A/N: Here we go, this story is really starting to pick up. I'm on chapter 7
and I'm not nearly ready to wrap this up yet. YES! Anyway. In this chapter
we actually DO meet the Twins. Adam and Severus go to town. This will
probably be the last chapter with the teachers before the school begins. I
DO have to show Harry being miserable with the Dursleys, you know. Oh! I
forgot to mention before the signs of being a Healer! They are; deep
insight based on little information, big family, late to talk, deep caring
for everyone, a sense of aloneness as a child due to the separation that
the brain automatically puts between itself and those it might hurt,
delicate hands, fluxuating appetite, a deep appreciation for music, small
stature that looks delicate, but powerful, and frequent cramps in the hand
and arms. There. Now; In Which Adam And Severus Go To Town.
Chapter 7:
Adam watched Dumbledore before turning to the man next to him, and was faintly surprised by the expression on his face. Instead of he shocked disbelief/horror he saw on the other faces, he saw grim acceptance, regret, and such a deep pain, Adam hurt in sympathy. There was also an emptiness behind all that. It was artificial, a barrier, but it was the type that those who have seen too much, who knows too much has. 'There is that pain again, that secret.' Though Adam. 'This time I won't give up finding it so easily.'
"Severus?" Adam asked. Severus shook his head, as if waking from a dream. And some of the very little color Severus normally had returned. He favored Adam with a small, but almost-genuine smile.
"Yes Adam?"
"Are you alright?" The smile faded.
"As well as can be expected with all that's happening. I lived through this the first time, though many I cared for did not." He paused for a moment, his face grim. "It's not something I want to do again." Adam smiled sympathetically, and put a comforting arm on his shoulder. He had lived knew this kind of pain, but he felt this was just the tip pf the iceberg for Severus. But he wouldn't dig today. There just wasn't enough trust yet. Again Severus seemed to shake himself out of his revere. He turned to Adam with a carefully neutral-to-happy expression on his face.
"Are you ready to go to town?" Adam nodded.
"As I'll ever be."
"Well then, lets be off." They stood, Adam's hand finally leaving Severus shoulder, and both were surprised to feel a little loss at the loss of contact, but neither paid it any heed. They exited the Great Hall with the rest of the teachers in silence.
They walked down the path to Hogsmead, this time with Adam carefully avoiding the rocks, though he did glare and mutter at the rock that had tripped him before, provoking a laugh from Severus. Soon after, Severus brought up the matter of what exactly they had to do.
"I have to make a stop at the Apothecary to pick up some replacements for the start of the year. Due to the clumsiness of some students, I had to dig into my private collection, and I haven't been able to replace them yet. I also need a new pair of work-robes. My last pair fell victim to the blunderings of Neville Longbottom."
"I need robes as well, another set of everyday robes and a set of dress robes. I sold mine when I went to teach at the university. I want to stop in the bookstore as well. I saw something interesting in the window that I want to check out." Severus sighed.
"Oh wizards, when was the last time I went into a bookstore for fun?" Adam laughed.
"Well if you can't remember than it's obviously been too long. How about this. We go to the robe shop and pick up our robes. I'll look around the village while you're in the Apothecary, then we can meet for lunch at the three broomsticks, then we'll investigate the bookstore together. Sound like a plan?" Severus nodded.
"That it does." They walked pass the sign that read Welcome to Hogsmead and headed strait for Today's Wizard, the only shop to sell robes for the stylish wizard. (As well as it being the only robe shop in town with prices to match their purses.) "Great robes at great prices," was their motto. They entered the shop, blinking a little at the gust of wing that accompanied the opening of the door. An hour and a half and many measuring later, the two exited the shop, each the owner of 2 everyday robes, a set of work robes (for Severus) and a pair of dress robes (for Adam.) Each clutching their respected parcels they headed for the Apothecary. Standing in front of the shop, Severus turned to Adam.
"Well, this is the Apothecary. I'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks in, say one hour?"
"Sounds good." Adam smiled and Severus smiled back. Severus entered the Apothecary thinking that he has smiled more in the past two days than in the entire past year. Adam waited until he entered before turning to the store which had stood out in his mind more than any other. As he approached the shop he studied the sign boldly declaring the name of the store to be Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (more commonly known as WWW or Triple W.) He looked in the window at the exploding and trick wands, stink bombs, super stink bombs, tick candy and fake body parts. Smirking he entered the shop.
