Title: Beware of Potions

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: Fred and George create a new product in the summer before their 6th year, but when one of them samples it, they find that it has far different effects than they'd hoped for.

I am SOOOO sorry that it took me so long to update! I could name the excuses, but I doubt you care, and I don't blame you if you don't. I want to give a special thanks to SolelyReader and kristyl lilow for reviewing the last couple of days and reminding me to work on this! Kristyl lilow, I hope this chapter has a decent cliffhanger – I tried, but I'm not very good at them… :)

On another note, I've decided to try and finish this rather than write the other story – I've got notes for it so maybe I'll finish it another time… Also, since I really want to get this posted tonight, I'm universalizing my thank-you's to include:

Lucy, Rawriloveyou (lol your name is hilarious), TeamGredandForge, Crystalclearwaterzinmoonlight,Epsilon Scorpii, Runeaglerun, BookWormiie,

You guys rock and thank you SO much for the reviews! They give me great feedback and ideas for the story. Keep it up!

Chapter Fourteen

If someone had come up to him two weeks ago and told him that he'd feel down enough to be considered depressed someday, he would have laughed in their face and shared the joke with George. If that person were to tell him that he'd act so cowardly as to turn his back on a friendly acquaintance, he would have probably taken his bludger bat to the idiot and shown them just how cowardly he could be. If that person had also told him that, no matter how he felt now, a life-changing situation could change all of his views on himself, he would have laughed and replied with some naïve and arrogant response.

That'll never happen to me. I wouldn't let some stupid 'life-changing situation' affect me like that. George and I would never let something beat us down to that point.

As it was, he didn't currently have the energy to even laugh at those clichéd thoughts. It was bad enough that they'd been proved to be wrong, and though he longed to kick himself for failing at maintaining those idealistic thoughts, he couldn't. He realized with a pang of resignation that kicking himself would hurt – and he hurt enough as it was.

Fred longed for someone to tell him that all of these feelings and actions were the results of that blasted potion that he and George had made. Every time he thought about it, he grew angry and desperately wanted to pull his hair out in the attempt to rid himself of the guilty thoughts. Those thoughts that he considered to be guilty, at least, were the ones that held hopes that maybe he wasn't such a horrible person because he had allowed all of this to happen.

He knew that there was nothing he could have done about the raw evil that was the Dark Lord and his associates, such as the Malfoy family. He knew that he would never be able to control the actions of other people. But what killed him was the fact that he could barely control his own actions as of late. He mentally cringed as he compiled a long and invisible list of all the wrongs that had happened over the last two weeks. He'd managed, somehow (and again, he hoped it wasn't all his doing), to turn his back on his twin, his family, and many of the beliefs that he had always said with confidence that he'd die for.

Fred started to really regret tightening that pipe. He'd fixed it so that it wouldn't drip at all the night that he returned from making those potions for Snape. Before Wormtail could stop him, Fred had walked over and grabbed the broken object and twisted the loose part to the right, and then he walked calmly back to his cell. He had thought that the quiet would make it easier to think things over and decide what he wanted to do. A few hours after having undisturbed quiet, however, he realized that the only reason he'd managed to not get depressed by the situation so far was that he'd been unable to dwell on the same thought for too long, since the repetitive drip would distract him just enough every time.

With a drawn-out sigh, he wondered when Snape would be back. He hoped the man didn't come to realize how important his visits were getting to be to the trapped teen, since the situation the two were in was already strange enough. He hoped that Snape would bring something along with the remedy to the potion that he'd promised. Though Wormtail had given him something to eat and drink each day, it wasn't nearly as much as he'd been used to having all his life. Fred supposed that it was a good idea on Wormtail's part – the lack of energy that it left Fred with meant that the teen wouldn't be as prone to fighting back. And it was true; his limbs felt like lead and he sometimes barely had enough energy to carry himself upstairs.

He knew enough to not let it overwhelm him though. Falling down and giving up wouldn't get him anywhere. Snape was right about that.

Fred lifted his head up and tilted it to the side as he listened. Every now and then, he would hear footsteps, and he kept wondering if it was the greasy bat of the dungeons. He smiled slightly and shook his head at the thought. All things considered, Snape wasn't acting quite like the nasty bat that Fred would have considered him to act like. Though the man was cold, aloof, and sometimes harsh with his instructions, he had proved to Fred that he didn't want to teen to meet his end here. This was something that Fred didn't truly understand. He couldn't figure if the man was on his side or not, though he eventually decided that if the Potions Master was willing to help him, then it didn't matter what side the man was on.

