Chapter 21: Spring Break

Four boys, all related, were sitting outside near the lake. The least related, and most happy about it was Draco. He was also the most upset.

"Father owled me. They want me to return to the Manor for the spring holiday."

Nob shuddered. "That means you'll be getting all mushy with Ginny Weasley on the train."

"No. Well, I will, but that's not the point. One way or another, I won't be coming back. And I'm not sure what the other way is."

Malcolm looked at Nob. They both nodded. "We'll ride shotgun for you. Besides, we haven't seen Reese all year."

Draco almost laughed. "Except for when a certain guest is there, he's having a great time. Rumor has it that even Aunt Bella likes my new attitude."

"That's no fun," Nob added. "Why would we want to watch him enjoying himself?"

"So we can ruin it," Dewey added. "If Draco's going home, they don't need Reese anymore. We wait until Reese is really happy, then we remove the spell."

"Cool."

[Yeah. Dewey's growing up. It's that maturity thing. Either that or he wants to get back at Reese for all the times he picked on him.

Draco shook his head. "Dewey, you do understand that people leave HIS service in only one way. He's not going to let Reese go. Reese knows too much and he never keeps his mouth shut."

"We need a plan," Malcolm said with authority.

"I'll make one," Dewey told him.

"I've got one," Nob pointed out.

Three boys laughed. They calmed down enough to ask Nob to tell his plan. When Nob refused because he was angry, Malcolm punched his arm and ordered him to tell or he'd get worse. Nob hit Malcolm in the face, then agreed to tell.

"It's what we did with Jared and Simon. Since Reese is Draco, they're twins. I grab one, you grab the other and . . . we have lunch."

"That is a good plan," Dewey admitted. "But we'll need a backup plan."

Nob pouted. "Why?"

"What if they cancelled the spell on Reese already?"

"So what do we do then?"

"Confusion," Dewey said.

Malcolm smiled. And he knew just the person to talk to.

"What? Do I have one of those bugs over my head again?" Anthony was always concerned when Reese was around. The feeling was extended to Reese's brothers as well. After maintaining a low profile for so long, they had come back to bother him. "I'm being watched all the time, anyway."

"Yeah," Malcolm admitted. "Me and Nob watch you and make daily reports at least once a week. Who cares? We want to watch you do something or we'll tell certain people you're doing something."

Anthony frowned. Malcolm had proven he was Reese, only smarter. "And what do you want me to do?" When Malcolm smiled, Anthony realized he would have been better off choosing door number two. "I'll get Becca."

[Hey, that means two things. He knows what I'm talking about. And I was right. He's been practicing.

"You any good?"

Anthony couldn't help but smile. "Pull out your wand and practice your Defense homework."

Malcolm pulled out his wand and cast the lumos spell. Nothing happened. Anthony said he had a range of ten feet. After that, it tapered off for another ten. And it didn't break wards or cancel existing spells except, for example, that a security ward wouldn't go off if he were the one to walk through it. As an added bonus, he pointed out that Malcolm could even change into his animal form because it was a pre-existing spell.

Percival Harmon was explaining the accounts to Francis. Not an in depth explanation, only the basics so that he understood how bad their situation was.

"Major withdrawals have been made from your brother's account at Gringotts. The only reason we're still afloat is that not all previous accounts have been withdrawn, probably because of casualties on the parts of the previous depositors, as well as the fact that the withdrawals were not complete. Apparently, there was a prearranged agreement that a holding fee of some ten percent would be charged. As a result, we still have sufficient funds to meet out balances. For a few weeks. Or until we're audited. Whichever comes first. And we're already overdue on the audit."

"But what about the profits from the mall?"

"That's all going to repay the financing of the muggle loans, after salaries and upkeep. We can start using that money in two or three years."

Francis shook his head. "I'm officially confused."

"It's simple. We've put the mall on complete muggle financing, using the Gringotts account for emergency funding. But we're paying everything for the bus tours from the Gringotts account with nothing going back in. Either we find a new source of income, or the Chosen One gets off his arse and nixes the Dark Lord before the end of the month. If we're audited, the timing is shortened to five minutes before the government accountants walk through that door. Because it's going to be obvious that I'm moving money around just to keep everything else moving."

"Any more bad news?"

"Outside of keeping track of three sets of books, I can't think of any?"

"Three?"

"One for the muggles, one for the Ministry, and one so we know what's really going on. I'd say you should start keeping a personal fund and when trouble hits run for that tour bus."

