Chapter 2
"Get up twit," Lycoris said, flicking Braxton's ear with his finger. Without opening his eyes Braxton non-verbally cast a spell at Lycoris which flung his twin at the wall, but the cushioning spell that accompanied this kept his brother from getting too hurt.
Lycoris fell to the ground with a loud thump, which resulted in Braxton rolling his eyes.
"Get up twit," Braxton said, imitating Lycoris, which just resulting in Lycoris laughing. Lycoris non-verbally cast a healing spell on himself that instantly mended his soon to come bruises.
It was a powerful spell, one they had both come up with since Potions usually resulted in a long healing time, but with this, it was instant. It just wouldn't work on everything. Just usually shallow cuts and bruises.
The only problem was only a very skilled Charms Master could successfully cast the spell. Luckily the boys were just that.
"Don't make me get Mother." Lycoris threatened with an evil grin. Braxton's eyes shot open as he glared at Lycoris. Mother would curse him into oblivion. She didn't tolerate disobedience.
"You wouldn't dare," Braxton hissed and Lycoris laughed.
"Mot-" Lycoris started to summon her but was instantly cut off by Braxton.
"I'm up, I'm up," Braxton said quickly as he climbed out of bed. He most definitely wasn't a morning person, but neither was Lycoris. Lycoris just liked finding unusual ways of waking Braxton up and teasing him. It was a part of their daily routine really.
Braxton spelled on a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, matching Lycoris's. The started off each morning with a jog around their manor, which was around 6 miles. They've been doing the same routine for as long as they could remember. They trained every day with Lauren and Draco, but when their friends went home around 4pm the twins trained with their father. Before four o'clock they would have their regular lessons with Severus, Lucius, Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastion.
The twins went downstairs to find Lauren and Draco standing in the living room, waiting for them to start the jog, as always. The instant Lycoris saw Lauren he wrapped her in a hug and kissed her with a gentle sweetness that only the people standing in this room had seen before. Braxton and Draco rolled their eyes and went over to stand by each other.
"You can snog after our run," Draco said and Braxton snickered. Lycoris released from the kiss and pressed their foreheads together.
"I missed you, darling." Braxton heard Lycoris whisper into Lauren's ear, which resulted in Lauren blushing softly.
The Snape and Malfoy family had been on vacation for the past two weeks, resulting in the boys getting immense training from their Father. For the past fourteen days, they've been planning raids, duelling, running death eater meetings, and furthering their powers.
Both boys had been trying to unlock and control their core magic, but it was much harder than it looked. The problem was not with unlocking it, but with controlling the sudden burst. They had been meditating and trying to find their control for a long while now. Their Father didn't seem particularly disappointed with their little progress, just urged them, in a less than gentle manner, for them to try harder and work longer.
"I missed you too, my handsome prince," Lauren whispered back and Braxton had to force himself not to throw up. He didn't understand why this was necessary. Yeah, they were soulmates and all that mushy stuff but that didn't mean they had to snog every single time they saw each other.
"Can we get moving? We'll be late from the run if we don't leave soon and that'll make Sev angry. And we wouldn't want to tell him what made us so late now would we." Braxton threatened with a smirk which resulted in glares from the couple.
"Don't put it above Brax to tell on you two," Draco said and shook his head. The couple released from each other's arms reluctantly but still held hands and they all headed to the door. They took off into a jog as they went around the huge garden that was kept by the House Elves.
Lilies and Roses were the main flower scheme of the backyard, making it seem full of life. Braxton loved lilies. The flower represented Innocence and Purity. Something he wished the world had more of, but that was only a dream, one that he knew could never come true.
After the garden, they took off into the Woods that plagued the back sides of the house. Sometimes they would hold training there. It helped raise their senses so they could feel and hear everything that was going on around them, so nothing took them by surprise. After the two miles in the woods, they headed back.
They rarely spoke on their jog, just listening to the sounds around them and getting the sense of the simple morning delights. The fresh air, the birds that were chirping, the rising sun in their face.
Morning at the manner was a sight to behold.
Soon they exited the forest and ran around the huge garden one last time, finally stopping at the house. The speed they went at was a little faster than normal this time, which put them out of breath, but not quite panting.
With typical pureblood etiquette, they all had perfect posture as they entered the house as if they didn't just run 6 miles. They were trained by Aunt Cissy to always hold themselves to a higher standard than everyone around them.
For they were higher and they had to act like it.
Each one of them spelled themselves clean, which wasn't as effective as a shower but it worked in a time pinch and changed into their normal robes, light grey and black.
The twins were the only ones with color in their daily outfits, Braxton's had a bright green trim on his dementor robes that matched his light eyes while Lycoris had the trim in Royal Blue. Lauren and Draco had silk robes made of the finest material but they were black and black alone.
Draco heaved his heavy book bag over his shoulder watching as the others did the same, "How did you guys do on the Ancient Studies homework that was assigned over the break?" He asked.
