The Black Twins

Chapter 3

We left the bank in rather mixed moods. On the one hand, we were extremely pleased with the inheritance we had received, but on the other hand, it was a bit stressful how many problems our last name would cause us, that even McGonagall decided to have a separate talk with us. However, even if there were problems, we would not want to change our origins for anything.

We don't remember our family from our past life, or ourselves either, but if there is one quality that we consider one of the most important, it is loyalty. And although our ancestors might not like the way we plan to live, at least we will not betray our family and will definitely get Sirius out of prison, and then we will make sure to clear our father's name.

"First of all, we should go to Madam Malkin's studio," McGonagall's voice pulled us out of our thoughts .

- Hagrid, are you still able to accompany us? - The professor's doubts were quite understandable. After all, Hagrid's face was really pale.

- Uh, yes... I mean, no... I need to rest a little after this hellish cart. - the forester answered.

- In that case, why don't you return to Hogwarts? I can easily bring Mr. Potter home once the shopping is done.

- But how is this possible... I have to see him off... and tell him a lot of things. - the forester was upset.

- Haaah , in that case, we'll meet at Fortescue 's after we've finished shopping. Perhaps it really would be better if Mr. Potter knew a little more about the wizarding side. - The professor sighed, taking pity on Hagrid, who looked too pathetic .

- Of course! I'll just have time to knock back a couple of glasses in a leaky cauldron. - the giant perked up and moved towards the tavern, not noticing how the expression on the professor's face changed , her lips compressed into a thin line of displeasure. She really didn't like that, of all the options, Hagrid decided to choose a drink in the tavern.

Madame Malkin's shop was really well located, because from the very exit from the bank the sign of her shop immediately caught the eye and, perhaps, even if there were other clothing stores in Diagon Alley, most would not even look for it.

When we entered inside we were immediately met by a rather squat, smiling sorceress in a pink dress.

- Professor McGonagall, I see there will be a large addition to Hogwarts this year?

"Yes, this year is probably special," the professor agreed, before giving us a gentle nudge forward. "Pick out some uniforms for these kids, and I'll go get the rest of the stuff."

- Of course, of course, I just have another client on his way to school, - the woman said cheerfully. - Come in, children.

- Wait, Professor McGonagall. What about the money? - we hastened to ask, seeing how she was already about to leave.

- The rest will be bought with the money allocated by the school, don't worry, and since you'll take the uniform yourself, I'll select suitable additional literature for you. - the professor answered and left without waiting for our answer.

"That's strange," we muttered.

- Children, don't linger, let's move on. - Malkin urged us inside the store, where the pale boy was already. It was enough to look at his head to understand that this platinum blond was Malfoy. Enchanted instruments were circling around him, taking his measurements and writing down the results in a small notebook.

- Hi! Going to Hogwarts too?

"Yes," Harry answered for us.

"My dad is buying me textbooks now, and my mother is looking at wands," the boy said, deliberately drawing out his words. "And then I'm going to take them to look at racing brooms. I don't understand why first years can't have them. I think I'll manage to convince my dad to buy me one... and then I'll sneak it into school somehow."

- Do you have your own brooms?

"No," Harry shook his head.

- We don't have it yet either, but we plan to buy it by next year.

- Do you play Quidditch? - Malfoy asked again.

"No," Harry answered, slightly confused, having never even heard such a word before.

- No, but I think we should be able to do well, - we answered through our brother. - We have been fencing since we were six.

- Fencing? I remember my father wanted to hire me a teacher, too, but I refused. - Malfoy waved his hand, grimacing slightly. - It's too boring, but Quidditch is another matter. My father says it would be a crime if I wasn't accepted to the faculty team, and you know what, I agree with him. Do you already know what faculty you'll be in?

Poor Harry, embarrassed that he didn't know anything, didn't even answer this time, but simply shook his head.

- Gryffindor? - the sister suggested.

- Or maybe Ravenclaw, - added the brother.

- Hmm, but I'm sure I'll be in Slytherin, my whole family was there. And imagine what would have happened if we'd ended up in Hufflepuff. I'd probably leave school right away.

- You shouldn't say that, - we shook our heads. - In terms of convenience, it's hard to find a better faculty than Hufflepuff .

- Although almost our entire family was in Slytherin and only my uncle was in Gryffindor.

- What's your name? I'm Draco Malfoy, - asked the boy, looking at us strangely.

- We, our dear cousin, are Vega Black, - we answered with a cold smile.

- Huh? But dad said that there are no more Blacks . - the guy was confused.

