[A/N]: I'm really really really that I haven't updated MWIM or TtSR in, well, let's face it: months…but I have a good reason(s) I swear! All of which I won't waste your time by explaining so on to the chapter! By the by, this is the THIRD time I've written chapter 6 but my user crashed the first time, and I don't know what happened the second time so I'm writing this in one sitting *and* ensuring that I remember to save it to disk…I'm expecting a numb as—never mind. Enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: Ugh. Been there, done that; Click back for details.
Monkshood, Wolfsbane, and an Infusion of Wormwood
-----Chapter 6: Near or Far-----
Aconite's feet swung happily as she sat on the crisp white sheets of the Hospital Wing. She has a large smile on her face that widened when she heard Del bite back a yelp as the Nurse applied disinfectant to his arm. Herbology was a dangerous subject, Nite surmised as Poppy healed the wound, especially when silly Ravenclaws get too close to dangerous plants. Who knew her brother had a hero complex? Obviously he had inherited more than just the hair and eyes.
'There, there; stop whining. It's all better,' Poppy cooed, 'You can open your eyes now. How about a lollypop?' the Nurse that Del hated being treated like a 3-year old, even when he was one; that's why she did it. He was too much like Severus in that aspect, he took things much too serious. If he didn't lighten up now, it could come back to haunt him in the future.
Del, as predicted, scowled and tugged down his sleeve.
'Don't bunch your face up like that,' Sirius added, 'You could get wrinkles'.
Nite laughed, an odd bubbly sensation in the pit of her stomach; anticipation, she realized. She couldn't wait to have her Da here, with Severus, in Hogwarts. She had begun planning immediately, as soon as Del had left and all through her classes; except for Transfiguration, which despite its difficulty and her affinity for charms, was her favourite class.
Professor Hermione taught her class much in the way that the retired McGonagal had: thorough instruction and no arbitrary treatment of work or students; and like Professor McGonagal, Hermione would never let her students call her by her first name. Which is why Nite only did it, in her head at least; daughter of her best friend or not, she doubted Hermione would take too kindly to it.
It was all so tragic, her inner Trelawney thought, that her and Ron had never gotten the chance to marry; and that one third of the Trio was gone. It was even more tragic that Hermione married an archivist for the Ministry. Oh, Nite didn't doubt that he was a wonderful man: he'd have to be if she married him! It was just that being an Archivist must be so dull...the thought of it made her eyes droop.
Potions was okay.
If you were into that 'brew glory', 'bottle fame', and 'put a stopper in death' drabble. The only reason why it was the highlight of her day was that it had been her only class with Del and her Father taught it. She had been in rapture the whole lesson, listening to Severus speak for the first time in her life. Some might have mistaken the look on her face as interest, and in a way it was, but not in potions; just the Professor teaching it. If she, or Del, who had listened to the lesson and scribbled notes on his page furiously; had paid attention to the students surrounding them, or one in particular, they would have noticed Nordic Derrick's eyes on them more than once.
Nite had been working on her idea since Asphodel had told her of his plan, and she needed to give credit where credit was due: the plan was genius. Of course, they still needed a way to get Da here, and she had the perfect idea. It was quite simple too; all they needed to do was—
"Ouch!" She squealed, "Del! That hurt!" she rubbed her leg where her brother had pinched her. Del, annoyed, moved off to the side, close to Padfoot incase his twin decided to retaliate.
"Well it's your own fault; we've been trying to get your attention for the past two minutes. Paddy and Poppy have decided to help us"
"Yes!" she jumped off the bed, staggering as she realized her foot was asleep, "So how are we going to get Da here? Who has a plan? I have a plan!" Asphodel tried to shrug off Nite as she clasped onto his should, leaning on him as she shook her still-asleep foot.
"Fine," Del mumbled, his mood was turning progressively worse, "Go first".
"Alright, it's really quite simple: I saw it on TV," Del felt a little dread grow in the pit of his stomach, "It's called an intervention; all we need to do is get Hermione, Professor Dumbledore and Father put a few chairs in a circle with Da in the middle and tell him what we think, and how we feel, and convince him that he is best here' Nite finished her speech by slamming her fist on to the bed, a soft 'plomp' where her hand hit the sheets.
Poppy's lipped where tightly sealed, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to conceal her laughter; a few chuckles making their way out. Padfoot smirked, only Aconite would suggest an idea from Muggle Television. Del, however, didn't find the same humor in the situation.
