Here's the first edit, because I want to get our crappy 4-in-the-morning writing off of my page as soon as possible. Another edit may be forthcoming after Rya gets a chance to read my edits. She'll no doubt have things she wants to change as well. I think I'll send her here to read it though, since we see each other so rarely since she moved.
-
Aralia watched in amusement as her sister Rayne stared around them, obviously fascinated with their new surroundings. Their family had just moved to England, and things were a lot different here. Both girls felt out of place with their low-rise blue jeans, and faded band tees. Every one here was dressed almost formally. And it didn't help that their exotic looks, accepted back at their old school, were getting them second, and even third glances from the kids around them, and only a few of them were admiring.
They pulled their heavy school trunks towards the old, slightly battered train, struggling slightly with the awkward burdens. They were just too long and wide for carrying comfortably. Suddenly, they were pulled out of their hands, and the girls looked up to see a pair of redheaded boys casually lifting them onto the train, in addition to their own.
The boys were handsome enough, with flaming red hair and a scattered trace of freckles across the bridge of their noses, and cheeks. Both were taller than Aralia and Rayne, and they carried an easy air of relaxed mischief about them, rather than the solemnity their height and broad shoulders could have conveyed. Rayne looked to her sister, almost exact mirror of herself. She had amethyst waist length, wavy hair, currently pulled back into a haphazard ponytail, her tricolor braid falling apart with the day's stressful activities.
"Fix your braid, 'Lia," she murmured to her sister. Aralia looked startled for a moment, then smoothed her fingers gently over her small braid, separating the black, white, and amethyst strands and weaving them back into the braid as they followed the boys who had absconded with their trunks. They soon ducked into a compartment, and the girls gratefully followed, glad to escape the crowd in the corridor of the train. Now that they could get a good look at them, it was obvious that the boys were also twins.
"Your obviously not from around here…" the twin on the left said, Rayne noticed that his face was slightly more rounded, giving him a younger appearance than his counterpart.
"…So where you from?" The one on the right finished. Aralia noted the flirtatious twinkle in his eyes, while his brother seemed to be spacing out a bit. She raised an eyebrow at him, not that he noticed.
'What in the world is he doing Ray?' Aralia's voice echoed in her sister's mind. Rayne glanced at her and winked.
'He's checking you out baby girl, what's it look like?' She winced as Aralia poked her.
'No, I can see he's checking me out, I meant him. What's he doing that he can't focus on this level?' she glanced over at him again. 'Ne'mind. I'll see.' She quickly reached over and placed the tips of her fingers on his forehead, before his brother could intercept her. She focused for a second then drew her hand back as if she had been bitten.
"I could have done without that particular mental image of my sister, thank you," she commented. Rayne doubled over with laughter, as her sister passed over the image. It was a very graphic imagining, involving a leather harness and a cat-o-nine-tails. With a wide grin on his face, the brother on the left gave a shrug.
"Don't ask if you don't want to know," he chuckled. "My name is Fred." He held both hands out, offering one to each girl. "Fred, that was one of the most creative fantasies you've had in quite some time, if I do say so myself." He bowed over Aralia's hand and placed a kiss on her caramel skin, then repeated the gesture with Rayne. "But I suppose it's hard to resist when in the company of such beautiful young ladies."
Aralia snorted. "Flirt." Rayne giggled at the suppressed amusement in her voice.
"Well, I'm Rayne, not that I should be talking to a flirt like you. I have a reputation to uphold, y'know.," Rayne said grandly, tossing her hair back mock-arrogantly. The boys jumped as the door slammed open, revealing a triumphantly grinning slim black teen, who was absently tugging his dreadlocks back from his face, bouncing on his toes with suppressed energy.
"Fred! George! There you are! I've been looking for you for hours!"
Fred and George merely laughed at the dark boy standing in the doorway. "Lee, you couldn't have been looking for us for hours, because the gate's only been open for one hour."
"HEY! Who's the American Babes?" He stepped in front of the two girls, leaning close without much care for manners to get a better look at their rather unusual facial tattoos. George grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out of their faces just as Rayne opened her mouth to say something cutting to make him retreat. Fred spoke what was on both the boys' minds, causing Aralia and Rayne to giggle.
"HEY! Hands off, we saw them first!"
"We're not possessions, y'know," Aralia murmured, and George looked at her quickly, unable to tell from her quiet voice if she was truly upset, or just teasing. Her face didn't help any though; calm and quiet, it was also a perfect poker face. Fred winked at her.
"Anyway, Lee, this is Rayne, and her sister. They're new." Rayne rolled her eyes.
"Rayne and Aralia Tutela, we're transferring, from America." Aralia gave no signal that she had noticed the flirtatious smile George was sending her. Rayne, however, was twirling her finger around her temple in the universal sign for lunatic, as Fred spaced again.
