AN: Sorry this part took so long. I had mid terms to study for, and I was sick for an entire weekend last week, in which I had planned to write this part. Thanks for being so patient, and thanks for reviewing the previous parts! A huge thanks goes out to Static, my beta reader, who added some great detail to the Draco scene, and made many wonderful changes and corrections to this part! Thanks so much, this part is dedicated to you :)
Disclaimer: All characters belong to JKR with the exception of Andromeda and Gemini
Two Roads Diverged Part 4-- Battles of the Wits and Wands
*****
She sat in the corner of the kitchen she called the breakfast nook, though if you asked her why she had named it that she wouldn't have been able to explain. She had always hoped to have a family to have breakfast with, thinking how nice it would have been to sit there in that nook, talking distractedly over the coming day... how cozy it would have been.
Yet, when the reality had surfaced Hydra had found that it wasn't very cozy when you breakfasted alone, and she was indeed alone.
The atmosphere had changed over the years. Ever since that morning when she had jogged up to Andromeda's flat to find a dispirited yet determined note from her friend on the door, she found her life in a shamble, stranded in a world which she had only just emerged into.
For her own sake she had moved on, found new friends, and tried to fill the gap; the gap that is created only when someone you love very much is taken from you. On the outside, she was charming, witty, and appealing to the eye. Inside, she hurt, bleed, and mourned the loss of what could only have been the best friendship she would ever possess.
She had cursed his name on that day; Sirius Black had stolen her best friend's heart, then had carelessly tossed it away, as if she was just one of his usual flighty, empty-headed women. They couldn't pretend that everything would be the same after that point; because they knew it never would be. He hadn't just affected Andromeda's world, he had crushed Hydra's too...
*****
*****
Gemini hastened from the hut on the outskirts of the castle to her upcoming lesson, Herbology. Her hair whipped around her as if protesting the very wind which blew it.
In the distance, she could make out the Herbology Greenhouses, and began to catch glimpses of the livid flowers, bright in contrast with the dreary day, which matched her frame of mind very well.
Reaching her destination and pulling the heavy glass door ajar, she stepped into her new surroundings. Most people would think that a green house would be very cold, seeing as how it had no real insulation, with only glass to separate it's interior from the harsh world outside. Yet somehow, it was very warm, and oddly cozy.
Gemini secured a seat towards the back of the class as she glanced down the aisles, trying in stealth to hide her worried thoughts, which mostly involved being partnered with Neville Longbottom.
She was unable to find any other table, so with a half sigh she sank into the seats beside Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown; the two partners in lip gloss sized crime were chatting in hushed voices. Yet Gemini's appearance seemed to have silenced, at least temporarily, the onslaught of giggles and they turned to face her with identical looks of utter bewilderment.
Studying Gemini from head to toe, Parvati leaned in to question, "You're the new girl, right?"
Gemini heaved a silent mutter of 'No, I have been here for seven years, in this Herbology class, sitting at this very table!', then turned to answer "Yea..."
Feeling as though her reply was rather weak in substance, she simply restated "...yea," and then lapsed into silence.
However, Lavender and Parvati didn't find her response lacking at all, though in Gemini's mind they would have to be pretty vain to have the gall to call anything dense.
It was Lavender's turn to speak. "We heard that you and Hermione were really having a fight last night," and she dropped a rather obvious wink, "anything we should... know... about?"
"Who told you that?" Gemini wasn't sure if she was horrified or mystified.
"Hermione, of course," stated Parvati in a way which showed that seeing as how there were only four girls in the dormitory, two of which had been asleep, this was the obvious answer.
"Well," began Gemini before she could control the heat in her voice, "I 'm not sure what Hermione is thinking of. I slept quite pleasantly last night; maybe she should consult a therapist if she's imagining confrontations."
Aside from that total unlikeness of this entire scenario, Lavender simply stated, "Hermione Granger? Tell a lie?"
"Stranger things have happened," Gemini added, in a low voice.
"Like what? Malfoy being considered not hot?" Lavender and Parvati both giggled so uncontrollably that they received a few odd glances along with a patronizing one from Hermione.
However, Gemini merely gaped at them. "You think Malfoy is hot!?"
"Who doesn't?" Parvati asked rather honestly.
"Not me!" Gemini said, a little louder than she would have chosen.
Gemini's partners looked at her in disbelief, but did not continue to question her.
Acting on a sudden inspiration Gemini decided that as this would be a rather long class so she might as well make some use of it. "If you had a riddle that you needed to reveal, who would you consult?" Her mind was obviously still up in the dormitory, along with her letter from Hydra.
