A/N: Hi guys, I know I have been quite absent but I have been busy with work and you know, life. I had a week off from work and took advantage to finish some chapters up including one for this story. I will be posting other fic updates soon. Regarding this chap, it's time for our dear Fleur and co. to go to school so they're featured as 11-year-old now.
E. Elliot: Thank you!
kpop1392as: Thank you, I really wanted to include a different kind of mythology this time and Japanese fits well. Their moms will stay away from them for the time being, but let me assure you that they will get back home, eventually.
CelticOffspring: Lol I am glad you are XD. Those wands gave me nightmares as I wanted them to be unique and that takes time to craft. Lol Fleur is Persephone and the other two are OCs from Antique shop lol. Just remember Persephone.
Asmodeus Stahl: I am glad you liked it and I am sorry for the long wait. We will learn with time that some others have died due to this 'secret' I hope you enjoy this chapter, as well.
Enjoy!
4.- Tanabata
Days later, Persephone, Eudora and Galatea, dressed in fluffy mink hats, dark skirts, and red blood robes with a light gray stripe on the bottom cuff of the left sleeve to indicate that the three witches were to enter their first year, departed to Durmstrang. Persephone's pet yawned before leaving its cage and jumped to her owner's lap.
"Maya, you are such a sleepyhead" Persephone petted her white fox on the head and its ears twitched.
"Just like her owner" Eudora teased eliciting a giggle from Galatea.
"I am not a morning person, so-" Persephone smiled when Maya licked her fingers. She was going to add something more when the ship rocked softly "oh, we are finally moving."
"About bloody time" the redhead shouted promptly joined by her owl's hoots.
"Ares, where are you?" Hermione shouted in exasperation while looking around her room. Her sneaky fox tended to roam free at night, but it was almost time to take the Hogwarts Express and the young witch was still at home trying to find him.
"Here he is" Jeanne entered the room with the red fox in her arms "the little one was having a snack in the kitchen."
"Did he set anything on fire?" the Gryffindor asked worried. Her new pet was far from calm, and when upset tended to show his frustration by making things burn.
"Not at all" Jeanne placed the fox in his cage and locked the door "you know that he only does that when people annoy him"
"Like my brother, the heretic" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Don't call him that, young lady" Jeanne scolded her daughter "he just wants to make a path of his own."
"By rejecting our heritage and taking your maiden's name so he is not associated with me in any way because he hates me?" Hermione raised her arms in exasperation "that's just preposterous."
"You have to understand that he is a male veela which means that he has a weak constitution and is prone to get sick easily" Jeanne tried to reason with her daughter "you still remember how much time he had to spend in bed as a youngster."
"I know mum but still" Hermione placed her pet's cage on top of her trunk so her mother cast a reducing spell to the objects "I want him to be part of my life and meet my friends but he snaps every time I mention them." Amber orbs locked with her mother's "I even offered him to study together for his upcoming tests and he just screamed at me to leave him alone."
"As I said dear, he is trying to make his own path" Jeanne smiled sadly "even if that means taking my maiden name and being distant to you, his rival."
"I am not such thing, mum" Hermione protested while heading to the kitchen with her mother "I am his sister"
"He sees you that way" Jeanne emphasized "as you are talented, intelligent and studious"
"I might be those things but calling me his rival is just too much" the Gryffindor rubbed her temples. Her brother attitude was getting on her nerves.
"It's just hard for Hermes to see you as his little sister that he is supposed to protect, not the other way around" the Granger matriarch commented "he just wants you to look up to him."
"I could if he actually talked to me" Hermione sighed "last time he almost hexed me when Ares set some of his parchments on fire, but hey, he was pulling at his tails and Hermes knows how much Ares hates that."
"I am just glad that only one of you are in that rebellious phase" Jeanne giggled "if not, I would have to fireproof no only the house but the entire block." At this, Hermione rolled her eyes eliciting louder giggles from her mother who grabbed her daughter by the arm "let's go to King's Cross, then"
"And Hermes? Is he too good to go with us?" Hermione complained once more.
"He left around an hour ago" Jeanne shrugged "he said that he wanted to get to the boat earlier to study a bit more for his tests."
"Of course, he did" Hermione rolled her eyes before taking her mother's arm and both witches apparated.
Durmstrang academy was completely different to the rather small fortress younger students attended for their early education. Persephone's gray eyes widened at the sight of the big castle that would be her home for the next seven years, maybe less if she studied really hard. The young witch wore her dark curls down her mid-back, and her fine features gave her a regal appearance. She had a quick mind and sharp reflexes earning fans since she started her early education several years ago.
