Ice. Cold. Ice. Cold.
That's all that sat in the depths of his eyes. He, Voldemort stared right at me with his dark eyes.
Luka reached for my hand with his own. 'Umm... Galya? Dear Merlin you had better have a plan.' My twin brother's voice ran through my head, lightning fast, like we were born for it, which we were.
No, not magic, a regular, muggle condition that sometimes occurred in twins. Joint thoughts.
'Oh. Shame,' I thought back. 'I thought you had it.' My thought screamed sarcasm.
'Really, Galya. If we survive this, I will punch you.'
'Only if I don't kill you first, Brother Dear.'
I turned my attention back to the problem at hand. Lord He-Whose-Name-Has-Too-Many-Hyphens stood glaring at me, an army of Death Eaters behind him.
Then it struck me. He-Whose-Name-Has-Too-Many-Hyphens didn't have a freaking nose. Instead were two little slits.
"Well, well. What have we here."
The voice of He-Whose-Name-Has-Too-Many-Hyphens was hissing and deep as the depths of the Black Lake.
I brushed a lock of soft, snow white hair from my sapphire blue eyes, hissing as it brushed a scar I didn't have.
Luka squeezed my hand and I saw He-Whose-Name-Has-Too-Many-Hyphens raise his poplar wood and phoenix core wand.
"Avada Kedav-"
I jolted awake in a cold sweat.
Mom was shaking my shoulder, waiting for me to wake.
"Galya? Oh thank Merlin, your finally awake! Come on, we're going shopping in Diagon Alley today. And take a shower, too!"
She moved off to shake Luka awake and I groaned. Then it hit me square in the face. Mom had said that we were going to Diagon Alley.
Luka and I had never been allowed to go before, save for when Rodya, my big brother, had gotten his wand and first school supplies six years ago. I was five then and wasn't allowed to let go of Mom's hand until we got home.
Now, on August Seven, coincidently my birthday, we were going to Diagon Alley, to get school supplies.
I sat up and stretched like the cat McGonogal had been, which is to say luxuriously.
At the foot of my bunk bed sat a bookcase, filled with all sorts of muggle books. All of my favourite titles. I would be bringing half of them to Hogwarts.
Groaning, I pulled myself from the comfortable bed and over to the bathroom that was for me. Thank Merlin Dad had decided my brother and I both needed our own! I would die if I had to share with my twin brother who, by the way, was a complete and utter slop when it came to such things.
When I had finished, I pulled a hair brush through the snow white locks and moved back into the main area, a robe wrapped around my shoulders, and surveyed the room.
Next to me bunk was my wardrobe, half open. I walked over to it and pulled out a sapphire blue turtleneck and black leggings, a respectable outfit for public or whatever Dad told me. Basically, I always had to be somewhat dressed up no matter what the occasion was. I played the part well. Always the perfect only daughter, with the sporty older brother and sly twin brother, with the smart daughter.
I dressed into the respectable outfit and pulled a pair of boots out as well.
While that was normally winter wear, this year had so far been annoyingly chilly.
Then I attacked the problem of my soft white hair that dangled half way down my back, and being my height, that was a long way. As usual, I was to braid the straight locks over my right shoulder, so that on the left side strands would fall.
The hair ribbon Mom had given me was the same blue as my eyes. The braid was straight as it always was and bow as perfect as I could make it with my skill.
I hadn't noticed, but from his side of the room, identical to mine, Luka was watching my every move.
His dark hair was jet black and kept tidily cropped to a style with longer hair in front, and a close cropped back. Luka's hair was parted perfectly down the centre, and with the use of a little muggle hair gel was going to stay there.
He was dressed in khaki pants and a sapphire blue polo shirt, buttoned up all the way. He looked amazing in the handsome style, though he looked better in more casual wear.
"Luka! Galya! Hurry it up, it's time to go!" Mom screamed from the kitchen, and we both instantly followed the sound of her voice to the kitchen where the house elf, Kazzle had prepared a bagel for each of us.
