Weasley's the Name

Weasley's The Name

Chapter 4- Cotton Candy and the Unforgivable

"All right brats--"

"Ronan!"

Ronan O'Keefe turned his head slowly towards Kaida Weasley. The two prefects were trying to explain the rules of the Hogsmeade visit to the Gryffindor first years, and they seemed to have different tactics at getting to do so.

"What?" he asked with a cross of his arms and a glare. Kaida just raised a single eyebrow and pushed him out of the way, so that now she was in front of the group.

"You will all be given a coin--" She nudged Ronan and with a sigh he began distributing the large red coins. "--That you will use to check in every hour. That means you will check in four times. At two, three, four, and five."

Kaida snatched an extra coin out of the parcel and held it up for all the first years to see. It was bright red with a golden lion in the middle and it shone in the early morning sun.

"It will grow warm so you don't have to have a watch or anything. All you have to do to check in is press the lion." She pressed it, and the lion popped out from the other side, so now it was protruding out.

"Once you do that, the coins Ronan and I have will inscribe your names on itself, so we know that you're all safe and alive."

Kaida smiled brightly and made a gesture with her fingers for the first years to turn around. They all did and were too excited to actually wait for the prefects; they were giggling and hurrying over to the town.

"We come back at six!" Ronan shouted at their retreating backs.

"They know, they know," Kaida chided, rolling her eyes at her partner. He sighed and nodded, stuffing his hands into his pocket and gripping the coins,

