It just isn't fair! Liz Fudge thought to herself. Being the daughter of
the Minister of Magic, Liz (Elizabeth was her full name, but she loathed
being called that) was forced to attend many boring and dull events with
her father. These events generally involved greeting foreign ministry
officials, or other Ministry of Magic authorities.
The events involving their own MoM weren't nearly as bad, because the other
officials generally brought their own children, who were usually, school-
mates of Liz's. These social events were usually more 'shop-talk' about
Hogwarts than anything. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to go
anywhere but Hogwarts, and pitied anyone who didn't get to go there.
Liz grabbed a brush and impatiently ran it through her fine shoulder-length
blonde hair. She wasn't totally displeased with her appearance, she
thought to herself as she carefully placed clips in her hair. She was
wearing a nice sky-blue flowered summer dress under robes of royal blue.
The robes matched the shade of her eyes, and it wasn't an unflattering
affect.
Maybe this time Ron Weasley will notice me, she thought to herself. Liz
frowned, wondering at her own lack of skill with attracting men. She
figured it must come from being raised by only her father. Her father
rarely mentioned her mother, and if asked he would clear his throat and
promptly change the subject. It wasn't that he was a horrible parent; in
fact the opposite was true. Before she was eleven, and had started at
Hogwarts, her father had always made sure to make time for her, despite his
full schedule as working for the Ministry. He always took two weeks during
the summer to take her on a holiday abroad, and they had dinner together at
least six nights of the week during her holidays.
But despite all her father's attention, she couldn't help but feel
something was missing: namely, an adult female influence. It was hard to
be a 16-year-old teenage girl and not have someone older and wiser to
confide in. She had friends that she could talk to about some things, of
course, but being the Minister for Magic's daughter sometimes strained
relations with her schoolmates, especially during the last year when her
father had been the one to sack Dumbledore and to put Umbridge in his
place. She had immediately renounced her father's actions to her friends,
and they understood, after some time, that just because her father said
something didn't mean she agreed with it. She'd really wanted to join the
DA, but she'd realized after some consideration that she needed that time
to study for her OWLs. She had hopes of going to work for the Ministry,
hopefully in Muggle Relations, and good OWL scores were a step towards
getting that position.
As she was just putting finishing touches on her make-up charms, she heard
a knock on the door. "Coming!" she called.
With a huff she stood up and went to the door. She knew it must be her
father, telling her it was time to go. It was indeed her father. He had
an expression on his face that she had never seen before, and it suddenly
worried her.
"Liz, dear, there's something I must talk to you about," he said in a soft, consoling voice. "Would you come join me in the parlor?"
"Don't we have somewhere we're supposed to be going to?" she asked. "Oh... Indeed," Cornelius Fudge mumbled distractedly as he checked his watch. "That can wait. This is much more important."
She wondered what had her father so worked up, but trusted she'd find out soon. As she entered the parlor, she amazed to see five other people sitting there, waiting expectantly. Cornelius was standing by the door, wringing his hands nervously. "These are the Jameses, Liz. They're, uh, moving to Britain from the states. This is Rob." Liz saw he was a very handsome man in his mid-40s. "This is Eric." A small blonde boy with bright brown eyes, who looked remarkably like Rob, nodded at her. "Mary, who will be starting at Hogwarts this September, the reason they're moving here." Liz nodded at Mary, a brown-haired, blue-eyed, gawky-looking girl. Was I that young when I started? she thought to herself. Cornelius continued abruptly, "And Charity, your mother—lastly we have Miranda, your sister—twin sister to be more exact," he amended very quickly, as if he'd been holding his breath.
The shock of those last words hit Liz like a ton of bricks. "My mum? My... my twin sister?"
Upon further inspection Miranda looked just as shocked at that last announcement as she did. Liz was amazed at how identically the expression on Miranda's face reflected her own emotions. Miranda stood and looked at Liz. To Miranda it was a bit like looking through a mirror, but rather than seeing herself, she was seeing what she might call a 'better' version of herself, a 'lighter' version. Miranda had no idea why she quite felt this way. Something about Liz made her feel—no, not just feel, but know she was a very good, very kind person. The sort of person Miranda wished she could be. Liz studied Miranda, frowning slightly. Of course it was like looking through a mirror for her too. It was bit of shock to see a longhaired, Muggle clothes-wearing reflection. She didn't think of the difference as being particularly bad or good. Even to her identical twin Miranda seemed like an enigma, a puzzle that had to be solved, and maybe once she'd solved it, Liz felt, she might know Miranda. It was a shock when she finally heard Miranda speak, because despite their identical appearances, the accents were very different. "You never told me I had another sister, let alone an identical twin! An identical twin witch, at that!"
