author ;; dimming
title ;; running up that hill
summary ;; the beginnings of a war are stirring in the wizarding world. caught in the crossfire, the balcoin sisters have a choice to make; light or dark? family or friends? fred/oc, draco/oc.
disclaimer ;; we claim no ownership to the harry potter series or its characters. all rights go to j.k rowling and warner brothers'.
{so wow, first fanfic. well, posted here. but still. it counts. we're hoping we haven't done a shoddy job of this; but who knows, maybe we have. we probably have, actually. still. erm, longer author's note at the bottom.}
Chapter One.
The 'Claw Compartment.
Katherine.
The morning of September 1st dawns bright and early. Well, maybe 'bright' is pushing it a bit; it's never bright in England, and most definitely not within a thirty mile radius of London, where this tale begins. In the room at the end of the corridor on the third floor of Number 15 Weyland Park, to be precise. The room itself is nothing spectacular; on the walls moving photos and portraits are displayed, drapes of royal blue silk adorn the windows, a bookcase stuffed full with tomes on every subject imaginable (ranging from 'Advanced Transfiguration and its Applications' to a worn copy of 'Hogwarts: A History') and an owl perch housing perhaps the proudest bird in the world is placed in the corner. The usual, for a wizarding family; perhaps a little more luxurious, but simple. The girl lying in the queen-sized bed is anything but; near-black hair is splayed out on the pillow, a stark contrast to the white of the satin, and long black eyelashes rest on pale smooth cheeks. Plump, pink lips open momentarily to let out a sleepy mumble, eyelids fluttering slightly, before the girl's petite body shifts. She rolls onto her stomach, seemingly returning to her slumber, before a scowl darkens her pretty features. Her eyelids open, revealing startlingly blue eyes made dazed and confused with sleep. She raises her head to glare at the sunlight streaming through her window, before burying her face in her pillow again with a groan.
Her room remains peaceful and still for a few moments. The owl in the corner dozes silently, the drapes flutter in the breeze and through the window trickles the sound of children laughing outside. Suddenly the door bursts open, where a girl resembling the girl in the bed stands. In her hands, she holds a glass of water, and her nails are painted burgundy. She leans against the doorframe with a lazy sort of elegance, eyebrow raised as she studies the sleeping form of her sister. The girl simply oozes confidence; from the immaculate clothes she wears (the latest in Madame Marlova's trendy line), to the way she holds her head high, a lazy smirk settling across her lips in a manner that gives the impression that it settles there often. She studies her sister momentarily, before rolling her eyes - the same startling blue as her sister's - and pushing herself away from the doorway gracefully. The girl glides - because 'walking' would simply not do it justice - towards the bed, rolling her eyes once more at her sister and tipping the glass upside down.
For her part, the sleeping girl doesn't overreact to the water that falls onto her hair. At first. In fact, she lifts her head and levels her sister with a glare that could restart the hearts of the dead and have even the greatest of slytherins trembling. Her lip curls distastefully, as she grounds out, "You'd better run, girl." These words are all the other girl gets before the formerly sleeping girl leaps out of her bed, face twisted in an angry snarl as she launches herself at her sister.
Eventually, the girls' parents must have heard their screaming, for there is a loud crack, not unlike that of a bone breaking, before an odd looking creature appears beside the struggling two. It's small, with eyes like tennis balls and just as vivid, wrinkled skin and a long pointed nose. It's garbed in something that looks somewhat like the pillowcase on the bed behind the girls, however a coat of arms is stitched into the breast. It snaps its fingers and the girls are pushed away from each other by an invisible force, still glaring, though the first girl's lips twitch as she tries to prevent a smile. The creature bows lowly so that its long nose brushes the floor, before rising and saying in a squeaky voice, "Mistress Lucretia is asking Tippy to stop the young misses from fighting, she is. Mistress Lucretia is saying the young misses has to get ready for the platform now." Tippy stays as though waiting for a dismissal, and finally the second girl nods sharply to the creature, looking away from her sister. Tippy disappears with another crack!, leaving the sisters alone.
