“Do you have to keep mothering over him? Let the git sleep.” George threw the Quaffle he had found in one
of Draco’s closets up into the air and caught it again from where he was
reclining.
“There’s something wrong with him… I think he’s
crying.” Fred replied, not moving from
the vigil he had taken over the newly transformed boy. Draco’s Soul Form was the equivalent of a
warm fire that attracted every able-bodied moth; they had just gotten over
another frightening burst of someone knocking on the door to Draco’s room. Thankfully, the house elves had taken care
of it.
George sighed and rolled to his feet. Five days of fruitless exploration while
Draco continued to sleep had only proven how absolutely spoiled the Malfoy heir
was and how dull the whole enslavement thing was turning out to be. “Maybe he’s having a nightmare. I’m sure he’s seen enough to shake up that
pretty head of his.” He froze as he
caught sight of Draco’s teary face. “I
suppose he’s wishing he was dreaming.”
He muttered, sitting beside his brother and waiting for the soft sobs to
fade.
“Hush,” Fred whispered kindly. “It’s going to be alright.
No one here will hurt you.” He
carefully petted the silvery head; making sure to avoid the tender area the
white horns dusted with silver were in.
“Oh, I would if I could.”
George muttered but fell silent when Fred smacked him lightly.
“You’re not helping.
This is a very emotional time and he needs to feel safe and protected.”
George wisely kept his opinion of what Malfoy needed to
himself.
Fred caught his breath as startling silver eyes met
his. “Are you alright? Are you in pain?”
“Water.” Draco
managed to croak out, tears still streaming down his cheeks.
Fred gave him the glass he had at hand. Draco took it groggily, drinking what he
didn’t spill and splashing a bit to wipe his face clean. “Oh hell.”
He groaned, rolling his shoulders and stretching his back until it
cracked. Looking behind, he could see
the huge silvery wings that now graced his back. He wiped his eyes again.
“Hell… so that’s that; I’m a bloody freak.”
“Pretty much.”
George smirked up from where he was lying on the ground.
Draco ignored him and stretched again, lifting his upper
torso up with his arms. He was so busy
trying to get the kinks out from his ordeal and the following long sleep that
he didn’t realize the effect his leisurely movements had on the others in the
room. “Damn it.” He grumbled, twisting at his waist severely
with a satisfying snap. “These wings
are horrible. And what the hell
is…?” He gaped at the sleek appendage
sweeping on the floor. “A tail?” Scrambling to get a better look his arm gave
a painful lurch and he tumbled off the couch into a pile of Weasleys. “Oww!”
“Watch the horns!”
George yelped, his shoulder getting a nasty poke. “Ow, ow, oww!” Fred whimpered, his leg twisted in a painful angle and barely
avoiding a wing to his eye.
“Everyone, stop moving!”
Draco growled; his own eye hadn’t been so lucky. With a strange, elegant shudder, he flexed
his wings and pulled them back, closer and closer until they shifted just right
and slipped back into the magical cavity right below the skin on his back. It had barely hurt. He turned back to the awestruck pair. “Alright there?”
The twins nodded slowly.
“Good.” Draco smiled
grimly. “Now get some bloody clothes on
and get the fuck out of my room.” He
stood elegantly and immediately stumbled onto the couch. “Stupid legs.” He grumbled, flexing his toes carefully. “What are you two doing here anyways? If your intent is to kidnap and, or, rescue
me, you’ll have a hell of a time at it.”
“Trust me, when we get out we’re not dragging you along to
slow us down.” George snapped,
scrambling to his feet to hide the red flush on his cheeks.
“We’re not here by choice.
We were captured and given to you as a gift.” Fred called from where he was stretching his sore leg.
Draco narrowed his eyes.
“A gift?” He looked the twins
over carefully, taking in the thick collars.
Someone had a sick sense of humor.
“Tweeee!”
The house elf popped in immediately, startling the twins at
his close proximity. “You called,
Master Draco?”
Draco waved his hands, pointing at the Weasley twins
frantically as if it explained it all.
