Chapter 4. Twins
"I can't help thinking that everyone is staring at us." said James.
"Is it because we are useless without our wands?" Lily asked, as she tried hard to turn the cup of water into ice without her wand. It became cold, but not yet froze.
"I guess so." said James as he tried to make a small plant blossom. Then someone accidentally knocked down Lily's glass of water and James quickly hold Lily from the glass.
"Thanks." said Lily grateful and she asked the teacher to give her one more glass.
"Is James' your boyfriend?" asked Hoi Ching when James went to ask the teacher's help with his plant.
"No, not really. We broke up last year." said Lily, smiling weakly. Hoi Nga looked at James.
"Why? James still cares about you and he's not bad." she said as she turned Lily's glass from water to vapour, then vapour to water.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Hoi Ching.
"It's nothing really." said Lily. She told them all about Justin and his crazy idea about chasing all the girls in her year.
"He's paranoid, that's all. Give him a chance." said Hoi Nga.
"So is Chang Yu your boyfriend?" Lily asked Hoi Nga. She blushed but Hoi Ching grinned.
"It's kind of obvious, isn't it? Too bad for me that I can't find one." she said and smiling slyly at her twin. Hoi Nga looked annoyed at her twin.
"We're just friends." she said stiffly.
"But you said that you like him and..."
"Lily, you see that boy over there? His name is Chung Ming. Hoi Ching's crazy about him..."
"Hey! You promise you won't tell!"
"You promise you won't tell too!!!"
"So, why?" asked Lily, interested at Chung Ming's fire in his hand.
"He's one of the talented here. He was suppose to go to meet you with us, but he refused. He is kind of cold toward others. Hoi Ching is the only one he talks too! He doesn't even talks to me!" said Hoi Nga.
"He talks too me because I'm studying in Fire too." said Hoi Ching, her face red.
"Wait!" said Lily, looking at Hoi Nga's eyes. "Your eye's aren't black now!!"
"Oh." said Hoi Nga. "Aren't they......"
"Why?" asked Lily.
"It is suppose that when we use magic our eyes changes colour. It also changes went our magic power is in it's best. But usually when we go back home or out of the school bounds we change our pupils back into black. Nowadays there are so many people trying to wear coloured lens to change their pupils' colour that even we forgot to change ours no one notices!" explained Hoi Ching.
"Oh." said Lily, staring at Hoi Ching's eyes, which were now red. The twins grinned at her and continued their work.
*****************
"Lily?" called a voice.
"Professor Sui!" exclaimed Lily. Professor Sui looked at Lily standing in front of a pool of water.
"Are you trying out your new magic?" she asked.
"Ah huh." said Lily, nodding her head.
"Well, Lily. Why don't you let yourself to be water?"
"What? I mean, I beg your pardon?" said Lily. It was difficult to be extra polite to Professor Sui when she seems to so friendly to her and to other students. It seems she was one of her closest friends too.
"I mean that you should think yourself as water, feel it yourself. Don't think that you have drank and washed with water for all your life and already know all the properties of water. Try to understand it, like a person." suggested Professor Sui. "There's no one about here now, and why don't you have a dip in the pool?"
"Now?" asked Lily weakly. Professor Sui nodded and pulled out a blue dress. It was a kind of dress that people in China used to wear a long long time ago.
"Wear this when you do so."
"Okay." said Lily. "Thanks for your advice."
"You're most welcome."
When Lily went to change, Professor Sui turned to go. She stopped and wanted to turn back but she stopped herself and went back to her chamber.
******************
Lily felt the cool water around her. She let her mind go blank and swam slowly in the pool. Then she heard a tiny voice calling her.
"Lily.... Lily!!"
"Who's there?" Lily cried. "Where are you?"
"Turn around!" cried the voice. Then Lily saw a blue pixie.
"Welcome to my pool!" said the pixie, flying around Lily and jumped in the water.
"Your pool?" asked Lily. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to trespass.... "
"Don't worry. You're free to use it. I'm a Water pixie, so all the water is mine. You want to learn more about water magic?" asked the pixie. Lily nodded eagerly.
"Well.... " said the pixie in a playfully voice. "There is a very good way for you to be more concentrated in your magic of Water and Fire. You have a wand, don't you? Please make a fire and then I can explain more clearly."
"Okay." said Lily slowly and took out her wand. "Lumos." a blue fiery thing came out of her wand and when Lily looked at it more clearly, it was another pixie.
"Is Mis.... "
"Sh!!!!" said the water pixie and whispered something to the fiery pixie. Then they both grinned at Lily.
"We have a way to make you master Water and Fire at the same time." said the Fiery pixie. "But there is a disadvantage."
"Tell me what I need to do first." said Lily, feeling a bit suspicious at the two pixies' grin. They look oddly familiar......
