Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and if i did i'd be rich, which i'm not!
Special thanks to Wastelandrose, who actually set the Zodiac challenge years ago, and puts up with my sparadic muses. (Incase you wondered, I'm Libra)
"Wow, I almost forgot how much you two looked a like" breathed George looking at an old photograph he had found in your bag, "Do you still miss her Bill?". What sort of question was that? He might have been your best friend, but he was really stupid sometimes. Ever since the accident seven years ago, he was the only constant you had known. The only person willing to talk about what had been lost that day, but still he annoyed you sometimes.
"She was my sister" you stated coldly, thinking of that smiling face you used to see every day, "My twin sister, what do you think?". George grinned an apologetic smile at you, seeming to realize how stupid his question had just been. He had never had any siblings and you and your twin had been the closest he had ever had to a brother and sister. After the accident his family had taken you in and looked after you, until you started school. You still spent the summers with them, but chose to stick around school during the other holidays, more content with being alone and solitary, with your own thoughts and memories. Of course it was never that easy, as you had a lot of friends and there was always someone there.
"Sorry, stupid question" George chuckled, turning slightly red. His green eyes caught the light slightly as he returned to gazing down at the picture of the three of you when you were nine, a year before life took an unexpected turn which you can't escape from. "She was really beautiful" he murmured, more to himself than to you, as his thumb ran slowly across the picture, "Remember when we put that toad in her bed, I thought your mum was going to kill us". You chuckled along with your friend, thinking back to all the time you three had spent together and the pranks you had played on each other.
"Yeah, mum wasn't impressed" you muttered, slouching in the seat within your carriage and wondering where your other friends had gotten to. It wasn't unusual for them to arrive later than you, usually just as the train was beginning to leave but it still annoyed you that they weren't there to help change the subject from your dead family. You had managed to keep the picture hidden from your best friend throughout your Hogwarts career, only looking at it in the scarce moments when you were alone in the Ravenclaw dormitory. But of course something's couldn't stay hidden forever and this part of your past was one of them.
"Sorry Billy" George said, handing the picture back to you, "Been hogging the photo, but it's a lot better than any of the ones Mum and Dad have of us". You smiled a forgiving smile, showing him you didn't mind. Secretly you were praying that this would be the end of the conversation, and you could go back to hiding the horrors of your past and being the easy going person everyone knew you as. "I miss Autumn" he finally stated, staring intently at you, "she was always such a laugh". You nodded slowly. "I know no one believes it, but you two were identical" he continued, a far off look in his eye.
"Male and Female twins can not be identical" interrupted a voice from the door, "They're from different eggs to start with". Looking up you met the kindly face of Remus Lupin. You had studied along side he ever since the first year, and got a long brilliantly with him. He was also the one responsible for saving you from being pranked on several occasions by the rest of the infamous Marauders.
"Fine, don't believe me" stated George flatly, looking pretty sulky at being interrupted, "Just show him the picture Billy". Sighing deeply you handed the picture to Remus, who had sat down beside you by this point. Remus stared at the photo for a moment before looking back up at you.
"Which one are you?" he asked serious, looking between you and the photo, "George was right when he said you and your sister were identical". You smiled weakly at Remus, taking the photo from him and placing it safely in your bag.
"No one knows" laughed George, once again happy to be proven right, "I don't think we even knew at the time, isn't that right Billy boy". You nodded your agreement to him, not happy in the least that the conversation was still on your sibling and that damn photo which just had to fall out of one of your books when you were looking through your bag.
"Knew what?" asked a loud voice from the door, as two familiar faces appeared. They both strutted in, looking like they hadn't changed at all during the summer and fell down in the two seats next to George. "What's you all talking about?" he asked, leaning forward and allowing his black hair to frame his face fully as he stared deeply into your eyes.
"Nothing Sirius" you yawn, fighting the urge to laugh at this fully grown child. He hadn't even realized he had chocolate on the side of his mouth, making him look even funnier. James wasn't much better, but at least he had realized about the chocolate on his face and was busy trying to fix the problem, with little success. "So tell me, what you three been up to this summer?" you asked casually, for some reason it was easier to talk and change the subject when James and Sirius were around. When it was just George or Remus, you felt weaker, like you had no right to be an equal within the conversation. But these two always put you at ease and made you feel like an equal.
