AN: :) Um, a couple of people have said that they have been getting confused, so let me offer this help. I hope to be soon getting a beta reader, who will help me make sure that nothing is too confusing in future, parts. However, in the meanwhile, I encourage anyone who is confused to write to me. My email address is Alissa_Black@yahoo.com and I realize that some things do move rather quickly, so I would be more than delighted to explain anything that is not clear. And even if you don't have questions and simply want to talk, email me, because it inspires me to write faster. This part is dedicated to Tabby, and Bobbi the people who have allowed me to bounce ideas off them so many times that I'm surprised they aren't black and blue! And it is also dedicated to Static, whose review, and the prospect of Beta-reading Voices, brought me back to reality long enough to make me decide to post this part, thanks! :) Sorry this part took me so long, first I had some really bad writer's block, and then, last night I was finally ready to post it and i went to upload it and ff.net said my browser wasn't wroking! So i asked my sister if I could use her computer to upload it, and my sister chose last night, of all nights, to be in a really bad mood, and say no! BTW I have decided that if I don't receive a few more reviews for this part, the series will be sadly discontinued. Well, actually, I will continue to write it, however I will not post it here because I spend a great deal of time writing each part, and it's not worth the uploading time, and frustration, if no one is going to review. However on a much happier note part three is here and it's my favorite part yet! :)
Disclaimer: All characters are property of J.K.R. with the exception of Cassiopeia, Hydra, Gemini, and of course, Andromeda.
Chapter Three - Mouth Before Mind
Sirius was standing in front of Andromeda, whose eyes had grown wide and confused. He surveyed her face, which was white with worry, down to her hands, which hung limply by her sides, shaking, despite her effort. He could remember her so well from all those years ago, the party, the bar, and then the letter. He didn't know what she would say if he told her the truth: that he was the man who had left her 16 years ago, and never called her back. He wondered what she would do if he simply apparated away and never spoke to her again, yet somehow he was drawn to her. He, for the first time ever, felt ashamed of his past, and he couldn't help but want a second chance, to try to right his wrong, and see what might have been.
"What," prompted Andromeda, "was so funny? And what is your name!"
"Oh sorry, simply thinking of an old joke. And my name," he began, before he could stop himself, "is Severus Snape."
He involuntarily cringed. Why had he done that? Why had he told her that lie? Why had Severus Snape been the first name to pop into his head? He would have rather told her that his name was Voldemort, himself, than tell her that he was Severus Snape! He would he rather told her that he was Sirius Black, the jerk from the party, and then stood there as she slapped him across the face. Yet in another way he was rather relieved, now that he had told her that he was Severus he could at least take the time to decide if she was worth seeing, and if she were, he would simply explain. He didn't even bother to realize how hard it would be to explain.
Andromeda felt almost a little disappointed, as though she had hoped he would say something else. She had felt for all these weeks that she had known him, and she was more than a little upset at discovering that he wasn't the old acquaintance that she had thought he would be. Then again, who could she have possibly hoped that he would be? She hadn't gone on a date in 16 years, who was she expecting? Sirius Black? HA! She certainly was in no hurry to see him!
She turned her attention back to her handsome escort and allowed him to guide her towards the Chinese restaurant in which they would be dinning. It was a small, little, place, and it was hardly filled at all. They were seated promptly and as they walked through the place she couldn't help but feel happy to be here with this man.
"So, Severus," she began making eye contact with Sirius, who hoped that she hadn't noticed his flinch when she had called him Severus, "What have you been doing lately?"
"Well, there are several answers that might fit that question," and he paused to enjoy her face turn several shades of red and purple, "Lately I've been taking some time off, had a rather exhausting past few years." Well, he thought this wasn't a lie, he was just evading the truth, after all his last years on the run certainly hadn't been restful. "And yourself?"
"I'm actually not sure how long I'll be here, I live in America, with my daughter, and we only just came up here to visit my mother, who's dying."
"Hmmm," he began smiling, "Boy you don't settle for just a little angst, you go for the whole nine yards."
"Yes," she started, "I can't help but want to be the best." And she gave him a sardonic grin.
"Well, you can expect your trophy in five to ten business days."
"Oh thank you, thank you, let's see I would like to thank the makers of Scruggles Chocolate, the fine people at The Which Witch Magazine, and of course my lovely daughter, " and she paused to do a fake wave, to imaginary applause.
"How old is this daughter of yours?" He asked, wondering what the answer would be.
"Sixteen," she promptly answered.
He simply nodded his understanding as he did the math, and thought, well it certainly didn't take her long to find someone else. But then again what right did he have in thinking about it anyway? He had lost all claims to her when he left her that morning over sixteen years ago, and he certainly didn't want them back anyway, did he? He mentally sighed; she's got quite some baggage, a sixteen-year-old daughter! Is this really worth it?
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Gemini was not having as great of luck in her adventures. Hogwarts was so huge and mysterious that she was becoming horribly homesick. She was seated in an armchair in the Gryffindor common room, surrounded by her new housemates, yet she felt alone. The crackling fire did little to warm her spirits, and all she could think of were her friends, back in America, who probably weren't thinking of her.
Her first day had been rather dispiriting. Potions, with Snape had been her first class of the day, and after being thoroughly embarrassed by not knowing the necessary ingredients for a simple sleeping potion off the top of her head, she had not been in the mood for much else.
Across the room she could see some of her fellow 7th years, engaged in conversation. She wanted to go and introduce herself, but she was feeling rather anti-social at the moment. She was turning her attention to the divination assignment that she had received, when she was momentarily disrupted by one of the boys she had seen earlier.
"Um, excuse me," he started, "but I think this came for you," and he held out the letter, which could only be a response from Hydra.
She smiled her first true smile of the day and muttering an extremely excited, "THANK YOU!" She began to rip the parchment open. She suddenly realized that he was still standing there, staring at her as if he expected something, so she glanced up at him a little uncertainly.
