" She ranted. "I swear, they're going to do more damage than Black could ever hope to..."
"The what now?"
"Dementors. They're the ones who guard Azkaban under normal circumstances...they are foul, vicious creatures...under no circumstances are any of you to approach them."
"...Okay, if all the dementors are here in the school with baby kids then who's guarding Azkaban right now?"
"...I don't know."
"I want to transfer. Seriously."
**~Later~**
A few hours later and plenty of chocolate, sorting happened and the school year began in earnest.
The first interesting new addition was Care of Magical Creatures – well, after Harry got his death predicted in Divination Class. Thankfully they had McGonagall there to inform them that Professor Trawley had predicted the deaths of several Hogwarts students before, and none of them had died yet.
The list included Cedric Diggory, Nymphadora Tonks, the Muggle Studies teacher, Fred Weasley, and even the Headmaster himself. Needless to say, everyone considered her a bit of a basket case. But hey – it was an easy grade!
Hagrid was the one teaching the new class. He showed off a group of Hippogryffs – half horse, half eagle creatures. Fray actually got to pet one named Buckbeak; animals had always liked her.
After that, there came the ever changing class of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Except this time, the incompetent teacher list did not get added to!
Professor Lupin had a sense of humour unlike most of the other teachers. His teaching style was a mixture of McGonagall and Flitwick; fun yet stern and productive.
His first lesson involved Boggarts. Turning your worst fear funny could be therapeutic, especially after the class's collective experience with the Dementors.
Reyna turned hers – a faceless man with a gun - into a harmless Super Soaker which promptly sprayed Marietta Edgecomb in the face with enough force to knock her over. The Hufflepuffs all laughed while a few Ravenclaws attempted to look disapproving while smothering chuckles.
Melissa's boggart was a massive black wolf. She turned it into a Pound Puppy doll.
Luna's boggart was an explosion. Lupin got rid of it for her when she froze in fear, comforted her after class and gave her some chocolate, raising his estimation even further in the eyes of the students.
Neville's boggart was Professor Snape. He got his revenge for all the crap that teacher had given him by giving him his grandmother's clothes. Every student under fourth year started laughing hysterically whenever Snape walked into class because of this, much to his impotent rage.
Ginny's boggart was a basilisk – unsurprisingly. It took two attempts for her to succeed in casting the charm, but the second time she forced it to tap dance. Reyna spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how that was even possible.
Harry and Fray weren't allowed to test the boggart; Professor Lupin had voiced concerns about a boggart Voldemort causing mass panic in the school. The twins accepted this reluctantly, though Fray believed privately that they would see something else.
Quidditch season started up again; Wood was excited. He wanted to get the Cup for the House; Fray and Harry had been unconscious causing them to loose an important match in first year. So now was their last chance to get their names on the cup.
Harry was rather excited as well. It was nice to be able to win something for himself.
Fray, meanwhile, was lost in her thoughts about their father.
Both twins wished they had some way of contacting their real father. They pieced together what Voldemort had told them to realize their father was Asgardian.
The wizarding world knew about the Nine Realms; the records of the Frost Giant wars had been preserved by the Department of Mysteries. While the bi frost hadn't been opened publicly in centuries, it was speculated that there were other passages among the realms.
Their father must have taken one when he met their mother. Hermione was certain of it.
Unfortunately, there was no record of how the bi frost opened available to the public. The Unspeakables had any information that remained sealed.
**~Later~**
"Hi puppy."
"Is that a stray?" Harry asked his sister.
Fray was ruffling the fur of a huge, friendly black dog as she sat down by the lake. "I think so; the poor thing's thin as a rail."
"He kind of looks like a Grim."
"I noticed; but he's definitely solid."
The dog barked and nuzzled Harry's hand when the boy petted him. The boy chuckled and suggested that they bring the dog inside.
After all, Sirius Black had been spotted thirty miles west of Hogsmeade. Any animal that could give them a warning bark was a welcome addition to the Gryffindor Common Room.