“Is there a problem with your gift, Master? The Dark Lord will not be pleased with your
disapproval and your father has given me strict orders not to allow you to do
something foolish, like release them from this room where the others can prey
on them.”
Draco swallowed back his angry retort; Twee was always a
little too snappish for his taste.
“Others?”
“The Dark Lord and his associates have taken up residence
here at the Manor indefinitely, sir.
You are not to leave these rooms either, by your father’s order.”
“What-wait…what?
They’re here, in my house? Why the hell-I’m trapped in my own house!”
“You will stay in your rooms, Master Draco.” Twee gave Draco a stern look.
Draco snarled, eyes flashing red behind his mess of silver
hair. “I want to speak with my
father. Now.”
“I will see what can be done. Your food will be ready for you once you have cleaned up,
Master. Remember, you are in a fragile
state right now and magic is a danger.
Do not do something that can get you killed; your parents will be very
displeased.” Twee gave a curt bow and
popped out before the pillow Draco had thrown could hit him.
“I’m not daft, you little squirt!” Draco snarled where the elf had disappeared. Bloody house elves; Twee was such an ass.
Sighing, Draco stared glumly back at the two Weasley
twins. They were staring at him
dazedly, eyes bright with a look that sent his nerves buzzing. It also left him quite aware that he wasn’t
wearing a single stitch. Refusing to
let himself be embarrassed in his own room, he fixed them with a halfhearted
glare. “Listen, this wasn’t my
idea. I have as much say as you do in
the whole thing.”
“We know.” One of them smiled.
Draco blinked. “Uh…
right. Now about your clothes…”
“Don’t bother.” The
other one waved dismissively. “We’re
fine. Wouldn’t want to get you in
trouble and all.”
“Yeah but…” He trailed off, making a point not to look at
the interested parties.
“Ah, well that’s your own fault, Veela boy.” The second one snapped, grabbing the tossed
pillow to hide his erection.
“You might want to turn it down a bit.” The first one whispered softly.
“Which one are you?”
Draco asked the more agreeable twin.
“Fred.”
“So that makes you George.”
Draco nodded. “You’re obviously
the evil twin.” He dismissed George’s
surprised splutter. “I don’t know what
you know about all this but I’m not in control of anything right now. Genetic memory only goes so far and my
Malfoy blood is reacting oddly with my Black blood causing unexpected
problems. Keeping this in mind, I
suggest you don’t do anything to piss me off for I can’t say how I will
respond.” He stood and swept across the
room, his sleek tail shimmering behind him.
“For now we will inform your parents of this odd turn of events. We wouldn’t want them doing something
foolish while fearing for your lives, now would we.”
Fred and George exchanged surprised glances. They had expected Malfoy to throw them out
on their bare arses, if anything, just to spite the house elf. “…Cool.”
“I’ll speak with father about the clothing issue when I
can. I think he’s keeping me in
isolation at the moment, as a safety precaution… doesn’t help you two
much. You’re really going to need some
clothes.” He riffled through his desk
and pulled out a piece of parchment and quill, once again missing an exchange
of worried glances.
He would keep it brief.
The more details the more false hope the Weasley family would get. As the same with too little, too much hope
would only force them into action.
After some deliberation he settled for this,
Weasleys,
We’ve had to stay our vacation indefinitely. Luckily the wonderful spire hynes have drawn
our responsible eye. Weather is stormy
but we’ve secured provisional shelter and all are well. Must run.
Hope you can wait for our next letter.
“Come on now, one of you sign it with some recognizable
alias. They won’t trust it without
familiar handwriting.” He waved them
over. Fred signed while George reread
the letter.
“Rather brilliant, I didn’t realize you knew our house code,
Malfoy.” George nodded
approvingly. Spire hynes were a type of
dragon that were once rumored to guard the Blacks thousands of years ago.
“Eyes on my face, evil Weasel.”
“-Malfoy!” George
yelped while Fred broke down laughing.
With a low whistle combination Draco called his smaller,
less recognizable owl, Trill. She was a
powdery gray that you never seemed to notice until she was right atop you,
perfect for this job. “I’m afraid
you’ll have to take some detours to and from, Trill. This is top security, understand?” Trill hooted softly and gave a gentle nip to his finger. “Good girl.
