The redheaded boy stared longingly at the huge black stallion.

"It IS a beauty," he whispered in awe. The boy sitting atop it laughed and jumped down with ease. He took off his helm and ran a hand through his wild and untamable black hair. A young girl came running up to her elder brothers, long red hair trailing behind.

"Father calls for you" she said to the boys, panting slightly. The taller, dark-haired boy groaned.

"What does he want this time?" he asked. The redhead hit him playfully on the back.

"Come on, we won't want to keep 'His Highness' waiting" he said.



"Hello my children" the king said. The princes bowed stiffly and the princess curtsied politely. The king got up.

"It has come to my attention that I should choose an heir to rule after me. You boys were the first to come to my mind. Now, I thou-"

"An heir! Truly, father? Then whoever it is shall rule the throne?" the princess asked excitedly, not quite as able to keep silent as her brothers. The king glared at her. She gulped and bowed her head. The king continued.

"Ronald, my son. You became a knight at a very young age, and fought your first battle at only 16" the king said. The young man smiled slightly, proudly.

"Harry, my eldest. You have spent most of your life training and improving your skills in combat, and you have gone a long way. You too have ridden to battles and returned victorious," the king said. The prince smiled and kneeled, knowing what to expect next. The king paused thoughtfully.

"However…" he said. The young man looked up. However?

"However, Ronald has also excelled in all of his subjects and shows a wide understanding of the world. Ronald has even solved a few of the problems of this kingdom. And for that…" the king picked up a small golden crown studded with jewels of the highest quality from a nearby table, "I pronounce my son, Ronald, the future heir of the kingdom of Hogwarts" he said, placing the crown lightly on his son's head. Ronald took it down from his head with trembling hands, staring disbelievingly at the crown.

"I…I…" his eyes brimmed with tears of joy.

"Ronald!" his sister Virginia squealed. Ronald turned and flung his arms around his brother, who had gotten up slowly from the floor.

"I can't believe it" he said, tears of happiness flowing down his cheeks. The prince stiffened.

"Good for you Ronald. I'm happy for you" he said. He twisted out of his brother's grasp smoothly and stalked out of the room. His brother and sister stared at him. The king watched his son leave calmly, no emotion showing in his eyes of face.

"Father, may I-" the princess asked. The king waved his hand.

"Go, go," he said and Virginia hurried after her angry and disappointed brother. The Queen, who was standing close by put her arm on her husband's.

"Dear, did you really think that was such a good idea?" she asked softly.

"Of course it was" the king replied, a little snappily.

"Oh, dear Lucius, don't be upset" Narcissa crooned, running her fingers through her husband's hair soothingly. He smiled as touched her hand lightly.

"Of course I'm not upset dear," he said, watching his redheaded son run after his siblings.



Ronald found his brother angrily saddling his horse, his sister fussing around him.

"Harry? Are you mad at me?" he asked tentatively. His brother didn't reply, just mounted the stallion.

"Har?" Ronald used the name he had used for his brother since he was a small child.

"What?" the prince snapped furiously, brushing away a tear from his eye quickly.

"Why are you angry at me?" he asked.

"Why? WHY?" Harry yelled. "Why you? Why not me? I'm the eldest, I've won more victories for father… why you?"

Ronald was shocked by the amount of jealousy in his voice. A cool voice spoke from the shadows of the stable.

"Because he's more intelligent than you. He knows that just jumping into a war won't solve anything. Because father loves him more" the last brother said calmly.

"Draco!" Virginia said in a shocked whisper. The teen shrugged.

"It's the truth," he said coolly. Harry whirled around and picked him up off the floor in a rage by the front of his soft white shirt.

"Father loves me. And he was mistaken when he chose Ronald. He meant me," he said between clenched teeth. The blonde smirked.

"Really. So, if Father loves you so much, why didn't he name you king?" he asked. Harry looked uncertain, then, yelling in anger threw his brother into a pile of hay and galloped away. Virginia put her hands on her hips.

"Did you HAVE to do that? You can see how upset he was already!" she said, voice tinged with fury. Draco looked back at her smugly.

"It's the truth," he repeated. He looked at his fast disappearing brother.

"Besides, knowing our brother, he would've forgotten about it when he returns," he added and walked to the entrance of the stable. Ronald sat down miserably on the floor.

"I didn't mean to cause any harm," he said sadly. Draco stopped.

"Of course you didn't" he said and left.



"Find anything interesting today Harry?" Narcissa asked. The prince stuck a piece of meat into his mouth.

"No" he said shortly, coldly. Virginia, the peacemaker, nudged him sharply. Harry's great hatred of the Queen was no secret, but Virginia hated how he made it so obvious.

"Don't speak with your mouth full" snapped Lucius. The prince fell into a moody silence.

"How were your studies today dear?" asked Narcissa. Draco put down his goblet of wine and dabbed his mouth lightly.

"The math teacher you hired is a fool. He didn't manage to understand my questions"

"We'll get rid of him," Narcissa said instantly.

"How was fencing?" Lucius asked. Draco took his time to answer.

"It was all right, I suppose," he said. "I got top marks in Dark Arts" he added. The Queen smiled.

"Gets it from me" she said proudly. Harry rolled his eyes.