Lavender and Parvati exchanged conspiratorial glances and then almost as if they used some rather intriguing style of telepathy, they both whispered, most likely for effect, "Professor Trelawny can work wonders."
They gave her a knowing nod and returned to shelling their Kamostical plants, of which Gemini hadn't the slightest idea of their use.
She returned to her own task, considering the likeliness of Professor Trelawny being any aid at all. The chances were rather slim; she actually believed to have better odds of falling into some time warp gap more likely.
*****
*****
Andromeda had fallen asleep in the comfortable deck chair and was snoozing peacefully when the annoying little buzzer - the same that goes off when the mind knows that it should be doing something else- chimed irritatingly. Pulling her tired self from the inviting chair, she slowly paced her way in to the room.
Thudding her way down the dark halls of the mansion, Andromeda passed Cassiopeia's room, placed an ear to the oak door, holding her breath, and leaned in to observe the room.
Cassiopeia was slumbering undisturbed on the bed in the center of the room. At least, that was what the shadows that fell through the curtains, which draped their way around the queen-sized bed, would lead any sensible person to believe.
Heaving a silent sigh of faith, she turned on her heel and exited the sleeping chambers with a slightly lighter heart. It was not as though she hadn't wanted to see her mother, it simply was that the moment they met she would surely be bombarded with questions about the previous night.
It was all she could do not to strangle her mother for the horrors of the night before. She recalled, with a shudder, the way that man had touched his nose knowingly every five seconds. She flinched at the memory of when he had tried to present her with a signed photograph of himself, with the air of Father Christmas pulling an extra present from the sack. And she had lost count of the number of times that he had mentioned winning Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. Though she would never forget that his ongoing total was up to nine; no, that she would never forget.
Taking the stairs two at a time, she bounded down to prepare her breakfast; nothing short of a feast would do after the previous night. Entering the kitchen, she opened the fridge and began to search it for food. Turning slowly around, she screamed, "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Cassiopeia was standing directly behind her, an amused expression on the usually strict face. "Thought you could hide from me, did you? Therefore, you wouldn't have to tell me about last night. Well you were wrong, here I am." She looked at the surprised expression on Andromeda's face, "Yes," she continued, "as you can see, I am awake."
"But... but... but how?" Was all that Andromeda could stammer stupidly.
"My dear," Cassiopeia began soothingly, " you forget that I, too, was young once; I haven't lost my touch."
"Yea, well, you wanna hear about my date? You wanna know how it was? Fine! It was the date from hell. I can not recall the last time I wanted to jam a fork in my leg, just to distract me from the pain of the conversation! I would have ripped off my arm just to have something to throw at him to make him stop blabbering for even one second! I would have poured hot coffee in his lap just to hear his voice sound anything besides that annoyingly condescending tone he used with me. If there had been a sharper knife, besides the stupidly dull ones they insisted upon giving me, I can assure you that I would not be here this morning. More likely a high security cell in Azkaban, bouncing off the padded walls!"
Cassiopeia seemed to have lost the ability to speak. "So," she began "I gather that you two were not a match?"
"You gather? YOU GATHER! How about you 'gather' the inconsistent mass in your head, which you seem to be calling a brain nowadays, and try to string together more than two sentences where you don't use euphemisms to try and hide the obvious!" Her voice was hot and she was straining to keep it even.
"The only thing that seems obvious to me," she stated with fresh malice, "is that you are put off- No, wait, let's make that pissed off, just to please you-" Moreover, she gave a contemptuous dry smile, "because you can't find any suitable guy whom you might actually consider dating.
"God! This is so like you, Mum! Always thinking I can't handle myself! I am a grown woman! I have a daughter of my own! And for your information I am dating someone, his name is Severus Snape, and I only went on that date with Lockhart to make you happy!" She rushed from the room, her robes flowing freely behind her and if you looked closely you might have sworn you could see the steam billowing from her ears.
*****
*****
Gemini was rushing up the stone steps towards the castle. Her stomach was growling, yet she lead herself away from the inviting smells of the great hall and proceeded along an adjoining corridor. She was on her way to Professor Trelawny. She had no idea why she was going, or for that matter totally where she was going but a trait she had inherited from her father was the pure stubbornness to have to see something through.
The people in the portraits were talking excitedly, and she finally shook off Sir Cadogan, who had chased her down more than one empty hallway with his taunts of, "Come back, you scurvy cur and fight like a man!" She continued with a little more spring in her step; she had only half an hour.
