Having already exhausted every library resource that even remotely looked to be along the right lines, Michael and Nathaniel only had one place left to check.
If they wanted to find out how to become an animagus, they would have to enter the Restricted Section.
"Can I have a pass to the restricted section?" Nathaniel asked Professor McGonagall.
His transfiguration professor gave him a searching look.
"Mister Henderson, for the life of me, I cannot imagine why I should allow a first-year access to the restricted section, please do not ask me again." She told him, vanishing the chalk dust from the board.
Michael received a similar answer from Professor Flitwick.
"Sorry my dear boy, but you are still too fresh to go into the restricted section. You may ask again when you are in your fifth year." He said politely.
Professor Sprout did not like the thought of one of her Hufflepuffs going into the restricted section at all, much less a first year by themselves.
"Absolutely not, believe it or not, it can be dangerous in there, there is a reason it is the restricted section. A rather good one at that."
Eventually Michael and Nathaniel conferred together and determined that they were getting nowhere.
"We need to find a new route if we want to succeed." Michael suggested.
"I haven't asked Madam Hooch yet." Nathaniel said, "She's really nice, maybe she'll let us go in."
"No," Michael said, snapping his fingers, "We can ask another student to get the pass for us!"
"Genius!" Nathaniel declared, "Who should we use though?"
Michael thought on this for a moment, "Who do we know that the teachers don't consider attached to us, find trustworthy, has control over their magic, and would have a good reason to enter the restricted section?"
Michael and Nathaniel thought about it for a few minutes.
Percy Weasley entered the room, grabbed a book and checked it out, giving the twins a wary glance as he walked back out.
"I got it!" Nathaniel said proudly, "Alex!"
"Sounds good to me!" Michael agreed.
They rushed through the library entrance, pushing Fred and George's older brother to the side.
"Sorry Peter!" Nathaniel called out, "We need to find Alex to get a pass to the restricted section!"
"Bye! Michael yelled.
Percy looked up for a moment to collect himself, "Please let this year be easier than it looks."
————————————————————
They found Alex exiting the defense against the dark arts classroom, his class period just ending.
"Hey you two." He grinned, "Cause any chaos today?"
"No." Michael claimed.
"Not much." Nathaniel said at the same time.
They looked at each other before replying together.
"Vehicular dismemberment."
Alex had to admit, that was a new one.
"We need your help." Nathaniel said.
"This is a grave matter." Michael added.
Alex pretended to think on it, "Heck yeah! What do you need?" He answered almost immediately.
Michael looked around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers. He found the Gryffindor first years looking at them.
"We need you to get us access to the restricted section!" Nathaniel said loudly.
Michael kicked Nathaniel in the shin, then nodded towards the Gryffindors, two strange hand signals to his brother.
"But we haven't figured out how to erase memories yet." Nathaniel said, "Idiot."
"Oh yeah," Michael remembered, "Nevermind then."
The Gryffindors scattered as each of the twins took one of Syke's arms and pulled him into a random door.
It turned out to be a supply closet.
"This works." Nathaniel said.
"So, here's the plan." Michael began to inform Alex.
Suddenly, Filch opened the door, clearly trying to grab cleaning supplies.
He stared at them for a second and gathered up the breath to scream at them.
Michael shoved a broom into his hands and shut the door.
"Did you not see the cat?" Nathaniel yelled at his brother, "I wanted to pet it!"
"I don't care." Michael said back, "Let's get this plot moving already!"
"Ow, stop kicking my shin!" Nathaniel shouted.
"Calm down dudes," Alex said, "What's the plan?"
Filch looked at the door for a moment. He never knew that a student would actually like his cat, it was a bit refreshing not to hear some of the students muttering insults against his precious Mrs. Norris. That wasn't going to save these kids from detention though. Filch went to fetch Figglestone, he was sure she would give him the result he wanted.
"So, we want you to get access to the restricted section from a teacher and just give us the pass when you do."
"Simple, easy, love it." Alex noted, "I'll get right on it."
Alex left the closet and the twins stayed behind a second to have a little celebration before they followed.
"Excuse me!" Professor Figglestone said, jerking the door open, "Detention for both of you for slamming a door in the face of the caretaker and ten points from each of you!"
"Oh." Nathaniel said sadly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Michael lied, "You must be looking for Fred and George! They went that way."
