"He's going in!" Elladan's laughing voice made her look up from her book, to once again land at the identical figures sprawled on the grass next to her, the napkins full of fresh toasts seeming to have been forgotten momentarily at their feet.
"He's going to freeze!" Elrohir yelled in return and she let her eyes follow the path of their gleaming silver irises to look at the Hufflepuff boy hovering at the lake's edge as if deciding whether to jump or not.
The ruse had been going on for a good half an hour now, and yet the twins continued to yell just as they did when they first noticed the crowd of Hufflepuffs cheering and crying out to their peer. She couldn't tell if it was a dare or the student simply trying to prove himself funny or brave, but it was about the fifth time the boy attempted to jump into the smooth black surface only to chicken out at the very last minute.
"And…" Elladan chanted -"he didn't do it…." Elrohir continued where his identical replica had left off -"again." They said in unison, Elladan picking a crumbling toast and biting into it eagerly.
She let out a light chuckle, suppressing her urge to roll her eyes at the twins as she closed her book on her lap, giving up on her reading at the hundredths of conversations and laughter going on around her. It seemed that with November's first Saturday's arrival every single student in the castle was trying to make the most of the few days left to enjoy the vast outdoors, before the cold and bitter winter snows confined them to the castle until spring. Still, as the cold breeze had her huddling her scarf closer to her neck, being confined to the warmth of the castle did not sound so bad at the moment.
The gold and orange leaves carpeted over the once green grass, many of them floating weightlessly over the lake's black surface in an eerily magical dance, shimmering beautifully under the few rays of sunlight that managed to filter through the greying sky. It would rain in the night, she could anticipate it in the humid wind.
"Look, Look! There he goes again!" Elrohir's hand pointed once again as he grinned mischievously once more at the hesitating Hufflepluff boy.
"He's not going to jump." She laughed, for the first time joining in their conversation and only to be ignored by Elladan suddenly shouting loudly "JUST JUMP ALREADY!" making her realize it was a wonder that the twins had not yet stood up and pushed the boy into the lake themselves by that point.
Instead she let the twins yell and laugh at the poor scared boy as her eyes wondered across the vast open space, lingering shortly over the many high towers of the castle before landing on a certain spot she had been throwing hidden glanced for the past half an hour.
Thranduil Lasgalen was still there, sitting casually on the grass under the sparse shade of a yellow tree, his long silver hair looking paler under the sunlight, and it was the strange of lack of that iced wall that seemed to always surround him what made it impossible for her to look away. Legolas was sprawled next to him, beside long rows of neatly laid out collectible cards that they had been counting for a while now, surrounded by a lot more of yet unopened chocolate frogs. And yet for once the elder Lasgalen did not look cold, that regal air of power and authority that seemed to surround him suddenly gone, as if all the iced walls and barriers that seemed to surround him could suddenly melt away, a thing that she only ever seen happen when in the presence of his younger brother. She had not seen him since they last met at the library to go over the potions paper, and he had barely spoken to her at all, a frozen silence settling between the two of them as she watched his slanted calligraphy dancing over parchments.
"I've got four Dumbledores." She could hear Legolas saying with a soft giggle, always so carefree and warm, almost the opposite of his cold mysterious and reserved brother.
"Do you want mine?" Thranduil said in return, his deep voice carrying a most unusual playful sound, suddenly warm as well, a smirk gleaming in his ice blue eyes as he casually threw a card in Legolas' direction, the latter throwing it back as soon as it landed, the card hitting his brother on the ear, making him laugh in return.
"What am I going to do with another one! I told you I have four already!" The boyish laugher almost made her smile, the younger Lasgalen stretching one of his pale hands to grab at one of the unopened chocolate frogs, the emerald lined sleeves of his Hogwarts robe slightly too long for him.
"What did you get?" Thranduil's eager voice asked as he leaned closer to his brother, as if trying to peek over his shoulder, and she was again puzzled yet curious at the carefree sound of his usually perfectly controlled voice. It was like looking at a different person. It only made her smile widen as she saw Legolas huddling his hands closer to him, looking at the card while purposely blocking his brother's view.
"Oh, come on! Let me see!" She could her the older Lasgalen complaining impatiently, now very obviously twisting his head in an effort to look at the card, his right hand attempting to grab at Legolas' fingers, which were tightly clasped around the item. "What did you get? Is it Morgana? If it is Morgana then its mine!"
"Thran stop! I haven't looked at it yet!" Legolas laughed as he managed to wriggle his hands away from his brother's ones, which were still trying to grab at the card. Instead she could see Legolas' arm flying high in the air, as if believing that raising the card high would put it out of his brother's reach.
"I saw you looking!" the older brother pointed out, slender fingers quickly stealing the card in Legolas' raised hand, the movement so fast that it took the younger brother a couple of seconds to realize it was gone.
"Hey! Give it back!" Legolas said as he snatched the card back into his smaller hands, but it was already too late for his older brother was now opening laughing as he looked at the card, not placing the smallest of resistances. And yet it was again a most puzzling yet enchanting sight for her, his laughter so natural, so open, then why was he so cold and bitter all the time?