Young Persephone was the first to disembark the sailboat to help her younger cousin, Galatea. The age difference was of four months, but the shorter blonde was spoiled by her mother and aunts so much that was considered the baby of all the three Black cousins.
Bright baby blue orbs thanked her cousin before stepping aside from the dark puddles on the ground. It had been raining all afternoon and she did not want her uniform to be stained. Galatea Black was shorter than Persephone but had the same delicate features mixed with her gorgeous straight blonde mane that went down her waist just like her mother Narcissa.
The last cousin to get off the sailboat was Eudora, with shoulder-length auburn hair and dark green orbs that observed everything with a mischievous smirk. She was the wildest of the three and only Persephone was able to 'control' her.
The first years followed the crowd of students leaving the port and got through the gatehouse to a medium-size hall. A tall man with a red beard and a shaved head called out the new students and led them through a narrower and darker hall lit by torches floating around the high and dark ceiling.
"Boys to the left and girls to the right" the tall man ordered "I want to see two lines, now!"
Galatea moved to the left and a sighing Persephone pulled Eudora by the collar of her crimson robes and placed her in front of her the moment she saw her going to the boys' side. They were about to start the year and the dark-haired witch didn't feel like spending the evening in the headmaster's office due to her cousin's antics. Just when the auburn-haired girl was about to protest, the wooden double doors in front of them opened and the redhead man ordered the students to enter the next room.
It was called the midnight chamber. The ceiling was charmed to show a perpetually full moon while the walls emulated a forest at night. A pack of wolves ran to a cliff and howled at the shiny satellite while half a dozen of ermines climbed and hid behind the thick trunks of the trees. High in the sky a couple of dragons with iridescent scales flew towards distant mountains.
"New students, I welcome you to your new home for the next seven years" headmaster Karkaroff greeted the two lines of pupils dressed in crimson "as you know, it's tradition to assign you to the branch you will belong to, and then, have dinner."
"Finally, something I care about" Eudora whispered, and Galatea giggled while Persephone rolled her eyes.
"The system to sort you is in this vault I have here" Karkaroff pointed at an old-looking wooden box with elaborate carvings of entwined golden, silver and iridescent snakes.
"The little surprise inside this chest will decide whether if you go to the branch of Drachen, Mustela, or Vruk" the moment the headmaster mentioned their names, the older students cheered for their branches.
"I have read about this" Galatea whispered "Drachen has a dragon as a symbol and it's the house of the geniuses and strategists" Persephone turned to look at her cousin with interest while scratching Maya behind her ears. The young fox yawned and looked up at the dark-haired witch that smiled at her "Mustelas are the sneaky and witty ones while the Vruk or wolves are loyal and brave."
"So, let's start with the sorting" the headmaster opened a parchment and read the first name aloud.
"Rania Abbott" a tall blonde walked towards the headmaster who pointed his wand at the vault that opened with a loud thud and a golden snake jumped and wrapped around Rania's right forearm before biting it. At this, the girl shook scared, and the snake turned into golden smoke that morphed into a white and beige ermine.
"Mustela!" Karkaroff announced while the bottom cuff of the jacket's sleeve the snake bit into switched to beige with a white stripe and an ermine appeared on a coat of arms with the name of the house the student now belonged to. In the meantime, the smoke became golden again and the snake reappeared hissing at its new victim.
"Such a barbaric method" Persephone whispered, and Galatea nodded in silent agreement.
"Well, I like it" Eudora whispered back "it's sassy."
Of course, you do. Persephone thought whilst rolling her eyes.
"The final result looks pretty cool, see?" the auburn-haired girl pointed at another wizard that just went through the sorting process and became part of the house of Vruk. He now sported a howling wolf coat of arms on the bottom cuff of his right blue and silver sleeve.
"Most students want to belong to Vruk or Drachen because Mustela has a bad reputation because Grindewald belonged to it, and they are considered too evil and dangerous" Eudora whispered while another student was assigned to the branch they were just talking about.
"The irony considering that we are in a school focused on the dark arts" Persephone commented with a raised eyebrow when another pupil was sent to Vruk "what catches my attention is that no one has been chosen to be in Drachen yet"
"That's because they are the elite branch, and not all peasants can be part of the elite" a tall brunette in front of the cousins added and turned to look down at the three witches with her amethyst eyes.
"Alana Avery, part of the sacred twenty-eight families" the tall witch extended her hand towards Persephone and it was quickly slapped by an annoyed Eudora.