'That's your great idea? An intervention? That's not obvious at all is it?' sarcasm dripped from his voice, 'And Da will really appreciate the heart attack and the stress it would put him under…he is sick if you recall! I mean did you think at all? It's reckless, rash, just a,' Del sputtered slightly, 'Gryffindor idea!'
Sirius and Poppy's smiles faded, their eyes frowning as they watched Nite's eyes fill with tears as she glared at her brother,
'Oh?' she sniffed, 'And yours is any better? What are you suggesting, we kidnap him? Trick him? Oh how Slytherin of you! At least my idea is honest; we don't need any more lies or deceptions, Del…or is it so unnatural for you, being a Snake and all!'
Asphodel's hands were in tight fists, his face turning a light pink, 'At least I know what I'm doing. Not getting some dumb idea off some dumb Muggle T.V.!'
Nite's black eyes flashed, her lips pursed as she grabbed her bag from the bed. Walking to the Infirmary's double doors, she paused and glanced back at her brother; her Snape heritage coming through as she narrowed her eyes, and left with a 'bang' as the doors shut.
Sirius had made his way towards Asphodel, his face soft as he gazed upon his godson, "Del…"
"I don't want to hear it!" he snapped, grabbing his things and leaving the same way his sister had, "Forget about this stupid idea, I don't know why we're even trying…he didn't want Da and he wouldn't want us either"
*~*~*~*~*
Over the next week, the tension between the two Potters was palpable, all of Hogwarts had noticed it; most didn't know the cause, except for Sirius and Poppy. Both had decided not to interfere, determined that they should sort out their problems by themselves. Hermione, wanting the tension to end, tried to convince Sirius since he was obviously familiar with the twins; to end their dispute, to no avail. He was adamant that the staff leave the twins alone; what ever they did would do them any good in the long run, if they couldn't work through their problems on their own.
Severus had also tried to gauge out the severity of the situation, he had no intention of calling in Del, though he had every right to as his Head of House and Deputy Headmaster, but simply to partner them in Potions. In all his years teaching, if ever you wanted to find out how two students got along, you simply partnered them up and wait for giggles, exploding potions, insults and threats; and in some cases, silence.
Which is what he got when he barked the order for Potter and Potter to partner up; he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't for them to completely ignore each others existence. It was rumored that the alienation from each other was caused by House disputes, Severus sighed to himself, thinking about how much the Slytherin/Gryffindor feud had cost Hogwarts over the years.
'Ms. Scott?' he called as the students quickly packed their things, potions was still considered the least favourite class, 'Please stay for a moment; Mr. Potter, you can go back to your House, there is no need for you to wait' Asphodel, who had hung back by the door, reluctantly left before giving Laurel one last glance.
'Yes, Professor?'
'Ms. Scott, I understand that you and Mr. Weasley are close friends to Mister and Miss Potter?' at her nod in the affirmative he continued, 'Then may I suggest that you do something about your friends' predicament?' The chubby first year frowned,
'Is that all, sir?'
'Yes, you are dismissed'.
Severus watched her leave the room, a small frown on his face.
*~*~*~*~*
The next morning, the end of their second week of classes, students straggled into the Great Hall, anxiously awaiting the end of the day and the weekend. The Potter twins still had not spoken to each other and both were dealing with it in their own ways. Asphodel had taken to brooding around the Common Room, only Laurel could deal with his mood swings and even the upper years steered clear. Aconite spent most of her time with Artie, trying to pass the time by playing Exploding Snap and Guess That Bertie Bott Bean, occasionally taking time out to do homework.
As each sat at their respective tables, they tried their best to ignore looking in each other's directions. As it became time for the morning Post, both Del and Nite were somewhat surprised to see a package in front of them, though Nite's was bigger. Opening them, Nite pulled out a silvery piece of cloth, her eyes widened as she realized what it was and, ignoring Artie's protests at what it was. Risking a glance at Del, she wondered if he would be angry that Da had sent her the Invisibility Cloak; a rush of sorrow filled her as she caught Del's eye.
