Bab 15: Gaslighting and misdirection
"So, what were the two of you doing there that night?" I ask the two as we stood in one of the many empty classrooms in Hogwarts.
"We thought you were going to answer our question," one of the twins asks with a raised brow.
"I'll answer your question if you answer mine," they look like they're thinking about it, so I continue, "otherwise I'm leaving since, clearly, we don't have anything to talk about."
That got them. I could actually see the agreement that passed between them as they made eye contact and turned to me, "we saw you leave the great hall and head towards somewhere."
The other twin spoke, "So we decided to see what you were doing."
Yeah, they weren't going to tell me about the marauders map, expected but disappointing, but I didn't need to push it just yet, "fair enough. Though I would have thought that you had went there to help the girl your brother put in mortal danger."
The way they wince causes me to smile internally, though externally I put on a puzzled expression and begin to press them, "what, didn't you know what your brother was doing? I mean if it wasn't for him I wouldn't even have been there!"
"Ron isn't the most… sensitive person. But he didn't really mean it," I have to fight back the smile as I recognise the verbal opportunity they just presented me.
"The hell do you mean 'didn't really mean it'?" I put was much incredulity in my words as I physically can, as if I heard them say the dumbest thing possible, "Hermione was literally in the bathroom that the troll was headed towards. She would have died if I didn't help her, all because your brother was such an absolute dickhead."
That was my first play. I was going to put as much blame on Ron as I possibly could and tie him to as much as I could with the hopes that, since they were canonically loyal to family, they'd be extremely averse to telling anyone anything so as to not implicate their brother. This'll also serve to 'destabilise' them for my next play.
"Okay, fair," there was obvious discomfort in their expression now, "but it all turned out fine-"
"I almost died because of your brother," I interrupt, trying to make them as unbalanced as possible.
The two of them look at each other, the expression on their face showing how they were trying to think of a way to refute my words. Unfortunately for them, they'd have no such luck. Everything I said was either completely true or impossible to disprove.
While they could just deny my words, it would be obvious to both them that they're lying and I'd be able to use it as an excuse to not tell them anything while painting them as the bad guys. An outcome which, while not ideal, was something I was more than happy with.
"Look, we're sorry about our brother," but it looks like they chose to pick the 'good guy' path so it doesn't really matter, "we'll… talk to him about it. Now can you just tell us how you got rid of the troll."
"Well to be honest it wasn't really me who got rid of the troll," I reach into my bag and pull out a prepared box and notes, "it was actually something I found in a secret passage. Apparently someone called 'wormtail' made this thing to show some people called the 'Maurauders' that he was cool or something. Here, read the notes I found in the box."
I almost smile as they snatch the parchment out of my hand, watching as my final move, one that I spent hours ironing out the kinks for, works.
See, the letter, that I just handed to the twins, was forged by me using metaknowledge. Written inside were the ramblings of 'wormtail' that were rather… incriminating. Not only did it say that he had made an one time use 'dark artifact' that would get the 'others' to respect him but it also contained mentions of a the marauders map, which I would be able to use to get the twins to show it to me and possibly even borrow it by threatening to tell the teachers.
I was for all intents and purposes using my knowledge on Pettigrew to use him as my scapegoat and as a tool against the twins.
For good reason too. After all, I'm pretty sure that the twins never actually properly learn about him in canon and even if they do learn about him in the future they'd have no reason to believe that he wouldn't do what the notes say he did. The only way my lies would possibly be exposed is if Pettigrew tells them that he didn't do it, but all that's needed for them to still believe my lie is them knowing his crimes.
Of course, it was more nuanced than that, but overall that was the logic I was following.
"So, the two of you seem like you know who wormtail is," the two, who were still going over the notes, immediately stiffen upon hearing my words.
"Oh, uh yeah," one of them hurriedly responds, "we also found one of his hidden boxes before."
"You have the map don't you," I don't bother to go slow anymore, it's not really needed now anyways, "that's how you knew about me leaving the hall despite how I saw you leave the hall first and why you knew I got rid of the troll… am I right?"
Again, the two do the whole 'silent twin communication' thing before pulling out a piece of parchment, which I had a feeling I knew, before beckoning me to come closer, "well, since you already know about it and you did stop Ron's stupidity from getting someone killed… I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."
I already knew what was going to happen, but that didn't make it any less cool as ink began flowing across the parchment and forming a map filled with footsteps and names.
"Where did you find it?" I ask, mostly to keep up appearances and partially because I didn't really remember.
"We found it in Filch's office when we got a detention there," I nodded at that, the map was probably confiscated from some other student who got it before the twins, "and it wasn't like he was using it… so we decided to 'borrow' it."
I nod as I examine the map, before turning to them again, "so now that you know how I 'beat' the troll, will you stop annoying me?"
"I don't know…" one of them says before turning to the other, "what do you think Gred? Should we leave him alone?"
"Dunno, Forge, might want to poke him a bit more," the other replies, the grins on their face showing that they were joking.
I rolled my eyes at their antics, and quick recovery from learning that their brother nearly got someone killed, and instead of answering just walked out of the room.
That's the twins dealt with for now.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone