Gemini

Prologue to The Other Kind of Evil

Chapter 6. Twist

"Fear not for the future, weep not for the past."

- Percy Bysshe Shelley

"We still have a problem, Tom," Nyx said.

"I didn't forget," he replied, sounding slightly insulted that she thought otherwise. "You cannot stay in the Room of Requirement any longer, but I still can't think of a single place where you would be unnoticed – and comfortable, of course."

The vampire smirked as she leaned against a snow-draped evergreen. They were stalled at the tree line thirty yards from the castle as they tried to solve their final dilemma. Disposing of the first-year Gryffindor's corpse had been the easy part of the night.

"Anywhere hidden and secure would be fine, even if I have to sleep in a broom closet," she said, folding her arms. "I can adjust my habits to fit my environment rather well, and I wouldn't be confined all the time. I'll have to go out at night to eat if you can't risk bringing food to me anymore. I'll have time to stretch my legs and entertain myself then."

Tom considered her side of the discussion. The only absolutely hidden and secure place in the school was the Chamber of Secrets, but that was out of the question. For one thing, he had no intention of revealing that he was the Heir just yet. Nyx needed to warm up to him a bit more before he took that step. Secondly, if she and the basilisk didn't get along, he would be in big trouble. He needed both the vampire and the giant serpent to assist him in ridding the world of Muggles and other undesirables. Tom was certain that in the confined space, one would kill the other, and he didn't want to choose sides since he could end up dead, too, if he offended the wrong one.

"What if you stayed here, in the forest?" he suggested. "No one is supposed to be in here anyway, and none of the creatures that live here would stand a chance against you. There's plenty of food, privacy, and space for you to roam around in…"

"There's also a dead body we planted in here which will make it impossible for me to stay if they decide to search the forest," Nyx shot back.

"Good point," he muttered, feeling stupid. "Do you have any ideas?"

"If you ran out of ideas that quickly, I doubt I'll have much better luck," she said, rolling her eyes. "I suppose there's one thing I could do, but I'll need your consent for it."

Tom raised an eyebrow as Nyx relaxed her limbs and closed her eyes. A puff of black smoke obscured her for a moment, and he was befuddled to see that she had disappeared. He jumped a foot in the air when Nyx's disembodied voice rang in his ears unnaturally loud: "Say hello to your new pet!"

He looked again at the dissipating cloud of smoke and saw a dark little bat hovering where Nyx had been standing.

"…it would have been nice if you had just done that in the first place," he grumbled. "Obviously no one would question a pet bat, and obviously that would allow you to go with me wherever I went and no one would think anything of it."

"I can hide in your pocket, too. Or your bag, if that would be a little too awkward," she said, squeaking with laughter.

"You're speaking through telepathy, right?" Tom asked, massaging his temple. "Could you possibly tone it down a bit? I'll be deaf by the age of thirty if you keep that up."

"Is this better?"

"Yes, much."

Erebus applauded Nyx's precise control over her transformed state. "It took you long enough to catch on."

"Pipe down, you," Nyx replied silently as another puff of smoke heralded her return to human form. "I told you to shut up while I'm talking to him, didn't I?"

"That's a helpful trick," Tom commented, smiling. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"It did at first, but that's because I wasn't doing it quite right," she replied sheepishly. "After not using them for so long, most of my abilities went rusty. You won't have to worry about me screwing up that transformation, though. I've been practicing for weeks."

"That's a relief," he chuckled. "I can't tell you how embarrassing it would be for you to turn into a human in the middle of one of my classes."

"That reminds me…" the vampire piped up, suddenly looking anxious and excited. "Now that we have all of this straightened out, could you pretty please take me on a tour of the school? I want to see what has changed since I was last here, and if I fly around with you, we won't have to worry about anyone seeing us."

Tom watched her bouncing on her toes like a child and laughed. "All right, but if it gets too late, I'm going to bed whether you like it or not. I'm on patrol duty tonight anyway. After the horrible threats I made to the last student wandering the halls after curfew, I don't think we'll see anyone out tonight."

Nyx poofed into a bat again and flapped along beside her "owner" as he trudged through the snow back to the castle, using a charm to cover the tracks they left behind them. He was exhausted after the whole dead student ordeal, but he was more than happy to fulfill her request.

