lol i hate this

thanks to em for betaing

for the ql, tutshill tornados, seeker, write about borgin and bukes

for patil, the tgs gift exchange

1270 words by google docs

George first started visiting the shop in his fifth year, sneaking away from his family as they shopped for their own school supplies. It was pretty easy to do, as they were staying in the Leaky Cauldron; their parents let them roam free, only requesting that they didn't leave Diagon Alley.

Well, Fred and George were rule breakers.

The pair of them had always wanted to visit Knockturn Alley and their curiosity was only peaked after Harry had accidently landed there—how could Harry have managed to get in before they did? They were older. So they snuck off, walking all the way to the end of Diagon Alley, right into Knockturn Alley.

The first thing that hit George was how much darker it was. It confused him; they were still in the same London, yet the feeling in the air made everything seem so much darker. Looking over at Fred, George could tell that he, also, had noticed the change, but nevertheless, they both grinned.

"We're finally here, Freddie. That was easy. Here I thought that there were trolls standing at every entrance," George said, laughing. A few people on the street gave him a weird look.

"What do we do first?" Fred asked, turning to George and quirking an eyebrow.

"Go into a shop," he said, raising his hands in a 'that was obvious' way.

They walked a little bit and then stopped at the first shop on the block: Borgin and Burkes.

This was it. This was the only shop that Harry had visited, the only shop that Fred and George knew anything about. Giving each other identical twin grins, they pushed the door and stepped inside.

The interior of the shop was darker than the outside, causing George to need to blink to adjust his eyes. The air was musty and there was a faint layer of dust covering everything, including the ground that the twins walked on. Different objects lined the several shelves attached to the wall, little cards in front of each, presumably telling a potential buyer about the object.

George's feet led him to a huge cabinet on one side, Fred following his footsteps. It was tall and black, lined with various designs. George was slightly entranced by the cabinet and he was about to lean forward and push it open when someone behind them cleared their throat.

Both Fred and George jumped and turned around to see an oily-haired man standing behind the store's counter, glaring at them.

"You boys interested in buying that cabinet?" he asked, his voice harsh, like a dagger stabbing through the air.

"No, sir," Fred said right away; they didn't have any money on them, and even if they did, the cabinet would probably be too expensive and too heavy for them.

"Then no touching it," the shopkeeper said bluntly, glaring at them.

George and Fred both nodded, George stuffing his hands into his pocket.

"We'd oughta be going, anyway," he said quickly, jerking his head towards the door. He pivoted, kicking up some dust and walked straight out of the door, Fred following him.

George didn't visit the shop again until after he and Fred had left Hogwarts. He had free reign of Knockturn Alley for the first time, no parents lurking behind him anymore. The shop still held a certain appeal to him. He walked in by himself this time, leaving Fred to unpack some of their boxes, claiming that he needed some fresh air.

Without thinking about where he was going, George found himself in Knockturn Alley, only realizing that he had even left Diagon Alley from the change of lighting.

Sighing to himself, George walked down the Borgin and Burkes, standing in front of it for the first time in over two years. He pushed the door open and took in the dust, still there, just like the last time George had visited the shop. There was nobody behind the counter, yet again. He hoped that it stayed that way; the shopkeeper has creeped him out.

Turning to his right, George spotted a weird shriveled hand. The Hand of Glory, the card in front of it read. Gives light to only the beholder, it noted in smaller print, underneath the name of the item.

"Interesting," George whispered to himself. He and Fred were working on an instant darkness powder that would make everything in the vicinity pitch-black. Maybe if George could find out how this 'Hand of Glory' worked, he could make their powder work with it, allowing the Hand of Glory to shed light.

He moved onto another object next to it, titled Perto da Morte. It was ball that had a slight glow to it. Below the name, the description said: revives the dead.

George didn't see how anything could possibly revive the dead, but he was still entranced by the glowing ball. He reached out a hand, about to touch it, when a sound came from behind him.

George turned to the shop's counter, where the oily-haired shopkeeper was back.

"Once again," he said, eyeing George's bright red hair. Apparently George wasn't the only one who remembered his past visit to the shop. "if you're not buying anything, don't touch anything."

George nodded and withdrew his hand. He turned to the door and made to leave, only stealing one last glance at the Perto de Morte.

George had lost his meaning for life.

He hadn't gotten up out of his bed for a week, only drinking and eating when Lee Jordan came over every once in a while and forced food down his throat. For some reason, Lee cared whether George lived, even though George didn't care himself. He just kept on relieving every memory he had with Fred.

He kept on thinking of one memory in particular, the pair of them visiting Borgin and Burkes. He kept on thinking about the shop and the glowing sphere, the Perto de Morte. Revives the dead, it read.

As much as George was skeptical about it, he was also desperate to get his best friend, his brother, back.

So, he placed an order for it.

It arrived the following week, with simple instructions: a life for a life. Murder someone. Capture their soul in the sphere with a quick spell and transfer it to the dead body.

George knew, in the back of his head, that there was something horribly dark with his murder plan, but he could only think about getting Fred back. He knew that however the sphere would work, if it would work, it would be dark; it was from a shop on Knockturn Alley. Their parents had banned them from visiting the alley for a reason.

Still, Lee Jordan was an easy target: he cared for George and insisted on coming over. Lee might have been a close friend to George, but Fred was a closer friend than him.

The murder was quick, a simple knife to the heart; Avada Kedavra would've tainted the soul, according to the instructions. There was blood staining his hands as he grabbed the Perto de Morte. He grabbed his wand a muttered the incantation: "Roube a alma."

George grinned as he felt a tug from inside of him. The spell must've been working.

The grin faded as nothing flew from Lee Jordan's body, into the sphere.

George was about to recite the spell again, when his breath hitched. It was as if it was completely taken from him. His body seemed to be unattaching from something. Something wispy flew out of his mouth, nose, and ears, flying for the sphere.

He was empty.