Francis returned to his fancy office and sat down. He felt like he was on a train instead of a bus and somewhere, up ahead, the bridge was out. And he couldn't risk shouting a warning in case the bridge coming up was the wrong bridge. Life was so much easier when he was a juvenile delinquent.

"Sir?" It was Claire on the intercom. "The auditors called. They want to set up an interview. And Mister Harmon's left for lunch."

Francis looked at his calender. It was already Thursday. "Claire, if it's no problem, any time next week is good. We're going into the Easter weekend and tomorrow is already chaos."

"Very well, Sir. I'll set things up."

Francis waited until Claire checked back with him. The auditors suggested Monday morning and to call back if there were any problems. He waited until Harmon returned from lunch and told him he was a prophet.

Everything seemed so easy, Draco thought, as he walked up the road to the Manor house. Malcolm and Nob were somewhere overhead, while Dewey and Anthony were following, invisibly, on the back of a Griffin. It was going to be an interesting night. The first thing he did was slip inside the house and locate Reese. A stunning spell made life easier and he walked downstairs, after opening a window, to take his rightful place as heir to the manor. His timing was impeccable. Visitors entered as he walked into the drawing room.

Draco's first thoughts were that his timing couldn't be worse. The first person of the group to enter was Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf. And he claimed he had the Chosen One with him.

Malcolm and Nob bided their time. They both knew Hermione Granger. And liked her. To hear her scream and know they didn't dare interfere made the scene they were trying not to witness worse for both of them. Then the rescue came from the dungeon. Malcolm dared to peek just in time to see Bellatrix Black throw a small knife. He knew it hit its mark.

It was over. Bellatrix Black had enough time to, unknowingly, teach Nob a new word before Voldemort apparated directly into the drawing room.

[It's Showtime.

"Good, Malcolm, you're here," Draco suddenly said from behind him. He walked past the two boys, adding, "You can have your brother back, shortly. After this, no one will want him here."

Malcolm watched in shock as Reese, as Draco, walked down the stairs to greet the Dark Lord.

[I think we should have had a few more backup plans.

The first few minutes, for Malcolm, were fun. He watched as the werewolf was shown how powerful the Cruiatus Curse could be. Others were berated in a similar fashion. Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa were treated the lightest. Voldemort clearly did not expect much from them, anyway.

"And which one of you is Draco?" the Dark Lord said, at last.

Two identical boys said they were.

"And one of you is lying? Which one of you has a wand?" Voldemort looked as one Draco pulled a wand out of his pocket. "The real Draco had his wand stolen. A mahogany wand. You must be Reese."

"I stole his wand, master," Draco said quickly. "I knew Reese would only cause trouble if he were to get involved. Things could have been worse."

"I don't see how," Voldemort said, clearly amused. "But there is another way. I gave the Dark Mark to my loyal follower. Draco, remove your shirt." Draco hesitated. A flick of the master's wand and Draco's shirt went flying, torn to shreds. Draco stood there bare chested and, more damning, bare armed. There was no Dark Mark visible.

"If I may, Master," the other Draco said with oily ease. He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt far enough to reveal the mark burned into his arm.

"Thank you, Draco, for that proof. AVADA KEDAVRA." The Draco who was Reese fell to the ground, dead. No one moved as the Dark Lord turned to the real Draco. "It doesn't matter who you used to be. You are Draco Malfoy, now and always. Did you think I was so foolish that I didn't know it was you all this time while the real Draco, excuse me, the former Draco Malfoy played his shenanigans at school? Go back to Hogwarts and clean up his mess. If you do well, I can promise you the Dark Mark, for real."

"Th-thank you, master."

"I always reward loyalty." Voldemort was smiling.

At that point, Nob decided to start screaming.

[I'd have screamed but I'm still in shock.

Everyone turned to the staircase. Malcolm and Nob were there. Malcolm was staring at Reese's body. Nob was simply screaming.

"You killed him," Malcolm said in a low tone.

"He was no longer useful. Nor was he loyal. Are you loyal, Malcolm?" The threat was clear.

"He was family," Malcolm said.

Voldemort pointed his wand at Malcolm. "You have a choice. His parents aren't upset. You shouldn't be. And, in a sense, you still have your brother and your cousin, thanks to Nob's little trick."

"He was family," Malcolm repeated as he walked down the stairs.

[I hope you realize that what I'm doing is completely stupid. On the other hand, I'm still in shock and I believe I can take on the entire room with one hand tied behind my back.