"You can keep your Dumbledore. I don't want it." Thranduil said in between chuckles, only making his younger brother laugh loudly then, throwing the fifth Dumbledore into his pile of cards.
"You wanted it when you thought it was Morgana." Legolas pointed out, his hand picking up a new chocolate frog package from the grass, only to be stopped by his brother's hand.
"Eat one of mine now." The older Lasgalen said as he threw one of the chocolate frog packages that were bunched to his left.
"But I get to keep the card." Legolas warned as his fingers starting deftly peeling away at the wrapping, his soft blue eyes gleaming at his brother, as if expecting the exact answer he would get.
"No, the card is mine. You already opened five or yours, so let's open one of mine before you have your last one. There are twelve frogs and we said six and six." Thranduil stressed his words, his lips curving up in a smile at his brother who seemed to be openly ignoring him.
"We said eight for me and four for you." Legolas added, eyes shimmering with mischief as his hand sneaking away two of the frogs from Thranduil's pile. "Besides you don't even like chocolate!"
"We never said that!" She could see Thranduil laughing in return, his hand snatching back the two frogs his brother had stolen. "Six and six, so now hurry up and eat mine so that I can see what I got."
"I already had five." Legolas complained in return under his brother's playfully dangerous glare before he held his hands up defensively. "All right, I'll open it so can get your card, but I'll eat it later."
"Then I'll open it." Thranduil muttered, his quick fingers once again taking the half-open package from his younger brother's hands and gracefully pulling out the card and resealing the package before the enchanted frog could jump out of the box.
"There's your frog." He added as he handed it back to his younger brother who only rolled his eyes before muttering to himself "A cardless boring frog this is." But his brother was too busy suddenly laughing at the card in his hands to listen to him.
"What is it? What did you get?" Legolas' eyes had grown wide as he asked impatiently, now throwing himself over his brother's shoulder to sneak a peek in the same way the older Lasgalen had done before.
"It's yours." Thranduil said with a slight shake of his head, handing his brother the card for the eleven-year-old to open his mouth in a disappointed smile.
"Another Dumbledore?! What's wrong with these frogs!" He exclaimed as he threw the card back at his brother before lifting his hands in the air, trying to make it very clear that he would not be accepting the card, but unluckily for him his older brother managed to slip the card in his robes' pocket, letting out a chuckle as Legolas smaller hands quickly went in to fish it out.
"Look who's coming." Legolas lowered his voice, making her have to read his lips to catch what he was saying, his blonde head nodding to the side as she caught sight of Thranduil's eyes suddenly looking in that direction, following his brother's mocking eyes.
She turned her eyes too, follow the direction Legolas had indicated and found her stomach twisting once more as she caught sight of Alexis Sonnet's slender and graceful figure walking –no, that was more like waltzing and floating- in the Lasgalen's direction, her gorgeous long dark hair loose around her porcelain heart-shaped face. She looked beautiful – but then again, when did she not? – The dark Hogwarts robe only making her pale skin look smoother, her light green eyes contrasting stunningly with her dark lashes.
"It's time for you to go." Thranduil smiled at his brother, pushing him lightly away.
"No way." The younger brother pouted, eyes narrowing at his brother. "You only want me to leave so that you two can look into each other's eyes like this." Legolas sang mockingly, batting his eyelashes exaggeratedly and then quickly managing to dodge a playful hit form his brother.
"If you go now I'll give you one of my chocolate frogs." The older brother negotiated. "with the card!" He was quick to add just as Legolas opened his mouth to argue.
"Three chocolate frogs with the cards and you won't see me around until dinner." The younger brother crossed his arms and only by the suspicious look in Thranduil's face she could tell that he had lost and he knew it.
"Fine. Take three." Thranduil gave up, the little Lasgalen grinning widely as he quickly grabbed three unopened chocolate frogs before his brother could change his mind and left in a gleeful sprint.
Her stomach twisted all the more as she saw the beautiful Slytherin girl lowering herself next to the older Lasgalen, whispering something to him too low for her to hear it, his arms wrapping almost immediately around her waist as she dropped a kiss on his marble cheek. And once again, his previously warm liquid blue eyes had frozen underneath ice crystals, his expression once again controlled, impenetrable, all the emotions she had seen previously swirling in those endless ocean eyes once again concealed, forgotten.
"He's in!" Elladan's sudden cry made her eyes return to the twins, the loud splash followed by cheering coming from the lake's edge letting her know that the Hufflepuff boy had finally jumped into the lake. Both of the twins were laughing loudly next to her, suddenly looking more identical than ever, perfect replicas of one another.
"That water most be ice cold." Elrohir chuckled as he carelessly brushed a strand of his long dark hair behind his shoulder before his liquid silver eyes turned to look in her direction, his hands gathering the now empty napkin from the grass and letting the few bread crumbs left tumble into the mantle of golden leaves. "Let's head inside before it rains."
