Twisted Fascination

I begrudgingly set my new grimoire onto the bedside table and made my way back down the stairs. I desperately wanted to read more spell etymology, but I knew that I wouldn't get far if I didn't eat breakfast with the Weasleys. I made my way downstairs, and I saw that Sirius had taken my usual seat next to Harry. I sat down in Percy’s empty seat, and I noticed that Sirius looked a bit flustered to be in the seat he was in.

“Good, we're all here now,” Mrs. Weasley approved as she began to serve a rather large breakfast to everyone. As usual, she gave me a serving of food that was far too large. She did the same thing to poor Sirius, and he looked queasy as he stared down at the large plate of food.

I ate in silence, listening to the cheerful talk about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. I had almost managed to eat half of my plate when Sirius turned to look at me.

“By the way, Remus said something interesting…” He said accusingly.

I looked at him with a raised brow. “Did he now?”

“Something that you failed to mention to me…” He said as he glared childishly.

“It must not have been important,” I said dismissively.

He rolled his eyes as he set his silverware down. He then stood up and motioned for me to follow him.

I calmly set my own silverware down and followed him.

We went through the house and out the bloody front door before he stopped.

He whirled around, giving me very little time to slam the door closed. “You were hit across the face by that damned muggle!”

I motioned for him to lower his voice, but he was persistent.

“Twice!” He yelled as he held up two fingers. “You didn't think about mentioning that to me?!”

“Bloody hell, Sirius, lower your voice,” I hissed at the man.

“I'll lower my voice when you start taking your health into consideration!” He retorted loudly.

“I have,” I said defensively, “That's why I told the muggle police and the Aurors. I know they probably won't do shit because of Dumbledore, but I have told people. Also, tell your godson that he needs to accept help when it comes to things like these because he ruins all of the efforts I make.”

Sirius immediately frowned. “You mean you told muggle police before me?”

“Sirius, your idea of helping is illegal,” I stressed, “You would set a pack of werewolves on the Dursleys before you went to the bloody Aurors.”

Sirius looked genuinely contemplative for a moment. “You know-”

“That wasn't permission!” I exclaimed, “If you ever want to raise Harry, learn some common sense!”

“What about you?” Sirius asked.

“What about me?” I replied with narrowed eyes.

“Don’t tell me you want to stay at the Dursleys,” he said, looking like he had just smelled something rancid.

“Of course not,” I said with a scoff. “Where did you get such a ridiculous idea?”

“What if I wanted to raise Harry and you?” He questioned.

“You're Harry's godfather, not my own,” I pointed out, “He should be your first priority.”

“Colton, you're the one who I worry the most about,” Sirius said, “You're the one who tries to take on too much, and you're also the one who is surrounded by Dark witches and wizards.”

I frowned deeply at that. “Sirius, I'm sorry that I have to say this, but I'm not exactly a Light wizard.”

“You may be in Slytherin, and you have definitely hit me with more than a few Jinxes, but you are not Dark,” he stated.

“I'm morally gray,” I said, “That's not exactly the type of person to be worried about when compared to Harry.”

“Harry has a good support system,” Sirius said as he motioned lazily toward the Burrow. “Where's yours?”

I was going to refute that statement, but I couldn't exactly say that I had a bunch of soon-to-be fourth years and my Head of House as a good support system, especially not when I basically stopped normal contact with them in the summer. I briefly considered saying that I was all the support system that I needed, but I decided that would only give him more fuel to add to his fire.

“Colton-”

“Sirius,” I interrupted, “If you think that I want you to coddle me, you're wrong. I know I can't do everything I want to alone, and I know that you're concerned that I'll get in over my head. I have people that I talk to when I get overwhelmed-”

“Like who?” He demanded.

“Snape, for one,” I said, and the animagus scowled. “You're not the Lightest wizard yourself, Sirius.”

“I never said I was,” the man said, “I, however, wasn't loyal to the one who killed your parents.”