"Rude" Alana whispered with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, what can you expect from those vulgar oafs?" a smaller brunette with eyes of a lighter shade of purple added with a high-pitched giggle.
They must be related, Persephone mused while frowning annoyed.
"Oafs?" Galatea repeated in a rather upset tone.
"You don't know who we…" Eudora's angry reply was cut short by Persephone's raised hand and silenced her annoyed cousin.
"How about a little bet?" Gray orbs shone with amusement and the other two cousins took a step back. They knew that look, and it only meant trouble. Persephone was always calm and collected until provoked; and when the rare occasion occurred, the dark-haired witch won't stop until her anger dissipated.
"And what you would have that could satisfy us, filth?" Alana asked with a scoff.
"I bet two months of homework that the three of us would get into a better branch than you two" Persephone stated calmly, and Alana could swear that she saw a speckle of golden shining in her gray eyes. It was so fast that she would assume it was just her imagination.
"How about slaves for a month? it sounds better and more appropriate considering-" the smaller brunette butted in with a raised chin.
"Sure" Persephone agreed with a smile and shook hands with Alana that turned around to talk with her twin while waiting to be sorted. Two more witches and it would be her turn.
"How are we going to get in a better branch than them?" Eudora asked in a rushed whisper "there's no way we can trick that snake."
"Just focus your thoughts on visualizing being in Drachen before the snake bites you" Persephone stated calmly while patting the head of her fox pet resting in her arms "trust me, it would work" the dark-haired added with a smile before whispering something by Maya's ears that twitched and barked softly before wagging her tails in agreement.
"If you say so…" Eudora scoffed while placing a loose auburn strand behind her ear.
"Fine, let's do that" Galatea agreed with a raised chin "let's show them that they should not mess with the noble house of Black" the blonde witch added in a tone that resembled Kreacher and the three cousins giggled.
"Alana- Oh, I see that the Avery twins of the sacred twenty-eight grazed us with their presence this year" Karkaroff commented with a lopsided smile while several whispers and gasps were heard "I guess we can sort the two of you at the same time so, Alisa come stand by your sister" the smaller brunette complied. With a flick of the headmaster's wand, the golden snake turned into two and jumped to bite the two witches that winced almost at the same time.
The moment the snakes turned into smoke two howls were heard when the dense mist turned blue and silver. Not a moment later, the bottom right cuffs of their uniforms changed into a shade of dark blue with a silver stripe and a coat of arms of a howling wolf.
"Vruk!" Karkaroff shouted before chuckling "well, that's not surprising as all your ancestors have belonged to the same branch"
"Beat that, peasants" Alana whispered to the Black cousins while walking towards her new branch mates with her twin in tow.
"Remember" Persephone locked eyes with her cousins "visualize being in Drachen"
"Think about dragons, got it" Eudora whispered back.
"I do like the uniform's style" Galatea mused aloud her other two cousins turned to look at her surprised "what? look at them, that mysterious vibe they exude it's intriguing" the three cousins observed the rather empty long table that belonged to the Drachen and had to agree.
"This year is filled with surprises, indeed" Karkaroff loud chuckle could be heard all over the midnight chamber and the students' cheers quieted "I am quite pleased to also have as students three witches that belong to the sacred twenty-eight families of England, such a noble house and are quite close to our Dark Lord, too"
"Persephone, Galatea, and Eudora…" the headmaster let the suspense grow before adding the famous last name the three witches shared "…Black…" several gasps were heard, and the Avery twins cursed under their breaths. The three mentioned witches stood with Persephone in the middle escorted with one cousin on each side.
"Surprise us" Karkaroff commented in a sardonic tone while his wand moved rapidly, and the golden snake turned into three that hissed before jumping to bite each of the witches' forearms.
The three girls closed their eyes and visualized what Persephone had advised. The dark-haired witch petted her fox one more time and the fox's eyes turned orange the moment Persephone thought about dragons. Maya's tails gleamed as if made of fire and the area surrounding Persephone's eyes tinted red; her magic had linked with her fox's.
With a soft hiss, the three snakes turned into golden smoke that floated in front of the witches for a few seconds. They turned into three small ermines that were rapidly swallowed by three wolves. Before they howled, the wolves turned into smoke again, and everyone in the room gasped and time seemed to slow down.
At this, the three young witches opened their eyes to gaze at three different small winged women that emerged from the smoke, and time stopped for the three cousins.
The one staring at Persephone had delicate features that resembled her own, and her wings were of light green with golden tips. The woman smiled widely at the dark-haired witch that felt a familiar aura that she couldn't figure out, but it was warm and nurturing.