The homework was writing a three-foot essay about the whole entire Roman Republic and how it influenced the Wizarding World. Lucius was a very hard grader, but Braxton had gone full out of the essay like he did all his homework so he wasn't too worried.
"It was the worst assignment we got. Everyone else was a little lenient, but that means we'll be doing a lot of things in class." Lauren said and everyone nodded. It wasn't good when they weren't assigned a lot of tasks, it made them cautious of what would be happening in the class.
"Uncle Rodolphus and Uncle Rabastion's assignment was easy and amusing," Draco said with a grin as the twins glared at him. Both he and Lauren had to map at least ten of the stars and constellations they came across in Australia.
Braxton and Lycoris weren't as lucky.
"Easy for you to say." Braxton scoffed, feeling annoyed just thinking about it. "You didn't have to study fifty comets and predictions of all the instances that they would be viewable to earth and then write a four-foot essay on them."
"That took forever to do and we weren't even allowed to compare answers." Lycoris said with immense frustration. They always compared their work to make sure they had everything right, but their Uncles hadn't allowed them to do that with this homework assignment. They had said something about wanting their nephews to become independent.
Like that was going to happen.
"That sucks, but you two are the next Dark Lords. You need to be well trained in everything possible. You'll be leading us in the future" Draco said and Braxton scoffed.
"All of our Death Eaters need to be able to hold the same knowledge as us. We wouldn't have a steady foundation to rule over other wise." Lycoris said as he reached for Lauren's hand, they would be inseparable all day.
"Lycori is right. We should all be able to support our Lords." Lauren said and smiled up at Lycoris, which was returned by a swift kiss.
Braxton rolled his eyes.
"Come on, we better get going. We wouldn't want to be late to Potions." Braxton said and turned on his heel, being followed by Draco and a reluctant Lauren and Lycoris.
Severus taught Potions, which was one of Braxton's favorite classes. He was always partnered with Draco since Lauren and Lycoris were always together. Lauren was a natural, but she really didn't enjoy the subject as much as Transfiguration. Lycoris and Draco understood how to make Potions, but they weren't well skilled in the subject. Braxton had already created 5 of his own Potions. He was on his way to become a Master of Potions. He was planning on applying for his Mastery when the war was over.
They made their way to the Potions lab that was on the bottom floor of Slytherin Manor. Since the Gaunt line was descendants of Slytherin they inherited the Manor and everything of the Slytherin line. Salazar Slytherin was a Potions master, that's where Braxton and the Dark Lord had gotten their skill from. The skill had skipped over Lycoris, it was either that or he didn't try since Braxton already had the subject covered.
They took their seats at their table, their cauldron and ingredients already set up. They were a couple minutes early, if they weren't, Severus would get angry and they didn't want him to get mad the first day back from break. They would be having another 3 weeks of classes until Draco and Lauren would be off to Hogwarts. It was always the roughest time of year for Lycoris, the soulmate bond with Lauren making him depressed when they weren't with each other.
Because of the depression, Lycoris would focus soley on his work and nothing else. Braxton would help him get out of the funk. It would usually take a couple weeks, but Lycoris would eventually snap out of it and turn back into the annoying pest that Braxton loved.
The door banged opened as Severus walked in and the teens quickly quieted down. Severus wore his formal robes made of pure silk. He was always dressed as though he was royalty, even when his day was full of nothing but lessons.
His hair was long, wavy and greasy like always, due to long hours hovering over steaming positions. The potions master didn't seem to change a bit. Even though he had traveled to Australia, he still had a very pale complexion.
"Welcome back from the short break, though I've seen enough of two of you." Severus said with a smile and they laughed softly. Lauren and Draco had told the twins that Severus taught differently at Hogwarts, that he was strict and harsh. Here Severus joked around with them, but when it did get to making Potions he was strict, but that was only so nobody would get hurt. Brewing potions were a complicated subject and the slightest mix-up could lead to something fatal.
"Lauren switch spots with Draco." Severus instructed and they switched places, a little confused but without question. "Today Draco will be partnered with Lycoris and they will be brewing Blood Root Poison. This potion is essential and will be used during raids. If not brewed right, it will cost us. Laruen will be brewing Felix Felicis, also known as liquid luck. It is a very complicated potion, but done right it will help us greatly. Braxton, you will be brewing and completing a Potion, Mopsus Potion. I have the basic outline of the ingredients, but it does not have all the steps. I will need you to finish it and brew a successful version of it. The potion allows the taker to have Seer abilities for several days and to be able to manipulate objects telekinetically. All of you get started." Severus instructed and Braxton nodded, taking in all the information.
