Disclaimers: This is the obligatory disclaimer/author notes section. I despise them both, so I'm only doing this once. I'll try to keep it short.
The disclaimer can be summed up like this: If it belongs to someone else, it's not mine. However, if it belongs to me, then it's no one else's.
Most people, places and things belong to J. K. Rowling, and since it's fanfic she probably has rights to everything here anyway.
Most of the plot is based on Neopets-based role-plays between myself, sevvysnape (now espiritumuerto), and queenalgloria, known respectively on as Sevvy Snape and Adele Elisabeth. I was involved in only a small percentage of the total sessions, I think, so I've also referenced the fan fictions by Sevvy and Adele, respectively "Irony of Living" and "Once Upon a Time." (Go read them when you're done here. It's fun.) The character Morganna Montaque, as well as several minor characters mentioned in context with her, belong to Adele. Though Severus Snape belongs to J. K. Rowling, I really have to give Sevvy credit for his insight. Without him, I would never have stopped to really look at Severus, who is such a complex and wonderful character. There are some characters mentioned in context with Severus that belong to Sevvy.
Any other people's characters and/or works belong to their respective owners.
The rest belongs to me. I will defend my claim to Jennifer Robinson and her family with my life. Touch them without permission from me and suffer my wrath. The rest I'm not quite so touchy about. I did invent the Bottling Charm and the ensuing chaos. Silvanus Trovillion is mine. I suppose Sylvia Blackridge is mine, though she comes from a passing mention in Sevvy's fic. That's about it.
Author's Notes: I'm writing this because, though my character's part in this particular story was small, she DID have a part, and I'd like to showcase that part. I am also doing this to tie together the perspectives of Adele, Sevvy, and myself into one cohesive story that also takes the canon as written by J. K. Rowling into account. I see it as a challenge to my ability to justify anything remotely plausible with the canon, and this qualifies as such. I love constructive criticism, so bring it on. I like a little adulation, too. Flames (if any) will be Bottled and saved for BadFic writers who really deserve it. Anybody who spots the various subtle puns, ironies, and jokes I'm likely to throw in here can feel clever and special, as some of them are pretty obscure. Now, as this part is QUITE long enough and should really be on its own page, enjoy the story, or not. It's your choice.
Corvus et Serpensia
(The Raven and the Serpents)
Prologue – Argo's ChildrenJenni and Ame Robinson were conspicuous simply by being together, so they had to be extra-careful when crossing the barrier to Platform 9¾ at King's Cross Station in London. They shared the same forest green eyes and milk chocolate colored hair, were exactly the same height, and had exactly the same build and facial structure. They were twins, the only things setting them immediately apart being the clothes they wore and the fact that Jenni's hair fell to the bottom of her shoulder blades while Ame kept hers level with her jawline. They had both been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that year, and they stood with their trunks and other baggage just before the barrier to say farewell to their mother. She was what was called a Muggle and couldn't cross through with her girls to see them safely on the train. That was up to Argo Robinson, their wizard father.
Argo was a tall man with dark hair, olive skin, and gray eyes that watched the good-byes with guarded affection. He felt a momentary wave of regret for Nora-Louise, his wife, who could never fully be a part of the wizarding world. It was at least partly for her sake that he had insisted the girls be raised as Muggles until it was known, one way or the other, that they were magical or not. "That way," he had explained, "it won't be such a shock and a let-down if they're not." He also pointed out that it would be good for magic-Muggle relations if they were raised to have an appreciation and understanding of both worlds, especially in the dreaded case that one twin was magical and the other was not. But in his opinion, things couldn't have worked out better than they had. Both of his children had the gift, and here they were, ready to start their first year at Hogwarts!
Argo himself was happy to be back in his native Britain. America was his wife's motherland and nice enough, but he had never quite felt that he belonged there. Nora was taking the whole thing very well, he noted with pride. She was not crying, though it must be hard to let go after eleven years; neither was she overly brusque in order to mask her feelings. Yet, it was time to go.
"All right, come now," he said as warmly as he could, speaking both to the twins and their mother. "It's only nine months, and we'll see each other at Christmas." This wasn't an option. They had discussed it thoroughly and for this first year, at least, they were not to stay at the school or go off with friends for the holiday. Neither the girls nor their mother could fathom why they would, but Argo could.
