KenderCleric's Challenge #14 - The Twin Emperors

Yes, the whole "twin" thing has been done to death, but I think this is a fairly unique spin. That and the summary was fun to write.


Summary:

Albus Dumbledore was a rather annoyed Headmaster at the moment. His eyes did not twinkle and he was not savoring the taste of the Lemon Drop he was angrily crunching between his teeth. The Headmaster was not a man who enjoyed being clueless; he did not find it the least bit entertaining or amusing to be left in the dark so to speak. Thus it was that on the evening of October 31st, 1981 the ancient wizard was ever-so-slightly put out by the mystery sleeping in the arms of his Gamekeeper.

Nearly a year and a half prior to that night Albus had been witness to the delivery of a True Prophecy. It had been a rather unexpected event considering the unmitigated fraud he had been in company of; but there it was for anyone to hear. He was still miffed about the escape of the eavesdropper, but at least he was nearly certain they had not heard the full prophecy. Not that having heard it in full was doing him any good at the moment.

The prophecy had stated that the Dark Lord's downfall would be born at the end of July that year. The child of prophecy would be born to parents who had three times defied Voldemort's will and lived to tell the tale. That had certainly narrowed the options a great deal. Children born in July to parents who had defied Voldemort were not in short order, but finding those children with living parents had grown rather difficult. In the end the options had been reduced to the Potter and Longbottoms families.

The Longbottoms, though they knew nothing of the prophecy, had been helpful by only having one child; a boy named Neville. On the other hand you had James and Lily Potter who had, even now outside of Hogwarts, decided to make Albus' life harder. The couple had gone and complicated things by having twins; identical twins as if it wasn't annoying enough already.

Poor Minerva had nearly had a break down at the thought of James Potter having twin sons whose Godfather was Sirius Black. The thought hadn't been too horrible until it struck her they would be in school together. If Albus recalled correctly she was already researching new spells to lock students into their dorm rooms until she personally released them no matter what counter charm they may attempt.

Now, on this most tragic night the Potter twins were left orphans, and Albus was left with a headache. Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters and the Dark Lord had attacked. James and Lily were killed, but then somehow Voldemort had been killed himself. When the news had first reached his ears Albus assumed that whichever twin Voldemort had first targeted was the "chosen one" of the prophecy; they would carry the "mark" that indicated they were Voldemort's equal.

When Hagrid arrived with the twin boys Albus instantly began to scrutinize them. The first of the two children now had a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. It had traces of dark magic on it and refused healing. Surely this was the mark the prophecy spoke of. Unfortunately for Albus' nerves the twin bore the exact same mark with the exact same magical traces and resistance to healing. The answer as to which twin was the one spoken of by the prophecy remained unanswered; it was a mystery.

Again Dumbledore mentally groused about hating a mystery that he himself had not orchestrated. With a sigh and shrug he left both children on the doorstep of their muggle aunt and decided to worry about it later. Surely by the time the boys began their schooling at Hogwarts it would become clear which one was the prophecy child and which was the extra.

The boys would be humble; Albus was sure, having been raised by their magic-hating relatives. He knew all-too-well of Petunia's jealousy over her sister's magical abilities. The Headmaster also knew, from Lily's own words, how that jealousy had later turned into outright loathing of all things magical. It would not an overly comfortable childhood for the twin boys, but they would be safe and cared for he was sure. Their family's attitude would ensure that they did not become overly full of themselves and would never know of their famed status in the magical world.

That was the plan and Albus was sure that it, unlike defining which child was the one of prophecy, would go swimmingly.

Poor Albus.

On September 1st, 1991 Albus Dumbledore was seated in his customary spot at the Head table. Along side him the staff of Hogwarts, minus Hagrid and Minerva, quietly talked among themselves as they all waited for the first year students to enter. His eyes twinkled in anticipation as the doors of the Great Hall swung open and Minerva lead a row of small eleven year olds into the hall.

Albus knew something was wrong instantly. Minerva's right eye was twitching and her face was set in a scowl that was for the records. He could only assume one of the first years had angered her somehow. That was an impressive record really. Only a moment after his eyes moved on from Minerva did clarity come. The Potter Twins could not be mistaken.

Dual heads of messy black hair rose slightly above their classmates. The two boys, who surprisingly wore no glasses like their father had, smiled broadly as they walked. What was surprising was the general way they moved and the presence they held. It was like watching two young Crowned Princes walking into a room of their subjects. Their movements were casual, yet elegantly precise. Their expressions warm, but aloof at the same time.

Albus blinked. This was not what he had expected. His eyes narrowed slightly behind his half-moon glasses as he scrutinized the boys further.

The robes they wore appeared to be of excellent quality and they worse them well. Yet, a close examination of how the robes hung on their slim frames showed they were as-yet unaccustomed to the wizarding attire. This confirmed, in the Headmaster's mind, that they boys were as he thought newly introduced to the common clothes of the magical community.

Dumbledore's eyes briefly shifted down the head table to where Hagrid was taking his seat. He needed to ask the half-giant for greater details about his trip to gather the boys.

The sorting had begun and he watched with interest as the children went to their Houses. When Minerva came to the Potters her voice changed pitch and tone a bit. If Albus didn't know better he would say it was a nearly resigned and defeated tone she took. He couldn't help but blink at the odd change. Sadly, it would not be the last odd occurrence of the evening in regards to the Potters' sorting.

