Break It Down, Build It Back Up

It started out as a normal day. They opened the shop at nine. By nine o five the place was packed and the galleons were pouring in. At nine twenty two Fred asked their assistant and friend Lee Jordan if he could nip down to the basement to replenish the stock of extendable ears. The dark haired boy headed down the stairs, then grumbled when he realised the box was way at the back of the load, promising revenge on his red head friends for making him climb mount prankmore.

At nine twenty six deatheaters attacked Diagon Alley. Within minutes they'd reached the joke shop.

At the first curse George was immediately loading the entrance with defences while Fred ushered the panicked crowds out the back door. He hoped he wasn't sending them into a second horde of attackers.

'FRED! COULD USE YOUR HELP HERE!'

Leaping over a display counter to keep out the way of the others, the red head ran to aid his twin. They were fighting a loosing battle, and they knew it.

Barely five minutes later, the first deatheater had made it through the entrance.

Thankfully he was catapulted right back out the door, thanks to their newest creation the bucking broom.

"Give your mates a laugh with the Bucking Broom! Guaranteed to keep the user off!

Safety notice: Bucking Brooms will only rise to a height of ten feet and reach top speeds of twenty mph"

The twins grinned, hurtling more spells and pranks at their attackers. Eventually though it had to end, and the pair were forced back as fire rained down on their shop. As deatheaters poured in, the twins heard a hissing voice that made their blood freeze in their veins.

'The infamous Weasley twins. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance'.

Their last thought was that they hadn't seen Lee exit with the rest of the crowd.

OOO

The boy groaned and hauled himself to his knees. His head was killing him, what in the world was in those boxes, bricks?! Lee gasped as he remembered what happened.

'FRED! GEORGE!'

Staggering to his feet he yanked his wand out and carefully made his way up the stairs. He could smell smoke as he slowly pushed the door open a crack and peeked through. The shop was in ruins, the stock strewn on the floor and smouldering piled where shelves and displays once stood. Lee pushed the door open a bit wider and looked for his friends. There weren't any bodies, which was good. But there was also no sign of the twins.

Coughing into his sleeve Lee picked his way through the shop, wary of the cracked and groaning ceiling. He reached the entrance and peeked out. The coast was clear.

'Please be ok guys' he murmured, taking one last look behind him before leaving to get help.

OOO

Fred woke with a start, immediately looking round for his twin. He was in a small cold cell, empty except for a metal bucket in the corner. He himself was wearing only a pair of worn trousers, his wand obviously taken. He hadn't a clue how long he'd been out, or why he was still alive.

'George?! GEORGE!'

His throat was on fire, but he had to know where his twin was.

'GEORGE!'

'Fred?' came a rasping reply.

Sighing in relief Fred pushed himself against the bars to find his twin a few cells down.

'George! Are you alright?'

'I feel like I've been hit by a hundred bludgers' the other red head groaned, breaking off with a coughing fit.

George was dressed in the same manner. Both of them had bruises and shallow wounds from the fight. Fred shivered, hugging himself as he looked round. He wouldn't admit it, but the fact that they were still alive scared him. Live prisoners of Voldemort were usually kept so to be tortured.

The pair started when a door creaked open further down the corridor. Both struggled to stop trembling as footsteps and the sound of hissing got closer.

Voldemort approached the cells and admired his newest toys. Nagini hissed something by his side and he chuckled and hushed her.

'Welcome to my home. I trust your accommodations are up to par?'

He didn't expect a reply, smirking when the pair made a weak attempt to glare at him.

'I have often wondered about the abilities of twins' he mused, eyeing the one nearest to him.

'Is it true that when one of you is hurt, the other can feel the pain?' he asked.

Fred had less than a second to react before his entire body was alive with pain. He collapsed screaming.

'FRED! STOP LEAVE HIM ALONE!' George cried.

Voldemort laughed, holding the pain curse a little longer before ending the spell.

Fred whimpered softly, taking in shuddering breaths. Voldemort then turned towards George.

'Perhaps not. Well then, is it true that twins share the same mind?'

George was slammed with a vicious mental attack, falling to the ground as he clutched his head with a scream.

'George…!' Fred gasped.

Voldemort dug around for a while then left in frustration. The pair clearly had no useful information on Potter or Albus Dumbledore.

