Title:
Twins
Author
Kiarene
Pairings:
none yet
Rating:
G
Summary:
The Malfoy twins start Hogwarts. Totally AU. Protective!Lucius and
sweet!Draco.
Published:
22nd
May 2007
DisclaimerNot
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.
My apologies for the long, long delay in updating… It's been a stressful year. Unfortunately, I've kinda lost the inspiration for this story and am not too sure how it's going. Yeah, not the most inspiring thing to hear. What I'd try to do is to wrap up the first year and see how the story goes.
Twins
Chapter 9
In which the twins get into a spot of adventure.
Draco burst into their dorm, a flurry of dark robes and mussed blond hair. "Luc, have you seen my Potions homework?" A heavy schoolbag was dumped on the floor, books spilling out. He headed straight for his desk, rummaging through the pile of parchments on the tabletop. Pansy's cat, which had been sleeping atop the pile of books, leapt away with an annoyed hiss. Something clattered to the floor.
"Luc?"
Blaise didn't bother to look up from his prone position on his bed, where he was reading a magazine. "Lucius' not here. And your Potions homework is on your bedside table."
Draco whipped around and snatched up the said scroll, frowning in irritation. "Dammit, Blaise! Stop borrowing my homework to copy."
"But you get the best grades among us," Blaise pointed out. "Who else can we copy from?"
"The emphasis is more on 'copy' than 'my', as in, perhaps you pillocks should start doing your own homework?" Draco grumbled. He put away his scroll with a sigh of relief, and then looked around. "Do you know where Lucius went?"
Blaise shrugged. "I think someone came, saying some teacher was looking for Lucius. There should be a note, I think."
Draco picked up the scrap of paper on Lucius' desk. —Quirrell wanted to see me. Not sure what about, but go on ahead and I'll see you in the Hall for dinner.—
Draco started to feel a faint prickle of unease. Since they came back from winter holidays, it had been a hectic time of tests and assignments, and with no further suspicious behaviour from Quirrell, they simply forgot all about the Defense professor. Well, Quirrell might have wanted Lucius for a simple matter such as homework, but...
"I'm going to look for Luc," Draco announced abruptly, placing the paper back on the desk, homework forgotten as he hurried out. From the dungeons, there are a few shortcuts to other parts of the castle, including the teachers' wing. He'd search there first.
Counting carefully, he located the fifth stone left from the common room fireplace. A section of the wall ground open and he drew his wand. Bluish-white wandlight flooded the dusty passageway. The shortcut to the teachers' wing was not often used; often the students were encouraged to look for their head-of-house rather than the other teachers, and Uncle Sev's quarters were in the dungeons as well, so as to be close to the Slytherin students. Draco himself had never been along this passageway, though all Slytherin students knew about the various corridors that connect the dungeons to the rest of the castle.
The longer Draco walked, however, the more his earlier confidence dropped. The floors got dustier, the air mustier. Cobwebs dripped from the ceiling and he could hear the occasionally skitter of rats. The corridor started to wind downwards and there were no signs of any doorway or exit. He knew the exit was clearly marked, a door that eventually came out to a cupboard just outside the teachers' wing. Still, shouldn't the shortcut be heading upwards, as the dungeons were supposed to be the lowest point of the castle after all. Perhaps he made a mistake?
Draco was on the verge of turning back when he thought he heard muffled voices. He stopped and cocked his head — yes, definitely voices. Stepping closer to the wall, he placed his hands cautiously on the cold stones, and a section of the wall slid away to reveal a large antechamber. It was empty, and there were two arched openings on either side of the room. From one of the openings, he could hear familiar voices.
"—go on ahead, Harry." The Weasel. Draco scowled.
"But…"
"Hurry! I'll take care of 'Mione." And The Bush. Draco muffled a snicker at his wittiness.
Footsteps hurried towards him and Draco tensed. When Potter burst into the room, the other boy skidded to a stop, a look of astonishment on his face. Then his brows drew together in suspicion. "Wha—?"
"I don't want to know." Draco rolled his eyes and turned away.
"Hey, you can't just walk away."
"Yes I can. I must have obviously made a wrong turn somewhere," Draco muttered, his thoughts already on other issues instead of Potter. Like, how to find Lucius. He took a step towards the opened passageway but when the edge of his robes brushed against the wall, the wall gave a shuddering groan and slid closed again. Draco stumbled back with a yelp. At the same time, the archway from which Potter came through shimmered, and then a wall appeared.
Both boys stared at each other in panic. Then as Draco turned and started patting the stone wall frantically, hoping to trigger open the mechanism again, Potter ran towards the newly formed wall. However, it was useless. They waved their wands and yelled and kicked the walls, but it was futile.