The footsteps neared the door and Fred sat up, hoping it was Snape and not Wormtail or worse, such as Malfoy. The door opened and Fred almost smiled as the light from above silhouetted the tall, thin figure of his Potions professor.

"Don't spit it out when you drink it. I don't want to have to make another batch just because you fussy Gryffindors like everything to taste like pumpkin juice," the man instructed quietly, handing Fred a vial of blue-green liquid.

Fred took it and sniffed it, finding that the smell was similar to that of an old textbook that he'd found that had been floating in the lake at Hogwarts for a while. It took him a while to think of the words, but 'moldy' and 'dank' fit the potion nicely.

"And this supposed to be…" Fred asked, not bothering to finish the sentence entirely. His head hurt enough already.

"It should reverse any effects of that potion that you took, whether the effects have ceased or are still lingering. After researching it, I've found that any effects that may still be showing will be greatly diminished by this point, though it wouldn't hurt to rid you of them entirely," Snape explained.

"Seeing as how the last potion I took didn't work out quite right," Fred said, holding the vial in front of him and looking closely at it, "you'll understand that I'm a bit nervous at drinking this…"

"I can assure you that the worst side-effects that can come of this potion will be limited to a slight feeling of nausea, and I highly doubt you'll experience even that," Snape responded in a tone that clearly expressed what he thought of being questioned by one of his students.

Fred shrugged and replied, "If you say so, boss." With that, he downed the potion and had to put a hand to his mouth to keep himself from spitting it out. It certainly tasted far worse than it smelled, and he wondered if Snape had somehow planned that. The moment the mixture passed his throat and dropped like molten lava into his stomach, he felt a strange tingling envelope his body.

The burn of the potion turned into the something filled with clarity, and he suddenly realized just how dulled his senses had been before he had drunk it. The taste of the potion, for one thing, was finally describable as his tongue swept over traces of something that tasted like orange. Fred looked up as the room spun around for a brief moment before coming back into focus and he was able to clearly see what he had not been able to before. Rows and rows of ingredients and various potions lined the walls, hidden behind and amongst old, tattered books that he'd not even noticed before. The smells of the room, which had seemed musty and old before, were now filled with the scents of freshly-cut ingredients that he had prepared the day before. Beyond that, he could smell an earthy aroma that lingered in the air, reminding him of a tilled field more than an old, ruined building. He even swore that he could better hear the creaking of the floorboards more clearly than before.

It was the last sense, that of touch, that hit him hardest. He became acutely aware of how much of his body ached and how exhausted he felt. His stomach clenched painfully as he thought of how long it had been since he'd had a real meal, something that only his mum or Hogwarts could ever provide. His eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to control the pain that pulsed along with his heartbeat.

The next real thing that he felt was a hand on his arm, guiding him to sit down on a conjured chair. Glancing up, he saw that Snape was hovering over him with a look that might have been confused as concerned if Fred hadn't known the greasy git better. Fred shook his head a bit at that thought. The man wasn't so bad, especially since he seemed to have found an antidote to whatever the twins had made.

The man had his wand out and was waving it over Fred's head, appearing to run some sort of diagnostic test to make sure that he hadn't accidentally poised the teen. At least, Fred hoped his goal hadn't been to poison anyone. "It appears to have worked," Snape said quietly. "How do you feel?"

"Freezing," Fred replied without really thinking about it. It was true though – he'd been cold most of the time while he'd been here, but it felt ten times worse now than it did before.

An awkward moment passed in which Snape handed him a warm blanket and then watched as the boy threw it around his shoulders. Fred pulled it close and found himself wishing that he had one of his mum's ugly sweaters that she always knitted for her kids. Those sweaters, while not fashionable in the least, were just as warm as this near-comforter of a blanket.

"I don't have time to stay any longer tonight," Snape said, looking at Fred with a strange expression. "The first years usually choose the first weekend to test their boundaries, as I'm sure you and your twin are well-aware of."

Fred smirked and said, "Sounds familiar. So, it's Friday already, is it?"

"Indeed," Snape answered. "I will be back tomorrow night, as there may be something going on. I'll advise you again to stay out of the way if at all possible."

Fred nodded and the two remained silent for a few moments. Snape turned as if to leave and Fred spoke up at last. "Thank you," he said, hoping that he wouldn't have to explain just how much he was thankful for at the moment. Snape gazed back at him and nodded before leaving, shutting the door to the basement quietly.