Braxton started forming a plan in his mind. He got up from his seat and went to another table with a cauldron and ingredients for the Potion already laid out in front of him. Before starting anything, he put up a barrier between him and everyone else so if his Potion exploded he wouldn't need to worry about anyone getting hit. He snapped his fingers and two more cauldrons showed up. He would be experimenting and he needed 3 different cauldrons to test his calculations in, each cauldron being a different version of the potion.
He started crushing up Chizpurfle Fangs, one for each Cauldron. He snapped his fingers and suddenly each cauldron had a low fire underneath them. He started calculating the ingredients and changed each portion so each potion was slightly different. One of these would end up being the correct one. He had his journal out and jotted down everything he had been doing, making sure his notes were accurate and thorough.
Twenty minutes into making the potions, the 3rd one blew up. Braxton quickly raised his shield and was not hit by the containments, though the liquid was everywhere, dripping off his shield even. He snapped his fingers and the mess was gone, the only thing left with a clean cauldron. He then made notes in his notebook, recording everything and detailing what went wrong and when. Braxton continued on with his two other potions, making slight adjustments here or there.
He added Bulbadox juice to the first one and it instantly started to bubble over in gross grey green blobs. Braxton didn't even really blink at this, just snapped his fingers again to clean up it up and then took note and continued with his last potion. He added the final ingredient and stirred it 2 rotations clockwise. The color was a murky green, perfect for this Potion. Braxton smirked and waved his hand, bottling up the Potion in five vials. He recorded the findings in his notebook and closed it, putting it back in his cloak. He always had his notebook with him during class in his cloak. Braxton looked up and saw the others were working on homework, already finished with their Potions.
Whenever Braxton was brewing a Potion he would focus solely on his Potion, nothing else fazed him. It looked like the others had been done for a while, well into their homework. Braxton took down the ward and grinned. He took the vials and put them on Severus's desk.
"Done," Braxton said proudly, Severus examined the potion, smirking to himself.
"Incredible work Braxton. Your homework is to write a five-inch essay on how you achieved putting the Potion together and all the uses of the Mopsus Potion." Severus said and Braxton nodded going back to his desk. He snapped his fingers and a parchment with a quill appeared in front of him. He never used his wand, not needing it. He channelled his magic through his hands. The Dark Lord had still made Braxton and Lycoris get a wand, but neither really needed it. If anything, they were lost more often than with the boys. The only needed the wands for high power spells and since they were safe in the manor they only needed their wands for their parents training sessions.
Braxton started the homework and breezed right through it. Homework wasn't a challenging task for him, once his mind was flowing he barely had time to transfer all his thoughts to paper. Soon the clock hit nine signalling it was time for breakfast. They left the classroom and journeyed to the dining room where they usually ate their breakfast. Already on the table was sausages, bacon, eggs, and pancakes. All the teenagers grinned and took their seats. They sat down and started to fill their plates with the wonderful food served to them from the house elves.
"Do anything worth-while in Australia?" Braxton asked after he swallowed a piece of bacon. Lauren grinned as if she was recalling a memory.
"We went to visit the Australian Ministry of Magic while we were there and it was bloody brilliant. Dark Magic is allowed there, it isn't deemed dark. Magic is not in categories but is seen as one. The Australian Ministry of Magic is even more marvelous than ours. And get this, mudbloods aren't allowed into Grouseo school of Witchcraft and Wizarding. I wish Hogwarts was like that. Then we wouldn't have to start from the very beginning when we get to school just to slow down for mudbloods." Lauren said and had an evil glint in her eyes when she said mudblood.
"Hogwarts will soon be under our control and no mudbloods won't be allowed to taint our bloodlines and schools. We just have to wait. My Nieces and Nephews will be attending a school with only Purebloods and Half-bloods." Braxton assured her. He was positive Lauren and Lycoris would get married at 17 and shortly after there would little kids running around the manor.
Lycoris would be continuing on the bloodline that their father had given them. Since Lycoris would have kids, Braxton didn't fret about having any offspring, which was most likely unlikely since he doubted he would ever find a mate.
For the rest of breakfast, they discussed the upcoming year at Hogwarts and what would change. Draco told them everything he knew about the Triwizard Tournament that was going to be held at Hogwarts, but he had little information. Even the staff wasn't told much about it. Braxton's plan from the night before was still in his head and he would ask his father about it later, most likely after the raid in a couple days.
Soon Breakfast was over and they hurried up the stairs for Ancient Studies, Runes and Magical Theory taught by Lucius Malfoy. The class was a very interesting one and Lycoris excelled in making Runes. Draco was always trying his hardest in this class to make his dad proud of him. He was always answering questions and studying. Braxton and Lauren were hard workers in the class, but neither were as good as Draco or Lycoris, not that they seemed to care.
They made their way down the hall as they talked about their next class, no doubt Lucius would jump back into the hard stuff as if they hadn't just had a two-week vacation. The walked down another hallway and finally ended up in a classroom, set up by Lucius. They took their seats silently as Lucius was already at his desk, the chalk writing notes on the board behind him.