Maman.
A stray thought crossed her mind, and Persephone frowned before turning to see if her cousins were having the same experience while a flash of gold invaded their eyes for a few seconds.
Wide azure stared back at a woman that resembled her a great deal who extended her arms towards her and Galatea felt warmth watch over her.
Mor.
The foreign yet familiar word made her take a deep breath. The language was not one she knew but it was as if she understood it somehow.
Eudora's green eyes widened when her own winged fairy threw small dark spears at her that she tried to avoid but they vanished before they touched her. The dark fairy smiled satisfied before turning into a small dragon with dark and ruby-colored scales while Persephone's were golden, and Galatea's light blue.
In seconds, the dragons wrapped around the bottom right cuffs of their uniforms, and the coat of arms of Drachen appeared while their left forearms were wrapped in iridescent-like scales and a single black stripe replaced the light gray one. After blinking, the flash of gold vanished from their eyes, and time resumed.
"Drachen!" Karkaroff announced before giving the three cousins a lopsided smirk "your mothers will be very proud of you"
"Thank you" the cousins thanked with small smiles before walking towards the Drachen table among cheers.
"I don't know how you did it, but we got in!" an ecstatic Galatea hugged her older cousin who just whispered a soft I told you so.
"See you later, slaves" a smiling Eudora whispered while passing by the Avery twins. At this, Galatea giggled, and Persephone just tilted her head in amusement when the twins turned to look at her apologetically.
After being greeted and cheered by the older Drachen students, the cousins sat, and the sorting continued. Apparently, the other wizards and witches there didn't see the fairies since nobody made any comments about them. The branching went smoothly after that.
Most of the students were sorted into Vruk and Mustela and just a handful got into Drachen. It was indeed an exclusive branch. Right after most had finished dinner, Karkaroff stood and raised his hand. At this, the room went quiet.
"Congratulations to the new students and welcome to your new branches" the headmaster started his speech "I have some announcements to make" Karkaroff raised one finger "First, starting this year we will add mandatory foreign languages to the curriculum" some students whispered excitedly while others groaned annoyed.
"It came to our attention how lacking you are in speaking other languages apart from your mother tongues and a not so decent level of English, so this year we will offer more options such as northern languages like Norwegian…" Galatea perked at this. There was something about that language that attracted her, and she would love to learn more about it.
"…Russian…" Eudora stopped eating the moment she heard the mention of the language. Same as Galatea, this elaborated language was one the redhead felt like learning about.
Unbeknown to them, those were their mother tongues. The ones they had listened to since they were born until they were kidnapped and their identities changed to become the Black cousins. The three young witches had taken French lessons which, not surprisingly, Persephone excelled at. They really loved languages and were avid learners.
"We also added to the library several tomes on languages" Karkaroff pointed at the man with a red beard "you can ask Mr. Wilkerson if you have any doubts on where to find them"
"Second, the top five seventh year's students of each branch will depart to an exchange program at Hogwarts and would-be candidates to take part on the Triwizard Tournament" Karkaroff added and some students protested at the year restriction which he ignored "as you know, this is a competition between Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and us, and our country's along with the English and French Ministry of Magic considered this a good opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the other two schools"
"Why not fifth or six years?" a short wizard from Mustela asked.
"Because you need more preparation, or do you want to die like the kids back in 1792?" Karkaroff raised his voice and the students went silent once more "in any case, the list with the potential champions will be announced in two days and we will leave a week after that"
"I wish we could go" Eudora sighed.
"We need more training as it sounds quite dangerous" Persephone pondered.
"We are just first years, Dora" Galatea commented looking at her redhead cousin and shrugged her shoulders.
"But we know advanced stuff" Eudora pouted.
"Hush" Persephone added with a glare at her redhead cousin.
"Well, that's it" Karkaroff waved his hand dismissively "off you go"
"First years, please follow me" a tall blue-haired girl commanded and the group of twelve new students followed her with the other years in tow. She had a second Drachen coat of arms in her uniform that was on the right side of her chest.
They crossed several halls and staircases until they reached a tall wall. One column with gold and silver carvings on each side guarded a statue of a Hungarian horntail. The beautifully sculpted creature was around 4 meters tall and had its wings extended.
Its yellow eyes looked down while its iridescent scales glistened in different colors thanks to the light of the torches by the columns. The horns protruding from its head and tail shone bronze and all the new students stood there in awe.