The room was silent and, though he knew it was still cold, he was hidden from it for now by the warmth of the blanket. He wondered if Wormtail would take it from him when the rat realized that it was here. With that thought in mind, Fred stood up and sat in the cell again near an area where he might be able to hide it if necessary. As he leaned against the wall with the blanket pulled around him, he thought on the change that Snape's potion had brought about.

Fred had felt it before but he hadn't allowed himself to dwell on it in Snape's presence. Now that the man had left, Fred let the memories of the last two weeks or so come back into focus. Finally, he was able to clearly make sense of what had happened to get him to this point. The emotions that had risen up in him that hadn't felt right were easy to pick out as he thought back on the events that occurred in the Burrow, the floo-chase with George, and here as well.

Just like before Snape had arrived, Fred felt the guilt-ridden thoughts threaten to overwhelm him. He sucked in a shaky breath through his teeth and clenched his fists around the blanket tighter, dropping his head to rest on his knees. Fred held on and didn't move for a while, slowly letting himself calm down until he could think again.

Unlike before, he knew that one major aspect was different now for him. Earlier, that potion had influenced several of his decisions, as well as the way he viewed the events that had happened. He lifted his head up and glared out at the room defiantly. There was nothing he could do to change what had already occurred, but he could at least meet future situations with a certain resolve.

"I solemnly swear," Fred stated clearly to the empty room, "that you idiots won't bother me any more than Percy does."

The first of which was that he refused to make it any easier for them to make his life absolutely miserable. It couldn't be any harder than dealing with Filch, after all. The hardest part would be that he didn't have George here to fuel his resolve, though he felt eternally grateful that George hadn't ended up in the same position that he had. Fred wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to forgive himself for that if it happened.

"I solemnly swear," he voiced, willing his voice not to crack on this one, "that I'll do anything I can to help anyone else that ends up here against their will."

This next resolve existed purely because of the end that the Ravenclaw graduate had met. Fred shook his head to dispel the thoughts, knowing that they would bring him down if he dwelled on them. That wasn't to say that he would ever forget it, however. There was no way that he'd betray someone in such a way ever again, potion or no potion.

"I solemnly swear," Fred said as the emotion welled up in him again, "that I will see George soon."

This wasn't even an option. It was a requirement as far as Fred was concerned. There would be no point in carrying on if he never got to see George again. 'Besides,' Fred thought tiredly, 'George'll kill me if I don't give him the chance to do the same…'

With those resolutions firmly in his mind, he let the warmth of the blanket lull him into a sleep that was as comfortable as he could get.


If there was one word to describe Lee, it would be "resourceful." George handed him the few galleons that he was able to pry from the hiding places in and amongst his trunk and bed and let the other boy have at it. They hadn't discussed nor decided on much of a plan yet, which was just as well, since George barely knew anything about what would be happening at this "casual event" that the Malfoys were putting on.

On Friday morning, George met Lee at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and sat down tiredly, having spent most of the night reluctantly eluding a great deal of sleep. He turned toward Lee and started to ask if the other teen had acquired some Polyjuice Potion for him when Lee pointed to wear the owls came in from. The two looked up and watched as one of the more standard-looking owls drifted down towards them to land in front of Lee.

Lee grabbed the package and gave the rather perturbed owl a bit of bacon before it flew off. He unwrapped it to reveal two vials of what must have been Polyjuice Potion. "Excellent! And they did send the long-lasting form too, I figured they'd be cheap about it…"

George looked at him and sighed, "You're coming with aren't you?" He'd never actually invited Lee, though he figured that he'd be hard-pressed to find a way to make Lee stay here now, especially since they had enough potion for two people to go.

"Of course I am," Lee answered. "Somebody's gotta keep you from getting into trouble."

George laughed out loud in response to that. He and Fred had been the ones keeping Lee out of trouble most of the time. He nodded as Lee discreetly put the potion vials into his bag and then leaned forward to ask, "Are we still snagging those two goons just before they leave?"

Lee nodded and said, "Yeah, we'll have to skip practice-"

"Bummer," they both commented.

"-and then we'll have to get them away from Malfoy, which shouldn't be too hard. We'll just scare the little shite and he'll take off like the coward he is."

"We should follow them today after class and find out the Slytherin password," George suggested. "That way we don't have to worry about it tomorrow."