They all took out a piece of parchment and quickly started to copy down the notes. For the next hour, they were lectured by Lucius about the Greeks and how they fit into the Romans that tied back to us. He also showed them how their civilizations changed and helped form ours. Finally, he finished his lecture, leaving Braxton with five pages of notes. They handed in the essays and Lucius put them on his desk.
He then went on to the magical theory of the lesson. They went over the days of Merlin where all magical creatures lived in harmony, how they learned from each other and developed. The magic from other creatures shaped Wizarding ways and without them, we would still be in the dark about many things. He talked about how magical creatures channeled their magic.
The clock soon hit eleven and they all quickly packed up their stuff. They would be having lunch and then off to Bellatrix for their final lesson of the day. They wouldn't have their Astronomy lesson until tomorrow at ten pm.
They exited the classroom and went outside into the garden. They made their way over to a picnic bench under a tree. Once they sat down food appeared right in front of them, the house elves sending it. This was their usual place to have lunch so the house elves already knew what to do.
They put food on their plates and started digging in. They talked about the class they just had and about the ancient Romans. They always discussed classes after they happened so they would remember everything they had learned, even though the twins had nearly perfect memories.
Lycoris was talking animatedly about something but Braxton's mind journeyed off as he looked off into the woods that covered most of the property. His mind flashed as memories of him and Lycoris running through the woods giggling, emerged.
"Ready or not here I come!" Braxton heard Lycoris yell through the forest with a giggle. Braxton had managed to climb up a tree and he sat at the top of the branches, surely Lycoris wouldn't be able to find him here. Braxton snickered softly as he saw Lycoris running through the woods looking for his twin brother.
"Brax, I feel your magic! I know you're around here somewhere!" Lycoris said and Braxton's eyes opened wide. He had to remember to mask his magic so it was harder for Lycoris to find him. Braxton took a deep breath and summoned all of his magic into him, hiding it away.
It was a great feat for an eight-year-old to do, especially since he was so powerful that he needed to do this.
Braxton saw Lycoris frown and Braxton grinned. It worked, Lycoris couldn't feel anymore.
"That's not far Brax! How am I supposed to find you?" Lycoris shouted and Braxton muffled a giggle.
'Use your eyes? Or the tracking skills that Mama and Papa taught us.' Braxton instantly transmitted to Lycoris and rolled his eyes. Braxton and Lycoris had started to call Bella and the Dark Lord, Mother and Father when they were 7. It was a more formal way to address their parents, they weren't children anymore.
Lycoris instantly started scanning the trees as Braxton's heart started to beat faster. He would be caught. Braxton quickly thought of being somewhere else, he thought of a safe place to go too. He closed his eyes and thought with all of his might to be there. He imagined the place and then all of a sudden, he felt himself disappear, getting sucked into a pit. He opened his eyes and found himself in their bedroom.
'Lycori! I disappeared! I don't know how I did it, but I vanished and reappeared in our room!' Braxton instantly transmitted to Lycoris. He got up from his bed and looked out his window, that had a perfect view of the backyard. He saw Lycoris running out of the forest.
'How did you manage to do that?' Lycoris transmitted back and Braxton just shrugged. He saw Lycoris run into the house and then up the stairs.
'I thought as hard as I could, wanting to disappear so you wouldn't win and then all of a sudden I was in the place I wanted to disappear to.' Braxton transmitted back as Lycoris came into their room. Lycoris had a weird grin on his face and Braxton laughed.
That was the first time Braxton had apparated.
"What are you thinking of?" Braxton heard Lycoris ask, which drew him out of his thoughts.
Braxton shook his head, "Just remembering,"
A bell was heard from the manor, which meant it was two o'clock and Lycoris didn't have a chance to prod further, for Braxton was already standing. Time for Charms and Transfiguration with Bellatrix. She basically taught Dark Magic during it, so it could also be called a Dark Arts class as well. She taught all types of spells, wavering from what was classified from Light to Dark. She wanted them to be well versed.
They all grabbed their stuff and walked back into the manor. They went up to the third floor where the duelling room was, the place where Bellatrix taught her class. They walked through the hallway in silence, their robes swooshed a little as they walked. They came to a stop at the door, which had a piece of paper stuck to it.
Come in one by one, wear everything you would wear to a raid.
Good Luck My Little Snakes,
Bellatrix
The note ended with her messy signature. They all silently spelled their robes and masks on. Braxton and Lycoris had the same types of masks as all the Death Eaters so they would blend in. Lauren and Draco were the youngest death eaters in history, they had gotten the mark in the beginning of the summer. Since they were in the same training as the twins and they proved themselves, they were deemed worthy of having the mark. All the school aged death eaters had a concealment charm on their marks that would only allow a person with the mark to unmask it. This kept them all safe.