"Well, we are going to separate you into two parts." explained the water pixie.
"What?" asked Lily as she imagined how they are going to cut her off. Head and the body? Or the upper and lower part of the body? Or just half.....
"We will separate your talent in water and fire. These two are hard to work together so the best way is to separate them. By separating them, we need to form you a twin." explained the fire pixie.
"A twin???" squeaked Lily. It was too much. First Professor Sui told her to go in the pool. Then a pixie appears. Then another told her that she is going to have twin. She always wanted to have a twin. But......
"One of you will study water and the other one in fire. However, let as less people in this because it may cause many problems. Your twin of course will have to look different. You can choose to keep your looks or keep your personality in the process. So, which one?" asked the water pixie.
"My personality." said Lily immediately. "I would like to ask when will I be back together again? I mean, when I will be on my whole again?"
"Oh. That is when you have the skill of natural magic. If you can't...... you may never be the same again." said the fiery pixie. Lily was stunned at the answer. She gave a thought and then she slowly nodded.
"Then close your eyes." commanded the water pixie. Lily closed her eyes. The two pixies looked at each other. They both took out their wands, giggling slightly and chanted a few words in their beautiful voices. Their chanting was like singing and Lily felt very relaxed. Then she felt something like wind and came out of her. She felt very queer but she kept her eyes closed.
"Open your eyes and see your twin!" cried both pixies together. Lily opened her eyes. She already expect her twin to look exactly like her, but it was very queer to see someone else with the same appearance.
"Look at yourself, Lily Evans." said her twin with a small smile. Lily looked and she was really shocked. She still had her green eyes, but her whole body was different. She was shorter and her hair was black. She looked like a Chinese. In fact, a very stunning Chinese. She even dressed differently but her necklace was still with her. But her twin also had the same necklace.
"Wonderful." said the pixies, clapping their hands excitedly. "Well we must go. Bye and good luck!" then they were gone.
*********
"So we are going to have one more new student here." said Professor Sui, looking amused.
"Yes, Professor Sui." answered the two girls. Then they looked at each other. Professor Sui laughed.
"We need to think a name for you, er... Lily." said Professor Sui. "The Chinese of Lily is Lin... if you read out Lily in Chinese is Lai Lai..... What about Lai Lin?" asked Professor Sui, looking at the girls in front of her.
"Ok." said Lily.
"I can't help thinking that everyone is staring at us." said James.
"Is it because we are useless without our wands?" Lily asked, as she tried hard to turn the cup of water into ice without her wand. It became cold, but not yet froze.
"I guess so." said James as he tried to make a small plant blossom. Then someone accidentally knocked down Lily's glass of water and James quickly hold Lily from the glass.
"Thanks." said Lily grateful and she asked the teacher to give her one more glass.
"Is James' your boyfriend?" asked Hoi Ching when James went to ask the teacher's help with his plant.
"No, not really. We broke up last year." said Lily, smiling weakly. Hoi Nga looked at James.
"Why? James still cares about you and he's not bad." she said as she turned Lily's glass from water to vapour, then vapour to water.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Hoi Ching.
"It's nothing really." said Lily. She told them all about Justin and his crazy idea about chasing all the girls in her year.
"He's paranoid, that's all. Give him a chance." said Hoi Nga.
"So is Chang Yu your boyfriend?" Lily asked Hoi Nga. She blushed but Hoi Ching grinned.
"It's kind of obvious, isn't it? Too bad for me that I can't find one." she said and smiling slyly at her twin. Hoi Nga looked annoyed at her twin.
"We're just friends." she said stiffly.
"But you said that you like him and..."
"Lily, you see that boy over there? His name is Chung Ming. Hoi Ching's crazy about him..."
"Hey! You promise you won't tell!"
"You promise you won't tell too!!!"
"So, why?" asked Lily, interested at Chung Ming's fire in his hand.
"He's one of the talented here. He was suppose to go to meet you with us, but he refused. He is kind of cold toward others. Hoi Ching is the only one he talks too! He doesn't even talks to me!" said Hoi Nga.
"He talks too me because I'm studying in Fire too." said Hoi Ching, her face red.
"Wait!" said Lily, looking at Hoi Nga's eyes. "Your eye's aren't black now!!"
"Oh." said Hoi Nga. "Aren't they......"
"Why?" asked Lily.
"It is suppose that when we use magic our eyes changes colour. It also changes went our magic power is in it's best. But usually when we go back home or out of the school bounds we change our pupils back into black. Nowadays there are so many people trying to wear coloured lens to change their pupils' colour that even we forgot to change ours no one notices!" explained Hoi Ching.
"Oh." said Lily, staring at Hoi Ching's eyes, which were now red. The twins grinned at her and continued their work.