The first, the one who had been sleeping, raises one well-groomed eyebrow at her sister, who smirks softly before saying in a silky smooth voice, "You know it was funny, Katherine." Katherine snorts derisively, shaking her head grabbing her towel off the back of a chair to dry her hair and night-shirt before sighing.
"Since when did I ever find anything you did funny, Jasmine?" Jasmine shrugs slightly, reclining on Katherine's still-warm bed lazily as she shoots back,
"Since when did you find anything funny, Kathy?" Katherine rolls her eyes, turning to her vanity and picking up a hairbrush. Running it through her hair roughly and wincing when it catches on a knot, she turns back to her sister.
"Whatever. Look, clear off. I've gotta get ready." Jasmine raises an eyebrow,
"You're packed." Katherine shoots her a look that is surely questioning her intelligence before pulling at her Weird Sisters tee obviously. Jasmine sighs and rolls her eyes, pulling herself up from the bed as though such a thing is a chore. She flips her sister the bird as she walks out of the room, and Katherine rolls her eyes and shuts the door behind the petite girl.
.
.
The cool air of September is a sharp jolt to reality for the eldest Balcoin sister. Stepping out through the front door, and feeling the muggle-repelling wards slip over her as she walks further and further away from it, Katherine's face perks up, eyes suddenly wide and awake. The wind has flushed her cheeks pink and tugs on her house scarf teasingly, forcing her hair into her face irritatingly, but somehow she manages to keep a straight face.
The same can most definitely not be said for Jasmine, who wanders down the steps to their house with a chilly scowl on her face, pulling her muggle clothes (the ones she had loathed so openly and refused to touch for weeks) closer around her and shivering slightly.
Behind Jasmine walks Lucretia Balcoin, their mother. She somehow manages to achieve an aura of perfect indifference, despite the wind pulling at her hair childishly. She herself is clothed in a black robe, having flat-out refused the muggle clothes her husband had offered her. Lucretia holds her wand out for the Knight Bus as her husband Septimus leaves through the door, which quickly closes behind him. Like Lucretia, his face is an apathetic mask, though a shine of irritation glimmers in his eyes momentarily as he brushes imaginary dust off his slacks.
The Knight Bus appears down the road, rushing forward towards the family eagerly, and Katherine notably wrinkles her nose in disgust at the transportation. It is no secret that Katherine Balcoin loathes the Knight Bus with a passion; perhaps the one thing the sisters have in common. Anticipation for a rough journey builds in Katherine's stomach, and she tries to distract herself from it by recounting page fourteen of '101 Effective Hexes and Jinxes', and is doing a pretty good job of it. She's just reached Densaugeo, ('will cause the target's teeth to elongate at an alarming rate...') when the Knight Bus jolts and fires up, the outsides a blur through the windows. Katherine sighs, wincing slightly as they turn a sharp corner and trying to keep her face as blank as her sister's. Somewhat succeeding.
When the family do finally arrive at King's Cross, it is with no small relief. They step seamlessly onto the platform with such ease it is as though they were always there; like carvings, statues placed there, weathered by time but forever in that one spot. It's funny, how much they seem to belong here; despite the muggle clothes, they hold their heads high with aristocratic grace and look down their noses at the people around them, child and adult alike.
The sisters embrace their parents briefly, Katherine in particular appearing far more affectionate than Jasmine, before separating with a wave and a promise to write. Jasmine glances at Katherine, who catches her eye, and there's a brief moment of awkwardness, before the two share a curt nod and head in opposite directions.
Katherine heads for her usual compartment; the third from the back. Her 'clique' had claimed it back in first year, and it had been tradition ever since. However, when Katherine entered it, it was very much empty. This wasn't a surprise, of course; the Balcoin family had always been incredibly punctual, and it was often that she arrived before any of her friends did. Rather than be irritated by this, Katherine smiles softly, the closest to peace she would find, digging around in her trunk for a book, before levitating her trunk onto the rack. She takes her seat near the window, opening her copy of 'Advanced Transfiguration and its Applications' with a yawn. She's immersed in it (transfiguration always was her favourite subject) until there's a loud knock on the window of the compartment door.