Gemini had only been to the divination tower one time before, and this had been by closely following the other 7th years. She wandered around haphazardly, knowing that if she didn't find the room soon she would have to return back, and wouldn't even have time for lunch.
Perhaps it was that, which persuaded her to set her eyes on the stone ceiling overhead as she anxiously tried to spot the trap door. Her eyes lingered on a distant spot for a few seconds, the stones seemed rather out of place.
Yes, she was sure, those stones just couldn't be right! The pattern was inconsistent and only magic could have kept them from falling through seeing as how they were not at all intertwined with the others. Feeling slightly better, she opened her mouth to utter,
"Alohomora." The stones changed before her eyes into a wooden plank which swung upwards. From the ceiling, a long ladder emerged, and putting a foot on it to test its stability, she began to climb, placing one hand in front of the other on the rungs.
Her head popped up to enter a room which was odd, to speak kindly. There were pretty teacups over on a shelf, antique rugs were draped along the floor, and a rather large amount of smoke was emanating from the area with the crystal balls. The room seemed uninhabited. When she spoke her voice was rather testy for she hadn't a clue if she was talking to someone or simply herself,
"Professor Trelawny?"
She waited patiently in her spot, not daring to touch a single one of the valuable objects, which were lining the room. She was turning to leave when a voice behind her scared her very much.
"Yes, dear?" It was Professor Trelawny's wispy voice, and there was a slight bit of confusion in it.
"Hi, my name is Gemin-" Gemini started to say before being cut off.
"Wait, let me guess, it is Gemini isn't it?"
Gemini sighed, "Yes," she stated.
Professor Trelawny looked at Gemini with clear self-satisfaction and said, "The fates informed me that you were coming."
Gemini couldn't help but think, 'Well why the hell weren't you ready then!'
"You have a problem my child. I can see it in your eyes."
Gemini nodded; now they were getting somewhere. "Yes, as a matter of fact I have a riddle, which I was hoping you might decode for me."
"Well, of course, after all the gift of being all knowing is very seldom, so we who are blessed with it like to help others whom are less fortunate." Professor Trelawny now nodded to a small table for Gemini to sit down at. "Now let's hear that riddle."
"He is a match in the darkness, a lantern in the sky," she recited with ease.
Professor Trelawny rubbed her index fingers on her temples, mostly for the effect and then opened her eyes to say,
"Ahhhhh, now I have it, it is a street lamp!"
Gemini felt a wave of extreme heat course through her body. Unless she had missed something, she didn't see how her father could be a street lamp. Yet she didn't see the help in infuriating Professor Trelawny; after all, what had she expected? She knew the Divination professor was most likely the biggest fraud ever, aside from Gilderoy Lockhart, and she almost kicked herself for being so desperate.
"Thank you, Professor Trelawny. You have helped me beyond words." A small lie wouldn't hurt, and maybe it would help her pass this wreck of a class. Turning to the door, she left the room to the words from Professor Trelawny,
"Anytime, my dear, anytime."
*****
*****
Sirius was lounging in a chair at his desk; a parchment lay before him. It was a letter to Andromeda. In it he explained how he had lied to her about his identity. He revealed that he was not in fact Severus Snape. He was Sirius Black.
Yes, Sirius Black, from the party all those years ago. The one and only Sirius Black. The man who had left the next morning before she had woken, not responded to her letter, never called again. He felt the shame of his deed washing over him like a fountain.
Then he remembered her face, the way she lit up when she laughed at one of his jokes. He remembered the witty remarks, and the fun of matching wits. He recalled how complete he felt when he was around her, and how lonely he felt when they were apart. He felt almost as though she were in the room at this very moment, staring at him with that sly smile which often formed on her face, assessing him with her eyes, eyes that held the world.
He sighed, picking up the piece of paper and crumpling it in his fist. He couldn't go through with it. He couldn't bear to know that she would never want to see him again.
He needed to see her, needed to know her, needed to feel her love, and someday reach the level where he could give her some of his own. Sirius had always been a strong man, but this was not a test of strength, it was a test of fate, and he would let fate run its own course... for better or for worse...
*****
*****
Seventeen years can change so much; yet some things never change. A stranger looking through the large glass windows of the restaurant would have seen two friends chatting freely. These two people talked as though they had seen each other everyday, every year, since they had ever been alive. Yes, there were some things that time couldn't change.
"So, how's Gemini?" Hydra asked, honestly interested.
"She's doing very well. She's going to Hogwarts now."
"I've heard of Hogwarts. It's a wonderful school, isn't it?" Hydra picked up a hamburger and lifting it to her mouth.