Nora shot him a look that clearly told him he had no idea how long nine months could be, but she broke off her string of last-minute admonitions and stood up, smiling fondly at Jenni and Ame.
"Go on, now. Do as your father says," she told them. "You'll have a great time! And if you need anything, just write home. Remember the owls!"
"Give your mother a hug and kiss goodbye," Argo directed them.
They did so in perfect unison, grateful for direction on this singularly bemusing day of their lives. Nora received them gladly, then gave each girl a push toward the barrier.
"You don't want to be late for the train," she told them as they each took hold of their respective trolleys and edged toward the brick partition. "Be good. I love you!" She raised her hand briefly in farewell, a gesture returned by Jenni and Ame before she turned away and pretended typical Muggle ignorance as planned.
Argo gave Nora's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and then followed after the girls, kneeling between them so he could speak quietly into their ears. They glanced nervously between the barrier and their father.
"It's not as difficult as it might seem," he said, his voice full of pride. "All you have to do is—" he made a thrusting gesture with his hand— "walk through. The trick is to keep them from noticing." He gestured at the milling Muggles.
"Right." Jenni, who was on his left, nodded, her hands tightening around the handle bar of her trolley. She moistened her lips and narrowed her eyes at the barrier wall, sizing it up and challenging it. Go on… I dare you to be a real wall.
Argo couldn't help but grin.
"All right, Jen, you go first. Ready? Go for it!"
She did. At a fast trot, she charged the wall. Argo watched her tense up at the last second in preparation for a collision—which never came! One second she was there, the next she was not. The passers-by didn't even blink.
"Now, your turn," Argo said to Ame. "I want to show you a different way. On a busy day like this it's fine to run at it, but there will be days you'll have to take it slow to avoid attracting attention. Push your cart up against the wall, like this—there. Now, I'll lean on the wall and you lean on the cart. We just stand here talking like this and very… slowly… lean… our way through. Here we are!"
So they were! Ame grinned, then looked around for her twin. Jenni saw her first, though, and came bounding over to talk excitedly to her.
"Isn't this place great?" she enthused.
"It's amazing," breathed Ame, looking around avidly at the menagerie of interesting people and things.
Argo smiled, reminiscing about the day he had entered Platform 9¾ for the first time. Things weren't so different now from what they were then. There was the gleaming scarlet Hogwarts Express, just as magnificent as ever. The sign proclaimed that this was indeed the impossible platform. All around them flowed a colorful current of wizards and witches with their children, their children's pets, and their children's things. The din of conversation added to the wonderful sense of chaos that permeated the air, the level of which suggested to Argo that the train would leave very soon. Jenni and Ame were still talking and were unaware, so Argo stepped in.
"All right girls, you'll have time to get adjusted later. You don't want to miss the train!" he reminded them.
As if on cue, a steamy whistle sounded over the cacophony on the platform. A conductor cried, "All aboard for Hogwarts!" and the people milling about suddenly (some of them literally) dropped what they were doing and made for the train, luggage in tow.
"What did I tell you? This is it! Hop it, hop it!" Argo urged, making propelling gestures with his arms.
"I love you both! Have a good year!" he called as Jenni and Ame dragged their trunks onto one of the gleaming cars (with some help from a steward). Argo watched until he saw their faces appear in one of the windows and smiled encouragement at them. They smiled and waved back to him, Jenni jostling playfully for space and Ame trying hard to keep her father in view. Then the whistle blew again, the conductor called out for the last time, a steam vent hissed, and the first slow puff, puffs from the smokestack had the train moving at a snail's pace out of King's Cross Station.
Argo waved until the last car was out, then relaxed and took a step back. His children were finally off to Hogwarts. He had never really doubted they would go, but it was a joy to see it happen! There was a certain significance to this day that he wanted to savor for the rest of his life. His children, his twins, were witches.
This meant something, of course, but something deeper than he could fathom. As a father, he was certain his children had important roles to fill in life, but what those roles were, he couldn't guess. Neither could Ame and I know that we would be involved in some of the most important years the wizarding community had ever seen, nor that we would be accepted into the circles of some of the most important people to those times.