Michael pointed down the hall.
Professor Figglestone's eyes looked over his face before deciding that his tics were actually tells that he was lying.
"Ten more points from each of you for lying!" She added.
"But I didn't say anything!" Nathaniel said, annoyed, "That's not fair!"
Professor Figglestone continued, ignoring him, "You will each report to your Head of House for your detentions, now leave."
They left grumbling, Nathaniel turning around when they were most of the way down the hall to give Professor Figglestone his most menacing glare.
"You will pay for this." He mouthed back to her.
She was taken aback but he turned a corner before she could do anything about it.
————————————————————
Professor Snape was almost enjoying his evening, sitting in the teacher's lounge, sipping at a mysterious, dark drink. He had finished grading his students' papers already, the number of trolls might have been worrying if he had at any point considered most non Slytherin students to be of any worth whatsoever.
Professor Figglestone entered the room, seeing Professor Snape, Flitwick and Hooch inside, quietly enjoying their individual drinks and treats.
This was her third time in the room since she joined Hogwarts a few months ago. It looked nice, spacious, had a wardrobe in the corner.
The walls were a nice light gray and the windows opened to allow fresh air and just the right amount of brightness of sunlight in. This is nice, Gina Figglestone decided. She should come in here more often.
Professor Snape resisted the urge to glare at her. He never got along with those of whom Dumbledore gave the defense against the dark arts position and Gina Figglestone was no exception.
"Oh, how nice to see you in here, Professor Figglestone!" Filius Flitwick said, sipping from his silver chalice.
Pomona Sprout raised her gold-plated cup in agreement.
Severus Snape preferred something less flashy and ostentatious like his heavily enchanted and potion-treated glass goblet, with the delicately carved visage of a snake in combat with a lion, wrapped victoriously around the lion's neck and chest.
Flitwick spoke up again, "You may use one of the glasses in the cupboard, simply say your desired drink or have the house elves prepare you something unique instead."
Striding across the floor, Gina opened the cupboard the small professor gestured to and opened the cabinet door.
Inside were a collection of dusty wooden mugs with slightly rusted iron handles.
A wordless cleaning spell and a muttered heavy liquor later, Figglestone sat by the table and asked her fellow teachers a question.
"Are the twins problematic for you as well?" She asked, her dry voice carried through the air.
Snape choked on his drink, coughing and hacking. He cleaned up the mess with a wave of his wand and looked up.
"Excuse me?" He said, "Which set of twins are you referring to?
"There are more than one set?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"There is a pair in first and second year." Flitwick told her, draining his chalice of firewhiskey.
"I only have the ones in first year." She said back.
Professor Sprout groaned, "Those Weasleys, they must be skipping classes again."
Gina accepted that and took some points from Gryffindor before continuing.
"I just gave the Henderson twins detentions with their heads of house."
Snape groaned, and let his forehead hit the table in front of him. He had been hoping that he wouldn't have to supervise any of their detentions this year, but, he reflected, that was always going to be a vain hope.
Waving his hand at the concerned teachers, he motioned for Gina to continue.
"Well, I also took points from each of them when one of them lied to me, and the other did not seem to find my decision justified. Nathaniel gave me the sixth most evil glare I have ever seen and promised me retribution."
Flitwick spat up the firewhiskey he had just downed back into his chalice, startling Sprout to his right.
The jinx! He thought, is this how this year's dada teacher goes out?
Sprout chuckled as Madam Hooch entered the room, carrying a small, golden trophy which she filled with butterbeer and drank from before sitting as well.
"Do not worry my dear," The head of Hufflepuff assured her, "Nathaniel and his brother are harmless."
Madam Hooch laughed out loud, "Harmless? I just came back from taking three Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff to the hospital wing because of that incredible flier's antics! Ha!"
Professor Figglestone looked worried. Pomona paled, she hoped that her first year had not lost them too many points.
But, considering Rolanda's good mood, probably not that many. Maybe they were in the clear.
As an afterthought she hoped that the children would be fine before their next classes.
"He is very talented but lacks control where Alex Sykes from Gryffindor excels. I'm sure he can make seeker next year with a little bit of effort and maybe a comet two-sixty." She mused, "Springing for anything more would be blatant favoritism."
"What…have you heard about the Henderson's?" Figglestone asked, a tinge of nervousness in her voice.
Rolanda Hooch barked out a laugh, "Why everything from being He-who-must-not-be-named's rival to his protégé!"
Laughing some more, she continued, "I have heard students call Nathaniel a dragonlord and his brother a dragonslayer! For goodness sakes, do these students have anything better to do than spread nonsense about a pair of eleven-year-olds?"
Feeling reassured Figglestone nodded, finishing her drink.
The other three staff members did not feel so confident about Hooch's statement.
————————————————————
"Did you see him yesterday casting dark curses behind Marcus Flint's back?" George asked another second year Ravenclaw, Fred nodding vigorously next to him.
"I heard that Nathaniel imperioed a dragon and made it beg for mercy!" Fred added.
"And then Michael slayed it anyways!" George interrupted.
"With a single Diffindo!"
A Slytherin spoke up nearby, "I heard about that! Word says he vanished the body to rid of evidence and banished the head clear across the country!"
Fred discreetly gave him brother a thumbs up. Something they had learned from working with Alex. None of the other half bloods and purebloods would recognize it which made it all the more fun to use.
George continued on, moving to another table, Hufflepuff or Slytherin next? He thought.
————————————————————
Alex helped Michael slide a dungbomb under Flint's seat using the levitation charm. A minute later the device went off, and Marcus snarled as he waved the fumes away with a wave of his wand and an angry word. Michael snuck in a cooling charm on his stew before he jumped and ran to Gryffindor table.
Dumbledore watched the proceedings with a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. Ah the joys of youth.
Alex found himself putting off the task his friends had asked of him. One teacher already refused, and he did not want to ask too many teachers too quickly for fear of raising suspicions.
His next choice was going to be Madam Hooch who seemed to appreciate his broom control. If McGonagall was going to refuse him, maybe the flying teacher would not.
He would ask tomorrow.
"Did you get it yet?" Michael asked.
"Not yet," Alex sighed, "I still have to think about which teacher will most likely say yes."
"That's fair." Michael accepted.
Alex continued pondering the possible positive and negative answers from different teachers as he watched Fred and George walk past the Slytherin table talking loudly.
Okay, you need to focus on your four inches on the Wiggenweld potion, the twins' restricted section access can wait.
————————————————————
"Hey, Alex!" Nathaniel yelled grabbing his friend from behind.
"Gah!" Alex yelped.
Turning around in his seat, he shushed the twin, "This is the library! Are you mad?"
"Not yet, so have you gotten the access yet?" Nathaniel asked.
"No! I've been busy!" He replied.
"I see." Nathaniel said in a deep voice, "Carry on them, and accomplish your task at your earliest convenience. Please."
Then he ran out of the library, as Madam Pince reached Alex's desk and shushed him.
Alex groaned and went back to studying.
————————————————————
"Alex," Michael said, walking up to him the next day in the great hall, "I trust you have devised a plot for the task at hand if not having already completed such?"
"Uh, no, not yet." Alex replied, "Sorry, I have to do a lot of studying for Professor Snape's homework. I haven't gotten around to it."
"Very well," Michael said, voice turning pretentious, "Continue with your studies and get us that access as soon as you are able."
"Sir yes sir." Alex said, mockingly.
Michael laughed and clapped him on the back.
As the twin walked away, probably to his next class, Alex considered which teacher he should ask next.
————————————————————
The next day, Alex was leaving flying lessons, when Nathaniel burst out of the castle.
"How did you back get out of the Hospital wing so fast?" Alex asked, "From almost a hundred feet up, you slammed face first into four students and the ground, surely Madam Pomfrey was going to keep you longer than that?"
"You would think so." Nathaniel said, swaying side to side unsteadily, "So, have you gotten the thing yet?"
Alex sighed, "No, not yet."
"Alright, just whenever you can." Nathaniel reassured him.
"Great, thanks." His Gryffindor friend replied.
"Nathaniel Henderson!" A voice cried out from the door the twin came out of, "Get BACK HERE NOW!"
"Oops, gotten run!" Nathaniel said winking, then he booked it towards the front of the castle, stumbling the whole way.
"Which way did he go?" Madam Pomfrey asked, looking slightly out of breath.
Alex pointed and entered the castle.
————————————————————
The day after that, in Swordsmanship class, Alex was pestered nonstop by Michael, who kept poking him in the back whenever Professor Figglestone looked away.
For the past month or so, she had been watching Michael and Nathaniel almost exclusively during her classes, leaving other students in their houses almost completely free from her scrutiny.
Her hawklike eye hopped from twin to twin every sword class; rarely however, would she catch them breaking a rule.
"Can you stop jabbing me?" Alex asked.
Michael stopped, then asked, "How's your progress so far on getting us that access?"
"Not good, out of the two teachers I asked, both shut me down immediately."
"Understood," Michael nodded, "Just do what you can, no rush!"
Alex grinned in response.
"Mr. Henderson! Stop smacking that student with your sword! This is maneuvering practice today! Not defense or attack!"
THWACK!
"Thirty points from Hufflepuff!"
Michael dashed forward, launching himself onto the back of a sixth-year student.
"NO! Stop that!" Professor Figglestone yelled hearing the student's cry of alarm.
Nathaniel planted his feet, raised his arms into the air and screamed, "TO THE DEATH!"
He struck a student with his sword.
————————————————————
A new day arrived, and Alex was proud to hold a paper with an A on it! Professor Snape really was not as bad as people say.
He thought it was A material himself, but he was not the teacher here.
He showed off to Fred and George.
They laughed.
He did not know why.
"Are you serious?" Fred asked.
"Do you really now know how grades work here?" George laughed.
"What do you mean?" Alex said growing anxious.
"We have gone over this with other muggleborn, an A here is like a C for you guys. It means acceptable, as in, you pass, but no more than that."
Alex frowned.
"Did you get access yet?" Nathaniel asked from underneath their table.
George nearly leaped out of his seat while Fred laughed uproariously.
"No." Alex said, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.
"Okey-dokey-lokey." Nathaniel responded, "Just let me know whenever you get it done!"
"Will do!" Alex said with energy he did not mean.
"Alright, I gotta go back to my seat, before someone takes my bacon." Nathaniel said.
————————————————————
The sun went down, the moon came up, the moon went down, and the sun came up.
Alex enjoyed his breakfast and his first two classes, Transfiguration and Herbology.
He made it to lunch without a single teacher yelling at him or one of his friends. It felt nice.
"Alex!" Michael called out, running towards him.
"Don't you have class in four minutes?"
"I can make it to the dungeons in three." He insisted, "I wanted to tell you about something me and Nathaniel discovered!"
"Alright then, tell me everything." Alex said, smile growing on his face.
"We thought about it and a bit of research later we realized that you could do potions at ANY age! They aren't really determined by power or experience; they're basically cooking instructions! So, if we're good enough, we can just make any potion no matter how far up it is!"
Alex found himself nodding along, "That sounds like a great idea, all we need to do is get extra potion ingredients and we can be set to make any common potion."
"Oh yeah, I forgot that we don't have infinite potion ingredients." Michael frowned, "So, have you had any luck asking teachers for restricted section access yet?"
"No, not yet." Alex said, "I've already asked three more teachers and not a one said yes."
"Got it." Michael nodded, his face turning serious, "Inform us the moment you succeed."
"Yes sir." Alex said, holding back a grin.
————————————————————
It was another day, and Alex was whistling badly.
"It's another day in a bright new way." He sang.
Saturdays were nice. Alex liked to take this time to go up to the Quidditch stands where no one would bother him and spend his time enjoying the view or studying a bit.
As he was walking up the stairs of the Gryffindor stands, something clutched his ankle.
"WHAAAGHH!" He yelled in panic and terror.
"What is your progress?" Nathaniel's voice said from behind him, "Report."
"What the f- Heck are you doing?" Alex practically screamed at him, "You scared the crud out of me!"
Alex turned and didn't see Nathaniel.
"What in the world?" He muttered as he looked around.
Nathaniel watched Alex fumble looking for him from underneath the stairs where he had climbed up to and gripped on in wait.
He asked again, "Progress? Report."
Alex climbed down the stairs a bit and looked through the space between each step.
Nathaniel waved at him.
"What are you DOING down there?" He asked.
"Getting a progress report." Nathaniel told him, "It's my turn."
"How did you climb-" Alex stopped, "Nevermind."
"No, I'll tell you." Nathaniel said, "It was actually pretty easy. There's like a hundred support beams and crisscrossing sections to climb on. I could easily hold myself up here without hands."
