Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Series (1997-2007) and any characters and original locations within the books belong to JK Rowling. I own my original characters and my plot twists. I am not trying to pass any of these characters or copyrighted ideas off as my own and therefore it isn't plagiarism or copyright infringement.

Chapter Six – The Dark Lord Returns

Harry came back from the maze with Cedric crying, "He's dead, he killed him, he's back. Voldemort is back!" Mr. Diggory came from the stands and cried over his son, while Mad-Eye ran off with Harry. The missing pieces came together and Leo shot to his feet to alert Snape, McGonagall, and Dumbledore. Mad-Eye was someone in disguise. He was too helpful to make sure Harry got through every task so that he could be there for the cup and the portkey. He's a follower of the dark lord, but who?

Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled as Leo approached, "Yes?"

"You should go after Mad-Eye and Harry sir. I think that Mad-Eye isn't who he seems. I'm not sure how, but maybe Polyjuice Potion. I mean he's always drinking out of that flask," Leo shrugged.

Snape and Dumbledore stared at one another as if they were communicating mentally. Dumbledore and McGonagall ran off and Snape paused for a moment, "Leo, I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of each other soon." He turned and ran after the headmaster.

Leo's brow furrowed as he walked back over to the crowd of people on the bleachers. He quickly found his Gryffindor friends and sat down next to Hermione. He whispered in her ear, "One of the Dark Lord's followers has been impersonating Mad-Eye. I'm sure he was responsible for turning that cup into a portkey. Wasn't he the one to use transfiguration as a punishment on Draco at the beginning of the year?"

Her brown eyes flashed and she poked Ron in the ribs, "Didn't Harry say he saw Barty Crouch Jr. on the map?"

"Yeah, and later on he fell into the pensive and saw Karkaroff's trial where he named Crouch Jr. as one of the most devoted followers of You Know Who," Ron's brow furrowed.

Draco approached Leo before he got into the flying carriage to go back to the academy, "Leo, wait up. I want to speak to you."

Leo crossed his arms, "What did you want to say Draco? You're getting everything you've ever wanted, right? The opportunity to make your father proud by serving the mad man and I'm sure a family reunion will come shortly. After all, aren't you looking forward to meeting your aunt Bella?"

Draco's shoulders slumped, "I don't think I am."

Leo placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed, "Look now that the dark lord has returned, your father is going to be under more pressure. He's going to be forced in a role of servitude once more and he will fear for his life. I fear things are going to become more difficult for you, but remember there's more to you. If you choose to, you can overcome you're home environment."

Draco lifted his head and the same apathetic expression marred his face, but his gray eyes again resembled the churning of storm clouds, "So, it will be like you never existed?"

Leo smiled climbing into the coach, "No, I'll still exist. I'll just return to my country and continue my schooling at the academy. Why? Will you miss me?"

Draco growled, "No."

"Good there's no reason for you to miss me," Leo yelled as he shut the carriage door.

Leo had been home with Elaine and Luke for two days before his aunt and cousin came to visit. He was prepared to request that they remove the tongue tie curse and allow him to stay with the order and attend Hogwarts for good. He knew Draco would need him and there might be a point where they'd have to switch. His brother had already been through too much. He wasn't going to allow him to submit to the insanity of becoming a Death Eater. He looked at the two visitors and prepared for his fight.

"Dromeda and Dora, I want to make a request. I'm 15 now, which means I'm two years away from becoming of age. I know that Voldemort has returned. I know what that means for Lucius and his family. I met Draco and I've begun to get through to him as a stranger with the same face. I know with his return that the Order of the Phoenix will be reformed. I want to return with you guys and I want to attend Hogwarts in the fall. I request that the tongue tie curse is removed and I promise not to tell Draco until it's absolutely necessary."

Andromeda furrowed her brow, "I don't think that's a good idea. With his return, it will only be more dangerous for you."

"It's just as dangerous, if not more, for Harry Potter. Shouldn't I have the right to choose to stand with them to fight in the years to come? Shouldn't I be allowed to assist my brother in overcoming the way he was raised? Dora is an Auror after all. Will you attempt to keep her at home?"