"Who wants to go first?" Lycoris asked and snickered. None of them wanted to go first, Bella's tests were the hardest. They would be attacked right when they entered the door.
"I'll go," Lauren spoke up and each of them nodded. Lycoris took her hand and whispered something in her ear, which resulted in Lauren nodding. Lauren then approached the door and went inside. The room was heavily warded so they couldn't hear what was happening inside. Braxton had his knives safely in his pockets, ready to be used. The tips of the knives had different types of poisons on it, depending on whether Braxton wanted them to have a prolonged or instant death. Braxton was well equipped with combat, the same with Lycoris. Lycoris was better at his reaction time, but Braxton wasn't that far behind. Both he and Lycoris summonded their wands and put them in their wand holsters so with a flick of the wrist they could easily access them.
Braxton ran through spells in his head that he would need. Mother couldn't make it harder on them since they all looked the same and the Twins masked their magic so it wouldn't be obvious on who they were. All of the sudden the door opened a crack, meaning the next person should go in. Lycoris stepped up silently and went into the room, closing the door. Braxton didn't know if he wanted to go next or last. If Draco didn't step up he would go next.
Braxton snapped his fingers and a couple vials of Poison appeared in front of him. This would help a lot. Braxton could imitate liquids and make them do what he wanted. He was still learning to control it, but he could control a lot of it. The vials of poison were as much as he could make do what he wanted, but it was enough to give him a huge upper hand.
Draco went next to the door and stood by it seeming like he wanted to go next, just to get it over with. Braxton paced a little, the movement helping his thoughts flow. He was always a little nervous for tests like this. He wanted to make his mother proud of him and prove his worth. The door opened again and he heard Draco take a deep breath and go into the room.
Braxton ran a hand through his hair as his sorted through his mind. He pulled up his Occlumency shields tightly and just like that his emotions were gone. All that was left was logical thoughts. He stopped pacing and went over to the door ready to enter. He had everything sorted out in what to do and he didn't have any emotions to mess him up. Father always said showing emotions during raids and duels showed weakness.
The door opened and Braxton went inside and closed the door behind him. The room was completely dark and he felt five magical signatures of duel dummies. A curse was immediately shot at him and he pulled up his shields and easily deflected it off of him.
'Confringo!' Braxton yelled inside of his head and cast a circle of fire around the room. The fire brought light and Braxton saw the five dummies clearly. They were circling him, winding around him much like a lion or predator would it's pray.
'Expulso!' Braxton shouted at the dummy in the middle, making it explode. Spells were cast at him as Braxton brought his shields up at full strength. Braxton knelt down and summoned his magic to make the ground shake. All but one of the dummies fell to the floor. Braxton then made the floor explode into fire. The three dummies on the floor instantly burned to ash, the one dummy that was still standing had levitated so he could escape the fire.
The fire on the ground went out as Braxton couldn't hold it for a prolonged period of time. The dummy started to shoot spells at him, which hit his shield at full blast.
"Crucio!" Braxton yelled out, hitting the dummy straight in the chest. The dummy fell to the ground convulsing, which made roaring laughter erupt from Braxton. He couldn't stop it. He felt his magic tingling all around his body. After a minute under the unforgivable curse, the dummy stopped convulsing, not able to move anymore. Braxton released him from the curse and hissed, so much like the snake he was raised to be.
"Avada Kedavra." Braxton spit and the familiar dark green spell left his hand and shot straight at the dummy, killing it.
A door opened from the other side and the lights in the room turned on. Bella rushed out wrapping Braxton in a hug.
"You did amazing my little serpent," Bella said which made Braxton blush. He lowered his Occlumency shields which then made him feel emotions and his body again. His body ached as his magic was strained from everything he just did. He was glad that he didn't have to do hand combat or use the poisons. He had them just in case, but he didn't want to use them. He wanted to save them for when they really came in handy.
"Thank you, Mother," Braxton said and took off his mask since all the other teenager's masks were off. Bella released him from the hug and smiled.
"Draco, Lauren you two are free to go back to your manors," Bella said and the two nodded apparating out of the room.
"Go get some rest. Your Father will be back soon and you will be testing the recruits." Bella said and they both nodded. Draco and Lauren would be inner circle death eaters when they got older and graduated Hogwarts. Lycoris was a little hesitant on Lauren being a Death Eater, not wanting her to be in so much danger but Lauren wouldn't back down and Lycoris had finally agreed with her.
The twins apparated out of the room and into their bedroom. Braxton snapped his fingers and his death eater robe was hanging up in his closet. The vials of poison and his daggers were on his desk, with a spell on them so nobody could touch them but himself. He snapped his fingers again and he was in a black t-shirt and sweatpants.
