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Chapter Four: Undeniable Oddities
"Here you are, Aria. Go and play in the den while your father and I discuss a few things."
Aria took her Wizard Chess set from her mother and walked down the few steps into the den. Gelasia was there, sitting at the desk with a quill in her hands, looking unsure of what to write. Aria just looked bored.
"What are you writing, Gelasia?" She asked.
Gelasia didn't seem surprised to see her sister when she looked up. "I dunno. I'm bored. I was thinking of writing...something..."
"That bored?" Aria laughed. "I suppose writing's better than nothing. Want to play me in Wizards' Chess?" She looked hopeful.
"Sure." As Gelasia put down her quill, a necklace glittered around her neck. On it was engraved "GRC".
Aria sighed longingly at the chain. "When will I get mine? It's not fair..."
"Your time will come, Aria. The necklace chooses when you get to wear it." Gelasia stood up and walked gracefully to the tiger oak table. She sat down, and Aria sat on the other side.
A mumbling noise from up the steps of the den drew Gelasia's attention.
"What's going on up there?" Gelasia asked with a frown.
Aria was just about to answer when her father did for her.
"What do you mean? I thought we had a deal about this?! They're both going to the top private school for normal people!" they heard from the other room.
"Honey, you said you would let them go to Hogwarts! And keep your voice down!"
"Keep my voice down?"
By the look of Gelasia's face, anyone would be able to tell that their parents rarely fought. It was a startled and hurt look.
"Why do they fight about such things? Why can they not just ask us where we want to go?" Gelasia asked, looking angry.
"Well, I'd choose Hogwarts. And besides, we have magical blood. Daddy can't keep us from going. I expect the headmaster will send a Howler to set him straight or something."
The scene faded. Like a piece of parchment being torn apart by invisible hands, the scene fell away, broken. A new one replaced it.
Aria was older now. She was lying on her bed, writing with a blue quill on yellowed parchment, humming a beautiful melody.
A knock sounded on the door, and Aria sang quietly as she lay doodling on her bed, "Come in," in the tune she had been humming.
Her mother came in, sat down on the bed beside Aria, and began stroking her shining hair.
"Guten Abend, Aria. Das ist ein gut Schriebtisch," she said sarcastically, indicating the bed. Then she added, "Was ist das?" pointing to the parchment that Aria was scribbling on. She was playing a game that Aria usually followed, speaking German together.
"It's nothing," Aria replied, obviously in English. "Mum, I don't want to speak German right now."
By the look on her face, Mrs. Celine, Aria's mother, was surprised.
"What's wrong?" she asked, "Why are you so sad?"
"I don't know...why don't I have my necklace yet?"
Aria's mother smiled and said, "That, my dear, is not my knowlege. But I do know that you will get it when the time is good and right."
Aria reached out for her mother's hand, took it, and laughed. There was something in the air that seemed to make the meeting funny.
"Mum, I want to be a witch. And I'll be top in my year, you'll see. I want to get a wand and do magnificent things with it just like you do," she said. Then she repeated, "I want to be a witch."
Suddenly, Aria's mother's necklace unclasped on it's own. It fell from her neck with grace and fell over their joined hands. As she watched, Aria knew that magic was at work. The two unclasped their hands and cupped them, so the necklace was lying upon both their palms. A glow emitted from it. The necklace was one, and then it became two. Aria cheered at once.
"My necklace!" Aria cried. "My beautiful, wonderful, necklace! Look mother! In my hand!" She picked it up between finger and thumb and read the initials, "AMC."
"Oh Aria!" Her mother cried, hugging Aria tightly.
The scene faded. The image broke apart, and a new one replaced it again.
Aria was outside on a cold night, walking on a cobbled road and humming. She slowly added words to her song. She looked as if she was thinking of lyrics to add, inventing them as they came into her head.