'Hmm…what a pity. It would have been amusing to toy with those abilities, if you had them'.

George bit down a whimper, wishing the pain in his head away.

'Nevermind. I'm sure I can find something about you to amuse myself with' Voldemort continued.

He gave the pair one last speculative look before leaving with his familiar. A few hours later a glass of water appeared in the cells.

OOO

Molly sobbed in despair. The last words she'd said to her boys were that they were wasting their time on such an idiotic idea as a joke shop. Those words had caused them to pack up and leave to live in their shop. When was the last time she'd given the twins any sort of encouragement? When was the last time she'd hugged them, told that she loved them, pranks and all? She'd ignored them, treated them so badly and now she might never see her babies again.

Lee had gone straight to Hogwarts, to the only man he knew would help. Albus quickly spread the word, leaving the teen under the care of Madam Pomfrey. Lee was numb as the witch worked, praying the twins were ok, praying they hadn't been taken by the deatheaters.

Grimmauld Place seemed so empty without the pair. The rest of the Weasley clan were stricken with grief, sure that the two were now lost to them forever. Ginny hadn't stopped crying, sitting on her oldest brother's lap, Bill whispering soothing words in her ear, praying that they would return even if it was just for one more prank. She didn't care if they changed her hair green and filled her shoes with snakes she just wanted them back.

Bill was only too happy to allow his little sister to curl up with him at night. He needed something to hold on to, anything to stop him breaking down. His father was too busy searching for the twins and trying to reassure his mother, he needed to be the big brother and help his sibling. There were times though, that he just couldn't hold himself together. Each time, Charlie would see the cracks and offer to care for his siblings while his older brother found a quiet room to cry. They worked together, grasping at each other for strength.

Ron hadn't come out of his room, refusing to eat or even talk to anyone. At nights Harry could hear his friend sobbing quietly into his pillow. He'd begun to slip into Ron's bed, holding his friend and sharing his pain. By the third night Hermione had snuck into the room and taken her place at Ron's other side. Together the trio shed silent tears, their hope trickling away with each passing day.

Percy had been informed soon after the clan discovered the twins were missing. He immediately dropped what he was doing and ran from his office. Fudge had threatened to fire him for running out on the job, and Percy had thrown his badge at the man's face and told him to go to hell. He was given access to Grimmauld Place and went straight for his mother, holding her tightly and apologising over and over for deserting the family. He clung to the hope that his younger brothers were still alive, reassuring his mother even though in his heart he already thought of them as passed on. He wanted to be wrong, but he knew the chances of ever seeing the pair alive again were little to none.

OOO

Blood flooded George's mouth, he'd bitten through his tongue trying to hold in his screams. He was loosing the will to fight, and being kept apart from his twin wasn't helping. Cracking his eyes open he saw a trickle of blood run out the corner of his brother's mouth. Fred had bitten too hard on his lip.

Voldemort laughed as he watched the pair. His new toys were breaking beautifully. He struck forward and landed another bloody strip across the freckled back, smirking as the red head let out a whimpering gasp. He'd been playing with them for a while now, tearing their flesh down to the bone then healing it so there was hardly a scar before starting all over. It amused him to see the pair trying desperately to resist the pain, but he was starting to grow tired of his usual tortures. He threw the whip to the side and pondered for a moment, then smirked and drew his wand to heal the injuries.

George felt the chains around his wrists disappearing, and before he could collapse he was levitated to lie face down on a conjured table. He started to tremble as straps appeared to hold him firmly in place.

'Let's see which twin you are'.

George twisted his head to watch as Voldemort brought a potion and some parchment from his robes, uncorking the vial and soaking the parchment.

'Three drops of blood. You have quite a bit to spare though'.

Chuckling the snake like man ran his finger over the teen's back, lifting a smear of blood and allowing the required drops to fall onto the parchment. He watched as lines began to appear, twisting and curling to form words.

'So you are George then. I shall have to ensure I remember that'.

Banishing the parchment Voldemort brought the tip of his wand close to George's face, pushing magic through it and making the tip white hot. He smirked as the teen started trembling.

'To ensure you know who you belong to' he explained, then moved the wand away and cleaned the blood off a patch of skin with a rag. With a sudden movement he pushed the heated wand into the flesh.

