A/N: There are exceptions to my standard rule of updating daily when I'm posting a story. Exception number one is when does not let me log in. Other exceptions will be note as they occur.

A note to Mandraco: I've always felt that Confusion and Malcolm go hand in hand. In this story, as in life, if you're not confused then you probably have no idea of what is really happening.

A poem for today: Please to remember, the Fifth of November. Gunpowder, Treason and Plot. I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.

CHAPTER 5: ADVENTURES WITH REESE

Reese would describe it later as though he was being squeezed through a keyhole, and no one had taken the key out of it first. He would also brag that he was the first person in his family to apparate, once he realized what happened.

Reese as Draco opened his eyes to see masked figures all around him, in a large room lit only by a fireplace. He looked on either side and noted that Mom and Aunt Bella were donning masks as well. The two women led him through the crowd until he was face to face with a pale man whose red eyes and slitted nose made him resemble a snake, specifically the snake that lay curled up in a striking position at the man's feet. Reese's first thought was, 'cool special effects.'

"Ah, Draco. How nice of you to come. I have a favor to ask of you." The Dark Lord waved his hand for the boy to follow and led the way to another room, as dark as the previous one. This one was lit by two wall sconces. As the door closed, Draco noted that it was not only the two of them. Mom and Aunt Bella were there as were two others. But Voldemort ignored them, looking at Draco with eyes that seemed to mesmerize the boy.

"Draco, your father was one of my more faithful followers before he was taken. I want to know if you have the same mettle in you that he had."

Reese/Draco drawled, "I have always been Father's favorite son. Even Malcolm says so."

Narcissa Malfoy winced beneath her mask at Reese's blunder, but Voldemort did not seem to notice.

"I see that you and your cousin share the same sense of humor. Even more gratifying is that you share your father's arrogance. In a lesser man this would not be considered an asset."

Reese smiled at the apparent compliment. "You wanted a favour?"

"Brusk and forward," the Dark Lord said appreciatively. "You could go far, Draco. But for that you would need to do two things for me, both of which are minor and well within your capabilities. Shall I explain them to you?"

"Sure." Draco smiled confidently.

"First, you must agree to be a Death Eater and call me 'Master' as all my other followers do."

"And the second?"

Voldemort smiled cruelly at the insolent youth. "A small task. Dumbledore has irked me for many years and I would be rid of him. But he has many protections about him in his castle at Hogwarts. All I wish is that you find a way to bring my servants into the school that they may rid me of this old man. And if you could manage to do this service yourself, you will be ranked first among my faithful servants and be beloved above all others." The smile became a sneer. "Should you fail me, Draco Malfoy, I will hold this as a betrayal. Your life and your family will be forfeit. Will you serve me?"

Reese panicked. This was not some fancy meeting. This was a living nightmare, and he was trapped in it.

Narcissa leaned forward and whispered. "Tell him yes, Draco."

'Draco?' Reese thought. 'Yes. That's right. I'm not . . . um . . . whoever that was. I'm Draco. I AM Draco Malfoy. And I know what Draco would do. I know what I will do.'

Hiding his fear behind a mask of dispassion, Draco answered. "It is a small thing, but I agree."

Voldemort's eyes blazed, whether with pleasure or anger.

"YOU AGREE . . ."

Draco swallowed hard as he tried to think quickly of how he had erred.

"I accept . . . Master."

"Then I accept you as my servant." The Dark Lord pointed his wand at Draco's arm. He smiled as the boy screamed.

In the morning, Draco awoke in his own bed. His arm felt sore but otherwise he was fine. He rose from his bed and set about to dress for the day. He paused at one point, before putting on a shirt, and looked in the mirror at the dark mark on his arm. He felt both trepidation and pride. He had a task before him. It would only be difficult but not impossible. He would be careful, though. If he revealed too much of his task, others might try to steal his glory. But he could ask discrete questions. His cousin, Malcolm, would be very helpful as long as too much was not revealed.

Malcolm had the proper attitude but he had never learned to be a follower. Draco smiled as he had an inspiration. He would help his cousin learn to find a cause, and to dedicate himself to it. The upcoming school year would be very interesting.