"I just hope none of them get killed, wouldn't look too good on our record, would it?"

~~~

"This...is...AMAZING!!" Jacob exclaimed, grabbing Anthony by the wrist and dragging him towards a rather glittery 'Cotton Candy' stand.

The less excited twin sighed and rubbed the bruise on his forehead, for it was beginning to pound.

"What's cotton candy?" Anthony asked softly, watching as his brother drew a couple of sickles out of his pocket and handed them to the cashier.

"I have absolutely no idea," he said happily. "But it looks like Mum wouldn't want me to eat it, so I want a lot of it."

The cashier handed Jacob a big blob of what looked like blue cotton on a stick. The redhead seemed absolutely delighted and he ripped a piece off with his free hand.

"That's disgusting," Anthony groaned, holding his stinging chest. The sun was boring down and he wondered if his headache could be causing a fever. It couldn't do that, could it?

Jacob shrugged happily and popped the piece into his mouth. A silly grin slid on his face and he pointed the ball of cotton at his twin.

"It's actually pretty good and, woo! Is it sweet! Try it!" He moved it within inches of Anthony's face, but his brother declined the offer with a revolted look.

"Er...I'd rather not."

Jacob shrugged and took a huge bit out of the side. Anthony watched with his mouth hanging open as if he was going to vomit, but he just shook his head and looked away towards the stores in Hogsmeade.

"I need to go shopping." Anthony said, backing away.

"You're such a girl."

"For your information," Anthony said with a nudge into his brother's side. "I'm buying Christmas gifts with the money I've been saving. I want to look mature for our first year at Hogwarts."

Jacob's smile disappeared and he suddenly looked very concerned, a curious smirk plastered on his face as he stared up at the stores.

"Really?" he said, looking thoughtful. "Does that mean...I have to get you something?"

Anthony rolled his eyes at the question and waved a hand, trying to send his brother away.

"That's up to you." He turned to Jacob, who was staring through the glass door of the store. "Why don't you go and find Brian and Rigel? I bet they have great spots on the roller coaster's line."

Anthony opened the door to an 'Anything You Want' store, and Jacob followed him in.

An 'Anything You Want' store had small sections of each of the stores in the village, making it easier for the average shopper. Nothing that was specialized was found there, letting the other businesses advertise as well.

"No...I think I'm going to buy some stuff too," Jacob said softly. Anthony sent him an odd look, wondering what had changed his mind, but Jacob just started off towards the opposite side of the store.

Anthony shrugged off his brother's weird behavior and headed towards the broomsticks. He knew that his brother would love something that involved Quidditch or the Chudley Cannons.

There was an entire row dedicated to the numerous Quidditch teams of Europe, and all Anthony had to do was look for the orange section. It was near the corner of the store, far in the back. The Cannons had never been a winning team, and Anthony was never quite sure why his father and brother loved them so much.

"Ugly uniforms," Anthony whispered as he noticed the Cannons' jerseys hanging on their respective hooks. He tried to remember Jacob's favorite player...the Italian with the mustache was all her could remember.

"He plays Keeper, like Dad did," he said to himself, rubbing the back of his head. The pain was lessening now that he was away from the noise of the fair. It would probably go away with time; just a quick healing charm here and there.

He had been searching for something that would help him remember the Keeper's name when a little boy with his father came up the aisle and stood by Anthony.

"Daddy! Can I get a jersey, Daddy?" the boy exclaimed, tugging on his father's sleeve. "Or maybe a broom? That would be wicked!" Anthony watched as the father sighed, and started to look through the jerseys.

"This is only because your mother is out of town."

The boy giggled excitedly and began peering through the many jerseys.

"Excuse me, sir," Anthony said politely. The man and boy looked over at him, and the man smiled brightly.

"Are you Anthony Weasley? Ron's son?" he asked.

Anthony had to hold back the sigh he was about to release. He wished he could dye his hair brown and erase all of the freckles on his face

"Yes," Anthony answered almost mechanically. The man put out his hand, and Anthony shook it.

"I haven't seen your father in ages! The name's Dean Thomas, my son is on the Quidditch team, fourth year, Daniel? I just saw your brother leaving, he had a couple of bags in his hands." Anthony nodded and forgot the annoyance of being known only as Ron Weasley's son.

He recognized this man from many gatherings, and the name Daniel Thomas did ring a bell. It was then that he noticed that the little boy had hidden behind his father's legs.

"Do you know all the players on the Cannons?" Anthony asked the little boy. "I'm not too...er...keen on Quidditch, never liked the whole...flying bit."

Mr. Thomas laughed as his tiny son jumped out from behind his legs.

"You don't know any of the Cannons? Why, there's McCauley, McDonald, and McGinnis, the Chasers! Then there are the Beaters, Warsaw and Weissman; they are awesome! The keeper, Gaudio, he's as quick as lightening, and the seeker! Man, the seeker--"

"Did you say Gaudio?" Anthony interrupted. The little boy looked up and nodded at him, his eyes wide with excitement. "Is he the one with the mustache?" The boy smiled and nodded again. "That's the jersey I want. Would you mind helping me look for it?"

The little one jumped a little, and began to search the racks for a Gaudio jersey. At last, in the back of all the bright orange jerseys, they found Gaudio.

"Thanks a lot!" Anthony exclaimed, holding the jersey up to his chest. Mr. Thomas laughed and picked up his son, who now had a Gaudio jersey for himself.

"I'm glad he was of some help, tell your father I said hello." Anthony waved goodbye to the two as they went to pay for the jersey.

~~~

The redhead wasn't sure how long he was in the store, but he found it quite exciting. The store literally did have everything he was looking for, including a collar for Marauder that changed colors with the cat's moods.

His mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, and...er...Taylor, were all getting special gifts from him. His cousins and fellow Gryffindor first years would also receive a small parcel from the young Weasley, and he hoped that they appreciated it.

There was a gift-wrapping store adjacent to the store he had just exited, and he entered there, getting all of his gifts wrapped in many different colors and designs (he was horrible at wrapping).

While the women behind the counter wrapped slowly and carefully (he had been their first customer of the day), Anthony filled out the numerous cards. He wondered how personal he should get with Taylor's, seeing as she was the only person other than family getting a present.

He was about to start writing when a woman with the bright blue hair handed Anthony a huge bag with all of the gifts in them. He peered in and was amazed at all the colors, and he thanked all the women, who smiled and batted their eyes at him (his ears burned pink).