Be careful now.” With a flutter
Trill had taken to the sky, message safe in talons.
He turned back to the two twins who were watching him
openly. Gods only knew what he was
going to do with these two; they were hardly within the standards of the normal
company he choose to keep. But he
didn’t really enjoy most of his acquaintances anyways. At least the two had a superior pedigree and
didn’t seem to be dull witted. He also
remembered a certain wicked prank they had played on Umbridge… all in all they
were satisfactory.
But first… “Honestly, chaps, keep your eyes above the
neck.”
“Can you blame us?” Fred murmured, eyes traveling over
Draco’s body.
“I know; you’re so… brilliant looking.”
Draco looked down, noting the new glow to his skin and the
strange patterns of light feathers trailing where his body hair used to
be. “Eh, kinda freaky…” He turned and
walked over to his full-length mirror.
“Shit, my hair!” He whimpered,
pulling at the tangled silver mess matted with blood.
He had gotten taller he noticed with a small grin; he had to
be at least 5’8”. With the right shoes
he may stop looking like a dwarf around Crabbe and Goyle now. Besides that and the weird ‘additions’ he
really didn’t see a huge difference.
His face was a little more interesting; the long elegant horns framed
him magnificently and added to the illusion of great height. He froze, a light growing in his silvery
eyes and making his mind spin for a moment until he pulled away. Err… he’d have to be careful with that. Avoiding his eyes in the glass, he trailed
his gaze down. His body was longer and
he had gained a taunt layer of muscle over his frame but he was still nicely
thin. Not surprising, flyers tended to
have steal muscles without the bulk.
Too bad he wouldn’t be able to test the theory with the limited air
space.
A flash of silver caught his eye and he turned sideways to
watch his tail twitch. He played with
it; curling it up and then letting it unravel back down to the floor. He had assumed it would be very reptilian
like a dragon’s but there was little flesh to it just like the rest of him. Instead it was slender with bright skin that
was quickly replaced with silver scales and finally a sleek tuft of long
feathers at the end. If he was the type
to dust, he now had the perfect tail for it.
It also had the added benefit of making his butt look completely
adorable. Twisting, he eyed it
contentedly. Very nice.
“I think I can get used to this.” He chirped, happier than when he had woken. With some focus he was able to slip back to
a more human form, surprising himself when he realized he missed the cute tip
to his ears. The blood was not cute
though and he had to get it out of his knee length hair before it permanently
stained the silver white locks.
Decided, he turned, ignoring the stares from the twins. “I’m in here. If someone comes to the door get me. Don’t open it for anyone… do stop staring.” He sighed when the boys refused to
blink. “I look practically human so you
have no excuse now.”
“Except that tight sweet a- ouch.” George grabbed his arm from where Fred had pinched him. “What?
It’s true.” He leered as Draco
walked across the room.
“You’re freaking him out.”
Fred hissed but couldn’t stop from watching Draco either.
Draco rolled his eyes at their antics. “Excuse me if I don’t roll over and beg you
to bugger me but I’m off for a shower.”
He grumbled and stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door behind
him. A moment later he burst back out
the door with a roar. “Twee!”
“Master Draco, I told you there was nothing I could-”
“Forget that, clean up the bathroom. My houseguests haven’t learned the concept
of cleaning up after themselves.” Draco
interrupted before the newly arrived house elf could ramble off about how
unreasonable he was being. He made sure
to send his most deadly glare at the two Weasleys who, for their own part,
looked somewhat abashed, while Twee went to work cleaning up the mess.
“Thank you Twee. If
you wouldn’t mind cleaning up the other rooms before you leave and bringing me
some more desense salve, I’d be most obliged.”
Draco said, walking into the now restored bathroom.
“Of course, Master Draco.”
Twee bowed and got to work, virtually ignoring the other two
occupants. The bed was repaired and
remade, and the carpets and walls quickly cleaned of the dry blood. The sitting room, lounge, and closets had
been untouched since they had been locked but Twee gave them a once over
anyways, just to make sure no dust lingered.