"My name's Harry Potter, I saw you being sorted earlier, aren't you a little young for your 7th year?"
"Oh," she said, "My name is Gemini. Yea, I am a little young, but back in America they start a little earlier, though you wouldn't be able to tell it from my performance in Potions," and she looked rather sad, as though the thought still pained her.
Harry took this opportunity to smile at Gemini. "It was your first day, and it certainly isn't as though Snape is the nicest, least intimidating man in the world."
"Well he definitely wasn't handing out treacle fudge." And she grinned happily at Harry. "Aren't your friends waiting for you?" Gemini questioned waving a hand to gesture towards Hermione and Ron, who were seated across the room, Hermione with her homework spread over four tables, and Ron filing out an order form for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
"Naw, they're too busy right now to even notice I'm gone. So where did you come from?" Gemini was slightly aware of the fact that he was asking more questions, than he was answering, but she didn't particularly care, simply happy to have someone to talk with.
"Back in America, New Jersey. It's nice there, when it's not raining, snowing twenty inches in one night, having a hurricane, one hundred degrees, or barely zero." And she paused to grin sarcastically. She stopped to look at the schedule, which was sitting next to her Divination homework, and asked, "Tomorrow we have Care of Magical Creatures, what's that like?"
It was Harry's turn to grin, "It's a great class, Hagrid's the teacher, but consider yourself lucky if he doesn't start handing out treacle fudge."
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Back in the Sagitta estate Andromeda was rushing around like a lunatic, she had stayed longer than was wise at lunch, and come home to be informed by a rather annoyed Cassiopeia that her date would be arriving in a few hours. Her hair was a lost cause as she relentlessly tried to do something with it. All her makeup was in desperate need of fixing up. So as she tried to get dressed, fix her hair, clean her makeup, and explain to Cassiopeia why she had been so late, she was also thinking of her date with Severus.
What a good time it had been. She had laughed more freely than she could remember in years. It hardly seemed like this could possibly have been their first date, for they chatted like old friends who had known each other forever. She would be seeing him again on Friday, but since today was only Tuesday, the thought did little to lift her spirits.
She considered asking Cassiopeia to call her date and cancel, yet some how the thought seemed very out of the question. Andromeda wondered if it constituted as "cheating" to be seeing someone else. However, she didn't feel too bad about it, seeing as how it had been a decision that she hadn't made of her own volition, but had been made for her by her mother, not to mention the fact that she and Severus were still only getting to know each other.
Had she known at that moment that Sirius was sitting at home thinking about his date with her, and feeling oddly guilty about using Severus' name, she would have fainted beyond revival. Luckily, Andromeda was not a psychic.
*~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Finally closed in her curtained bed Gemini had the chance to read her letter. She had spent about a half an hour chatting freely with Harry before he had been called back by Hermione, who had finally noticed his absence and hastened over to talk to him, without even introducing herself, and lead him over to Ron, without asking Gemini to join. "That girl hates me," she thought sadly, twiddling a quill in her left hand as she unfolded the parchment with her right.
Her eyes moved slowly down the paper, seeing things here and there yet dumbfounded beyond belief, so she read it again.
Dear Gemini,
It is so nice to hear from you, I hope to someday have the opportunity to meet you, knowing Andromeda I am sure you simply must be a wonderful person. And knowing that she is back in the country I may end up trying to visit her some time soon, as it has certainly been too long since I last saw her.
I received your letter a few days ago, and have taken my time in responding because I simply did not know what to say. I have thought about this for quite some time until I realized that if my reaction was not an automatic yes, than I should not proceed.
Your mother was my best friend and although we have been physically absent from each others lives for the last sixteen years I cannot bring myself to give away that which I know she guards so secretly. I do not do this out of dislike for you; I do this because I must. Please believe me when I say that someday, when it is right, you will know.
I can however, because I feel as though I cannot totally let you down, tell you this one clue, although you may not see its importance. He is a match in the darkness, a lantern in the sky. If this does not make sense rest assured that it will someday, however I have no idea when this day will come.
Sincerely Yours,
Hydra
"Argh!" Exclaimed Gemini in an exasperated voice "'A match in the darkness, a lantern in the sky'" she quoted in a haughty, fake British accent. "Thanks for nothing!" And with this she withdrew her curtains, and leaned over to open her nightstand, shoving the letter inside.
She caught a brief glimpse of Hermione rapidly turning the pages of a massive book, as she closed the hangings. The expression on Hermione's face was one of loathing, abhorrence, which slightly irked Gemini, seeing as how they had never formally met. But she did not think of it long, before her eyes, much too heavy, closed themselves, and she lapsed into a fitful sleep.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
In his house Sirius was slumped into his chair, cradling his head in his hands. How could he have been so stupid! How could he have not realized that he would never be able to explain himself? He could just imagine it now: "Hi, my name is actually Sirius Black, the guy who never called you back, and I've been pretending to be Severus Snape for the past days because I wanted to get to know the real you, even though you weren't meeting the real me. But hey, I'm not crazy."
He would just have to stick it out, and see how things went through. The damage was already done, there was nothing left to do but simply ride the wave and see if it was a wipeout. He only hoped that he would be wearing his Swim Safe Water Bubble...
He turned his head towards his desk, the same oak desk from all those years ago, upon it he noted a small picture of James, Remus, and himself back at Hogwarts. They were sitting under a small willow tree, but definitely not the whomping willow. Sitting with their backs to the trunk they chatted excitedly about school holidays, teachers, tests, and Quidditch. Never could they have imagined the pain that would come, the horror, which would take over their lives, when they least expected it. They were too young, too carefree. What wouldn't he give to go back to those days, the days when their biggest problem was how to deal with that slimy git, Snape? He would have given everything he had...everything.