After a hurried meal, Mom and Dad bundled us all into the car and had us off to Diagon Alley.
The whole drive, I considered my wand. What type of wood would it be? Holly, willow, cedar, rowan, poplar, the possibilities were almost endless!
And cores, we weren't going to Olivanders. Family tradition required us to go to a small antiques shop just on the edges of Muggle London.
There, cores could be almost anything, from the rarest dragon scales to the hair of a Veela to the bud of a Devil's Snare to a common cat's fur.
Dragon Scales were for the brave, normally, Veela hair for the sassy, Devil's Snare buds for those who were dangerous, cat fur for the plain.
I wasn't plain or dangerous. Sassy sort of fit me and bravery wouldn't work either.
After several long minutes of contemplation, we arrived.
Rabbit Run sold anything and everything. Of course, muggle customers couldn't buy magic items.
Their best items were their wands, each hand crafted with great care.
Rico Run was the owner of the store and wand maker of the store. Each one he spent days slowly crafting and tuning to perfection.
He immediately greeted us as our families had been friends for quite a long while. "Alice, Jason, how goes it?"
Mom and Dad nodded politely at him before the former answered. "Quite well indeed Rico, we are here for the twin's wands."
Rico laughed a soft booming laugh. "Already! I was hoping that I could have a few years off before another difficult customer."
The ageing man pulled boxes from the shelves and pulled an elegantly carved wand out first. "Rowan wood, coral core. Excellent for charms. Strong and unbendable. Those with a core of coral are planted firmly in what is right. Now what are you waiting for Miss Greeengrass? Give it a wave."
I flicked the wand and carefully studied what happened. The burst of magic was strong and terrible. One of the boxes blew up.
Rico smiled and pulled out a wand that was "Acacia wood with a hydra scale core" for me to try. It blasted through a vase in the window.
He moved onto a different wand. "Seaweed and water core. For ocean lovers." A window shattered.
"Coral and glass shards. Sparky. Perfect for Transfiguration." Nothing happened.
Rico clucked in disappointment. "Nope, try this one. Cedar, pegasus feather, for those who love the air. Excellent for Defence Against the Dark Arts." I flicked it and, once again, the results were unspectacular.
He reached for a snowy white box in which sat a narwhal horn wand, disguised by willow wood and with a true core of a Lidean Drakon's scale and a tiny shard of an ice crystal.
I picked it up and my hand became comfortably warm. "And a round of applause for Miss Greengrass here, with a narwhal horn disguised by willow wood wand with a double core. Drakon scale and snow crystal shard. The wand of a fighter with a girly side. Excellent for Charms and Defence."
A half hour later, Luka had his wand of sacra wood with a dragon tongue core. Both wands were packaged in their boxes and ready to be paid for.
"Good luck, Luka and Galya Greengrass. May the gods be with you in your quest."
With that, we left the crazy old man who was no doubt off his rocker, of down right insane from the core.
"Dad? What did Mister Rico mean by 'good luck in your quest'?"
Dad chuckled. "Don't pay attention to the wand maker, Luka. He is an excellent wand maker, but he is hardly sane."
Ushering us into the car, Mom looked at Dad as if reprimanding him. I could feel my innate curiosity acting up.
My thoughts were suddenly firing at a million miles an hour, and I felt Luka sending a mental glare at me for messing with his thoughts, as well as my own.
Galya Artemis Greengrass! I swear, if you don't get a hold of that curiosity I will throw you into the Black Lake when we get to school!
Dad turned the key on the car and the gas started. It would have been so much easier just to floo over. Of course, with Dad, that was not possible.
Arriving at Diagon, Mom immediately took us to Malkins Robes, where Madame Malkins (the eighty-fifth) would get us the robes we needed for school
Honestly, who the Hades wears robes anymore? Albus Dumbledore whose been dead for He-Whose-Name-Has-Too-Many-Hyphens knows how long! Oh! Maybe McGonogal and her furry animangus form...