It was quiet in the store, maybe too quiet. A single bell had sounded his entrance, and then silence fell like a ton of bricks. The place was well lit, and there was every sort of trick product imaginable, all bearing the logo WWW. He wandered the shop, picking up a trick wand here, or a trick candy there, all the while plotting as only a 5000 year old immortal could plot. His arms filled with pranks, he headed to the counter at the back of the shop. There was nobody there.
He emptied his arms onto the counter, spying a bell as he did so. He inspected it suspiciously, smelling a trick. He was right to do so. Just as he was about to touch the bell, a warning went of in his mind, 5000 years of survival instincts coming into play. He looked up. There, above his head, floated a bucket. He moved. The bucket moved with him. He shook his head, and called out,
"I'm not going to ring the bell, so you're out of luck. Call off your bucket and maybe I'll reconsider returning these many purchases." Immediately the bucked vanished and twin heads popped out from behind the door in the back, each grinning identical impish grins. They came around, and Adam could tell why these two had made such good pranksters. They were impossible to tell apart. The only difference was one had blue-green eyes and the other had green-blue eyes. They spoke first.
"Congratulations!"
"You're the first person to get that bucket from the get-go."
"It took out brother 3 turns to look up before ringing that bell."
"We're really proud of that one."
"It's one of our more genius inventions, if I do say so myself." Adam grinned outright at their antics, now.
"It is very clever. You think up all these wonderful creations?" One twin nodded. The other spoke.
"Thought some up. Improve upon others. We also do custom orders." The twin that nodded looked closely at Adam.
"You aren't from around here, are you. If you were you would have known about us." The other puffed his chest out proudly.
"We're local legends." Adam raised an eyebrow but answered the question.
"No. I'm not from around here, I used to live in France." The twins looked at each other.
"You don't sound French."
"That's because I learned English here before I moved to France." One twin started to ring my things up, while the other continued the conversation.
"So what are you doing here?"
"Teaching. I the new History of Magic professor up at Hogwarts. I just got in yesterday." The twins looked at each other, concerned.
"We weren't aware that there was need for a new History prof."
"Apparently Professor Binns felt it time to move on, and Hogwarts was left with an empty slot on the roster." They shared another glance.
"If you don't mind us asking-"
"Though it never stopped us before."
"-Who is the new DADA Professor? We went through 4 is as may years, and when we left the position was empty."
"It's a returning professor. One Remus Lupin." The twins smiled real big, the relief apparent on their faces.
"Jolly old Lupin!"
"He was everyone's favorite."
"Well, all except for Snape." One turned to the other, again.
"True, but that was because he wants that job for himself."
"And there was that incident that Ron won't tell us about." They looked at me, suddenly serious. "You have met all the teachers, haven't you?"
"Yes. In fact I came to town with one of them." They nodded.
"Well, then you've met Snape. Be wary of him. He's not a nice guy." The other shook his head.
"No sense of humor at all, and he's very cranky-"
"and grouchy-"
"And unpleasant-"
"And he's who I'm here with." That stopped them cold. "He's really not that bad outside a classroom. I've met worse. Besides, who said I was that nice of a guy anyway. I am buying a ton of pranks on my second day with the school." They grinned at that.
"Well, that proves you do have some taste-"
"But pardon us if we keep our own opinion of Snape."
"Suit yourself." He grabbed his bags and prepared to leave.
"Oi! Now, don't leave like that!"
"Yeah! We like you. We want you to come back." Adam turned and smiled.
"Don't worry. I will be back." With that he left the shop, leaving behind two puzzled twins.
"I wonder.say.did you catch his name?" Asked Fred. George shook his head.
"Well, there is one good thing."
"What?
"We can have Ron check him out once he gets to school." Fred nodded.
"I can see that." George glanced at Fred with an evil glint in his eye.
"Say Fred, are you thinking what I'm thinking? Fred glanced back, his glint just as evil.
"Why yes George, I believe I am." The two turned and headed back into their workshop.or would have if their shoelaces weren't tied together. They fell flat on their faces. Pushing himself up, George looked at Fred.
"I do believe we have been pranked by an master." Fred looked back, and grinned.
"I do believe you are right." He paused a moment before continuing, "Let the battle begin?"
"Yes. That was an act of war." The two untied themselves and rushed into their workshop to prepare for the upcoming battle.