"This could not get any better!" he thought, grinning inwardly. "All I have to do is talk about the Founders when I show her something related to one of them, and I can squeeze as much information out of Nyx as possible. And here I thought this would be an actual challenge."

As they made the rounds on the first floor, the Prefect had the chance to ask about both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw when they came across classrooms that they had supposedly taught in. It was interesting to learn that Gryffindor had a notoriously quick and violent temper and an easily inflatable pride, and that Ravenclaw married a brilliant French philosopher who just happened to be a very open-minded Muggle, but that wasn't what Tom was concerned with.

He worked his way down to the dungeons as briskly as he could; talking about Slytherin was only proper down there, and it wasn't long before he got the conversation going full-speed.

"And here is Professor Slughorn's office," he said, gesturing to the heavy wooden door. "He is the Potions Master at the moment, and I imagine that every Potions Master before him has used that office, too. Didn't you say that Slytherin taught potions while you were in school?"

"Yes, and that was his office, too. His living quarters were next door, but it looks like that's a classroom now," Nyx replied evenly. "The Four had a lot of space to spread out since they were so important. They also had families that lived here with them – except Hufflepuff. She was unmarried the last time I saw her, but it seems she eventually had a few kids. The other three were filthy rich; they might as well have been kings and queens. All of them insisted on being called "Lord" and "Lady," even though they weren't really nobility. We even had to address their children like that."

"Did any of them have children your age?" he asked.

"Yes, all three of them. Gryffindor had a son named Aurelius, Ravenclaw had a son named Kalixius, and Slytherin had a daughter named Adelaide," Nyx lied. "Aurelius was an annoying fop, Kalixius was antisocial but very smart, and Adelle (as I liked to call her) was my quick-witted and rebellious best friend."

Tom raised his eyebrows. "That's impossible. Slytherin never had a daughter. He only had three sons."

"That's what he wanted you to think," Nyx corrected him, feeling a touch of resentment herself. "Adelle was the only child he had with his first wife, Iveria, because she died when Adelle was young. Slytherin hated her for her entire life; he put unreasonable expectations on her because he didn't want her to disgrace the family name, or himself. Adelle was expected to be perfect all the time, and anything less than that was punished with bruises, cuts and broken bones at the very least. She was forced to learn things beyond the normal level to meet her father's requirements, and after a while, it came quite easily to her. You could say that she was trained to be brilliant.

"Slytherin wanted to marry her off as quickly as possible, but no one asked for her hand in marriage. Everyone was afraid of her because of who her father was, and they assumed that she was as intimidating as him. They were correct, actually, but she didn't mind having only two or three friends. Besides, Adelle wasn't encouraged to socialize because it would get in the way of her studies.

"Obviously she was miserable for the entire time I knew her. Slytherin never showed her an ounce of love or pride. He would grace her with little rewards when she impressed him, but it wasn't because he was her father; it was because she had pleased him, and that was it. Adelle was the hated child, and she loved her younger brothers, but she deeply resented Slytherin's preference for them over her. She may have been the first-born, but Slytherin never forgave her for not being a son."

It agonized Nyx to talk about herself like that, using her actual best friend's name in place of her own. She almost told Tom the truth of who she was, but she decided that one surprise was enough for the night.

"Wait… He hated her because she was a girl?" Tom asked, grinding to a halt and staring at her in disbelief. "That's it?"

"Yeah. Pitiful, huh?" she replied. "And she was a lot smarter and more talented and any of her brothers, too. But Slytherin was ashamed that his first-born was a girl, so he had her erased from history when she died."

"How did she die?"

Oh, no. Don't make her talk about that. "…an accident. A very tragic and horrible accident. I'd rather not discuss it. She was my only real friend, after all, and I saw it happen with my own two eyes."

"Oh, I'm… I'm sorry about that," Tom said, checking his interest. "I cannot believe a parent could hate their own child for being the wrong gender… It's insane…"

"Well, Slytherin wasn't ever completely right in the head, or so everyone believed," Nyx chuckled. "Adelle dealt with it pretty well, in my opinion. It helps to have another unpopular person to sympathize with you."

"Why didn't anyone want to be around you, then?" he asked, giving her a sideways glance.