Anthony wasn't sure where his brother had gone, but Mr. Thomas did say he had a couple of bags with him, so he assumed he must have dropped them off somewhere.

He headed back towards where the carriages would be waiting for to take the students back to Hogwarts; he figured they would be allowed to drop their belongings in their respective carriages. His pocket began to warm, and with his barely free hand, he reached in and pushed the lion button. Nifty idea...

As he walked towards the carriage he and his friend's had shared, he crossed the street in front of The Three Broomsticks and slowed down by a dark ally because voices could be heard echoing through out it.

Anthony paused, the whispering voices reminding him of the previous nights' events. Should he check to see what was going on, in case Taylor was involved? Or should he be smart and walk on by like he had heard nothing?

"We're doing it tonight?" a high male voice squeaked nervously. "Tonight, tonight?" Anthony immediately wanted to know what they were doing, though he wasn't sure why.

"Shut up!" a deeper voice hissed. "Yes, tonight, okay? She's too big of a risk, there's no point in waiting any longer. It should have been done last night, but..." Anthony felt his heart freeze as he realized what they were talking about. Who exactly was in there?

"Can't we wait until vacation?" the first voice pleaded. He sounded frightened, as if worried they were going to be caught this very moment. "I mean...if a Weasley can knock you down, then well, I don't want to be around others when we do it."

A third voice spoke then, and when he spoke, Anthony nearly collapsed and he dropped his bags in shock.

"He didn't knock me out you idiots!" Stephen Malfoy snarled. "The brat did, he just...distracted me. I kicked his arse though."

Anthony's eyes grew to the size of Quaffles as one of his packages rolled out from his fallen bag and into the alleyway.

"Hold on..." a voice from the ally hissed.

Before he could grasp what was going on, he was snapped into the alleyway by a large set of arms.

He struggled against the grip and opened his mouth to scream, but a large hand covered his mouth and he was silenced.

Anthony craned his neck to see who was holding him, and he immediately recognized Richard Malfoy. Malcolm Malfoy, the second year, stood to the side looking completely stunned.

Stephen approached him, his head shaking and his wand held tightly in his right hand.