TBC
A/N: I have twinage! This is a definite way to ensure them in future chapters. The great prank war(sub-plot number 2) has begun. They do find out his name, and even visit the school. (and not just to set up pranks) The first twinges of lust (and love) are felt! Yay! The next chapter focus on Harry Potter, Hermione, and the Weasleys, then after that back to Adam and Severus, then the school year will start. Until next time, keep r/r- ing!
Chapter 7:
Adam watched Dumbledore before turning to the man next to him, and was faintly surprised by the expression on his face. Instead of he shocked disbelief/horror he saw on the other faces, he saw grim acceptance, regret, and such a deep pain, Adam hurt in sympathy. There was also an emptiness behind all that. It was artificial, a barrier, but it was the type that those who have seen too much, who knows too much has. 'There is that pain again, that secret.' Though Adam. 'This time I won't give up finding it so easily.'
"Severus?" Adam asked. Severus shook his head, as if waking from a dream. And some of the very little color Severus normally had returned. He favored Adam with a small, but almost-genuine smile.
"Yes Adam?"
"Are you alright?" The smile faded.
"As well as can be expected with all that's happening. I lived through this the first time, though many I cared for did not." He paused for a moment, his face grim. "It's not something I want to do again." Adam smiled sympathetically, and put a comforting arm on his shoulder. He had lived knew this kind of pain, but he felt this was just the tip pf the iceberg for Severus. But he wouldn't dig today. There just wasn't enough trust yet. Again Severus seemed to shake himself out of his revere. He turned to Adam with a carefully neutral-to-happy expression on his face.
"Are you ready to go to town?" Adam nodded.
"As I'll ever be."
"Well then, lets be off." They stood, Adam's hand finally leaving Severus shoulder, and both were surprised to feel a little loss at the loss of contact, but neither paid it any heed. They exited the Great Hall with the rest of the teachers in silence.
They walked down the path to Hogsmead, this time with Adam carefully avoiding the rocks, though he did glare and mutter at the rock that had tripped him before, provoking a laugh from Severus. Soon after, Severus brought up the matter of what exactly they had to do.
"I have to make a stop at the Apothecary to pick up some replacements for the start of the year. Due to the clumsiness of some students, I had to dig into my private collection, and I haven't been able to replace them yet. I also need a new pair of work-robes. My last pair fell victim to the blunderings of Neville Longbottom."
"I need robes as well, another set of everyday robes and a set of dress robes. I sold mine when I went to teach at the university. I want to stop in the bookstore as well. I saw something interesting in the window that I want to check out." Severus sighed.
"Oh wizards, when was the last time I went into a bookstore for fun?" Adam laughed.
"Well if you can't remember than it's obviously been too long. How about this. We go to the robe shop and pick up our robes. I'll look around the village while you're in the Apothecary, then we can meet for lunch at the three broomsticks, then we'll investigate the bookstore together. Sound like a plan?" Severus nodded.
"That it does." They walked pass the sign that read Welcome to Hogsmead and headed strait for Today's Wizard, the only shop to sell robes for the stylish wizard. (As well as it being the only robe shop in town with prices to match their purses.) "Great robes at great prices," was their motto. They entered the shop, blinking a little at the gust of wing that accompanied the opening of the door. An hour and a half and many measuring later, the two exited the shop, each the owner of 2 everyday robes, a set of work robes (for Severus) and a pair of dress robes (for Adam.) Each clutching their respected parcels they headed for the Apothecary. Standing in front of the shop, Severus turned to Adam.
"Well, this is the Apothecary. I'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks in, say one hour?"
"Sounds good." Adam smiled and Severus smiled back. Severus entered the Apothecary thinking that he has smiled more in the past two days than in the entire past year. Adam waited until he entered before turning to the store which had stood out in his mind more than any other. As he approached the shop he studied the sign boldly declaring the name of the store to be Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (more commonly known as WWW or Triple W.) He looked in the window at the exploding and trick wands, stink bombs, super stink bombs, tick candy and fake body parts. Smirking he entered the shop.
It was quiet in the store, maybe too quiet. A single bell had sounded his entrance, and then silence fell like a ton of bricks. The place was well lit, and there was every sort of trick product imaginable, all bearing the logo WWW. He wandered the shop, picking up a trick wand here, or a trick candy there, all the while plotting as only a 5000 year old immortal could plot. His arms filled with pranks, he headed to the counter at the back of the shop. There was nobody there.