"James...Lily..." and Sirius rocked violently in his chair, "Oh, James, what was I thinking! I never should have convinced you to switch me with Peter. I would have rather died than give you away...I would have rather died. And in a way, I did."
The tears were streaming down his face unheeded. It was his fault; it would always be his fault. He might as well have killed them with his own bare hands. He felt as though he didn't deserve to be happy, never again...
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
The doorbell of the Sagitta house was a nice loud one, so that it could be heard throughout the entire estate. Usually Andromeda thought of it as a happy, and cheerful sound, but at the moment it was simply a reminder of the fact that her mother had succeeded in talking her into yet another thing, and she had not even protested.
"Are you ready?" Asked Cassiopeia, with a look on her face, which was unable to hide the fact that she did not approve of the way her daughter was dressed, yet seeing as how he was already here it was too late to be fixed, so she would simply have to stomach it.
"For crying aloud!" Andromeda thought profusely, "If she likes him so much why doesn't she date him, certainly would save me a lot of trouble."
Cassiopeia hastened from the room into the hallway where she apparated down to the main hall to answer her door. Despite the large size of the house Cassiopeia had refused for years to hire a butler, she insisted that it was not necessary and would simply be ostentatious, Andromeda never bothered to point out to her that the size of the house, itself, was ostentatious.
She could vaguely hear the sounds of footsteps along the wooden floors of hall outside. She fidgeted with her skirt trying to smooth it out, despite the fact that it was perfectly iron straight, the only thing her mother had done while she had been worrying if Andromeda was going to make it home on time.
Glancing around the room she noted the trophies, polished and gleaming in their stands. She remembered winning them, she remembered the feeling in her stomach everytime, while she waited to hear who had won; it was always her.
As a child she couldn't have cared less about winning them; but Cassiopeia had. Andromeda had always known that Cassiopeia had gotten more satisfaction out of Andromeda's success, than she herself had. It hadn't been until she had become much older that she had realized how wrong that was.
The trophies read different things: Most Bewitching Looks, Most Charming Charmer, Smartest Witch, and Scruggles Chocolate Designing Contest Winner, to name only a small fraction. Cassiopeia's desire for Andromeda to win had stretched to no limits, until that one fateful day that Andromeda had been anticipating, the day she lost. Although, Cassiopeia had never known that she had lost on purpose.
After that, Cassiopeia had over the course of years realized her problem with expecting too much, and had revised it. Although Andromeda had always thought that it was simply because it was either that, or look like a sore loser. Cassiopeia never liked to look bad.
Her attention was drawn back to her when she heard the sound of a hand on the door. Although it was extremely obnoxious when you wanted to simply sneak downstairs for a mid night snack, there was a certain advantage to having rusty doors.
She could sense their presence out side of the room, and she knew that there was no turning back, he was here, she could no longer fake sick, fall down a flight of stairs, or accidentally trip into an open window. Her stomach gave the smallest of churns as she waited while he turned the doorknob.
Standing before her was the most handsome man that she had ever met, next to the man from that afternoon, whose name was escaping her at the moment, in the presence of this man, who seemed able to hold her attention without the slightest effort.
He walked over to the seat where she was reclining and offered her a silent hand up, "Hello," he said, "you must be Andromeda," he said this as a statement, not a question.
"Yes," she began excepting his hand and pulling herself to her feet, "although I must admit that I haven't the slightest idea, of who you are?"
He smiled a knowing look at her and said "Why isn't it obvious? I'm Gilderoy Lockhart!"
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
In her sleep Gemini was turning fitfully. She suddenly woke, feeling unnaturally cold. She turned the light by her bedside table on, to reveal that she had kicked off all of her blankets.
Leaning over to pull them up she looked around the room. She had been roomed with her fellow 7th years, despite her age. She assumed that this arrangement was so that she could be with people that she would have classes with, and therefore have more in common with. However, she personally felt that she would have been more comfortable with people of her own age.
Upon looking around she noted that two girls who she had not met yet, Parvati Patil, and Lavender Brown were still sleeping. However when she set her gaze upon Hermione she was surprised to see that Hermione was sitting fully erect in bed, brown eyes staring back at her, yet holding none of their usual warmth.
"You should sound proof your bed," she began with an obnoxious look, "you were screaming something awful and you certainly aren't the only person in this dorm."
"Really I, failed to notice that, while I was attending all the parties that everyone has been throwing in my honor," she retorted hotly.
Hermione just sat, feet hanging over the edge of the bed, seeming as though she were trying to burn a whole straight through Gemini's head. Then she said "Well, who said you deserve a party?"
"Who said I deserve all this crap from you?"
"You think that you're so special just because you're in 7th year when you're only sixteen years old. Yet, you don't even know the ingredients for a simple sleeping potion!" Hermione was unable to state the first part without sounding jealous of the fact that she herself hadn't been in 7th year when she was 16.
"No," said Gemini, "you are the one who thinks I'm special, or we wouldn't be having this conversation! And I'm sorry that I didn't know the ingredients, my social life must have taken a down fall for me not to have hours of time to memorize every book ever written."
"Well at least I can read," Hermione responded with equal malice.
"So can the people who blow up subways, but that doesn't make them smart."
"Why are you here?" Hermione interrogated, unable to keep herself from sounding like a whining child, "if you think that I'm going to tutor you, you have another thing coming!"
"Are you sure that I shouldn't be the one tutoring you?"
"Ha! On what? Potions?" And she burst into laughter.