Potter was the first to give up. "Look Malfoy, we're obviously stuck here."
"State the obvious, why don't you?" Draco said tersely. Inside, he was trying hard not to panic.
Potter pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing loudly. "And so, perhaps we should be civil towards each other? Figure a way out?"
Draco waved a hand towards the other side of the room. "There is a way out."
Potter eyed the archway dubiously. "I don't know… It all seems too suspicious, don't you think?" However, even as he was speaking, the dark-haired boy started walking towards the archway. Draco immediately followed closely behind him. Gryffindors may be too thick-headed but there were times where foolhardy bravery was useful.
Miraculously, nothing happened when they crossed the archway. Wands lit and held aloft, the two boys started to walk slowly, carefully. A couple of times, they could hear muffled squeaks and the tiny pattering of rats. Draco wasn't scared of rats, of course not, though he did inch a bit closer to Potter. Just in case it wasn't rats.
The sound of their footsteps was loud in the silence. After a while, Draco licked his lips nervously. "So… why are you here?"
There was a long pause, as if Potter was reluctant to speak. "What, you can't tell me?" Draco's voice was sharp with annoyance.
"No, it's just that… well, er," Potter stuttered, rubbing the back of his hair uncertainly.
"Fine, don't tell me," Draco sulked. He quickened his steps, suddenly piqued at the other boy.
"No, I didn't mean it that way, uh, I was… just gathering my thoughts," Potter said in a rush as he caught up with Draco. "Wait!"
Draco's eyes fell to Potter's hand, which was gripping his sleeve.
Potter looked surprised, then embarrassed as he let go. "Sorry. Er, I just think we should stick close, that's all. Just in case."
Another rat scurried by, squeaking. Draco's eyes widened and he took an involuntary step closer to the other boy. "Er. Right." He flushed at his misstep, and coughed self-consciously. "Damn rats. The house-elves should do a better job of keeping those pests at bay."
"Yeah."
The two boys laughed nervously, and then when the silence became stilted again, Potter cleared his throat. "Right. Let's continue moving, shall we?"
They walked on, their footsteps loud in the corridor. After a while, Potter cleared his throat.
"It, er, all started when we, that is Ron and Hermione and me, noticed…"
"I didn't know you could sing."
The two boys were shaking slightly, the adrenaline crash catching up with them. Cold sweat beaded along their skin. Although they practically crawled past the huge, sleeping creature, they were panting as if they had sprinted instead.
Draco merely shot him a cocky grin, too shaken up for a snappy retort.
"Really." Potter's eyes were shining as they stared with unabashed admiration. "I've never heard anyone seen like that before. It's… so beautiful."
"Of course you haven't," Draco agreed un-self-consciously. "Uncultured Gryffindors. Well, that was your first introduction to the finer points of wizarding music." He stood up and brushed his robes. "Now come on, let's get out of here. And I still need to find Lucius."
Potter looked curious. "Why?"
When Draco explained, Potter paled a little. "Quirrell?"
"Yeah. You know, I do think he's a," Draco scowled, and then dropped his voice to a sneering whisper, "pervert!"
Potter's eyes widened. "No!"
"Yes!" Draco nodded fiercely.
"Oh." Potter blinked, and then, whispering. "Um…. What's a pervert?"
"You don't know?" Draco stopped abruptly, causing the other boy to bump into him.
"No, I don't." Potter sounded peeved. "Do you?"
"Of course I do," Draco huffed. Mentally, he tried to recall what Uncle Sev told him. Mama had Uncle Sev, who had looked highly uncomfortable, tell the boys all about 'Bad Adults' one day.
"But Narcissa!"
The two boys eavesdropped shamelessly, ears to the door, stifling their giggles. They rarely heard that petulant tone from their normally composed uncle, who flooed in as usual for his Sunday brunch with them. Shortly after, their mother had pulled the puzzled man into the drawing room for a 'quick talk'. Naturally, that piqued the boys' curiosity.
"No. It's high time the boys knew these things. Why, just yesterday, while we were out shopping near King's Cross, I saw this fat old man look at them."
"Perhaps you were mistaken…"
Their mother's voice was icy. "I know perfectly well those types of looks."
The boys were mystified.
"Right, so you do." A loud sigh. "But why me?"
"Surely you do not expect me to do it?"
There was a long silence.
"But you're their mother!"
"They're boys. It's high time you gave them The Talk. And who better to do it than another male? And, unless I'm mistaken, you're a man. Aren't you?" Narcissa's voice turned sly. Suddenly, her voice cracked like a whip. "Now just do it. Stop sniveling about it."
