Disclaimer: We don't own nothing. Double negative in Ulster dialect is still a negative so technically 'we don't own nothing' is grammatically correct. We don't own nothing!
Welcome to Knockturn
The twins were running so far and fast that they didn't have time to watch where they were headed. As they flew past various shops, they sent outside displays flying off their stands and knocked their keepers violently aside. People stared as the two small redheads darted past their knees. For all Molly's shouting nobody had the sense or the courage to stop them.
Fred was leading, carving a path through the busy crowd. George was hot on his heels, terrified of being separated from his brother. They were in enough trouble already; the last thing they needed was to become lost. Unfortunately, that was exactly what was happening although neither of the twins were aware of it. Then, in one movement, the twins went from being mildly confused about their general location to being hopelessly lost and in grave danger.
Fred took a sharp left near Gringotts. George followed him and they continued to run down the dark and damp street. If either of them had looked up at the lopsided sign that declared the name of the alley they had just entered, they would have most definitely chosen a different path. Knockturn Alley was no place for children.
Knockturn Alley was a derelict version of Diagon Alley with the exception that it was dedicated to the Dark Arts. Fred and George came to a sharp halt outside a shop that had a window display of shrunken, severed heads, and they instantly got the feeling of dread, one that senses when they are being watched. The occupants of the other shops were turning their heads to see the two bright specks of red in the otherwise grey street.
"George," said Fred nervously, turning to his twin, "I think we're a wee bit lost!" The witty, joking tone of his voice was gone, replaced with an unaccustomed emotion that sounded suspiciously like fear.
"Just a 'wee bit'?" George asked, his tone identical to Fred's.
Fred didn't trust himself to speak without screaming so just nodded shakily. George, on the other hand, took as deep breath and whispered, "Well, we're not in Diagon Alley anymore, that's for sure."
This statement crushed any hope that had survived in the twins' hearts into the ground. The circumstances seemed entirely desperate.
Their despair was suddenly interrupted by the menacing barking of a dog. Up until now, the only souls that had been in sight had been inside the shops. Now however, at the end of the streets the twins saw a man coming towards them slowly. He seemed to be limping very heavily and he was oddly lopsided. Although his face was hidden by shadow the twins weren't interested in who he was. They were too busy focusing on the enormous dog that walked by the man's side. It was taller than they were, so that they could have walked under it without the top of their heads brushing its stomach. It had an enormous head that carried an enormous jaw and therefore the twins decided it must have enormous teeth. Its eyes were wild and so was is fur. The twins were reminded of the stories that Bill used to tell them about the grim. Before now they had never believed him.
"Be ye lost laddies?" the man rasped. His accent was so thick the twins struggled to understand him. George was about to answer 'yes', but Fred got there first-
"No," he said simply sounding braver than he felt, "We're just…waiting…for our big brother. He's an Auror." Fred's lie was unconvincing, but the man did hesitate.
"Is he now?" the man took another step towards them into what little light there was. He was filthy and untidy, with bloodshot eyes set deep into a damaged and lined face. The dog growled deeply in its throat.
"Quiet Brutus," The man hissed at the dog, "You'll scare the boys."
The boys were already scared. What did this man want? George was eyeing the dog very closely. The man noticed and spoke directly to George, "He won't touch you boy. He's a pussy cat!"
Quick as a flash the man reached down and unfastened the lead from around Brutus' neck. Just as quickly, the dog ran at them and began to bark again, bearing its teeth. Fred had time to think, 'Some pussy cat!' before his instinct took over and he and his brother were running again.
They could hear the dog chasing them and they knew they could never out run it. Their muscles were getting tired from all the exercise they had been forced to do.
Suddenly a group of wizards materialised in front of them with a small pop. The twins didn't have time to stop and ran headlong into them. There were about five new men in the alley now. They all looked down simultaneously at the small children with whom they had collided.
Fred looked up into the face of the man he had run into and staggered back in fear. The man's face was horribly scarred. There was a large chunk of his nose missing and his eyes didn't match. On closer inspection, Fred found that the bright blue one was not original. His mouth was a lopsided gash and his hair was grey and grizzled. He glared down at Fred with menace that seemed to come to him naturally.
George did not receive such a fright. Compared to the man that Fred had run into, George was being held by a relatively normal man. The man was tall with black skin and dark robes. George noticed that he had a wand clutched in his hand and a twitch of fear fluttered in his stomach.
There were three other men standing just behind them that were partially hidden from the twins gaze but Fred and George knew that all five of the men were watching them. For a few moments, the two parties stared at each other. Finally, the man whom Fred had crashed with opened his mouth and said with what appeared to be a smile, "Well, it's about time you two got here!"
A.N Hello! It is the summer holidays! That means you are gonna be seeing a lot more of us around. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is another question. Well we don't have much to say, just that we hope you enjoy and thanks to all who reviewed last chapter. Keep it up!
Sweetdeath04 and Thorney