"That's what I've been told." Andromeda now paused, "So what have you been up to lately?"
"Not very much. I work at the Ministry of magic, in the memory charms department. I still live in that little flat of mine. No husband, no kids, a few new friends."
"What ever happened to that guy, oh, what was his name...William Hiterson?"
"Oh him! We went out, a few weeks after you left. He finally broke up with Sandra, my stupid secretary, and it was a good thing too, or I would have fired her! We had a date at this real nice restaurant, and walked around the town together. We were supposed to go out again, a few days later, but he called, said he was sick. I took the trip to his house, thinking I'd bring him some soup or something. Well, from the way he was kissing that girl, it certainly didn't seem like he had a viral infection."
"Maybe she swallowed poison?" Andromeda asked with a grin.
"Ahh yes, and so he decided to suck it out through her mouth. How silly of me! And to think it could have been such a wonderful relationship." Hydra tried to keep her face straight as she made her slew of sarcastic remarks.
"Ahh yes, just think, he could have become a doctor!" And they both broke into giggles.
"So what about yourself? Any boats on the horizon... or in the docks?" She tried to ask innocently.
"Just one, though from the size of him, I don't know how much I'd call him a boat. More like a ship!"
"What's his name?"
"Severus Snape." Andromeda pronounced each syllable with it rolling off her tongue in a deliberate way.
"What's he like?" Hydra couldn't help but be interested in her good friend's life. Lord knew it had been very hard in the past.
"He's interesting, witty, and rather charming; in fact I'm seeing him again on Friday; maybe you'll get to meet him sometime."
*****
*****
Gemini was walking down the corridors. She was still thoroughly annoyed with the waste of her time in the impromptu visit to Professor Trelawny, and her stomach was growling from hunger at the food she had not gotten to eat.
Transfiguration had been her last class of the day, and now as she fought her way back up the Gryffindor Tower, she met a rather unwanted acquaintance. Draco Malfoy sauntered out of the shadows to block her path ahead.
"What's the matter?" Gemini asked almost immediately. "Get lost in the halls? See, this over here is the way to Gryffindor Tower; why don't you find your way back to that disgusting, revolting, rotting dungeon of yours. You must be very uncomfortable out in the light, like a normal person." She sneered at him.
His dark eyes flashed, and his expression hardened into one of aversion. "As a matter of fact I was looking for Crabbe and Goyle. So maybe you should just sod off, you incompetent little freak.. before I do something that you don't want me to do." He stepped closer; his hand strayed dangerously close to his pocket.
His words were too much for Gemini to handle. She saw him drawing out his wand, pointing it at her, just as she was slipping her own hand into her pockets. She had no idea what he would do, and she didn't know how to react. But in that second only one idea surfaced to the top of her mingled head. She shouted at the top of her lungs, "Expelliarmus!"
But she wasn't the only one to have uttered the words; she and Draco had both attempted to disarm each other at the same time. Her body picked up and was thrust with sheer force against the stone wall behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Draco's body doing the same. The last thing she did was give a weak smile of accomplishment, before two wands clattered to the ground and a deafening silence followed.
*****
*****
When Gemini woke she was in a white room, with light pouring down a window across her pale face. She had never been there before, but she could immediately presume her location. She was in the hospital wing.
Madame Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen, so leaning on the wrists which felt oddly insufficient to support her entire body, she raised her body and gave a glance around her.
On the bedside table next to her she could see a tall pitcher of water with two cups. Laying on the chair across the room were two sets of towels. And she could note that on top of the great dresser were two toothbrushes.
'What is up with this?' She wondered in her head.
Two sets of everything were set up in the room. Was someone else in here with her? She turned the other direction, to the area behind her - only to see Draco Malfoy sitting up in the other bed, propped up against the pillows, and arms crossed over his chest. His gray eyes were gleaming with a look of utter loathing; his hair fell defiantly into his eyes even as he attempted to brush it back with an uncaring swish with his hand.
'Argh!' She groaned, making a face of disgust. She quickly turned her head back the other way and laid back on the pillows, willing herself to fall asleep again.
*****
*****
AN: Next part: how does Gemini fare during her hospital stay, will she and Draco make it out with out killing each other? Andromeda and Sirius see each other again! Will Hydra recognize him? Will Sirius reveal that he isn't Severus Snape? What ever happened to what was in the forbidden wing? Can Gemini find a way to decipher the clue? The answers to some of these questions will be in the next part! Now, go on and review and I'll love you forever!