True to his words, the sky above had turned grey underneath a heavy cloak of clouds, the frail golden sunlight that filtered in sparse rays throughout the afternoon now completely dulled out. Some of the students were already heading back inside, pulling the hoods of their robes over their heads in an effort to block the colder humid breeze.
Silently, Sigrid picked up the heavy book from her lap before standing up and brushing the few fallen leaves that had stuck to her black Hogwarts robes and following the twins up the wide steps and into the grand entrance hall. They barely made it inside as a the few gentle drops of cold rain battered into the ground, the students left outside suddenly hurrying up to pick their stuff and run inside as the rain grew heavier and heavier.
And it did not stop. The heavy sound of the rain drumming against the towers and crystals accompanied them all through the rest of the afternoon and into the Great Hall for dinner, the golden sunlight now forgotten, the sky dark and thundering above their heads, drowning the chatter with its lulling sound. Even in the usually vivid and welcoming Gryffindor common room, the rain seemed to water down the warm atmosphere, the students huddled up in quiet groups by the fire and many of them retiring to be early.
She tried to get ahead with her homework, after Eowyn had already given up on hers and retired to the bedroom, but even as she tried to concentrate her eyes kept darting outside the window and down into the water covered lands. No moonlight lighted the air, the stars hidden underneath he heavy clouds, and the droplets of waters smashed violently against the window crystals before sliding down in blurry wiggly paths.
She did not know how long she sat there, first attempting to do homework, then pretending to do her homework, and finally just watching out the window as the crackling flames in the fireplace grew weaker and weaker, the ample common room now completely empty for long hours. Yet she could not sleep, did not even feel tired as the gloomy sad sky made her feel uneasy, nightly rains waking memories she did not want to remember. It had been raining hard that night too, she could remember it drumming loudly on the roof above her childhood bedroom…
Shaking her head slightly, Sigrid quietly rose from her spot by the window, barely glancing around the empty seats of the room before heading up the curving stone steps and into her bedchamber. Perhaps a peaceful walk through the sleeping castle would help her get tired, would help her mind to thinking of something else. She tiptoed into the dark chamber, trying not to wake anyone in the process as she made her way towards her bed, where the deep red curtains were still drawn closed from the night before. Opening her trunk as quietly as she could manage, Sigrid pulled out the long invisibility cloak she had borrowed from the twins a couple of nights before and had not yet returned, wrapping it securely over her as she tried her best to ignore the voice inside her head that kept reminding her that walking at night through the castles hallways was forbidden.
Instead she made her way outside the portrait hole, the fat lady dressed in pink snoring loudly as she slipped past her, descending many spiraling steps and submerging herself into the empty silent hallways, the long shadows of the columns flickering hollowly every time she passed one of the lighted torches. She walked past the Great Hall and towards deeper areas of the castle, searching for the places where the drumming of the rain would be less noisy, easier to ignore, her heart stopping every time she heard a sound only to remind herself that nobody could see her, she would not get in trouble.
She walked past the kitchen, the long hallways and ample staircases leading down and down, every time seeing less and less windows. The thousands of paintings of the walls were either snoring deeply or looking bored as their eyes darted from left to right, seeming to have nothing to look at in the empty darkness. Only one painting of a short funny looking wizard in what seemed to be a farm was making a lot of noise as he claimed to the other sleeping paintings that his sheep had moved and he could no longer find them. That almost made her laugh, but she had to stop herself just in time and remember that she could not be seen but could most certainly be heard, and she did not want any of the paintings to tell on her if they found out there was someone out of bed this late at night.
Instead she continued on her way, turning right into yet another long hallway lined with tall crystal windows before her heart nearly stopped again. She froze as the unmistakable sound of footsteps approached her direction in rushed walk, and she made herself as unmoving as stone and as silent as the tall imposing walls as her eyes caught sight of a dark silhouette appearing at the darker end of the hallway, too far still for her to recognize but coming closer and closer, walking fast. For a second she feared her heart would jump out of her chest with anxiety as she silently debated whether to stay right where she was and not move for fear or making a sound, or simply move to one side of the hallway for the figure to walk right past her without a chance of collision.
But her fear quickly disappeared as she finally caught sight of approaching figure, that silver long hair and pale skin impossible to miss. She remained frozen where she was, a thousand of questions rising inside her head as she watched Thranduil Lasgalen approach, pace rushed, almost running, and she could see his hands shaking violently at his sides, his fast equally shaky breathing loud enough for her to hear, seeming to be coming in a desperate gasps of air, but he did not seem to care if anyone noticed him out of bed, in fact he did not even seem fully aware of where he was, he seemed shocked? Scared? She did not move, watching as he hurried towards one of the long tall windows, yet unaware of her presence as his shaking fingers fumbled with the window latch, seeming to be trebling too much to be able to open it, and it seemed to despair him further, frustrate him as she could hear his breathing coming faster and heavier, his ice blue eyes wide, glazed, terrified. He was frightened, frightened beyond she had seen anyone be before, but of what?
Here's chapter 7! I op enjoy it! Let me know what you think!
Thank you thank you again to Rose 61393 and VayaNoldo22 for your comments! :) you're amazing!
Love,
Elena