Butterflies and Snakes
Twin Slayers, Twin Watchers Rewrite
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Summary: What do you do when everything you thought you know changes? What happens when you find out your best friend is really your twin sister and that because she has been called as the slayer then so have you? You adapt. You make new friends out of old enemies at the same time that your oldest friends become your newest enemies. One thing is for sure, for Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, not everything is as it seems and their lives will never be the same.
If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.
-Author Unknown
Prologue
The cramped and musty basement of the Watchers Council was silent except for the consistent sound of shuffling papers and the occasional scraping chair. The distant sound of murmurs of the tumultuous rooms above were all but ignored as the two researchers searched endlessly through the Council's records to find the answer that every Watcher was searching for.
"I've found it!" A woman's voice yelled from behind a pile of books.
"Oh thank heavens," came the astonished reply of a man's voice as he jumped out from behind an entirely different pile of books.
The woman handed him a piece of paper as she untangled herself from a web of parchment rolls and stacks of newspapers. The man skimmed the handwritten document and let out an un-masculine squeal of delight.
"I could kiss you," he exclaimed, "but you have to get this up there."
"Right." She grabbed the paper and took off running, and nobody noticed her as she ran through the halls, because the entire building was in turmoil.
On one floor, she ran though offices with men typing away at computer terminals yelling things at each other like, "What do you mean she's still in prison? That's Impossible!" and, "The Original did die a few months ago. That could be the answer." Then there were offices on another floor with people shouting into phones in hundreds of different languages. There was so much commotion that it mostly sounded like white noise.
"Hey watch it!" A man on a phone yelled when she bumped his desk. She mumbled an apology, but he had already turned back to his conversation. As she dashed off she heard him yell into the phone, "Well you tell that shaman that if I don't get some answers soon then I am going to fly down there and show him what I can do with dried chicken bones."
On the second to last floor, she passed another runner heading in the opposite direction as her. She stopped and let him pass even though she knew that her document was more important than his could ever dream of being. She knew for a fact that she had the most important piece of information in the whole building.
She made it to her destination at the top of the 5-story building, and took a deep breath before pushing open the large double doors.
All 28 members of the council looked up at her from their seats at the long mahogany table.
"This better be important." One woman stated.
"It is ma'am. I know who she is."
"Well where is she?" The Head of the Council exclaimed.
"Here in England sir, but there is a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"She's a witch."
The summer days had started out relatively normal for Hermione Granger, or at least as normal as they could get for a witch.
Hermione had been attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for 5 years, and each year had been an adventure in itself: fights, monsters, Lord Voldemort, and not to mention nearly getting decapitated by a 7-foot tall living replica of the Queen chess piece. These had only been a few of the many nightmares Hermione and her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, had found would follow them everywhere. Though they mostly tried to stay out of trouble, danger usually found them. But, no matter the difficulties, whatever the challenge, they always tackled them head on because it's in their nature, and in their blood.
Harry was the son of James Potter, one of the notorious members of the Marauders of Hogwarts who wreaked havoc throughout their years at the school using their sharp intellect, quick wit, and a penchant for mayhem. Ron was the offspring of two of the most headstrong families in the entire Wizarding World, the Weasley's and the Prewett's, and also the brother of Fred and George Weasley, owners of the now infamous joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Lastly, Hermione was the Gryffindor book worm and the proud daughter of two muggle dentists. At least that is what everyone thought.
At Hogwarts Hermione seems like the bossy, studious, and sensible one of the group, but that is the person she chose to be upon being notified of her acceptance into Hogwarts. During her young life she was a terror. She would bite, scratch, tear, and even blow up anything that got in her way. She had been a skilled pickpocket since the tender age of 3, and hit the "teenager" stage in life at 7 choosing to lock herself in her room all day, refusing to go to school, and instead deciding to play video games and watch television. When she did go to school it was only to intimidate both teachers and students. But being a grump and a bully didn't get her anywhere, when she got the chance to go to a place where no one knew her she took it as an opportunity for a fresh start.
That opportunity had been a good thing for her. She liked to go to school and show off her intelligence, and she liked to go home and relax by going to parties and playing sports and generally doing things not expected of her as the "Gryffindor Good Girl". But, even though she created these duel lives for herself Hermione found that they were beginning to take their toll on her. Ever since the battle in the Department of Mysteries and the death of Sirius Black, Hermione had been thinking and debating with herself about whether or not the "Other Hermione" would have done any different or more so if she would have done better. The more she thought about it the more she came to realize that not only was she living two lives, but she was living two lives that were complete opposites of each other, and if that wasn't enough, she was allowing what was expected of her to control the way she ran each version of herself. She knew she was a victim of stereotyping in both worlds.
With her head clear for the first time, Hermione made a decision:
Screw them all.
In three short words, Hermione was able to sort out every problem she could have with trying to mesh her two worlds together. She decided that she would no longer allow other peoples view of her determine her actions. Hermione knew that she could be the Good Girl and the Bad Girl, because that is the person that she is, and that is who she wants to be.