BTW, anyone who can not wait for the next part should check out one of my personal favorite stories: Voices by Static. Tons of Draco, with a convincing D/H plot-line! Make sure to read it, review it, and order your personal Draco clone. :)
Disclaimer: All characters belong to JKR with the exception of Andromeda and Gemini
Two Roads Diverged Part 4-- Battles of the Wits and Wands
*****
She sat in the corner of the kitchen she called the breakfast nook, though if you asked her why she had named it that she wouldn't have been able to explain. She had always hoped to have a family to have breakfast with, thinking how nice it would have been to sit there in that nook, talking distractedly over the coming day... how cozy it would have been.
Yet, when the reality had surfaced Hydra had found that it wasn't very cozy when you breakfasted alone, and she was indeed alone.
The atmosphere had changed over the years. Ever since that morning when she had jogged up to Andromeda's flat to find a dispirited yet determined note from her friend on the door, she found her life in a shamble, stranded in a world which she had only just emerged into.
For her own sake she had moved on, found new friends, and tried to fill the gap; the gap that is created only when someone you love very much is taken from you. On the outside, she was charming, witty, and appealing to the eye. Inside, she hurt, bleed, and mourned the loss of what could only have been the best friendship she would ever possess.
She had cursed his name on that day; Sirius Black had stolen her best friend's heart, then had carelessly tossed it away, as if she was just one of his usual flighty, empty-headed women. They couldn't pretend that everything would be the same after that point; because they knew it never would be. He hadn't just affected Andromeda's world, he had crushed Hydra's too...
*****
*****
Gemini hastened from the hut on the outskirts of the castle to her upcoming lesson, Herbology. Her hair whipped around her as if protesting the very wind which blew it.
In the distance, she could make out the Herbology Greenhouses, and began to catch glimpses of the livid flowers, bright in contrast with the dreary day, which matched her frame of mind very well.
Reaching her destination and pulling the heavy glass door ajar, she stepped into her new surroundings. Most people would think that a green house would be very cold, seeing as how it had no real insulation, with only glass to separate it's interior from the harsh world outside. Yet somehow, it was very warm, and oddly cozy.
Gemini secured a seat towards the back of the class as she glanced down the aisles, trying in stealth to hide her worried thoughts, which mostly involved being partnered with Neville Longbottom.
She was unable to find any other table, so with a half sigh she sank into the seats beside Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown; the two partners in lip gloss sized crime were chatting in hushed voices. Yet Gemini's appearance seemed to have silenced, at least temporarily, the onslaught of giggles and they turned to face her with identical looks of utter bewilderment.
Studying Gemini from head to toe, Parvati leaned in to question, "You're the new girl, right?"
Gemini heaved a silent mutter of 'No, I have been here for seven years, in this Herbology class, sitting at this very table!', then turned to answer "Yea..."
Feeling as though her reply was rather weak in substance, she simply restated "...yea," and then lapsed into silence.
However, Lavender and Parvati didn't find her response lacking at all, though in Gemini's mind they would have to be pretty vain to have the gall to call anything dense.
It was Lavender's turn to speak. "We heard that you and Hermione were really having a fight last night," and she dropped a rather obvious wink, "anything we should... know... about?"
"Who told you that?" Gemini wasn't sure if she was horrified or mystified.
"Hermione, of course," stated Parvati in a way which showed that seeing as how there were only four girls in the dormitory, two of which had been asleep, this was the obvious answer.
"Well," began Gemini before she could control the heat in her voice, "I 'm not sure what Hermione is thinking of. I slept quite pleasantly last night; maybe she should consult a therapist if she's imagining confrontations."
Aside from that total unlikeness of this entire scenario, Lavender simply stated, "Hermione Granger? Tell a lie?"
"Stranger things have happened," Gemini added, in a low voice.
"Like what? Malfoy being considered not hot?" Lavender and Parvati both giggled so uncontrollably that they received a few odd glances along with a patronizing one from Hermione.
However, Gemini merely gaped at them. "You think Malfoy is hot!?"
"Who doesn't?" Parvati asked rather honestly.
"Not me!" Gemini said, a little louder than she would have chosen.
Gemini's partners looked at her in disbelief, but did not continue to question her.
Acting on a sudden inspiration Gemini decided that as this would be a rather long class so she might as well make some use of it. "If you had a riddle that you needed to reveal, who would you consult?" Her mind was obviously still up in the dormitory, along with her letter from Hydra.
Lavender and Parvati exchanged conspiratorial glances and then almost as if they used some rather intriguing style of telepathy, they both whispered, most likely for effect, "Professor Trelawny can work wonders."