"Narcissa!... I do not snivel!"
"And be sure not to scare them unnecessarily. Yet they must realize the possible dangers—"
"Since you know so much, why don't you do it instead?"
"Don't be silly, it's all just common sense."
"Silly?!"
Hearing footsteps, the boys quickly scampered away.
"What do you think Mama meant?" Draco asked, once they've ducked into the library and caught their breath.
Lucius shrugged. "Dunno. I expect we'd find out soon enough." He quickly pulled out an activity book from one of the lower shelf. By the time their uncle found them, they were busy folding origami and chatting.
"Uncle Sev!"
"Snape?" Potter goggled. "Wait, Snape? As in, Snape?"
Both boys were now seated on the dusty floor, tired from all that walking. Their wands, laid across their laps, glowed dimly. They could just about make out each other's faces, deeply cast in shadows. Nothing else.
Once in a while, Draco could hear a skittering sound. He wasn't too concerned. He grew up poking around Uncle Sev's laboratory to be squeamish about things that scurry, slither, ooze or rattle.
"Yes, Snape." Draco snapped. "Now will you let me finish?"
"….er, and so you see boys, you should not allow anyone to, er, touch you. Or take anything. It could be a portkey, or a poison, or a cursed object."
The two boys nodded. They've heard this before. "Yes, because we're rich and others may want to kidnap us for money," Lucius stated in a bored tone.
"Uh."
Severus paused, clearly looking awkward. "Sometimes, it's not
only money that they want."
Two pairs of eyes looked at him with a smidgeon more interest. "What?"
"…." Severus shifted, his eyes sliding away momentarily. "Sometimes, they may want to, er, touch you."
"Touch us?" Lucius scoffed. "Whatever for?"
"Because they, uhm, like it."
"Why?"
"Because they… they are perverts. Yes, yes, that's right."
Upon learning that Potter didn't know what a pervert was, Draco took it upon himself to educate the ignorant boy. Uncle Sev hadn't really told them all that much — he hemmed and hawed and waved his hands about a lot though — but that's all right. Draco knew just what Uncle Sev meant.
"So, all odd, wierd adults are perverts," Draco said with the sweeping authoritative air of someone who doesn't really know but is making a damn good guess. He tapped his wand against his other palm. "Those with shifty eyes, you know, eyes that keep looking everywhere."
"Like Trelawney?" Potter asked.
"Yes! Definitely a pervert." The two boys nodded. "She's an odd one. Bug-like eyes."
"Ah, it's the eyes," Potter mused. "And, these perverts… they are bad people?"
"Yes, definitely bad people. Not just the eyes," Draco added. "I think Quirrell is a pervert too. I mean, who wears such an odd hat?"
"Hermione told me it's called a turban…" Potter said hesitantly.
"Oh, so it's a muggle thing?" Draco said dismissively. "Anyway, he keeps pulling Luc aside and wanting to talk to him. A pervert, I tell you."
Potter nodded. "Yeah, a pervert."
"When he looks at you, don't you feel a shudder?"
Both boys made a face. "Eww. Pervert."
"I'm hungry."
"Shaddup. I am too."
Draco sneered. Merlin, Potter's standard of English was atrocious. He poked the other boy's shoulder in boredom. The two boys sat slumped against the wall.
"Stop that."
Of course Draco just had to poke some more.
Potter rolled his eyes. "Hey, do you know how to magic up some food?"
"No. That's tricky magic. Don't you know anything?"
"Why is it tricky?" Potter sounded stung. "I mean, we repair clothing and transfigure pins…"
"Yeah, at most the hedgehog changes back into the pin. What if the conjured food changes back in you? Why do you think we are only taught how to transfigure pins?"
"Ohhh…"
"That's why it's tricky. Maybe it's ok to get a green hedgehog or have the tear suddenly rip open again, but for food, we have to worry about nutrients and components. That's why we still cook the old-fashioned way. Mind you, it's possible. But tricky."
Potter sighed. Draco sneered again.
Suddenly, the walls gave a rumble. The boys scrambled up in alarm. Stones were groaning, creaking, and then there was a horrible grinding sound as stones all around them shifted. From the light of their wands, they could see the walls rearranging themselves, one wall opening up. Draco hesitated, unsure, but Potter immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him through the opening.
"How do you know this is the way out?" Draco hissed, as they hurried through the changing passageways. He didn't really trust Potter… but they were still in one piece, so far.
"I don't."