"Should we practice some of our distracting techniques, while we're at it?" Lee asked.

George nodded and laughed and, with that in mind, the two went off to Transfigurations. It was a long wait until the end of Potions and McGonagall wasn't cutting him any slack, especially since he wasn't even trying to put his mind back to the lesson. It had something to do with transfiguring… a table… into … he couldn't remember. As they walked away from the class, he ran through a list of ways that they could scare Malfoy into running back to Slytherin. He felt a bit guilty at how excited he was to torment the blonde.

Finally, there were only fifteen minutes until the end of Potions. George and Lee had positioned themselves in a nearby corridor that they knew the Slytherins would take and waited for their prey to walk by. After a short wait, several of the Slytherins walked by, but the three that George and Lee were waiting for weren't in the group. George was just about to suggest to Lee that they go find the sneaky snakes when they heard Malfoy's arrogant voice sounding from up the passageway.

"-believe that they're still allowed in the school," Malfoy said, as if he had all the authority in the world.

The three boys came into view a second later and George and Lee directed several spells in between the two goons and the blonde Slytherin. A loud crack and a bright burst of light erupted and drew a frightened shriek from Malfoy, who took off running in a very predictable manner in the general direction of the Slytherin dorms.

Crabbe and Goyle both stood and looked around with blank expressions until unanimously deciding that nothing else was going to happen. George and Lee had to work hard to cover up their laughter as they tailed the two idiots down into the dungeons. They had to stop a ways away from the door so that they wouldn't be seen, but it wasn't a problem.

George muttered a sound-enhancing charm so that when Goyle said the password (ad meliora), it came out as a shout instead of a quiet utterance. Once again, George and Lee found themselves laughing in the next corridor as the two Slytherins stepped into the common room, oblivious to what caused Goyle to shout.

"That was surprisingly successful," Lee said, "and quite hilarious."

"I'll have to thank Hermione for that one," George said.

Lee froze and turned to him, asking seriously, "You didn't tell Granger about this, did you?"

George rolled his eyes and responded, "Honestly, Lee, I asked her where I could find a useful spell. She said the library had everything I needed. So I looked there."

Lee still hadn't moved. "Wait.. You went to the library? Willingly? And … studied?" He said the last word as if it was a crime, which it really should have been by now.

"I took one for the team," George said, nodding his head solemnly. Lee laughed and the two walked back upstairs, waiting anxiously for the next day.


Fred woke up and knew it was Saturday. He knew it because Snape was hovering nearby and waiting impatiently for him to get up, and the greasy bat didn't do that on weekdays, since he had to go teach. Fred sat up and looked at him questioningly, wondering why the man was here so early.

Once Snape saw that Fred was awake, he turned around and headed back up the stairs. Fred took this as a cue to follow and made his way upstairs as well. Something about the building felt different now that he wasn't under the effects of some potion, and he looked around at his surroundings with a new perspective. It seemed even smaller now and much darker than before, but that might just be because he noticed more about it now. He noticed more of the doors and windows that were hidden behind boxes and tables, or otherwise so caked in dust that it would take an hour to brush enough away to see anything worth looking at.

Whereas he hadn't felt fear of the place before, he now got a sense of something terrible that was just out of his line of sight. He knew, of course, what it was that was making him feel that way. It bothered him even more now that he didn't know where the Dark Lord was, and he found himself glancing around as if he was expecting the diminutive creature to leap out from behind a threadbare curtain.

Snape reached the makeshift laboratory, which was looking more like a potions lab every day. Once inside, Snape shut the door and walked toward a table that was covered in various potions. Without a glance toward Fred, he said, "You're feeling better."

Fred nodded, not sure how to respond to something that was obviously a question, but that wasn't posed as a question. Snape seemed to appreciate his silent response and motioned for him to stand before the table.

"These potions need to be organized and some of the labels need to be rewritten. Can I rest assured that your knowledge of the alphabet is satisfactory enough to organize these in an understandable manner?" Snape asked, and though the question was full of the usual snark, it was obvious to Fred that the man was using it more out of habit than anything else.

Again, Fred nodded in response. Snape set a small clock on the table and said, "When you're finished, clean as much as you can here before five. Then go back downstairs. Do not be up here after then."

"Why?"

Snape peered at the teen as if debating whether or not to answer the question and finally said, "People may be arriving here later and I doubt you wish to cause any more trouble for yourself than you've already found."