George screamed in agony as the man began to carve into his back. Across the room Fred began to plead for Voldemort to stop, ignoring the lashes on his back and pulling at his chains.

Voldemort chuckled as he worked. The pair fought so hard to stop themselves pleading, and yet were only too happy to plead for their twin. Slowly and steadily he drew his wand over the teen, the scent of burning flesh gracing his nose.

'All done'.

George whimpered, his already raw wrists now oozing blood from tugging at the straps. Voldemort stood back to admire his work.

"Property of Lord Voldemort"

Perfect. Now he just needed something to identify the teen. He reached round and twisted George's head so his cheek was visible. Heating the wand tip once more Voldemort pressed into the teen's skin, ignoring the rasping scream and carving out a small G just below the eye.

'All done. Now for your twin'.

He waved his wand and the straps loosened, another wave and the teen was levitated back to his cell. A third wave and the second red head came levitating over and was strapped in.

'And you must be Fred'.

The sound of screams echoed once more as Voldemort's declaration was burnt into the new flesh.

OOO

'There is little we can do Arthur. It's been over a month. I'm sorry'.

The man's shoulders slumped and tears came to his eyes. From the moment Albus flood through to give him the terrible news, Arthur had been trying desperately to find his children. He was the first at the shop, ignoring the aurors as he clambered through the rubble calling out his boy's names. When it was discovered the twins had been taken he'd broken down. Some members of the public offered him what comfort they could. They had been saved by the pair whose quick actions allowed the frightened crowd to flee from the shop. Most people knew the Weasley twins to be pranksters, but at that moment the entire street of Diagon took a moment of silence to honour the brave actions of the pair.

Arthur had been touched by the gesture, but he wouldn't give up hope that he could get his boys back. As the days passed he exhausted himself tracking down false leads and harassing the ministry to do something, anything, to help. Eventually though, he had to stop.

Amelia sadly squeezed the man's shoulder. There was little else she could do.

OOO

Voldemort sat on his throne, pulling his pets to kneel by his feet. He had such a treat for them. Fred was little more than a zombie, George not much better. Little water and less food, coupled with the games Voldemort played with them, had wasted away any excess weight the pair had, and they'd lost the will to fight weeks ago. Their shredded trousers were blood stained and the ownership marks on their backs was inflamed and raw with infection. They had lost count of the amount of days they'd been there, but they did know that they wouldn't be able to last much longer.

They glanced at each other, and realised they were close enough to carefully reach out and touch fingers. It was the first time since they were captured that they'd been able to share a bit of comfort, and they gave weak smiles.

The moment was lost when a teen girl was dragged into the middle of the room. The pair gave her horror stuck looks, they knew exactly why she was here.

Voldemort smirked at the tearful girl, waving for his followers to begin. As the filthy mudblood started to scream, he glanced down and frowned when he saw his pet's eyes were clenched shut. Growling he grabbed their hair and yanked their head's up.

'You will watch!' he hissed, casting a spell to keep their eyes open.

Fred thought he had no more tears to shed, and yet they trickled down his cheeks as he was forced to watch the girl being tortured. He whimpered as Fenrir began to tear her clothes off, fighting to move his head as the Werewolf mounted her. He felt a touch and realised his twin had slid his arm behind Voldemort's legs and grasped his hand. Squeezing slightly he swallowed and sent a silent prayer that the girl wouldn't be tortured for long.

George was praying for the same thing, tears stinging the brand on his cheek and unable to look away as Fenrir moved away and another follower took his place. The girl's eyes met his, pleading with him. He bit his lip and tried to push as much regret as he could into his expression, mouthing "I'm sorry". There was a moment of understanding in her eyes, and he sobbed as she turned away.

Voldemort watched the proceedings with a bored look, the only amusement he got was from watching the expressions on his pets. Eventually though he had enough and cast the killing curse. The mudblood was a mess and he grimaced slightly. He would get Wormtail to clean it up later. He turned back to his pets and ended the spell on them, smirking when they immediately looked away and fought the urge to heave. He glanced up at Fenrir.

'Enjoy that?'

'Hardly a challenge' the Werewolf growled lowly.

Voldemort frowned.

'Not a challenge?'

'I like to feel flesh tearing. I like blood as my lubricant. This slut was too loose' Fenrir replied.