And then they burst into a huge room. Stone pillars, old and carved with runes, gave the room a faintly temple-like atmosphere. And standing in the middle of the room were Quirrell and Lucius. The teacher had a tight grip on the boy's upper arm, and Lucius was pale. Both heads turned in their direction.
"A fine mess you've brought us into, Potter!" Draco hissed at the other boy, his tone sharp with annoyance and fear.
"What? You wanted to find your brother and Quirrell, didn't you?"
"Draco!" Lucius looked both relieved and worried. He struggled weakly.
A brief look of worry flashed over Quirrell's face before it was quickly replaced by a frown. "More brats? I don't have time for this."
To the boys' puzzlement, the voice seemed to be Quirrell's, but his mouth wasn't moving and the tone was all different… all wrong. And Potter was wincing in pain.
"Yes…" Quirrell raised his wand, his lips moving this time.
"Wait. Keep them alive. I recognize them… Young Malfoy and young Potter."
"No!" Lucius yelled suddenly, his free hand scrabbling madly for Quirrell's wand.
Quirrell turned his head in annoyance at Lucius, and Draco and Potter hissed in shock. The turban on Quirrell's head was gone, a fact the boys only realized now, and behind Quirrell, on his head, was another face. It was grayish and greenish and skeletal, leathery skin stretched paper-thin over bones. It grew out of his head like a deformed tumor. It was the most grotesque thing Draco had ever seen, and an involuntary shudder rippled through his body. Red eyes glared at them and Potter moaned.
"Now's not the time to be getting the vapors, Potter," Draco said shakily. He was terrified and definitely not rushing Quirrell, so the Gryffindor would have to do it. That's what Gryffindors are for. He could only watch in horror as his brother struggled. He gave Potter a weak push. "Go on, do your Gryffindor thing."
"What?"
"Go pull Quirrell off my brother you moron!"
"What?!" Potter dug his heels in. "Why—"
"Hurry up. There is no time." The mouth moved, guttural sounds rasping from that face. Lucius struggled harder and managed to free one arm.
In response, Quirrell cuffed Lucius with his wand, the edge of the handle catching the boy along his temple. "Be quiet boy, or I'd petrify you."
"Luc!" Draco shrieked when Lucius staggered. Red blossomed on the side of Lucius' head and his eyes followed the thin trail of blood as it dripped down his cheek. "LUC!"
Before he realized it, his feet were moving forward. Sure, he was scared stiff and he was just a boy and he was small, not like Gregory or Vincent, but fear and rage and instinct propelled him. His vision was red, red like Lucius' blood, and narrowed to just the two figures ahead of him. There was a strange roaring sound in his ears, and somewhere far away, someone was screaming, someone else was shouting.
He ran forward and barreled into Quirrell. The older wizard stumbled, but did not fall. Draco grabbed onto the hand that held Lucius and hung on, kicking and screaming. "Let him go! Potter! Potter!!" Quirrell's other hand grabbed the back of his collar, choking him.
The two blond boys wriggled madly, limbs flailing everywhere. And then another small boy rushed into the fray.
There was yelling, screaming, cursing. Magic sizzled around them, uncontrolled. Draco twisted and after a particularly hard kick to the older wizard's shin, felt the wizard falter. Lucius fell to the floor. Then the hand on his collar tightened and shook him painfully. "You brat!"
Draco screamed, hands flying to his collar. Potter grabbed Quirrell's hands, but there was a concentrated burst of magic and the other boy went flying. With the other two boys down, Quirrell's attention focused wholly on Draco. He wrapped his other hand around Draco's neck and started to squeeze.
Suddenly, there was a commotion and out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw a tall man rush in, wand held aloft. "Uncle Sev!"
The black-haired wizard took in the scene, Lucius sprawled on the floor and Quirrell's hands around Draco's neck, and growled. "Unhand them!"
Quirrell, realizing that he would required his full concentration and use of his hands, flung Draco away like a rag doll.
The last thing Draco saw before he hit his head and blacked out was his uncle's furious face.
When Draco woke up, he found himself in an unfamiliar bed, A moment of panic, and then he realized that Lucius was curled up asleep beside him. And that was all that mattered.
The most important thing settled, he widened sleep-crusted eyes further, looking up. White bed, plain starched sheets, boring white ceiling and walls — he must be in the infirmary. Despite his bruises and aches, he grinned. That meant that they had won; Uncle Sev must have hexed the hell out of that stupid Quirrell.
"Luc," Draco whispered softly, turning to his side. Lucius didn't wake up, but threw an arm around Draco and pulled him closer. Draco happily hugged Lucius back, cooing softly. "Hey Luc, are you awake?"
