Here we are again! it's been quite some time, but that is because my counterpart (ashlyns) has a lot on her plate and a very forgetful mind... so it took us a while, hopefully it won't take us long on the next one, she still has all of the files... and i hope that it won't, for all of you lovely reviewers.
we both hope you like this one and hope you will review with full force, all of your little anecdotes to make us laugh, and anything you wish to say or note about the story, good or bad we'll except it all, though i hope most of them (if not all) are good ones. thank you very much.
ashlyns: don't forget-
MorganS: Shut Up! i'm getting to it... now for the disclaimer!... jeese you're such a prat, time woman, time is of the essence...
Disclaimer: Refer to chappy one.
Chapter Two: Double Double Trouble
Ministry representatives came to their house at around ten in the morning to take their father and them to Diagon Alley. The whole trip, Braiden complained and finally, when they arrived at a grungy pub called the Leaky Cauldron, Braiden had been hit on the back of the head so many times there was a lump forming. Rubbing his head, he looked up at the pub, which was surrounded by large buildings. The Muggles walking by didn't even notice it.
"This is it?" He asked incredulously, walking behind a bald ministry member to the door. "This sucks…what is this place?"
"The Leaky Cauldron." Hailey said, pointing at the creaking sign that blew in the slight breeze. Braiden smiled at her sarcastically and lead the way in. The pub was dungy and an old toothless wizard stood behind the bar, washing glasses with a semi-clean rag. He smiled a toothless grin at the bald ministry member.
"Ah, Kingsley, welcome." The man said, coming around the counter and shaking Kingsley's hand. Hailey and Kasei exchanged glances, raising their eyebrows at the same second.
"Tom." Kingsley said, turning the attention to the people standing behind him. "This is Mr. James, his son Braiden and his twins Hailey and Kasei."
"What year are you in?" Tom asked, shaking their hands and reaching Kasei's last.
"Um," Their father stepped forward. "Braiden is in his second year and the girls are in their sixth." Kingsley and Tom's eyes moved upward in one motion to stare at the ceiling. Hailey guessed there were rooms up there but she wasn't sure.
"His year." Tom muttered and Kingsley nodded. Braiden's brow furrowed.
"Whose year?" He asked. Tom and Kingsley shook their heads and smiled.
"No one, Braiden is it? No one, we're just thinking of another boy in sixth year." Tom said, "It was nice to meet you Mr. James, and you're wonderful children."
He left them standing there and walked back around the bar to take an order from a blond witch with curly hair and winged, jeweled glasses. She wore banana yellow robes and had pink fingernails. She was sucking on the end of an acid green quill. Hailey nudged Kasei in the ribs and pointed to her.
"Nice combination, eh?" She asked. Kasei smiled slightly.
"Now, Tom. I hear you had recent contact with him. Don't deny it. What was his personality like now, after the unfortunate demise of his godfather and the closest thing he ever had to a father? What would you say the changes to his appearance and personality are for? A cry of attention or perhaps something else?" The woman was obviously a reporter.
"Maybe there's a famous actor or singer in town." Kasei whispered, watching the woman fire questions at old Tom, grinning.
"Jeez, get a life." Hailey muttered, looking at her sister. "Not every reporter wants to interview famous people. You have an obsession." They followed the ministry member and their father out through the back of the shop to a stone fence two stories high at least. There was a stone missing in the center, Kasei realized. She watched Kingsley reach up and tap the bricks. Suddenly, with a rumbling that made Hailey and her jump back in alarm and Braiden smile excitedly, the wall split into an arch and beyond they saw a winding cobbled street lined with wizard shops.
"Wow." Kasei whispered, wide-eyed. They began walking through the arch and, as it closed, Hailey looked back to watch it. Her eyes, though, were caught by a movement in the window of the pub on the second floor. She thought she saw a boy watching her from behind the curtain before the arch closed back into a solid wall. Kasei nudged her. "Are you coming?" Hailey nodded and followed.
"You two." Her father said, turning. He handed them a bag of coins. "Take these and get you're supplies. Stay to the list." He eyed Braiden. "Then meet me at Flourish and Blotts in two hours. I have to talk to Kingsley and a few other Aurors about a special guard duty."
Braiden took a few steps away, preoccupied with something up the street. Their father leaned into the twins and whispered, "There may be enough for sweets later, once you're finished." With a wink he took off. Kasei smiled at her sister then looked over her shoulder.
