Disclaimer: Uhm...lesse, Dove and Raven are mine, but nobody else. I'm not getting any money (although I wouldn't mind) and...aw, that's all.

The Winged Serpents

Chapter Two: Train of Thought

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"I can't believe this, Dove. I still can't believe it. I mean, I always figured one of us might...but I guess it makes sense. Maybe I just didn't want to believe that we could both...But how are we going to do it?! And what are we doing? I don't even know! Oh, this is insane." Raven nearly exploded with flustered enthusiasm, something that rarely happened with her. She fell onto her bed and crammed the palm of her hand into her eye, trying to force the confusion out. "Oh man! This is so...Hey! You with the white hair. I'm talking to you, thankyouverymuch. What's with you?" And she stalked over to the bed sister was occupying, her stormy expression firmly in place.

I'm just tired. I guess I'm still just a little weirded out from the letter and all. I mean, it's a letter from Daddy. How is that possible? He's been dead for years. And if it's all true, which I have to assume it is, then why didn't he tell us himself back then?

Maybe he didn't know, Dovegirl. Maybe he didn't know until it was too late to tell us. Or maybe he was right to make us wait, I don't know. Do you think we could have handled hearing this at age seven? We can't even handle it now. And technically, we're legal adults. Pretty pathetic, I'd say. We have to think all this through.

You're right, I know. It's just...this is going to be so much responsibility.

Yeah, and we hate responsibility. Raven snickered lazily. But it's about time that we put our minds to something other than mindless pranks.

Our minds?! You're the one who's always gallivanting about with those Weasleys. I'm sure I don't even know half of what you three get up to.

Oh, come on, Dove. That isn't even possible. You know everything I get up to with them.

Yes, yes, yes. I was just saying. A short pause before she continued. Raven? Are you glad She's dead?

Absolutely. Aren't you?

I'm not sure. I mean, we've both wished for it for so long. But now that it's happened...it really doesn't do us much good, does it?

Well, if I remember correctly, She'd gotten us just after summer hols started before our fifth year, didn't she? That's only a couple months ago now. We could go rescue ourselves perhaps. Disguise ourselves and just drag ourselves out of there. Never look back.

You know we can't do that. It would mess up our entire future. We might not even be here as a result of it and then we wouldn't be able to rescue ourselves and we'd be right back where we started. It's all very confusing. But it doesn't matter anyway as we've already promised Dumbledore we wouldn't. You know we can't.

Yeah, I guess we do. But I feel sort of bad. I can remember how I felt back then. I just wanted to die half the time. I would have given anything to just be rescued from it all. And here I am, perfectly capable, and yet entirely incapable. It just sucks.

I know. But there's no point dwelling on it. Go to sleep then. We've got a lot to do tomorrow.

Alright. Goodnight, heart.

Goodnight, heart.

***

"Read it to me again?" Raven asked. She was unconsciously running a brush through her hair. Or trying, as it kept getting stuck in her curls. Within a few minutes, she would no doubt give up on it and turn to her sister for help. Dove would shrug carelessly and point at her own untamed mess of white curls. This is how it usually went.

"Alright. But I don't see how it'll help."

"I don't expect it to help. I just like hearing it. It's nice to think we may have some sort of purpose after all."

Dove glanced at her sister and wondered if perhaps the past couple of years hadn't harmed her more than she let on. But she shrugged it off and smiled at her instead. Picking up the scrap of parchment on the table next to her, she unrolled it and read the words that had already practically ingrained themselves in her mind.

The Winged Serpents shall return

Their feathers bent and scarred

Shall carry them to seek and learn

And soften hearts long hard

Beware the Two of Light and Dark

They will not mercy show

But find the wound and heal the mark

For either Friend or Foe

The one shall feel the nightly urge

The other feel the sun

But when the moon and star converge

The Two shall –

But the parchment cut off there. It was torn across at the bottom. Dove still wondered if it had been an accident, or if they were being shielded from something. Either way, it didn't matter, there was no way for them to know.