"Nice to meet you," Lee offered his hand in turn to both girls. They grinned at him.
"Likewise." They sat in silence for a while, Aralia leaning against Rayne, almost asleep. She sat up suddenly.
"Oh! Thank you for getting our trunks, boys." George interrupted her with a wave of his hand.
"The least we could do for such beautiful girls. Think nothing of it." Both girls blushed fiercely.
'George has the hots for you bad 'Lia,' Rayne murmured, amused.
'I think I figured that out on my own, funnily enough. But can we trust them, Ray? So much is different here, will we be able to get along?' she toyed uneasily with her braid, thinking back to her training back in America. She already knew that she would have to continue her studies as a shaman on her own. She missed her teacher so much, but at least she could visit his spirit, unlike Rayne, who never had been good at that kind of thing. She could view the past through the eyes of those who had been there, and could sometimes glimpse the snatches of the future, but the present might as well have been written in hieroglyphics for all she could read it. Actually, she would have been able to read the hieroglyphics easier.
Let go of your worries, your hopes, your dreams, let go of your very identities, for these hold you in this world. Simply be. Do not think; simply feel. The past and the future do not exist, there is only now. There is only the moment and the will to see it. See without the preconceptions that your life has given you. Only then can you journey safely through the spirit realms. Before you know others, you must first know yourself.
Yes, Master. Aralia was jerked back into awareness of her surroundings be an arm sliding around her shoulders, and she looked into George's worried eyes. "You OK babe? You were drifting away. That's not a real good idea on a train." She nodded solemnly.
"Thank you." Aralia murmured. Rayne raised an eyebrow. Why were they all of the sudden so close? They had just met, and already they were using pet names. Rayne closed her eyes and refocused, when she opened them everyone in the room had taken on different colored glows around their person. Both of the boys were emanating a light lavender-rose glow, though Fred's was slowly fading back and forth between the lavender and a lime green. Rayne rolled her eyes, and turned to her sister. Because of the closer emotional connection, she got a mental image from her perusal of her sister. Aralia knelt in a grassy field, clutching a boquet of the star of bethlehem, surrounded by sprigs of lavender. She frowned, blinking her eyes rapidly to pull away from the mental connection, and then closed them again, refocusing her minds eye once more. When she opened them the emotional auras had faded. She shrugged slightly. The only surprising thing about that was the lavender in Aralia's boquet. Lavender signified both devotion and distrust. She gasped as Fred shook his head violently, clearing his thoughts.
" Don't be so uptight, were not going to bite you," he said rather seriously. George pipes in with a cheery tone.
"Unless of course you want us too…." Aralia poked him in the side. He yelped quietly, and leaned over to kiss her cheek, wrapping his arms around her waist. She relaxed against his chest, for some reason comfortable with him, despite their short acquaintance. Closing her eyes, she quickly fell asleep, secure in the knowledge that between them, George and Rayne wouldn't let anything happen to her.
Fred reached across the seat to where Rayne was curled up on the seat and took the braid into his hand, allowing the black, white and purple strand to fall through his fingers. "So does this mean something, or is it just a fashion statement?"
"It's complicated. 'Lia's better at explaining it than I am." Rayne reached to take the braid back, her hand brushing his; she got a momentary glimpse of his inner emotions. Though the aura never lies, what she learned through the touch showed her that even though he was perverted in his own mind, his intentions were nothing less than gentlemanly. But, as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
"'Lia. Wake up 'Lia." George gently shook her shoulder. "C'mon 'Lia, it's time to go." She opened her eyes and looked around sleepily. Fred and Rayne were standing in the doorway, waiting for their respective twins.
"Come on sissy, we need to get changed, were almost there." Rayne had a set of black robes over her arm, Fred and George had already changed, and Aralia stood, wondering how George had managed to move her off of his lap to change without waking her.
"Alright I'm coming" she said. Rayne handed her a set of robes and they set off toward the back of the train and the bathrooms.
Once they were gone, George turned to his brother and grinned like a kid in the candy store. "Oh wipe that look off your face, you're giving me headache!" George waved him off.
"Just because you're not as smooth as me don't mean you can get mad when your girl don't trust you." Fred balked.
"And it's my fault her sister stuck her hands to my forehead and made my thoughts public?!" George laid a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"No, it's your fault for getting all glazed eyed on us…. Speaking of which, I'd like to know how she did that."
'That's for us to know, and you to find out . . . if you're nice.' Aralia's voice echoed through the compartment, filled with gentle amusement.
"CRAP! She's LISTENING to us!?" George doubled over laughing at Fred's indignation.