Fred wanted to ask who was coming and why anyone would want to come here, but decided against it. For once, he wanted to stay out of the way so that he could enjoy this period of alertness that hadn't existed when he'd been affected by the potion he'd taken. He didn't really want to do anything that would bring that back.

Snape left after a moment, not finding it necessary to say anything else to Fred, which was just as well. He spent the next few hours re-labeling the potions and then organizing them alphabetically on the shelf. He was thankful that Snape hadn't stayed, for he had accidentally gotten the J and K groups of potions mixed around.

As he worked, he kept a mental log of the potions that he recognized and remembered a few names that sounded interesting. The Denose Potion fell into that last category. He figured that it wasn't a potion that removed one's nose, but had no other clue than that. This train of thought led him to thinking about how a potion could remove someone's nose, which then led him to mixing up the R and S groups of potions.

When he was finished organizing the potions, he looked through the cupboards in the room and found a tattered broom that looked like it had been in existence since before Merlin was around. It at least looked older than Dumbledore. Sweeping the room free of dust proved to be quite the chore. He started in one corner and swept through a layer that was probably a foot thick, which had him coughing and sneezing in agitation throughout the whole process.

He hadn't even realized how late it was getting as he moved across the room. The dust in the air was so thick that he could hardly see and he hoped that he'd be able to find the door when he was finished. At one point, he thought he heard the door open, but he paid it no mind and continued to fight the huge pile of dust that was currently waging war on him.

Suddenly, he heard a sharp laugh coming from behind him and he swung around to see a familiar kid standing just inside the room. It was one of the Slytherin boys from Ron's year. Fred couldn't think of the boy's name, but quickly lumped him in the category of "Slytherins that are rather disagreeable" as the boy kept laughing at him.

"This is fitting, isn't it?" The boy taunted. "You've finally found a job you're good at! Cleaning like a filthy servant for those that are better than you!"

Fred growled in anger and took a step toward the boy before he paused, knowing that the other boy was trying to egg him on. The only good thing about the entire situation was that he was in control of what he did now, not some stupid potion.

The boy laughed again and said, "What? Are you afraid to come over here? Did they teach you your place already?"

"Why don't you come in here? Or are you afraid of dirtying your pretty little boots?" Fred said, trying to employ the same amount of snark that Snape often used. It wasn't as effective, but the other boy smirked nonetheless and stepped inside the room.

"Well, I wouldn't want to make more of a mess for you now, would I?" The boy said and then proceeded to kick at a pile of dust so that most of it flew towards Fred.

Fred swore and jumped forward, shoving the boy into the wall. The other teen, whose name still eluded Fred, swung a punch out, but Fred was quicker. Years of growing up with too many brothers had taught him to not only use his fists well, but to use what was around him. No sooner had the fight erupted than the other boy got a broomstick to the groin and a punch to the face. He fell to the group amidst the dust, creating another cloud that Fred ended up sneezing at.

"Damn dust," he said, waving his arms to dispel it. After a moment, he looked down at the teen before him and wondered what he'd do now. It certainly wouldn't be good to let anyone else here find out what happened, but it wasn't like he could just pretend that it hadn't happened at all. The now unconscious kid would surely tell anyone he could about it.

Fred picked the broomstick back up and looked around, wondering what he would do now. It was just after six now, and Snape would kill him if he weren't downstairs where he was supposed to be. He set the broomstick against the wall and made to leave when the wall of potions that he'd organized caught his eye. An idea formed in his mind and he barely spent a minute thinking it over before he was walking over and plucking one of the bottles down from the shelf.


George and Lee had been waiting for nearly an eternity for Malfoy and his two goons to make their way to the Great Hall. Finally, ten minutes before six, the three walked past and Lee shot out a tripping hex that caught both Crabbe and Goyle, who fell into Malfoy. George started laughing quietly as Malfoy swore at the two and instructed them to watch where they were going.

Lee hexed them again and again so that they couldn't even make it down the corridor, much to the frustration of Malfoy, who finally gave up and walked off without them.

"Some friend," Lee muttered. He tripped the two Slytherins again as George shot out a couple stunning spells (another thing he'd reluctantly picked up from the library). After they had switched the outer cloaks amongst themselves, Lee pulled out added the hairs to the potion. They downed it quickly as they were stuffing the lumpy Slytherins into a broom closet.