Nymphadora raised a hand to quiet her mother and her hair turned purple, "Mum, he's right. We cannot guarantee he will be safe in France when the war breaks out anyway. Why not let him go to the school he chooses? He has the perfect alias. He's the top of his year. I'm sure he'll be in direct competition with Hermione but that will only make him work harder."

Andromeda stood, "Well it's apparent your mind is made up. Dora will need to speak with the Order and inform them of your unique situation. We will floo you when we're able to retrieve you. How well do you get along with the Weasleys?"

Leo thought for a moment, "Well, I've only really met Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny. Other than Fred and George picking up on Draco and my twin connection, I like all of them."

Nymphadora raised an eyebrow, "They thought you acted like his twin?"

Leo smirked, "I fed him some line about the Prince and the Pauper, and of course they'd never heard of it or the muggle author Mark Twain."

Elaine laughed, "You only know about it because we thought it would be a good story for you to read because of your situation."

A couple of weeks passed before Nymphadora arrived by portkey to take him to the Order. Leo wasn't surprised the old man had pieced everything together. He'd suspected Dumbledore knew who he really was from the moment he saw him. He shrunk his luggage and placed it all into his side bag. He held onto the portkey with his cousin and they soon arrived on a street in London. They stood there for a moment and soon the two buildings started moving away from one another exposing another building in the middle. The muggles in the other two buildings didn't even notice their buildings were moving. He followed her inside and held back his laughter when his cousin tripped over an elephant legged umbrella holder.

"Dora, do I have permission to tell them who I really am?" Leo watched as Fred and George apperated with a pop right in front of them.

"We already know Leo."

"You're Malfoy's Twin."

"We knew our twin intuition -"

"Is never off."

Leo chuckled, "I smell eavesdropping on the Order."

"What us."

"Never."

Leo shook his head, "Ah yes and I'm speaking to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum." He cleared his throat, "So, where should I take my stuff?"

The twins' smiles widened, "We thought you'd prefer to room with us."

"Oh and don't think we didn't catch the Louis Carol reference. He was a wizard after all."

Leo moaned, "Wonderful. So, how about you show me to your room and then I'll tell all of you non Order members my story." He looked over and saw the scraggly looking Black, "But first I must speak with the only Gryffindor in the Black line."

Sirius's eyebrows rose, "You really do look just like Draco."

Leo smiled, "Yes, except I keep my hair long and don't always have the look of constipation on my face. Aunt Dromeda has told me so much about you over the years. I have to say I'm very interested in meeting the only Gryffindor in my family line. I'm pretty sure that's where I'll end up."

Sirius grimaced, "Yes well, sometimes it's difficult to go against your family, but I guess in your case you weren't raised by them. Things will probably be easier for you."

"Well, didn't the Potters' become you're family after you're mother disowned you?"

"Leo, you know too much about me. You really are unique."

Leo shrugged, "When you're raised away from the rest of your family, you tend to develop an interest. I guess the same thing could be said for Potter. He really does miss his parents, doesn't he?"

After putting all of his items away in the narrow bedroom that had three beds in it, he followed the twins into another room where Ron and Hermione were busy conversing. The two of them looked up and Ron raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing here?"

Leo chuckled, "I know you thought I was Draco at first, didn't you? Well, I'm here because I'm returning to Hogwarts with you guys, and well there's more to my story than what I've shared. You see, I am Draco's twin. I was born a few minutes after him, and had a weak constitution as a baby. So, one day my father thought I was too weak to be a Malfoy and wanted to invoke his right to wipe out weakness in his family line. Dora and Dromeda were there and erased my parents' memories of me, and since my birth was never announced, there was no record of my existence. I was raised by two people they hired in France, but I grew up knowing about my family though I only saw my aunt and cousin."

Ron's eyes popped out, "Fred and George were right about you being his twin?"

Hermione's eyes twinkled, "So this is the story of nurture overcoming one's nature, or the impact of one's environment on the development of one's personality. I don't like the idea of a father having the right to kill a child because he or she is weak. Is that really on the law books for pureblood wizards?"