"I thought I smelled something rotten."

~~~

Jacob Weasley raced through the crowds of Hogsmeade towards the main attraction of the fair: The Lightening Bolt.

It was the biggest roller coaster in the Wizarding World. It had ten loops that made you fall out of your seat (literally) and caught you before you hit the ground. The dips made your hair stand on end and while you fell, pixies sprayed you with some sort of blue goop.

After the first dip, you headed into a dark tunnel where the blue goop glowed in the dark, causing a very eerie affect and scaring the daylights out of everyone.

He had to ride it at least five times.

"Jacob!"

The young Weasley heard his cousin Brian call him. He turned towards the direction of the voice, and saw that Brian and Rigel Lupin were already on line with

"Dad?" Jacob shrieked, running towards the group.

Ron Weasley smiled brightly as his son threw his arms around him after he jumped over the rope for the line.

"What are you doing here?" Jacob asked excitedly. Ron winked and looked very pleased with the surprise.

"Well, how could such a magical and game filled place be held without the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports?" he said as if it were common sense, messing up his son's hair.

Jacob's eyes widened as he realized that this was the project his dad had been working on over the summer.

"This is absolutely awesome!" Jacob exclaimed, happily joining the three on the line. "I can't wait to go through that first loop!"

Ron nodded excitedly as he looked up at The Lightening Bolt, shading the sun from his eyes.

Ron then realized that twins come in pairs.

"Where's Anthony?" he asked, looking down at Jacob.

His son shrugged as he continued to stare at the roller coaster, his eyes following a cart as it went through some loops.

"He went shopping for Christmas gifts. I left him in that 'Anything You Want' store, after I bought all my stuff, of course," Jacob explained, never taking his eyes off of the coaster.

"Really? Where'd you put all your stuff?" Ron asked as they moved up a few people on the line.

"In the carriages. I had to get by those stupid Malfoy brothers though, but they didn't bother me that much. They thought I was Anthony, actually."

As Jacob said this, he took his eyes off of the roller coaster, thinking of the Malfoys. Why would they bother Anthony and not me?

"I really can't stand that name, almost as bad as Voldemort." Ron shuddered and they moved up some more.

"Did you guys hear?" Brian said, jumping into the conversation. "They found Stephen Malfoy under Petrificus Totalus last night, right outside the Gryffindor Tower. Weird right?

"He has no idea who did it. It happened real late last night, and The Fat Lady won't tell who attacked him. All she said was Stephen got what he deserved. Isn't that funny?" Ron and Brian laughed, but the other two on line with them stayed still.

Jacob and Rigel shared a look, knowing that Anthony had come in late the previous night.

The large bruise, and the really stupid story of the book falling on his head...and now the fact that the Malfoys left me alone because I wasn't Anthony...

"Isn't it?" Brian said again, staring at the two boys with confused eyes. Ron looked down at them, truly concerned at the silence of his usually loud son.

"What's with the odd look?" he asked Jacob, then looking at Rigel for he seemed to be in the same trance. Jacob shook his head out of the daze he had been in, and looked up at his dad.

"It's just that...well, Anthony came in really late last night, and this morning we found him still in his school robes and this huge bruise on his forehead," he explained.

Brian's eyes widen in recognition, and he paled slightly, biting his lip. Rigel nodded and continued, squirming under Ron's gaze.

"Yeah, maybe he was dueling with Malfoy or something?"

Ron's face burned red at the thought of a Malfoy touching his son. He gripped his wand with full force and ducked under the rope, off the line.

"Dad!" Jacob called, starting after him.

Brian and Rigel struggled eternally with the fact that they were going to have to lose their place on the very long line, but soon, they too were chasing Ron.

"Where was it that the Malfoys bothered you?" Ron said through gritted teeth. Jacob grabbed his father's arm, pushing his heels hard into the ground to try and stop him.

"Dad, don't do anything stupid! Remember your temper!" Jacob exclaimed. "Please, let's talk to Anthony first, I don't want you losing your job!"

Ron stopped and turned to his son, though his face was still crimson. He closed his eyes and nodded, heading towards The Three Broomsticks in a stiff walk.

"You're right. You're right. Come on guys, drinks on me. I'll talk to Anthony when you guys head back up to Hogwarts."

Jacob, Brian, and Rigel couldn't refuse and they followed the older man, staring longingly back at The Lightening Bolt.

~~~

"Spying again Weasel?" Stephen said, poking Anthony's bruise with his wand. "You remember what happened last night, don't you? Too bad Taylor isn't around to save you now, huh?"

Richard chuckled and continued to grip onto Anthony's wrists with one hand. He held his other huge palm over Anthony's mouth and nose, making it hard for the young boy to breath.

He felt his heart pumping alarmingly fast, and he wondered why he didn't feel scared, like when he was flying on a broomstick.

"Stay out of it you stupid git!" Stephen exclaimed, punching Anthony in the same place as last night.

Now, Anthony was sure that one of his ribs was broken because of the severe pain that ripped through his chest. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, his hands scraping against the gravel on the pavement.

"You're just making everything much more difficult than it needs to be! I hate detours!" Stephen stood over the young redhead, his wand shaking inches from Anthony's head.

Anthony groaned and looked up at the sneering boy. He stared at him with something more than interest, though to the three in the alley he seemed to be rather confused.

It was as if Anthony had seen Stephen a million times, but had never really looked at him.

Stephen's had long silvery blonde hair that was loose around his head, and his light blue eyes were filled with rage. He noticed that Malfoy's pointed nose had a cut from when he fell to the floor last night. Anthony, thinking back to last night and all of the conversation he heard, he finally understood why he had confronted Taylor.

"She's...she's your sister, isn't she?" he groaned. He grabbed onto his stomach as a shock of pain shot through him, but his eyes remained connected to Stephen's.

The oldest Malfoy's eyes widened with disgust and he looked at his brothers, his eyes flicking rapidly between them. Then, he tilted his head back down at Anthony.

