Chapter 3

Vixen, Minx and Shade

Melanie slowly and quietly walked over to Naomi, suppressing laughter. It was rare anyone got such an open chance to scare Naomi. Her hearing was as acute as it was when she was Vixen (remember, last chapter she had been addressed as Vixxie, so make sure you make note of it). But when she, Naomi, was like this Melanie used it to her strong advantage, and did she love it!

Mel was standing right behind Naomi when...

"Ah! Vixen, why'd...you have—to notice!" Melanie was struggling to say this in between giggles.

"As I said the first time you met me Minx, there is absolutely no way you, or anybody else for that matter, will ever be able to sneak up on me. Eyes like an eagle, ears like a dog, quiet like a mouse, as strong a tiger, right Minx?" Naomi was smiling as she said this.

She had tackled Mel to the ground and now it was the other way around. The two started laughing, but abruptly stopped when Mel announced she had an idea. Naomi looked at Mel with a confused look about her face, having no clue as to what Mel had said. Mel looked up at Naomi and smirked, and began tickling her. Naomi, being an extremely ticklish person, rolled over onto the ground. A combination of screams and laughter could be heard coming from the two, surely attracting raising eyebrows from the dorms close by even though it was harmless.

After about half an hour of throwing pillows, tickling and tackling one another, they both relented. By this time, Naomi's trunk had fallen off the bed and they jumped onto it. They, each in turn, picked a pillow off the floor, rolled on their side to face each other and then hit the other on the head with the their own pillow. A few minute's worth of hitting each other with pillows passed, then they each put their pillows complacently underneath their heads in silence. Melanie was the one to start talking.

"What are you packing for, Vix? I'm surprised you haven't told me already. I mean, really, I've known you since I was a month old, been best friends ever since, we even made our two beds into one, and you can't even take the time to tell me where you're going?" Mel said this in such a guilt-filled voice that Naomi pushed her off the bed. She leaned her head over the edge of the bed, knowing that if she leaned any more Mel would have definitely pulled Naomi down with her.

"I didn't get a chance to! You tried to scare me and I just had to do something about it..." she trailed off, smiling at Mel.

Mel grabbed a small pillow beside her and threw it at Naomi. Naomi's long brown hair fell in front of her face, reflecting her mood. Despite that, she continued into her explanation.

"Mark's back from Italy, Minx. My parents cleared it with Madame DeBarbarac, I'm going home for a week, leaving after diner." Naomi finished, her smile fading rapidly as she realized something.

Mel face's contorted into something that looked like a sad puppy. Naomi narrowed her eyes, sighed, and continued, "Minx, you can't come. Madame told me that my parents said you couldn't come, but I can probably talk to Mark. He'll talk Mother and Father into letting you come." Seeing Mel's doubtful expression, Naomi opted to stop and hug Mel. However, she pressed on. "Minx, Mark and I think of you as family and what would the week be without his two freaky sisters. Come on, Minx... you grab the fairy dust! I'll finish packing. While I'm talking to Mark, you can pack your trunk because I just know it'll work out. Don't worry, Mark and I—we're DuBois children! We can pull anything off, if we want to that is!" Naomi finished, flashing a hopeful and relaxed look at Mel.

"Well, okay. But I'm only doing this because I really want to come, and anyways, fun seems to follow your brother were ever he goes!" Mel said while heading toward the old oak armoire in their dormitory. It had not originally been there though, they redesign the place every year, happily adding and removing things each time. The armoire belonged to Mel; they had both loved it to the extent of adding it to their room.

As Mel grabbed the fairy dust, Nia added a few more things to the inside of her trunk. Still shoving the last clothes for the week into her trunk, Naomi looked up at Mel who was shaking the fairy dust in front of her face.

Shutting her trunk, Naomi got up and headed for the door, shooting a few Locking Charms over her shoulder at the trunk on the way out. Mel handed the faerie dust to her so she could finish packing her trunk. Naomi grabbed it, pulled the small string around the top to open it and poured a small amount in the middle of her palm.

She lightly blew on the dust heap in her palm and said, "I wish to speak to Mark DuBois. Alone must be the DuBois roi."

When Naomi finished, a small cloud had appeared in front of her, and so did her brother, clumsily landing in the middle of the dormitory.

"Hey Mark!" Naomi said, trying hard not to laugh.

"Dear Merlin, Vix! Are you nuts, sneaking up on me like that, you're lucky I wasn't in the bathroom!" Mark said while picking himself off the floor.

Naomi could not hold back laughter any longer. "You were always the worst with transporting people by Dust!" she said. Now Mel had joined in with the laughter of Naomi.

"Hey, Vix? Why did you Dust me anyways?" Mark asked, running his hands through his strawberry blond hair so that it went back to its normal position.

"Oh, right!" Naomi continued after recovering from her little giggle fit. "Mark, do you think you can talk Mother and Father into letting Minx come with me? They told the headmistress she couldn't!" She stared right into Mark's blue-grey eyes, giving him a desperate stare.

