Chapter 2

Athena

The goddess of wisdom and knowledge

It had been decided, Cassandra mused gloomily. They were going to Stonewall High. Dudley had threatened to shove their heads down the toilet, but Cassandra had skipped off to the kitchen to cook breakfast, dragging harry behind her as 'help'. She didn't need it, really, but it was helpful and it got Harry out of Dudley's clutches.

"Aunt Petunia, what's that?" Harry asked their Aunt when he noticed her appearing to stew bits of old elephant skin - which was in reality grey and wrinkled cloth.

"You're school uniform. It'll look just like every one else's when I'm done." Petunia responded with a sour expression. Cassandra tilted her head.

"Is it mine too?" she asked softly. Petunia turned to her red-headed niece, examining her. The clothes were from a local op-shop - they fitted, unlike Harry. It had been unfortunate that she couldn't get away with Cassandra wearing Dudley's old things, but the neighbours would talk. Instead, she wore second-hand clothes in grey, blue, white and cream.

"No," she snapped. "You're getting second-hand things again. Now get to work! Vernon's going to come down soon, and the boys will want their breakfast." Cassandra and Harry hurried to the kitchen. Later, as they'd finished, and were sitting down to breakfast, they heard the creak of the mail flap. Cassandra turned to Harry and they had a silent conversation. A decision was reached, just as Vernon snarled at the twins to get the mail. Cassandra got up, glaring at her brother with her visible right eye.

She left the kitchen and walked down the hallway to the door, then picked up the pile of envelopes, papers, postcards and magazines to sort through them.

"Bill, bill, postcard - oh!" she murmured. A pair of envelopes made of strangely heavy paper were addressed to her and Harry. Her eyes widened and she broke the wax seal and pulled out her letter as she walked into the kitchen. She suddenly realised where she was and stuffed the two letters - hers and Harry's- into the waistband of her skirt. She handed the normal letters to Vernon and sat down beside Harry.

"You've a letter," she whispered to him. He stared at her, and she tugged the letter from her waistband into his waiting hands. He instantly put it into his pocket.

"Keep it a secret," he whispered in response. She nodded almost imperceptibly.

"I know."

"What are you two whispering about?" Petunia asked in her shrill voice. Harry and Cassandra jerked apart in surprise.

"Who was going to wash up," Harry blurted. Cassandra nodded. Petunia pursed her lips, then jerked her head towards the cupboard.

"Go. Stay," she told them, and the twins scrambled to obey. They'd learned the hard way not to hang around - last time, Vernon had trapped Cassandra's fingers in the oven door and beat Harry to unconsciousness.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

Once they were safely embedded in the darkness of their cupboard, Cassandra turned on the light. The pair looked over their letters, conversing in whispers lest the Dursleys hear them.

"Magic is real?" Harry asked softly.

"Yes. The black mamba in the zoo a while back - Silas? He called me a sorceress, and you a sorcerer. And, well … no-one else can speak to snakes like we can - it stands to reason." Harry nodded in agreement.

"I guess. But how do we reply? It says they await our owl, but we don't have one. We may just have to wait." Cassandra frowned for a moment, thinking.

"I think there might be one in the park. I mean, if it was an owl that delivered the letter, it's probably still hanging around somewhere. Do you think we could go down later today?"

"I suppose, but Aunt Petunia will want us to clear the table, and we need to do the weeding."

"It's a Thursday - the windows need to be cleaned. Other than that, I think we're free for the rest of the day," Cassandra put in. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, we are. So, after lunch?" Cassandra nodded back.

"After lunch," she confirmed.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

The twins had finished their chores and filched some paper and a couple of pens to write their responses to a 'Minerva McGonagall', accepting their positions and asking for someone to help them find and buy their school things. They walked down to the nearby park after lunch, and wandered around, looking for an owl. It took a while, but eventually Harry called Cassandra over to a tree in which a brown owl perched. There was a small loop around its leg, just large enough for their letters - clearly this was a wizarding owl. They attached their letters and sent the owl off to "Professor McGonagall - whoever and wherever she is".

They walked back to Privet Drive together, talking softly. They walked past the playground and didn't notice as Dudley and his gang started to follow them until they came to a relatively busy road.

"Hey freaks!" Dudley called. Harry and Cassandra spun around, Harry angling himself slightly in front of his sister.

"Dudley? What now?" Harry asked, emerald eyes glinting from behind his eyes. Dudley grinned evilly and walked forward, making the twins move back slightly. He reached out and shoved them.

Harry managed to catch himself just in time, but there was a squeal of car tyres and a sharp cry of pain as Cassandra toppled backwards into the path of a car. Harry turned on his cousin furiously, but he and his gang had run off. He turned back to Cassandra and noticed that her right leg was, well, shattered.

"Someone call an ambulance!" he cried. "Come on Cassie, it'll be OK, just stay with me, alright?"

Blood oozed from a cut on her forehead, mingling with the dark red strands of her hair - red as blood.

"Please be OK," Harry whispered as she was loaded into an ambulance.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

So, some decisions have been made. Oracle will continue through the first, second and third books, while book four, five, six and (maybe) seven will be in another book.

Chapter three is ready to go, with an interlude Keres after.

Review if you know where the headings come from (you should know from this one!)

Please, read and review, tell me what you like, what you don't like, I want to know.

~Queen of the Rings.