Title:
Twins
Author:
Kiarene
Pairings: none yet
Rating:
G
Summary: The Malfoy twins
start Hogwarts. Totally AU. Protective!Lucius and sweet!Draco.
Published:
6th January
2006
Disclaimer: Not mine sighs
A/N and warnings: Will be slashy eventually. Twincest hints. Sap overload. Turn back now if any of that offends you. I can't even begin to say pre-HBP or pre-GoF; it deviates from canon right from the first.
/ announcer
Twins
Chapter 6
In which Lucius gets depressed and the Slytherins get even.
Draco and the other reserves watched the game from the 'crow's nest'. In Quidditch, the higher the seat, the better the view. The commentator box was the highest point in the stadium, the teachers' box just below that, while the students ringed the seats below. The first-aid station was on the ground level.
For the team, there were two raised boxes near the goal posts where the reserves sit, just a simple covered box with a couple of benches. The reserves sat there in their Quidditch gear, ready to fly out to replace a player should there arose a need to do so. They also had a very good view of the game, and especially of their team's own goal posts.
Draco watched as Lucius hovered around the goal posts, simultaneously proud and worried. There were quite blatant skeptical stares when the teams filed onto the pitch — Lucius stood a head shorter than most of the other players, looking further dwarfed by the bulky Keeper gear — and speculation was rife as to whether or not the slim first-year could manage.
/One, two, three, four, five… looks like Slytherin's missing a player… oh wait! There he is!
/Wow, I didn't know they made real Keeper armor in that size. But he looks really cute, folks.
Roars of laughter from the Gryffindor side greeted Lee Jordon's snide comments, and even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff couldn't help snickering a little. Draco and the Slytherins were furious, and Draco could tell that Lucius wasn't unaffected. The blond Keeper's shoulders were stiff and his flying a little erratic.
/Looks like the Slytherin Keeper's a bit nervous. He isn't flying figure-of-eights; he's flying a bowtie.
/Tsk. What was Slytherin thinking? Fielding such a tiny fella as Keeper? They must be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
/Another point to Gryffindor! Perhaps Slytherin's Keeper isn't too used to real Quaffles.
"Stay calm dear," Slyvinia patted Draco's hunched shoulders. "There's nothing you can do. We can't leave the box."
"It's not fair," Draco cried out in frustration. "That git Jordan never said anything bad about Potter — why should he make fun of Lucius? He's so obviously biased! They shouldn't use a Gryffindor commentator when Gryffindor is playing; it's unprofessional!"
/Looks like the Slytherin Beaters are working extra hard today! Guess they need to — to help cover for the Keeper, maybe?
So far, the Slytherin team has been doing well. Their Beaters hovered protectively and kept most of the Quaffles away. Lucius had looked anguished every time he let a Quaffle through, though the other team players were quick to reassure him that he deflected more than he missed. Still, it was obvious Lucius was off his usual game.
"Never mind!" Evenlina swooped by, smiling kindly, before zooming back to the game.
Marcus paused, hovering there faintly worried as Lucius' face scrunched in frustration. "Hey, 'tis all right. We're still ahead of them in points."
Lucius nodded and wiped his eyes. Slytherin was leading 160–80. "But if Potter catches the Snitch, they will win."
Oliver Wood flew by, grinning smugly. "Best to keep your attention on your game rather than your Keeper, Flint!"
"Shut it Wood!" Marcus barked. Gripping his broom tightly, he zoomed off.
Draco's attention was torn between watching Lucius and keeping an eye out for the Snitch. Just think — he would be up there next year, and it would be his duty to catch the Snitch for the team. Wistfully, Draco thought that if he wasn't stuck up in the crows' nest, he would be down there hexing Lee Jordan.
Suddenly, he caught sight of a flash of gold, just as the two Seekers simultaneously dropped to chase after it. An excited murmuring went up around the stadium, and Jordan's words raced faster and faster even as the Seekers' picked up speed.