As Malcolm stepped off the staircase onto the floor proper, he put one hand behind his back. He whipped out his wand and shouted, "IT'S TIME TO ROCK AND ROLL."

Voldemort shouted in return. "Avada Kedavra." The green glow of the killing curse engulf Malcolm.

Malcolm sneezed.

The glow faded.

"Malcolm," Nob called out, pointing to his cheek, "Booger."

"Oh, Gross. Thanks." Malcolm pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his cheek. For safe keeping he then blew his nose. He started to put the used handkerchief back in his pocket, then hesitated. Instead he threw it on the floor. He looked up and everyone was staring at him. "Is it my turn?"

[Either I'm imagining things or I just pull a Harry Potter on him.

Malcolm felt his forehead. "Hey, how come I don't get a scar? Is it an English thing?"

"Malcolm," Draco said carefully. "How do you feel?"

"I don't feel a thing. Really. Do you want to fight me? I think I can handle it. It'll be fun?"

Voldemort took a wand from one of the Death Eaters. He pointed it at Malcolm.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Hey, I didn't sneeze that time," Malcolm said.

Voldemort turned his wand on Nob who had walked over to Reese's body. "Avada Kedavra."

Nob snorted. As the green glow faded, he said, "That tickles."

[Anyway, I'm no longer in shock. Now, I'm screwed. Wait. I just remembered. Plan A.

"Impossible," Voldemort said. "They are immune to the killing curse. We will have to try other means." He said to everyone else. "Grab them."

Draco, eager to live, put his hand on Malcolm's shoulder. Nob was watching him. He had his foot on Reese's chest. As Malcolm cast his spell, Nob called out, "Hey, Big V. Grab this." The shout was accompanied by an obscene gesture consisting of the raised digit of one hand. He barely finished shouting when he disappeared along with Malcolm, Draco and Reese's body.

[I hope Dewey and Anthony are okay. We left them sitting on Dennis. I guess they're still invisible 'cause nobody freaked out about a griffin being there.

"I am sorry," Draco said to Malcolm as they suddenly appeared by a door without a wall.

Malcolm snarled. "But it was Reese, so that's okay."

"For me," Draco said. "You knew it had to be one of us. And I can't object to the way things turned out."

"I can," Dewey said as he suddenly appeared with Anthony and Dennis. "You were supposed to stun Reese and keep him out of the way."

"I did."

"He recovered," Malcolm said, "And was past me before I could stop him. It wasn't Draco's fault." He lowered his head. "It was mine. Reese is dead because of me."

"Brother," Nob said as everyone else became very quiet.

"Shut up, Nob."

"Brother."

"I told you to SHUT UP."

"MALCOLM, YOU ASSHOLE, WE HAVE COMPANY."

Malcolm turned around to see who was standing there. He didn't smile. "You came for Reese?"

"No," Death told him. "I came for Draco. Except he's not dead yet. Either kill him or take the spell off Reese so I can get back to work."

"What?" It would have sounded more dramatic except at least four people asked the question.

[Of course. It's obvious. Reese died as Draco, not as Reese. If I remove the spell, Reese will be Reese again and he'll still be alive. Yes. I just take the spell off and Reese will be back. Yeah . . . Boy, talk about your mixed emotions.

"Finite Incantatum," Anthony said. He smiled at Malcolm. "You were taking too long. I assumed you couldn't figure it out."

"Naw," Nob explained. "He was just trying to figure out how long he could put it off."

"It is Reese," Draco pointed out.

"Wow," Reese said as he sat up, "that was an experience I don't want to repeat." He saw Death smiling at him. "Hey, babe, sorry to scare you like that. I was in control the whole time. I knew I had backup."

"I think I'll survive," Death said as she flashed him a smile. "If you'll excuse me, I have to be going."

"Hey, wait," Reese called, "We'd make a good couple. I'd like to see you again."

"I can promise you," Death told him, "we will meet again."

"Is that . . ." Anthony asked.

"She looks familiar," Dennis said.

"Did you want to join us?" Nob asked as he took Death's hand. "I mean, do you eat?"

"I'm hungry," Malcolm said. He tried the door. It opened.

"Wow," Reese said. "This place is crowded."

"Well, look who's back," the waitress said. "You're getting to be a regular."

"Hey, Naomi," Malcolm said. "We need a table for eight."

Naomi's eyes went wide. "I like the company you keep. Follow me."

Death smiled. "I really can't stay." She stroked Nob's hair. "But thank you for asking. You are the young gentleman."

As she went to leave, Malcolm called out, "See you later."

Death called back. "It's a given."