"Actually, I was going to say manners, but I think that you have already proven my point for me, so thank you for sparing me from anymore time in this mind boggelingly boring conversation. And don't worry I'll be sure to owl the writers of Guinness Book Wizarding World records to tell them we have a new record: Longest conversation with Hermione without first falling asleep. And with this she pulled her deep red curtains closed. If she had left them open for one more second she might have seen the wounded look on Hermione's face, but the lights were out and she tried to fall back to sleep.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Andromeda was not sure how long it had been since she had left the living room of the Sagitta estate. Her first impulse had been to leave the room, she felt so embarrassed, and no wonder Cassiopeia had stressed an abnormally large amount if times what a "charmer" he was. Right now she didn't want a charmer, she simply wanted a good charm to get this man as far away from her as possible.
He had informed her of his reservations for dinner at a French restaurant. As they walked into a room where the chandeliers seemed more expensive than her dream broom, a Mr. Clean 2000, the name Un Cristal Dans le Ciel shone in bright golden lettering, which looked as though it was comprised of thousands of dripping icicles.
Seated at a round table, where she tried hopelessly to get away from him by sliding further into the booth, she ordered Parmesan du veau, while he ordered Les Intelligences de la vache. She sniggered into her water glass as she thought, "Well he does have to get them from somewhere."
While they waited for the dinner to arrive they made pleasant small talk. She amused herself by remembering how to play a wineglass like she had when she was younger. She was getting rather good at it when she looked up to see his patronizing gaze and mouthed a "Sorry."
"So," she said, "I heard that you taught once at Hogwarts."
"Ah, yes, giving something back to the community," he said in a 'all in the everyday life of a big star like me' voice, dropping her a wink.
She couldn't help but think, "Wanna give something back to the community? How about that hot air balloons pump that you've been trying to use to make your head look like there's something in it? I hear that the circus is coming to town." Yet she politely smiled and nodded.
"And what do you do?" He asked in a voice, which made her realize that he was actually just waiting for something to try and consulate her about, and show off that she was nothing compared to him.
"Well, right now, I'm not working, I'm taking care of my mother she's got liver cancer."
He nodded, seeming a little taken a back, yet promptly recovered himself. "So, you have a daughter?"
Andromeda sighed; this was going to be a long evening.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Gemini walked down the sloping hill, away from the warmth of Hogwarts Castle, towards the hut at the edge of the forbidden forest. The wind was howling in her ears, and she clutched at her coat, rummaging hopelessly for gloves in her pockets.
She was walking alone, yet not by choice. Hermione, Harry, and Ron were strolling by, chatting excitedly of the new school year. As they passed Harry gave her a look which clearly said "Sorry," while Hermione's scowl stated, "Back off."
As she entered the clearing for the class she noticed a wizard who was so handsome that his presence seemed to make her slightly dizzy. He was very tall, with silvery blonde hair, deep never-ending eyes, and a very sexy smirk. She felt oddly attracted to him, however when he spoke, her opinion completely changed.
"So," he began, "moved here, have you? What's the matter finally realize what a dump America is?"
She was steaming! How dare he insult her home! He had probably never been outside of this country and she personally, wished right now that she were back in America at her normal school. "Personally," she started, "any country without you in it gets 5 stars in my book."
She could see, out of the corner of her eye, Ron beginning to laugh uncontrollably, but he quickly composed himself when Hermione went out of her way to stop, rather harshly, on his foot, causing him to emit a slight gasp of alert.
Their discussion might have continued longer had Hagrid not burst forth from his cabin at that very moment, explaining, how sorry he was for being late, and relating a slight problem which had arisen, with some of his other charges. Gemini shot one last look of hatred towards Draco Malfoy, and then turned her attention towards her Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Hagrid.
Half way across the clearing she heard Harry mutter in an amused voice, "I wonder what it is this time."
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Earlier that morning
Andromeda woke the next morning to the sound of a tapping sound. She murmured "Go away, mum," yet the noise did not desist. Opening her eyes, ever so slowly, she saw the dark black owl flapping outside of her window. She mustered all of her strength to get up, and cross the room.
Approaching the window she could not help but notice the breath taking scene below. It appeared to be very early in the morning, maybe 5 am she mused. The sun was just peeping over the edges of the mountains in the distance, and the clouds were an enchanting gray and light blue. She would have looked at the scene for much longer, if the owl's persistent tapping had not brought her back to reality.
Pulling open the wide window, she allowed the owl to swoop in and land on her desk. She shuddered at the cool feeling of the autumn air on her skin, and was reminded of her home back in New Jersey, which she had rented out in her absence, and the thought made her very homesick.
Untying the parcel she allowed the owl to swoop around her room as she read over the parchment, straining her eyes, which would much rather have been closed, to focus on the contents of the note.
An,
I heard that you were back in the country when I got an owl from your daughter, Gemini. I was hoping that we could meet for lunch today at a new restaurant that I am dying to have a reason to check out. It's called "A touch of America", I thought you might appreciate that!
Write back soon, I can't wait to hear all about your past few years!
~Hydra
Andromeda lowered herself into the wooden chair and pulled a sheet of parchment from the desk. She paused to smile happily at the wizard photo of Gemini in a swinging chair on the porch of their New Jersey home. Wetting a quill she began to scratch her response to Hydra.
Hydra,
Yes, I know which restaurant you mean. I'll meet you there at 12:00. Can't wait to see you, its been much too long. I would write more, if it weren't 5:00 in the morning.
~Andromeda
She approached the fluttering owl and reached out to attaach the letter, which she had tied with a blue ribbon, to the owl's leg. Opening the window once more she watched the owl fly away. But this time she did not stay in her room.
Walking back to the desk she removed her long, fluffy, purple robe and covered herself in it. She returned to the window, and stepped outside. Seating herself in a comfortable wicker chair she began to think.
Something about Hydra's letter was bothering her, although she could not think of what in particular it might be. She unfolded the paper, which was still clamped, in her right hand, and smoothing it out continued to read one part again, "I heard that you were back in the country when I got an owl from your daughter, Gemini."
"That's funny," she thought, "I don't remember ever telling Gemini about Hydra, come to think of it, I'm sure I didn't. Why would she know to write to her?"