It never occurred to Draco to wonder why parts of the Manor was so unfamiliar to him. Nor did he think about why he could remember none of his classes or the teachers. He knew who he was. Nothing else was important.

Satisfied he was dressed properly. Draco left his room and went down to breakfast. Narcissa was waiting for him. They sat down together while the servant served their food. Narcissa waited until they were alone, then broached the subject that was strongly on her mind.

"Reese?"

"What of him. Mother," Draco said with a pained look. "Is he coming here for ANY reason?"

"No, dear," Narcissa said slowly. "For some reason he came to mind. I'm still not used to the idea that we have American cousins." Curiously, she tried another tactic. "I've heard you say many times that Malcolm is your best friend at the school. I was thinking of inviting him to spend a few weeks with us."

Narcissa watched carefully as Draco's face revealed a series of emotions. She knew Reese's feelings toward his brother, as a brother. Now she observed as the boy who was wearing her son's face changed his attitude to match that of her son. The boy's next sentence was spoken with a sincerity he would not have felt only moments before.

"That would be wonderful, Mother. With Father gone . . ." The boy, in true Draco style, left the rest unsaid.

Narcissa smiled warmly. "I will talk to your Aunt Lois this afternoon. Why don't you practice on your broom for a while. You want to be at your best for Quidditch when you return to Hogwarts.

Draco beamed with delight at the thought and agreed. After breakfast, the servant brought his broom, and Draco went outside. Narcissa followed to watch and was nor surprised to see Draco fumble at first. He laughed and told her he was 'rusty' and tried again. Then he surprised her by actually managing to fly with some little skill. He was clearly not as skilled as her son by any standard, but he was doing wonderfully for his first time on a broom.

Narcissa frowned. Reese was a squib by every standard. He had been examined, without his knowledge, and was found to have almost no ability. But now he was flying a broom and that should have been impossible. Unless the spell did more than make Reese look like Draco. She pondered the obvious answer. Reese did not look like Draco. This was stronger magic. Reese was now Draco. He could do anything Draco could do. The only thing he lacked was knowledge.

Reese, as Draco, was improving his flying skills faster than was possible. That proved Narcissa's suspicions. Draco knew how to fly. He knew how to move his body. His mind was remembering what his body was telling him. She would talk to Lois and invite Malcolm. Then she would make up an excuse and test her faux son on his skills in magic.

"I don't trust that woman," Lois said strongly.

"What's there that you don't trust?" Hal asked. "She's trying to get Reese to pretend to be Draco, until Draco shows up. She needs all the help she can get. And Malcolm's the smartest one around. He knows more about Draco than anyone."

Lois looked at Hal. "I suppose I should send Dewey and Nob as well."

Hal grabbed Lois's hand. "Think of all the time we would have alone."

"HAL! We're talking about the wife of the most obnoxious man I've ever met."

"But he's in jail, now. Look how much better your cousin Joey's kids are doing since he's been locked up."

Lois glared at her husband. "I need to talk to someone about this."

"Howdy," Francis said cheerfully, "Welcome to the Sleepy Hollow Ranch."

The young couple looked at each other and smiled. "It's our honeymoon, you know, " the man told him.

"Congratulations. I hope you enjoy your stay. If you need anything, just pick up the phone in your room . . . you do know about phones?"

"About what? Is that one of those muggle things?"

"Oh, how cute," the woman said. "And we tell it what we want? How convenient." She picked up the phone. "Take us to our room." A pause. "Nothing happened."

"No, Ma'am," Francis explained. "You do know that Sleepy Hollow specializes in giving our guest the experience of how muggles lived in the old west."

"Ahhh," the husband said and turned to his wife. "Darling, it's a muggle device. To communicate without magic."

"How delightful." The woman turned to Francis. "Just explain everything to our house elf, then. Where are our rooms."

Francis told them and watched as they apparated out of the reception area. All that remained was a scruffy looking house elf with long floppy ears who looked like a demented bloodhound on two legs.

"Okay. This is a phone."

The house elf looked up at Francis with vague comprehension, and Francis groaned. It was going to be another long day.

"Cannonball," Dewey cried as he jumped into the pool.

"Good one," Draco said admirably as Dewey surfaced. "Malcolm, how high?"

"The splash reached seven feet three inches."

"Dang," Dewey said. He was still a foot short from beating Draco's record.

Draco, sitting on the side of the pool with his feet in the water, smiled as Malcolm climbed onto the diving board. "Malcolm. Don't forget. If you change into an owl again just to get the extra height you're disqualified."

Malcolm laughed as he shouted back. "It was a great splash." He took a running start and jumped off the board shouting, "Cannonball," as he curled up into a ball.

"Eight feet, one inch," Draco announced as Malcolm surfaced. "I'm still the winner. Dabney, do you want to try?"

Dabney sitting in the shallow end, shook his head no.

"It's my turn then," Johnny said. He jumped and surfaced to hear, "Eight feet, five inches." He was the new cannonball champ by two inches.

"Malcolm?"

Everyone turned to look at the seven year old boy who had walked in, a junior version of his brother.

"Nob, what happened? I thought you were moving the lawn?"

"Naw, I paid this kid Ten bucks to do it for me." Nob walked over to his brother. "Mom and Dad were talking about Reese. It sounded bad. I thought I should tell you."

"What happened."

Nob frowned, then looked at the pool. "Can I get wet first?"

"Do you bring your trunks this time?"

"Yeah."

Last time he didn't. The girls thought he was cute, though.

"C'mon in."

Two hours later, Nob finally had a chance to tell his story as everyone sat around in the den. As much as he knew. How the Aurors wanted to talk to Draco. How he had changed Reese into Draco. And how Draco's mom wanted Malcolm to come and help Reese learn how to act like Draco.

It was Draco who broke the silence. "Malcolm, I need to tell you something." He looked around at the five people watching him. "Privately."

"Is it about the, um, you know, oath."

Dabney looked surprised. "That was true? You took a wizard oath and had to participate in the Academic Olympics?"

"A wizard's oath?" Johnny said appreciatively. "Who was your bonder?"

"My what?"

"You know, man. The dude that holds his wand out as you make the oath."

"Nobody held out a wand?"

"Oh, you did it yourself? Cool?"

Dabney was amazed. "Malcolm. Did Draco make an oath to cover for you or something."

Draco stared. "How did you figure that out?"

Dabney smirked. "I was the number one Krelboyne." Then he frowned. "Until Malcolm showed up."

Draco nodded. The same intelligence but without the personality.

Malcolm shrugged his shoulders. "Now that Dabney figured it out, it doesn't have to be private."

"We're better as a group," Dewey assured Draco. "When we work together."

Draco shrugged. "Fine. It's about when Nob turned me into Malcolm. I actually became Malcolm, at least the Malcolm I thought he was. For a while I even forgot who I was."

This could be bad. With Reese's brain, he's probably already convinced he's always been Draco.

"Malcolm," Dewey said with a hint of fear. "What does Reese think Draco is like?"

"I was just thinking about that? Draco?"

"Well . . ." Draco paused, then began to smile. "Mother must know what happened, otherwise she wouldn't have asked for you. I don't think it matters. Mother will have the son she always wanted. A son who will always listen to her."

Everyone snorted.

Dewey asked it first. "Do you really believe your mother can get Reese to listen to her?"

"It's a given. All Mother has to do is tell Reese that I always listen to her advice. Reese will do whatever he thinks I would do." Draco stretched out on the couch, putting his feet on the coffee table. "I think all of us are going to have a wonderful summer. Even Reese."

"Yeah," Malcolm answered with a laugh. "Your Mom will tell him he's having a great time."

"Thank you for coming, Malcolm," Narcissa said warmly as the boy stepped out of the fireplace. "Draco's in the front yard, flying his broom."

Malcolm did a double take. "Flying? Actually flying?"

"Actually flying. And I told him he must have lost his wand, so we went to get him another one. I've been running him through his spells to make sure his new wand works properly."

"Reese can do magic."

Narcissa gave Malcolm an amused smile. "Of course not. Reese, thankfully, is a squib. Draco, however, is an accomplished young wizard. It is a joy to have him around the house for the summer."

Malcolm nodded. "So you know all about Reese?"

"That he is convinced he is Draco? Yes. But I need to ask you a question. The spell that was put on him. How long will it last."

"Until you take it off."

"Good. Until I can find Draco, I will need Reese. And he has proven very useful already."