Liz suddenly found herself dropping into an empty chair. That last proclamation had floored her. "Are you saying you're not a witch?" she said, dumbfounded.
Cornelius was the one to reply. "I'll explain. You see, Liz, we discovered just after you were four years old that Miranda was, in fact, a Squib. Your mother and I had a disagreement over what was to happen with her, and we decided to separate, she taking Miranda and me caring for you. Apparently she met Rob soon afterwards, and they moved to the States where he lived, and started their own family, living as Muggles. Now, Mary just found out a few weeks ago that she is to attend Hogwarts, and your mother decided it was time to return to the wizarding world. Their first stop when arriving back in England was to visit us, and to reintroduce the two of you."
Liz and Miranda sat looking at each other, blue-eyes on blue-eyes. "Why don't I remember you?" they said at the same instant.
"Oh... er, that was our doing," Charity spoke up. "We erased your memories of each other when we separated. We felt it might be too painful for both of you to, with our separation and all. You two were especially close..."
"Memory charms?!" they both exclaimed in identical disbelieving tones. They caught each other's eyes and gave slight grins; apparently their identicalness went deeper than just appearance. This is going to be the beginning of a very interesting relationship, Miranda thought to herself.
"Liz, dear, there's something I must talk to you about," he said in a soft, consoling voice. "Would you come join me in the parlor?"
"Don't we have somewhere we're supposed to be going to?" she asked. "Oh... Indeed," Cornelius Fudge mumbled distractedly as he checked his watch. "That can wait. This is much more important."
She wondered what had her father so worked up, but trusted she'd find out soon. As she entered the parlor, she amazed to see five other people sitting there, waiting expectantly. Cornelius was standing by the door, wringing his hands nervously. "These are the Jameses, Liz. They're, uh, moving to Britain from the states. This is Rob." Liz saw he was a very handsome man in his mid-40s. "This is Eric." A small blonde boy with bright brown eyes, who looked remarkably like Rob, nodded at her. "Mary, who will be starting at Hogwarts this September, the reason they're moving here." Liz nodded at Mary, a brown-haired, blue-eyed, gawky-looking girl. Was I that young when I started? she thought to herself. Cornelius continued abruptly, "And Charity, your mother—lastly we have Miranda, your sister—twin sister to be more exact," he amended very quickly, as if he'd been holding his breath.
The shock of those last words hit Liz like a ton of bricks. "My mum? My... my twin sister?"
Upon further inspection Miranda looked just as shocked at that last announcement as she did. Liz was amazed at how identically the expression on Miranda's face reflected her own emotions. Miranda stood and looked at Liz. To Miranda it was a bit like looking through a mirror, but rather than seeing herself, she was seeing what she might call a 'better' version of herself, a 'lighter' version. Miranda had no idea why she quite felt this way. Something about Liz made her feel—no, not just feel, but know she was a very good, very kind person. The sort of person Miranda wished she could be. Liz studied Miranda, frowning slightly. Of course it was like looking through a mirror for her too. It was bit of shock to see a longhaired, Muggle clothes-wearing reflection. She didn't think of the difference as being particularly bad or good. Even to her identical twin Miranda seemed like an enigma, a puzzle that had to be solved, and maybe once she'd solved it, Liz felt, she might know Miranda. It was a shock when she finally heard Miranda speak, because despite their identical appearances, the accents were very different. "You never told me I had another sister, let alone an identical twin! An identical twin witch, at that!"
Liz suddenly found herself dropping into an empty chair. That last proclamation had floored her. "Are you saying you're not a witch?" she said, dumbfounded.
Cornelius was the one to reply. "I'll explain. You see, Liz, we discovered just after you were four years old that Miranda was, in fact, a Squib. Your mother and I had a disagreement over what was to happen with her, and we decided to separate, she taking Miranda and me caring for you. Apparently she met Rob soon afterwards, and they moved to the States where he lived, and started their own family, living as Muggles. Now, Mary just found out a few weeks ago that she is to attend Hogwarts, and your mother decided it was time to return to the wizarding world. Their first stop when arriving back in England was to visit us, and to reintroduce the two of you."
Liz and Miranda sat looking at each other, blue-eyes on blue-eyes. "Why don't I remember you?" they said at the same instant.
"Oh... er, that was our doing," Charity spoke up. "We erased your memories of each other when we separated. We felt it might be too painful for both of you to, with our separation and all. You two were especially close..."
"Memory charms?!" they both exclaimed in identical disbelieving tones. They caught each other's eyes and gave slight grins; apparently their identicalness went deeper than just appearance. This is going to be the beginning of a very interesting relationship, Miranda thought to herself.