"Because I was friends with Slytherin's daughter, that's why."

Tom stopped again. "They really hated her that much?"

"Yeah, they really did," the vampire replied sadly. "Anyone who was friendly with her was shunned. Apparently our little group was thought to be part demonic or something. Or, at the very least, we were just really, really unfriendly."

Turning away, Tom frowned and continued walking down the dimly lit corridor. He was very displeased to hear that Slytherin had his priorities so out of whack. If Adelaide was his daughter, he would have pushed her to be the best, too, but he would have been proud of her and loved her if she succeeded. Tom also hoped that he wouldn't have been so abusive even if she had failed completely; he had never experienced any violence at the orphanage, but a total lack of parental compassion and care was something he was very familiar with. He never thought about the consequences of it until now, when he heard about someone else who was in the same boat. Adelaide had a father, but it was more of a slave-and-master relationship, from the sound of it.

"What are you thinking about?" Nyx asked, interrupting him.

"About how I understand why Adelaide was unhappy, and probably rather messed up," he replied quietly. "And also how disappointed I am to hear that Slytherin was cruel even to his own children… I know he was notorious for his lack of compassion and his obsession with perfection, but I never thought he would apply it to his children so strictly."

"He only did it to Adelle," she murmured. "He was far more lenient and forgiving with her brothers, even though he still insisted that they be the best at everything."

"Regardless of his parenting skills or lack thereof, I still agree with Slytherin's ideals," he added. "I just don't think I'd be happy if I turned out quite like him."

Nyx had to try very hard to hide the gleeful excitement in her voice. She was right about Tom after all; he was like Slytherin, but without some of his worst qualities. Showing even a little sympathy with her and admitting that her father was horribly messed up was enough proof for Nyx. Her respect for the teenager doubled at that moment, but she still didn't feel brave enough to tell him "Surprise! I was really talking about myself just now!"

"By the way," Tom suddenly asked. "Didn't you have amnesia until a little while ago?"

"Oh, uh… Well," she muttered. "Seeing things that have a lot of memories attached to them is helping me overcome the amnesia. Talking about things I remember vividly helps, too."

"I see," the Prefect said, smirking. "It's getting late. I - I mean, we should probably go to the dormitory."

"All right, I suppose I can force myself to sleep if I have to," Nyx replied in mock annoyance.

As Tom strode onward, with Nyx fluttering beside him, he asked, "Did Adelaide ever have any children?"

"No, why?"

"I was only curious," he replied a bit defensively. "What about her brothers?"

"Vincent, the oldest, had a few children, and so did Damian, the middle son, but I don't think they lived very long so his line might not have lasted," she replied. "The youngest, William, died very young and never had the chance. Why are you so interested in Slytherin's grandchildren?"

"I said I was just curious, didn't I?" Tom replied as calmly as he could. He was "curious" because he wanted to know which child he was descended from. Vincent seemed to be the most likely. "…wait, didn't you say Adelaide's mother died when she was very young? How could she have younger brothers?"

"When Iveria died, Slytherin married her younger sister, Winifred," Nyx replied simply. "She wouldn't give Adelle the time of day since she wasn't her child. Winifred was the typical devoted wife back then; all she cared about was raising her kids and keeping her husband happy. She and Slytherin were well suited to one another since they were both quite unlikable people."

"It almost sounds like Adelle was lucky to have died. She wouldn't have to be miserable anymore," Tom said quietly.

The vampire gazed at him as they entered the Slytherin common room and descended the stairs going down to the boy's dormitory. She didn't expect him to be so understanding, but she was glad to hear it.

"Don't get too deluded, Nyx," Erebus spoke up. "He may say that he dislikes your father's methods now, but you wait and see. No one who lives by ideals like those can be much better than that prick."

Nyx tried to ignore him. She liked Tom just the way he was, and she sincerely hoped he would stay that way; she'd brainwash him into it if she had to.

"Considering the amount of heavy-duty Dark magic he's immersed himself in already, including the three murders he committed," the vampire thought. "Tom is astonishingly pure, for lack of a better word. He has the potential to become nothing more than a power-hungry, heartless, genocidal megalomaniac, but he hasn't let his darker side control him. He's very rational, and if he was truly consumed by his evilness, he'd be incomprehensible."