"The Aurors?"

"Um, yes. No one can tell the difference. If I didn't know what had happened, I would believe he was Draco. And that is why I need your help, Malcolm It's only a matter of time before the Ministry decides to interview my son. I need my son to know as much about Hogwarts as possible. He loves to review his school books, after I told him he did, but they won't ask him about potions. He needs to know the more personal things. Things that you, as his close friend, can tell him. Who he likes and dislikes. Why he feels that way. Personal things that have happened to him."

Malcolm frowned. "Is it really that important?"

Narcissa frowned as well. "I can't find Draco. He's gone to some beach for the summer. And I can't risk anyone realizing that Reese is not the real Draco. It will cause me serious problems. And your family as well. Important people will want to know why your brother was impersonating my son."

She's right. If anyone finds out about Reese, we're all in big trouble. I'd better tell her where Draco is.

"Aunt Narcissa . . ."

On the other hand, that means that Reese will come back home. We're actually acting like a family since he's been gone. Dewey and me going swimming together. And we're not even ditching Nob as much. We even found some kid dumb enough to mow the backyard.

". . . I'd be more than happy to talk over old times with my good friend, Draco."

It was a week later that Draco was eying Malcolm carefully. They sat on the lawn chairs at the far end of the pool. Everyone else was swimming and ignoring the two of them.

"You told him everything?"

"Yeah. I mean no. I didn't tell him about Ginny. Or Basil. Or fake ID's, but he knows about that already. I just told him all the stories about Slytherin. You know. How you planned to release those Dementors. All those tricks you played on Potter. All those things he did to you. That thing about the Hippogriph. How you and Crabbe and Goyle fought Potter on the train, twice, and lost both times." Draco frowned. "Sorry, he had to know. Reese actually thinks Harry's a nice guy, just a little weird."

"Go on," Draco said icily.

"And, you know, stories about Hogwarts. Like the time Nearly Headless Nick had a Deathday party on Halloween. What you told me about the troll getting loose in the castle. The time Montague got caught in that cabinet and couldn't get out. Your dad and that diary. When Dennis Creevey jumped into the lake and the Giant Squid tossed him back into the boat . . ."

"He actually jumped? I thought he was smarter than that. And nicer, too. After all, he and his brother actually improved on those buttons I made."

I remember that. The buttons said, "Potter stinks." Dennis and Colin got them to say, "Potter really stinks."

Malcolm paused. "Draco. It took me a couple of days, what with your Mom there and all, but Reese really does think he's you. 100 percent."

"Already?" Draco nodded thoughtfully. "It must be his lack of intelligence. And I am a much nicer person than he is."

Malcolm didn't even make any comment about Draco's remark that he was nicer than Reese. The previous remark had startled him.

"What do you mean by "Already"?

Draco smiled at the memory of talking with his Aunt about who he was. "It's Nob's spell, how ever he does it. As I told you, when he turned me into you, he made me become you. I found myself doing things I thought you would do, that I knew you would do. It seems that it gave me your brain as well. Not the memories, but the pattern was there. If I did something wrong, I could feel it was wrong. But because I was you, and no one was there to remind me of who I was, I began to believe I was you. It was only when you called the house and I answered the phone that I remembered who I was."

"But that took weeks? Reese has been you for only a couple of . . .." Malcolm laughed as he figured it out. Draco laughed when he was told. As Draco, Reese had everything he ever wanted. Why would he want to be anyone else.

"Reese can do magic," Malcolm said tentatively.

Draco smiled. "And I'd wager he flies very well, too."

Then that means that when he was me . . .

"Draco?"

"Yes, Malcolm, when I was you I was very, very smart."

"Cool."

Reese remembered everything that Malcolm had told him. He even embellished his memories so that Draco was even better in them than in real life. Malcolm was a good friend to have, a lucky friend to have. How many other pure blood wizards have ever been raised as muggles. He could be useful.

Malcolm had a dream that night. It was another of those dreams that seemed extremely real. Somehow, he knew he was in the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall was standing in front of him.

"Under the circumstances, Malcolm, I must expel you from Hogwarts."

"But . . ." Malcolm said, and that was as far as he got.

"No buts. That is the way it has to be."

Malcolm turned around and he woke up.