"A new light, a cold light, a ray of sun, a star...I know who this person is...he comes from afar...And though I can't see him, I know he is there...A boy with ocean eyes and wheat-coloured hair."
She grinned at her own words and spoke to herself. "You know, Aria, for learning that melody from your Mum, you can really add something to it."
She spoke back to herself, "How dare you, Aria! I made up those words to emphasize my mum's song, not enhance it!" She laughed, and said to herself, "Nothing could improve my mother's melody...not even a song about a bunch of light and a boy I don't know."
This time, she did not reply to herself, but stayed silent. After a minute of walking towards home, she started humming again.
The full moon seemed to draw her eye more than necessary, and Aria seemed confused by it. She hastened her pace, still humming.
"A large moon, a cold moon, a beam of light, a star...I hear something coming, though not from afar...And though I can't see him, I know he is there...A something, a something, an overcoming stare," she sang quietly. She began to run. Her home was still several houses away.
Claws sounded behind her, but she didn't dare look back. If she slowed while looking over her shoulder, she might be caught. She fixed her eyes at her home, where the moon loomed over it, miles above, but seemingly close.
She ran only ten more metres before she felt an enormous weight fall upon her shoulders. She screamed, fell, and rolled away from her attacker. Struggling to stand, she started to run again, aware of pain in her back. A fear of paralysis came over her, and she hastened to reach her home. If a blow to the spinal chord rendered her paralized, she would spend weeks in St. Mungos...and possibly her entire life.
She was one hundred meters from her front door when she felt a claw sink into her back, just below her shoulder blade. She cried out and fell, feeling blood run down her raw arms and pierced back. Rising once more, she made to run. But before she steadied herself, she felt jaws clamp down on her right leg, into her calf. She fell again.
Pain stronger than should be allowed was flowing through her. "Ow, ow," Aria cried. She did not give up through the pain. She kicked out, heard a yelp, and struggled to her feet. Running, she heard her attacker follow at a run.
When she reached her house, she cut through the manicured lawn, hit the door, and wrenched at the knob. The wolvish attacker was only a few meters away when she threw open the door and slammed it behind her.
With a quick glance, she found her mother in the library, reading. Mrs. Celine looked up at the door, saw her daughter's face, and stood. "What do I do?" was all she asked.
"Charm the windows and the door!" Aria said, trying to control the volume of her voice.
A large crack was heard as the door shuddered. It was trying to enter her home.
Aria and her mother went from window to window. Aria closed the shudders, and her mother charmed them so they were unbreakable. A wolf could now be heard clawing at the door.
"What happened?" Mrs. Celine asked.
"A werewolf," Aria said, and she leaned against the wall, sliding to the carpet, allowing tears to fall.
The scene changed. A new one appeared.
A castle loomed over a large, blue-green lake. This place seemed much happier than the previous scene. Aria stood at the train window, transfixed by the enormous castle.
"Hogwarts," she whispered. Now it became clear that the castle was Hogwarts School. The train slowed, and students began to gather their things. When it stopped, Aria left the Hogwarts Express in a hurry, jumping from the train, and finding a man yelling, "Firs' years this way! Over here, firs' years! Got ter go ter the castle now!"
The man seemed too large, but Aria thought he was fitting. He seemed very much like the castle...large, mysterious, and welcoming.
The first years gathered around him, looking around anxiously. Aria felt braver than she ever had been.
When the students crossed the lake, the air seemed to fill with whispers. Aria, who was sitting next to the large man, asked--not in a whisper, but in normal tones--"What's your name, sir?"
The man looked startled when she called him "sir", but recovered quickly and answered, "Name's Hagrid. What's yers?"
"Aria Celine. Nice to meet you, Hagrid."
"Nice ter meet yeh too, Aria."
They floated along in silence for a moment, and then the boats stopped with a thud. They had reached shore.
The scene faded, but was replaced extremely quickly. Outside, the moon was the same--as were the stars. It was the same night.