"But who in their right min-" Alex stopped himself, "Nevermind."
Oliver Wood was hiding behind the Gryffindor stands, trying to escape from Cormac McLaggen who kept demanding to be allowed on the team.
Telling the boy, he wasn't even allowed to own a broom had not done a thing. Players could not play unless they owned a broom, and seeing how first years were not allowed to bring brooms to school, this was Madam Hooches fancy way of saying SOD OFF to first years and their parents who wanted their kids to play. Nobody really cares if they got hurt in the process, they could heal anything, but Madam Hooch and Pomfrey insisted.
"Rules are rules!" Oliver had told him, "First years are not allowed to play quidditch, and that is final. Without the rules what even is the point? That is practically favoritism!"
Privately though, Oliver could not give a crap about the rules, he would let anyone join the team if they were good enough, he just loathed Cormac. The boy was not only an awful team player but was so entitled and rude that it took much effort not to brake one the team's brooms over his head.
Hearing a loud shout of what was clearly sheer terror, Oliver looked up to see a student in Hufflepuff robes hanging upside down from the bottom of the stairs at least fifty feet up.
Screaming loudly, he started up the stairs. He was not going to let someone die on his watch!
His heart pumped fast, like a jackrabbit as he raced up the stairs, the memory of what happened to the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher flashing in his mind. He had been there that day. It had not been pretty.
Turning the last corner where the student should be, Oliver stopped.
There was nobody there. He looked everywhere around and underneath the stairs where he was and found himself stumped.
Was that some kind of hallucination?
"Wood! Thank goodness I found you! I have another idea for how you could increase the effectiveness of your team play! Of course, I will have to join for it to have any chance of succeeding."
Oliver groaned as Cormac McLaggen leaped up the steps behind him, reaching him in only a few moments.
There was no escape.
Meanwhile, Michael was levitating Nathaniel down the last thirty feet of the stands.
When he landed, they high fived.
"He said that he has two more teachers to ask, not including Madam Hooch and Pomfrey, because he isn't sure if they even have the authority."
Michael nodded and they ran laughing back to the castle.
————————————————————
Saturday ended with a flourish, Anthony Anthony celebrated his birthday, receiving a new pair of robes that he desperately needed. Michael snatched the cake when no one was looking and devoured it with his friends in Hagrid's shack. The half-giant had really appreciated that they brought him a cake for his birthday.
They also gave him a few impromptu gifts. Such as a decent walking stick that Michael just found lying on the ground near the forest and a pretty, blue geode that Nathaniel had swiped from Dumbledore's office while he was hiding wands.
Sunday arrived with suspicious glares.
Alex found himself enjoying his morning with an extra big plate of bacon and pancakes. He heard familiar footsteps coming up from behind him and set his fork down.
"Hey Ale-" Michael started.
"Nope." Alex interrupted, "Every teacher said no. Sorry guys, but I tried."
He went back to his breakfast and a minute later, the rest of the group joined him.
The Hendersons asking for any ideas about how to get into the Restricted Section.
Tessa shook her head, "Just wait until the teachers can trust you. Patience is a virtue."
She was ignored.
"We actually have a way in." George admitted.
"But we cannot divulge this secret yet." Fred said.
The twins accepted this, "Any other ideas then?" Michael asked.
"Can we counterfeit the pass?" George asked.
"I don't know if it's possible, but we could try." Michael said.
"How about a frontal assault?" Nathaniel suggested.
"What do you even mean by that?" Fred asked him.
"I mean we force our way in! It isn't like anyone will be there to stop us, it isn't guarded or anything."
Alex tried to say something about Madam Pince, but nobody heard him over both sets of twins.
"I have definitely heard that there are charms stopping you from entering without a pass." George said, "I do not think it will work."
Nathaniel thought on that for a moment, "What about a pincer movement?"
"There's only one entrance, you moron!" Michael said.
Nathaniel fell silent, rolling his eyes.
"What if we scaled the building from the outside and got in through a window?" Alex asked.
Michael chuckled, "What do you mean scale it from the outside? Exactly how many ways can you scale a building other than from the outside?"
The group chuckled at that.
"We do not know if there are windows at all." Fred said.
"And there are probably charms to keep intruders out." George added.
"That is fair." Alex accepted.