'Just don't say anything bad about me. Ray can't hear you. She don't want to hear you, actually.' Aralia laughed to them, her voice a musical mezzo-soprano as it faded out.
"Damn, not only are they super hot, but they're psychics too."
"And super dangerous if you cross me or my sister, so don't fuck up boys." Rayne opened the door and stepped back into the compartment, closely followed by Aralia. They had donned a few pieces of jewelry in addition to the form fitting black robes, the Hogwarts crest resting over their hearts. There were two piercing in the lobes, the bottom one supporting a heavy looking pair of feathers, the top one a smaller set of hoops. In the cartilage, both had 3 onyx studs in the left and 2 in the right. Rayne had a nose piercing on the left side, and when she smiled, Fred noticed a tongue ring, though Aralia had opted out on these adornments.
"Aww, but I was totally looking forward to it!" Fred whined. Aralia raised an eyebrow but said nothing, Rayne however laughed.
"You haven't gotten that far yet Hun, keep the python in its cage if you don't want it fed to the mongoose." She said playfully swiping at his face, her long, sharpened nails missing flesh by a few inches.
George stepped up and took Aralia's arm. "May I escort you, my lady?" She giggled as he led her off the train, gallantly helping her step down. He led her over to the carriages, Fred and Rayne following close behind. Fred had offered his arm to her in such a boyishly clumsy way that she couldn't help but laugh and accept; he helped her into the carriage, grinning like a small schoolboy finally getting to talk to his first crush. Once in their seats, Aralia and George settled in with ease, as if they had been dating for years. Fred was slightly awkward as he slid his arm around Rayne's hips and drew her closer to him. She grinned at him, but drew away slightly. He pouted, earning himself a laugh from George and Aralia.
Rayne adopted a bored and slightly exasperated look and sighed dramatically before laying her head on his shoulder to nap on the short ride to the castle.
On their way through the main doors, a teacher caught their attention, and motioned for them to wait. "As this is your first year at Hogwarts, you will need to be sorted before you can join the others for the feast. Follow me please." Fred and George attempted to follow but professor McGonagall shook her head and shooed them off. They obediently left to take their seats at the Gryffindor table.
The professor lead them off into a small room to the side of the great hall which was currently filled with the children that must be the newest class. Rayne and Aralia, leaned against the wall, bored, though the children's palpable nervousness was almost as amusing as it was irritating. After a few minutes, the children were led out, leaving the two girls alone. Aralia tilted her head. She could hear an elderly male voice speaking from a distance away. She mentally poked Rayne, opening their connection so that she could hear it as well.'That's the headmaster, isn't it?' she asked silently. Rayne sent back a vague agreement. After a few more moments, the older woman touched her arm gently, startling her out of the slight trance she'd accidentally entered trying to decipher what the old man was saying.
"If you would follow me, you're to be sorted now." Aralia nodded, not bothering to speak. She was still trying to get over the slight shock that the abrupt cessation of the trance had caused her. "Ms. Aralia, you first. " she said, lifting the hat and allowing her to take a seat on the stool. The hat fit perfectly around her head, she waited patiently, wondering what exactly would happen. She could feel the animated hat poking around in her head, and had to forcefully subdue the impulse to throw it out. Nothing was allowed into her mind without her permission.
'OOOH! We haven't had anyone this psychically advanced in a couple hundred years. Let me see. Very in tune with the spiritual world this one, and very sneaky, definitely clever. Its an automatic-' "Slytherin!" the hat announced. The professor removed the hat and Rayne took a seat and grinned to herself when the hat began analyzing her, knowing that Aralia was moving towards her house table. 'Ohh! A twin! Nothing new, but I can see the bond between you and your sister even more vividly in your mind than in hers…. Hmmm, definitely more worldly than the other, no doubt about that, very talented, entirely intimidating at times, I can see. Must be-' "Slytherin!" it announced. They exchanged a smile as Rayne walked over to sit next to her sister. They took a seat next to a blonde haired boy whose silver eyes were scanning the gathered crowd as if looking for someone he shouldn't be. If he had any friends, they hadn't showed up as of yet, so the girls helped themselves to a seat on either side of him. He glanced at them out of the corner of his eyes, taking in their exotic appearance, before introducing himself, and pointing out people of interest around them. Looking around, Aralia met George's eyes for a moment, and shrugged and winked at his shocked expression. 'Hey, I'm still the same person I was before,' she whispered to him, putting in the extra effort to make it audible to him, since she could tell that his bond with his twin hadn't developed enough for purposeful mental communication yet. Honestly, the bond between her and Rayne wouldn't have either, but the bonding with Raven and Arion had caused their bond to develop faster than it would have naturally, even with all the extra training they had as part of their protector lessons from their grandfather. She watched him slowly relax, then he nodded and turned back to his friends.