“One of your best friends was,” I pointed out, and Sirius winced as if I had physically hit him. I sighed before saying, “Look, you shouldn't judge Snape too harshly. I know where his loyalties lie-”

“How?” He pressed, “That bastard is only loyal to himself-”

“He was loyal to my mother,” I said, and Sirius scoffed dismissively.

“So loyal he didn't even go to her funeral,” Sirius growled.

“He cared in his own way,” I debated before saying, “I know that because I actually talk to people and try to figure them out before ruthlessly judging them.”

The Black man wrinkled his nose up before eventually saying, “You won't step down.”

“I won't,” I confirmed, and he sighed heavily.

“Colton, why can't you allow the Weasleys to be your support system, too?” Sirius asked softly.

“It will only endanger them,” I answered honestly, “Myself, as well. I'm in the House of snakes, as you know. That wraith isn't going to remain complacent forever…”

“Wraith?” Sirius repeated.

I barely held back a heavy sigh of my own. “Sirius, the Dark Lord isn't dead. He's a wraith, but he still has fragments of his soul out there tying him to this world.”

“How do you know?” Sirius asked, though he looked like he'd rather not know the truth.

“I had to kill one of those soul pieces my second year,” I said honestly, “As for the wraith bit, Harry killed the man who Voldemort attached to in our first year.”

“Fucking hell,” he cursed softly, looking incredibly pained. “You never should have been put in that situation, either of you.”

“I know,” I said honestly, “But it happened, and nothing can change the past. As far as I'm concerned, it only proved my skills.”

He looked at me with sorrow evident in his stormy gray eyes.

Before he could continue to pity me, I said, “I’m going to finish my food now-”

“Colton…” Sirius said in a low voice, causing me to look at him carefully. “I'll find out what I can about that wraith, and I'll do something about it.”

“No,” I said right away, causing Sirius to look at me with a furrowed brow. “You'll tell someone else who can deal with it in a legal fashion. As it is now…” I hesitated for a moment. “You just got free, and…” I felt myself flush a bit. “Well, I would hate it if something happened to you.”

Sirius stared for a moment before smirking. “Well, if you twist my arm like that, I guess I'll have to leave it to the Aurors.”

I scoffed at the man before turning heel. “I'm finishing my breakfast.”

“You finished your meal a while ago,” Sirius said as he trotted after me, “You were just eating to be polite.”

“So were you,” I grumbled as I opened the door to the Burrow.

He gave a bark of laughter. “I never said I wasn't!”

“I ought to Jinx you,” I said as I closed the door behind us.

“Aw, don't be like that. Uncle Sirius loves you,” the man had the audacity to tease me as he held his arms out as if to give me a hug.

I cringed away from the man, not eager for that level of physical affection. “I don't do that.”

“You do now,” he said before drawing me into an uncomfortable hug, which quickly turned into him messing up my bloody hair.

“Hey!” I squawked as I tried to rip free from that bastard. “That's my hair, you flea-brained fool!”

“I do not have fleas!” The man yelled indignantly.

“Boys!” Mrs. Weasley yelled as she poked her head out of the kitchen.

We both paused in our mutual spat to wither under her fierce glare.

“He started it,” Sirius said as he released me.

“I've heard more convincing lies from Hufflepuffs,” I commented as I finally managed to tidy my hair up a bit.

Sirius looked downright insulted as I continued onto the kitchen. “There's no way you've heard a convincing lie from a Hufflepuff.”

“I have,” I said honestly, “Ernest Macmillan said he could be in the top three in our Arithmancy class.”

“You said ‘convincing lie’,” Sirius said.

“I was convinced he could until Nott took personal offense and squeezed his way into third place,” I explained.

“Who was in second?” Sirius asked.

“Granger,” I said dismissively.

“Who was first?” The man followed up.

“Colton is always at the top of his classes,” Harry piped up from where he sat picking food off of my plate.