Voldemort hummed to himself as his other followers murmured in agreement. He glanced down at his pets, and smirked. He held up a hand and the group fell silent.

'Is that so? Well I suppose I should provide you with…more of a challenge'.

Fred cried out as the leash around his neck vanished and he was thrown into the middle of the room. He eyed the group in panic.

'Leave him alive Fenrir' Voldemort warned.

Fred's eyes snapped to the approaching Werewolf and he tried to scramble back. Fenrir laughed and grabbed at the teen's leg.

'Where you going princess?'

'NO!' Fred screamed as his trousers were torn from him. Fenrir snarled and pinned him down.

Voldemort chuckled and grasped the hair of his other pet. He pulled George up and leaned into the teen's ear.

'I hope you're watching closely'.

'No…no please…please don't…' George whispered, unable to take his eyes away from his twin.

Chuckling Voldemort ensured the teen was spelled in place as the first scream rang out. He then noticed some of his followers eyeing Fenrir with envy.

'Rabastan, Rodolphus, there is no need for those looks. I have another perfectly suitable pet here'.

George whimpered as he was pushed forward, and immediately his arms and legs were grabbed and hands started shredding his clothing.

'We've always wanted to go double' one of the brothers sneered at him.

He suddenly realised what they meant by double when both men positioned themselves at his rear.

'NO…!'

The rest was cut off by a scream.

As darkness edged into the corner of their vision, they thought of their family. Of their tomboy sister with her vicious bat bogey hex; of their quidditch loving, chess playing, bottomless pit of a brother; of Percy and his split from the family because they didn't understand him; of Charlie and his Dragons; of Bill and how he would hopefully wind up marrying Fleur; of their mum and dad; of their adoptive brother Harry and sister Hermione. They hoped Harry would finally work up the courage to ask Ginny out, and Ron with Hermione. They hoped the family would forgive Percy and let him back in. They hoped Bill would ask Fleur to marry him soon. They hoped their mother would forgive them for leaving her in a fit of temper.

OOO

Severus had thought the Weasley twins were dead. Right up to the moment he saw Voldemort walk in with the pair on leashes. He fought to keep the horror from his face at their appearance. How they had survived he didn't know, but he had to find a way of getting them out the manor.

He kept his face blank as the girl was tortured, knowing he could do nothing for her. It pained him to throw the pain curse her way, even more so when her whimpers were echoed by the twins. It was all he could do to keep silent when Voldemort then offered the pair for his followers to play with. He couldn't close his eyes, so instead he ran through potions and their properties until finally the last deatheater had moved away and the pair were left lying unconscious on the floor.

'Severus, Lucius, have them healed and cleaned and taken back to their cells. Wormtail clean up that mess. The rest of you come with me'.

Forcing himself to move Severus drew his wand and levitated George, at least judging by the letter on his cheek it was George. With Lucius and Fred at his heels he headed to his lab and placed his twin on the table. The second twin was placed beside the first.

'Clean that blood from them while I get the necessary potions'.

He headed to the cabinet, turning when Lucius didn't answer him. The blonde was making a face at a smear of blood that had gotten on his sleeve.

'I will not lower myself to cleaning like some slave!'

Severus growled to himself.

'Fine! I will clean them and heal them and YOU will take them back to their cells when I'm done. Or is that too much for your majesty?'

Lucius sneered at him but nodded and left the room. Taking a deep breath Severus got to work, thinking furiously as he poured potions down the pair's throats and washed away the blood. He needed to get them away, he had to find a way of removing them without Voldemort immediately finding out. He calculated that he would have roughly half an hour to work in peace, before Lucius returned demanding to know why he was taking so long. Think Severus think!

He jerked up as a sudden idea came into his head. It would have to do, he only hoped it would work.

OOO

Lucius paced the room, growling to himself. Why was Severus taking so long?! He would NOT be punished because his fellow deatheater took his sweet damn time! Fed up the blonde headed back to the lab, storming through the door.

'Will you hurry up!' he hissed.

Severus turned to him with a bored look, motioning to the pair on the table.

'They were ready to go ten minutes ago, it is hardly my fault that you chose to leave the room' he sneered back.

'YOU should have come to get me!'

Lucius glared at the man and swiped his wand at the pair, making them rise from the table. As he headed out he growled as Severus managed to get in the last word.