"Wow, a Gryffindor. I can't believe I made Gryffindor," Aria said, looking around the common room.
Laughing, a boy nearby turned. "Newbie, are you?"
Aria looked the boy up and down. He looked about fourteen, with long, neat, black hair.
Aria laughed. "I'm Aria. What's your name?"
"Sirius Black. Nice to meet you."
Aria felt brave. She wouldn't normally have started talking to older students, but she felt so daring. "And who're your friends?"
"This," Sirius said, turning to a messy-haired boy with glasses, "is James Potter. And this one to my right--your left--is Remus Lupin."
Remus didn't say anything, even to a younger student. He looked almost afraid of meeting people. James, however, said, "And how do you like the Gryffindors?"
"They're just fine. Better than Slytherins. Anyway, I'd better get going. I have Charms and Transfiguration tomorrow."
Aria left to go to her Dormitory. She didn't think that she could be fast friends with that lot. Something told her to stick with the younger students for a while. Sirius and James, although decent enough, seemed to have a tight-knit bond. And Aria felt it was something she shouldn't interfere with. She didn't know what to think about Remus Lupin. He was very quiet.
The scene faded, and this time, years passed. Aria was an older teenager.
"Another year gone. I suppose that means farewell to our seventh years. However, it is never really goodbye--"
Aria sighed. She always disliked end of year speeches. Although they were plenty interesting, she didn't like the sadness that punctured every word.
"--Should all wish the seventh years goodluck in the--"
Seventh years. Aria was of age. She was attending her last feast before graduating...She was no longer worthy of the term "Hogwarts student". She was a fully educated witch. Her dream had come true. Yet, she wasn't too cheerful.
"--And though we do not lose our seventh years, we always gain new souls on September 1st--"
New students would arrive at this school in a few months, ready for their educations. And Aria would not come back.
She glanced down the table. There were her friends, Delicia and Lennon. The first people she met in Gryffindor House, Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin, were long gone. They had graduated three years ago. Two of their friends, whom she had met later on, had left with them. Peter Pettigrew and Lily Evans. She didn't know what happened to them. With the war, most graduates didn't keep in touch with anyone besides their closest friends and family. And Aria never was their closest friend.
"--The time for futures lay ahead, as the past is now behind us. Let us raise our glasses and drink to the year--"
Aria did what she was told, looking up at the red and gold banners. While at Hogwarts, Gryffindor had won the House Cup four times. She had cheered when she heard the winner was Gryffindor, but now the banners seemed to be calling her home. But Gryffindor was her home only one more night.
The scene faded.
Aria was dressed in all white, a veil over her face.
"I can't do it, I can't!" Aria whispered hurriedly to her father, at her arm.
"You can call it off if you want," he replied.
"No, I love him. But...but this is so hurried!"
"We're about to walk down the aisle. I'm about to give you to him. Do you want to--"
"What am I thinking?!" Aria interupted.
"Well--"
Aria cut him off again, "Wait. This isn't very...very Gryffindor of me. I'm brave, I can marry him. I love him."
And so they walked. It happened so quickly, Aria nearly tripped. They were running down the aisle, it felt, towards Remus.
Her fear was wiped from her mind when she saw the love in her soon-to-be husband's cool blue eyes. They loved each other.
They stood hand in hand, staring through the veil.
The scene faded, and this time nothing came back.
Jerica Kaimi Lupin sat up with a jolt of panic, wondering what was going on.
She saw, out of the corner of her eye, her sister sit straight up in her bed as well. Jennifer looked over at Jerica, but Jerica didn't make eye-contact. She had so many images that raced in front of her eyes, though she was now fully awake.
The way her sister had awoken as well scared Jeri. It was too eerie that they both woke at the same time, in the same way.
"What the--" Jeri said, trying to voice her confusion.
"Don't finish that sentence," Jen warned.
