Fred and George and the Toilers of Trouble (Year 1) ✔

Chapter 3:4

"So...anything here for kids?" George wondered aloud.

"No. Too dangerous...even for you. I deal in rare objects and beasts that possess intense magical power — some more devious than others. Their existence is covered up by the Ministry. Especially the creatures." His voice lowered. "They don't want dark wizards to go exploiting innocent beings. But that's just a portion of my design for this shop. My heart really lies in the knowledge of human accidental magic — like the pair of you. The Boy Who Was Twins."

"The what? We're just trying to get ready for school," said George impatiently.

"School? You don't need to go there! Not at all. I can teach you everything you need to know. You two are destined for much greater things than...Hogwarts..." he said with a shudder.

"We've hardly experienced any of the stuff you're talking about," Fred insisted, before gesturing to a large stuffed creature that hung from the ceiling. It was a type of bird with tiny wings, a beak like a hook, and three eyes. "Now, you mentioned something about beasts..."

"Are your parents truly pure-bloods?" Ramkin interjected, craning his ugly, pockmarked head in their direction. The scant light turned his friendly expression fiendish.

"Why are you asking? Seems like you already know who we are, for some reason," George responded abruptly.

"Well, it is known among the shrewdest sorcerers in all of Wizendom that, given the nature of your birth, you two have the probability of developing powers that we can't perform — or even imagine. Powers that cannot be replicated or written about in books." He slowed his speech and, rather suddenly, the room began to appear darker. "Powers known only to you. Don't you see? We cannot comprehend how strong you could actually be. Together you could contain more authority over magic than the Child King, or Grindelwald the Many, or even...well...You-Know-Who..."

His own words seemed to have stopped him from continuing. He paused and looked away from the twins. "That is a road I wish neither of you to take. Unless you choose it for yourselves...which some have done rather deftly. Though I can sense that, in your hearts, you are truly pure and wish no harm on anyone." Surprisingly, the man sounded wiser and far more insightful than when they had first seen him prancing wildly through the shadows.

"I don't understand," Fred uttered quietly. "It's not as if we're the only twins in the wizarding world." He looked at his mirror image beside him, then back at the man across the table.

"Are you so certain?" he snickered. "Have you ever met twins of our kind that were of pure-blood? There are none. Have been none. There are twins in the wizarding world — oh, yes — but none with a lineage like the Weasleys. You are specimens of great study."

George surveyed the man with a quizzical expression. "So, you're telling us that we have powers we don't even know about?"

"Correct," the man whispered, as the door behind them opened, signaling another customer and possibly the ruin of the most important conversation of their young lives.

"See, twins are usually born with some magical skill," he continued hungrily. "Even Muggle-born twins contain a trace of mystical energy. That's a conversation for another day. But, it is the pure-blood twins who are a true fascination for men the likes of me. In my experience, and in my readings," he began, wiping off the book he had found under a pile of discarded fox pelts, "I've learned that as the magical skill of twins is raised and their powers grow, and especially during times of heightened emotional stress, certain abilities are available to them that others cannot visualize, or replicate, or even believe. For pure-bloods, this trait should be far more powerful. And then there are the prophecies, of course..."