Regardless of the fact that she didn't care what people thought of her real self, she knew that convincing people it wasn't an act would be difficult, and it would require some planning. She decided that at this point there as only one thing she could do.
She needed to shop.
This Diary Belongs to: Harry James Potter
Insquequo sacramentum est pensus
Dear Journal,
I would like to state for the record that I believe this is a stupid idea, but Remus sent this journal with a hex, so I have no choice other than to obey. I'm sure you noticed the Latin inscription Mr. Lupin inscribed on your front cover? Well, insquequo sacramentum est pensus means "Until Debt is paid", and since I'm not quite sure what my "debt" is i'm quite confident I'm going to have you for an awful long time. So, I guess we are going to get acquainted over the course of this summer holiday until I go to the Weasley's in August, and I get the chance to convince Remus I don't need to vent anymore. Though I expect Remus will keep the hex on to keep me writing about my feelings just to annoy me.
So, since we both know I'm going to be here awhile I should probably introduce myself. Without further ado I give you…Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived!
Yeah, I know. Fuck that, right? Good. I'm glad we're on the same page Journal.
You know what Journal, I think you should have name to make it easier for me to talk to you. I therefore dub thee Harriet Clay. And yes, my own wit amazes me sometimes.
Remus' letter which accompanied you Harriet stated that I should try to "record past and present events as and try to express my feeling about them", so here goes my attempt at sharing my feelings…
My life sucks.
Now, there are good points of course, but over all I hate my life. Every year since I started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and bloody Wizardry has been a nightmare. Every year my friends and I are put in mortal danger somehow. I've fought with students like Draco Malfoy, and teachers like Severus Snape, as well as battled everything from a three-headed dog named Fluffy to Lord Voldemort himself. Outside of school, Fudge, the Minister of Magic, hasn't helped matters much either. He has his lies printed in the Daily Prophet about how "deranged" and "attention-seeking" I am, and he makes me out to be some sort of crazed and murderous lunatic who cares about no one other than myself. I don't want any more limelight, but according to him I want it all. And you know what Harriet? I am really pissed off about it because Fudge is stupid and arrogant and he's a self-centered prat who won't even admit Voldemort is back even though he saw it himself with his own two eyes.
But anyways, my life before Hogwarts was no cup of tea either, the Dursleys made sure of that. It all started when I was a baby and Voldemort killed my parents. I was dropped off on the Dursleys' doorstep and I was hated instantly, but because the Great Albus Dumbledore had some mysterious word with my Aunt Petunia they decided to keep me instead of sending me to an orphanage. Personally, I would've rather grown up in an orphanage, but if I had been raised in an orphanage it would've made me more like Voldemort and I don't want any more similarities to him then I already have. Then again, even that would've been better than being locked up in a closet for 11 years of my life and to beaten and pushed around like a slave all the time even to this day. You see, every summer I have been beaten upon my return to Privet Drive, despite Hagrid's threat to the Dursleys before my first year. After Mad-Eye Moody, Mr. Weasley and Remus's warning at Kings Cross I thought this summer might be different, but I don't know who I was kidding, this year is no exception.
But, the good news is that I'll be 16 in a few days which means my Hogwarts life is almost over, and next year will be the last year I ever have to spend with the Dursleys. I will finally be able to escape from Privet Drive forever.
On that note, I think it's time for a break Harriet. I really need to get out of this house…but when I get back I'll tell you all about my "makeover" and my new motorbike.
-Toodles.
Harry closed the journal and stuffed it into the loose floorboard under his bed. He didn't like the idea of keeping a diary, but he did have to admit, the stupid thing did make him feel a little better. It wasn't quite enough to get rid of all the pent up rage he felt, so he decided to go for a drive. He grabbed his leather jacket and the keys to his new motorcycle, and with a smile he left Privet Drive imagining for a moment that it was for the last time.
A/N: For those of you who started Twin Slayers, Twin Watchers: this has been what 4 or 5 years in the making and if you stuck with it, then wow I salute you. I am also letting you know that this is going to be very different, but the same premise is there twin slayers with twin watchers and the trials and tribulations they have to go through. You may notice passages that are the same but overall everything has changed.
For those of you who didn't start with Twin Slayer, Twin Watchers: welcome. If you haven't read it that doesn't matter obviously because this is the much better, much less confusing rewrite.
For everyone: I am letting you know now that the story is based in the world of Harry Potter and it has elements from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and much, much later in the story it has element of the TV show Supernatural. However, you do not have to know anything about either Buffy or Supernatural to read this story. The whole story centers around two sets of twins, and is about them trying to adapt to the big changes in their lives.
There is also a painting by Otto Marseus van Schrieck that I have chosen to represent this story. I couldn't find a good picture of it by itself, but about half way down the page on this website:
wskg
.typepad
.com
/creativefootprint/2010/02/hey-theres-a-bug-in-that-painting
The painting is Forest Landscape with Butterflies and Snake which is where I got the title for this story.