Working through the uncomfortable effects of the Polyjuice Potion, the two boys managed to shut and lock the door while also silencing it in the event that the Slytherins woke up ahead of time. They heard Malfoy shout to hurry up and quickly shared grins of success as they tucked their wands away and dashed down the hall.

It wasn't the most efficient incapacitation that had even happened, but it was effective. Malfoy barely paid them any attention as they hurried up. He was completely oblivious while George and Lee, now Crabbe and Goyle, inspected their dress robes, silently laughing at the lacy parts. It was apparent that these two boys hadn't had their outfits designed and chosen by someone as competent as whoever had thought up the Malfoy brat's outfit.

Not a second later, a quiet, deep voice interrupted their thoughts. "Draco, are you and your friends ready to go?" Lucius Malfoy stood before them and George and Lee had to strain to keep from jumping at the man's sudden appearance.

"Yes, Father," Draco responded. George suddenly wondered whether Crabbe and Goyle called Draco by his first or last name. This also led him to wondering what Crabbe's first name was. He found himself wishing that he and Lee had spent more time planning this out.

His thoughts were put on pause when he heard Lee, who was disguised as Goyle, say, "Hello, Mr. Malfoy."

George echoed the sentiment and was thankful to see a remotely pleased nod given in response. At least the elder Malfoy didn't suspect them yet. He hoped they would make it undetected throughout the evening, as it would be very difficult to explain to anyone how he had ended up at a part of Lucius Malfoy's.

George and Lee, as Crabbe and Goyle, follow Draco and his father out of the doors and down the castle path to the gates. Without a word to anyone, Lucius held out a very rich looking book, which was obviously acting as a Portkey. George shared a look with Lee, wondering if the Ministry would actually approve of anyone using something that looked so nice, but they both wisely chose to remain silent as they reached out to touch it.

With a tug and a sensation of falling, they were off to their destination, which ended up being just before Malfoy Manor. George and Lee stuck close together and followed the two Malfoys into the huge building. George didn't even want to think of how many Burrows could fit into Malfoy Manor. As they walked in, he noticed a number of other people, including teenagers like him and Lee, talking in an adjacent room.

"Go in, Draco, but don't go too far. We'll be leaving for our next destination shortly," Lucius said before leaving for what appeared to be a study of some sort.

Draco turned to George and Lee and said, "Come on, you two. And don't gorge yourselves out on the food this time; you'll make fools of us all."

Lee nodded in response and George felt like laughing, though he supposed it would be more of a nervous laugh than anything else. He held it in and followed the shorter, blonde boy into an even-larger room. Once there, George and Lee tagged along behind Draco and listened half-heartedly as the Slytherin bragged about his home and family to anyone that would listen. George made as if to walk toward the table of food when he heard Draco's voice cut in.

"Didn't you hear me, Crabbe?" Well that answered that question. Draco was not on first-name basis with his so-called friends.

"What?" George snapped as he turned around. He quickly realized that he shouldn't responded like that when he saw the look Lee was giving him, which looked ridiculous on Goyle's face. He tried to pull off an apologetic look and muttered an apology towards Draco, who gestured for them to follow him.

Lee rolled his eyes at George as the two walked, and George wondered where they'd be going. Draco led them into the room that Lucius had disappeared into and were met by two other men, who seemed to recognize them at once.

"Gregory," one of the men said, "do you have your wand?" The question was asked in the manner of one that had been asked far too many times.

George took a guess and nodded, wondering if he was "Gregory" or if that was Lee. Draco rolled his eyes and said, "Not you, idiot. Goyle."

Oh. Well then. Lee nodded frantically but didn't pull his wand out, knowing that it looked different than the real Goyle's wand. These men must be Crabbe and Goyle's fathers. It seemed that they were going to accompany them to wherever they'd be going.

Lucius stepped forward and stated, "We are going to introduce you to someone very important. You will be on your best behavior and if you are not, then we will not be responsible for you. Do you understand?"

Draco, George, and Lee nodded together and, judging from Draco's expression, the threat of what would happen if they weren't well-behaved was not something to look forward to. None of them spoke again as they left the building and walked towards what must have been an apparition point.

George and Lee had to refrain from flinching when their "fathers" gripped their shoulders to apparate them away. George shut his eyes and waited for the spinning to stop before he opened them again. When he did, he looked around and wondered what on earth had compelled him to tag along with the younger Malfoy this weekend. Curiosity? An attempt to spy? Gain information? Get himself killed in a creepy little town outside a creepy old building? That last one certainly was not on his list of reasons for doing this.