The dog – now named Snuffles – took up residence in Harry's dorm room. Ron was predictably unhappy, but Dean and Seamus liked the dog. Snuffles was quite friendly; even Neville who was famously terrible with animals could play with him.
Ron tried to get rid of Snuffles after his rat, Scabbers, disappeared. However, McGonagall put her foot down and the dog stayed.
**~Later~**
Harry and Fray nearly died in the next Quidditch game.
A horrible storm had rolled in. A freezing and driving rain lashed the stands and thunder rolled in the distance. Never the less, the game went on as scheduled.
The whole school was there; excitement and nervousness filled the air.
And that brought the Dementors.
Dementors were vicious creatures. It didn't matter whether or not if the children or other victims were innocent or harmless; they were hungry.
"NOT MY BABIES – PLEASE – HAVE MERCY – HAVE MERCY-"
"Stand aside, woman-"
Harry fell five hundred feet. He probably would have died if McGonagall and Flitwick hadn't caught him with spells. Fray had already passed out by then, thankfully she hadn't fallen far enough to seriously harm herself.
They eventually woke up in the hospital with their friends and teammates surrounding them with the news. The game was won, but their brooms were destroyed and they had nearly died again.
Mercifully, their near death experiences were enough to get the Dementors removed from the schools and replaced with human Aurors.
**~Later~**
Harry and the gang started running a study group to help each other through tests and exams.
It was around this time that one of the youngest aurors, Nymphadora Tonks, stumbled across them and befriended Fray and Tracey.
She worked for Amelia Bones, one of the few members of the Ministry who wasn't incompetent, corrupt, lazy or a supremacist of some sort.
Tonks was friendly, outgoing and clumsy. She was an easy person to like, and she was very protective of her friends. Tonks believed that Harry, Reyna, Neville and Melissa all had great auror potential, and she was their first real mentor when it came to violent combat.
Melissa and Harry took to the lessons with particular enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Professor Lupin offered to teach Harry and Fray the patronus charm just in case they ever ran into Dementors again. While neither of them could make a corporal one yet, they had progressed faster than some trained aurors.
**~Later~**
It took a lot of begging, arguing and pleading, but eventually the twins were allowed into Hogsmeade as long as Tonks was chaperoning.
Reyna showed them around Zonkos with exuberance. Later Hermione talked about the Shireking Shack (nobody liked going close to it, since it was supposedly one of the most haunted buildings in Europe. Then they filled up on chocolate and butterbear; it was a very happy weekend.
Right up until they overheard Tonks's boss and the Minister talking about Sirius Black.
Specifically, about how Sirius Black had supposedly given up the location of Lily to Voldemort, which lead to her murder at the hands of the Dark Lord.
Harry quietly decided he was going to kill Black. Fray felt the same way. Tonks wasn't ready to allow it, so she kept a close eye on the twins. She didn't let them slip out of the school.
"He's not worth it." Tonks told them. "I know because he was part of my family. Trust me, he'll get caught and he'll rot away in Azkaban until he dies and goes to hell. He's earned it. Don't let him get to you."
The Quidditch season came to an explosive end.
Gryffindor won almost every match they took. Fray got the snitch away from Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker. Harry managed to beat Cedric on their rematch.
Wood impressed the talent scouts on the last match too; Harry and Fray caught the snitch with some teamwork.
And with that, the year came to an end.
Sirius Black was never caught or found. Neither was Ron's rat, Scabbers.
The gang of friends wouldn't discover the connection between that until the end of next year.
End Chapter
I'm having a bit of confliction regarding what happens next - I mean, there are two plans in my head for what happens next. Either fourth year goes ahead semi-canonically and the twins run off to New Mexico to interfere with the Thor plot, or Reyna has to go to the hospital and Hermione ends up with a certain Flash Drive when trying to get Gum to distract her friend from her sprained ankle. Then Melissa's dad tries to kill them.
What do you guys want to see more?
Read and Review please!