Draco chose this moment to turn to her. "I haven't seen you before. Where are you from?" Aralia turned her gaze to him, taking in his pallid features and air of false superiority that surrounded him. "My sister and I are from the states. We've moved just recently." She informed him. Behind him Rayne had refocused her eyes to see auras once again, and noticed that he emanated the pale color of a morning glory in full bloom. She also noted how he kept glancing at the Gryffindor table, putting two and two together she assumed that he had a massive crush on someone his social acquaintances would be far less than pleased to hear about.
Not noticing Rayne do the same, Aralia shifted her focus, and saw the swirls surrounding him were marigold and a light rose pink, streaked with the soft hues of the eglantine rose. 'Oh, the poor boy . . ..' She looked him over again, and saw how his self-important attitude was a cover for severe self-esteem and abandonment issues.
-
After the feast, on their way out of the great hall, with Draco showing them the way to the dorms, Aralia was suddenly pulled aside by a grinning George. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. "Goodnight babe. I'll see you tomorrow, we're sure to have classes together." Rayne poked her mentally.
'Come on you love-struck pup, we're gonna get lost if we don't keep up with Blondie,' she met her sister's eyes from the end of the hall before ducking into the doorway to the dungeons Draco was holding open for her.
'I'll be there in a minute. And you know I won't get lost as long as you know where you're going. Just you keep up with him.' Rayne poked her once more and channeled her warnings about being careful before the door closed behind her. Draco kept talking about politics and who to not be seen with if they want to be respected Slytherins. Gryffindors being at the top of the list of course.
"Listen, I have no interest in all this political mumbo jumbo, I don't do cliques and neither does Aralia." She snorted in a very unladylike fashion and added. "'Lia even less than me I suppose." Draco stopped and stared at her as though she had just sprouted branches out of her ears. "Don't even look at me in that tone of voice, I'll not have it. You can answer me one question though." She poked him on the nose and successfully managed to shift his expression from a one of disgusted surprise to that of curiosity.
"No, you cant have my uhh… what do you call it in the states? Digits? But you can have directions to my room." He offered in a very pompous and flirtatious way. Rayne flicked him on the nose and laughed.
"Sorry Hun, not my type, but you could tell me about the boy you've been staring at all evening?" He flushed bright red, and glared at her.
"I have not been staring at any boys." He stated flatly. "I was merely attempting not to stare at you or your sister, you're both so beautiful . . .."
Rayne laughed. "Whatever. You were so staring at him. I can describe him if you want . . .." When he remained silent, she continued, "He had black-" Draco shushed her fiercely, grabbing her arm and dragging her into a nearby room.
Draco was beet red by this point, and Rayne would have sworn there was steam coming out of his ears.
"Do not under any circumstances mention it to ANYONE." He hissed at her angrily. Rayne grinned her I'm-up-to-no-good grin and raised her right hand.
"I'll tell none." She said, allowing him to calm slightly Draco didn't look reassured.
"I swear if you ever even let the implications slip from those overly plump little lips of yours you will wish you had never left the bloody states!" he threatened.
Rayne laughed and promised again. "No implications shall pass my lips." She said with a grin that Draco did not like.
"And no funny business with your sister either, no writing notes or spells to communicate anything even remotely close to the subject." He added. Rayne let her smile melt from her face.
"Dammit!" she swore then adopted a fake sigh. "Okey, okey, sworn!" she was laughing hysterically behind her mask because he had not considered telepathic connections, though Draco bought the facade. He relaxed considerably.
"How do you know?" She gave him a look.
"Because it was frikkin' obvious! I'm surprised nobody else has caught on yet. You were watching him all the time. It didn't take long to figure out where you were staring. I think 'Lia noticed too, and this level of consciousness isn't exactly her specialty."
Draco gave no sign that he had misunderstood though he did a double take anyway. "She's a spiritual?" he asked. Rayne rolled her eyes.
"Tell me about him already!" she pressed. Draco gave her a suspicious look.
"What's to tell? He's the hottest thing in school, not only physically but socially as well. Besides moi of course. But the thing is, the girls are all over him, and even if he wasn't my sworn enemy it would still be a challenge just to get anywhere near him. The old fart has him guarded like the golden boy everyone thinks he is. The bastard isn't the boy-who-lived; he's the lucky-son-of-a-bitch-that-just-refuses-to-give-up-and-die." He rolled his eyes.
"Why are you enemies?"
"Because on the first day of school, he insulted me, and he always picks fights with me."
"Then why do you like him?"
"Because he's hot! I said that already!"
"You don't obsess over somebody like you are just because they're hot."
"What do you know?"