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
AN: Ok, there you have it, now go and review it, please. If you want part four you'll have to review. Email me, Alissa_Black@yahoo.com with questions or comments. And BTW Hermione is acting oddly for a certain reason.
What's in store for next time? Well, Gemini ponders the clue. Andromeda meets Hydra again. Sirius ponders his situation. Will Lockhart make sure to return the hot air balloons pump in time for the circus? :) Will Sirius remember to wear his Swim Safe Water Bubble? Tune in next time for answers to these questions and more! :) Oh, and you might like to translate the French, or at least what Lockhart ordered if you want to understand what Andromeda meant, and why she was sniggering.
Disclaimer: All characters are property of J.K.R. with the exception of Cassiopeia, Hydra, Gemini, and of course, Andromeda.
Chapter Three - Mouth Before Mind
Sirius was standing in front of Andromeda, whose eyes had grown wide and confused. He surveyed her face, which was white with worry, down to her hands, which hung limply by her sides, shaking, despite her effort. He could remember her so well from all those years ago, the party, the bar, and then the letter. He didn't know what she would say if he told her the truth: that he was the man who had left her 16 years ago, and never called her back. He wondered what she would do if he simply apparated away and never spoke to her again, yet somehow he was drawn to her. He, for the first time ever, felt ashamed of his past, and he couldn't help but want a second chance, to try to right his wrong, and see what might have been.
"What," prompted Andromeda, "was so funny? And what is your name!"
"Oh sorry, simply thinking of an old joke. And my name," he began, before he could stop himself, "is Severus Snape."
He involuntarily cringed. Why had he done that? Why had he told her that lie? Why had Severus Snape been the first name to pop into his head? He would have rather told her that his name was Voldemort, himself, than tell her that he was Severus Snape! He would he rather told her that he was Sirius Black, the jerk from the party, and then stood there as she slapped him across the face. Yet in another way he was rather relieved, now that he had told her that he was Severus he could at least take the time to decide if she was worth seeing, and if she were, he would simply explain. He didn't even bother to realize how hard it would be to explain.
Andromeda felt almost a little disappointed, as though she had hoped he would say something else. She had felt for all these weeks that she had known him, and she was more than a little upset at discovering that he wasn't the old acquaintance that she had thought he would be. Then again, who could she have possibly hoped that he would be? She hadn't gone on a date in 16 years, who was she expecting? Sirius Black? HA! She certainly was in no hurry to see him!
She turned her attention back to her handsome escort and allowed him to guide her towards the Chinese restaurant in which they would be dinning. It was a small, little, place, and it was hardly filled at all. They were seated promptly and as they walked through the place she couldn't help but feel happy to be here with this man.
"So, Severus," she began making eye contact with Sirius, who hoped that she hadn't noticed his flinch when she had called him Severus, "What have you been doing lately?"
"Well, there are several answers that might fit that question," and he paused to enjoy her face turn several shades of red and purple, "Lately I've been taking some time off, had a rather exhausting past few years." Well, he thought this wasn't a lie, he was just evading the truth, after all his last years on the run certainly hadn't been restful. "And yourself?"
"I'm actually not sure how long I'll be here, I live in America, with my daughter, and we only just came up here to visit my mother, who's dying."
"Hmmm," he began smiling, "Boy you don't settle for just a little angst, you go for the whole nine yards."
"Yes," she started, "I can't help but want to be the best." And she gave him a sardonic grin.
"Well, you can expect your trophy in five to ten business days."
"Oh thank you, thank you, let's see I would like to thank the makers of Scruggles Chocolate, the fine people at The Which Witch Magazine, and of course my lovely daughter, " and she paused to do a fake wave, to imaginary applause.
"How old is this daughter of yours?" He asked, wondering what the answer would be.
"Sixteen," she promptly answered.
He simply nodded his understanding as he did the math, and thought, well it certainly didn't take her long to find someone else. But then again what right did he have in thinking about it anyway? He had lost all claims to her when he left her that morning over sixteen years ago, and he certainly didn't want them back anyway, did he? He mentally sighed; she's got quite some baggage, a sixteen-year-old daughter! Is this really worth it?
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Gemini was not having as great of luck in her adventures. Hogwarts was so huge and mysterious that she was becoming horribly homesick. She was seated in an armchair in the Gryffindor common room, surrounded by her new housemates, yet she felt alone. The crackling fire did little to warm her spirits, and all she could think of were her friends, back in America, who probably weren't thinking of her.
Her first day had been rather dispiriting. Potions, with Snape had been her first class of the day, and after being thoroughly embarrassed by not knowing the necessary ingredients for a simple sleeping potion off the top of her head, she had not been in the mood for much else.
Across the room she could see some of her fellow 7th years, engaged in conversation. She wanted to go and introduce herself, but she was feeling rather anti-social at the moment. She was turning her attention to the divination assignment that she had received, when she was momentarily disrupted by one of the boys she had seen earlier.
"Um, excuse me," he started, "but I think this came for you," and he held out the letter, which could only be a response from Hydra.
She smiled her first true smile of the day and muttering an extremely excited, "THANK YOU!" She began to rip the parchment open. She suddenly realized that he was still standing there, staring at her as if he expected something, so she glanced up at him a little uncertainly.
"My name's Harry Potter, I saw you being sorted earlier, aren't you a little young for your 7th year?"
"Oh," she said, "My name is Gemini. Yea, I am a little young, but back in America they start a little earlier, though you wouldn't be able to tell it from my performance in Potions," and she looked rather sad, as though the thought still pained her.
Harry took this opportunity to smile at Gemini. "It was your first day, and it certainly isn't as though Snape is the nicest, least intimidating man in the world."