"Spent the whole thing at Prongs place" Sirius stated confidently, slouching in his chair in almost the same manner as you, "Got a lot of Quiditch practice in, Yourself Will?" As he was speaking, he subconsciously played with his hair, wrapping it around his fingers and flicking it slightly. It was weird to watch him doing this, yet somehow natural.
"Read, played Quiditch, listened to music" you stated coolly, "same old, same old". The smirk which met this comment almost made you blush. For some reason Sirius was certain that 'Same old, Same old' was something sexual. "What about you Remus?" you asked, ignoring Sirius' sniggers.
"Same as you really" Remus said kindly, grinning weakly at Sirius' immature behaviour, "Minus the Quiditch of course". Everyone in the carriage grinned at this. Remus was famous for being the only honour roll student to have failed flying three times due to a fear of heights. Actually, he was the only student ever in the history of Hogwarts to have failed flying three times, even the muggle born students got the hang of it better than Remus and the only reason he wasn't still taking it was due to the Headmaster using his power to make the flying professor give Remus a passing mark after the third time. The rest of you didn't mind reminding him of this fact either, even Lily had been known to bring it up. Just as you thought her name, the familiar red head poked her head into the carriage.
"Hi Boys" she greeted, smiling at you and Remus before walking over to James and perching on his lap. The two had been dating since Christmas the previous year and were still going strong. You could tell from the way they looked at each other that they were soul mates, even before they got over fighting and started dating. Every time you saw them together you found yourself feeling a little jealous, knowing you would never know the happiness they knew. Only one person had ever balanced you, and they were gone, never to return.
"How was your summer Lily?" Remus asked kindly, smiling at the girl opposite him. She turned a little in James' lap so she could look at the pair of you as she spoke.
"It was ok, Petunia is a bitch" she said happily, "But I got to spend time with my boyfriend, so I didn't mind". You smiled back at her, before something hard hit your forehead. Looking down at your lap, you found a small sweet. Looking up, you saw Sirius launch another from a bag he was holding, right at your head. This one, like the previous one, bounced off your forehead. He just grinned innocently at you, mischief shinning in his eyes.
"Still not grown out of that?" you asked, just before another sweet hit you. Every year since your first year Sirius had used a whole bag of sweets for throwing at you. According to James, he had even made up rules and a scoring method to go with it. Every year he did it, often more on one occasion during the year, and every year you tried to find a way out of it with no success. But this year you were determined to succeed. "Still a little baby are you?" you asked in a condescending tone, raising an eyebrow at him, and almost being hit in the eye by a green sweet he had just fired.
"Yep" was his simple response as he pulled out another sweet and took aim. Before he could fire this one though, you were out of your seat and running out of the carriage. You heard the ping of something hitting glass, as your closed the carriage door, hoping to slow him down slightly. Looking from side to side for a second, you took off towards the toilets and changing rooms, hoping to see someone to hide you on the way. If no one appeared then you could just hide in the toilets for a bit until he got bored or found another victim. You had only passed two carriages when another sweet hit you meaning Sirius was on your tail. "You can't escape Maxwell" he chuckled, firing another sweet and just missing your head, "I will catch you, I always do". You just speeded up, no longer looking in the carriages, determined to reach the toilets before he caught you.
"Whatever you say Black" you yelled back, and then you made a mistake. Turning slightly you glanced behind you at him, only to end up tripping over your own feet and falling down on your bottom. Before you knew what was happening, you were flat on your back with Sirius sat on your stomach, an evil grin on his face.
"Told you" he chuckled before pulling out another sweet and firing at your forehead. For the next five minutes you lay there with sweets bouncing off your head. Listening to Sirius' amused laughter. Finally he finished the bag of sweets and was left just sitting on you, looking down at you, as your hair lay sprawled around your head. His expression seemed to falter for a second before he jumped up grinning and pulled you to your feet. "You should really learn to run Will" he told you, slapping you hard on the back as you both walked back to the compartment, "Honestly, you run like a girl". As you entered the carriage you discovered that George and Remus had left, leaving James and Lily to their own devices.