"I know people. And I know that you've been pining over him forever, I can see it." Rayne put a hand on her hips and waited patiently for him to spill.
"Then you should know." He said evasively. Rayne said nothing and didn't move. He fidgeted and backtracked. "If you can see as much as you claim then why are you asking me?" he snapped. Rayne grinned.
"Because admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving it." She countered.
"I don't have a bloody problem!" he shouted at her.
"Obviously you do!" came a voice from outside the door. Rayne laughed, then continued.
"Well the problem may not be bloody yet, but if you don't get a move on I can guarantee it will be soon." Draco looked at her.
"How do you mean?"
"Your gonna get jealous and go psycho on the first male love he shows off in public," she stated matter-of-factly. "And you're wound up like a Chinese yo-yo, first person that mentions him at the wrong moment is gonna get an ass full of your foot. If that's not bloody then I don't know what is," she said motioning toward his rather large feet.
"Fine! Why do you think I like him then?!" He walked over to stare out of the enchanted window.
"I think that you like him because he's the only person your age that's ever stood up to you." Draco had nothing to say, it was true that he ran his so called friends and that most of them talked about him behind his back. Harry was the only person that had stood up to him to his face. The weasel dork wouldn't even speak to him if Harry weren't there. But he just had to rub it in Draco's nose that Harry had chosen him over Draco. And the rest of the school either ignored him, or they were afraid of him. Noticing the pensive look on his face, Rayne quietly sat down beside him, and waited for him to say something.
"That's really disturbing you know," he said, glaring at her.
"How so?" she asked innocently.
"I've known these people my entire life and no one can pick up on it. You and your freaky sister show up and immediately figure out the one secret I would never willingly confide in anyone."
"You willingly confided in me," she observed.
"The hell I did! You figured it out and forced it out of me. I could sue your skirt off for that you know."
"But you won't, 'cause I'm so adorable and loveable. And trust me, there are easier ways to get me out of my skirt than involving lawyers." She paused for a second then added, "Unless he's really cute…. then you might have a bit of luck there." He looked startled, then giggled.
"Only the best and cutest for the heir of all things Malfoy." Rayne laughed richly at that.
"Well I suppose you're out of luck in this category. Aralia has already taken to one of the Weasley brothers." She smiled and shrugged. "Oh well."
"Now tell me about your sister." Draco demanded suddenly. Rayne shook her head in the universal sign for surrender in a frustrating situation. "You're not going to let her be are you? Well as you can see we are twins, and we've had a lot of training in areas of magic that are not taught here."
"Like what?"
"Well, a lot of stuff. 'Lia's more into the odd stuff than I am though. The spirit gifts are rare, but apparently there are more of them in America than there are here. We found her a teacher easily enough, and they plan to keep contact because we didn't think it would be a good idea to switch her to a different teacher now, even if we could find one, which we couldn't. Most of the spirit walkers in England end up just learning divination and stuff like that, and the rest aren't interested in teaching."
"How's she keeping close enough contact with her teacher for him to continue teaching her?"
"That's her secret. All she's told me –or our parents for that matter- is that we don't have to worry about finding her a new teacher." She shrugged, looking up as Aralia slipped in the door.
"Ray? C'mon, it's sleep time, babe. Draco, if you'd be so kind?" Aralia gently tried to pull them both from the room.
"I want more answers first." Draco demanded petulantly. They apparently could tell anyway, so what was the harm in acting out a little while they were alone together? So long as it didn't become a habit . . . . .
Rayne huffed. "But I don't wanna sit in this dank little hellhole you call a classroom!" she pouted, stamping her foot. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.
"Please tell me you did not just stamp your foot? I thought they only did that in books and movies?"
Aralia laughed openly, her voice musical in Draco's ears. Rayne ignored it, though it took Draco a moment to recover from its glamour. "Well it had to come from somewhere!" she said cheerfully.
"Fine, swear that you will answer five questions for me, and I shall guide you to the dorms."
"And if we don't?"
"Then I shall sit here all night."
"And pout like a five-year-old," the girls chorused. He glared at them, sitting on the edge of a desk, and crossing his leg, putting one foot on his knee.
"Is he really serious? I thought the Malfoy family was above pouting?" Rayne asked her sister.
"I suppose so, but you have to admit he does look rather adorable when he pouts." Aralia replied. Rayne nodded in agreement, while Draco simply stared at them stubbornly.
"Yeah I know. Too bad he's no straighter than a circle." Rayne sighed dramatically. Draco raised and eyebrow at this, then offered his own opinion.
"I'm not so sure about the circles you've found, but I assure you I'm much straighter than most circles that I've found." Aralia and Rayne looked at each other then burst out laughing simultaneously
"That made no sense at all!" Aralia managed through bouts of laughter. Draco flushed a light shade of pink, which immediately turned to a bright red when Rayne followed her sister's comment with her own.