They gave her a knowing nod and returned to shelling their Kamostical plants, of which Gemini hadn't the slightest idea of their use.
She returned to her own task, considering the likeliness of Professor Trelawny being any aid at all. The chances were rather slim; she actually believed to have better odds of falling into some time warp gap more likely.
*****
*****
Andromeda had fallen asleep in the comfortable deck chair and was snoozing peacefully when the annoying little buzzer - the same that goes off when the mind knows that it should be doing something else- chimed irritatingly. Pulling her tired self from the inviting chair, she slowly paced her way in to the room.
Thudding her way down the dark halls of the mansion, Andromeda passed Cassiopeia's room, placed an ear to the oak door, holding her breath, and leaned in to observe the room.
Cassiopeia was slumbering undisturbed on the bed in the center of the room. At least, that was what the shadows that fell through the curtains, which draped their way around the queen-sized bed, would lead any sensible person to believe.
Heaving a silent sigh of faith, she turned on her heel and exited the sleeping chambers with a slightly lighter heart. It was not as though she hadn't wanted to see her mother, it simply was that the moment they met she would surely be bombarded with questions about the previous night.
It was all she could do not to strangle her mother for the horrors of the night before. She recalled, with a shudder, the way that man had touched his nose knowingly every five seconds. She flinched at the memory of when he had tried to present her with a signed photograph of himself, with the air of Father Christmas pulling an extra present from the sack. And she had lost count of the number of times that he had mentioned winning Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. Though she would never forget that his ongoing total was up to nine; no, that she would never forget.
Taking the stairs two at a time, she bounded down to prepare her breakfast; nothing short of a feast would do after the previous night. Entering the kitchen, she opened the fridge and began to search it for food. Turning slowly around, she screamed, "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Cassiopeia was standing directly behind her, an amused expression on the usually strict face. "Thought you could hide from me, did you? Therefore, you wouldn't have to tell me about last night. Well you were wrong, here I am." She looked at the surprised expression on Andromeda's face, "Yes," she continued, "as you can see, I am awake."
"But... but... but how?" Was all that Andromeda could stammer stupidly.
"My dear," Cassiopeia began soothingly, " you forget that I, too, was young once; I haven't lost my touch."
"Yea, well, you wanna hear about my date? You wanna know how it was? Fine! It was the date from hell. I can not recall the last time I wanted to jam a fork in my leg, just to distract me from the pain of the conversation! I would have ripped off my arm just to have something to throw at him to make him stop blabbering for even one second! I would have poured hot coffee in his lap just to hear his voice sound anything besides that annoyingly condescending tone he used with me. If there had been a sharper knife, besides the stupidly dull ones they insisted upon giving me, I can assure you that I would not be here this morning. More likely a high security cell in Azkaban, bouncing off the padded walls!"
Cassiopeia seemed to have lost the ability to speak. "So," she began "I gather that you two were not a match?"
"You gather? YOU GATHER! How about you 'gather' the inconsistent mass in your head, which you seem to be calling a brain nowadays, and try to string together more than two sentences where you don't use euphemisms to try and hide the obvious!" Her voice was hot and she was straining to keep it even.
"The only thing that seems obvious to me," she stated with fresh malice, "is that you are put off- No, wait, let's make that pissed off, just to please you-" Moreover, she gave a contemptuous dry smile, "because you can't find any suitable guy whom you might actually consider dating.
"God! This is so like you, Mum! Always thinking I can't handle myself! I am a grown woman! I have a daughter of my own! And for your information I am dating someone, his name is Severus Snape, and I only went on that date with Lockhart to make you happy!" She rushed from the room, her robes flowing freely behind her and if you looked closely you might have sworn you could see the steam billowing from her ears.
*****
*****
Gemini was rushing up the stone steps towards the castle. Her stomach was growling, yet she lead herself away from the inviting smells of the great hall and proceeded along an adjoining corridor. She was on her way to Professor Trelawny. She had no idea why she was going, or for that matter totally where she was going but a trait she had inherited from her father was the pure stubbornness to have to see something through.
The people in the portraits were talking excitedly, and she finally shook off Sir Cadogan, who had chased her down more than one empty hallway with his taunts of, "Come back, you scurvy cur and fight like a man!" She continued with a little more spring in her step; she had only half an hour.
Gemini had only been to the divination tower one time before, and this had been by closely following the other 7th years. She wandered around haphazardly, knowing that if she didn't find the room soon she would have to return back, and wouldn't even have time for lunch.