"Well he definitely wasn't handing out treacle fudge." And she grinned happily at Harry. "Aren't your friends waiting for you?" Gemini questioned waving a hand to gesture towards Hermione and Ron, who were seated across the room, Hermione with her homework spread over four tables, and Ron filing out an order form for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
"Naw, they're too busy right now to even notice I'm gone. So where did you come from?" Gemini was slightly aware of the fact that he was asking more questions, than he was answering, but she didn't particularly care, simply happy to have someone to talk with.
"Back in America, New Jersey. It's nice there, when it's not raining, snowing twenty inches in one night, having a hurricane, one hundred degrees, or barely zero." And she paused to grin sarcastically. She stopped to look at the schedule, which was sitting next to her Divination homework, and asked, "Tomorrow we have Care of Magical Creatures, what's that like?"
It was Harry's turn to grin, "It's a great class, Hagrid's the teacher, but consider yourself lucky if he doesn't start handing out treacle fudge."
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Back in the Sagitta estate Andromeda was rushing around like a lunatic, she had stayed longer than was wise at lunch, and come home to be informed by a rather annoyed Cassiopeia that her date would be arriving in a few hours. Her hair was a lost cause as she relentlessly tried to do something with it. All her makeup was in desperate need of fixing up. So as she tried to get dressed, fix her hair, clean her makeup, and explain to Cassiopeia why she had been so late, she was also thinking of her date with Severus.
What a good time it had been. She had laughed more freely than she could remember in years. It hardly seemed like this could possibly have been their first date, for they chatted like old friends who had known each other forever. She would be seeing him again on Friday, but since today was only Tuesday, the thought did little to lift her spirits.
She considered asking Cassiopeia to call her date and cancel, yet some how the thought seemed very out of the question. Andromeda wondered if it constituted as "cheating" to be seeing someone else. However, she didn't feel too bad about it, seeing as how it had been a decision that she hadn't made of her own volition, but had been made for her by her mother, not to mention the fact that she and Severus were still only getting to know each other.
Had she known at that moment that Sirius was sitting at home thinking about his date with her, and feeling oddly guilty about using Severus' name, she would have fainted beyond revival. Luckily, Andromeda was not a psychic.
*~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Finally closed in her curtained bed Gemini had the chance to read her letter. She had spent about a half an hour chatting freely with Harry before he had been called back by Hermione, who had finally noticed his absence and hastened over to talk to him, without even introducing herself, and lead him over to Ron, without asking Gemini to join. "That girl hates me," she thought sadly, twiddling a quill in her left hand as she unfolded the parchment with her right.
Her eyes moved slowly down the paper, seeing things here and there yet dumbfounded beyond belief, so she read it again.
Dear Gemini,
It is so nice to hear from you, I hope to someday have the opportunity to meet you, knowing Andromeda I am sure you simply must be a wonderful person. And knowing that she is back in the country I may end up trying to visit her some time soon, as it has certainly been too long since I last saw her.
I received your letter a few days ago, and have taken my time in responding because I simply did not know what to say. I have thought about this for quite some time until I realized that if my reaction was not an automatic yes, than I should not proceed.
Your mother was my best friend and although we have been physically absent from each others lives for the last sixteen years I cannot bring myself to give away that which I know she guards so secretly. I do not do this out of dislike for you; I do this because I must. Please believe me when I say that someday, when it is right, you will know.
I can however, because I feel as though I cannot totally let you down, tell you this one clue, although you may not see its importance. He is a match in the darkness, a lantern in the sky. If this does not make sense rest assured that it will someday, however I have no idea when this day will come.
Sincerely Yours,
Hydra
"Argh!" Exclaimed Gemini in an exasperated voice "'A match in the darkness, a lantern in the sky'" she quoted in a haughty, fake British accent. "Thanks for nothing!" And with this she withdrew her curtains, and leaned over to open her nightstand, shoving the letter inside.
She caught a brief glimpse of Hermione rapidly turning the pages of a massive book, as she closed the hangings. The expression on Hermione's face was one of loathing, abhorrence, which slightly irked Gemini, seeing as how they had never formally met. But she did not think of it long, before her eyes, much too heavy, closed themselves, and she lapsed into a fitful sleep.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
In his house Sirius was slumped into his chair, cradling his head in his hands. How could he have been so stupid! How could he have not realized that he would never be able to explain himself? He could just imagine it now: "Hi, my name is actually Sirius Black, the guy who never called you back, and I've been pretending to be Severus Snape for the past days because I wanted to get to know the real you, even though you weren't meeting the real me. But hey, I'm not crazy."
He would just have to stick it out, and see how things went through. The damage was already done, there was nothing left to do but simply ride the wave and see if it was a wipeout. He only hoped that he would be wearing his Swim Safe Water Bubble...
He turned his head towards his desk, the same oak desk from all those years ago, upon it he noted a small picture of James, Remus, and himself back at Hogwarts. They were sitting under a small willow tree, but definitely not the whomping willow. Sitting with their backs to the trunk they chatted excitedly about school holidays, teachers, tests, and Quidditch. Never could they have imagined the pain that would come, the horror, which would take over their lives, when they least expected it. They were too young, too carefree. What wouldn't he give to go back to those days, the days when their biggest problem was how to deal with that slimy git, Snape? He would have given everything he had...everything.
"James...Lily..." and Sirius rocked violently in his chair, "Oh, James, what was I thinking! I never should have convinced you to switch me with Peter. I would have rather died than give you away...I would have rather died. And in a way, I did."
The tears were streaming down his face unheeded. It was his fault; it would always be his fault. He might as well have killed them with his own bare hands. He felt as though he didn't deserve to be happy, never again...
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
The doorbell of the Sagitta house was a nice loud one, so that it could be heard throughout the entire estate. Usually Andromeda thought of it as a happy, and cheerful sound, but at the moment it was simply a reminder of the fact that her mother had succeeded in talking her into yet another thing, and she had not even protested.
