~Everything's Not What It Seems~
Alex and Justin are siblings sent to Hogwarts to learn about magic just like their father. There they meet new friends, fall in love, and find out that truly everything is not what it seems.
Disclaimer: J.K Rowling and Disney Channel own the right to all these character. I am only borrowing them :)
Harry came down to the Gryffindor common room to find everyone in the room in a buzz. At first he thought it was due to the excitement of the upcoming Triwizard tournament. Maybe their resentment towards Harry and Justin had worn off and they were excited to have two Gryffindors representing their school. His theory was quickly thrown out as his eyes fell on some of the Gryffindors, looks of concern in their eyes. Harry scanned the room until he found his friends, sitting on the couches in front of the fireplace. Justin and Ginny were huddled together, whispering, while Hermione, Ron, and the twins sat together with sullen looks on their faces. Harry walked over to them, avoiding the nasty looks by some the others as he made his way past them. He found an empty spot on the sofa beside Hermione. He seated himself quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone else.
"What's going on Hermione?" He whispered.
Ginny was the first to look up, her eyes were slightly red. "You haven't heard Harry?"
"Heard what?"
Justin looked up at him to respond this time. "Alex is missing."
~~~~~
Justin was frantic. No one had heard from Alex since she disappeared from the infirmary the previous night. After his run-in with Max, Justin returned to Gryffindor Tower with the hopes of talking to his sister. When he arrived, he found the common room vacant except for a very concerned Ginny and Hermione. They had continued their search for Alex after he had left but after another half hour of searching, they decided to look in the girls dormitories. After checking with some of the other Gryffindors, they found that Alex had not been there either. The twins joined them sometime later and the five of them spent the rest of the night looking for Alex. They even went as far as sneaking around the castle past curfew to look for her. With it being later after curfew, they had no choice but to notify Professor McGonagall of his sister's disappearance. Their head of the house immediately called for the headmaster and Professor Snape, who had the school on lockdown for the remainder of the night, until they could locate Alex. The search started after 10 PM the previous night. It had been nearly eleven hours since then and they had yet to find Alex. While some of the other students who were unaware of Alex's disappearance were excited that classes had been cancelled for the day, all Justin could think about was his missing sister.
"What could be taking them so long?" Justin looked up and saw the nervous expression on Harry's face. He was the last to know of his sister's disappearance. Everyone was so worried, that they had not informed him. Since he'd found out, he'd been sitting nervously with them in front of the fireplace.
"They'll find her soon." Justin felt Ginny hands gently squeeze his own. She looked at him with a comforting smile. "She'll be okay. I'm sure of it."
"I hope so."
"Does… does he know?" Harry whispered as he moved to the chair closest to Justin. He didn't have to mention his name for Justin to know Harry was referring to his father. Of course his father knew. Justin had no choice but to tell his dad after they had informed Professor McGonagall. Justin was positive that the news would have gotten to his father sometime later anyway. He thought it would be better coming from him than from someone else. His father had immediately insisted on coming to Hogwarts to help search for. Justin had to practically beg him to stay away for his own safety. He wasn't entirely sure his father would listen so he informed Remus after, requesting that he contact his father to keep him away from the school.
"Yes he does. He really wants to be here."
"But he can't." Harry looked at Justin in concern. He understood the risk as much as Justin did.
"I convinced him not to, but I don't know if he plans on listening to me. Hopefully Remus can convince him otherwise. He only wants to see Alex safe and okay. He was pretty angry when I told him. I... also told him about the tournament. He wants to speak to us later... once he knows Alex is safe."
"Why would you tell him?" Harry looked at Justin in surprise. "Doesn't he have enough to worry about with his daughter missing?"
"I had to tell him! I couldn't not tell him! It was the only way to explain why Alex ran off in the first place."
"But we don't even know if Alex ran away herself. Do you really think that telling Sirius Black that his daughter is missing is the right thing to do?" Hermione interjected, looking at Harry then at Justin. As her eyes met Justin's, regret flashed on her face. "Not that we are assuming she's hurt! Alex is too smart for that..."
"Alex is too clever to get herself kidnapped!" Fred and George both said in unison.
"But she is a magnet for trouble…" Ron added, not looking up. He hadn't really said much since yesterday, though he had been sitting with them all morning.