"You're having wet dreams about your arch rival, who happens to be packing some rather…gifted genetics, your about as straight as a rainbow, just lacking the pretty colors, and you haven't gotten your hands on the gold at the end just yet." She paused for a second, her eyes refocusing, then starts doubling over laughing. Aralia waited patiently for her sister to calm down while Draco looked at her quizzically and continued to ask her over and over again what the hell was so funny.
"He's got a golden prince Albert!" She manages after a long fifteen minutes.
"You know…. gold at the end of the rainbow? That is so ironic!" Rayne succumbed to another fit of hysterics. There was a loud bang against the door, followed by deep bellows of laughter.
"All right George, We know you're out there." Aralia opened the door and the redheaded and temporarily red-faced boy fell into the classroom laughing as hard as Rayne. "He's never going to let Harry forget this." Aralia translated.
Draco snatched him up by his collar and stared him in the eyes. "If you say a damn word to anyone Weasel, you will rue the day you were born!" he threatened. Aralia, stepped in between the two, then snorted very un-lady like at George's thought, which cause him to gasp for air.
"He's thinking that he will rue the day he was born if he ever walks in on the two of you, should you ever have the balls big enough to say something."
Draco looked quizzically at George. "Are you implying anything Weasley?"
"Implying anything?" George laughed. "I didn't even say anything!" He turned to Aralia. "Were you implying anything, babe?" She looked at him innocently.
"How could you even suggest such a thing of me?" she asked in a mockingly appalled voice, placing her hand over her heart. There was a brief pause when the gears turned in Draco's head.
"RAYNE!" he bellowed.
"What?" she asked, giving him an innocent look.
"You swore!"
"You said nothing implied and don't tell anyone. I didn't imply a damn thing. I straight out said it plain and I didn't tell anyone, I was teasing you about it. That was not covered in your terms, Hun. Either you're loosing your touch, or those blonde roots run a bit too deep into your head." She said far too seriously.
"HE HAD A BLONDE MOMENT!" George and Aralia sang out together, then paused in shock. "Wrong twin!" they said together, then burst out laughing.
"Didn't I tell you to lay off the gilly-weed, Draco?" A greasy drawl preceded the potions master through the door. Aralia, Rayne and George laughed, as Draco managed a ghostly white that put the bloody baron to shame. Snape looked at George and commented in an offhand voice, "I'm not sure what you're doing in my dungeons, Mr. Weasley, but unless you wish to spend a weekend in detention with me, I suggest you return to your own common room at once." George smirked.
"And spend untold amount of hours licking the slime out of your cauldron? I think I'll pass, thank you. G'night babe." He dropped a kiss on Aralia's lips, and vanished.
"The three of you should be in the common rooms yourselves." Snape stated, looking between the twins, who had drawn together, and Draco.
"We were having a discussion that I would rather the general population not be privy to, godfather." Draco said stiffly.
"And yet you did not think to cast any kind of anti-eavesdropping spells. I'm disappointed in you, Draco. Get to the common room now." Draco bolted. The girls followed at a more leisurely pace, knowing that the professor would correct them if they lost their way.
In their dorm, Aralia and Rayne pulled their beds together until the headboards touched. There were only two other girls in their dorm, so everybody had a lot of space, but they still felt more comfortable sleeping close together. They lay awake for an hour more, talking about the day and the Weasley twins, as well as Draco and Harry. No one heard, because they spoke in their minds. They fell asleep soon enough; their eyes too heavy to hold open.
Dawn broke the next day with a faint ray shining through a window enchanted on the wall to mimic a natural window, since they were underground, shining upon the girls' faces, illuminating their tattoos. Aralia's was one of a tribal eye where her third eye would have dominated on her forehead. Rayne's a silver tribal vine emerging from her left eye and curling around her cheek and jaw, then reaching up toward her hairline.
They opened their silver and amethyst eyes simultaneously, and grinned to each other. Gemstone purple hair splayed over the pillows and under the blankets in messy tangles. Rayne giggled at the sleepy look Aralia gave her. 'Rough lesson, Hun?'
Aralia groaned as she turned to find her hairbrush. 'You have no idea. Journeying that far is HARD.' she complained petulantly.
'You're just jealous that I can travel in spirit easier than you can.'
'Too true sis. Too true. It's not fair.'
'Life's not fair, honeybunches.' Aralia made a face at the nickname, then smoothed her expression as they entered the Slytherin common room. Draco was sitting on a couch, apparently waiting for them, flanked by two rather large, slow-looking boys who looked to be about the same year as him.
"This is Crabbe, and Goyle." He gestured to the two boys, then got up and headed out, the other two following like watchdogs.