"Save it for your private rooms" you teased, flopping back down in your seat, and grinning evilly at them. It hadn't surprised you when Lily had written to tell you she was head girl. The only person it seemed to actually have surprised was Lily herself. But when James had informed you all he was head boy, you were a little more shocked. Everyone had been sure it would be you or Remus who got the position, not that you minded. Being head boy would only mean more responsibilities and work, and you had your academic standing to think of.
"We wouldn't have to wait if you'd go away!" James responded coolly, although his eyes shone with humour. He stretched out on the seats, pulling his blushing girlfriend into his lap. This only left a seat beside you for Sirius to sit in, which he happily took. You both slouched back into the seats, stretching your legs forward in the same manner and grinning with each other. When people said you weren't a typical Ravenclaw they weren't lying, You were much more likely to be found messing around with one of your friends than studying. It was just the information seemed to stick in your mind without you having to keep re-reading it. Of course you did revise, and work hard on all your assignments, it just took you less time than most, meaning you had more time to play Quiditch and hang out with your friends.
"So, who caught the Harpies game last week?" you asked happily, remembering watching the match with George and listening to his comments about several of their players. It had been a fun 13 hours, until Lucy Savon caught the snitch. Then you had dragged yourself back to Georges only to be nagged at by his parents for staying out to late and not letting them know you were going to be late. It wasn't as if you could predict how long the game would last and it had been a brilliant game.
"Didn't see it, but read about it in the Prophet" James said, curling Lily's hair around his finger, "Were you there?". You nodded to him, smiling broadly. You knew very well how jealous this would make him, now you knew he hadn't been able to get tickets for it. "OMG not fair" he moaned right on queue, pouting into Lily's neck. You and Sirius ended up laughing so hard at this that you were relying on each other for support. James just sat there pouting, causing Lily to join in laughing at him, but not as hard as you and Sirius were.
"God, wondered who was making all the noise" chuckled a voice from the door a few minutes later, "I'm not really surprised". Slowing your breathing and calming down you smiled at the newest arrival.
"Hi Kitty" you finally breathed, calm enough to speak once more, "Just teasing Potter about the Harpies game". Kitty, otherwise known as Katherine Jacob, just rolled her eyes at you. Katherine was a fellow Ravenclaw, who didn't share your unique sense of humour, but still got a long with you really well. During third year there had been a rumour she fancied you, but you both had put it down to a girl and boy being friends and didn't think anything else about it. You had been forced to tutor her once, when she actually managed to fail a potions test.
"Still haven't grown up them William" she stated, giggling slightly at you, "So how was it?". Everyone seemed to go quiet at this question, desperate to hear you valuable opinion on the game.
"Brilliant" you answered, grinning "But that's mainly due to George's commentary". Lily snorted at this statement, but it didn't deter you. "I was worth the money to, they played for almost 13 hours, longest game I've ever seen".
"Yeah, I heard it went on for ages" Sirius interrupted, turning in his seat and sitting crossed legged, staring intently at you, "So meet any hot chicks?" You snorted at this comment, it was just so Sirius it was unbelievable. Everything Sirius ever told you he managed to bring in something about girls, usually about how many or how few hot ones there were.
"No I didn't Black" you said, rolling your eyes, "How about you? How's your love life?" You mimicked his position, so you were sat crossed legged facing him. You heard the other three inhabitants of the carriage groan at this question.
"Well we'd better get off and do our head duty's" Lily said, jumping up and pulling James up behind her, "Catch you all later". You waved you goodbyes as the two slunk out of the carriage, not thinking twice about their lame excuse.
"Well I don't want to listen to this" Katherine stated, never been one to waist her time making up excuses, "See you at the feast". As she left you heard the door slide closed and you were alone with Sirius, ready to hear his bragging about his romance life.
"You should of seen this blonde the other day" he began leaning forward and rocking slightly, "Such eyes". His eyes were so distant as he spoke, as if he was thinking about the girl, but suddenly he seemed to focus on you again. His expression faltering for the second time that day, his eyes bore into your own for a second before he turned away. "It doesn't matter" he muttered, leaning back in his seat, "Nothing major". He behaviour startled you. He had never held back from a chance to brag before, but something about you had stopped him from ranting on about this girl he had met. It threw you completely. Sirius had always been one of your closest friends, yet suddenly he was acting differently around you.
"Right" you said slowly, trying to shake the weird feeling you were suddenly getting off your best friend. He just kept staring a head of himself, hardly moving, as the seconds ticked by. "Want to play a game of exploding snap or something?" you finally asked, desperate to go back to how the two of you usually acted around each other.