"Let's not think negative! Alex is okay and she'll be back here soon. We'll all be mad at her for making us worry! Right Justin?" Ginny gave his hand another squeeze as she looked at him with an encouraging smile. Justin forced a smile and nodded before looking at his friends.
"Ginny's right. Right now, all we can do is think positive."
~~~~~
Max frowned as he stared through the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room. He had just spent the last hour trying to leave the common rooms only to collide with an invisible wall blocking his exit. Was there some sort of password to leave now too? He'd already missed his first two classes and it was nearing lunch! Max kicked the invisible wall one last time before turning around to give up. He looked to the couch where Theo was lounging, watching Max in amusement.
"How long have you been there?"
"I've been watching you try to pass the force field for the past half hour. Was it really necessary for you to try getting through it every three minutes?" Theo raised an eyebrow at me.
"I've been trying for over an hour…"
Theo shook his head before motioning Max over to join him on the couches. "I guess it's not surprising. You are Max… Why were you trying to leave anyway? You do know the school is on lockdown, right?"
Lockdown? When did this happen? And why didn't someone tell him this when he left the dormitories this morning? "Where is everyone?"
"Everyone is in the dormitories. We don't get a lot of opportunities to sleep in like this." Theo glanced around the room cautiously before leaning towards him. "I heard some Gryffindor girl went missing yesterday and she hasn't been found yet. Professor Dumbledore keeps ordering sweeps of the castle to find her."
"Keeps ordering it? Meaning he's already done it more than once?"
"More than a few times. She's been missing since last night. Wonder what's so special about this Gryffindor girl. If it was Harry Potter then it would be obvious why, he's frickin' HARRY POTTER! But the girl who's lost is just some random girl…"
"If the headmaster is so determined to find her, I doubt she's some random girl." Max commented.
Theo shrugged and leaned back. "Maybe you're right. Maybe she's the kid of someone important… or it could be a relative of his. Though I highly doubt that. Professor Dumbledore only has a brother and a sister, neither of whom had any kids."
Max frowned as he heard this. Unlike Theo, Max knew that this wasn't true. The headmaster did have family that went to their school. Professor Dumbledore's niece and nephew happened to be who Max grew up to know as his older brother and sister. He also happened to know that the headmaster's niece had gone missing briefly the previous night. He couldn't be referring to Alex though, could he? Justin must have found Alex by now. Right?
"Max. You look pale. Are you okay?" Max looked back at Theo, seeing the concern on his face as he looked at him.
Was he okay? He wasn't sure. He would probably feel better if he knew where his sister was at that exact moment. But he didn't... and he had no way of finding out either. He also had no way of confirming that the missing Gryffindor was Alex. And if she was… what would he do? How would they find her?
"Max Russo." Max looked up, snapping out of his worrisome thoughts. He was surprised to see the headmaster standing at the entrance of the Hufflepuff common rooms, Professor Snape behind him.
"Yes?" He gulped. The fact that Professor Dumbledore was there to see him only helped support his suspicion. Max could see the concern in the headmaster's eyes. He nodded at Professor Snape who stepped into the room and walked towards them. He grabbed onto Theo's collar, pulling him towards the boys dormitories as Theo looked back at Max in confusion. Max watched them disappear up the stairs before looking back to see Professor Dumbledore had joined him in the sitting area.
"Max, I just have a few questions for you."
"Okay."
"When was the last time you saw Alex Russo?" He looked at Max seriously. Alex had to be the missing Gryffindor. Why else would the headmaster be asking him this. "Max."
"I saw her when she fainted during the Triwizard Champions announcement. I wanted to visit her at the medical wing, but she left before I got there. So I haven't seen her since then."
"Has Alex ever mentioned to you of any enemies or places she enjoys going to when she wants to be alone?" Professor Dumbledore looked at him with a hopeful expression.
"No she hasn't. Not in Hogwarts anyway. She never told me of any spots she liked either."
His expression changed to one of disappointment. He nodded grimly as he stood up. As he stepped away from Max, they could hear footsteps coming from the dormitories. Max looked up to see Professor Snape had returned, Cedric in tow.
"Professor Dumbledore, what is this about?" Cedric came forward. He looked confused as his eyes fell on Max.
Max looked at the headmaster, who now had a grave expression on his face. "We are here to find some clues as to the whereabouts of Alex Russo."
"Why?"
"Because, no one has seen Alex since yesterday. She's missing."
Updated!
