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George checked his watch for the eighth time; it was half an hour past breakfast. Where was Adrian? They'd agreed to sit together so they could discuss their plans for the Yule Ball, or at least what Adrian should be prepared for. He seemed excited, especially since George promised to let him braid his hair for the day. George even brought his best comb for the blue-haired cutie. But now Adrian was nowhere to be found, and George was starting to worry.
"He's not here yet?" Fred asked beside him, combing his own hair while George was distracted.
"No, he's not," George murmured dejectedly. "D'you think he was kidding with me? Or that Ron dared him to?"
"Nah," Fred replied. "He may be a bit of a menace, but he wasn't joking about you. I swear, every time he's in the same room as you, he's-- oh, hey! Look, Hermione's here, and she... ooh, she doesn't look too happy."
George's head whipped around at lightning speed and, sure enough, Hermione had entered the Great Hall, but without Adrian by her side. And just as Fred said, she looked absolutely depressed with a sprinkle of furious. This in itself was enough to wave a red flag that put Gryffindor's to shame, as Adrian and Hermione always entered the Great Hall together.
So where was Adrian???
George stood up and marched over to the other end of the table, followed closely behind by a curious Fred and, after a brief hand wave, his date Angelina Johnson. George ignored them, eyes narrowing as he watched Hermione say something to Harry and Ron, who were now looking just as angry as she was. George sped up until he was practically running towards the Troublesome Trio.
Once he got close enough, he asked, "What's going on with you lot? Where's Adrian?"
Hermione looked up, shocked by George's sudden appearance, but she wasted no time in explaining: "It's horrible! I was just telling Ron and Harry-- that absolute brute Andy cornered and attacked us last night all because Adrian asked George out to the ball! He kept goading and provoking Adrian, calling him a fairy and a fake boy and even admitting he put Adrian's name in the goblet to get him in trouble, but then he called me a spitter-- it's apparently the American term for mudblood-- and Adrian tried to Transfigure him, but he accidentally hexed Professor Moody! And then Andy was saying that he'd go to prison, and Adrian... he just broke, I think. He... he was going to curse Andy with the Cruciatus Curse to protect us-- oh, it was so scary, his eyes were dead and he stopped speaking-- but then Professor Moody turned back and he scared Andy off. But Adrian... he can't speak, Professor Snape said it was a trauma response and that his brain shut down! He's in the Dungeons, helping Professor Snape with potions. I haven't seen him since."
The entire table went silent-- every Gryffindor within earshot had stopped their conversations and were now staring towards Hermione with grave expressions. Not one of them were pleased to hear about what had happened to their favorite Slytherin. Even students from other tables had tuned into Hermione's story, but they were now spreading it to their neighbors with looks of fury that mirrored a sliver of the unbridled rage in George's chest. He'd heard snippets of this Andy's past abuses towards Adrian from Ron and Adrian, but this was something else entirely. Putting Adrian's name in the goblet... calling him a fake boy... attacking him... practically calling him and Hermione mudbloods.... Not even Azkaban could punish him the way he deserved to be punished.
"That's sick!" Angelina cried in disgust. "All because Adrian asked George to the ball? Ludicrous!"
"Right bastard, that one," Fred spat. "What the hell's Dumbledore gonna do to him? Feed him to the squid?"
"He should have to go up against the dragons," Harry growled.
But Hermione shook her head. "No, they're not going to do anything. I overheard Professor McGonagall raging about it on my way down; apparently Headmaster Pope refused to punish him because he was 'defending Illvermorny's honor', and that Adrian was lucky no one saw him try to curse Andy-- even though Adrian was just defending us! For all he knew, Andy was going to use the Cruciatus Curse on him again!"
SNAP!
Pin drop silence. The jagged edge of a broken fork in George's hand cut into his palm, but he didn't seem to notice.
"What the hell do you mean, again?" George demanded, his voice low and deadly.
Hermione seemed to shrink under George's devilish glare, but her anger gave her enough strength to explain: "He... he'd done it to Adrian before. The day he was expelled. He cursed Adrian for hours until their Head of House told him to stop."
Oh.
Hell.
No....
George slowly looked up from Hermione towards the Slytherin table, where the Illvermorny students ate. Going by Adrian's descriptions, it wasn't hard to spot Andy: tall, spiky brown hair, beady black eyes, the face of a wrinkly Pit Bull, on the heavier side with a tiny bit of muscle, and the biggest shit-eating grin George had ever seen in his life. He was talking to a girl, who couldn't have looked more uninterested if she tried.