Sirius looked at me, clearly impressed. “All of them?”

“Every single one,” I agreed, “I take my studies very seriously.”

“You could probably be a prefect-”

“I plan on being Head Boy,” I interrupted, and Ron rolled his eyes from where he sat next to Harry.

“James was Head Boy,” Sirius said as he gave a reminiscent sort of smile, “Lily was Head Girl, of course, so I'm not surprised that you have their ambition.”

I hummed softly, not knowing that about my parents. “In any case, I have some more studying to do.”

“Just like Hermione,” Ron commented as he shook his head in disapproval.

“You could learn a thing or two from him,” Mrs. Weasley commented as she gently swatted the back of Ron’s head.

I barely held back an amused chuckle as I headed up to my room, eager to continue reading my new grimoire. With it, I could likely learn how to effectively use the spells I’ve already learned and the spells that I will learn. With that knowledge, I could easily learn both wandless and wordless magic.

For the next few days, everyone fell into a comfortable routine of doing their own thing while Bill and Charlie got acclimated to their childhood house once again.

I did nothing but take notes on the basic spells and practiced trying to do the Levitation Charm both wandlessly and wordlessly. I was just barely managing to make the feather float when the door to my room opened abruptly. I watched the feather fall with my focus disrupted before turning my head to glare at whoever dared to interrupt me.

“Well, well, well,” Fred said with a mischievous grin, “Lookie what we have here, George.”

“An Ickle Slytherin that's trying magic outside of Hogwarts,” George said with a wide smirk, “We should tell someone-”

“I'll help sponsor your shop if you don't say anything,” I offered at once.

The twins paused, obviously surprised, before entering my room and closing the door behind them. They approached cautiously, as if they believed I'd randomly sprout fangs and attack.

“You know about our shop?” Fred finally asked as they stopped a good yard or so away from me.

“I know you need a sponsor,” I answered honestly, “You haven't the money to open your own shop, especially with your mother so against it.”

“Who told you?” George pressed.

“It doesn't matter,” I replied, “All that matters is my offer.”

Fred and George looked at each other for a long moment.

Finally, George said, “Well…”

“If you insist,” Fred followed up as if I were twisting his arm.

“Excellent,” I approved, “First, I'll teach you how to duplicate order forms. You should never have just one form, as I'm sure you learned.”

Fred scowled a bit, and George didn't look very happy either.

“We didn't know she'd burn them,” Fred grumbled.

“Oh, yes,” I said as I clasped my hands together. “Next, I'll give you the money for trunk with a lock on it. You'll be able to store order forms and joke supplies in it without having it be openable by someone else.” I paused for a moment before saying, “It'll have to be a special order, though. You'll need to be able to hide it, and the best way to do that is to shrink it.”

“You'd really do that for us?” George asked warily.

“All just to keep quiet?” Fred added on.

“I like investing in those who will succeed,” I admitted, “Don't tell your mother that I'm doing this for you, though.”

“Deal,” the twins agreed at once.

I nodded once in approval before saying, “Now, I'm sure you didn't come in here to negotiate my being one of your sponsors.”

“Oh, right,” Fred said as if the subject completely slipped his mind. “Mum wants you to come downstairs.”

“It's not dinner time,” I protested.

“Hermione arrived,” George said.

“We're not friends,” I pointed out.

“We're getting the backyard set up for dinner,” they finally explained.

I felt like sighing, but I didn't. Instead, I stood up and said, “Very well. I'll be down soon.”

“What are you hiding away?” Fred asked eagerly.

“My studies,” I answered as I began to pack away my notes and various books into my trunk.

“That's boring,” Fred commented.

“I imagine it's not as entertaining as making new inventions, but I quite like pushing the average boundaries of magic,” I said honestly.

George regarded me for a moment before asking, “Have you been practicing wandless magic for long?”

“No,” I denied, “I simply enjoy testing my limits. That's all.”

Fred gave a hum that indicated he didn't fully trust me.