Leo furrowed his brow, "I wondered that myself a couple of years ago. I read through the law books in Brittan and there is a law that would've made my murder legal and it is a pro-pureblood law. If I had the power to, I would have all of the pureblood biased laws removed from the books."

She smiled, "I've thought about that myself, however I want to make sure magical creatures and beings are treated properly first."

"Ah yes, S.P.E.W." Leo remembered Hermione's attempts at freeing the house elves working at Hogwarts by slipping them clothing. Those elves were treated well, so they had no interest in being freed.

Ron crossed his arms, "Why have you decided to attend Hogwarts?"

Leo sighed, "Well, as you know You Know Who has returned. Lucius is a complete wanker and probably has already returned to his side. I started to get through to Draco and now he's going to be under more pressure. I wanted to be nearby because I know he's going to need a true friend at some point. He's already been through so much. I don't want him to lose his mind to the family's madness under a madman."

"So basically you've decided to go to Hogwarts to keep an eye on your brother?" one of the twins popped in.

"Are you sure you don't plan more mischief?"

"Yeah like switching places or doing something to get him into trouble?"

"We wouldn't blame you if you decided to cause chaos in the snake pit."

Leo shook his head, "I'm sure it would be different if I actually grew up with him. I might consider doing something like that. However, since I've grown up away from him, I only want to be there for him. I'm the younger one, but I think I'm the stronger one of the two of us. Sure he puts up a strong and ugly façade, but I'm sure if you peeled back the layers, you'd find a very sacred and unsure little boy."

"What plans do you have?" Hermione furrowed her brow.

"I'm not sure yet, but I'm done talking about this. So, how has Harry been holding up?" Leo noticed that both Ron and Hermione were nervously fidgeting.

"Well, we've received letters from him, but we were told not to write to him," Ron explained.

"So, he's been abandoned by his two best friends after he saw Cedric die and the monster return? You've left him alone with his horrible family to deal with the trauma of witnessing a murder. Whose bright idea was that one?" Leo was confounded. He could understand Slytherins being that cruel but how could the brave and loyal Gryffindors abandon their friend during such a horrible time. Unless – "Dumbledore told you not to write him because he thought that Harry had too much on his mind already and didn't want to add more to it. The old man thinks he's protecting him, but I fear he's only isolating Harry."

Draco didn't understand what he'd done to set his old man off. He'd been walking on eggshells since he got home. He knew that he once again failed to do better than Granger on final exams and thus was only second in his year to her. However, that shouldn't have warranted such anger in his father. Without warning his father shot the Cruciatus curse at him. Draco had his back turned so he wasn't expecting it. Hot pain flashed through his body and he convulsed on the floor with his eyes shut tight. Screams erupted through his throat, no matter how hard he tried to suppress them. He could only feel the pain and had no idea how long he was under the curse, but soon the pain slipped away. His mind was meddled and it took a moment to realize his father was talking to him.

"Why are you always such a disappointment? She's just a Mudblood. Why can't you do better in school than her? You're a pureblood and magic runs through your bloodline for many generations. You should easily do better than her. We need you to be strong. We need you to help our cause," his father demanded with his wand still pointed at him.

Draco tried to concentrate. He needed to answer his father before another curse was shot at him. With a silent summoning spell his wand was in his hand, and after a coughing fit he managed to rasp, "I'll do better next year."

His father growled, "We don't have time for you to do better. I expect you to study all summer. I'll chain you to the library if I have to. Now, since you didn't respond properly."

Draco managed to cast the protection charm before his father fired the curse. It bounced off of his shield and he sighed in relief as he managed to sit up. "Sorry, but you will not curse me anymore, old man."

"Ah so you're not as weak as I thought you were, but you won't cast that charm the next time and accept your punishment. I have ways of binding your magic and you know you're not supposed to use magic outside of school while you're still underage," his father warned before stopping out of the room.

Draco's head pounded as an after effect of the curse. He stumbled to his feet and tried to make it up to his bed. He knew the summer was going to suck. He couldn't wait to get back to school and away from his father. How had that boy seen so much? He collapsed on the bed with tears forming in his eyes and pounding a frustrated fist into his pillow.