"Are you ready?" Asked Cassiopeia, with a look on her face, which was unable to hide the fact that she did not approve of the way her daughter was dressed, yet seeing as how he was already here it was too late to be fixed, so she would simply have to stomach it.
"For crying aloud!" Andromeda thought profusely, "If she likes him so much why doesn't she date him, certainly would save me a lot of trouble."
Cassiopeia hastened from the room into the hallway where she apparated down to the main hall to answer her door. Despite the large size of the house Cassiopeia had refused for years to hire a butler, she insisted that it was not necessary and would simply be ostentatious, Andromeda never bothered to point out to her that the size of the house, itself, was ostentatious.
She could vaguely hear the sounds of footsteps along the wooden floors of hall outside. She fidgeted with her skirt trying to smooth it out, despite the fact that it was perfectly iron straight, the only thing her mother had done while she had been worrying if Andromeda was going to make it home on time.
Glancing around the room she noted the trophies, polished and gleaming in their stands. She remembered winning them, she remembered the feeling in her stomach everytime, while she waited to hear who had won; it was always her.
As a child she couldn't have cared less about winning them; but Cassiopeia had. Andromeda had always known that Cassiopeia had gotten more satisfaction out of Andromeda's success, than she herself had. It hadn't been until she had become much older that she had realized how wrong that was.
The trophies read different things: Most Bewitching Looks, Most Charming Charmer, Smartest Witch, and Scruggles Chocolate Designing Contest Winner, to name only a small fraction. Cassiopeia's desire for Andromeda to win had stretched to no limits, until that one fateful day that Andromeda had been anticipating, the day she lost. Although, Cassiopeia had never known that she had lost on purpose.
After that, Cassiopeia had over the course of years realized her problem with expecting too much, and had revised it. Although Andromeda had always thought that it was simply because it was either that, or look like a sore loser. Cassiopeia never liked to look bad.
Her attention was drawn back to her when she heard the sound of a hand on the door. Although it was extremely obnoxious when you wanted to simply sneak downstairs for a mid night snack, there was a certain advantage to having rusty doors.
She could sense their presence out side of the room, and she knew that there was no turning back, he was here, she could no longer fake sick, fall down a flight of stairs, or accidentally trip into an open window. Her stomach gave the smallest of churns as she waited while he turned the doorknob.
Standing before her was the most handsome man that she had ever met, next to the man from that afternoon, whose name was escaping her at the moment, in the presence of this man, who seemed able to hold her attention without the slightest effort.
He walked over to the seat where she was reclining and offered her a silent hand up, "Hello," he said, "you must be Andromeda," he said this as a statement, not a question.
"Yes," she began excepting his hand and pulling herself to her feet, "although I must admit that I haven't the slightest idea, of who you are?"
He smiled a knowing look at her and said "Why isn't it obvious? I'm Gilderoy Lockhart!"
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
In her sleep Gemini was turning fitfully. She suddenly woke, feeling unnaturally cold. She turned the light by her bedside table on, to reveal that she had kicked off all of her blankets.
Leaning over to pull them up she looked around the room. She had been roomed with her fellow 7th years, despite her age. She assumed that this arrangement was so that she could be with people that she would have classes with, and therefore have more in common with. However, she personally felt that she would have been more comfortable with people of her own age.
Upon looking around she noted that two girls who she had not met yet, Parvati Patil, and Lavender Brown were still sleeping. However when she set her gaze upon Hermione she was surprised to see that Hermione was sitting fully erect in bed, brown eyes staring back at her, yet holding none of their usual warmth.
"You should sound proof your bed," she began with an obnoxious look, "you were screaming something awful and you certainly aren't the only person in this dorm."
"Really I, failed to notice that, while I was attending all the parties that everyone has been throwing in my honor," she retorted hotly.
Hermione just sat, feet hanging over the edge of the bed, seeming as though she were trying to burn a whole straight through Gemini's head. Then she said "Well, who said you deserve a party?"
"Who said I deserve all this crap from you?"
"You think that you're so special just because you're in 7th year when you're only sixteen years old. Yet, you don't even know the ingredients for a simple sleeping potion!" Hermione was unable to state the first part without sounding jealous of the fact that she herself hadn't been in 7th year when she was 16.
"No," said Gemini, "you are the one who thinks I'm special, or we wouldn't be having this conversation! And I'm sorry that I didn't know the ingredients, my social life must have taken a down fall for me not to have hours of time to memorize every book ever written."
"Well at least I can read," Hermione responded with equal malice.
"So can the people who blow up subways, but that doesn't make them smart."
"Why are you here?" Hermione interrogated, unable to keep herself from sounding like a whining child, "if you think that I'm going to tutor you, you have another thing coming!"
"Are you sure that I shouldn't be the one tutoring you?"
"Ha! On what? Potions?" And she burst into laughter.
"Actually, I was going to say manners, but I think that you have already proven my point for me, so thank you for sparing me from anymore time in this mind boggelingly boring conversation. And don't worry I'll be sure to owl the writers of Guinness Book Wizarding World records to tell them we have a new record: Longest conversation with Hermione without first falling asleep. And with this she pulled her deep red curtains closed. If she had left them open for one more second she might have seen the wounded look on Hermione's face, but the lights were out and she tried to fall back to sleep.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Andromeda was not sure how long it had been since she had left the living room of the Sagitta estate. Her first impulse had been to leave the room, she felt so embarrassed, and no wonder Cassiopeia had stressed an abnormally large amount if times what a "charmer" he was. Right now she didn't want a charmer, she simply wanted a good charm to get this man as far away from her as possible.
He had informed her of his reservations for dinner at a French restaurant. As they walked into a room where the chandeliers seemed more expensive than her dream broom, a Mr. Clean 2000, the name Un Cristal Dans le Ciel shone in bright golden lettering, which looked as though it was comprised of thousands of dripping icicles.