He climbed into bed and closed his eyes. His body relaxed and he felt how sore he was. His magic was flowing freely, it hurt too contain it for too long. Braxton heard Lycoris lying in bed as well. Braxton soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
"Boys." Braxton heard a silky voice call from the door, loud enough to wake them up. Braxton immediately recognized it as his father. Braxton groaned slightly, his body still aching. Braxton blinked his eyes open and he sat up. He looked over and saw Lycoris doing the same thing.
"Get ready to test the recruits. Today three of them will pass on to become death eaters. I'll be in my study working on plans for the raid. It will just be you two with six recruits." The Dark Lord instructed and Braxton's eyebrows raised in wonder. This was the first time the Dark Lord had trusted them with training the recruits without him.
"We will dad," Lycoris said and Braxton turned to look at him, he had a look of determination on his face. "They'll be too fearful to sleep tonight," Braxton said and laughed darkly. The Dark Lord nodded and then walked out of their room, closing the door. Braxton stood up and felt his body try to push him back down. He sat back down on the bed with a groan. Lycoris quickly went over to him and put two fingers on his forehead. Braxton's body immediately felt better. Lycoris was really skilled in healing spells. If they weren't the future Dark Lords, Lycoris would probably become a Healer.
"Thanks," Braxton said softly. He opened his eyes and snapped his fingers, instantly his cloak was on. He also spelled on his daggers, just in case someone acted up and they needed to make an example of them.
"Do you want to focus on hand to hand combat or magic combat?" Lycoris asked him as he too spelled on his cloak.
"I think we should do hand to hand combat. They're so used to magical combat and they wouldn't suspect that all death eaters should know it. It's a very useful skill and it would catch their opponent by surprise." Braxton said and Lycoris nodded. Braxton felt the wards weaken a little so the new recruits could apparate inside. Both boys quickly apparated downstairs. They didn't have their masks on since they weren't trying to blend in. Plus, it was hard to teach like that anyway. Each one of the recruits had made an unbreakable vow to never tell about anything that happened here or else their magic would turn on them and kill them. They didn't except treachery. They put that vow on every new recruit and mostly all the death eaters. Some had slipped through the cracks, but they would be sought out soon and put the vow on.
Both boys went to sit down on their throwns', which was on either side of the Dark Lord's thrown. They waited as the Recruits came in, making a line and bowing their heads.
'They all seem to be young, they're powers are not fully here yet.' Lycoris transmitted to Braxton as he felt each of their signatures.
'Probably because they're under seventeen. We aren't at our full power yet either. Just wait until we become of age.' Braxton transmitted back with a laugh. Braxton recognized one of them as Kyler Snape. Three recruits would be getting their dark marks tonight if they passed the last test that was set up by the Twins. Both boys hoped that Kyler was one of them.
"Each of you pair up," Braxton called out to the 6 recruits. Most likely they were all Hogwarts kids, Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Those houses usually fed into the Dark Lord's army. In a matter of seconds, each of them were paired up.
"Today we will be focusing on hand-to-hand combat. A skill rarely taught in the wizarding world and it will catch your opponent by surprise. Each of you spell up a weapon of your choosing." Lycoris instructed and they all took out their wands. Braxton saw a few daggers appear and a couple swords.
"My brother and I will demonstrate what hand-to-hand combat looks like." Lycoris said and Braxton raised his eye.
'Do you want to have your ass beat?' Braxton transmitted which made Lycoris laugh.
'You wish.' Lycoris scoffed. They both took off their robes and put them on their throwns. They wouldn't be able to cause any damage with their robes on.
Braxton pulled out his poisoned daggers and he had extremely sharp ninja stars in his pocket just in case. Lycoris then summoned two knives.
'No healing charms.' Braxton replied and Lycoris rolled his eyes.
'As you wish little brother.' Lycoris said. The recruits quickly hustled to the back of the room so they would stay out of the way of the Dark Princes.
'Ready?' Braxton transmitted back and Lycoris nodded. Braxton gripped his daggers as Lycoris ran towards him. Lycoris started to strike with his knives at Braxton who quickly deflected them with his own daggers. Their movements were precise and fast, well practiced.
They battled back and forth for a long while, making only superficial cuts and marks, but when they had been going at it for a good amount of time Braxton managed to deliver a deep cut across Lycoris's wrist.
Lycoris hissed in pain as the poison started doing its job. Lycoris knowing he didn't have long, and he used his remaining energy to plunge his left knife deep into Braxton's side. Both boys fell down to their knees as the pain went through them, but they didn't show it other than kneeling. Lycoris's arm started to turn purple and Braxton's shirt was soaked with blood.
'Duel over.' Braxton managed to transmit to Lycoris. Braxton turned his head and coughed up blood. Lycoris quickly went over to his brother and put his working hand on the wound. It started to mend itself. Lycoris waited for the correct stage in healing and then pulled the knife out. With Braxton's pain gone he was able to concentrate. He held his hand over Lycoris's wrist and felt the poison starting to take effect in his brother's bloodstream. He summoned all of the poison from his brother and made it all come out from the open wound. The poison floated in the air with Braxton's control. He then took out a vial and put the poison into it, sealing it up once it was all in there. He then put the vial back in its rightful spot inside of his cloak.
