Queen of the Dark

Chapter 8

Fred and George Weasley were stocking shelves in their store when Severus Snape walked in holding a letter. He silently handed it to Fred before walking back out.

"That was odd, wasn't it, Forge?" Fred commented as he examined the letter.

"Right you are, Gred," George agreed. "What do you reckon it is?"

"Only one way to find out," Fred said as he broke the seal and pulled out a sheet of folded parchment. He began to read it aloud.

Dear Gred and Forge,

I'm sorry for not contacting you sooner. I'm not dead, obviously, as I am writing you this letter. I am actually rather happy and healthy at the moment.

I was given to the Dark Lord as an offering to spare Dumbledore's life. I have been treated well here and greatly enjoy it. I even got a new wand after Dumbledore snapped mine!

Anyway, I'm writing you to make an offer. I'm sure you got the offer of neutrality, as they haven't planned any raids on your shop. I'd like to meet with you in person to discuss this. Please come alone.

Slytherin Castle, Private Wing, England

Hoping to see you soon, Hadrian Potter-Black

The twins smiled widely and went to get ready to meet with their little brother. They dressed in their favorite matching robes and shouted the floo command as they threw down the emerald colored powder.

They exited the floo in a grand sitting room and they smiled widely at the sight before them. Their little Harrykins was sitting in an armchair with a book, dressed in very nice robes.

When they appeared, he looked up and smiled warmly before marking his page and gesturing for them to sit. He began to tell them everything that had transpired since he had "disappeared."

When he had finished, George asked, "So, you're a queen now, and you have a snake familiar? Also, you're dark?"

"Neutral, actually," Hades corrected.

"Alright, cool. What's the offer?" Fred asked.

"I want you to fight with us," Hades said. "You wouldn't be following Tom or even Draco, but you'd be following me. I'll train you and—"

"Yes!" the twins shouted together.

"Of course we'll follow you, Hades."

Hades sighed with relief. "Great. You'll have to report here every morning for training. Here's your uniforms." He waved his wand and summoned two identical boxes.

Opening them, they found matching black combat robes and half-masks made of pure silver. They grinned at each other and knelt in front of Hades.

"I, Fred Weasley, do hereby pledge myself to Lord Hades. Until Death do claim me, I swear to follow his every order and put his health and well-being before my own. So mote it be."

George repeated the oath with his own name and their marks shimmered into existence. The mark was a lightning bolt on their right wrists.

After swearing their oaths, the twins promised to return the next morning and flooed back to their shop with wide smiles on their faces.

∆_______________∆

The twins had been training with Hades for a few months and were now excellent in all forms of combat, as they were extremely fast learners. There were two others they trained with, though they did not know their identities.

The first was a girl with pale blonde hair and skin. She always had several knives sheathed on her person. Her silver mask brought out her beautiful blue eyes. She went by Aphrodite.

The second was a boy with brown hair and green eyes. He seemed peaceful, but the twins knew he could take them out any day. His code name was Ares.

"Alright, your official training is complete!" Hades declared proudly. "Now, let's have introductions. Aphrodite, you're up first."

Aphrodite smiled serenely. "My name is Luna Lovegood."

"I'm Neville Longbottom," Ares said next.

The twins barely managed to keep the shock off their faces as they introduced themselves. "I'm Fred Weasley, but I would prefer we stick with Castor."

"George Weasley, but I'd prefer Pollux."

Hades smiled. "Perfect! Now that you've all been introduced, it's time to attend your first meeting with the inner circle."

The meeting was long and boring for the twins, but they did get to introduce themselves as Castor and Pollux and Pollux found himself watching the boy that followed their lord around.

Blaise was handsome and clearly intelligent if Hades kept him around. Pollux wondered if he could convince Hades to let him court the younger teenager. Probably, he could, considering him and his brother happened to be Hades's favorites.

Meanwhile, Castor was paying attention to the agenda for the both of them and found that he agreed with many of their ideals. He was finding that all that he had been told about the Dark was naught but lies. The Dark Lord didn't want to kill all muggleborns. He wanted to make them choose between our world and the muggle world. He didn't want to waste magical blood when there was already so little of it.

Overall, the two twins were most definitely not regretting their switch to the dark side.