He called for Ricket and together they began setting up the feast that
Draco would need once his stomach made itself known in the sitting room.
*******
“They do take good care of the git.” George muttered, eating his own far less
decadent meal at the small table in the bedroom like they had every day
there. What he wouldn’t give for his
mom’s home cooked meals. The food they
brought him here was so rich it turned his stomach. It was surprising the whole family wasn’t roly-poly, eating this
food every day.
“I suppose they have to…
He’s a lot different than I expected.”
Pushing his food around on his plate, Fred was more interested at
watching George shift uncomfortably in his seat. The throw pillow had been discarded but obviously his brother
still needed it. He contemplated
offering him a hand, his bottom lip worried between his teeth. Probably best to let him ask for help just
in case. With a sigh he laid his head
on the table, eyes still on George while he ate.
George nodded. “I
almost like him; how horrible is that!
What do you suppose he’ll do with us?
As fancy as this place is I’d rather get home to our shop and get things
going. We’re already behind schedule
and being tortured and dead won’t really help much.”
Fred shrugged, using his fork to scratch slowly on his
plate. “I don’t know. He seems pretty reasonable… but back at
school he was quite the cowardly git.
Harry clashed with him quite a bit so you know he must be a bad
egg. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Harry
quite so mad as when they fought…”
“Hmm, it was kind of kiddy stuff though. That dementor stunt blew up right in his
face.” George chuckled at the
memory. “Brutal.”
“I don’t recall it being that funny at all.” Draco drawled from the bathroom
doorway. They whirled to find him clean
and pulling on a blue robe, his hair wrapped in a towel. “And Potter isn’t quite the saint everyone
will have you believe. He’s started his
own fights just like any other boy.”
“You can’t possibly be comparing Harry to your level?” George snorted, momentarily disregarding the
amazing hearing the boy had.
“Hardly.” Draco
barked in amusement. “I’m just pointing
out your logic is flawed. No Slytherin
will ever be friendly with Potter.”
“Why not? We’ve had
Slytherin friends, why not Harry?” Fred
asked, his curiosity perked. “Harry’s
got the lineage and he’s the type to fit in with any group.”
“Yes, yes, he’s quite the wonder.” Draco sighed walking to the sitting room. “Thank the gods, food.” He turned with a frown on his face. “Why are you sitting there? Get your freckly arses in here.”
The twins shrugged and followed Draco into the sitting room
with their plates in hand. “Staring at
our asses, have you?” George piped,
pouring himself a cup of tea.
“I don’t have them ingrained in my memory like you have
mine.” Draco replied with a dry
grin. “As for Potter, there’s this
annoying psycho that goes about calling himself the Dark Lord who intends to
kill him. No Slytherin will ever be
stupid enough to show any public support for Potter.”
Fred thought about that for a moment. “So… you support him?”
Draco raised a brow.
“So what’s this about a shop?
Have the two of you decided to stop harassing the general public and
conformed to management jobs? I think
I’m a little disappointed.”
Getting the drift, they let the subject slip. “Actually we’ll now be profiting from our
pranks; with the added ability to harass people all throughout England and
eventually beyond.”
“A joke shop?” Draco
asked, a genuine smile crossing his face.
“You’ll have to be good, Zonko’s cornered the market for twenty years
ever since they bought out AbraKa.”
“Oh, we’re good.”
Glad to talk with someone in the know, the twins chatted happily. “Zonko’s too traditional; they refuse to
change their products. We, on the other
hand, are going the creative route. Our
goal is to finally get the older generation back into the game. Too bad about Sirius, he would have been a
great spokesperson.” George
reflected.
“Dumbledore never would have allowed it.” Fred replied. “But now we could do it, like an homage… Maybe we could name the
mad escape line after him. Bet Harry
would like that.”
“Er, hard to tell with Harry; Sirius is a touchy subject
with him.”
“He could love it too.
I mean it’s an homage, who wouldn’t like that?” Undecided the twins turned to Draco
questioningly.