“I'm sure you're the same,” I said, “You want to better yourselves and so you keep testing the limits of what is and isn't possible. I simply focus on my studies instead of a future career in inventing joke products.”

“Why are you studying wandless magic?” George inquired curiously.

“Practicality,” I admitted, “It'll be useful in the future.”

George looked at Fred, who looked back at him. The twins seemed to have an internal conversation before nodding once. They then looked back at me before declaring, “We'll give it a try, too.”

I barely held back a snort. “I would focus on your business for now. You have more orders to create, don't you?”

“Mum said we couldn't make anything anymore,” Fred grumbled.

I looked at them oddly. “Is she making sure you don't create more stuff?”

“She checks our room regularly,” George complained.

“Why not use this room?” I suggested.

“Seriously?” Fred asked in surprise.

“Well, as long as you don't make anything explode, I wouldn't mind. Just say that you're tutoring me in Charms or something,” I waved off dismissively.

“We are good at Charms,” George said as he looked at his brother.

Fred looked back with a grin that could only be described as mischievous in nature. “George, I do believe you're right.”

George gave a similar grin, and the two then looked at me like they were Sirius after just finding Pettigrew.

Oh, dear Merlin, what have I done? I thought as I eyed them warily.

§I believe you enticed two troublemakers into making even more trouble,§ the Dark Lord answered as if such a thing weren't obvious. §Have fun with that.§

I barely bit back a scowl as I stood up properly and made sure that my clothes were neat and tidy. I then approached the door to the room and said, “Come along now.”

“Yes, sir, future Dark Lord, sir,” Fred said as he saluted me.

I couldn't help but give a mock laugh if amusement. “You're hilarious, Fred.”

“I'm George, actually,” Fred lied.

“And I'm a Gryffindor,” I said sarcastically.

“You can tell us apart?” George questioned suspiciously.

“Fred is more forward and direct while you, George, hang back and gain some information before striking,” I explained.

“How do you know?” Fred prodded. “You hardly even see us.”

“This is my third summer at your house. If I couldn't tell the difference between you two by now, I’d be rather pathetic as a human being,” I stated.

George and Fred both looked at each other with a keen interest in their eyes.

I ignored their surprisingly stoic expressions as I made my way into the kitchen where Granger was eagerly talking with Ron and Harry. “Greetings.”

“Oh, uh, hello,” Granger greeted as she looked at me oddly.

I dismissed the look as I focused my attention on Mrs. Weasley. “What may I do to help?”

“Oh, how kind of you to offer,” Mrs. Weaskey praised as she gave me a bright smile. “You can help Bill and Charlie set up the tables outside.”

I nodded once before heading out to the backyard. I almost immediately got hit with a flying table, and I stared incredulously as Bill made his table screech to a halt upon seeing me.

Charlie, meanwhile, took Bill’s distraction as an invitation to cause mischief. He crashed his table into Bill’s, sending splinters of wood everywhere.

Bill scowled deeply as he turned to look at his brother. “That's hardly fair.”

“Life's hardly fair,” Charlie tutted as he went about bashing the tables together again.

I barely held in a snort as I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. “You two seem to be having fun.”

“Care to join us?” Bill asked with a grin.

“No,” I denied, “I can't do magic outside of school.”

“That didn't stop you the other night,” Bill pointed out.

I acted like I didn't remember anything and said, “I haven't a clue what you're talking about.”

Bill smirked as he turned back to Charlie. “Must have been my drunk imagination then, yeah?”

“Oh, most definitely,” Charlie said with an equally as devious smirk.

The two then went back to their amusing little game of hitting the tables together.

I barely held back an exasperated sigh upon seeing them act like it was the most fun they had all year.

“Oh, fun,” Ginny said as she came outside and saw her two eldest brothers battling it out. “Kick his arse!”

The two grown men both took that as a challenge to defeat the other.