"Sure" Sirius said, as bright and cheerful as ever, turning back to face you as if nothing weird had just happened. Grinning back at him, you rummaged through your bag until you finally found the pack of cards.
You played several noisy and humorous games before the carriage door once again opened. You and Sirius both looked up from your games at the new comer to find Remus laughing at the pair of you.
"How is it that you two always end up covered in soot when left in each others company?" he asked, stepping into the carriage and closing the door behind him. Subconsciously you found yourself reaching up and rubbing your nose which turned out to be covered in soot.
"Just lucky I guess" Sirius responded, grinning manically at Remus, soot making his face blend into his hair. This only caused Remus to laugh harder, falling down in your empty seat and beginning to rummage in your bag. You would have been furious if anyone else had done that, but you trusted Remus, and knew he wouldn't damage any of your stuff or pry into anything he might find within there. Finally he put your bag back down, pulling out your copy of IThe art of War/I by Sun Tzu.
"Still reading this?" he asked, flipping through the first few pages and grinning at you. It was the same book you had been reading on that fateful day when you had first met the marauders and become firm friends with them. Even though you had read it so many times you could almost recite it, you still loved it. Remus had read in during third year, but he was the only person you knew who had also read it.
"Like I keep telling you" Sirius declared, "If you want to know the real art of war, just watch us Marauders with the Slytherins". It was always his response to seeing that book. Somehow during the first you he had managed to form the idea that the constant pranks they played on the Slytherins was actually intricate warfare, far surpassing anything ever seen before. There were many parallels between the way the Marauders pranked the Slytherins and the five constants Sun Tzu deemed to be vital to victorious war fare.
"I know Sirius" you chuckled, moving over to sit beside Remus, your legs a little stiff from sitting on the carriage floor for so long. Stretching your legs once again, you grinned at Sirius' confused expression. "After all Sirius IAll warfare is based on deception./I". Remus chuckled at this, and Sirius just looked even more confused by it.
"You saying we're deceitful then?" he finally asked, trying to wrap his head around what you had just quoted from Sun Tzu's work. You couldn't help but chuckle at how confused he now looked, sprawled at your feet, gazing up like some wide eyed child given a Nuclear reactor and told to use it.
"No I'm just saying you posses the talents of a good leader" you stated calmly, "After all, you always IAttack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected/I". The smug look which crossed Sirius' face at hearing this was enough for you to know that he wasn't as confused as he had been, or he was just happy to have a complement. It was impossible to tell with him.
"Anyway" Remus finally said, replacing the book in your bag and looking around, "Fancy some Slytherin hunting Padfoot?" Finally, after almost two hours you were going to get the peace you desired. It wasn't that you disliked your friends, or begrudged them your company, it was just you needed a little space now and then to sort through your thoughts and relax.
"Aren't I always Moony?" Sirius laughed heartily, jumping up and shaking his head in a manner which always reminded you of a dog. Running your handkerchief over his face, he managed to remove all the soot which had previously caked it, and once again looked like the handsome young man he was known as being. "Catch you in a bit Will" he said brightly, waving slightly at you before walking straight into the door. Roaring with laughter, you struggled to remain seated as Remus got up and dragged Sirius once again to his feet.
"The door slides open, see" he said in a condescending tone, pushing the door open in demonstration, "See you in a bit William". With that said they were gone, leaving you to your own thoughts and nightmares.
"Isn't something missing?" you asked the air quietly, before laying back in the seat and closing your eyes, hoping to find a release you had never known behind them.
Sirius' Point of view
"Shh, he's asleep" you whispered, snorting slightly as you tried not to laugh. As usual the Slytherins hadn't expected anything until it was to late. You knew Lily wouldn't be impressed when she found out what had happened, but then again, when was she ever impressed by something you did. The only boy who ever seemed to truly impress her fully was William, and you had no idea why. Falling down in one of the seats opposite him, you watched Remus moving some of William's things about so that there was more room within the carriage and he didn't lose anything.
"You don't say Padfoot" Remus teased. He had been picking on you ever since you had managed to walk into the compartment door. You hadn't meant to look that un cool and do that, but there was something else on your mind, or more exactly someone else. You weren't renowned for being clumsy, that was Williams field of expertise, yet all of the sudden you found yourself doing the most stupid things.