Taking a deep breath, George adopted a look of serenity that sent chills down everyone's spines. He pointed towards Andy and asked, "That's him? The dog boy with the Slytherins?"
Hermione followed his finger and, upon seeing him, scowled and nodded.
"Alright," George said. "Say, Fred, d'you mind if I raid our stash?"
"Stash? Which-- oh." Fred's eyes glowed with evilness and he grinned. "Not at all, dear brother! Take the lot! In fact, I'll delve into the untested stash."
Angelina looked over the twins, clearly unnerved. "What are you two planning?"
But Fred waved her off. "Oh, don't worry about it. Just... be ready for a bit of a pandemic."
"A what?!" Hermione gasped.
But Fred and George were already gone, marching away with the determination of soldiers on a mission of life or death. And in their wake, the smell of a brewing war filled the Great Hall with a mix of apprehension, uncertainty, and excitement.
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No one saw hide nor hair of Fred or George over the next few days, but their presence was evident all the same. Especially around Andy. No matter where he turned or who he turned to, he couldn't escape the twins' wrath. Each day was a little worse than the last, but no one could stop it. Not even Headmaster Pope whdeso, mysteriously, seemed to disappear each time Andy was tormented, leaving only a tiny critter locked into a broom closet or else hunted by Mrs. Norris until Professor McGonagall "finally" recognized the situation.
The first days had started off "light": every day, Andy would find himself feeling feverish, constipated, sweaty, light-headed, or sometimes with ungodly acne. That was, until he learned to thoroughly search his food for well-hidden sweets.
After that, the harassment and bullying claims started up. Seemingly every young Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and even a few Bauxbattons girls started claiming that Andy was making advances towards them, or else had gotten physical with them. Many of them came in with black eyes and gushing nosebleeds. Of course, the teachers were livid, despite Andy's protests of innocence, and he was put in all-boys classes, where he would face the death glares and threats from friends, boyfriends, and older brothers of his "victims".
Not even the ghosts left the boy alone. Every morning, Andy would wake up in cold sweats or be face-to-face with the Bloody Baron until he was transferred to Gryffindor House. But that proved to be a mistake, as Nearly Headless Nick would soon prove with his constant attacks. Then he was moved to Ravenclaw, but that lasted an even shorter period after a student ghost who just so happened to be on good terms with the twins was discovered sneaking potions into Andy's mouth while he was asleep, which would paralyze him or make him horribly sick. And while Andy was still given the cold shoulder and isolated with the Hufflepuffs, no one hurt or poisoned him as no one wanted to be anywhere near the creep.
But the worst thing Andy dealt with was when he was in the corridors, out of class and away from any teacher who might protect him: Peeves, the ultimate agent of chaos, followed him everywhere and pulled out every trick and prank he knew to make Andy miserable. He'd pelt him with stink bombs, lock him into rooms that had been desolated by Portable Swamps, steal his wand and replace it with a trick wand right before shoving him into a brewing fight, forced trick sweets down his throat that would leave him sweating, vomiting, galloping, singing, fainting, mute, or with an enlarged tongue. And every time, he'd leave Andy a mess of tears and vomit on his knees, begging for mercy. Not even the Bloody Baron stopped him, thanks to Draco.
Eventually, the teachers would try to intervene, but they didn't know who was orchestrating all the chaos. The ghosts kept their mouths shut, the House Elves claimed to have never seen the trick sweets in their lives, and the students feigned ignorance towards Andy's suffering because they were so focused on the Triwizard Tournament and their studies. On top of that, no one had time to care about one bully due to their concern for Adrian.
While Andy had been suffering, a blissfully unaware Adrian was getting overwhelming love from the school. Not just the Slytherins and Gryffindors, but the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, Beuxbattons, Durmstrangs, and even a few Illvermorny students comforted and shielded Adrian from Andy, his friends, and even Pope who, on several occasions, tried to blame him for Andy's suffering. Of course, none of the House Heads took that well and threatened him to stay away from Adrian.
Adrian was, of course, confused by the sudden kindness, but thanks to the Trio and the twins' constant distractions, he didn't think to question it and enjoyed the warmth of his school, as well as the warmth of George's arms when he hugged him or the warmth of his voice while Adrian braided his red hair during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, just as he promised.