"Where's Braiden?" She asked. Hailey spun around and looked left and right. Braiden was gone.
"He's gone." Hailey said. Kasei rolled her eyes. Her sister had a flare for stating the obvious.
"Okay, you go left, I'll go right." Kasei said. Hailey nodded and took off. Kasei watched her disappear into a shop called Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. When her black hair had whipped around the corner, Kasei took off in the opposite direction.
She was so frantic, searching for her brother that she wasn't watching where she was going and ran into someone coming out of a shop with a cauldron. They both were knocked to the ground and the back of Kasei's head collided painfully with a stack of pewter cauldrons. The stack wobbled precariously and finally tipped, the ringing of the metal on the cobblestones making her head only ache more. As stars began to fly around her head she heard a voice.
"I'm s-so s-sorry." She said, clutching her head and hardly hearing herself over the ringing in her ears.
"Watch where you're going next…" The male voice suddenly stopped and a hand grabbed her beneath the elbow, lifting her from the ground. A pale blond boy, slightly taller then her, stood before her, wavering in and out as a reflection does in a rippling pond.
"I'm so sorry." She repeated. She spotted his cauldron and made to grab it before he stopped her. He had a sly grin spreading across his face and suddenly she realized he wasn't mad at her. She felt kind of irked that he was laughing at her when her head was pounding. He'd knocked into her…right?
"It's alright, I'll get it." He drawled. Kasei watched him as he bent down and scooped up the cauldron. Standing to his full height again, he suddenly frowned. "You're bleeding." Kasei pulled her hand away from the back of her head and found a small trickle of blood between her fingers.
"Oh." She said, surprised. She shook her head trying to clear her fogged mind but it only made it worse. "I should go find my sister and my brother," She began wobbling away in the wrong direction before the boy stopped her and sat her on an upturned cauldron.
"Sit for a minute." He drawled. There was something weird in his voice. She knew he probably wasn't usually this nice to strangers. She looked up into his eyes and was startled to see that his smile didn't travel to his eyes; they stayed devoid of any emotion or human kindness. "Where are you from?"
"States." Kasei muttered, looking up and down the street.
"Oh," The boy said simply. "Name?"
"Kasei." Kasei replied simply as he shifted his shoulders and raised his eyebrows waiting for the rest. She didn't give it.
"House?" He asked. Kasei shrugged.
"I was in Selkirk at my old school." There was a weird show playing behind those eyes. He was terribly intelligent, she could see it. His cogs were working. Suddenly, something seemed to click.
"Is you're dad an Auror with the Ministry?" He asked. Kasei, startled by the question, nodded with out even thinking about what she was agreeing to. She realized too late that maybe she shouldn't have answered. The boy looked up at the cauldron shop behind her and grinned, "Gotta go." He said, standing up.
"Wait." Kasei shouted, throwing out an arm and grabbing his sleeve. "Name?"
"Draco Malfoy." The boy answered proudly. He walked away, back into the shop and was soon enveloped by the darkness inside. Standing shakily, Kasei stood and walked back down the street in the direction she had come, searching for the shop where she'd last seen her sister.
She found it quickly, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. It was slightly smaller then most of the shops lining the long cobbled street. She entered cautiously; not sure of what she would find and stared around, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness within.
It seemed at first to be deserted. The counter in the corner with the old fashioned till was alone; no store clerk occupied it. The place was filled with tower shelves cramped haphazardly around the room as though the owners had been in a hurry to set up shop. Curiously, Kasei examined the items on the shelves, still keeping an eye out for her sister.
A few multicolored boxes on the nearest shelf caught her eye and she took one down, examining it. The front read 'Skiving Snack boxes'. Reading the back, she frowned at the instructions when she came to the line, 'effects may be hazardous to you're health'.
"Charming." Kasei breathed, setting the snack box back down and continuing down the line. There were headless hats, fake wands, fireworks, mirrors that showed what the person wanted to see, trick parchment, invisible ink, and blowing gum that, when chewed, allowed you to change your voice into anyone else's.
As she was lifting down a horn that blew a tongue out of the end and screamed loudly when blown, a red haired boy stepped around the corner and gave a slight cry of surprise making Kasei drop the horn, which began shrieking insults and curses at her for dropping it.