Nyx liked the fact that, despite his best intentions, Tom still had something of a heart, even though it was tiny and rather black. She liked to think the same thing of herself; her motives were no purer than his, but she still felt things like guilt and compassion once in a while. Nyx was worried that if either one of them got too wrapped up in their darker natures, the other one could be pulled overboard with them, and then they'd have nothing to do but wallow in their own shit until they drowned. She couldn't let Tom lose his reason and do anything he'd regret, but she had to be careful not to do the same thing herself.

Nyx wanted both of them to achieve their goals, but not if they had to become "hardcore evil" like Slytherin. She would never forgive herself if she allowed Tom to destroy a person that she was becoming very fond of, as a friend and an ally.

"You know something, Erebus? I heard a saying once that said something about how certain people are like mirrors, and when you put two of them together, they reflect off of each other and you end up with twice what you started off with," Hemera mused. "Pity I can't remember what it actually said."

"And do you think Nyx and Tom are mirrors?" Erebus asked, smirking.

"Oh, certainly. Nyx knows it's going to happen, even though she doesn't want it to," she replied. "They're both going to get more and more crazed and obsessed with their Dark magic and their desires, and poof! We'll have two copies of Slytherin running around, working hand-in-hand to make the world the perfect place for themselves."

"I wish we could make popcorn in here. It really makes the show so much more enjoyable," Erebus sighed.

Disclaimer: Own not, profit not, sue not.

A/N: Sorry this has taken so long to post. One of my betas, Tiff, has been wrapped up with life and hasn't gotten the chance to do any beta-ing in a long time. So, for now I'll keep posting, and when she gets a chance to read them, I'll make any adjustments if I have to. (My other beta, Shan, is still reading them, so they HAVE been edited.) That's all I have to say. Ta-dah.

Kudos to my lovely beta, Shan. (And Tiff who is temporarily on hiatus.)

General Notes: OKoE readers, are you seeing a pattern yet? Nyx meets teenage boy, reveals that she's a vampire, turns into a bat so she can hang out without being noticed… Sound familiar? :3

The way I see it, Kalixius was Ravenclaw's first child, and Helena was born afterwards. I reread that DH chapter a few times to make sure that it didn't say "Helena was the first-born" or anything, and it didn't, so it works. And I also believe that Ravenclaw would be more concerned with marrying someone intelligent and thoughtful, rather than a pureblood, or even a half-blood at that. (Also, OKoE readers, Jack's family follows this pattern too. His mom was named Rebecca, Kalixius' mom was named Rowena. Jack's dad was a French Muggle, his mom was an English witch, and so were Kalixius' parents. Except Jack had a twin and no younger siblings, and his dad was a neurosurgeon instead of a philosopher. XD)

I also see Gryffindor as a rowdy Irishman. Proud and quick-tempered and red-headed. And probably with freckles. Yeah. (I'm Irish myself, so don't accuse me of being stereotypical. XD)

For a little extra clarification about Adelle, she really did exist, and she was really Nyx's best female friend. (Kalixius was her best friend, period, but Nyx doesn't want to discuss him with Tom at all. And she really did hate Aurelius, but won't discuss him, either, for different reasons.) Adelle's family history isn't terribly important, but she was a pureblood, and from a moderately wealthy family, since she was in Slytherin and she was well cared for. I imagine her with curly chestnut-colored hair and green eyes.

I wanted Slytherin's treatment of Nyx to be the third-worst thing I could imagine, as far as how one treat's one's offspring. This includes physical, emotional, and psychological abuse; making her feel like she's never good enough, never praising her, never showing her love, punishing her without mercy or gentleness, etc… It's especially bad because Nyx's mother died when she was 8 years old, and her mother was the only family member who ever really cared about her and was kind to her, or would have tried to protect her form her father. (Later on Kalixius filled that particular hole in her life, but that's another story.) The second-worst thing would be sexual abuse, which I frankly don't have the balls to write, and THE worst would be anything that results in Nyx's death, which obviously wouldn't work with the story.

I really did hear that quote about the "mirrors," but I can't remember for the life of me how it went. Blah. Curse you, bad memory!

Thanks for reading and have a nice day!

-- kavi - sama --