*****************
"Lily?" called a voice.
"Professor Sui!" exclaimed Lily. Professor Sui looked at Lily standing in front of a pool of water.
"Are you trying out your new magic?" she asked.
"Ah huh." said Lily, nodding her head.
"Well, Lily. Why don't you let yourself to be water?"
"What? I mean, I beg your pardon?" said Lily. It was difficult to be extra polite to Professor Sui when she seems to so friendly to her and to other students. It seems she was one of her closest friends too.
"I mean that you should think yourself as water, feel it yourself. Don't think that you have drank and washed with water for all your life and already know all the properties of water. Try to understand it, like a person." suggested Professor Sui. "There's no one about here now, and why don't you have a dip in the pool?"
"Now?" asked Lily weakly. Professor Sui nodded and pulled out a blue dress. It was a kind of dress that people in China used to wear a long long time ago.
"Wear this when you do so."
"Okay." said Lily. "Thanks for your advice."
"You're most welcome."
When Lily went to change, Professor Sui turned to go. She stopped and wanted to turn back but she stopped herself and went back to her chamber.
******************
Lily felt the cool water around her. She let her mind go blank and swam slowly in the pool. Then she heard a tiny voice calling her.
"Lily.... Lily!!"
"Who's there?" Lily cried. "Where are you?"
"Turn around!" cried the voice. Then Lily saw a blue pixie.
"Welcome to my pool!" said the pixie, flying around Lily and jumped in the water.
"Your pool?" asked Lily. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to trespass.... "
"Don't worry. You're free to use it. I'm a Water pixie, so all the water is mine. You want to learn more about water magic?" asked the pixie. Lily nodded eagerly.
"Well.... " said the pixie in a playfully voice. "There is a very good way for you to be more concentrated in your magic of Water and Fire. You have a wand, don't you? Please make a fire and then I can explain more clearly."
"Okay." said Lily slowly and took out her wand. "Lumos." a blue fiery thing came out of her wand and when Lily looked at it more clearly, it was another pixie.
"Is Mis.... "
"Sh!!!!" said the water pixie and whispered something to the fiery pixie. Then they both grinned at Lily.
"We have a way to make you master Water and Fire at the same time." said the Fiery pixie. "But there is a disadvantage."
"Tell me what I need to do first." said Lily, feeling a bit suspicious at the two pixies' grin. They look oddly familiar......
"Well, we are going to separate you into two parts." explained the water pixie.
"What?" asked Lily as she imagined how they are going to cut her off. Head and the body? Or the upper and lower part of the body? Or just half.....
"We will separate your talent in water and fire. These two are hard to work together so the best way is to separate them. By separating them, we need to form you a twin." explained the fire pixie.
"A twin???" squeaked Lily. It was too much. First Professor Sui told her to go in the pool. Then a pixie appears. Then another told her that she is going to have twin. She always wanted to have a twin. But......
"One of you will study water and the other one in fire. However, let as less people in this because it may cause many problems. Your twin of course will have to look different. You can choose to keep your looks or keep your personality in the process. So, which one?" asked the water pixie.
"My personality." said Lily immediately. "I would like to ask when will I be back together again? I mean, when I will be on my whole again?"
"Oh. That is when you have the skill of natural magic. If you can't...... you may never be the same again." said the fiery pixie. Lily was stunned at the answer. She gave a thought and then she slowly nodded.
"Then close your eyes." commanded the water pixie. Lily closed her eyes. The two pixies looked at each other. They both took out their wands, giggling slightly and chanted a few words in their beautiful voices. Their chanting was like singing and Lily felt very relaxed. Then she felt something like wind and came out of her. She felt very queer but she kept her eyes closed.
"Open your eyes and see your twin!" cried both pixies together. Lily opened her eyes. She already expect her twin to look exactly like her, but it was very queer to see someone else with the same appearance.
"Look at yourself, Lily Evans." said her twin with a small smile. Lily looked and she was really shocked. She still had her green eyes, but her whole body was different. She was shorter and her hair was black. She looked like a Chinese. In fact, a very stunning Chinese. She even dressed differently but her necklace was still with her. But her twin also had the same necklace.
"Wonderful." said the pixies, clapping their hands excitedly. "Well we must go. Bye and good luck!" then they were gone.
*********
"So we are going to have one more new student here." said Professor Sui, looking amused.
"Yes, Professor Sui." answered the two girls. Then they looked at each other. Professor Sui laughed.
"We need to think a name for you, er... Lily." said Professor Sui. "The Chinese of Lily is Lin... if you read out Lily in Chinese is Lai Lai..... What about Lai Lin?" asked Professor Sui, looking at the girls in front of her.
"Ok." said Lily.