"Could have broken me you stupid blighter! Be more careful next time stupid…" The boy quickly rushed forward and preformed a silencing charm on the horn. Picking it up, he placed it back on the shelf and then turned to Kasei.
"I told you to wait back there while I was getting it." He said, laughing. "You're really quite fast…" He eyed her hair. "Metamorphmagi?"
"I'm not." Kasei said, taken aback. The boy eyed her suspiciously. "I'm looking for my brother, he came in here."
"I know." The boy said, still eyeing her. "You already told me that." Now it was Kasei's turn to look suspicious. "Is my brother putting you up to this? What are you playing at?"
"Playing at what?" Kasei asked, placing her hands on her hips. She didn't like being accused of things she didn't do, it pissed her off. Her sister always did it. "Look, if you aren't going to tell me anything, I may as well leave." She said, turning to go. Suddenly, the boy was in front of her, arms across his chest. Looking back, Kasei saw he was still standing behind her with the same stance and expression.
"Wow." She said, looking from on to the other. They were identical. "There's two of you."
Hailey and Braiden appeared behind one of the twin's backs, looking curiously over his shoulder at the scene before them. Hailey raised her eyebrows.
"Took you long enough." She said.
The twin's smirked; looking from one to the other in an ironic reminder of what Kasei had done to them moments before. At the same time, they both said, "Wow, there's two of you to." Kasei smirked and then looked over at her sister.
"Who are these clowns?" She asked. The boys laughed lightly and began ushering them all to a back room. There was a small bit of storage area back here but most of it was made up with beds, a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom. They sat them on the couch and stood in front of them, smiling.
"I'm George." One said, pointing to his brother.
"And I'm Fred." The other said, pointing to his brother.
Kasei looked over at her sister, eyebrows raised. "It's legit." Hailey said simply, shrugging. "Only, Fred is on the right, and George is on the left." The twins looked at her, shocked.
"How did you guess?" They asked in unison. Hailey smirked.
"You're sweaters." Kasei began to laugh hard; the twins each had a sweater on with a letter F or G. Only, Fred was wearing George's and vice versa. George shrugged.
"Damn, should'a changed back I guess." He said. Fred agreed and they began to strip their sweaters off. Braiden, who was getting impatient, began bouncing up and down in his seat and finally grabbed Kasei's shoulder.
"Can we go?" He asked. "I'm so board! I want to eat." Kasei poked his stomach.
"You're fat already." She snarled, wanting to hang out with the twins longer. "Shut up." Fred and George laughed and all Hailey did was smirk for a bout a second before becoming stoic again.
"All right, all right." Fred said, raising his hand in the air.
"We have a business to run." Said George.
"But, before you go." Fred said, going to the cupboard in the corner.
"We need you to try our newest product." George took it from Fred and passed a small bottle of liquid to Braiden. Hailey lunged forward and grabbed it from her brother.
"You don't know what that is, don't touch it. It could poison you!" Kasei snorted.
"That wouldn't be a bad thing, would it?" Hailey glared at her while the twin's chuckled.
"Oh, go on." Fred said, looking at Hailey. "I promise it won't hurt you. Scout's honor." Hailey watched him uneasily, Kasei behind her, coaxing her into it with snide comments about her bravery. Finally, Hailey gave in and unscrewed the cap, throwing over her shoulder one last uneasy comment to her sister, "They run a joke shop you know."
Kasei smirked and grabbed it away, lifting up to eye for a moment. "Fine' I'll do it." She said. Looking over at the red haired twins, she added, "What do I do?"
"Pour some of it over you're head." Fred said. He looked eager. Kasei took a deep breath had poured some over her head.
It felt like air, seeping through her skull and past her brain. She could feel it trickle down her throat and move through all parts of her chest, finally reaching her heart. She looked up and the first person she saw was her sister, watching her weirdly.
Hailey's eyes were growing wide moving up her body slowly. Kasei looked down at herself and all the air seemed to have escaped her. Where her legs should have been solid and whole there was now see through mist, like a ghost.
Hailey, who'd always had a fear of the walking dead, backed up into the cupboard behind her and knocked off a few pictures, which hit the ground and broke sending shards of glass everywhere. Kasei didn't notice her sister; she was holding her hands up in front of her face, watching as they to began to take on the spectral form.