They had spent the morning trying to finish the rhyme, but the third verse just didn't want to make sense. Not that the rest of it did, but a few things tied in well. The Winged Serpents line was easy to understand now. They were of Slytherin House, thus the Serpent half, and their one special...ability... with Transfiguration brought in the other half of it.

Their feathers bent and scarred was assumed to be figurative, at least they hoped it was. Their past was not pretty, and although they had been patched back together well, the mental wounds remained. The Two of Light and Dark was also easy to figure out. They both had personalities to match their appearances, one black and one white. They weren't entirely opposites, but the similarities were few. If they didn't practically share one mind, they'd probably be at each other's throats twenty-four/seven.

The mercy part had Dove confused. She prided herself on her compassion and mercy towards others. But this said that she would show none. Or did it? Raven had pointed out that it might connect to the next line, meaning they would heal without mercy. But heal without mercy? Wasn't that a contradiction in terms? Unless someone didn't want to heal...and who would wish themselves in pain? Dove's mind spun with the slight paradox, and Raven's eyes glazed over for a moment.

"Would you let go of it for a moment? Stop trying to understand it and break it down. Just listen to the words. It's almost soothing. Besides," Raven tossed her head at Dove, her moment of gentility gone, "you're making me dizzy."

"Sorry." Dove turned away from Raven and set the parchment back down on the table. It immediately rolled back up into itself. She tried to keep her thoughts on other things, like Hogwarts. School would be starting back up soon. While it had been two years since they'd actually been to Hogwarts, for everyone else it would be as if only one summer had passed. They had to try to act normal. If anyone suspected what was happening, they would be in grave danger. Not to mention all the confusion it might start with other students. People might start asking questions, and while they didn't mind answering them anymore, it wasn't something they were fond of bringing up.

Slowly, however, Hogwarts slipped out of mind's reach and went back to the last lines of parchment. But when the moon and star converge/The Two shall... What? The two shall what? What shall we do? Dove grew more agitated, her anger welling up inside of her, so it came as no surprise when Raven yelped in fury. She picked up a glass from the table and threw it across the room. Then she looked back at Dove and calmly asked if she felt any better.

"Yes, much. Thank you." Dove smiled weakly and sat down on her bed. Raven eyed her curiously. It wasn't often that their minds differed, but when it happened, it was usually strong. There was never slight a disagreement between the two. They were either of one mind (literally), or they were of entirely opposing viewpoints. Raven rather liked the change, and reveled in the arguments and debates that such a change brought, but it still flustered her. Nevertheless, she let it go. Dove obviously had something on her mind which she wished to work out alone, and she would leave her to it now.

"Look," Raven started, "I'm going to head out to Diagon Alley. See if I can't pick up the rest of our books. Alright? You can stay here and do your own thing. Whatever it is you want to do with that paper, go ahead and do. But when I get back, I want that to be the end of it. Alright?" She glared at Dove expectantly.

Her sister looked up and smiled, full-strong now. "Yes, thank you."

Raven nodded and stood up. She plucked her cloak off a nail by the door and threw it around her shoulders. Beneath it, her dark red robes flowed and swirled, deep and almost troubled. Pulling at the clasp by her collarbone, she dropped her wand into the pocket closest to her left wrist. She fingered it gently with her right hand, feeling the smooth mahogany wood under the pad on her thumb. Her mind went swiftly to and from the old Pegasus which had given it's feathers for the identical wands she and her sister owned. Swirls of soft silver had been carved and molded into the length of it, only about seven inches. Some strange ancient runes, which they had not yet been able to decipher, scrolled around the base of it. The wands were perfect for Transfiguration, but practically useless when it came to any Divination Charms or Soothing Spells.

Thinking back to the times she and Dove had harassed their poor Divination professor (Trelawney, she remembered suddenly), she smiled quickly and walked out the door. Perhaps she'd stop for some Tricky Tarot cards on they way back. If they could sneak them into Trelawney's classroom, well...perhaps that would keep Dove's mind off of things. She grinned again with hopeful excitement and a dark gleam in her eye, then set off towards the Leaky Cauldron.

***