Perhaps it was that, which persuaded her to set her eyes on the stone ceiling overhead as she anxiously tried to spot the trap door. Her eyes lingered on a distant spot for a few seconds, the stones seemed rather out of place.
Yes, she was sure, those stones just couldn't be right! The pattern was inconsistent and only magic could have kept them from falling through seeing as how they were not at all intertwined with the others. Feeling slightly better, she opened her mouth to utter,
"Alohomora." The stones changed before her eyes into a wooden plank which swung upwards. From the ceiling, a long ladder emerged, and putting a foot on it to test its stability, she began to climb, placing one hand in front of the other on the rungs.
Her head popped up to enter a room which was odd, to speak kindly. There were pretty teacups over on a shelf, antique rugs were draped along the floor, and a rather large amount of smoke was emanating from the area with the crystal balls. The room seemed uninhabited. When she spoke her voice was rather testy for she hadn't a clue if she was talking to someone or simply herself,
"Professor Trelawny?"
She waited patiently in her spot, not daring to touch a single one of the valuable objects, which were lining the room. She was turning to leave when a voice behind her scared her very much.
"Yes, dear?" It was Professor Trelawny's wispy voice, and there was a slight bit of confusion in it.
"Hi, my name is Gemin-" Gemini started to say before being cut off.
"Wait, let me guess, it is Gemini isn't it?"
Gemini sighed, "Yes," she stated.
Professor Trelawny looked at Gemini with clear self-satisfaction and said, "The fates informed me that you were coming."
Gemini couldn't help but think, 'Well why the hell weren't you ready then!'
"You have a problem my child. I can see it in your eyes."
Gemini nodded; now they were getting somewhere. "Yes, as a matter of fact I have a riddle, which I was hoping you might decode for me."
"Well, of course, after all the gift of being all knowing is very seldom, so we who are blessed with it like to help others whom are less fortunate." Professor Trelawny now nodded to a small table for Gemini to sit down at. "Now let's hear that riddle."
"He is a match in the darkness, a lantern in the sky," she recited with ease.
Professor Trelawny rubbed her index fingers on her temples, mostly for the effect and then opened her eyes to say,
"Ahhhhh, now I have it, it is a street lamp!"
Gemini felt a wave of extreme heat course through her body. Unless she had missed something, she didn't see how her father could be a street lamp. Yet she didn't see the help in infuriating Professor Trelawny; after all, what had she expected? She knew the Divination professor was most likely the biggest fraud ever, aside from Gilderoy Lockhart, and she almost kicked herself for being so desperate.
"Thank you, Professor Trelawny. You have helped me beyond words." A small lie wouldn't hurt, and maybe it would help her pass this wreck of a class. Turning to the door, she left the room to the words from Professor Trelawny,
"Anytime, my dear, anytime."
*****
*****
Sirius was lounging in a chair at his desk; a parchment lay before him. It was a letter to Andromeda. In it he explained how he had lied to her about his identity. He revealed that he was not in fact Severus Snape. He was Sirius Black.
Yes, Sirius Black, from the party all those years ago. The one and only Sirius Black. The man who had left the next morning before she had woken, not responded to her letter, never called again. He felt the shame of his deed washing over him like a fountain.
Then he remembered her face, the way she lit up when she laughed at one of his jokes. He remembered the witty remarks, and the fun of matching wits. He recalled how complete he felt when he was around her, and how lonely he felt when they were apart. He felt almost as though she were in the room at this very moment, staring at him with that sly smile which often formed on her face, assessing him with her eyes, eyes that held the world.
He sighed, picking up the piece of paper and crumpling it in his fist. He couldn't go through with it. He couldn't bear to know that she would never want to see him again.
He needed to see her, needed to know her, needed to feel her love, and someday reach the level where he could give her some of his own. Sirius had always been a strong man, but this was not a test of strength, it was a test of fate, and he would let fate run its own course... for better or for worse...
*****
*****
Seventeen years can change so much; yet some things never change. A stranger looking through the large glass windows of the restaurant would have seen two friends chatting freely. These two people talked as though they had seen each other everyday, every year, since they had ever been alive. Yes, there were some things that time couldn't change.
"So, how's Gemini?" Hydra asked, honestly interested.
"She's doing very well. She's going to Hogwarts now."
"I've heard of Hogwarts. It's a wonderful school, isn't it?" Hydra picked up a hamburger and lifting it to her mouth.
"That's what I've been told." Andromeda now paused, "So what have you been up to lately?"