Once Braxton was done he felt dizzy. He had lost a lot of blood. Lycoris snapped his fingers and a blood replenishing potion appeared in his hand. Lycoris handed it to Braxton and he quickly drank it and felt immensely better. Braxton then snapped his fingers and his shirt was clean. They both stood up and put their cloaks back on. They both then spelled their weapons away.
"You will fight with your partner until one of you are unable to continue. The winner will be getting their dark mark today. The others will be severely punished. We do not tolerate failure," Braxton said and he felt the fear from all of the recruits.
"Begin," Lycoris said and the outbreaks happened. It didn't matter if their partners were best friends with each other, they battled to what seemed like the death. Braxton watching like a cat does a mouse as the recruits fought, he felt their determination to win within the group.
'This is a good group,' Braxton transmitted to Lycoris and Lycoris nodded.
'It is, I can't wait to torture the ones that are beaten,' Lycoris transmitted back and Braxton had to hide his grimace.
His brothers love for torture and violence were something that had always troubled Braxton.
'Of course, that's what you look forward to.' Braxton replied evenly. Braxton looked over and saw one of the recruits on the floor with a knife in their chest. They weren't moving which meant the other had won. Lycoris got up and went over to them, easily dodging the duels that were going on. Lycoris knelt down to the unconscious man and healed him, then took the dagger out. He then apparated him to the dungeons to lock them up until they were ready to torture him. Lycoris came back and lead the winner of that duel to the front and instructed him to stand next to their thrones.
This happened twice more and the winners were put in the front and the losers were chained in the dungeons. Lycoris then went back to his thrown and sat down.
"Remove your masks," Braxton instructed wanting to see who the individuals were. They all removed their masks and Braxton nodded. He spotted Kyler Snape in the bunch. Severus would be so proud.
"One at a time step forward and tell us your name and what bloodline you come from," Lycoris instructed wanting to know who the other two were. The one on the far right stepped forward first.
"I am Andrea Dolohov, only child and heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Dolohov." He instantly recognized the last name. Antonin Dolohov, her father, was one of the Dark Lord's most faithful followers. The Dark Lord would be pleased. The one in the middle than stepped forward.
"I am Jordan Rookwood, second born and only son to the noblest and Ancient House of Rookwood." Augustus Rookwood was one of the Dark Lords first followers that joined his cause. His father would be extremely pleased he was excepted.
Finally, Kyler stepped forward.
"I am Kyler Snape-Prince, first born and heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Prince," Kyler said and Braxton raised his eyebrow. Had Kyler taken it upon himself to claim himself as heir of the Prince house? He knew that Severus's mother was Eileen Prince so Kyler was her grandson.
Very interesting.
"Kneel down, the Dark Lord will be here soon to bestow the dark mark upon each of you," Braxton instructed and each of them immediately kneeled. Braxton reached his magic out to the Dark Lord and the Dark Lord felt the call. The Dark Lord then apparated into the room.
Immediately it was like the room had been doused in icy water. All the recruits froze, not daring to turn their heads to look, all of them knowing that He was now in the room.
"Each of you will be advancing to the Outer Circle of Death eaters. Things will just get harder from here, but it will be worth it," The Dark Lord said silkily and walked in front of them. He then went to the first one in the row.
"Rise Andrea Dolohov." The Dark Lord instructed and she steadily rose, keeping her eyes down.
"Roll up your left sleeve." The Dark Lord instructed and she quickly complied. He took out his wand and put it on her arm. The Dark Lord muttered an incantation and the girl held in a choked scream. It was immensely painful to get the mark and the pain of it almost brought her to her knees, but she locked her legs and forced herself to hold out.
A snake started to crawl into her skin in what looked like to be a muggle tattoo. A skull formed and the snake wrapped around it finally settling into place. The girl was extremely pale and looked about to faint. The Dark Lord removed his wand and let her arm fall down. The Dark mark was glowing a bright sickly green. The Dark Lord then muttered a concealment charm on her arm so the mark was covered, but it was still there. She could take off the charm whenever she wanted and could put it back on.
"Lycoris escort her home." The Dark Lord said and Lycoris quickly got up and went over to the new Death Eater.
"Welcome to the winning side," Lycoris said softly and grinned. He then put his hand on her shoulder and apparated away, knowing where the Dolohov manner was. Lycoris was back in 30 seconds and then took his place next to his Father once again.
The Dark Lord then did the same thing to Jordan Rookwood and then finally Kyler Snape. Braxton had escorted Jordan home and Lycoris would be then escorting Kyler home.
"Severus will be proud of you." The Dark Lord said and Kyler bowed low at his attention.