The hat was placed on the first boy's head and sat silently. Everyone waited as whispered conversations echoed across the hall. The arrival and sorting of the Boys-Who-Lived was, after all, a big deal. Long moments passed and many wondered what could be taking so long. Then, for the first time in memory, the hat began to laugh. It had begun as an odd snort from the tear that served as the hat's mouth. Then it broke into snickers, and eventually a full-force, roaring, laughter.

Albus blinked. Minerva sighed, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose under her glasses. Snape's eye twitched, Quirrel shivered, and everyone else simply looked amused and confused.

Finally the hat's laughter broke off. Another moment passed and finally the hat yelled out, "Gryffindor!"

The applause left a ringing in the aged Headmaster's ears and he thought Minerva appeared close to tears.

The next Potter was called forth and sat casually as if sitting before over three hundred students was an everyday event. The hat was placed on his head and silence reigned. Many seemed to be curious as to if the same odd reaction would occur with this twin.

A moment later the hat again began laughing. This time though the occasional "oh my" or "why I never" was mixed into the laughter. Albus was finding himself greatly annoyed. A mystery was forming around the Potter Twins, a second mystery, and he had no answers for either.

When the hat finally controlled its laughter long enough to yell out, "Gryffindor" the hall erupted into cheers and applause once again. Now, Albus was certain that Minerva was close to breaking down in tears. Her right eye was twitching uncontrollably and her hands shook slightly.

For the first time Albus noticed that the other twin had awaited his brother's sorting before moving to his designated table. Now both boys, wide smiles began to walk to their table. Albus blinked as he got a glimpse of the boy's bright green eyes when they passed. They were twinkling, like his did. An involuntary shiver ran down the Headmaster's spine as a sense of great foreboding flooded him.

The Potter Twins moved on to their table like a pair of Emperors on a tour of their domain, and everyone noticed. The teachers who had clear memories of the days of James Potter and Sirius Black cringed while those too new boggled at the sight. Albus' steady gaze followed the boys to their table and what he saw as they sat nearly gave him a heart attack. Judging by Minerva's whimper he could only assume she noticed the same thing; the Potter Twins had sat by the Weasley Twins.

"God help us all," muttered Poppy Pomfrey.

Albus could only nod in agreement as his mind considered the sick twist of fate he was witnessing. After a few moments the noise died down, Minerva had collected herself again, and the sorting continued. As the sorting neared completion Dumbledore felt a nudge at his elbow and looked down at his right to see Filius Flitwick casually passing him a note.

Albus blinked. Taking the note as inconspicuously as possible he unfolded it and quickly read it.

Drinks after the feast, your office, for the entire staff. We'll need them.​

Though the Headmaster felt it a bit impertinent for his staff to invite themselves to his office and liquor, but he could hardly deny the truth of it. While the mystery that was the Potter Twins remained unsolved Albus could tell that was only one of the headaches the boys would cause him over the next seven years.


While the staff plotted a drinking binge, and the students stuffed their faces with a feast for kings the Potter Twins watched. Sidelong glances at one another confirmed that they were considering the same things. The wizarding world would never know what hit them. Seven years; they had seven years to ensure their place among their peers; that would, in turn, ensure their position in the magical world.

The Twin Emperors of Hogwarts had arrived; God help the Wizarding World.


The Challenge:

Use the summary above to write a twin!Potters fic. The rules below further detail the exact challenge.

The Rules:

• Both twins are the Boy-Who-Lived. Explain how.
• One twin must be Harry James Potter. Name the other appropriately.
• Briefly describe the twins first two years. The story should diverge in year 3 at some point.
• No Horcruxes are to be used in this fic.
• The twins get along, and work as a team. No angsty "I hate my brother" crap.
• The twins are far more than they seem. Explain how.
• Explain how the twins eventually get the unofficial title of Twin Emperors of Hogwarts.
• No pairings between the twins and: Ginny, Hermione, or the Patil twins.
• No slash pairings of any kind (this means no twincest too).
• The use of the term "twin bond" in any shape, form, fashion, or variation is not allowed. No mindspeach should be used in this fic.
• The twins may be pranksters, but not in the same way the twins are. Be creative in this regard.

 

You had me in stitches with that summary man. Utter genius, yet again.

It will be interesting to see if an author takes this up, and how they decide to have the Potter Twins grow up to be as they are in this challenge. Circumstances such as those in The Happy Red Prince could be used. Or the boys could be put into an orphanage, and very originally could be adopted by someone important. Or you could even borrow an idea of Corwalch's, though it'd probably be best to ask his permission first, and have them made Wards of the Royal Family. Read his fic Hatal Fart Attack (http://www.hpfandom.net/eff/viewstory.php?sid=8159). That sort of idea could be put to good use in conjunction with this challenge.

 

No Potter-twins/Patil-twins?

Spoilsport.

Anyway, kickass challenge; I thought for a moment that the twins were actually somehow going to be James and Sirius in the Potter-twin's bodies.

As for

I think it would be cool if they were pranksters in a much more malicious way thatn the twins. None of this "changing the colour of people's hair" or making people sing that is so often used in fanfiction: the twins could aim to cause proper chaos and misery. Like James Potter and Sirius Black. Their "pranks" weren't really pranks; they just hexed people.

 

Now that would be an interesting twist having the twins be James and Sirius (killed off somehow). Odd, and would require a damn good explanation, but interesting none-the-less.

As to the pranks that's kinda what I had in mind, but obviously it would be up to the author that took up the challenge. The idea that they would use the pranks as a method to "control the masses" was what I was working from, but a pure "we did it because we could" attitude works just as well.