Through the glass, she can see the pretty face of best friend Ophelia Rushden, a gryffindor. She's not particularly stunning, Kathy supposes. Plain brown eyes framed by long black lashes shine out from above pale flawless cheeks, brown curls and a dimpled smile. The girl opens the door, dropping her trunk carelessly beside the door and leaping at Katherine as the other girl stands.
"Philly!" Katherine laughs, wrapping arms around the shorter girl easily. Ophelia herself squeezes Katherine in reply, before pulling away shooting a baleful glare at her trunk. Katherine takes her seat, shaking her head at her friend. She offers no help as Ophelia hoists the trunk onto the rack - letting out a few grunts and curses too - before finally collapsing in the seat beside Katherine.
"How was your summer with Jasmine?" Philly emphasises Katherine's sister's name with a girlish, floaty sort of voice that makes Katherine herself wrinkle her nose. Or maybe it's just the mention of her sister.
"It was... eventful." Philly snorts in an unladylike fashion at this, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like 'how could it not be?' as Kathy begins a tale about her sister's whiny disposition, obsession with one Draco Malfoy and irritating antics. Admittedly, Philly has to hold back a few laughs at the latter, but Kathy pretends not to notice them out of politeness. "...and that, my friend, is how Jasmine ended up with that nasty scar above her eyebrow. You know the one - it's real distracting, tiny but just like, you want to just," she pauses to make a scrubbing motion with her hands, "rub it off!" Philly laughs, about to reply, before a masculine voice does it for her,
"Interesting. Honestly, the Balcoin War is the highlight of Hogwarts Express rides." Over Ophelia's shoulder are two thoroughly intertwined forms; one, a tall, broad-shouldered bloke with sandy hair that flops into his eyes - which are a delicious olive green – and a charming smile, the other, a petite caramel-skinned girl with chocolate brown eyes and curly black hair. Though their entrance is sudden, only Ophelia looks surprised, Katherine appearing almost as though she'd been expecting the abrupt arrival of boy and girl. Indeed, she stands and they pull apart, the girl to hug Philly and the boy, Katherine.
"ROGER!" Philly yells in an undignified manner, and while the boy winces as he pulls away from Katherine's embrace, the girl covers her mouth to hide her laugh, throwing her arm casually around Kathy's shoulders. Neither embrace, though a warm look fills their eyes as they glance at each other. While Philly and the boy, Roger, have a close bond in their interactions, - the two have known each other since they were toddlers shuffling around their manors - Kathy and the girl appear to have a similar closeness.
"So, Sammie, any news?" Sammie smiles happily, nodding her head as Roger levitates their trunks into the rack - 'why the fuck didn't I think of that?', Ophelia shrieks, outraged - as Sammie begins talking. Roger takes a seat opposite her, and she distractedly removes her feet from her flats and rests them in his lap.
"Well, dad said something about the ministry," she wrinkles her nose at the organisation her father works for, "sending a professor to teach at Hogwarts this year. Said to look out." Ophelia frowns.
"That can't be good."
Sammie nods, sighing softly. "The last time he told me to 'look out' was last year. With the..." She doesn't need to go on. Ophelia, Sammie and Roger's faces show the appropriate sadness and respect for Diggory's death, but Kathy isn't paying attention. Her father had been there that night; apparently, the Balcoin name was among those the Potter boy listed as Death Eaters. The minister had written it off, she knew; dismissed the boy-who-lied (if you believed the Prophet) and claimed he could have read any old trial transcripts. It did not prevent the icy fingers that had gripped her heart, stayed there for months. She knew her father's instructions, - her whole family did - that they were to keep quiet about it, but the worry in the pit of her stomach hadn't faded. She would serve Him, soon, she knew; her mother and father expected it of her. And maybe, the next time someone accused a Balcoin, it wouldn't be her father they were talking about. Maybe it would be her.
"KATHY! For crying out loud, Balcoin!" Katherine starts, blue eyes momentarily unfocused, before clearing and turning smooth, expressionless.