/The Snitch is spotted! Potter's nearer but Peterson has also given chase. Peterson's quite a distance behind… They've leveled out and whoa! Pull up pull up! That was a closed call — an almost crash in the Hufflepuff stands! But they aren't missing a beat and they're now zooming upwards! My word, the Firebolt is certainly living up to the hype! Look at that sweet thing go! Peterson just can't catch up and now Potter's just a tad behind the Snitch and now he's got his arm fully outstretched, almost—
Quite a few things happened at that point.
"Argh! Get off—" Lee Jordan's words were abruptly cut off with a high-pitched shriek before the Sonorous spell was cut.
Potter closed his hand around the Snitch, his face lighting up in triumph. Then suddenly, his broom gave a sudden buck before falling like a rock.
Screams echoed around the pitch as everyone stood up in fear. Many of the players watched, frozen for a few precious seconds before they could even react. Most of them were too far away, too slow. Brooms swerved all over the pitch, everyone's eyes on Potter and not on each other. After his own initial shock, Samuel had dived after Potter but he couldn't catch up.
It was utter chaos.
Potter fell rapidly for too many heart-stopping seconds before his fall was slowed down.
The teachers, Draco thought. Looking towards the teachers' box, he noticed Snape, McGonagall and Flitwick had their wands out. Everyone's attention was on the drama up in the air and only Draco caught sight of what took place next.
The hem of Snape's robes abruptly caught fire. He broke off his chanting in alarm and quickly switched to a fire extinguishing spell. The other teachers were simultaneously distracted. There was another gasp as the levitating spells holding up Potter faltered before Samuel caught up with Potter, yanking the boy back up.
By now, the three Slytherin reserves were straddling their brooms, ready to fly but unsure of what they should do. If the game wasn't over, they weren't supposed to be flying out. Potter had caught the Snitch but the final result hadn't been announced.
A couple of the other Gryffindor players had reached Samuel, grabbing hold of Potter. Their brooms were optimized for speed in Quidditch and not to bear heavy loads, and it took three of them to lower Potter to the ground, his broom obviously useless.
Draco's eyes darted between the aerial drama and the curious drama that was unfolding in the teachers' box. Snape had put out the fire — no danger there — but how in Hades had that happened in the first place?
Looking back at the pitch, it appeared that several other players had caught Potter and all were safe on the ground. Everyone watched, waited. Draco's heart sank.
Slowly, the reserves flew to the pitch to wait with their teams. Draco automatically sought out Lucius. The older twin's hand was cold, his face pale.
Finally, Hooch declared that Potter had indeed caught the Snitch. Gryffindor won, 230–160.
The mood in Slytherin after the match was sober. Depressed. Furious.
After showering, Lucius quickly dressed and excused himself. His eyes were red and it was obvious he didn't want to talk to anybody. Draco watched his brother leave sadly.
"Aren't you going to follow him?" Samuel asked in agitation. The players had finished showering and were changing in the Slytherin locker room.
Draco sighed and buttoned his shirt. "Soon. Luc just needs some time alone for a while."
"Draco…" Marcus said awkwardly. "Lucius played well. We didn't lose because of that."
"Yeah, I know that. But Lucius doesn't. Jordan's heckling got to him," Draco muttered angrily. He pulled on a vest over his shirt and combed his hair. "Luc knows that he hadn't played as well as he could have. Surely such harassment isn't allowed?"
"There's nothing to stop the commentator from saying such things," Marcus admitted reluctantly. It was true. Professional players have to mentally prepared to disregard the crowds and the match commentator during the game, and the media frenzy before and after the game. It was an ugly fact that accompanied professional Quidditch.
"But it was Lucius' first match," Samuel added unhappily. He looked terrible, eyes bloodshot as well and downcast, his mouth a grim frown. Clearly, he felt he was to blame for their failure as well.
"That's still unfair!" Draco cried in dismay, eyes tearing. He sniffed, knowing what Marcus said was true but still hating it. "Nobody heckled Potter! It's just not fair!"