"No need to be sarcastic" you snapped back putting your feet up on the seat he was about to take. Rolling his eyes, he just sat down on top of your legs, squashing them effectively. "Fine, Fine I'll move them" you grumbled pushing him off you, and swinging your feet back down to the floor, "Moody, must be about your time of the month, you're PMSing". Remus just rolled his eyes again at this, falling into the now empty seat and pulling out a book.
"What ever you say Mutt" he muttered, making sure to keep his voice low she he didn't disturb William, "Like I haven't heard that before". It was true that ever since you had found out about Remus' furry little problem, you hadn't been able to stop yourself from making jokes about his time of the month, but he made it sound like you were always cracking them, which just wasn't true. Slouching back in your seat, the compartment fell into silence, except for the slight snores coming from William and the sound of Remus sporadically turning the pages of his book. You always hated these, as Remus called them, IDown times/I. You had always been a rather active person, and finding yourself stuck in your own head instead of chatting with one of your friends, or messing around was your idea of hell. But still you sat there silently, not really doing anything but thinking about a pair of overly large eyes which had been stuck in the back of your mind all summer. It felt weird returning to Hogwarts, knowing you could never have the person those eyes belonged to. Suddenly you found yourself pulled from your thoughts by whimpering. Focusing on William once again, you found him tossing and turning on the seat, wrapped within the realms of a night vision. His lanky form seeming almost brittle as he tore from side to side, whimpering and mewling.
"Should we wake him?" you asked Remus quietly, unsure what to do. You didn't like waking people but William seemed almost terrified by what he was seeing. None of your friends deserved the amount of pain you could now see on Williams face, but you didn't know what to do to help.
"Yeah" Remus said, sounding almost as worried as you, "That would probably be best". You stood up quickly, determined to help him no matter what. Now you knew that Remus agreed with you, you weren't so worried about waking him. Instead your mind was racing with questions about what William was currently seeing behind his closed eyes. Reach down, you softly touch his shoulder, ready to shake him awake, but it turned out you didn't need to, because as you touched him, his eyes sprang open, staring straight up into your own. Eyes which held the darkness in his soul. Something hidden deep within them which you couldn't name. The next second it was gone and once again the William you knew stared up at you.
William's point of view
IIt was raining. It was always raining here. Every time you visited you knew you would be cleansed by the constant rain. A brown girl in hand me downs, whose name you never could pronounce, was sat on the curb in front of you. Tears streaking down her cheeks and mixing with the rain drops effortlessly. She was seventeen, she would always be seventeen, until the end of time. A voice called from inside the house, causing her to turn and look at the open front door behind her. There stood a brown eyed man you never could forget, his smile oddly like the girls as he beckoned her over to him. Following silently through the puddles, never disturbing the crystal pools you entered the house with the brown eyed girl. The man instantly pulled her into a hug.
"Don't worry Hiver" he whispered, just loud enough for you to hear, just as you had heard a million times before, "You'll get over this and then one day your prince charming will come along and you will never think about Cael again". The brown eyed girl smiled a watery smile into his chest, nodding her head slightly to him. "So how about the five of us go to dinner?" he asked brightly, pulling back a little to smile down at the girl which looked so much like him, "We can go to that muggle place you like to go on about". The brown eyed girl actually managed a genuine smile at this.
"Thanks daddy" she whispered, casting a quick drying spell over herself, once again revealing the bright blonde of her hair which the rain had previously dulled.
"Hi honey" a women greeted, walking into the room, and dragging two identical blonde children behind her, both dressed in matching green rain coats and sporting identical scowls. The women held out two coats to the brown eyed girl and man. "Ready?" she asked kindly, grabbing the collar of one of the twins without even looking, to prevent it from running off. The man grinned at the pair before stepping forward to kiss the woman.
"Always am darling" he whispered to her lips, before pulling back and scoping up one of the twins, and grabbing the others hand as her took them out towards the car. Hiver and the woman followed quickly, pulling up their hoods as they stepped into the downpour. By the time they were both sat in the car, the man had managed to strap in the twins, who were defiantly not happy about having to go out in the rain. "Right, lets go" the man laughed, jumping into the front and turning the car on. As you watched them take off down the road fear began to take over you. Both of the twins had started screaming and kicking, not giving up no matter what their mother and sister told them. But their father didn't say anything, he just smiled and kept his eyes on the road.