“Must it always come back to Potter?” Draco sighed. He thought about what he knew about his former cousin. “Name it Grim Escape after that mutt he can
turn into and plaster Black’s face on it.
The kiddies will eat it up, Potter will hopefully be offended, and
everyone wins.”
“Hey, not bad, Malfoy.
You’ve got a mind for this… but only if Harry agrees.” George mussed.
Draco rolled his eyes and ate another muffin. “You lot are obsessed with him.”
Fred snorted, whispering, “You’re one to talk,” under his
breath. From Draco’s glare, he knew he
had heard but George went on heedlessly.
“Hey, he’s funding us.
Even if he weren’t the boy-who-lived we’d still love him like a
brother. Too bad, you Slytherins will
never know him like that.”
“Hmm, I don’t know.
I was under the impression that very few people truly understood him,
Gryffindor or not.” Draco murmured, reaching
for the steak while keeping a sharp eye on Fred, daring him to comment. “Quidditch was the only thing where he was
just himself… but Umbridge got him there.
So, where is this monstrosity of human deviousness? Not Knockturn Alley I hope? They haven’t let new blood into Diagon Alley
for ages.”
“We’re cleaning up the old lair in Pentacle Alley, you know,
the Warren.”
“We’re not pretending we know what goes on in his head. He’s like family to us though; we’re not the
star-struck teenagers and delusional masses.”
George cut in defensively.
Draco nodded mutely at George but continued with the safer
small talk. Potter was not a smart
discussion topic with Death Eaters in the house and honestly, it bugged
him. “The Warren is a good house. Are the wards still stable?”
“Springy as new. The
house itself is breaking apart but the elder Weasleys will be helping with
construction. We’re going to put the
store on the ground floor and ward the rest of the house from it. Keeps the rats out.”
“Yes… you seemed to have found the biggest rat on your own
though.” Draco waved vaguely. “Eat if you like. The house elves always go overboard.”
“That was my fault.”
Fred scowled. “I was so caught
up with the Domin I missed that fucking Pettigrew. Should have fed him that botched batch of Lava Lollies when we
had the chance.”
“What the hell is with them anyways?” George growled, the muffin in his hands
crumbling. “The Domin know he isn’t the
Heir; why are they interfering? Voldie
isn’t powerful enough to mess with the other realms. They have no right to be helping him.”
“You talked with one?”
Looking up, George realized he had Malfoy’s full
attention. “Yeah, I tried to. I was mostly pleading for the bastard to let
me take Fred away; he was willing to let me go alone, but we touched on some
shady stuff…” He was distracted by Fred beaming at him. “Um, I practically accused him of being
afraid and he nearly suffocated me… I think I hit on something… What… I think-
What’s with you? Quit that goofy smile.” He nudged Fred with his elbow. Fred just continued smiling and wrapped his
arms around his twin’s shoulders.
“What… quit-!” The extra weight
was too much and they fell over with a plop onto the sofa.
“You saved me.” Fred
said, smiling down at him brighter than ever.
“No, I just nearly got myself killed and both of us
captured.” George replied completely
honest. “I totally failed.”
“But you didn’t run.”
Fred whispered, plucking at his brother’s curled fringe and nuzzling
into his neck.
“Well no… but why would I want to live with you gone?” George asked as if it was the most obvious
thing in the world. Fred just stared at
him dazedly, amazed that no matter how inept at times, George could always say
the right thing.
“I think I just got a cavity from all the sweetness.” Draco murmured to no one in particular and
grabbed another chicken leg. It was all
rather cute; too bad he didn’t have a camera.
Made him wish he had had a sibling to grow up with, someone to share his
dreams and problems with… He glanced up when George made a strained gulping
noise.
Hmmm…
He tilted his head sideways as if a different perspective
would change the scene. Nope, they were
still kissing.
Hmmm…
With a shrug he went back to his plate, taking a big swig of
tea and decidedly disregarding the two.
…Where had he left that camera?
*******
“Wait.” George
gasped, shakily pulling away from Fred’s persistent mouth with a soft smacking
sound. “I thought… um, didn’t we decide
that we weren’t going to do this anymore?”