"Thank you, my lord." Kyler replied, softly. Lycoris then apparated away with Kyler.
"We have the defeated ones in the dungeon, Father. Do you want to join us in showing them what happens to failures," Lycoris said with an evil glint. The Dark Lord gazed at his son evenly, before shaking his head.
"I trust that you boys will cause them to never lose again. As for me, I'm heading off to bed." The Dark Lord said and Braxton nodded.
"Goodnight father," Braxton said.
"Goodnight son." The Dark Lord said and then apparated to his room.
Braxton laid down on his soft bed hours later, his mind and body shutting down. He had just delivered Crucio's to each of the losing recruits and it had drained him. Emotionally and physically. He could still hear their screams, they haunted him, like they always did.
He shook his head a bit to clear it, no use thinking about that now.
But think he did and it was a long while before he feel under the waves of rest, no matter how tired his body was. However, the one thing Braxton had forgotten about was that when he was this tired and troubled his dreams were no escape, always plaguing him with glimpses of the future.
Braxton was a Seer. He had visions of fate in his dreams. But only when he was resting. Never had he ever had a vision when awake and aware, they always came to him in shape clear dreams, when his body was relaxed and his shields were down. He rarely had dreams but when he did they were always visions and never had they not came true.
Braxton ran down a long path. On either side of him were hedges, large, dark, and threatening. They loomed over him like a promise of pain and loneliness. There was cheering from all sides, the faint roar of an excited crowd as he saw flashes of light. He sensed all danger around him, a dark feeling that he knew all too well. He didn't know where he was, all he knew was that his heart was pounding, his hand held his wand in a vice grip, and his feet pounded the earth, carrying him toward the finish.
This was his first vision that was about himself and he wasn't sure he liked it.
"HELP!" A girl's scream pierced the air. There were others in here with him. Just then he turned a corner and he realized that this was a maze, it was a maze and he had to find the center. He ignored the girl's continued screams and kept on running. He had to get towards the center, he didn't know why or how he knew this, all he knew was that it was important. It was like he knew where he was supposed to go. He crossed another path and found a Blast-Ended Screwt in his way.
"Avada Kedavra!" Braxton yelled without changing his running pace. The beast fell to the ground, dead. Gasps were heard through the audience and Braxton wondered where he was. He must be around light wizard because the simple spell he'd performed would only cause gasps from them, not from Dark Wizards. He shook his head all that mattered right now was making it to the center. After a couple, more twists and turns he arrived at the middle. This maze was quite simple for him to complete, maybe even too simple. Braxton shook the thoughts out of his head as he kept on running. Keep the eye on the price. Everything would be over in a few minutes. He imagined his mother's face emerging from the port key. He hadn't seen his mother in 10 months and he was missing her so much. He didn't know he could last so long without seeing or being around his mother and he was positive that she felt the same way.
Braxton stopped when he finally saw it. It was a large expense of grassy clearing and sitting in the middle, on a large pedestal was the Goblet of Fire. As he dashed towards it, he saw the dark swirling smoke in its middle. It felt so much like his father's magic, it filled him with energy and strength. He could feel all the raw darkness withheld in the Goblet. It was so familiar that he instantly reached out to grab it. The crack that echoed around him almost deafened him, he knew that sound, that was the sound of wards forcible being broken. Suddenly, the Goblet turned into a port key. Braxton watched as his twin brother and his mother suddenly appeared in the front lines followed by hundreds of Death Eaters.
"Excellent job son," Bellatrix said with a relieved look at the boy she hadn't seen in so long. She wrapped Braxton in a hug and kissed the top of his forehead. She then released from the embrace, knowing she had to take off to lead the death eaters. With one last look at Braxton, she left running out of the maze and into the shrieking crowd. Lycoris stayed with Braxton as the mass of Death Eaters went out into the maze, starting in on their killing spree. Once the Death Eaters were gone Lycoris also wrapped Braxton into a huge, pulling his brother close and burrowing his face in his twin's shoulder, breathing the comforting scent that was Braxton.
"I've missed you," Lycoris whispered softly as they embraced. Braxton felt a wave of peace wash over him when Lycoris hugged him. He felt that he was whole again. They had been away from each other for what seemed like forever, he had almost forgotten how much he loved being around his twin.
"I'm glad this is almost over. Albus Dumbledore will be in our hands, dead today." Braxton replied as they released from the hug.
"And that's all thanks to you," Lycoris replied with a grin.
"Come on let's go kill the Potters and Albus Dumbledore."
Braxton bolted up from his vision drenched in cold sweat, his frantic eyes taking in the familiar room and the sound of his twin sleeping peacefully in the bed next to his. He sighed, he was safe and at home, he wasn't at Hogwarts playing in the Tournament. But as he lay back down he realized that his visions were never wrong. He would be at Hogwarts, in the Tournament, it was all a matter of when now.