"She'll never live up to that title," Stephen hissed, kicking a rock into the first year's knee.

Anthony grimaced and attempted to stand up, but Richard placed a strong hand on his shoulder and pushed the young boy down again, to his knees.

Malcolm stood to the side, torn between his true emotions and family pride. He was constantly watching the entrance of the ally to make sure that no one coming close to catching them.

The youngest Malfoy son was fearful that his brothers were going to really hurt the boy. Anthony was only a year younger than him, and Malcolm didn't think it was fair that a fifth and seventh year were going to fight him.

Truthfully, he didn't think that the Weasleys were that bad...he had met the other twin in the bookstore and he had helped him without questioning him at all...

"Stephen," Malcolm piped, making his brother snap towards him. "M-maybe you can just leave him here, he seems smart enough to know not tell on us..." he pleaded, rushing towards Stephen with his hands out.

The oldest Malfoy stared down at his little brother, his head shaking slightly.

"What, got a soft spot for mudbloods, Malcolm?" he spat, pushing his brother roughly away.

Malcolm was sent into the wall, and his elbow hit it with a hard blow. He howled in pain, and with his other arm he grabbed the hurt elbow.

"I'm not a mudblood!" Anthony shouted, trying to stand up again.

This time, Richard didn't bother to just push him down. With a malevolent grin spreading across his face, he put both of his hands on the redhead's back and slammed him to the ground, splattering the puddle of water Anthony's face had hit.

"Well, you're not as good as us," Richard growled, satisfied that Anthony was barely stirring. Malcolm approached him, watching the first year with fearful eyes and letting go of his elbow to grab his brother's arm.

"Look, let's go, we're going to get in trouble! He has nothing to do with this!" he argued, pulling Richard away.

"He knows!" the middle son exclaimed, his eyes flashing with anger. "Can't you imagine the embarrassment our father will go through if this gets out?"

With a fury that had been building up inside of him for the past ten minutes, Richard punched Malcolm in the center of the second year's face.

The youngest Malfoy staggered back and away from the ally after he screamed in pain. With his two older brothers watching with smirks of victory, Malcolm spit some blood out of his mouth and ran away.

"Stupid git," Stephen said, kicking Anthony in the shoulder. "I'm glad he's a mudblood lover. I always knew that he was the weak one. Should've been Sorted to Gryffindor, probably begged the Sorting Hat..."

Richard nodded, grabbing Anthony by the shoulders and lifting him up as if he were a heavy book bag.

The young Weasley's eyes were foggy as he tried to regain focus, and Richard had lifted him up so quickly that his mind was reeling and hadn't stopped. His lip was ripped and bleeding profusely and he had scraps all along his cheeks and forehead.

"Now," Stephen said simply, wagging his wand around in a bored manner. "I think you should learn why not to mess with the Malfoys." He poked Anthony's nose playfully. "What do you say to that?"

Anthony's eyes narrowed and he felt his heart rate increase in his ears. Though his head was pounding and his vision was blurred from the water and blood that had trickled in front of his eyes, one thought stood clear in his mind.

"Just-don't-hurt-her," he hissed, his heart clenching at the thought of his blonde housemate getting hurt.

Taylor's innocent.

All she did was be born into such a cold hearted family. All she did was grow up to be such a sweet, funny, gentle, unique person, she didn't deserve to be hurt!

Stephen's eyes widened at the comment, a bit surprised. The expression disappeared with a blink, and now he looked like he was relishing this moment.

"Such a noble Gryffindor."

He flicked Anthony's nose with his wand, back and forth. After a few times, he stepped back and pointed the wand at Anthony's chest.

The young boy held his own as Richard stepped away, backing far away from the redhead.

Anthony had no energy left to run, but he willed himself to stay standing, not to fall in front of them.

He wished his hands weren't shaking so hard, maybe he could find his wand, maybe he could disarm him just like Professor Potter had taught him, maybe he could--

"Crucio!"