"Hmm?" Roger's the first to laugh, - he's balancing a box of Bertie Bott's and a chocolate frog around Sam's feet - but Sam soon starts giggling around a mouthful of Cauldron Cake and Philly snorts inelegantly from her place in front of the food trolley at the door. Attempting to retain some semblance of normalcy, Katherine laughs off her momentary loss of concentration and reaches into her handbag for her pouch of galleons. She pulls it out and stands, stepping over Sam's legs. Glancing at the food on the cart over Philly's head of curls, she grins and tries to keep all worries off her face as she reaches for a pack of Sugar Quills. In front of her, Philly offers the trolley lady a handful of coins, sitting down with a liquorice wand between her lips - and several more in her hand - and a satisfied look on her face. Grabbing two chocolate frogs off the lower shelf, she casually presses a few sickles into the lady's hand and goes to sit down with a yawn.
"So what's got you so thoughtful, Kat? Didn't know you had that facial expression..." Katherine gives Roger a half-hearted glare, otherwise managing to keep her face neutral as she answers casually, "Just wondering if I should take a bet on the new Defense teacher's untimely demise." Sam chokes on her Cauldron Cake, pounding on her chest as Philly snorts and Roger gives her a disapproving look. Katherine rolls her eyes at the latter, opening her chocolate frog and catching it with practised ease when it jumps out as Roger says, "That's bad, Kathy. For all we know, this one might break the 'curse'." Katherine raises an eyebrow and he concedes, "Okay, maybe not. But c'mon, some of them don't deserve all the shit they get." Katherine shrugs; it's no good arguing with Roger on something like this.
When they've finished the majority of their food, - Kathy's packed away her pack of Sugar Quills, complete with stasis charm, for later consumption - the girls shoo Roger out (he glares at this, but shakes his head with a laugh at a look from Sam) and get changed. While Katherine and Sam don Ravenclaw ties, Philly throws a Gryffindor one carelessly over her shoulders. She'll tie it later. When they're done, they sit down and laze around as they wait for Roger to return. Philly rushes over last-minute homework (a disgrace to the Ravenclaws), while Katherine has her feet resting lazily on the seat opposite her - shoes discarded on the floor - with a book lying, abandoned, in her lap as she and Sam - sitting cross-legged on the floor with a bottle of hot pink nail varnish in front of her - toss a scrunched-up piece of parchment back and forth.
This is the picture Roger walks in on - nearly tripping over Sam in the process and knocking over her nail varnish - ten minutes later. Sam glares at her boyfriend, plucking her wand from the seat beside her carefully so as not to smudge her nails, and Roger collapses beside Katherine's seat with a tired sigh. She raises an eyebrow at him and he grins charmingly, a rich laugh coming from between his lips when the parchment Sam throws hits her in the face. Katherine shoots Sam a mock-wounded look, and Sam wags a finger at her.
"No making eyes at my boyfriend." Katherine pouts.
"But it's so fun." Sam chuckles softly, sticking her tongue out at the other girl. The train slows just as Philly finishes her Charms homework, and the girl gives a triumphant hoot, punching the air with her fists before casting a drying charm on the last of the ink and shoving the parchment into her trunk carelessly. The Ravenclaws look scandalized by the poor treatment of her work, and Philly rolls her eyes at her friends and pulls down her trunk onto her foot, letting out a yelp of pain that has the others laughing. Having common sense, they levitate their trunks down and drag them through the train aisle, still laughing. She fails to notice her sister with her group of friends shoot her a cold, irritated look.
Katherine's too caught up in being young to worry about anything like pride or sibling rivalry.
{so, wow. long first chapter. which i'm pretty proud of, tbh. it focuses far more on katherine than jasmine, but jasmine will most definitely have her say. in fact, the next chapter centres on jasmine. for those wondering, and this is actually pretty useful information for this fic, there are two of us writing this. there's me, mollie (hi!), and i write katherine. then zahra will write jasmine, so there will be different writing styles and perspectives, but i hope you don't mind. they're our babies; we wanted to share them.
there's a link to the casting for the characters on our profile.}