- Unfortunately for your father, that is not the case. - We snorted, losing any semblance of goodwill in our tone. We had long ago decided for ourselves that the Malfoy line would wash itself in blood, for all our brothers and sisters who had been killed. In truth, if Kreacher had not been so useful, we would have gotten rid of him. We still remember the shock we experienced when we learned how many children had been killed by those bastards. It was the first time we even allowed ourselves to punish Kreacher. After all, just think, the line was close to complete extinction, and he was personally helping the enemy kill those in whose blood the Black family flows.

- Do you have any problems? - Malfoy frowned, dissatisfied with our attitude.

- Ask your father why he used our late father's house elf, maybe you'll find out what problems we have.

"Look!" Harry suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the window where Hagrid was standing with several ice cream cones in his hands.

- Who is this? - Malfoy was distracted by the giant.

"That's Hagrid," Harry explained, pleased to have managed to interrupt our increasingly heated conversation. "He works at Hogwarts."

- Ahh , - Draco drawled. - I've heard of him, he's some kind of servant there, right?

"He's a forester," Harry answered dryly.

- Yeah, right. I heard he's a real savage. Lives in a hut on the school grounds and gets drunk every now and then and tries to do magic, and it all ends with his own bed catching fire.

"I personally like him very much," Harry countered coldly.

- Hagrid really does seem like a good man. And we're not interested in rumors - we've put in our two cents.

- Really ? - A contemptuous grin appeared on the boy's face. - Why is he with you? Where are your parents?

"They died," Harry answered shortly, not wanting to talk about it.

- Obviously, too. - we answered, slightly pursing our lips in response to his gaze.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said, although it didn't sound like he regretted anything.

"But were they ours or not?" he asked Harry.

- They were wizards, if that's what you mean.

- To be honest, I don't understand why the school accepts not only people like us, but also children from other families. They are different and don't understand anything about our world. - Malfoy said, which had just successfully earned Harry Potter's dislike.

- Everything is ready. - The arrival of the store owner stopped the possible squabble.

- Well, we'll see you at school. - Malfoy said calmly heading for the exit and seeing how smug he was, we decided to bring him down to earth a little. It took only one small movement of a finger to use the levitation charm and the boy stumbled with a crash, falling to the floor.

"Oh my God, are you all right?" Madame Malkin hurried to help him up.

"I'm fine!" Draco snapped and ran out into the street.

- How rude. - the woman frowned, before immediately making a friendly smile and turning to us while suggestively looking Harry up and down. - Do you need anything else besides the standard school kit?

- Probably not... - before Potter could refuse, we interrupted him.

- Can you please help us choose 3 sets of casual clothes and one for going out? Money is not a problem.

- For everyone? - Madame Malkin clarified.

- Yes, the main thing is that the clothes are comfortable and you can walk around calmly among Muggles in them, in everything else we will trust your taste.

"But…" Harry began uncertainly, glancing at Hagrid, who was waiting for us outside the window.

- We will pay for everything. - We intervened again.

- Okay. I have your measurements, so come in an hour and pay for everything at once.

"Okay," we agreed and dragged Harry along with us to the exit.

"Why did you do this?" the disgruntled boy asked us as soon as we walked out the door.

- Harry, I'm sorry, but just looking at you, it's immediately obvious that you don't have normal clothes. Most likely, you weren't as lucky with the shelter as we were, but now you already have money, which means you don't have to wear rags. - We tried to get our point across to him.

- But why did you say you would pay for everything then?

- Harry, is something wrong? - Hagrid asked, approaching and apparently having already accused us of all the deadly sins, judging by the suspicious way he looked at us.

"Nothing like that," Harry shook his head.

- Really?

"We met Malfoy," we said, as if that should explain everything. After that, Harry seemed to have broken through the platinum, and he began to tell us about our meeting with the pureblood.

- And he also said that Muggle children shouldn't be accepted into school, and...

- Wait, first of all, here you go, - Hagrid began in a serious tone, handing each of us an ice cream cone, for which he received gratitude.

- And secondly, you yourself are not a Muggle, - he continued. - This boy should know who you are... He has known your name since childhood, if he is one of ours... You saw how they greeted you at the Leaky Cauldron. And he doesn't understand anything about this, does he! Believe me, among the best wizards there are those who were born of Muggles and lived with them. Just take your mother for example .

- What's so special about Slytherin and Hufflepuff?

- Well, they say about Hufflepuff that the dumbest people study there, but...

"I bet I'll be in Hufflepuff," Harry said grimly.

- Wait. - We intervened, seeing that Hagrid was so successful in confusing Potter. - Hagrid, you are clearly being unfair to Hufflepuff. The sorting is not based on knowledge, but on character, and as far as I remember it was like this. Gryffindor - brave and honest, Ravenclaw - smart and inquisitive, Hufflepuff - diligent and loyal, Slytherin - cunning and independent.