"We could just steal a pass and break in at night." Nathaniel said.
"But we don't know when it will be open." Michael told him, "It isn't like we have a Wanderer's Map."
"What is a Wanderer's Map?" George asked.
"It's one of our magical items." Nathaniel explained, "Its surface changes to give the user an accurate map of whatever country they're in. However, it can minimize to just a city or building, and when it's just the size of a building, you can see the positions of nearby creatures. You aren't able to see the names or races of the creatures, but you know they're there."
Around halfway through his explanation Michael noticed Fred and George jerk their heads to look suddenly at him.
"You have one?" George asked incredulously.
Nathaniel started laughing, "Yeah good one, obviously we don't."
Michael narrowed his eyes, I wonder, he thought, do all wizards find our dungeons and dragons stuff so fantastic? They live in a world of magic, but for REAL. It's starting to get annoying.
"Er, how about we continue with some more ideas." Fred suggested.
Oblivious to the change in topic, Nathaniel spat out a new one.
"What if we get an older student to get one for us? Since Alex didn't work because he's a first year, maybe a higher year student would work."
"That…is actually not a terrible idea." George said, shocked.
"Thank you." Nathaniel said proudly, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest.
"Why don't we just stick with that one, and consider the others if that one fails?" Michael suggested.
"Why not?" Fred said, shrugging.
Tessa chuckled as she finished her food and took out a book to read while she waited for everybody to finish up.
————————————————————
"Why are Fred and George still hanging around those little twerps?" A Gryffindor asked Percy Weasley.
They looked down the table where the Henderson's little group of six were talking.
Percy sighed and turned his head back to his food.
"I think my brothers find the opportunity for more pranks worth whatever it is those two ask of them. Hanging out with them is probably a small price to pay for the chaos these rumors are causing."
"You think the twins are aware of the rumors?" The Gryffindor asked.
Percy gave him a look, "Which pair? To answer your question, both sets should know about the rumors. There is no way that they have not at least heard of them."
The Gryffindor nodded, clearly thinking to himself.
"Alright then, my mission is clear."
"Wait what?" Percy asked.
The student got up and left the Great Hall, Percy's concerned look following him out.
————————————————————
Professor Snape grumpily finished his drink and sent his empty platter to the kitchens with a wave of his wand.
To his left, past Madam Hooch, Flitwick and McGonagall were whispering.
Having already cast a spell to enhance his hearing, listening in was trivial.
"What do you think they are planning?" McGonagall was asking.
"I am certain something having to do with the restricted section." Flitwick replied, chewing on a hardy potato.
He continued, "Anybody who has been paying attention would have put the pieces together between Mister Henderson and Mister Sykes both asking most of the professors for access."
McGonagall harrumphed, "I am sure that my student will be taking no part in whatever rules they will be breaking."
Chuckling, the diminutive professor asked, "Would you like to wager on that? I have several sickles left over from our last bid."
The head of Gryffindor house scowled, "You were lucky that the Defense professor was attacked by a wild animal rather than his incompetence exposed."
"He was rather incompetent for the job," Flitwick conceded, "He would have done well as a history professor though."
"Well, nobody is denying that."
Severus Snape withdrew his attention by that point. Pointless small talk was not what he was looking for.
He gave a pointed glare to the two sets of twins.
Seeing the look, Michael and Nathaniel waved aggressively at him, grinning happily and ticcing loudly.
"Five points from Hufflepuff for making a scene during breakfast." He muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, across the table, Professor Sprout noticed the cheerful children and smiled as well.
"Twenty points to Hufflepuff for bringing cheer to the room." She muttered quietly.
Across the room the group came to an agreement.
"So, we will all spy on older students and confer with each other about possible prospects in the meantime."
————————————————————
"No, Marcus Flint would be a stupid choice." Michael whispered, looking away from his telescope.
"I am now coming to the realization that I only know like three students names outside of our friends." Nathaniel said aloud.
Professor Sinistra shushed him.
"She sounds rather sinister, eh?" Michael whispered.
Nathaniel burst out laughing and choked on his spittle, then continued laughing.
After being shushed again, Nathaniel spoke back.
"Reminds me of the leader of the yellow lantern corps." He muttered.
Michael nodded, "By the way, have you finished that book we found? Can I read it now?"
Nathaniel shook his head.