"For the last time you two, stop it" screeched the woman from the front seat, taking off her seat belt and turning around to face the pair. Almost as if you were in a trance you turned to look out of the right hand window, and saw it. The silver form of doom. As your eyes widened at the ever approaching form of death, something pressed your shoulder, anchoring you down and pulling you back to the present. /I
Your eyes shot open, and were instantly greeted by the worry filled grey of Sirius' eyes. No one else had eyes as grey as his, so you instantly knew it was him. Blinking a few times, you calmed yourself down, before sitting up and looking around. You were sick of these dreams, but you weren't going to share them with anyone.
"Ok Will?" Sirius asked, falling down into the seat beside you and grinning at you. His eyes still shone with worry though. Very few people knew this Sirius. Everyone just saw the hyper active, trouble maker. Not many got to see the caring friend this exterior hid. "Seemed like a rough dream" he continued, elbowing you slightly as he tried to make you smile, "Or was it just a bit to kinky for you?". You actually grinned at this. As usual everything had come back to sex. Typical of conversations with Sirius.
"Of course Sirius" you chuckled, slouching again in your chair and grinning across at Remus, "How well you know me". You all laughed for a bit, just playing around and cracking jokes with each other. The horrors from your dream quickly washing away, as you relaxed around your friends. You were returning to the only place you had ever felt at home since the accident. Granted this was the final time you would ever return to Hogwarts. But once it was over you could live the life you and your twin used to dream of. Nothing would be left to hold you down. You could vanish from the world which knew you and start again. Form a life where you could once again be happy, or at least you would be able to wallow in your demons without worrying that your friends would discover them.
"So, how long we got left?" Sirius finally yawned, chucking one of his socks, which had somehow fallen off his feet during the journey, at Remus' head to get his attention. It was already dark outside as he asked this, leading you to believe you were almost at Hogwarts. Remus sighed deeply, before putting the bookmark back in his book, and placing it down beside him.
"Not long now Padfoot" Remus yawned, looking at his watch as he spoke, "You'll be eating before you know it". Snorting in laughter, you ducked as Sirius threw his other sock at you. "So you two better go change" Remus continued, as if nothing had happened. Jumping up, you grabbed your uniform from your bag, ignoring Remus' tut of disapproval, when he saw once again your clothes were creased in a ball, instead of folded as he was always telling you to do. Waste of time in your opinion and it really annoyed Remus, so was totally worth walking around in creased clothes for a few hours.
"Smell you later Moony" Sirius laughed, bounding out of the carriage as you followed after him, waving to Remus, before closing the door. Once you were in the corridor you saw Sirius grinning at you.
"What?" you asked, raising an eyebrow at him, before running past him, "Beat you there". You heard him chuckle behind you, before he began chasing you towards the changing rooms. When you reached them, you discovered the male changing rooms empty. Running into one you closed the door, and dropped your uniform on the provided stool.
"Cheater" you heard Sirius yell through the door as he took the empty stall beside you. You just laughed at him, as you pulled off your hooded top and dropping it on the floor. You shivered slightly as the change in temperature hit you. It wasn't cold, but you had spent the whole summer in hooded tops and baggy clothes, always covered up, so your body had grown used the added heat your choice of clothing gave you. Looking in the big mirror opposite you, you regarded the tall, lanky boy in front of you, swamped by his baggy clothes. His hair scruffy, framing his thin face. Large eyes and full lips making his appearance startling. You couldn't help but smile at your reflection as you saw the person you had grown into over the years. Pulling off your t-shirt, you carefully removed the ace bandage you had put on that morning, knowing you needed a lighter one whilst in your uniform, otherwise it would be noticeable through your shirt. Once you had removed the bandage, you picked up your normal ace bandage. Looking at your reflection once more, you saw a beautiful young lady staring back. "Autumn you've got to go away" you whispered to your reflection, feeling your eyes prickle with the tears that always threatened to fall when you saw your sister before you like this. Closing your eyes, you unrolled the bandage before beginning to wrap it around yourself. "I'm sorry sis" you murmured, looking back at your reflection, "But you can't be here".