x
x
x
x
x
Repeating Histories
x
x
"One season following another, laden with happiness and tears..."
x
x
x
x
x
The Leaky Cauldron looked much the same as it had for centuries. Rough outer walls contained a ground level, which housed a main dining room and several private ones below the Inn itself. It had been a tradition for years now for the Notts and Lestranges to all have dinner together in one of the private dining rooms, before bringing their children to the school. Over the years the families had grown and the children had made friends that they wanted to bring along, so that now they took up two dining rooms. The adults conversed and gave their last minute instructions to their children, the offspring laughed, joked, and shared their new school purchases with each other, and every now and then outsiders would pause by the dining room windows, to catch a glimpse of the ethereal Nott siblings, or the stately Lestranges, the famous children of privilege.
"Good Merlin, it's the children of the corn," A smarmy voice noted between Rodrigue and Rodmilla as the meal was winding down. Rodmilla looked over her shoulder, squealing and wrapping her arms around Charisse Zabini.
"You're not with your parents?" Rodmilla asked of the older girl, who was wearing her Slytherin uniform already. Charisse rolled her eyes,
"Father and mother left for Monaco this morning," She yawned, pushing her thick, reddish brown curls over her shoulders, "I swear, they didn't like each other this much when I was in primary school. It's as if they just realized they were married again,"
"CHARISSE!" Oubliette's voice exploded from Rodmilla's left, and from the other end of the long lunch table her best friend hurried over to hug her friend and dorm mate. Still seated, Rod sighed, shaking his head,
"Girls," He mumbled, smirking slightly. Next to him, Antoine Lestrange grinned.
"Children of the corn, and now the Witches of Eastwick," The younger boy noted, observing the willowy blonde, the pale brunette and the mocha-skinned redhead. And the three girls sighed, rolled their eyes and moved away, while the boys chuckled.
"Brides of Dracula!" Alexander called after them...
x
x
x
"Am I the only one who feels too young to be a matriarch?" Orla asked of the abyss, from her seat among the elder set at the head of the tables. Luna laughed, nodding and looking remarkably like her oldest daughter as she did so. Orla's significantly older husband, however, simply smiled,
"You might," Rabastan replied, though with iron-grey hair and a highly distinguished face, his age suited him well, "I, on the other hand, am finally starting to feel my age..."
"Father!" His youngest Penelope suddenly called, her light brown pigtails trailing behind her as she ran to her parents, "Bast stole my new quills and started writing to Laurent and then he was doodling all over Oubliette's new notebook and made it anonymous so that he could blame me but I didn't do it and HE BROKE MY QUILL!"
"...Well!" Orla said brightly, as her husband tried his best not to laugh, "Clearly time to get a move on to the school."
x
x
x
x
x
Rodmilla rode to the school with her parents in their Thestral-drawn carriage (beasts that she could not see of course, though both Luna and Theodore could). Usually, she would ride with Rodrigue, Oubliette, Charisse and Claudette, but this afternoon she had requested a seat with Luna, Theodore and Cacilia. She had something to ask of her mother, as it kept troubling her mind and she couldn't bear the obnoxious thought of having it trouble her until Christmas holls.
"Mother," Rodmilla asked slowly, as their line of carriages rushed through the London streets. Luna turned her head to look at her daughter, who sat by her side. The sixteen year old looked down at her lap, putting on an easy, conversational smile, "How did you and father meet?"
Luna glanced up at Theodore for a brief moment, who sat with Cacilia napping on his shoulder. His face remained unchanged, but each knew how to read the other's eyes. Luna's smile mirrored her daughter's, and Rodmilla didn't miss that fact, "We met at school," She replied simply, "Of course, we did not have a relationship until afterwards, but we knew each other there..."
"We became acquaintances one day in the library, if you'll recall," Theodore added, giving his wife a small smile. Rodmilla witnessed a far more genuine grin from her mother then,
"Ah yes, how could I forget?" Luna replied in her dreamy voice, "I gave you a lecture on the proper use of a chair..."