Earlier that month they had found the defense against the dark arts section of the library, but not being the restricted section, they were fairly tame. Underneath the shelves, found by Nathaniel when he tripped and face planted, was a book called Advanced Methods of Protecting Yourself from the Dark.
They agreed that the one who would read it first would be the winner of the next jinx battle.
It happened the very next hour in front of the entire sword fighting class.
At the very same time, both said the word begin as they watched Professor Figglestone start a practice bout with a conjured and animated dummy.
Then, they said something along the lines of, Jinx!
Double jinx!
Triple jinx!
I'm not playing!
Jinx!
Double jinx!
I'm not playing!
Jinx!
Double jinx!
Triple jinx!
Quadruple jinx!
I'm not playing!
I'm not playing!
Jinx!
Double jinx!
Triple jinx!
Quadruple jinx!
Quintuple jinx!
I'm not playing!
Jinx!
I'm not playing!
Jinx!
Double jinx!
And as Michael's voice cracked, betraying him as his breath ran out, Nathaniel triumphantly finished with a triple jinx and shouted in victory.
"The book is mine!" He had said.
That had not helped the rumors.
The twins stopped reminiscing on that day as Professor Sinistra cleared her throat behind them and they rushed to correct where their telescopes were pointing.
"The only other older students whose names I know are Marcus Flint, Oliver Wood, and the Weasley's." Nathaniel admitted.
Michael rolled his eyes. Secretly though, he knew even less names.
They had their work cut out for them.
————————————————————
"Ah screw it, let's just try Oliver Wood."
————————————————————
"The forty-seventh meeting of our group will now commence!"
Tessa gave Nathaniel a look, "You keep count?"
Nathaniel turned to Tessa, confused, "No."
Michael spoke up, "Why would he keep count? It doesn't really matter, does it?"
"Well, no." Tessa admitted, "But-"
"Besides, it's one hundred and eleven." Michael interrupted.
Tessa started sputtering.
"No, I keep count. Nathaniel stinks at keeping count."
Fred and George wore matching grins, trying not to laugh. They knew the number was actually thirty-nine.
"Anyways." Alex said, "Tessa and I talked, and we have some ideas."
"Ideas for wha?" Nathaniel asked, trying to get something out from between two of his molars.
"Who to go to for access to the restricted section." Tessa said exasperatedly.
"We came up with three people, but one of them will probably expect some kind of payment to do it." Alex continued.
The Weasley twins made eye contact with each other. They had not done any work for this. They already knew that no one was going to agree to any kind of plan that involved not only the Weasley twins but also the two brothers that they had spread and inflamed so many rumors about.
Nathaniel growled as the slippery confection remained stubbornly stuck between his teeth.
"Well…" Michael said, "We just decided we would do Oliver."
"Who?" The Weasley twins asked in sync.
"Uh, Oliver Wood."
"Ohhhhh." Fred and George said.
Nathaniel's growling turned more frustrated.
"Go find a toothpick." Michael told his brother.
Nathaniel got up to search and they continued the conversation.
"Anyways, we just ended up picking him and later, I realized we actually have a way to possibly, maybe get him to agree." Michael said.
"Go on." Tessa said, hiding the annoyance that she had felt when she realized her work had been completely unnecessary.
Alex rolled with it.
"He has been trying to get Nathaniel to rematch him for a while, we could make him agree to obtain restricted section access in exchange for letting Oliver get that fight with him." The younger Henderson explained.
"I am not too sure that would work." Fred said.
"Yeah, Wood definitely will not make that deal." George confirmed.
Michael put a hand to his mouth, squishing his cheeks as he thought.
"FRICK!" Nathaniel yelled aggressively as the piece of food in his mouth yet evaded his efforts.
Nearly everyone in the Great Hall looked at Nathaniel, more than a few in fear.
"Twenty points from Hufflepuff for disturbing what otherwise would have been an ordinary supper." Professor Snape called out, "And I think detention tomorrow before supper to curb your anger."
All of that went in one ear and out the other for Nathaniel who was blinded by his rage.
Why won't this STUPID, , * * of * GET OUT OF MY TEETH!?
Were his only thoughts.
Nathaniel flung the toothpick he was using in a random direction out of frustration and left the Great Hall.
"MY EYE!" Someone screamed as the doors shut behind the Henderson.