Coming out, I bumped into a tall boy with messy black hair and brilliant unforgivable curse green eyes.
The most famous boy in the Wizarding World, Regulus Potter.
"Regulus Potter. Son of Sirius Potter. Grandson of Harry Potter. Great-grandson of James Potter. Great-great-grandson of Charlus Potter. Great-great-great-grandson of Ridikulus Potter. Great-great-great-great-grandson of Ridikulus Potter Senior." Luka began to drawl out the names of the great-whatever-grandfathers until he reached 'Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Harriet Potter the unfortunately named boy.
By then the great Regulus Potter was beet red, an unfortunate colour that quite well worked for him. It made his eyes look horribly bloodshot.
"Luka," Mom admonished. Rodya looked smug at our being scolded.
He pulled us away from the great Regulus Potter to scold us while Mom watched proudly as her eldest son started to turn into the next Percival Weasley.
"Rodya," Dad, admonished. We looked smug at Rodya's being scolded.
'Maybe I'll forgive you... When you actually bother to read the flippity flipping curriculum.' Came Luka's thought, through the bridge.
Next up was the bookstore and I freaked. I freaked. I freaked!
The bookstore was a lovely building with white trim on the dark wood. It was two stories and had thousands of different titles. After picking up two copies of each school book, I found a book called The Natural Animangus, written by masseurs Padfoot, Prongs, Moony, Wormtail.
Then was the title Metamorphagi, one called Finding Your Inner Animal, and one that went by the title Friends Forever.
The first was a book on - obviously - metamorphagus, the second once again on becoming an animangus, the third and final on the idea of having a familiar. We purchased the reading material, while Dad was hatching a plan.
"Children, according to the rules of Hogwarts, you can each bring a pet to school. Your mother and I have decided that you are both responsible enough to care for a small snake. We will also get you a owl so you can owl us. Now come along to the store."
I almost screamed for joy. "Dad! Thank you so much!"
Slithering about, one snake caught my eye. It was small, approximately a foot long, and it was mainly ruby red, but it had slashes of obsidian all along it's back.
Scanning the card with the information, I found it was a Sparrow Snake, a magical species known for being able to change shape when they had bonded with a witch or wizard.
They were a slightly rare breed, though were also commonly mistaken for a subspecies of milk snakes, a non-magical species.
Lifting the lid carefully, I reached in to stroke the scales of the small creature.
The sales woman walked over to see me grinning at the snake. "That's a Sparrow Snake, dear. They're a magical breed. Quite gentle, unless their Mistress or Master is in danger. Then they're quite hostile."
"How much for her?" I asked.
"Twelve galleons, dear," she replied, then walked off to where Luka was watching a snake.
"Mom?" I asked my mother, who stood watching a fluttering owl. "Can I get this one?"
Mom came over to watch the small snake slithering around, then nodded. "A Sparrow. Good choice. We'll have to get her a basket and food. Now come look at owls. You'll be sharing one with Luka at school."
She pointed out a blue eyed snowy owl to me and said, "I want you two to get that one."
I gave her a slightly annoyed look. "But of course," Mom rushed one, "you don't have to get that one."
Shrugging, I responded. "She is kinda pretty, that one. I'll ask Luka later."
Moving back towards the snake section, I noticed Luka had chosen a gorgeous copperhead, whom he called Godric.
The medium sized snake coiled around his arm, hissing with delight. I laughed softly, as I looked at the different baskets for snakes.
Kindling, as I had decided to call my snake, decided she was a fan of a small, black reed basket, one with a self heating rock at the bottom, and charmed to be weightless. I smiled with satisfaction at her choice.
Food was simple. Snakes would eat anything that would fit down their throat. So yeah, they could eat the small insects that would be around the school. At home I had a feeling that Mom would make quite excellent rat for the two.
Personally, I wouldn't want to try but a snake is... well, a snake.
We left the store happy, my twin and I each with a snake coiled upon our shoulders.