"Not very much. I work at the Ministry of magic, in the memory charms department. I still live in that little flat of mine. No husband, no kids, a few new friends."
"What ever happened to that guy, oh, what was his name...William Hiterson?"
"Oh him! We went out, a few weeks after you left. He finally broke up with Sandra, my stupid secretary, and it was a good thing too, or I would have fired her! We had a date at this real nice restaurant, and walked around the town together. We were supposed to go out again, a few days later, but he called, said he was sick. I took the trip to his house, thinking I'd bring him some soup or something. Well, from the way he was kissing that girl, it certainly didn't seem like he had a viral infection."
"Maybe she swallowed poison?" Andromeda asked with a grin.
"Ahh yes, and so he decided to suck it out through her mouth. How silly of me! And to think it could have been such a wonderful relationship." Hydra tried to keep her face straight as she made her slew of sarcastic remarks.
"Ahh yes, just think, he could have become a doctor!" And they both broke into giggles.
"So what about yourself? Any boats on the horizon... or in the docks?" She tried to ask innocently.
"Just one, though from the size of him, I don't know how much I'd call him a boat. More like a ship!"
"What's his name?"
"Severus Snape." Andromeda pronounced each syllable with it rolling off her tongue in a deliberate way.
"What's he like?" Hydra couldn't help but be interested in her good friend's life. Lord knew it had been very hard in the past.
"He's interesting, witty, and rather charming; in fact I'm seeing him again on Friday; maybe you'll get to meet him sometime."
*****
*****
Gemini was walking down the corridors. She was still thoroughly annoyed with the waste of her time in the impromptu visit to Professor Trelawny, and her stomach was growling from hunger at the food she had not gotten to eat.
Transfiguration had been her last class of the day, and now as she fought her way back up the Gryffindor Tower, she met a rather unwanted acquaintance. Draco Malfoy sauntered out of the shadows to block her path ahead.
"What's the matter?" Gemini asked almost immediately. "Get lost in the halls? See, this over here is the way to Gryffindor Tower; why don't you find your way back to that disgusting, revolting, rotting dungeon of yours. You must be very uncomfortable out in the light, like a normal person." She sneered at him.
His dark eyes flashed, and his expression hardened into one of aversion. "As a matter of fact I was looking for Crabbe and Goyle. So maybe you should just sod off, you incompetent little freak.. before I do something that you don't want me to do." He stepped closer; his hand strayed dangerously close to his pocket.
His words were too much for Gemini to handle. She saw him drawing out his wand, pointing it at her, just as she was slipping her own hand into her pockets. She had no idea what he would do, and she didn't know how to react. But in that second only one idea surfaced to the top of her mingled head. She shouted at the top of her lungs, "Expelliarmus!"
But she wasn't the only one to have uttered the words; she and Draco had both attempted to disarm each other at the same time. Her body picked up and was thrust with sheer force against the stone wall behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Draco's body doing the same. The last thing she did was give a weak smile of accomplishment, before two wands clattered to the ground and a deafening silence followed.
*****
*****
When Gemini woke she was in a white room, with light pouring down a window across her pale face. She had never been there before, but she could immediately presume her location. She was in the hospital wing.
Madame Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen, so leaning on the wrists which felt oddly insufficient to support her entire body, she raised her body and gave a glance around her.
On the bedside table next to her she could see a tall pitcher of water with two cups. Laying on the chair across the room were two sets of towels. And she could note that on top of the great dresser were two toothbrushes.
'What is up with this?' She wondered in her head.
Two sets of everything were set up in the room. Was someone else in here with her? She turned the other direction, to the area behind her - only to see Draco Malfoy sitting up in the other bed, propped up against the pillows, and arms crossed over his chest. His gray eyes were gleaming with a look of utter loathing; his hair fell defiantly into his eyes even as he attempted to brush it back with an uncaring swish with his hand.
'Argh!' She groaned, making a face of disgust. She quickly turned her head back the other way and laid back on the pillows, willing herself to fall asleep again.
*****
*****
AN: Next part: how does Gemini fare during her hospital stay, will she and Draco make it out with out killing each other? Andromeda and Sirius see each other again! Will Hydra recognize him? Will Sirius reveal that he isn't Severus Snape? What ever happened to what was in the forbidden wing? Can Gemini find a way to decipher the clue? The answers to some of these questions will be in the next part! Now, go on and review and I'll love you forever!
BTW, anyone who can not wait for the next part should check out one of my personal favorite stories: Voices by Static. Tons of Draco, with a convincing D/H plot-line! Make sure to read it, review it, and order your personal Draco clone. :)