Leo sighed realizing Draco would need him much more throughout the year. He watched as his brother drifted off to sleep and he soon invaded his dreams. Draco was running from black hooded figures and silver masks. Leo used all of his power to transform the dream. His abilities were strong in Draco's mind as their magical auras were exactly the same and their twin connection was strong. It took little effort before they were standing in the safety of the great hall at Hogwarts.

Draco sighed in relief but continued to look around expecting to see the previous figures appear. It took him a moment to notice Leo's presence, "What are you doing here?"

Leo smiled, "I'm here to prevent you from going mad."

He furrowed his brow, "How could speaking with a figment of my imagination help me stay sane?"

Leo chuckled, "Because I'm not a figment of your imagination. I'm a real person. I saw what happened. Your father's temper is already being affected by the return of him. You're running from death eaters in your dream because you fear becoming one of them."

Draco took a seat at the table, "So I have my own personal healer. You know, you won't be able to save me from France. Things are starting here since he's returned. I should be happy that my side is getting stronger. I should be happy to have the opportunity to put Potter in his place, but instead I fear for my mother. I don't like the idea of her being around those Death Eaters. If they enjoy raping and murdering muggles, what's stopping them from attacking my mother? Well, except for my father. I guess as long as he's here, he'll protect her."

"You still love her, don't you?" Leo mused. He could understand. His aunt told him about how his mother couldn't live with the idea that he had to leave or that his father tried to kill him. So, for both of their protection his aunt had wiped his mother's memory as well.

Draco's eyes narrowed, "I'll always love her. She was the one bright spot in my childhood. She always showed me love. When I was young and I got hurt she was there to make everything okay. When I awoke from a nightmare, she was there. Well, until I turned eleven. I was no longer a child after all and it was important for her to give me my space, but she still sends me care packages and letters while I'm at school. I guess it's easier that way."

Leo sighed, "I've always wondered about your mother. She seems like a very caring person underneath the cold exterior she must show the world. I'm sure that when your father's gone, she showers you with the love from your childhood."

Tears escaped from Draco's eyes, "Yes, and it's too the point where I wish my father would just disappear, so that I could feel loved."

Leo reached out and squeezed Draco's hand, "But you feel horrible about thinking that way because no matter how horrible your father is, you still love him. Part of you still longs to make him proud and if he disappeared, you would no longer have that opportunity."

Draco shook his head. He gulped, "I fear that no matter what I'll never receive what I most desire. Will he ever be proud of me or will he always concentrate on my failures?"

"Maybe you should start doing things that make you feel good about yourself and stop trying to please him. You're strong Draco. You can overcome the darkness you were raised in and you know if you desire to be more like me. I'm sure you have the potential to become a more likable person. I'm not saying you should be me because we're two different people, however you possess the same personality traits."

His eyes narrowed, "You're hiding something from me. We're not distantly related, are we?" He gasped as the pieces to a puzzle fell into place, "You are my twin. Father wanted you dead for some reason and someone saved you. They must have wiped my parents' memories for your protection, as well."

Leo chuckled nervously, "Who would've saved me from your parents? I don't think there's anyone in your family who'd attempt to protect an innocent child because his father wanted him dead. You're aunt Bella would've been right along with Lucius and there aren't really any other relatives."

"Andromeda she would've protected you." He looked over at Leo and smirked, "You didn't think I knew about the middle Black sister between Bella and my mother. She's been disowned by the family but I've always been a curious lad. She's the one responsible for relocating you to France, isn't she?"

Leo chuckled, "You have one hell of an imagination. I've got to go." He woke up and started swearing causing the twins to stir. How could he be so irresponsible? His brother suspected, but maybe he'd forget the dream or think it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

A/N: I always find it fun to make things go differently than a character plans. Hence Draco figuring out the truth sooner than Leo was ready for him to know. Now I have to admit this is the last chapter I have already written. I fear there will be a bit of a wait before I update again as I need to start combing through The Order of the Phoenix, so I can continue with the story. It's been a few years since I read it last. Now, I just have to find my copy of it.