"Hey…" Nicholas stepped forward, patting Draco on his shoulder.
"Sorry. I'm going to have to look for Lucius now." Draco kept his head low as he hurried off.
The locker room was quiet after Draco left. Suddenly, Marcus slammed the side of his fist against one of the lockers. "I am going to hunt down that arse Jordan," he growled, reaching for his wand.
Samuel and Nicholas promptly pounced on the enraged captain. "Hold it man! You can't just go hexing him like that!" Nicholas managed to wrestle Marcus' wand away and tossed it to Avery.
"You're absolutely right! Bare fists are better!" Marcus struggled like a wild animal, trapped between the other two boys. The Beater was the tallest and most muscular player on their team, and Samuel and Nicholas had a hard time restraining him. "Let me go! I'm gonna pound Jordan into the ground—"
"And get yourself suspended!" Samuel howled. He shook Marcus' beefy shoulders. "Don't be stupid! Don't let them get to you like this!"
Nicholas suddenly gave Marcus a slap. It wasn't hard but it was shocking enough that the older boy stopped struggling. "Get a hold of yourself! We're Slytherins!"
The younger players watched, wide-eyed. Attracted by the yelling, the girls ran over as well.
"Nicholas is right," Evenlina said coldly from the doorway as she fingered her wand.
Marcus took a deep breath. "Right. You're right." He suddenly looked embarrassed. "Sorry."
"It's ok. We all know you've lost your head for Lucius," Samuel quipped with a grin. The tension broke as the others burst out laughing.
Marcus turned red. "I have not!"
If anything, the laughter became louder.
"Luc," Draco whispered. The curtains around their bed were drawn, the dormitory empty. He crawled onto their bed. In the dim light, he could see that Lucius was curled up around a large pillow.
Draco tugged Lucius tentatively. "How are you feeling?"
Lucius immediately turned towards Draco, burying his face against Draco's chest blindly. "Everyone made fun of me," he sobbed. "I thought I was good but, but…"
"No, only the Gryffindors made fun of you, and what do they know?" Draco felt helpless. Lucius hardly ever cried; the older boy was usually the one who seemed so confident and strong. He had always depended on Lucius; he reminded himself sternly that now Lucius needed him to be strong. "You played a very good game—"
"Crap." Lucius shook his head. Lucius was extremely proud, and failure hit him especially hard. "I know I played a poor game."
"You played a good game. True, you were nervous, but you still played a good game," Draco said sternly. "Don't ever doubt your talent! It was your first game, for Merlin's sake!"
"But Pot..Potter…" Lucius hiccupped. His lower lip wibbled. "He caught the Snitch!"
Draco really didn't know what to say at that point. Fucking Potter, he thought viciously. How could anybody have his kind of luck? It's unnatural. Things just fall into his lap. How could anyone compare to the Boy-Who-Lived? Potter must have the most unbelievable luck in the world because it would certainly explain how he 'defeated the Dark Lord' as a mere babe-in-arms.
Meanwhile, all he could do was to hold Lucius as his twin continued crying. When Lucius' sobs quieted down, Draco eased him into a more comfortable position. "Are you thirsty? I could get you a drink," Draco whispered worriedly.
"All right," Lucius said in a small voice. He sounded tired and sleepy.
"I'll be back soon, ok?" Draco slipped out of bed and hurried towards the Kitchens.
The school was quiet. The upper-years were usually given the afternoon off to go to Hogsmeade after a Quidditch match, and most of the younger students were back in their dorms.
Walking briskly along a corridor, it was just his luck that he ran across the person he least wanted to see. Potter blinked myopically at him, looking dimmer than Vincent's owl. "Malfoy?"
"Potter?" Draco asked sarcastically. "Right. Now that we've established that we do know each other's surnames, I need to be on my way."
"Wait, hold on Malfoy," Potter put up his hands quickly.
Draco eyed Potter angrily. "What?"
"Uh…" Potter rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish expression. He looked scruffy, as he always did, dressed in ill-fitting sweater and pants.