He whispered, staring intently at a freckle on Fred’s shoulder.
“Oh…” Fred licked his lips thoughtfully. “Does it bother you that much? I figured…”
“Bother?” George
gaped incredulously. “It doesn’t bother
me, you idiot. You’re the one who
wanted to see what it would be like to be apart, have a girlfriend slash
boyfriend and stuff. I’m just going by
what you said.” He finished with a
huff.
Shrugging, Fred settled on George’s chest and began tracing
random patterns on his skin. “That was
years ago. I’m pretty much over that…
I-I just wanted to make sure, I guess.”
“Sure of what?”
George asked distractedly as a warm hand slid over his abdomen.
“Well… that it wasn’t just a phase or something. I mean; I was worried that I only felt that
way because you were there. The
other girls and guys were nice but…” He stopped to stare down at George’s
flushed face. “They can’t even compare…
If it bothers you though…”
“What did I just tell you?”
George growled, pulling his brother closer and pecking his lips. “Now, are we talking about forever here, or
will you be running off at the next pretty face?”
“You really meant it then?”
Fred smiled hesitantly. “You’d
wait for me…”
“Always. I’d never
lie to you.” George slid his hands up
Fred’s arms, his expression gone serious.
“It’s just… I don’t share well.
It was bad enough letting you go the first time-you can’t even imagine
the hell I was going through when I realized we’d finally have a house to
ourselves without a school full of kids or mum to interrupt…” He laughed
nervously. “I can’t go through all that
again… so, be sure this time.”
“So that was what all the fuss was…” Fred whispered. “I was worried about something similar. I-I can handle forever. I think I’d rather prefer it.” With a small smile, he leaned down and
sealed the promise with a very enthusiastic kiss.
“If you two are going to continue, would you kindly move it
away from my food?” Draco muttered,
pulling a basket of rolls away before a wayward knee struck them.
“What’s the matter, Veela boy; you aren’t going to join in?”
George taunted, licking Fred’s nipple lewdly and wagging his eyebrows.
Draco raised an eyebrow and took a bite of bread. “Thought you didn’t share, Evil Weasel?”
“Oh… you’re an exception…” Fred moaned, grasping at George’s
coppery hair to keep him focused.
“Hell, Forge! Ah, you’re the
only one who can get that right.” With
an insistent tug, he found his brother’s mouth again and pressed down while he
slid his body back against him so they could wrap together perfectly
“Forge? Kinda killed
the innocence of that nickname.” Draco
snorted, his eyes glowing soft silver as he searched around for something else
to eat before settling on an apple. He
looked back at the two and immediately paled.
“Ew, eww, you’re killing it!” He
gasped, flinching away from the scene.
“…Wha?” The
Slytherin was screeching so loudly George was forced to stop what he was doing
and glare. “What’s your deal?”
“The biting thing!
What the hell is wrong with you?
No teeth… just ew!” Draco
shuddered, refusing to look at the marks that were quickly appearing on Fred’s
neck and chest.
George and Fred exchanged glances before smiling darkly at
Draco. “You’re a virgin!”
“Of course I’m a virgin; I think I would have remembered
getting married.” Draco huffed. “The consequences of breaking my prenuptial
contract is just a little too dire for me to be shagging anyone in an empty
classroom… Wait, this isn’t about me.
This is about the whole…” He froze, eyes caught on the small wound that
had opened up on George’s lip that Fred was quick to lick up. “Eeeewwww!”
Panting, Fred whispered thoughtfully to his brother. “Too bad we can’t teach him a thing or
two. Those marriage contracts can be
thorny.”
“He can always watch…” George shrugged, turning to eye Draco
appraisingly. “What do you say,
Malfoy? Wanna see a show of a
lifetime?”
“What is want is for you two to get the hell out of here so
I can keep my food down.” Draco
growled, grabbing each by an arm and pushing them into the bedroom. “And clean the sheets when you’re done or
I’ll never let you use the bed again.”
He shut the door behind him, leaving the twins dumbfounded on the
carpet.
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