A sidelong look at Lee told him that his friend felt much the same as he did about their current situation. They weren't given much time to think about it as light shoves prodded them forward.

The boys were led into the house and George noticed that Draco gradually shifted in position so that George and Lee were in front of him. George shook his head at the Slytherin's cowardice before looking around curiously. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to recognize this place or not, though he supposed that it was safe to say that he wouldn't since Draco was openly staring around him when his father wasn't looking.

They stopped in an entryway and the three boys watched as Lucius turned to address them. "We'll be discussing some rather important business. Feel free to explore for now. We'll call you back when we're finished so that you can meet the Dark Lord."

Lucius spoke as if they were going to be greatly honored by this meeting. The elder Malfoy nodded toward the other two men and they turned to go up the stairs without another word. George glanced over at Lee and could clearly see that he was worried at the prospect of what would be happening later. George wasn't too thrilled about it either.

A look at Draco nearly floored him though. If George and Lee were worried, than Draco was downright terrified. It didn't make sense to George, who had always suspected the sneaky snake of being a clone of his father. Perhaps it wasn't so?

Draco looked at him and looked nervous for a moment before he snapped, "What are you staring at?"

George shook his head and watched as Draco walked down a nearby hallway, seemingly wanting to explore the dusty old building. The blonde paused and turned around, looking at George and Lee carefully.

"You're being awfully quiet," Draco commented.

George glanced at Lee and said, "This building's pretty creepy?"

Draco's eyebrows danced a bit at that comment, but he seemed to accept the explanation.

"You don't like it here, do you?" Lee asked, and George nearly smacked him for asking a question like that.

To his surprise, Draco shrugged and said, "It is creepy… and filthy." He kicked the ground for good measure, stirring up a bit of dust. "Too bad there wasn't a House meeting tonight…"

George exchanged a look with Lee and then followed Draco down the hallway a bit further. George knew that he and Lee were going to have a lot to talk about after this experience, providing that they both lived through the impending meeting. A few feet ahead of them, another teen walked out of a room and shut the door. The boy looked like another of the Slytherins from Ron's year and Lee nudged him with his elbow and whispered, "It's that Zabini kid."

"Blaise!" Draco said, sounding happy to see someone else here that he knew.

Blaise, however, did not look happy to see Draco. Blaise froze in place and tracked Draco's movements with his eyes until the blonde was standing in front of him.

"When did you get here?" Draco asked.

"Umm, a little while ago…" Blaise muttered, glancing around and eyeing George and Lee briefly.

"Are you going to meet the Dark Lord with us?" Draco asked. Though he was trying to sound like he was merely making conversation, George could tell he was hoping desperately that Blaise would join him so that he'd have more of his friends with him.

"No," Blaise answered quickly, looking ten times more nervous than he had moments before.

Draco tilted his head and gave him a strange look. "Are you leaving now?"

"Hopefully," Blaise responded, still glancing around as if he was trapped. He looked at Draco again and asked, "Is your, uh… dad here?"

Draco's eyes narrowed even further as he answered, "Yes, my father is here…"

Blaise nodded and seemed to realize that Draco was looking at him like he was crazy. "Sorry, this house is… creepy. Sort of reminds me of my aunt's."

George snorted and said, "You can say that again." An image of one of his stranger aunt's houses popped into his mind and he snickered at the thought of trying to navigate the hallways of that particular house.

"You don't have an aunt," Draco pointed out.

Blaise adopted a blank expression before amending his statement, "I meant my great-aunt."

"I don't think you have any of those either…" Draco stated, still looking at Blaise strangely.

"Whatever," Blaise said, beginning to twist his hands together in front of him nervously. "Have you seen a floo anywhere?"

"What?" Draco asked sharply. "Whatever do you need-"

"Draco," the whole group turned at the sound of Lucius' voice. "And Mr. Zabini, how good that you are able to be here as well. Come."

George felt his heart drop from his chest at that moment and swore ever-so-lightly, and he could have sworn that he heard Blaise do the same. He shared a look with Lee and then proceeded after Draco up the stairs.


Okay, I'm not that good at cliffhangers, but how's that?

And wow it's hard to switch from using a limited omniscient POV to a first-person POV… How'd I do?

I will try to update again soon, providing that the local children don't kill me (I'm a substitute teacher, so it's possible). Let me know what you think of this chapter and what you'd like to see next! Or, what you'd NOT like to see next? Hehe