"Whoa…" Kasei said as the color in her face began to dissolve, first to pasty white and then a cloudy mass. "This is the funniest feeling I have ever had…in my whole life." She began to laugh, "This is so cool!"
George and Fred looked at each other, nodded and Hailey felt her temper rise. She rushed forward, grabbed George's shirt and pulled him closer to her. "What the hell have you done to my sister!"? She screamed. Behind her, Braiden walked forward and stuck his hand through Kasei's stomach. He retracted quickly; rubbing his skin as goose bumps began to rise on them.
"Cool." He said, grinning. "It's like you killed her." Fred grinned profusely but it quickly faded as Hailey began to scream again.
"Put her right!" She yelled, pointing at her sister and shaking George. "Fix it!" Kasei floated forward to comfort her sister but Hailey sprang back. "No! Don't come near me, just fix it! Your not Kasei…. you're…you're…a…a…thing!" Kasei stopped and looked at Fred.
"Fun's over." She said in a distant voice. "Better fix it."
George looked at her, slightly sad. "We can't." He said. "We haven't made the antidote yet."
Fred nodded sanctimoniously, also with a look of pity. Kasei sank; weak kneed onto the couch but fell right through it. Hailey, who also looked faint and slightly ghostly, started to shake and Braiden had tears in his eyes. Finally, Fred smiled.
"Just kidding." He said, pulling a bottle of red liquid from his pants pocket and holding it up to show them. Braiden jumped at him, grabbing the bottle and looking murderous. "Oh, come on." Fred said as Braiden rushed forward and dropped some on his sister.
"It was only a spot of fun." George agreed. Hailey bristled.
"Fun!" She screamed. "I almost had a heart attack!"
"At you're age?" Fred asked, eyebrows raised.
"That's not good mate, better get that checked out." George agreed. Hailey didn't know weather to laugh or hit him but resolved instead to picking up the pictures she'd made fall. Behind her, Kasei went to the mirror and watched herself reappear. When she was whole again she picked up the other bottle and looked at it.
"What is this stuff?" She asked, turning it upside down.
"Well," George started.
"No name yet." Fred finished. Kasei sighed and put it back down on the table. "We're thinking of calling it the ghost abilitator for all ages."
"But, that's not the running title." George added, looking at his brother. Then he spotted Hailey. "You don't have to worry about the glass. We'll fix it." Hailey was holding a few family photographs. She could see the twins, who looked slightly younger, standing with a whole bunch of other black and white people in front of a pyramid.
Hailey looked up and saw her sister in the mirror, full color, standing alive again. She was never happier to see those blue streaks. "Come." She said, "Take a look at this family. There's gotta be nine at least." Kasei bent down and lifted another one.
"Hey." She said, "I know him." She showed a picture to Fred.
"Who doesn't?" He asked, smirking at her. "He's in every teen magazine from here to Albania. Course you know him."
"How do you know him?" Kasei asked, handing the picture to Hailey. Hailey started. It was the same boy she'd seen in the magazine the night before, Harry Potter. He was standing next to a boy that was at least a head taller then him and had to be Fred and George's brother.
"He's a friend of our brother, Ron's." George said. "Poor little Harry, can't get a break even where ever you're from, hey?"
"The United States." Braiden piped up. He was at a small worktable in the corner with a bunch of biology looking equipment on it, prodding this and that.
"Don't touch that!" Hailey snapped, putting the pictures on the cupboard again. "Could be explosive." George looked hurt.
"Now, why do you always have to say that things are explosive."
"Or poisonous." Fred added. Hailey walked past them, grabbed Braiden's hand and pulled him out of the storage room.
"Because, you're strangers and this is a joke shop." She said, leading her brother to the door.
Fred apparated and was able to get to the door before she could.
"Yes." He said. "But, this is not a dangerous joke shop. We only sell top quality, family friendly items here. Look how big our family is. I wouldn't sell anything here that I wouldn't sell to my own family."
"Then, I would suggest they didn't buy anything." Came a voice from a near by stairwell. The boy from the picture who had been standing beside Harry Potter was now descending the rickety case two at a time. He could probably have gone three at a time because he had the longest legs she'd seen.
"Ron." George snapped. "We're working, go away."
"I'm going out." Ron snapped back, "I'm going to the Leaky Cauldron. Why do you care?"
"Because, mum told us to watch you." Fred said, "You're lucky we don't put you in a small play pen with only a ball. You get into to much trouble."