"I want to know, Nob," Dennis said, "How did you survive the killing curse? And how did Malcolm survive it twice?"

"Shared Enhancement," Malcolm answered. "Nob thought of this spell that links our bodies. Do you know about Horcruxes?"

Dennis nodded. "Dewey told me that's what's taking Potter so long. He also said you've got to kill people to make them."

"Well, we did the same thing, without all the killing. Think of it like this. I gave Nob half of my soul and he gave me half of his. The killing curse rips your soul from the body. When Voldemort cast his spell, my soul was destroyed. But Nob had part of it and he gave it back to me, except he again saved half, and gave me half of his soul as well because . . . We share everything. And souls don't have any volume so you can keep giving half and still have a whole one."

Dennis was impressed.

"My question," Anthony said. "I know why Dewey went. And Dennis was an obvious choice. Was I really needed?"

"You could have been," Malcolm explained. "You are Reese's friend and if he had any doubts he would listen to you."

"Really?" Anthony looked surprised. He didn't think Reese listened to anyone.

"Where is Reese?" Malcolm asked.

"The kitchen. He wanted to find out how they made the veal he was served."

It was late at night. There was a knock at the door that wouldn't let up. Angry and tired, Hector Filch walked to the locked door of the dormitory where he was keeping watch. His eyes widened as he saw who was there. The doors were unlocked and opened in a flash.

"Reese?" He looked at the younger boy. "Anthony?"

"My friend and I are looking for work," Anthony said.

Reese smiled. "I learned this great new recipe for veal and I've been dying to try it."

"Can you start tomorrow?" Hector asked. "I'll give you your old wage and the old storage cottage to live in."

"Keys?" Reese demanded.

Hector pulled out his key ring and pulled a key off. "Here you are."

As Reese ran off, satisfied with the results, Hector looked at Anthony. "Will you have any problems getting back?"

Anthony looked around. "No one knows I'm here. Could I stay? I'm a good assistant chef."

Hector saw the pleading look in the boy's eyes. And he had heard stories. "We'll get you a uniform, just in case. And a cap to wear whenever you're outside. In case anyone sees you." He stepped aside to let the boy enter. "Welcome home."

At the very moment that everyone disappeared from the room, Draco reappeared exactly as he was when he left. "What the . . ." he said as he looked at his empty hand. "How did he do that?" He looked up at Voldemort. "Master?"

Voldemort was angry. They simply vanished. No popping noises. They were there, and then they were gone. But he knew them well enough. They would try to contact their brother. And their brother loved being Draco more than himself.

Dennis flew into the air once they returned. He wanted his moment of freedom before he went back to Gryffindor. Dewey left him to go back to Slytherin. Nob returned to Ravenclaw. Things were getting bad. Neville and Seamus looked like crash dummies from a car commercial. After they drove the car.

Dennis smiled. Nob was Neville's best secret. He was the one who was passing information to the others. The ones outside Dumbledore's Army who could be trusted. Malcolm would be suspect, but Nob was the opposite. His smile said you could believe him when he told you something.

Harmon was panicking when Francis told him they were safe. He was given the account number to access and went to work. In the space of an hour, the line of credit was entered into the books as a legal transaction. It was entered into a second set of books as an approved support fund. In the third set of books it was listed as a tapped resource to be watched carefully in case someone came looking for their money.

The auditors came in promptly at the opening of business. Francis greeted them. He introduced Harmon, then left them to the audit.

"Amazing," one of the auditors said as they exited the accountant's office. "The entire world is international these days. Backers in London, France and the States."

Percival Harmon was smiling. "And the London group is an international fund as well. With partners from every country from here to Australia and back again."

One of the auditors noticed Malcolm. When Francis introduced his brother, the auditor asked why he was wearing robes.

[I've done this routine before.

"I'm in the school choir, Sir. I wanted to show off to my brother."

"The choir?" Both auditors were smiling. "We'd love to hear something."

Malcolm began to sing. "God save our gracious Queen / God save our . . ."

"For mercy's sake, please stop," one of the auditors cried. "Why did they ever put you in the choir?"

"I turn the sheet music for the organist, Sir."

The auditors said goodbye and left.

Harmon was still smiling. He asked Francis if he could discuss something in private with him. About the recent cash inputs. Francis told him it was no problem and he and Malcolm followed the man into his office.

"Where did you get that account?" Harmon asked. "If anything, it's bigger than the last account we tapped into."

"What?" Malcolm said. "That's my money you've been spending?"

