Chapter 7: It's showtime

Elsa loved everything about Hogwarts, from the grand feast with candles that floated above their heads to moving staircases that attempted to misguide you, but if timed correctly, could lead you to your destination faster. She loved belonging to the Ravenclaw House, where everyone was of similar mind to hers. She got along with her roommates immediately. Luna often spoke like through a dream while Sue Li shared Elsa's love for books.

But the ache of separation made it impossible to enjoy her beautiful blue-themed dorm.

"If you ever need me, you can always send me a signal," Jack had assured her after the evening feast.

She needed him when she followed her housemates and saw him walk in the opposite direction. She needed him when she was shown her bed and had no idea where his bed was. And she needed him to fall asleep, afraid that her nightmares would return. Where would she find the comfort he gave her?

No matter how much she needed him, she did not use the special connection they shared to call him. They had both wanted this. They had to adapt to the situation even when it felt like punishment.

She left her roommates to unpack and made her way to the airy, Ravenclaw common room, where tall bookcases were stacked all the way to the vaulted ceiling, painted in twinkling stars. Elsa picked up a random book and curled up in a soft chair, but she couldn't even find the will to read a single page.

She had a flashback to how when small, she had "borrowed" a book from the kitchen and snuck to their chamber to study by the candlelight.

"What's that?" Jack had asked.

"An elixir book," Elsa had said, tracing lines of text. She didn't know then that she was holding the book upside down. "I'm going to learn how to read."

"Once you do, teach me too, will you?" Jack had said, getting back in his cot. "I don't want to be left behind."

Did she leave him behind now? She didn't mean to.

"My first night was hard too."

Elsa wiped her eyes and looked up at who had said that. It was Padma, one of the twins from the train. She sat on the other chair, holding out a handkerchief. "No one knows what it's like to be separated from their twin if they don't have one."

"Thanks." Elsa dabbed away the tears. "We have never been apart."

Their mother used separation as punishment, but even then, they were locked in adjacent chambers and could feel each other through the walls. Now, Elsa had no idea where he was and no one could tell her how to find the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. What was the purpose of this secrecy?

"It will get better, I promise," Padma continued. "In the end, I think it was for the best that Parvati and I ended up in different Houses."

"How could it be for the best?"

"Well, look at it this way. We're identical, right? So, people tend to think of us as interchangeable—one of the Patil twins. But we're very different people. We have different characters, skills, preferences. We like to be recognized individually, not as a whole, and being in separate houses allows us that."

Elsa wiped her dripping nose and considered the wise words.

"I wouldn't be mistaken for my brother," she joked, and Padma giggled, "but I see your point. I would probably always walk in the shadow of his loud personality."

"Exactly," Padma agreed. "This way, you get to be your own person."

A smile crept onto Elsa's face. Belonging to the Ravenclaw House was a reward, a privilege, not punishment.

"See? You're doing great," Padma said. "Reason always wins."

》《

"Look what you've done," Mother's voice boomed over them as Jack huddled with Elsa. "You don't follow directions, you get no lantern!" Then, she added in a mocking tone, "Sleep tight, children."

She slammed the door, plunging their chamber into total darkness. Every distant echo or drip of water sounded menacing. Jack gulped and tried to convince himself that he was used to it. Lately, they appeared to deserve this punishment a lot.

"It's just darkness. It can't hurt us," he whispered. He had to be strong for Elsa, who trembled in his arms. Her heart beat against his chest so hard, it felt like his own.

"It's okay," Jack murmured into his sister's hair. "She's gone. I'm here. Try to sleep."

"The bad dreams will come again," Elsa sobbed. "I will never, ever, EVER sleep again!"

Jack hugged her tighter.

"Let the dreams come. We'll face them," he swallowed and tried to sound confident for her, "together."

Elsa sniffed and acknowledged the pact. "Together."

Jack woke up with a start and sat upright in his four-poster bed, the dream still etched vividly in his mind. Long ago, he promised his sister that she would never have to face nightmares alone. How was she doing tonight? Did she need him?

She hadn't called him yet, and he took that as a good sign. She could handle a night apart.