'Try not to damage them on the way down. I will not be blamed for YOUR mistakes!'

The dungeon door slammed open and Lucius stormed through, he opened the required cells and dumped the pair in, gently enough to prevent damage. Lucius paused for a moment as he examined the two. He loathed the Weasleys, from the father right down to the little brat of a girl. But these two…these two looked rather exquisite lying there. Lucius glanced at the door, then flicked his wand to close and lock it. He had time. Smirking he turned back to the pair, picking the nearest twin and undoing his trousers.

Severus silently made his way through the grave stones, a loaded stretcher covered by a black cloak at his heels. Under the cover of night anyone watching him might just over look the floating black bundle at his feet. He hoped his golems fooled Lucius. Just a little further and he could portkey the pair away.

Just a little further.

He sighed as he passed through the wards, immediately reaching down to activate the vial he'd placed in the twin's clasped hands.

'Portkus!'

Severus turned and headed back to the manor as the stretcher vanished. He hoped the mutt would sense the wards activate.

OOO

Sirius looked up as he felt the wards tingle and waited to see who had just appeared. He frowned when after a few minutes no-one entered the house. Standing he headed to the window and peered out. In the darkness he saw what appeared to be a bundle lying just inside the house wards. It looked like someone had apparated in then collapsed.

'Remus!'

The sandy haired man hurried through.

'What is it?'

'I think someone's out there. Can you see?'

The Werewolf looked out the glass, clearly picking up the shape covered by a black cloak. He thought perhaps it was Severus.

'Wait here'.

Wand in hand he opened the door and carefully made his way over. The bundle was oddly shaped, and as he came closer he spotted the handle of the stretcher peeking out the cloak. Warily he lifted the material.

'Oh Merlin!'

He levitated the bundle and hurried inside.

'Who is it?' Sirius asked.

Pale faced Remus turned to his friend.

'It's the twins!' he breathed.

Gasping Sirius sprang over as his friend lowered the stretcher and gently pulled back the cloak. A shock of red hair greeted him, blood stained red hair.

'Merlin! Are they alive?!' Sirius breathed.

Remus leaned in to listen for a pair of heartbeats. He sighed and nodded, then caught a scent and his eyes widened in horror.

'Oh god no!'

'Remus?!'

'Fenrir got to them! I can smell his seed!'

Sirius clenched his fists as he realised what his friend meant. Oh Merlin no!

'Sirius take them upstairs. I'm calling Albus' Remus instructed.

'What about the kids?'

The Werewolf sighed and rubbed his face.

'Try not to let them see'.

Nodding Sirius lifted the twins and carefully made his way upstairs. He crept past the rooms holding the kids and took the twins to their old bedroom, laying them down and vanishing the stretcher. He stared at them helplessly, they looked far too still, far too pale. How long had it been?

Oh god it was almost five months!

'Hang in there guys. You've got to hang in there' he whispered, it was all he could do, he dare not try and heal them, not in his state he'd probably make it worse.

Sirius felt the bile rising in his throat and just had to leave the room. He bumped into a group of worried kids.

'Sirius is everything ok!' Harry asked.

Swallowing Sirius gave them a shaky smile, trying to reassure them. Ginny though had spotted red and rushed past him into the room.

'Wait Ginny!'

'It's Fred and George!' the girl whispered.

Ron's eyes went wide and he ran in after his sister, desperate to see for himself. Hermione and Harry followed close behind. Sirius watched helplessly as the group huddled round the bed and cried in a mixture of horror and relief.

'Sirius?!'

He turned to find Albus at the top of the stairs.

'I…I didn't want them to see, but they just…'

The old man grasped his shoulders warmly.

'It's ok Sirius. Poppy is coming and Remus is gathering the rest of the family'.

The younger man nodded, then pulled away and rushed to the bathroom as the shock began to subside. Sad eyes followed him, then Albus sighed and headed to the bedroom to see the damage for himself. He was fond of all his students, but the twins antics had always brought a smile to his lips, and the thought of continuing without their laughter and mischief was something he couldn't bare to think about.

OOO

George whimpered slightly, shifting under the covers. Automatically a hand reached out and soothed him, caressing his hair. From under the covers his twin's hand clutched at his as Fred repeated the whimper. Molly reached over and calmed her other son, giving a watery smile as they settled. It had been a week since Severus had portkeyed the pair to Grimmauld Place, and so far they had yet to wake up. But they would. Poppy had promised they would. They just needed time to heal.