I looked at Ginny, barely suppressing a smirk as I said, “You just had to entice them.”

“Of course,” Ginny chirped as if she had done a true service to wizardkind. “I haven't seen a good game of table wars in years.”

“Table wars?” I parroted. “They did it often enough to warrant a name?”

“Off the books,” the only daughter of the Weasleys said with a grin.

I snorted as I looked back at the two as they continued to duel it out with those poor tables.

A leg of one of the tables came off, nearly hitting the orange cat that belonged to Granger - Crookshanks, if I wasn't mistaken.

The cat in question hissed at the table leg before quickly being distracted by a gnome.

Looking quite like a muddy potato with on sharp legs, the gnome sprinted across the grounds like a soldier going through no-man's-land. Its movements attracted the attention of Crookshanks, who began to chase the garden pest as if it were a delectable mouse.

I felt pity for the gnome, but I didn't interfere as Fred and George came from inside, both holding small stacks of plates.

The twins immediately perked up and began to cheer on their brother's mischief.

Hermione, Ron, and Harry came out next, the three cringing away from Mrs. Weasley as she yelled about trick wands.

Almost immediately, Hermione looked like she was both amused and horrified at the magic being displayed before her.

There was another loud bang, gaining my attention. I watched as another leg of the table flew off, heading right toward me. I quickly whipped my hand to the side, and the wooden table leg was swatted aside.

Before anyone could point out that I had used my magic both wandlessly and wordlessly, a window to an upstairs bedroom opened.

Percy stuck his head out, looking quite cross. “Will you keep it down?!”

“Sorry, Perce,” Bill replied, grinning widely, “How are the cauldron bottoms coming on?!”

“Very badly,” Percy answered, obviously peeved. He then stuck his head back inside and slammed the window shut.

Chuckling, Bill and Charlie directed the tables safely onto the grass, end to end. Once that was done, they flicked their wands, and they repaired the two tables effortlessly and conjured a very large tablecloth to cover both tables.

By seven o’clock, the two tables were groaning under dishes and dishes of Mrs. Weasley’s good cooking. The nine Weasleys, Granger, Harry, and I were settling ourselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep-blue sky.

It felt quite good to eat a decent meal, especially when the earlier summer had been reserved for very little food.

Percy was telling his father all about his report on cauldron bottoms while I listened in. “I’ve told Mr. Crouch that I'll have it ready by Tuesday. That's a bit sooner than he expected it, but I like to keep on top of things. I think he'll be grateful I've done it in good time, I mean, it's extremely busy in our department just now, what with all the arrangements for the World Cup. We're just not getting the support we need from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ludo Bagman-”

“I like Ludo,” Mr. Weasley said mildly, “He was the one who got us such good tickets for the cup. I did him a bit of a favor: His brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble - a lawnmower with unnatural powers - I smoothed the whole thing over.”

“Oh, Bagman’s likable enough, of course,” Percy said dismissively, “But how he ever got to be Head of Department… When I compare him to Mr. Crouch! I can't see Mr. Crouch losing a member of our department and not trying to figure out what’s happened to them. You realize Bertha Jorkins has been missing for over a month now? Went on holiday to Albania and never came back?”

“Yes, I was asking Ludo about that,” Mr. Weasley said with a frown, “He says Bertha’s gotten lost plenty of times before now - though I must say, if it was someone in my department, I'd be worried…”

“Oh, Bertha's hopeless, alright,” Percy said with great annoyance, “I hear she's been shunted from department to department for years, much more trouble than what she's worth… But all the same, Bagman ought to be trying to find her. Mr. Crouch has been taking a personal interest, she worked in our department at one time, you know, and I think Mr. Crouch was quite fond of her - but Bagman just keeps laughing and saying she probably misread the man and ended up in Australia instead of Albania.”

“I think that's quite a bad mentality to have,” I weighed in with a frown. “Even if something like that has happened before, an entire month is something to be worried about. If she hasn't had any contact, surely something has gone wrong, whether minor or otherwise.”

