The Fowl Heart, Chapter 3: The Detour

 “Side-along Apparition!” exclaimed Gavin, excitedly. “My first time doing it, too!  It was Ministry approved over the summer when the news broke that You-Know-Who was back.  Brilliant, right?” asked Gavin, with the widest smile on his face.  Xander said nothing, but simply nodded his head energetically and while forcing a smile that was a little wider than normal, grabbed his brother in a tight hug to both welcome him home and hide his real jealousy.

Although Gavin and Xander were identical twins, there were clear differences to tell them apart.  Xander’s sandy hair was long and wavy, and parted to one side per the Dalton dress code; he was pale from always being inside, and scrawny. Gavin’s hair was cropped very short, he was tanner, and while still thin his muscles were tauter from Quidditch training.  Gavin also had a swagger and confidence about him that reminded Xander more of the school jocks than of himself.  Overall, Xander imagined he probably looked more like the post coma patient version of his twin Gavin.

Their mother stared happily at them both embracing and started to cry.  Gavin noticed his mother and let his brother go, saying “stop it, mum, its fine, we’re safe – I’m going to unpack!”  He grabbed his bag and ran to Xander’s room.

Xander looked as his mother, concerned by what his brother said.  She noticed and said “Don’t worry, I was crying because I’m happy to have my boys together again!”

“Yeah, but what did he mean, we’re safe, was there doubt you would be?”

“Oh, no, not really anyways – we just ran into a shady character in Diagon Alley selling some smuggled goods that I had to confiscate, and he wasn’t too happy.”

“Did he hurt you?” demanded Xander.

“No, of course not, I’m much too fast for some Durmstrang dropout after raising you boys,” said Mrs. Summerby slyly, “he just implied he had some death eater friends that liked him.  Probably just some lackey of Ali Bashir’s, selling one-person homemade rugs and counterfeit amulets for protection from dark magic.  Some of it looked old, too.  They’re stolen heirlooms from an old wizarding family is my guess, but I’ll have to check it out later.”

The prospect of seeing a death eater both frightened and excited Xander.  He’d never seen a death eater or a wizarding duel, and was curious beyond belief.  He knew he could be killed easily by any wizard since he couldn’t perform real magic, but that didn’t stop him from wondering what it must be like to face such evil.

“Do you mind putting my bag in my room while I make some tea and get some dinner ready?  You’re looking peaky,” said his mother.

Xander slung the clanking shoulder bag over his shoulder and headed down the hall.  He came to his room first and found his brother was already changing into muggle clothes, and decided to ask more about the shady character.

“So who’s the guy mum was talking about from Diagon Alley?”

Gavin shrugged and said “no idea, mate, I never met him before.”

“What were you guys doing in Diagon Alley anyway?” asked Xander, confused.  “I thought you could apparate outside Hogwarts grounds – did you have to meet in a weird spot?”

“Nah, we just had to pick something up on the way is all – so I guess apparating here was my second side-along trip. Hah!”

Gavin seemed giddy about the new capability of traveling thousands of miles in an instant.  Xander could understand, and wanting to avoid further envy, pushed more about the reason for the detour.

“What did you have to pick up that was so important?  Can’t they deliver parcels by owl?  Or was it some Ministry item that couldn’t be trusted because of You-Know-Who and all?”

Gavin chuckled.  “No, you thickhead, we stopped for your Christmas gift.  Not everything is about the battle between good and evil, you know.”  He tossed a large wrapped parcel to Xander, who caught it with difficulty. There was a large bright purple “W” emblazoned on the wrapping paper.

Xander was embarrassed and didn’t want to argue about his questions.  He knew he was secretly hoping the detour had been more adventurous than it turned out to be.  Even so, his fascination for all things wizard won out like it always did during holidays.

Putting the gift on the bed, he asked “Can I try it on, again?” asked Xander, sheepishly.

“Of course you can.  But like always, you got – “

 “ – dishes duty tonight” finished Xander.  That was their deal.

Within a couple minutes, Xander was out of his preparatory school uniform and into the Hogwarts school robes, the Hufflepuff insignia clean and proud on his brother’s robes. During the Christmas and Summer holidays, Xander would take every chance he could to soak in everything he could from the wizarding world.  He’d read the school books, catch up on news from the Daily Prophet, and even worked out a deal to try on the school clothes his brother owned.  At first Gavin was reluctant but when Xander offered to take dishes duty every night he tried on the school robes, Gavin happily agreed. 

Gavin wasn’t a Prefect, but he was Seeker for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and that was even better in Xander’s mind – better to be picked for your talents than conforming to rules that anyone could follow.  Besides, being on the Quidditch team at Hogwarts meant you were cool, Xander was sure of it.  He noticed the swagger his brother started having the year before when he was picked and was sure this was the reason.  It didn’t hurt that the training regimen the team captain put them through helped Gavin grow from being the scrawny equal of Xander to this new specimen.

Xander had even tried to be as good as his brother at catching a snitch-sized golf ball at the park, but failed miserably at every catch.  When one catch barely slipped through his grasp, he reflexively kicked out his foot in frustration and bounced the golf ball back into the air slowly, catching it with ease.  Gavin suggested then that Xander might be better suited for something like futbol or hacky sack.

“You keep staring at yourself like that and that mirror might break.” said Gavin.

Xander was ripped out of his trance and realized he had been staring at himself and turning his stance from one side to the other for some time, having forgotten Gavin was there.  He rolled his eyes in embarrassment, and Gavin chuckled leaving the room.

“Xander, how long has this faucet been leaking?” Xander heard his mother ask from the kitchen down the hall.

“I dunno, but maybe that’s what the new super was here to talk to you about,” said Xander.  He walked down the hall following his brother to help inspect the faucet.

“What do you mean?  We don’t have a new super.  I just spoke to Charles yesterday,” said Mrs Summerby.

“I dunno, there was this plumber with a twitchy mustache said he needed to speak to y-“

BANG!

The front door burst open, breaking off its hinges, causing Gavin who was closest to it to fly backwards several feet.  While splinters of wood and metal were still in the air, a ball of light entered the apartment and stopped right in the middle of the front room and kitchen right over the dining room table. For an instant, it just floated there, and Xander stood in the hallway shocked at what he was seeing!  And then the light disappeared.

That’s when sound exploded from everywhere.