'There's something off about the way those boys are acting. Their minds aren't on level with people who usually act like that.' Rayne commented curiously.
'Want me to look into it, sis?' Aralia offered, knowing that she would now that Rayne had brought it up, whether she said she wanted her to or not.
'If you wish.' She motioned and they too left the common room to find their first class.
"ALLO LOVES!" the cheery voice of George Weasley echoed through the great hall, though barely heard through the ruckus of morning traffic. Aralia turned with a wide smile on her face. Fred sauntered up to Rayne and threw his arm around her shoulder, smiling to her and making a valiant effort to win her over, as his brother had won Aralia. Rayne shrugged away, grinning at him. Draco raised an eyebrow.
"The weasel twins are awful familiar, aren't they? Well, one can only expect so much in decorum from such an oversized family of blood traitors," he drawled. Rayne slapped him soundly, leaving a bright red hand print on his cheek.
"How rotten of you! And you claim high honor in the wizarding world?" Rayne exclaimed while everyone nearby gaped at her. No one slapped a Malfoy like that.
"Have you never heard of the golden rule Draco?" Aralia asked. The whole student body was staring at Rayne in shock, except for Aralia and George. Fred was grinning ear to ear. Draco was frozen for a moment then regained his composure.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" he exclaimed, puffing up like a balloon.
"I dare just like this! I don't want to hear something so rotten out of you anymore! Your too smart for that!" the crowed gasped collectively, waiting for Draco's next move.
" I am the sole heir to the Malfoy fortune! My father is an important man, and I will not be treated like a child!"
Rayne raised an eyebrow then spoke. "So what you mean to tell me is that you're the sole heir to a fortune you cannot take with you when you die, hiding behind your fathers reputation and you cant even manage to find an excuse for your childish behavior to make you look good? Your immature Draco and your never going to get what you want acting like that." Draco reddened and pulled his wand.
"I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO RESPECT YOUR BETTERS!" he screamed. Two gold jets of light hit him square in the chest before anyone else knew that he had drawn, Aralia and Rayne's voices echoed through the growing crowd like a poisoned melody. Draco was sent flying into Crabbe and Goyle. Both girls stood rigid, one arm condemningly flung out, pointing at Draco, matching images of avenging fury. Then Aralia spoke, her words echoing through the Hall, though she spoke quietly, but none could understand her. She seemed to be speaking to Draco, but if nobody could even identify the language, there was no way he could understand her, was there? But Draco understood perfectly.
"You shall not threaten us, k'talin. You shall not display your ignorance and bad upbringing any longer. All are here for a purpose, and none deserve your ridicule. I know not how you were taught, nor do I care. You shall learn now, and learn quickly." He looked dazed.
"I knew there was a reason I was drawn to you two," he murmured in the same language, again shocking the rest of the school.
"All right! Break it up and head to class!! That's quite enough!" professors McGonagall and Snape had arrived and were now ushering kids to class. "All of you. To my office. Now." Snape ordered to both sets of twins as well as Draco and his cronies.
"That display was utterly uncalled for and entirely immature. What in the world were you doing?" Snape questioned the teens; Aralia and Rayne were calm and reserved, allowing the others to explain their version of events. Draco was distracted, a little out of it. Crabbe and Goyle both were eager to make the girls look bad, and Fred and George did their best to tell it as it was. When Snape turned his attentions to Aralia and Rayne, they echoed in his mind the same thought. 'We will not speak in the presence of the others on a matter of this importance.' He blinked at them, but continued to stare at them expectantly.
"We will explain ourselves to Draco, but no other being here currently has the right or the need to know. Suffice it to say that Draco received a much needed disciplining. His attitude cannot remain what it is now, or he will be called to an accounting, and believe us when we say that this is not pleasant, nor are the accountants punishments light."
"And just what would he receive punishment for, should that happen?"
"His disrespect of life."
"I respect life!" Draco exclaimed. Aralia gave him a patient look and explained to him within his mind.
'You do not respect the life of others, nor do you respect yourself enough to look beyond superficial and childish stereotypes. You have much to learn.' Then both retreated behind the barriers of their minds and refused to speak any more on the subject until Snape, the Weasley twins, and Crabbe and Goyle were gone.
The students left, but Snape was still demanding an explanation. "Just tell him already, he's my fucking godfather!" Aralia stared at Draco, Rayne at Snape. They contemplated silently, then began the long explanation that would lead Draco to his first lessons in protection.
"But some things we must explain have no words, except in the pure language. You may get lost. We'll explain as best we can, but there are some things that you will not be able to understand." Rayne said to Snape. He nodded reluctantly. Draco looked at her expectantly.