"No kidding" he said and suppressed a loud yelp as his sister's elbow rammed into his arm. The king frowned.

"That's nothing to be proud of" he said. It wasn't surprising he wasn't happy; he himself had always been afraid of magic and had always preferred 'good old fighting', just like his first two sons.

"Nonsense!" Narcissa said, sipping her wine delicately.

"So father, what happened in the kingdom today?" Ronald asked. His father looked at him approvingly, not yet the king and took such an interest in the kingdom!

"The Beauxbatons are rebelling" Lucius said calmly. Ronald and Harry leapt to their feet, hands on their swords.

"Sit down, they haven't attacked yet" Draco said irritably. Ronald flushed and sat down, but his brother remained standing.

"And what gives you the right to tell me what to do?" he asked angrily, furious at the idea of being bossed around by a fourteen year old. Draco regarded him coolly.

"Then go ahead, keep standing. You look ridiculous" he said and started to cut his meat. He suddenly found himself face to face with his brother. His feet dangled a foot off the ground and he struggled to breathe.

"Harry!" Virginia shrieked.

"You're too bossy for your own good brother," the irate prince snarled. Ronald tugged anxiously on his sleeve.

"Har, stop, he's suffocating" he pleaded. It was no use; his brother was six years older and much stronger.

"I can look after myself, thank you," Draco said, a smile suddenly coming over his face. Too late, Harry realized Draco was holding his wand. The blonde lifted his hand up.

"Crucio!" he shouted. The taller boy shouted in surprise and dropped onto his back, releasing his brother. He rolled on the floor in pain, yelling. Draco watched him calmly.

"Draco! Undo it!" Ronald shouted, panicked. The boy looked at him with a frown the shrugged. He waved his wand and suddenly Harry stopped rolling. He lay on the floor for a while, breathing heavily.

"You look in pain, brother," Draco said. Harry kicked out, tripping Draco. He rolled up and picked Draco up by the front of his light white shirt.

"Not in as much pain as you will be" he said, drawing his fist back.

"Harold!" Lucius snapped, using his son's full name. Harry dropped Draco hard onto the floor. Narcissa touched her stepson on the shoulder, lightly.

"Son? Is anything wrong?" she asked. Harry could have sworn the woman was almost crowing in laughter. He wrenched away from her.

"Don't call me son, MOTHER," he said. "I am not your son. Otherwise I would have thrown myself off a cliff long ago"

Narcissa smirked. "Of course not, my prince" she said, curtsying mockingly. Harry trembled with rage.

"Sit down Harold" the king commanded.

"That's all you like to do, isn't it? Boss me around! For goodness sakes father, I'm not a child! I can do things by myself! I may not be the future king, but I am still a prince, meaning I don't have to do everything you tell me!" Harry yelled, his fists clenched. He ran out of the room and the family could hear a door slam noisily.



"Harry?" Ronald and Virginia opened the door quietly, meekly. They found their brother sitting on his bed, staring at the sword in his hands with a slight look of longing. Ronald walked to his brother and hastily removed the sword from him.

"Why did he have to marry HER? Why did they have to have HIM?" the raven- haired man moaned. The heir and princess exchanged glances. They had gone over this many times before.

"Well, father seems happy now…" Virginia ventured to say.

"HAPPY? Remember when we went to the park when we were younger? THAT was HAPPINESS"

"What has that stupid witch done to him?" Ronald sympathized. The siblings sat in silence, remembering better times, better times that weren't in darkness.

"It's late. You'd better go to sleep" Harry said, yawning. Ronald hit him on the back playfully.

"You make us sound like little children" he grinned. Harry grinned back.

"You aren't? My baby brother, not a child?" he said. Ronald hit him again and Harry winced.

"You're getting stronger. Good" he said, rubbing his back. Ronald got up and headed for the door. He reached for the doorknob and hesitated.

"Har?"

"Mm?"

"Are you mad… because…" Ronald stopped in mid-sentence.

"Hm? No, of course I'm not. You'll make a fine king" Harry said cheerily. Satisfied, Ronald opened the door and left.

"Good night Harry" Virginia said and closed the door.



"Draco! Wake up!" Virginia screamed. The blonde sat up in his bed, soft hair tousled. He scowled.

"Do you mind? I am trying to SLEEP," he snapped and lay back. The next thing he knew, his silken blankets were whipped off him and he was shivering in the cold.

"What are you trying to do sister? Freeze me to death?" he shouted angrily.

"The Beauxbatons are attacking! They're attacking the castle!" she shrieked shrilly. She didn't get quite the expected response.

"That's it? For goodness sakes Virginia, leave the fighting to my pea- brained brothers and let me sleep" he said irritably.

"Mother called for you!" the girl said. The prince stretched and got out of bed.

"Fine, fine, I'll go see what's going on" he muttered, furious at being awakened from his sleep.



OK, I was feeling bored. I'm sorry if any of the characters were… out of character. I know it's a dark tale. I just re-read my whole collection of DragonLance. THEY are DARK. Anyhow. Review? Please?

I actually wanted Harry to be king. But I checked up on names, and this is what I got (which should explain something…):

Harold/Harry: Army Ruler

Reginald/Ronald: King

Just had to say that.