"What do you mean they said she couldn't come! If I'm gonna have you come without Minx, well I'd only be getting one side of the coin." He finished, looking frustrated. "I'll go talk to Mother; she's still the weaker one, right?" He looked at his sister, receiving a smile, knowing exactly what it meant.

"Help Minx finish packing. I'll Dust you in a few minutes, alright?" Mark asked and before Naomi could answer, Mel jumped up. "That's great! Oh, thank you, Mark, I really do appreciate it," Mel said with the largest grin anyone had and will ever see.

"It's nothing Minx, talk to you in a few. Oh Vix, remember, no one can see us using the dust so put some more Locking Charms on the door, alright Vix!" Mark more told than asked and they knew it. Nodding in agreement, they turned and put some more locking charms on the door, adding a couple Silencing Charms as well. Once they were done, they went back to packing.

Once they had clipped the trunk shut, a cloud, much like the other one, appeared in front of them. "Am I good or am I good? She can come, so bring her along to the gates after dinner. I'll be waiting for both of you there," Mark smiled. "I've got a surprise for you two. And don't ask Vix, 'cause I'm not telling! But for the sake of driving you two up a wall with curiosity, we aren't staying at home. The DuBois Mansion will be left behind as we go somewhere else for the week. Have fun with that, won't you 'sis? See you after diner, then….Bye!" And the cloud disappeared.

At Dinner

"Maybe we're going to stay at a beach side cottage all week. Oh, I hope so!" Mel said dreamily. "Mel that's the—what, I don't know—hundredth time you said 'Oh, I hope so'" Naomi finished in a mocking voice, and began to laugh.

"Well, where do you think we're going to be then?" Mel asked, annoyed.

"Knowing Mark, some place with good food." Naomi sighed and stuck a heaping fork full of spaghetti in her mouth.

"And don't forget... girls," Mel said 'girls' in such a way that Naomi started choking on her food. With one large gulp and a second or two of gasping for air, Naomi continued their wondrous tradition: guessing exactly what Mark would want. It was now a month until the end of their sixth year. It had been nice outside, perfect for the beach, yet they knew that the water would be too cold. So the two guessed what he would want at this time in the year, curious as always.

"And places to shop. Boy or not, he would have to stand it for the two of us!" Naomi added.

"And a nice inn for us to stay at," they pondered. Sitting quietly, eating and thinking. "Somewhere he knows kids our age would be, for, at the least, a couple of hours. He always loves to watch you practice your 'charm'!" Naomi thought aloud.

"Maybe somewhere near a school, weekend visits to some town that's close. Schools do it all the time!" Mel said intelligently.

"And definitely in France. He's been away for so long. He would want to stay in France for as long as possible." Naomi finished with a grin on her face. Suddenly, everyone stood up and began to leave. Mel and Naomi got up instantly, racing toward their room. They were both thinking the same thing. 'The quicker, the better!'

At the Gates

Naomi and Mel stood at the gates, waiting impatiently for Mark. Patience was one of the virtues that never came easily to the two of them.

The two jumped at the sound of an extremely loud 'Crack!' from behind them. "Mark!" Naomi dropped her trunk, turned and tackled her older brother.

"Hey, nice to see you still adore your big... bloody hell! Vixen, why do you look like cra—I mean, like you haven't slept!" Mark now looked and sounded very worried.

"It's nothing Mark. I'm just having a hard time sleep—" However, Mel cut in before she could finish. "Oh, that's a lie and you know it, Vix!" Mel sounded cross with Naomi. "Mark, she's having that nightmare again!" Now she turned to the nightmare-having Naomi herself. "Really, why you're trying to lie to Mark is beyond me, but still..." Mel sounded terribly frustrated. Looking up, she added, "I don't mean to sound so angry Vix. It's just..."

"She's just worried. But, why didn't you tell me?" Mark sounded, if even possible, more worried than before.

"I didn't tell you because I knew that you'd get worried and come back. I wanted you to have fun Mark. And even if I'd talked you into staying in Italy, you would have been too worried to enjoy it. And don't look at me like that, I know you Mark, and that's exactly what you would have done. I'm your sister, Shade, I know how you are!" Mark seemed taken aback by the use of his old family nickname. People stopped using it so long ago, Merlin only knew Naomi would be the one to start using it again. But just to be sure...

"Vix, you do know what you just called me, don't you?" Mark asked, curiosity and surprise in his voice.

"Yes, I do. I called you Shade; I still don't know why they stopped calling you that. You still deserve the nickname, in my opinion anyway," she finished, a smile suddenly creeping onto her face.

"Vixen—" Mark did not know what to say. So he just smiled and ruffled his sister's silky straight hair. "Why don't we go, it's getting late and we still need to check into the inn." Mark offered the two girls his arms and smiled. They picked up their trunks with one hand and linked to Mark's arms with the other.

"Shade, you still haven't told us where it is you're bringing us." Naomi smiled. It was going to take some time for Mark to get used to being called 'Shade' again.

"Hogsmeade. That's where." He decided to leave it there and just Apparated with Mel and Naomi on either side.