"Draco, when you were young, you adopted strays, and tried to take care of everybody and everything, didn't you?" He nodded, looking surprised. "What happened?" The sympathy in Aralia's voice was almost tangible.
"My father disapproved. He said such behavior was unbecoming to the Malfoy heir. He punished me whenever I showed concern for the welfare of anything except myself, and my mother and father. I have no other family. So I learned to act the way I do now from my father's training. Today was the first time anyone forced me to see that my actions were not accepted. Father taught me that there would always be jealous people, but you weren't jealous, you were angry. The only person who ever got angry with me for acting that way was Potter . . .." The girls shared a knowing smile, while Snape looked vaguely confused. The conversation\lesson continued, including Snape when they could, but as promised, he was lost most of the time.
In the common room, Aralia handed Draco a small vial of potion before he could escape to bed. "Drink it right before you go to bed. It will help you sleep." He looked at her oddly, but didn't argue with her. As he turned to his dorm, Aralia and Rayne shared a secretive smile. The potion would put him to sleep, but it would also make him more open to dreams and visions. At this point, it would be the easiest way to teach him.
"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, looking around the grove they were standing in.
"We're here to teach you. This is the easiest way to teach you now. We've explained all we can, now there are things we must show you." The girls each reached out and took one of his hands, leading him along a path that he hadn't noticed until that moment. They reached a small clearing, where a middle-aged man was seated upon a large boulder.
"Who do you bring, my daughters?" he asked calmly, looking down at them. Draco tried to shrink back from his gaze, but the girls held tight to his hands, not letting him hide.
"We bring a new Keeper, Master," Aralia answered. "He is in need of new teaching, to overcome the harsh teachings of his father." Draco looked down for a moment, then gathered his courage and looked up to meet the eyes of the man on the boulder. For a moment, it felt as though the man were searching his soul, looking in through his eyes. It was a very unnerving experience, but he couldn't look away. After a moment, the man broke contact, looking satisfied.
"Well enough. Come cricket." Aralia giggled and stepped forward, as he slid down from his boulder. He laid his hand on her forehead, and after a moment, she wobbled, and almost fell. Rayne stepped forwards to catch her, apparently used to this happening. The two carried her into a nearby pocket of trees, laying her on an unusually thick patch of moss, covering her with a blanket that Ray pulled out from behind a log. She caught Draco's confused look.
"This is Master's dream place. He created it. Everything is as he needs it, and this is not the first time this has happened, not by a long shot. She is in a deeper sleep, asleep to dreams even. But she is alright, and she will wake in the morning unusually refreshed."
"As will you, my new-found son." The Master had listened to her explanation, and walked up behind Draco without his noticing, laying his hands on Draco's shoulders. Draco started, but did not attempt to pull away. Rayne nodded in approval, as the teacher moved one hand over his eyebrow. Thoughts and images flooded his mind, rushing faster than he could follow. He swayed, the chaos in his mind giving him vertigo. The master chuckled as he caught him. 'You will need to rest to assimilate your new information. It may take many days for you to truly understand it. But when you do, you will be able to find me whenever you need me. Do not allow pride to keep you from asking, either of me, or of the girls. We three will always be here for you. Now sleep, youngling." And he lost his grip on this odd reality, fading into black.
Rayne woke at 6 the next morning, feeling very pleased with herself. Draco was on the way to his enlightenment, Aralia would know how to handle him, and she had gotten out of the mental crunch because she was needed to make sure the other two were not disturbed. She quickly warded Aralia's bed so that nobody could disturb her, then hurried to Draco's dorm, warding his bed a little stronger than she had 'Lia's. Then she reached out and contacted Snape. 'Aralia and Draco have both received a lot of information in a small amount of time. They must not be disturbed until they wake on their own. I will be staying here to make sure that they are not bothered.' She felt his irritated acknowledgment, and settled down in the common room with a book. She would feel it if anyone approached either bed, long before either sleeper noticed the intruder.
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For the auras, we used an adaption of the language of flowers. The definitions are as follow:
Lavender rose- love at first sight
lime blossoms(lime green in story)- fornication (used as lust)
morning glory- love in vain
light pink rose- Desire, passion, joy of life, youth, energy
marigold- pain and grief
eglantine rose- a wound to heal
Star of bethlehem- hope
lavender- distrust, devotion
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Also, on the auras, Aralia sees long term, Rayne sees short term. For example, Rayne would see it better if someone wanted a casual fuck or in Draco's case if they wanted someone they couldn't have, and Aralia would see it better if they were in love with some one or pining after someone like Draco was. What they see is based on their personalities. Rayne is more impatient, fix-it-right-now sort of person, while Aralia has more patience and can hold to plans that develop over years with far less frustration than Rayne.