- You said it well... You remind me of the twins from Gryffindor , those red-haired scoundrels also like to talk at the same time, only you seem smarter, yes.

"Thank you?" we said hesitantly.

- So there is no bad faculty? - asked Harry, who no longer understood anything.

- Well, how can I say... - Hagrid scratched his head, looking at us. It seemed he was a little ashamed of how he introduced Hufflepuff.

"There is actually a house that is best avoided," we decided to say, because the last thing we needed was for Harry Potter to end up in Slytherin because of us.

"Which one?" Harry asked quickly.

- Slytherin. Although there are good people there like our father Regulus Black, there are also many like Malfoy. Muggle-haters, blood purists, children of Voldemort's followers...

- Be quiet. Look at what you've thought up, we can't say his name, you'll alarm the people. - Hagrid suddenly remembered.

- Hagrid, we are not going to be afraid of the name of our enemy, - we answered childishly stubbornly.

- The enemy? But Blackie... - the giant began to speak confusedly, but we interrupted him.

- Our father died fighting against him. - We frowned. - And now I will explain why Slytherin is bad using our father as an example. Under the influence of the faculty, our father, like many others, became a Death Eater, but he had enough conscience to change his mind and it cost him his life.

We finished abruptly, with our mood completely spoiled.

- It's ... I remember your father, at that time you-know-who, hadn't yet moved on to active actions. He seemed like a good guy, yes. - Hagrid tried to be polite.

- No need, Hagrid, we understand perfectly well the conditions in which our father grew up. And we are proud that despite this, he was able to come to his senses and perform a real feat.

- It's ... - Hagrid, not knowing what to say, exchanged uncertain glances with Harry, while we quietly ate our ice cream, not wanting to talk about anything, even though we understood that we had ruined our own mood for no reason.

- Hagrid? Are you feeling better yet? - Professor McGonagall's voice sounded slightly surprised.

- Of course, I'm strong... I just... needed to catch my breath, yeah... and so I decided to bring some ice cream to the kids. - Hagrid answered her, pleased that he had the opportunity to break the awkward atmosphere that had hung because of us.

- Did you receive your uniform? - the professor asked us.

- Um, no. - Harry scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

- Haaaah . Our uniform has been made, but we will need to come back to pick it up along with the rest of the clothes that are being prepared for us. - Having sighed heavily because of his answer, we still had to explain everything ourselves.

- It's good that you thought about it. - McGonagall nodded with satisfaction, after a quick inspection of the boy, who was dressed in baggy pants and a sweater, not to mention old, worn-out shoes. His very appearance hinted that he was from a very poor family, who could not even afford clothes.

- Here's everything you need for school. - The professor waved her wand, after which three reduced stacks of textbooks flew out of her pocket along with other school supplies, which with the next wave returned to their normal size. - Since you have somewhere to put everything, there is no point in buying a suitcase.

- So children, it's time for our main stop for today. It's time for you to get your wand. - With a slight smile on her lips, the professor told us when everything was put away in the purses with invisible expansion.

And while we were certainly interested in getting our own wand, having had experience using magic without one, as well as some not-so-pleasant theories from our past lives involving wands, we were a little skeptical, unlike Harry, who was extremely excited.

- Is something wrong? - the professor asked us, expecting a slightly different reaction.

"No, it's fine," we shook our heads before asking cautiously, "Is a wand really necessary for magic?"

- Outstanding wizards and witches are undoubtedly capable of using magic without a wand, but mastering even one spell to such a level requires an unreasonably long time, during which with a wand you can achieve many times more, while the spells cast with a wand will always be more powerful. Will this answer satisfy you?

- Yes, thank you for the explanation, professor. - we thanked him.

- In that case, it's time for us to go.

Soon, we found ourselves in front of a rather old, shabby shop. Its sign read "The Ollivander Family - Wandmakers Since 382 B.C." and only small gold flakes hinted that these words had once been covered in gold. And in the window, the attention of passers-by could see only one single wand, lying on a faded purple cushion.

As we walked inside, a bell rang somewhere in the back of the store. The space was tiny and completely empty, save for a counter and literally thousands of boxes that covered the walls from floor to ceiling.

In the air, despite the silence, there was a strange tension that it even seemed to us that the wall to the right of us periodically emitted a barely audible ringing. This ringing was both eerie and attractive, literally riveting our gaze to that place.

- Good afternoon, - a quiet voice rang out from behind us. It was so unexpected that we screamed in fright, immediately breaking the distance with the speaker.

