The Darkness Within

Chapter Twenty - Family Secrets

Chapter Twenty

Damien almost lost his balance as he portkeyed into the hallway of the headquarters. Lucky for him, Fred and George had grabbed a hold of him, saving him from hitting the floor face first. Damien straightened up, grinning at the twins.

“Thanks!” he muttered in a whisper.

Fred stooped low, picking up Percy's portkey that Damien had dropped upon arrival.

“I didn't think the portkey would spit us out in the middle of the hallway!” Fred said, his voice barely above a whisper too. He scowled at the gold coloured oval disc before pocketing it. “We're lucky no one was in the hallway. That would have been a right mess!”

“Yeah, imagine we portkeyed straight into mum!” George added, but with a cheeky grin. “That would have been the end of us!”

“I said we should have portkeyed under the cloak,” Damien whispered, pulling out the folded silver invisibility cloak he had inherited from his dad, from his pocket. “But you guys wouldn't listen!”

“Try holding onto anything when portkeying,” Fred grumbled, “there is no way all three of us could have stayed under the cloak and kept a grip on it while being thrown around in space by that stupid portkey!”

“I hope Percy's okay.” Damien muttered guilty, reminded of the older Weasley boy by the mention of his Order portkey. “How long before the puking pastilles wear off?”

“About an hour or so,” George shrugged. “He'll be fine. He's survived worse.”

Damien didn't doubt that, having Fred and George as younger brothers was bound to have detrimental effects on your health.

“How many pastilles did you crush and put in his drink?” Fred asked his twin.

“Two.” answered George.

Fred looked like he was mentally calculating something.

“Yeah, about an hour se-”

He never got a chance to finish. The door furtherest from them was suddenly wrenched open and several voices spilled into the hallway, making Damien, Fred and George jump in surprise. Damien fumbled with the cloak, hastily throwing it around himself and the twins.

In their panic to conceal themselves, none of the three boys got a chance to look at the dark haired boy that had stormed out of the room and was now tearing his way upstairs. All they managed was a glimpse of his back before he disappeared up the staircase. All three however, saw James Potter rush out of the room, after the boy.

“Harry! Harry! Wait!”

James rushed up the stairs, disappearing from view but Damien and the twins could still hear him calling out the name, 'Harry'. A loud bang told them that a door on the first floor was slammed shut but Damien could make out his dad's voice, still calling out.

The three boys stayed where they were, hidden under the invisibility cloak, hearing strained to catch any words that James Potter was saying but they couldn't make much out. After a minute or so James appeared, making his way back downstairs. He walked to the room he had rushed out of only moments ago, with a defeated and tired look on his face. The door closed with a solid bang but the trio hidden underneath the invisibility cloak waited another few minutes before emerging from under the cloak. Fred motioned for them to follow him and he hurried as quietly as he could to the shadowed corner, underneath the stairs.

“What was that about?!” Fred whispered urgently to the other two. “Who was that boy?” he asked. “Did any of you get a good look at him?”