Seated at a round table, where she tried hopelessly to get away from him by sliding further into the booth, she ordered Parmesan du veau, while he ordered Les Intelligences de la vache. She sniggered into her water glass as she thought, "Well he does have to get them from somewhere."
While they waited for the dinner to arrive they made pleasant small talk. She amused herself by remembering how to play a wineglass like she had when she was younger. She was getting rather good at it when she looked up to see his patronizing gaze and mouthed a "Sorry."
"So," she said, "I heard that you taught once at Hogwarts."
"Ah, yes, giving something back to the community," he said in a 'all in the everyday life of a big star like me' voice, dropping her a wink.
She couldn't help but think, "Wanna give something back to the community? How about that hot air balloons pump that you've been trying to use to make your head look like there's something in it? I hear that the circus is coming to town." Yet she politely smiled and nodded.
"And what do you do?" He asked in a voice, which made her realize that he was actually just waiting for something to try and consulate her about, and show off that she was nothing compared to him.
"Well, right now, I'm not working, I'm taking care of my mother she's got liver cancer."
He nodded, seeming a little taken a back, yet promptly recovered himself. "So, you have a daughter?"
Andromeda sighed; this was going to be a long evening.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Gemini walked down the sloping hill, away from the warmth of Hogwarts Castle, towards the hut at the edge of the forbidden forest. The wind was howling in her ears, and she clutched at her coat, rummaging hopelessly for gloves in her pockets.
She was walking alone, yet not by choice. Hermione, Harry, and Ron were strolling by, chatting excitedly of the new school year. As they passed Harry gave her a look which clearly said "Sorry," while Hermione's scowl stated, "Back off."
As she entered the clearing for the class she noticed a wizard who was so handsome that his presence seemed to make her slightly dizzy. He was very tall, with silvery blonde hair, deep never-ending eyes, and a very sexy smirk. She felt oddly attracted to him, however when he spoke, her opinion completely changed.
"So," he began, "moved here, have you? What's the matter finally realize what a dump America is?"
She was steaming! How dare he insult her home! He had probably never been outside of this country and she personally, wished right now that she were back in America at her normal school. "Personally," she started, "any country without you in it gets 5 stars in my book."
She could see, out of the corner of her eye, Ron beginning to laugh uncontrollably, but he quickly composed himself when Hermione went out of her way to stop, rather harshly, on his foot, causing him to emit a slight gasp of alert.
Their discussion might have continued longer had Hagrid not burst forth from his cabin at that very moment, explaining, how sorry he was for being late, and relating a slight problem which had arisen, with some of his other charges. Gemini shot one last look of hatred towards Draco Malfoy, and then turned her attention towards her Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Hagrid.
Half way across the clearing she heard Harry mutter in an amused voice, "I wonder what it is this time."
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Earlier that morning
Andromeda woke the next morning to the sound of a tapping sound. She murmured "Go away, mum," yet the noise did not desist. Opening her eyes, ever so slowly, she saw the dark black owl flapping outside of her window. She mustered all of her strength to get up, and cross the room.
Approaching the window she could not help but notice the breath taking scene below. It appeared to be very early in the morning, maybe 5 am she mused. The sun was just peeping over the edges of the mountains in the distance, and the clouds were an enchanting gray and light blue. She would have looked at the scene for much longer, if the owl's persistent tapping had not brought her back to reality.
Pulling open the wide window, she allowed the owl to swoop in and land on her desk. She shuddered at the cool feeling of the autumn air on her skin, and was reminded of her home back in New Jersey, which she had rented out in her absence, and the thought made her very homesick.
Untying the parcel she allowed the owl to swoop around her room as she read over the parchment, straining her eyes, which would much rather have been closed, to focus on the contents of the note.
An,
I heard that you were back in the country when I got an owl from your daughter, Gemini. I was hoping that we could meet for lunch today at a new restaurant that I am dying to have a reason to check out. It's called "A touch of America", I thought you might appreciate that!
Write back soon, I can't wait to hear all about your past few years!
~Hydra
Andromeda lowered herself into the wooden chair and pulled a sheet of parchment from the desk. She paused to smile happily at the wizard photo of Gemini in a swinging chair on the porch of their New Jersey home. Wetting a quill she began to scratch her response to Hydra.
Hydra,
Yes, I know which restaurant you mean. I'll meet you there at 12:00. Can't wait to see you, its been much too long. I would write more, if it weren't 5:00 in the morning.
~Andromeda
She approached the fluttering owl and reached out to attaach the letter, which she had tied with a blue ribbon, to the owl's leg. Opening the window once more she watched the owl fly away. But this time she did not stay in her room.
Walking back to the desk she removed her long, fluffy, purple robe and covered herself in it. She returned to the window, and stepped outside. Seating herself in a comfortable wicker chair she began to think.
Something about Hydra's letter was bothering her, although she could not think of what in particular it might be. She unfolded the paper, which was still clamped, in her right hand, and smoothing it out continued to read one part again, "I heard that you were back in the country when I got an owl from your daughter, Gemini."
"That's funny," she thought, "I don't remember ever telling Gemini about Hydra, come to think of it, I'm sure I didn't. Why would she know to write to her?"
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
AN: Ok, there you have it, now go and review it, please. If you want part four you'll have to review. Email me, Alissa_Black@yahoo.com with questions or comments. And BTW Hermione is acting oddly for a certain reason.
What's in store for next time? Well, Gemini ponders the clue. Andromeda meets Hydra again. Sirius ponders his situation. Will Lockhart make sure to return the hot air balloons pump in time for the circus? :) Will Sirius remember to wear his Swim Safe Water Bubble? Tune in next time for answers to these questions and more! :) Oh, and you might like to translate the French, or at least what Lockhart ordered if you want to understand what Andromeda meant, and why she was sniggering.