'Dear you need to sleep'.

She turned to her husband.

'I'm not deserting them again Arthur. I don't care how long it takes, I will be here when they wake up'.

Arthur sighed and sat beside her.

'Dear you've barely eaten, barely slept. We've only just got Ron recovering, we don't need you getting sick as well'.

She sobbed and he held her close.

'I can't leave them…I need to be here to tell them I love them…' she whispered.

OOO

Fred was the first to wake, and when he realised he was awake he whimpered in defeat. Until he noticed that he was no longer in a cold cell.

'George!'

Two things happened at once. The first was the person sleeping next to him shifted in response to his call, and the second was that his mother jumped to her feet at the noise.

'Fred…?!' she breathed.

He gazed at her wide eyed. He was shortly followed by his twin.

'Mum…?!'

'Oh boys…! I'm sorry…! I'm so sorry…! You're not wasting your lives! Your dream isn't foolish! Oh I'm so sorry…! I love you! I love you so much!'

They flinched, but they didn't move away as she reached over and gently pulled them into a hug. Slowly they reached up and hugged back.

'You're our mother…' Fred spoke.

'We know you love us…' George followed.

'We love you too' they whispered back.

The words sent her into sobs, and for a moment they were comforting her. They glanced at each other, and linked hands behind their mother's back. They didn't know how, and they knew they would never be the same. Their scars may never fully heal, and they were unsure if they would ever be able to laugh again. But it didn't matter. They were home.

OOO

When Voldemort finally fell to Harry, the wizarding world seemed to let out one great sigh of relief. Memorials were held for the dead, there was a general round up of those who had escaped trial, like Lucius, and the proper trial procedure was upheld. Slowly but surely life moved on. Fleur and Bill went on to have children, who were greatly spoilt by their granny Molly. Ron had stunned Hermione by proposing mere minutes after the war ended, and the pair were now taking a trip to bring her parents back. Harry and Ginny were already an item, now they just had more time to express it. Remus and Tonks had a little girl not long after Teddy turned one, they called her Cannan, meaning wolf cub. Everyone else lived as before, working on their passion, like Severus, or taking the time, like Sirius, to finally grow up.

The shop opened at nine sharp. By nine o five the place was packed and the galleons were pouring in. At nine forty four George nipped downstairs to grab another box of canary creams. At nine forty eight Fred joined him. At ten o two those behind the till politely told their customers that they would be closing for an hour. The customers understood.

The girls and Lee found the pair at the back of the store room. They were idly going through a box of untested pranks that had been accidentally mixed in with the rest.

Angelina took her place at George's side, Katie by Fred's. Lee and Alicia knelt by their feet.

'I'm not sure we have it in us anymore' Fred murmured quietly.

'Doesn't seem like much point' George followed.

A long silence followed.

'Well then, if you're going to end the trade, why not go out with one last big prank?' Lee suggested.

They gave a humourless snort.

'Then what?' George asked.

'Then whatever you want. Go torment your brothers…' Angelina started.

'Go play with your niece and nephew…' Alicia continued.

'Go get a masters in potions and give poor Snape a heart attack' Katie finished.

They were able to coax a few chuckles from their respective boyfriends. The twins glanced into the box, then turned to Lee.

'One last prank?'

He shrugged with a grin.

'One last prank'.

OOO

The alley was overrun with commotion. Eleven year old Harry Potters were everywhere, on the ground, in the sky riding brooms, one even on a smaller version Dragon. In the bookstore several first year Hermione's were darting here and there, oohing and aahing over the titles. By the quidditch store a gang of ickle Rons were ogling displays and arguing over the best teams. Somewhere amongst the chaos, the real golden trio were laughing with glee.

"Clone a Doll! Want a twin? A triplet? Maybe even a quintuplet? Then look no further than our Clone a Dolls! Baffle your friends and hoodwink your parents!"

Over the giant red head bust lay a large vibrant banner.

"Weasley Wizard Wheezes! Continuing to bring a laugh into life!"

'Huh? You changed the banner' Lee mused.

The pair grinned.

'We changed our minds' they chorused.