NINE: BLUE

Aileen always woke up first. She had since she was a baby, why ever would turning eleven make a difference. She watched Aiden turn over in his sleep as she passed his room. It was strange to think that he was her twin brother. They were completely different people. Aiden liked practical magic, like Charms and Transfiguration, taking after his mother; Aileen liked theoretical magic, like potions and astronomy, taking after her father. Entering the kitchen, she noticed that her father was already up, dressed, and fixing breakfast.

"Morning Father!" She sat at the table and started reading the Daily Prophet.

"Good morning Aileen. How are you?" Since her father worked, she never really saw a lot of him; only on the weekend and usually in the mornings.

"I'm fine, what about you?"

"As expected. Teaching has that drawback."

"So you have to teach today? Oh, good morning Mother!" Hermione smiled as she entered the room.

"Morning Aileen. And no, your Father is not teaching today."

"Exactly what do you mean by that Hermione?"

"I asked Albus to take your classes today. This is a special day Severus, your children have come into their rights. They are eleven, and you should share this with them." He placed a bowl of eggs on the table and wrapped his arms around his wife.

"I suppose you have a point." Aiden walked into the room, sat down, and started spooning the eggs onto his plate. Once her was content, he started shoveling the food into his mouth until he finally realized everyone was staring at him.

"Hey!" He tried to break the tension, but only made it worse.

"Morning Aiden. Finally decided to grace us with your presence?" Their father was always sarcastic.

"Nope, just got hungry. So, what's the plan for today Mum? Are we really going into muggle London?" Severus looked at Hermione in surprise.

"You told them you would go to muggle London? And you didn't tell me?"

"I would have told you if you asked, but you didn't. It's your own fault."

"My fault? How dare you think this is my fault! We haven't been to muggle London since the Christmas after we got married."

"And that's my fault?" They continued fighting. Aiden leaned in toward Aileen.

"Mother and Father are fighting again. Should we do something, or just let them get on with it. You know what happens after they fight, and it's our birthday." He grimaced.

"Do you have your wand with you?"

"Yeah, do you think I'm that forgetful?" She smiled as he pulled out his 11 inch ash and unicorn hair.

"Yes, I do." She extracted her 11 & ¾ inch ivy and dragon heartstring from her robe pocket. They both pointed their wands at their parents and spoke in unison, "Finis Flexibilis!" Both Hermione and Severus mouths shut promptly and they turned to their children. Putting her hands on her waist, their mother walked up to the table and looked at both of them with scrutiny. Aileen sighed and took off the charm.

"Thank you. Now I suggest you both get ready to leave, we are going soon." They followed their mother's orders and returned to their rooms to prepare. As they left, they heard their parents talking.

"Hopefully they won't argue anymore today." Aiden walked into his room as he spoke, knowing that his sister would hear him anyway.

"If we got that wish, I would be happy."

"Same here. Hey, you know this means?"

"What are you talking about?"

"We're eleven! We should be getting our Hogwarts letters soon! I cannot wait to have Uncle Harry and Draco, and Aunt Luna and Ginny for real professors!"

"That will be fun, but what house do you think we'll be in?"

"I'm sure I'll be in Ravenclaw like Mum."

"Mother was a Gryffindor, like Uncle Harry."

"What about you smartass? What house do you think you'll be in?"

"Slytherin, of course; Mother always say I'm just like Father, and he was a Slytherin."

"He's the Head of Slytherin, so of course he was one! Remember what Auntie Minerva said? All Head of Houses were once alumni of said house."

"We're not going to be able to call them Aunties and Uncles once we're students."

"Right; we'll have to call them Professor, even Dad."

"Think it'll be weird?"

"With Dad, of course. I've called Auntie Minerva Headmistress for quite some time; it annoys her when I do because it makes her feel old."

"How did that happen?"

"It first happened a few years ago when Auntie Minerva came to visit and Mum addressed her as Headmistress. She told Mum it made her feel old to be called that, so when I did a few weeks later, she told me the same thing. I've done it off and on to bug her for years now."

"And you never told me?"

"You never asked."

"Now you're acting like Father, you might just be in Slytherin too!"

"Will not Aileen! I am more like Mum that you are, so I'm sure to be in her house."

"What if you're not? What if neither of us gets into either Gryffindor or Slytherin?"

"Wonder if Dad will be biased toward us no matter what?"

"He more than likely won't. You know him, he doesn't even favour his own House."

"Mum said once that he used to favour only the Slytherins because the Dark Lord was still there. She said is gave them a false sense of self, which made them easier targets in the Second War."

"Yeah, Uncle Draco said something about that too. He said that Father was very cruel to anyone not in Slytherin, but he hasn't been since the Second War ended."

"So what house do you want to be in?"

"Don't know. Aunt Luna is the Head of Ravenclaw, Uncle Harry is the Head of Gryffindor, and Father is Head of Slytherin."

"Who's the Head of Hufflepuff?"

"Professor Sprout. She was when Mother was a student."

"That was a long time ago, how old do you think she is?"

"She's still relatively young, for a witch." They pulled their cloaks on and walked back into the kitchen. Hermione and Severus were sitting at the table, both talking quietly and holding hands atop the table. They looked up when Aiden and Aileen walked in, and stood. Both had their cloaks on, and headed toward the door.

"Since your father has no idea where we're going, I'll be Apparating everyone." Aiden groaned.

"I hate Apparating. Why can't we use a portkey? Uncle Ron and Draco always have us use one." Severus snorted.

"I don't like portkeys, and your uncles have been using them since they were toddlers; they are used to the effects. Now listen to your mother and take her hand." He wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist and smiled. "Besides, I like it when your mother Apparates us. It's like one big traveling group hug." He pulled Aileen over to his side and squeezed her shoulder. Aiden sighed and got in on his side. Hermione closed her eyes and they were gone.