He heard a cough behind him. Slowly, Draco turned around to the other side. To his annoyance, Potter was lying on the bed beside. The two boys stared at each other for a blink or two, and then Potter said gruffly, "I think he's asleep."
"I know that," Draco hissed in a loud whisper. It strained his abused throat and he started to cough softly.
There was a small table between their beds, with a pitcher of water and glasses on a tray. Potter sat up and poured him a glass of water. Draco pushed himself upright as well and took the glass with a pout. He wasn't quite sure why he was a little annoyed at Potter, but he was. So after he drank, he put the glass back down and lay down with a huff, staring at Potter.
The other boy fidgeted, eyes straying to Lucius' arm, which still lay across Draco's hip. His face looked a bit flushed. "Um. You two are close."
"Of course we are," Draco huffed. He tugged Lucius' arm more tightly around him unconsciously, shivering a little at the thought that what if, the battle had gone badly, or if Uncle Sev hadn't come in time…
"Really close."
Draco stared hard. Potter fiddled with the corner of his blanket. Finally, Draco took pity on the other boy. "So, what happened after I fell?"
Potter looked confused for a moment, and then brightened up. "Oh. Well, Snape rushed him—"
"That's Professor Snape to you," Draco reminded him primly.
Potter rolled his eyes, but continued. "Professor Snape rushed him. He was so mad, he just punched him in his nose with one hand, and then hexed in the next breath with his other hand. I mean, his wand was in his other hand. Wow. I don't know what he said exactly, but it was an awesome fight. The two of them were really going at it, punching and hexing and yelling. And all the while, the creepy face at the back of Quirrell's head was shouting orders and trying to see what was happening. Yeah. And then, Snape did something, I couldn't see exactly, but then he must have won because Quirrell suddenly went limp."
"Wow." Draco blinked, feeling proud of his uncle. He couldn't resist. "Professor Snape's really strong, isn't he?"
Potter closed his mouth sullenly, suddenly aware he had been sprouting his least favorite teacher's praises. Draco giggled. "And then? What happened? How did he get us out? What happened to that weird face at the back of Quirrell's head?"
Potter shrugged. "I'm not sure…"
He was interrupted by noisy footsteps in the corridor. Weasley's voice was loud as he and Granger rounded the corner to the ward. "Harry? You there?" The red-haired boy shot Draco a suspicious look.
"Do lower your voice; this is an infirmary," Draco said sharply, annoyed again.
"Yeah Ron…"
"…SSSHHH!"
Two taller boys entered the room at a more sedate pace, snickering. Draco smiled. "Hey, Fred. George."
George sat down on one of the chairs, giving a nod to Potter, while Fred plopped down on Draco's bed. "You ok?" He touched the bruises on Draco's neck lightly, a frown on his face.
Draco nodded, pleased by the older boy's attention. Potter was hardly injured at all but his friends were fawning all over him. It irritated him.
"Who did this? Was it Quirrell? We heard that there was some trouble but Dumbledore didn't say anything else," Fred said in a serious, angry tone. His fingers continued stroking Draco's neck gently. "This looks really bad."
Draco sighed piteously. "It's just because my skin's fair. I'm all right, really."
"Poor baby," Fred cooed. His fingers now stroked Draco's hair, petting him like he would a cat. George quietly gagged in the corner.
"That's nice," Draco said in a satisfied tone, pushing his head slightly against Fred's hand in approval. He loved touches of any sort, and fingers through one's hair was especially soothing. He lay curled up on his side, Lucius behind him and Fred seated by his head.
The door opened again, and the Slytherin Qudditch team poked their head in. Marcus, in particular, had a dark look on his face when he saw Fred.
"We brought chocolates!" Samuel crowed, waving a Honeydukes bag.
Draco sat up, eyes shiny. "Gimme."
"What's with all the noise?" Lucius grumbled sleepily, sitting up as well. The Slytherins crowded around, chattering. Marcus sat on the bed beside Lucius stiffly, looking as if he loved to pet Lucius the way Fred had been petting Draco but he didn't dare. His dark eyes glared at Fred, who paid him no attention. The others turned out some bits from their pockets — feathers, buttons — and transfigured them into chairs.
Momentarily, Draco's eyes caught Potter's, who looked disgruntled and annoyed at the crowd on the other side of the small infirmary room. Draco smirked smugly and stuck out his tongue quickly.
Fred continued to coo over Draco. Samuel fed him chocolates. Evenlina tsked and combed Lucius' tangled hair, while Marcus looked envious. Everyone spoke, trying to update the twins on what had been happening.
Ah, all was right with the world again.
Well, at least until Nurse Pomfrey stepped in, took a look at the crowd and chased everyone out sternly.