And he was a long-haired old man, with eerie and almost colorless eyes, which, as it seemed to us, even glowed a little in the semi-darkness of the store.

"Hello," we answered slowly, swallowing nervously.

- Do you hear them? Their ringing, wands that have been waiting for their mate for a long time? - Ollivander asked, coming closer.

- Y-yes. - They nodded sharply, feeling extremely uncomfortable under his gaze.

- Show me where.

After a slight hesitation, we looked at McGonagall, who was watching what was happening with curiosity, and only when she nodded in response, we hesitantly moved towards the wall, hearing the quiet ringing better and better with each step, and finally pointed to the same box.

- Here? Excellent. - Ollivander immediately pulled out a drawer, from which he took out two long crusts and put them in front of us. - Try them.

Inside the boxes were absolutely identical, perfectly straight, long black sticks with a silver lily of the valley pattern on the handle. Taking these sticks in our hands, a pleasant freshness seemed to spread through our bodies, and a cool breeze swirled around us. It seemed as if these sticks were akin to an extension of our hands, an irreplaceable part of the body that you do not want to part with.

- 17 inches, flexible, cedar and dragon heart string. My father said that Cedar wands are suitable for strong and insightful people who value loyalty. However, I can also say that, according to my observations, such wands were possessed by rather vengeful natures . Those who should not be crossed, and if you harm their loved ones, you can find an enemy more terrible than which it is difficult to find, especially in combination with the dragon heart string.

- However, it is very curious. - Ollivander leaned sharply towards his brother, looking intently into his eyes, from which we automatically simultaneously recoiled, causing a satisfied nod and a mysterious smile on the old man's face.

"Mr. Ollivander, you are overdoing it," McGonagall intervened icily.

- I beg your pardon, the clients are very curious, - the wand master answered with a smile that never left his face.

- You see, my father made these wands back in his day, but wand makers don't just make twin wands. This makes the conditions for finding a pair for such wands almost impossible. And yet, not even a century has passed since they found theirs. - Ollivander looked at us again, focusing on his sister's eyes.

- What conditions? - Harry asked curiously, to which we could only frown, you don't have to be a genius to understand what conditions he was talking about if you know about our situation.

- I'm afraid, Mr. Potter, this information is too personal for me to have the right to divulge it.

Our further walk along Diagon Alley was quite ordinary for us. Potter received the same wand as in canon. The sets of clothes were simply stunning, and in addition, with a size adjustment. And by the way, yes, Harry paid for his clothes himself, he understood our arguments about the need for a diligent appearance, but having money, he wanted to pay for himself, which we did not even think to argue about, because in some way it was a test, would he take it for granted? And if this really happened, then we would strongly doubt the advisability of starting a friendly relationship with him. In the end, Harry and I agreed to meet at the station, after which Professor McGonagall delivered us to the orphanage, and Harry to the Dursleys' house.

Meeting Ollivander made us think seriously about everything when we returned to our room. We remember from a past life the phrase that the eyes are the mirror of the soul, but we certainly did not think that someone would be able to just reveal our secret. Still, no matter how we behave, our situation is so unusual, and also, as Ollivander said, almost impossible, that even if we tell someone about it directly, they most likely will not believe it. However, our today made us think about changing the way we will interact with others. And also about our behavior.

We were too impulsive and stupid, especially when we talked to Malfoy and when we talked about our father. It already put us in danger. For this reason, we had to start packing earlier than we thought.

- Kreacher, - we called, after which the house elf appeared in front of us with a quiet pop.

- Send us home.

"As you command," the elf bowed.

5 minutes later.

"Knock-knock"

Knocked on the door before starting to open it.

- Vega, someone has come to see you... - a joyful Madame Carter appeared in the doorway, ready to share news that would undoubtedly be joyful for any orphan.

Only she was met by an almost completely empty room with no light and only one note on the desk. She turned on the light and went over to read what was written there.

- How is that possible? - the woman gasped in concern after finishing reading, when a married couple suddenly entered the room behind her, consisting of an elegant platinum blond and a charming blue-eyed blonde to match.

"Did something happen?" the woman asked worriedly, immediately noticing that the children were not in the room.

"They ran away," the teacher answered, confused, holding a note in her hands.

- May I look at the note? - the woman stepped forward decisively.

- Yes, of course. - the shocked Madame Carter did not refuse, because an escape from an orphanage directly sponsored by the crown is a real scandal, especially considering how shocking the information in the letter is.

- Lu - ci- us . - the woman suddenly literally hissed in anger.

- Qixi , listen, I'll explain everything.

"So it was you they were afraid of?" Madame Carter suddenly thought.

- Obliviate .