"Oh," Ron said sarcastically as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Like I don't get in enough trouble with the two of you."
"Can't you see we have three beautiful customers." Hailey smiled slightly. She could get along with anyone who bugged her brother to. Ron eyed the twin girls, his ears turning red.
"I see that." He said silently. "Well, move. Two pretty girls don't want to be in the company of you two I'm sure."
"Oh, and they want to be in yours?" Fred asked. Ron shook his head.
"No, I didn't say that. They probably have somewhere to go and you are blocking not only their way out but also mine. Now move." Braiden was now bouncing on the balls of his feet. Fred, with a sigh, stepped aside and bowed Hailey out. Kasei pushed her way past George and followed, Ron behind her.
Fred, at the door, smiled at the three of them. "Come back again and everything will be half off." He said. Hailey nodded, pretending they would and tried to pull Braiden along but he wriggled out of her grasp and ran down the street in the opposite direction, trying to catch up to Ron.
"Do you really know Harry Potter?" He asked, looking up at Ron through misty eyes. Ron stopped and looked down at him for a moment with out a word then looked up at Kasei and Hailey who were pushing their way through the crowd after their brother.
"Yes." He said finally, looking down at Braiden again. "Why?"
"Because, my sisters have a crush on him." Kasei smacked him over the back of the head.
"We do not, shut up." She said, viciously. "I'm sorry, he's an idiot."
"So are my brothers, don't worry about it." Ron answered, staring at Kasei. "Where are you from?"
"The U.S." Kasie replied while Hailey grabbed their brother roughly by the upper arm. "We'll be going to Hogwarts this year."
"Cool." Ron said, and his smile, unlike Draco Malfoy's was sincere. "See you there, hope you're both in Gryffindor." And he walked away; looking back at them occasionally until the crowd swallowed him. Kasei turned back to Hailey who was still watching the place Ron had disappeared.
"Lets go get our stuff and find dad." She checked her watch. "Oh my good gosh, we've wasted three quarters of an hour already!" She stared up at them. "Let's go."
They got all their shopping done and met back at Flourish and Blots bookstore ten minutes after they were supposed to be there. Her father was waiting there, alone. Kingsley, it transpired, had been called to an urgent run at the Ministry and had left them to fend for themselves.
Once they had gotten there books, the girls window shopped for a while, waiting for Braiden to get his and Kasei was startled to see Draco Malfoy standing on the balcony above the main floor, watching her. In a whisper, she told her sister what had happened. "Don't look." She hissed. Hailey did anyway and whistled.
"Hot." She whispered. Draco Malfoy watched her for a moment and then turned away, walking into a second branch of the shop.
"And mysterious." Kasei said. Their father came back at that moment and they left, walking up the cobbled street towards the Leaky Cauldron. Through the brick archway, into the bar…Hailey let it all wash over her. She was exhausted and really wanted to go home. Kasei nudged her in the ribs as they were walking through the dim bar area and she followed her gaze to Ron.
He was sitting in the corner at a table half in darkness. He seemed to be speaking to nothing but the black wall behind him. Letting her stuff spill out of one of her bags, Hailey was given a chance to spy a little longer.
"I'll be a minute." She said. Her dad shrugged but Kasei stayed behind to help her as Braiden and their father left.
"So…" Kasei whispered, smiling at Hailey. "Do you like the little fireball?" Hailey glared at her.
"Have you noticed he's talking to someone?" She asked. Kasei looked over. "He's sitting just out of our range of vision, wearing a black cloak."
"You should be a seeker." Kasei whispered back. Looking over at the table. "I don't see anyone."
"If you look hard enough, you can see the outline of a person, sitting far back…almost at the wall." Kasei squinted hard. Then she saw it, so subtle you'd have to be staring like they were to notice. There was a person there.
Suddenly, Ron looked back and Kasei and Hailey tore their eyes away, faces burning. "He noticed." Kasei gasped. Hailey rolled her eyes.
"You think? No, it was that person." They gathered up the rest of Hailey's books and quills and left, feeling the eyes of the people in the corner on them as they went.
(&)&)(&)
MorganS: Huh, I wonder who was in the corner Sarastic
Ashlyns: Yeah, you're so intelligent! Anyway, they might not.
MorganS: Yeah right. Please review.