He emptied his arms onto the counter, spying a bell as he did so. He inspected it suspiciously, smelling a trick. He was right to do so. Just as he was about to touch the bell, a warning went of in his mind, 5000 years of survival instincts coming into play. He looked up. There, above his head, floated a bucket. He moved. The bucket moved with him. He shook his head, and called out,
"I'm not going to ring the bell, so you're out of luck. Call off your bucket and maybe I'll reconsider returning these many purchases." Immediately the bucked vanished and twin heads popped out from behind the door in the back, each grinning identical impish grins. They came around, and Adam could tell why these two had made such good pranksters. They were impossible to tell apart. The only difference was one had blue-green eyes and the other had green-blue eyes. They spoke first.
"Congratulations!"
"You're the first person to get that bucket from the get-go."
"It took out brother 3 turns to look up before ringing that bell."
"We're really proud of that one."
"It's one of our more genius inventions, if I do say so myself." Adam grinned outright at their antics, now.
"It is very clever. You think up all these wonderful creations?" One twin nodded. The other spoke.
"Thought some up. Improve upon others. We also do custom orders." The twin that nodded looked closely at Adam.
"You aren't from around here, are you. If you were you would have known about us." The other puffed his chest out proudly.
"We're local legends." Adam raised an eyebrow but answered the question.
"No. I'm not from around here, I used to live in France." The twins looked at each other.
"You don't sound French."
"That's because I learned English here before I moved to France." One twin started to ring my things up, while the other continued the conversation.
"So what are you doing here?"
"Teaching. I the new History of Magic professor up at Hogwarts. I just got in yesterday." The twins looked at each other, concerned.
"We weren't aware that there was need for a new History prof."
"Apparently Professor Binns felt it time to move on, and Hogwarts was left with an empty slot on the roster." They shared another glance.
"If you don't mind us asking-"
"Though it never stopped us before."
"-Who is the new DADA Professor? We went through 4 is as may years, and when we left the position was empty."
"It's a returning professor. One Remus Lupin." The twins smiled real big, the relief apparent on their faces.
"Jolly old Lupin!"
"He was everyone's favorite."
"Well, all except for Snape." One turned to the other, again.
"True, but that was because he wants that job for himself."
"And there was that incident that Ron won't tell us about." They looked at me, suddenly serious. "You have met all the teachers, haven't you?"
"Yes. In fact I came to town with one of them." They nodded.
"Well, then you've met Snape. Be wary of him. He's not a nice guy." The other shook his head.
"No sense of humor at all, and he's very cranky-"
"and grouchy-"
"And unpleasant-"
"And he's who I'm here with." That stopped them cold. "He's really not that bad outside a classroom. I've met worse. Besides, who said I was that nice of a guy anyway. I am buying a ton of pranks on my second day with the school." They grinned at that.
"Well, that proves you do have some taste-"
"But pardon us if we keep our own opinion of Snape."
"Suit yourself." He grabbed his bags and prepared to leave.
"Oi! Now, don't leave like that!"
"Yeah! We like you. We want you to come back." Adam turned and smiled.
"Don't worry. I will be back." With that he left the shop, leaving behind two puzzled twins.
"I wonder.say.did you catch his name?" Asked Fred. George shook his head.
"Well, there is one good thing."
"What?
"We can have Ron check him out once he gets to school." Fred nodded.
"I can see that." George glanced at Fred with an evil glint in his eye.
"Say Fred, are you thinking what I'm thinking? Fred glanced back, his glint just as evil.
"Why yes George, I believe I am." The two turned and headed back into their workshop.or would have if their shoelaces weren't tied together. They fell flat on their faces. Pushing himself up, George looked at Fred.
"I do believe we have been pranked by an master." Fred looked back, and grinned.
"I do believe you are right." He paused a moment before continuing, "Let the battle begin?"
"Yes. That was an act of war." The two untied themselves and rushed into their workshop to prepare for the upcoming battle.
TBC
A/N: I have twinage! This is a definite way to ensure them in future chapters. The great prank war(sub-plot number 2) has begun. They do find out his name, and even visit the school. (and not just to set up pranks) The first twinges of lust (and love) are felt! Yay! The next chapter focus on Harry Potter, Hermione, and the Weasleys, then after that back to Adam and Severus, then the school year will start. Until next time, keep r/r- ing!