Hello, all, and welcome to the next chapter! Hope you have a pleasant stay!

Guest: Also Denmark! Yep, expect some Awesome Trio at some point! :D

Note: Now, I mentioned before that North American magical schooling and culture is vastly removed from the world of Hogwarts, and there will be slang and concepts that the brothers use throughout the story that belong to their version of magical culture. I will do my best to explain them as they come up.

In this chapter:

"Showdog": essentially slang for purebloods. Specifically, it refers to people who place high value on linage purely for vanities sake. Like pedigree showdogs. (How's that for wit?) They are noted for considering themselves 'too good' for most muggle pursuits.

mag . something: In this world, there's a series of magical websites that closely mirror the muggle web, created mostly by witch/wizard college students and used primarily by North American wizards/witches. Magical websites deal with magical information and the magical community and are not actually magical. They are denoted by the prefix "mag."

The following morning found Gilbert and Matthew sitting at the Slytherin table, quietly working their way through their breakfasts as other students slowly trickled in. It wasn't long before Alfred appeared, looking annoyingly perky for seven thirty in the morning. He plopped down next to Matt, snagging a pastry from the center of the table. "Man, I am loving this place's food," he commented, licking a bit of powdered sugar from his cheek. "You guys get your schedules yet?"

Matt nodded, handing his to his brother so he could compare. Alfred grinned happily when he found that they shared basically every class, thanks to their similar class selections and the school deciding that Slytherins and Griffendors should share basically every class. "Gilbert has a lot of the same classes as I do," Matt added.

"Awesome," Alfred grinned, handing Matt his schedule back.

"Why Merlin preserve us," a haughty, sarcastic voice broke in, three sets of eyes turning to see a pale-skinned brunette boy with glasses and nearly purple eyes, dressed in the Slytherin crest and colors. "A high and mighty Griffendor has decided to grace our most unworthy table with his presence."

"Back off, Edelstein," Gilbert growled, glaring at the boy.

"Shut your mouth, freak," the boy, apparently called Edelstein, snapped at Gilbert, turning a cold look to the even paler teen.

"You shut up, dick," Alfred stepped in, frowning at Edelstein. "What do you got against Gilbert, anyway?"

Edelstein made a face. "Don't you know? He's the next Dark Lord."

Both brothers merely looked confused. "Next what?" Alfred asked. "That sounds like a Sith."

Now it was Edelstein's turn to look confused. "I beg your pardon?"

"Al," Matt drew the attention of his brother. "I think he's pure-bred. Remember? Dad said magic and Muggles don't mix much here."

"Oooohhhhh, right," Alfred nodded, recalling their father's brief cultural differences lesson before they left. He rolled his eyes. "Even worse than the showdogs. Of course they don't like the fun stuff. Still, what's a Dark Lord?"

Edelstein huffed a disbelieving laugh, smile cruel. "So that's how you managed to get them to even talk to you," he sneered. "They don't have any idea, do they? Well, enjoy them while they last, freak."

Shaking his head and snickering to himself, Edelstein turned in a dramatic swirl of robes and swept away.

Gilbert studiously avoided the gazes of the brothers, staring instead at his half-finished plate.

Suddenly he didn't want it anymore.

Matthew carefully watched his new friend, puzzling over the encounter. Gilbert seemed to curl in on himself, his expression becoming closed off and avoiding eye contact.

"What a douchebag," Alfred grumbled. "Assholes like that all need a good punch to the face." While his brother ranted about Edelstein, completely oblivious to the fact that neither Gilbert or Matt were really listening, Matt pulled his laptop out and opened a web browser. It automatically opened to mag . Google . com. He typed "Dark Lord" into the search bar.

About 69,300 results (0.46 seconds)

mag . wikipedia wiki / Voldemort

Lord Voldemort

Lord Voldemort, born Tom Marvollo Riddle, and commonly called either "The Dark Lord" or "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named"...

mag . oldworldnews Voldemort's_War_for_Revenge / 059Z9T9y483

Voldemort's War for Revenge by Gary Johnson

The war for England lasted for approximately three years, though the British Ministry of Magic denied its existence for much of that...

mag . modernmagicalhistory voldemort_and_WW2

Voldemort and Hitler; Same Evil, Different Name

A Study in Comparisons by Dr. Gina Hart

When we compare and contrast the Second Wizarding War with the Second World War...

Matt frowned. He clicked on the Wikipedia page. It loaded quickly. In the upper right-hand corner of the page, there was a picture. It was slightly blurry and pixelated, but it was clear enough.

Pale, nearly white, skin. Blood red eyes. Cold sneer. Pointed, narrow features.

It didn't take much to connect the dots.

"Alfred."

Matthew's serious tone made the slightly older twin immediately pause in his rant, sky blue eyes focusing on twilight blue. Matthew slid the laptop over to him.

"... oh."

There was silence for a few minutes.

"You're not Voldemort, Gilbert."

Matthew's quiet declaration made the paler boy's head snap up, red eyes wide with shock and more than a little curiosity.

"H-how...?" he shakily tried to ask. Matt pushed the laptop over towards him, letting him see the web page.

After giving him a minute to absorb what was on the screen, Matt repeated, "You're not Voldemort, Gilbert."

Gilbert scoffed, still avoiding Matt and Al's gazes. "It doesn't matter. I look like him. I might as well be him."

"Now that's the biggest bunch of bullshit I've heard since our mother stopped trying to convince us that babies come from storks and cabbage patches." The frank statement was enough to startle a laugh out of Gilbert. Matt grinned slightly himself. Ah-ha! Progress. "Take it from someone who shares a face with someone who's so different they got the opposite house; physical resemblance doesn't mean anything. Sure, there's similarities, but that doesn't mean you're the same person. Only you get to decide who you are."

The platinum blonde finally lifted his crimson eyes to flick between Alfred and Matthew, both wearing bright, sincere smiles. Cautiously, he smiled weakly back. "Thanks," he mumbled. Matt slung an arm around his shoulders, giving the slightly older boy a short one-armed hug.

"Don't mention it."

"Whoo, you're hanging with the Kirkland-Bonnefoy brothers now, Gilbo!" Alfred laughed, offering a fist to bump over the table. When Gilbert just looked at him strangely, he quickly explained, "Brofist. Or a fistbump. Or a knucklepunch. You each make a fist and bump your knuckles together." Matt demonstrated, completing Alfred's fistbump.

Gilbert still looked dubious, but tapped his fist against Alfred's anyway.

Matt chuckled, checking his watch. 7:96. "First class is in a couple minutes. We should get going."