Francis looked at Harmon. Harmon looked at Francis. They both looked at Malcolm and said yes. "And now," Harmon demanded, "I want to know whose money we're using now."

"Cousin Draco gave me the number to his dad's account," Malcolm explained.

Harmon paled as he stared at Malcolm. "The Malfoys? Their account has been taken over by You-Know-Who. All of that money has been seized from . . . I've tapped into the Dark Lord's account." As the shock faded, he smiled again. "I've had a thought. It must be poetic justice. We're using the money he seized to help the very people he took it from."

"Francis?" Malcolm asked. "You're the Phantom?"

"The what?"

"You don't even know? There's this covert radio station that talks about what's going. Who died. Who lied. And every now and then they report how people the government is tracking just up and disappear on them. That they were grabbed by the Phantom."

Robin was getting very good at his job. He had a wonderful time during the Christmas tour. It ended with several hangovers and a proposal of marriage to a girl who never even told him her name. She went to France saying she would think about it.

And today, a strange thing happened to him. One of the clerks from the candle shop on the next floor happened to run into him as he was walking home. He was polite and friendly and then mentioned running into some strange people two blocks over.

The same thing had happened once before. Robin decided a detour was in order. His eight block walk on a beautiful day would become a ten block walk.

He found the place easily enough. Another family. Standing there trying to look like tourists that were too tired. The man kept looking around, nervously. Robin walked by, deliberately looking at the baby the mother was holding. He was a salesman and he had his line ready.

"Cute baby," he said, with a nod to the parents. He stopped in his tracks. "Wait, did that baby just smile at me or was it a phantom thought."

Hope appeared in the man's eyes. "Phantoms abound on a cold night."

"And in the shadows of a summer's day," Robin replied. He honestly had no idea what he was doing, but he knew it was good. The tour was still three days away. "My flat's not far from here, and I don't get many relatives visiting, Cousin . . ."

"Dag," the man said.

"Cousin Dag. Over dinner, I'll tell you about my job. You might even like to try one of our tours."

It was a short walk. They stayed for the three days and the tour bus picked them up in front of the building. The Phantom had snatched away another family from the searching eyes.

It was rehearsed. But Dewey had plenty of time to prepare.

"Wait a minute," he asked Amycus Carrow. "Did he kill Reese or Draco?"

"Well," Amycus said politely, "Reese is now Draco, so in one sense he killed both of them and in another sense he killed neither of them."

"Cool. At least I don't have to tell Mom. And Draco was getting a little flaky, anyway. Does that mean my brother's filthy rich or does he have to wait for Uncle Lucius to kick the bucket?"

Amycus tried to smile. He was speaking to a member of the most cold blooded family he had ever met. He was telling the boy that his cousin was killed and the rat was trying to figure out what he could get out of it. He dropped the second bombshell to see what effect it would have on the boy.

"Your twin brothers didn't share your enthusiasm. They managed to steal Malfoy's body, although to what purpose I cannot imagine."

Dewey inadvertently laughed as he remembered Nob giving Voldemort the finger, except it was the wrong finger. "Sorry. I was just thinking how stupid that was. It must be an owl thing." Dewey gave his best smile. "I'm sure Malcolm has some brilliant plan that he'll tell us about later." Dewey was proud of himself. That last sentence made him sound very mature.

"The master has ordered them to be killed on sight."

"Does that mean I finally have permission?" Dewey managed to giggle at the end of the sentence. "This is great. It's payback time."

"That's the spirit," Amycus said with effort. Dewey was making him almost as nervous as when the Dark Lord was angry. "Let me know the results . . . when they occur." He tried to sound cheerful when he said, "you are dismissed."

Dewey left the office and turned right. He went down the first staircase, followed the hall ahead of him until he came to a corner. He turned left and entered the second office on the left.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"They never figured out how to break through your wards. And you need to know something important. I have permission to hunt owls."

"That explains why Malcolm and Nob never returned after the holiday. And why did you risk coming here."

"To innocently ask if you've heard anything. They're my brothers and I'm extremely worried."

"Really?"

She walked Dewey to the door. As she opened it, she yelled, "You are a disgrace to your family. You deserve to be in Slytherin. AND DON'T EVER BOTHER ME AGAIN." Then she slammed the door behind her.

Amycus stepped out from around the corner, looking curious. Dewey gave him a lopsided smile. "All I said was that I was real worried." He changed his expression to a frown. "She actually laughed at me."

Amycus smiled and patted the boy's shoulder reassuringly. "Not to worry. Her time will come."