Draco rolled his eyes. What, he forgot what he was going to say? It just confirmed his firm belief that Potter must have the most unbelievable luck because how else could anyone survive so long being so damn stupid!
"Well, uh, I was thinking…" Potter's eyes seemed to be fixated on a spot beside his head and he was smiling goofily. Without his red and bushy shadows, he seemed less antagonistic, even a little friendly. Draco's mouth dropped open. Potter couldn't be suddenly wanting to be his friend, could he? Not after he rejected his offer earlier? The gall!
And unfortunately for the otherwise lucky Boy-Who-Lived, Draco was horribly pissed at him that day.
"Piss off Potter! I'm horribly pissed at you today!"
Potter's mouth dropped open. "What did I do?"
"What did you do!" Draco was spitting mad. He poked a finger in the other boy's chest accusingly. Lucius cried because of him! "How dare you ask me, what did you do? You, you speccy four-eyed stupid lucky insensitive git!"
Draco stormed off.
"Yeah, well, uh… You're a right git too Malfoy!" Potter yelled back, sounding hurt.
Draco couldn't care less.
He got a jug of mixed fruit juice and a bag of cookies from the always helpful elves in the Kitchens. By the time he got back though, Lucius was fast asleep. Sighing, Draco cast a stay-fresh spell on the juice and cookies, and placed them on the desk. He then cast a disturb-not spell on the bed before leaving the room.
Wondering where their friends were, he wandered around until he found them in the first-year girls' dorm. The girls' room was a lot smaller than theirs as there were only three girls in Slytherin that year: Pansy, Millicent and Queenie.
"Hey Pansy," Draco greeted as he walked in. The boys were there as well, sprawled out on the floor playing a board game, Underworld. "What are you all doing here?"
Blaise looked up. "Lucius," he said succinctly.
Draco understood. Sitting down beside Pansy's bed, he tilted his head back to look at her. "Where are your dorm-mates?"
Pansy shrugged, painting her toenails carefully. "Queenie is probably at her older sister's room again and Millicent. Well, Millicent's an odd duck. Who knows where she went."
"That's not a nice thing to say about Millicent," Vincent told her.
Pansy looked irritated. "Can I help it if she's an odd duck? Cripes. Not everyone is as tight as you four. Aw, fuck! Now you've ruined this and I have to re-do it!"
"Fine, fine…"
Draco looked at the little metal pieces as they shuffled about on the board. "Blaise, you are a sad sad commander."
"Oh shut it." Blaise watched mournfully as his last werewolf died with a tinny scream. "How's Lucius?"
"Depressed." Draco snarled. "That git Jordan—"
"We know," Blaise said. Draco shot them a sharp look. They were all grinning smugly.
Realization dawned. "You did something to him…"
"Yup." Pansy waved her wand, drying her toenails. "Recall that scream?"
Draco started to laugh. "What did you do?"
"Take many spiders…"
"You didn't!" Draco's face lit up in delight.
"Vincent caught a spider, Gregory got the idea to multiply them and Blaise levitated the box to tip the spiders onto Jordan's robe," Pansy said wickedly. "By the time he noticed, we were long gone."
Everyone howled. Draco clutched his sides, gasping. "Great Merlin. His shriek! I didn't know a guy can hit that high a note! Lucius is going to love this. The team is really going to love this." He grinned slyly at Pansy. "And what did you do?"
"I supervised, of course." She turned her nose up haughtily.
… But that wasn't the only revenge. It turned out that the team was going to hex Jordan with a laxative charm that activate every time Lucius' name is mentioned. But when they found out about the spiders prank, they changed it to activate every time he catches sight of a spider. Uncle Sev took special pleasure in introducing potions that make use of spider parts over the next few weeks.
Anyway, Lucius is feeling much better now. We won the next game against Hufflepuff yesterday. That was the last match of the season before the exams. Samhain is next week, and then the holidays! We miss you dearly and are looking forward to coming home for the holidays.
With lots of love,
Draco