Del opened his father's letter, it contained the typical things that a parent asks their child during their first weeks of school; if he was alright, if he needed anything, if he wanted to come home…it also expressed concern that Del and Nite sent separate letters, and owls, home. Del frowned, wondering what he was going to say in his next letter. He looked down at the large envelope in his hand, tugging at the string that kept it closed; he looked at the blank parchment puzzled, until he recognized its worn corners. The Marauders Map. He looked up, to see Nite's eyes on him, she looked down, an emotion he assumed was anger filled her eyes. Did she also recognize it? He hoped so.
As breakfast was done, he clutched the Map to his chest out of Laurel's reach as she attempted to see what was so wonderful about a ratty old piece of parchment. Backing towards the doors, he didn't notice that Nite was right behind him.
'Oops! Sorry—' Del stopped, as he looked into Nite's black eyes, his regretful face faded into a blank expression.
'Look,' Nite started, apart of Del hoped she would apologize, 'Da sent me the Cloak and—' a rush of anger burst through his veins, was she trying to gloat?
'I don't care if Da sent you the Cloak, what are you trying to do any way? Go mess about in your Tower, after all, what would you want with a Snake like me, right?' Del hissed angrily, students walked passed, none hearing the exchange. He turned abruptly, not catching his sister's black eyes turning cold with tears.
*~*~*~*~*
It was late in the evening, and Laurel sat in the corner of the Common Room, pleading with Del to talk to his sister.
'You've been miserable for days! Artie tells me that she has too; you need to talk to her, for Christ's sake you're twins!' The argument, which thus far was one-way, had been going on for an hour, and Laurel was beginning to loose her patience. Everyone had steered clear of the two, the anger radiated off Del, and Slytherins were never ones to ignore such an obvious sign of danger.
'That's it!,' Laurel jumped up and grabbed Asphodel's thin wrist, 'You're going up there, now! I don't care if you don't want to apologize, you're going to see her!'
'What? Why?' Del's indignant voice rang out, 'I shouldn't have to do anything!' Laurel stopped as she pulled him outside the common room,
'Yes, you do. You made her cry, Del. When has she ever cried and it's been your fault?' He stopped his struggling; no, he couldn't have. The last time her made her cry for real they had been toddlers, and she hadn't stopped until he had apologized.
'I don't believe you' he lifted his chin in defiance, and Laurel wondered if there ever was a more stubborn 11-year old.
'Just go!' Frowning, he pulled out the Marauder's Map, following it to the Gryffindor Common Room.
*~*~*~*~*
Five minutes later, he found himself outside an incredibly large portrait of a large woman. Looking at the Map, he whispered the password to the portrait, the Fat Lady frowned at him, but let Del in anyway.
'So long as you have the password, dear'.
He entered the Common Room, a great deal of the House still up. Several Gryffindors called out to him and tried to stop him, he ignored all of them and headed towards the stairs to the girls' dorms.
'Hey! You can't go up there!' Del ignored him and continued on his way, 'I said—'
'I say why don't you go and sit down and shut up!' Artie Weasley, whose red-haired temper had shown its head as he defended Del, 'It's the first door on the left' Del nodded his thanks and went up the stair well.
He entered the room, marked first years, wincing as he rubbed the spot where older Gryffindor Girls had tried to get him out, his stubbornness had paid off as he refused.
'Nite?' he called entering the dark room, the door creaked as he closed it; soft sobs coming from a bed in the corner.
'Nite?' he called again.
"What do you want?' came the watery reply. God, Del thought, Laurel was right. Suddenly, he felt so stupid.
'I'm so sorry,' he pleaded, 'I didn't mean it, I just—'
'No, Del, You did mean it, just not at me. I'm your twin Del, surely you haven't forgotten you're a piece of me? I know that you're afraid of Father rejecting us, I feel the same too! But we won't know unless we try!' She buried her face back in her arms, tears still poured but no longer violently.
'I know…I'm sorry…' Del crawled on the bed and pulled her into his arms,
'You hurt me Del! For the first time, you really hurt me!' she cried into his shoulder.
'I know,' he said silently, 'I hurt me too'.
-----END CHAPTER: 6-----
[A/N]: One numb ass, two hand cramps, and one stomach ache due to one bag of gummy worms later you have chapter 6! I've reviewed the passed 5 chapters, and decided as soon as I've finished, to go back and edit them. Once again, sorry for the wait and I can't thank every one individually so THANK YOU ALL ESPECIALLY ALL THOSE WHO E-MAILED ME!!!