Now Rodmilla was genuinely interested in the story itself, and listened as her parents recounted their first real conversation. But in the back of her mind, Rodmilla realized just what was off. She'd never thought of it before, for why would she? But now it seemed rather blatantly obvious. If Rodmilla had her dates right, then that would mean her parents were married and her mother then became pregnant in the middle of Luna's seventh year.
x
x
x
x
x
x
Some things do not change. One can try to bury, burn, murder and rewrite history, but no one can stop history's bad habit of repeating, as much as one desperately wanted to. Such was rarely as clear and obvious as when the crowd gathered at the gates of Hogwarts every year. Parents and former students would be bidding their children farewell, whilst glancing at each other over the heads of their enthusiastic schoolchildren. No matter their social or political standing after the war, the adults all saw the same things in each others eyes. They all wanted their offspring to have far quieter school years than any of them had experienced. Whether or not history was going to let them was an entirely different matter.
"Weasley," Alexander faced down the older boy before him, as carriages drew up to the steps of the school behind them.
"Nott," The older boy nodded once, crossing his arms. The two Gryffindors regarded each other for a time, as rivals in pranking and social class, before they were rudely interrupted,
"Ron!" Alicia Spinnet had her son in one last bear hug, ruffling his hair and making him blush to the tips of his ears, "Now I like that, trying to get away from your mum without a proper goodbye!"
Alexander cracked up, until his own willowy mother was planting another kiss goodbye on his cheek. Alicia was making Ron promise to keep an eye on his younger sister Claire, and Theodore was giving his last instructions to Rod, while helping him pin his prefect badge on his robes. All around parents were bidding their children farewell and good luck, on the steps of what was once called Buckingham Palace in years gone by. Now it was Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Not as grand or protected as the old building had been, but then, there was hope for not nearly as much turmoil in the world. Hope being the key phrase.
"Ugh, I can't believe Headmaster Snape let them in," Charisse mumbled as she and her brother James ascended the stairs, brushing past the Weasley siblings, "Mudbloods, all..." Claudette saw her dorm mate Emily Corner and ran off to say hullo. Rodmilla sighed,
"They pay tuition just like the rest of us," She reminded her friend quietly. Oubliette 'humphed' slightly, but said nothing, "Besides, their father was a war hero. Of course they're allowed in,"
"Yes, war hero," Charisse snorted, "For the wrong side..."
x
x
x
x
x
The Welcoming Feast that night was as wonderful as any Feast at Old Hogwarts had been. When the muggle Palace had been re-fortified in the design of the first school, many things had gone back into place. Such as the beautifully charmed ceiling over the Great Hall that greeted every schoolchild warmly, no matter who was in charge of the world.
It was the ceiling that caught Zoë Smith's attention first, as she made her way between the House tables with the crowd of first years. She almost walked straight into Professor Sinistra; her eyes were so fixed on the perfect imitation of the night sky above. Rodmilla tried not to look too obvious from her seat at the Slytherin table, but she couldn't help smiling as Sinistra called Zoë's name.
Scrambling toward the stool, Zoë sat down and looked up, just as Selune dropped the Sorting Hat (one of the last relics of Old Hogwarts that had survived) on her head with a wink. Zoë felt somewhat at ease. The head of Ravenclaw House was a long-time friend of the family. Everyone watched with rapt attention as the young girl waited, her eyes shut tightly. And then...
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat cried. There was much cheering and Rodmilla gave Zoë a hearty applause as she skipped over to her new House table. A fourth year girl with dark brown pigtails gave her a big hug as she sat down.
Rodmilla looked back at her housemates, who were all talking amongst themselves until Headmaster Snape stood up to give the beginning of the year announcements. Across the way though, she could sense her twin watching her. She looked over at the Ravenclaw table and sure enough, there was Rod, Prefect and Quidditch Captain, watching her as if trying to figure her out. Something he'd never had to do before.
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Author's Notes: This took a bit of work, and there is not much meat to it, which bugs me. BUT! More meaty chapters to come, as they're now at school, bwaahaahaa etc.