Chapter 1 Betrayal

Harry Potter was returning to Privet Drive. Dumbledore had been laid to rest on the grounds of Hogwarts. Now he felt almost alone. His two best friends were seated across from him on the Express, worried that he was losing his mind. Well at least one of them was. Hermione Granger, muggleborn witch, smartest witch in school was definitely worried about him.

Ron Weasley, his other best friend, seemed to act worried about him but something made Harry wonder if he truly was. The red head seemed to put some distance between them the last couple of days, as if he suddenly realized that people around Harry tended to get killed. Whatever the reason Harry hoped that Ron would stick around.

All too soon the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 ¾. Harry grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage and joined the queue to walk through the barrier. On the other side stood Harry's Uncle Vernon, waiting impatiently. Hermione pulled him into a huge hug and told him to write. Ron had disappeared without a single word. Harry walked slowly over to his uncle.

"Hurry up boy. I haven't got all day."

"Yes, Uncle Vernon."

Harry followed his uncle out of the station and into the car. The drive from London to Surrey was done in silence. When they arrived at the house, Harry grabbed his trunk and Hedwig in her cage and went up to his room. His uncle grinned evilly at him as he closed and locked the door. Harry sighed and looked around. He saw that the bars were back on the windows. He tried the door knob, already knowing that it was locked. Now he was getting angry. As he stood in front of the door the cat flap moved as a tray of bread and water were pushed in, prison food.

Harry was no longer going to be passive about this. Dumbledore wanted him to return and he did. Now he was a prisoner in the house from hell. Grabbing a quill and some parchment from his trunk, Harry scribbled out a plea for help. Folding it he released Hedwig and asked her to deliver it to the Weasley's, which ever one she came to first.

As Harry waited, he ate his meager dinner and dozed, still in the clothes that he had changed into on the train. He hoped that Hedwig didn't run into any trouble and that he was released soon. About three hours later a noise at the door drew Harry's attention. Holding his wand in front of him, Harry waited for the door to open. A couple of minutes went by and Harry found himself staring at Fred and George.

"How's it goin' mate?" asked Fred.

"Fine, now that you two are here."

"Ready to go?" asked George.

"Yeah, didn't even unpack. Where's Hedwig?"

"We left her at the Burrow. She spotted us first and we thought, 'Why not surprise Mum with you', so here we are."

Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage as the twins grabbed his trunk. They made their way down the stairs and out to the back yard.

"Don't know who's watching the front but we know that Mundungus is supposed to be watching the back. Which means that he isn't. Didn't want to cause any trouble by breaking you out early."

"What did you do with the Dursleys?"

"Put a potion into their pudding making them about six inches tall. Don't worry they'll think that it was all a dream. It's still in the experimental stage. Thought that we'd give it a test run."

George grabbed Harry's arm and apparated them as Fred apparated with the trunk. Harry still had Hedwig's cage in his hand. They had arrived just outside the wards that protected the Burrow. Fred shrunk the trunk and cage and handed them to Harry for the walk up to the house.

As they got closer they could here the voices of Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Percy, Ron, and Ginny coming from the open window in the kitchen.

"How long do we have to pretend to like Potter, Mum" asked Ron. The question shook Harry to the core. "I mean now that we aren't going to get paid since Dumbledore decided to get himself killed."

"Now Ron, you know that we still have to keep up the pretense. If I can still hug him then you can still talk to him and be his 'friend' a little longer."

"At least you didn't have to pretend that you were in love with him. I mean I kissed him for Merlin's sake" said Ginny, shuddering at the memory of their kisses.

"Once Potter kills the Dark Lord, the Ministry will kill or at least imprison Potter. Then we will be free to do as we please." added Mr. Weasley.

"Yes the Ministry has a tracking charm on Potter and his wand. They know exactly what spells he uses. It will be all the evidence that they will need to sentence him." said Percy.

"What about Granger? Do I still have to pretend to like her?"

"Yes, Ron. She will be taken care of later as well. The Weasley family will then rival the Malfoy's in money and status. We only have to wait a year at the most."

Harry had heard enough. He turned around and started walking down the lane towards the village. Fred and George raced to catch up to him. Both were shocked and furious at their soon to be ex-family members. They didn't know if Bill or Charlie were a part of the plot but they were determined to find out.

"Did you know?" Harry asked in a very controlled voice.

"No mate, we didn't. As of right now we are no longer Weasleys. Both of us renounce our name and heritage." A bright white light came from both redhead's sealing their vow. Their shock and the look of betrayal on their faces from what their family said was too real to be faked. Harry believed them.

"So if you two are no longer Weasley's, what name are you going to take?"

"Something that will stick it to the Ministry." Said Fred.

"How about adding 'Potter' to it? I'd be proud to call you two my bothers."

Fred and George both grinned evilly. "Pull your wand out Harry."

Harry pulled out his wand and held it in front of him. George started an incantation. Suddenly a black mist rose out of Harry's wand. Fred captured in a bubble that he had conjured. Then a grey mist rose out of Harry. Fred placed it in a different bubble.

"What were those?" asked Harry.

"Those were the tracking charms that they placed on your wand and you. We'll take care of them. Consider it a gift from your 'brothers'. Now we can perform the family binding spell without the nosy gits knowing."

They stood close together, with wand points touching, as each repeated the phrase of 'together as family' over and over until a different color came from each of their wands. From Harry's came a brilliant emerald green that split in two and entered Fred and George. Fred's orange light and George's magenta light entered Harry. Their lights didn't enter each other since they were already brothers.

"We are now brothers and we have added the name of Potter to our own" said Fred and George together.

"The Potter family accepts you into their lineage. From now on you are Fred Weasley-Potter and George Weasley-Potter. May you live a long and happy life within the family, not to mention the pranks that need to be done."

Hours later two bubbles arrived at the Ministry, addressed to office of the Under Secretary to the Minister of Magic Delores Umbridge. They exploded the moment she touched them. The tracking charms were now placed on her and she had no idea how Potter had done it and not got caught. She couldn't go and accuse the brat of underage magic without telling how she knew, since it was slightly illegal to do what she did. She had to wonder how much the brat knew about the plan.