“Which is why Mr. Crouch is looking into it,” Percy assured me.

“Has anyone filed a missing person’s report?” I inquired.

Percy pondered my words for a moment before musing aloud, “I don't think so.”

“I believe someone should. If she ended up in the wrong country, things could go very wrong very fast,” I said, “I know Australia is arguably safer than Albania, but it's still a risk to have a Ministry worker missing, especially if they've been in multiple departments over their life.”

Percy immediately saw my point and said, “I'll talk to Mr. Crouch about it when I go in next.”

I nodded once in approval despite knowing that nothing would come of it. I knew Jorkins was bound to be dead, especially considering she was mentioned in Harry’s dream as ‘being dealt with.’

“But, anyway,” Percy said, “We've got quite enough on our plates at the Department of International Magical Cooperation without trying to find members of other departments, too. As you know, we've got another big event to organize right after the World Cup.” Percy cleared his throat significantly and looked down at the other end of the table where Ron, Hermione, and Harry were sitting. “You know the one I'm talking about, Father.” His voice raised slightly. “The top-secret one.”

Ron rolled his eyes and muttered something to his two friends.

I, meanwhile, fought back an eye-roll of my own.

Percy was obviously trying to bait someone, but no one else was going to bite. How dense was the man?

“In any case,” I said, “How are the other members of your department? I've heard you speak of Mr. Crouch, but no one else.”

Percy’s nose wrinkled up a bit as if he smelled something unpleasant. “They don't take their jobs seriously. It's like they don't even view their jobs as important tasks that have to be done.”

I hummed softly before asking, “Is that why you have so much work?”

Percy paused and looked at me curiously.

“The others know that you'll do your job perfectly, so they could possibly pass off some of their work to you,” I said.

“Mr. Crouch would never allow that,” Percy waved off dismissively.

I felt very doubtful, but I didn't say anything to discourage him from doing his job.

Mr. Weasley, meanwhile, frowned deeply as something seemed to click into place. He didn't open his mouth, but he was obviously planning on pulling Crouch aside the next time they crossed paths. “In any case, how are your studies going?” Mr. Weasley asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

“They're going as well as they can, I suppose,” I mused aloud, “Fred and George will be helping me with Charms.”

“Oh?” Mr. Weasley asked with a raised brow. “I thought you did well on all of your studies.”

“Yes, but I like learning ahead,” I said, “Fred and George can help with that with their old notes and knowledge on theoretics.”

“They did score well on their O.W.L. for Charms,” Mr. Weasley gave in.

I hummed in acknowledgement before taking another bite of my food.

As dinner wound down, Mr. Weasley conjured up candles to light the darkening garden.

We all divulged in some homemade strawberry ice cream, and by the time we finished, moths were fluttering low over the table.

The warm air was perfumed with the scents of grass and honeysuckle.

Of course, Crookshanks was still going after the gnomes, who cackled madly as they sprinted through the rose bushes.

I sat back in my seat, content to merely exist in a peaceful environment.

Mrs. Weasley checked her wristwatch and said suddenly, “Look at the time. You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you - you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, Colton, if you leave your school lists out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be enough time after the World Cup, the match went on for five days last time.”

“Wow - hope it does this time!” Harry chirped eagerly.

“Well, I certainly don't,” Percy said sanctimoniously, “I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days.”

“Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung into it again, eh, Perce?” Fred teased.

“That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway!” Percy exclaimed, going red in the face from anger. “It was nothing personal!”

Fred and George were clearly biting back snickers as they got up from the table.

I got up as well, and I tried to help clear the table, only to be ushered inside by Mrs. Weasley. With nothing else to do, I returned upstairs and got ready for bed. I sincerely hoped, as I laid my head down on my pillow, that the Quidditch World Cup wouldn't last five days, and that I'd be able to go to Diagon Alley once it was over. I needed to check my stocks in person, after all.