"I wasn't going to," Jeri said. She wasn't in the mood for an argument. She turned towards her sister. "I had the strangest dream about Mum. At first, I dreamt about her and Aunt Gelasia when they were kids, and then it changed, and I had a dream about when Mummy got her necklace. And then it sort of...broke apart again. And a new dream replaced it about the night when...when..."
"When Mum was attacked." Jennifer said quietly, finishing her thought.
"Yeah, how did you know?" Jeri asked.
"Because I had the same dreams...did you dream about her first time seeing Hogwarts next? And then just after she was Sorted? And...and her graduation?"
"Yes. And then Mum and Dad's wedding!"
"Exactly."
"Right."
"Let's go--"
"--tell Dad."
They both ran flat out. They tore from the room, slid down the stairs, and entered the kitchen. The smell of coffee filled the air.
"Girls, what the--"
"Everyone is saying that this morning," Jennifer said.
"Saying what?" Remus asked, puzzled.
"'What the'," Jerica answered. "Dad, we had this thing..."
"It's called a dream, Jeri."
Ignoring her, Jeri continued, "And we saw Mum throughout her life. We both saw all these things about how she got her necklace and the first time she met you...and all sorts of weird freaky stuff--"
"Wait, what?" Remus asked, still perplexed.
"Sit down Dad. And get some more coffee," Jennifer said.
"I've already got a cup," Remus said.
"You'll need a bit more Dad. You need to be awake for this."
They sat down, and Jennifer explained.
"Dad, we both had these dreams. The same dreams. And...the first one was about Mum and her sister...Aunt Gelasia. Then the dream sort of changed. It turned into the night Mum got her necklace. And then..."
Jennifer froze up, and Jerica knew why. It was hard to talk about when your mother got attacked by a werewolf in the dead of night.
Jerica finished the sentence for her. "And then, Mum got attacked by the werewolf that bit her," she said, trying to sound indifferent.
"Yes," said Jennifer faintly. "And then it got better. We saw her on the Hogwarts Express when she was a first year. We saw her during her first night in the castle. We saw her meet you! And then we saw her graduate...she wasn't too happy about that. And then we saw your wedding."
Remus smiled slightly. He still looked very puzzled as to how the twins could both have dreamed this. But then he asked, "Did you like the wedding?"
"Oh, it was so beautiful! Mum was so scared, but when she saw you, she looked so brave, like a G-Gryffindor!" Jeri said. Her eyes were full of tears, but she dared not let them spill.
Jennifer said, "And you, Daddy, when you were fourteen! You were so young looking!"
Remus laughed. "Ha, you think that was young? My hair was graying already! I looked older than the seventh years--although I was much thinner and shorter," he added as an afterthought.
Jeri remembered her father's silver-brown coloured hair, and laughed. Her father was being very melodramatic about his age. To be fair, Remus Lupin was still young, even with two daughters and a son.
Jennifer continued, "And we saw so much and--"
They kept talking for the better half of the day, only saddening when they spoke of the night Aria was bitten. They had a lovely morning, full of both cheerful and sad tears. The dreams, though still mysterious, seemed such a blessing. They pulled the family together. And, looking back at it, Jerica could only think of one phrase that could explain the weirdness of it all. Undeniable oddities.
A/N: That was a lot of work on Jai's behalf. Of course, Lorelei helped. She always helps. When I, Jai, don't know something, Lorelei knows. I hope you liked it. Not much of a cliffhanger, but enough I suppose. I believe this ends the Daughters of the Wolf story...nope, there's one more chapter, sorry. It'll be written by both of us. So, for those of you that are tired of my writing style, you get a taste of Lorelei's words next chapter. Now, Year 1 for Jennifer and Jerica will start soon. Lorelei has already started it, and we'll get this back up and rolling. Winter Holidays are a blessing. Okay, so thanks a lot. See ya 'round. ---Jai
Oh, and one more thing. I keep writing from Jerica's point of view, but we have some good Jennifer POV moments coming. You'll see.