"Our founder Carmina Drachen has been the only woman in tracking and slaying the rare crystal Hungarian horntail an unusual mutation of the regular black horntail" the tall blue-haired witch stated "she killed the beast that was terrorizing all the northern towns and became a hero after being the first to use dragon parts in potions"
"That's so cool" Eudora exclaimed, and Persephone smiled amused since she had already read about that on History of Europe's wizarding schools a book she found at home.
"When Durmstrang was founded in 1292 she became one of the main teachers and created this branch, now" light green turned to look at the new students "to enter our home, you need to place your coat of arms on any part of the statue and it would let you pass as long as you belong to Drachen" she demonstrated it by placing her right forearm on top of one of the legs of the dragon and the marble of the statue turned into liquid.
"One more thing, if you need any assistance ask one of the older students or me, one of the großer Drache" the blue-haired witch smiled.
"Which is another name for prefect but fancier" a brunette wizard stated, "I am Ralph Spindle and she is Tempest Crooks" the freckled wizard pointed at the blue-haired witch "and we are the großer Drache or big dragons, fifth years and in charge of you, little ones" Ralph smiled and some girls blushed, the young wizard was quite attractive.
"Anyway…" Tempest interrupted clearing her throat "your rooms will be on the ground floor with boys to the left and girls to the right"
"Each room has the names of the occupants on the door to avoid misunderstandings" Ralph added before waving his hand "now, try and enter your new home, and again, welcome to Drachen"
When the new students entered their new living quarters, all gasped at the sight. There was a big chimney at the left surrounded by beautifully sculpted small dragons of different breeds. A fluffy carpet was a few meters away from the fireplace surrounded by burgundy armchairs and a comfortable sofa of the same color.
On the right side of the room, there were tall bookcases with several parchments and books that only Drachen could check, and some scattered desks and tables, so students could study if they didn't feel like going to the library. The atmosphere was a mix between severity and warmth, so similar to Persephone's home that she felt at ease, so did her cousins.
After being directed to their rooms and realized that the three were roomed together, Eudora and Galatea took their pajamas and headed to the common showers to bathe and change. With the excuse of joining them later, Persephone stayed behind and feed her fox before deciding on checking out some of the books available in the common room.
After examining one of the tall bookcases, a golden glow caught Persephone's attention. There was a book with bright and shiny covers that read 'The wonders of Magical Creatures' in beautiful dark calligraphy. Gray eyes shone with curiosity and the first year approached but despite stretching her arms and stepping on her tiptoes, she was not able to reach the book.
"Maybe I can help" a husky voice offered from behind before easily reaching the book "The wonders of Magical Creatures, huh? I think you would get along just great with my sibling, they are into that topic a lot, too" soft yet strong hands brushed with Persephone's when the taller wizard handed her the book she wanted, and gray locked with hazel for an instant.
"Thank you…?" the younger witch gave him a polite smile. There was something about the wizard that irradiated a familiar warmth that she could not place, and that fact disturbed her. She had no more time to ponder on the strange situation when she heard the husky voice of the wizard once more.
"Don't mention it" the boy added with a wide smile while running a hand through his unruly light brown hair.
"Persephone Black" the young witch extended her hand.
"Hermes Moreau, fourth-year" the taller wizard shook the smaller witch hand "if you need any assistance I am at your service"
"Thank you again for your help…" the witch felt her cheeks warmer. She promptly retracted her hand before turning to leave "…and good night Mr. Moreau"
"Night" the wizard replied with a smirk before turning to join his group.
"Where were you, Persh?" Galatea asked while sitting on her bed. The blonde witch had the habit of using nicknames to call her cousins which they let her get away with to avoid her tantrums.
"I was looking for something to read" Persephone shrugged ignoring the nickname that made her cringe "I will shower and relax reading"
"You are a walking library as it is" Eudora rolled her green orbs at her cousin "as if you need to read more"
"Hush, there's no such thing as…" Persephone started but was promptly interrupted.
"…enough knowledge, we know!" both Eudora and Galatea recited and burst into laughter when Persephone stuck her tongue at them before leaving the room to shower.
A/N: I really enjoyed writing that 'sorting' scene and all it represents. As you can see, Fleur [Persephone] has a great link with Maya [her fox] and she even gets some of the features of the former [sorry, no fox tail or ears for Fleur XD] did you like the chap? let me know in a review.
Fun fact: the title refers to the also known as star festival which celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi that are separated by the milky way and allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Nowadays, people celebrate the day by writing wishes on small pieces of paper and hanging them on bamboo that is normally burned or set afloat on a river the next day.