Could he?

Though it had been only a few hours since he last saw her, a heavy weight settled itself on his chest, an ache only her presence could soothe. Did she feel it too?

The dawn had not come yet, and the room was quiet but for the gentle breathing of his sleeping roommates. The dream memory of young Elsa's terrified voice was too fresh on his mind. He wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.

He took a shower, hoping the cold water would wash away the remnants of the dream. He braced himself against the wall with his head down, cold water falling onto the back of his head and sliding in streams down his pale skin.

They had readied themselves for the challenges of living among wizards, but their plans involved both of them. Without his other half, Jack wasn't sure if he could stick to the rules they had agreed on. He didn't realize how much he relied on his sister's wit to get him out of blunders. He needed her.

The condensation on the shower walls turned into intricate patterns of frost. He stepped out and turned on hot water to melt the evidence of his otherness before his roommates noticed. It would have to become a part of his new being-human routine.

Back in his dorm, his roommates were fast asleep. Elsa had said that the best part of going to Hogwarts would be making friends, but looking at the two boys, Jack only saw strangers. What if they didn't like him? What if they saw through his lies and told on him? What would Hogwarts professors do with a pair of Winter Spirits that tried to fake their way into their school?

It was a risk. Why did they take this risk? He felt a sudden need to find Elsa and take her away from this danger, but if he did, she wouldn't get her wish to make friends. He had to make it work for her.

Dressed in his new school uniform and the long, black robe, Jack stuffed his shoes in his pockets and left the dorm. The stairway down the Gryffindor Tower was adorned with hundreds of portraits stacked all the way to the ceiling. The people in them moved between frames, waved, or ignored him completely. Wizards had to have used magic to hang them that high up. Soon he would learn magic like that too if only he managed to adapt to this new life.

He held the wand in his pocket, its magic radiating up his arm to his core. The old wandmaker said that a willow wand like Jack's would allow him to master nonverbal spells. Jack wasn't sure if that was a big deal or not, but he wouldn't give up his wand no matter what. It already felt like an extension of him. He gripped it as a reminder of why he was here and continued down the stairs.

The castle was even larger from the inside than the outside. He wandered the halls aimlessly, wondering where Elsa was until he got to a large double-door, which opened to the school grounds. He took a long breath and a familiar calm of nature's magic washed over him. This was exactly what he needed.

He sat on a bench under a large tree and dug his bare feet into the grass. He let nature's power seep into him until his mind cleared. The sky started changing colors, and he observed the world come awake with the sun. The giant orb lazily raised itself, bathing all nature with its power. He closed his eyes and offered himself to it.

"Isn't magic here amazing?" he asked but then realized that his other half was not there to answer the question.

He had to get used to this lonely feeling if he wanted to be a wizard. He couldn't have it all. Besides, Dumbledore was right. Elsa was somewhere in this castle. Was she awake yet? He sent out a call to her, letting her know where he was. She found him just minutes later, her long white hair fanning behind her as she ran up to him.

The world grew brighter when he saw her smile. She was okay and now, so was he.

"Will you do my hair?" she asked, giving him her brush.

He gladly did, thankful that there was at least one thing she needed him for.

She sat on the bench with her back to him, and he gently brushed her silky hair. The familiarity of their morning routine soothed the aching hole in his heart. He braided her hair to the side, the way she liked, and they walked together to the dining hall, holding hands.

When they entered, she gave him one last hug and whispered, "Don't forget the shoes," and left towards the Ravenclaw table, where a few girls called her over with excitement. She was making friends already. She looked happy.

It was his turn.

Jack took the dreaded loafers out of his pockets and put them on. He looked at the Gryffindor table apprehensively, suddenly quite overwhelmed by the sheer number of students, some of whom were staring at him already. He recognized his roommates, sitting in the middle of the table. He took a long breath to brace himself and headed over to them to begin his new blending-in routine.

"It's showtime."

A/N: I'm considering renaming book 1. The series name is still the same but I'm thinking to change The Gathering into something else. It feels weird to change the name of the book after it's been out for so long, but the end result is what matters most, isn't it? What do you think?