Chapter 12: New project

Last night, a disturbing dream had tormented Elsa: Mother showed up at Hogwarts to drag them away. They were powerless to stop her and none of the teachers dared to intervene.

Elsa did not want to leave Hogwarts. She loved learning magic, and she loved her new best friend. Luna Lovegood was full of warmth and kindness. It was never boring with her around. Out of nowhere, she'd break into a song or start dancing and give Elsa something to smile about. She couldn't imagine going back to her old life underground, where her only company, besides her brother, were hags and smelly goats. And her mother? A shiver went down her spine that had nothing to do with being cold. Mother had to be furious with them now. Elsa didn't dare imagine what punishment she would choose.

The possibility of Mother finding them loomed over her like a dark cloud and overshadowed every other thought. While she knew it had only been a dream this time, it wasn't a figment of her imagination. It was foolish to think that they were completely hidden in the castle. It was only a matter of time before Mother discovered them, and just like in the dream, no one would stop her.

Elsa picked up her Transfiguration textbook and paged through it absentmindedly. She had nearly told McGonagall the truth, but couldn't phrase it right.

Our mother is Dark Beira, The Spirit of Winter that rules over these lands in the cold months.

You're the offspring of a mythical being, are you? Don't be absurd, child, and tell me the truth.

Elsa laughed out loud, imagining that conversation. No, it was safer to let McGonagall believe they had no family at all. It was close enough to the truth.

She put the book away and went looking for Luna.

She found her in the common room sitting on the floor with her legs folded beneath her. Luna's long hair spilled around her arms and onto the coffee table. It was a darker shade blond than Mother's but beautiful in its own way. She was drawing the face of a pretty woman, who seemed to gaze back from the parchment. Elsa immediately felt an artistic bond with her.

"That's really beautiful, Luna. Who is this?"

"That's my mom," the girl said while continuing her drawing. "She died, so whenever I want to see her again, I just draw her."

Elsa wasn't sure what to say, so she put a hand on her shoulder and watched her draw stunning details of hair curling in beautiful locks.

"I was very sad for a long time," Luna said, "but at least I still have my dad. He makes everything better."

Would Elsa feel sad if her mother died? She never considered the possibility. Her mother didn't age as normal people did.

"I never even met my dad," Elsa murmured.

"Do you want to?"

"I don't know who he is or how to find him."

"Have you tried magic?"

Elsa gaped at the girl who was still occupied with her craft, unaware of what she'd just proposed. Elsa had never thought to seek her father because Mother refused to tell her anything about him. But maybe when you had an impossible question, magic was the answer.

"Do you know of a spell that would help me find my father?"

Luna shrugged and looked up from her drawing with big dreamy eyes. "No, but we are in a magic school, aren't we?"

Elsa's head started swirling with ideas. What if their father could protect them from their mother? What if they could live with him instead of with McGonagall?

"Thank you, Luna," she called out, running out of the common room.

》《

"I think you're drooling," Jack said as Elsa gaped at the Hogwarts library.

It was a tall room divided into many aisles, stretching ahead for eons, home to thousands upon thousands of books. To his sister, it had to be like paradise. He still wasn't sure why she brought them here.

"This is going to take some time," Elsa said under her breath. "Oh, a librarian."

She approached a thin woman sitting behind a wooden desk, littered by leather-bound ancient volumes.

"Hello."

"Yes?" The witch's cheeks were sunken and her complexion pasty like she rarely ever went outside.

"I'm looking for someone and…"

"Then you're in the wrong place. This is a library. You will only find books here." The woman looked back down at the large book in front of her.

Elsa forced a smile. "I am looking for a book that would help me find someone. What kind of book would you recommend? If you could just point us in the right section..."

The librarian glared at her like a predator. "If you don't know what book you're looking for, how should I? Do not waste my time, children."

Elsa backed away and glanced sideways at Jack. She whispered, "you try."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Just charm her so she would help us."

"Why do you think I can charm her?"

"Have you not noticed how easily you won over McGonagall? Do you not see how all the girls hang onto your every word? Just go, do your thing. Smile at her or something."

Jack didn't notice anything like what she described at all, but Elsa didn't let him protest and pushed him at the librarian's desk where he landed with a clatter.

The sunken-faced woman fumed at the noise, her nostrils expanding like she was a bull.

Jack scratched the back of his neck. "Hi, uh..." He read a plaque attached to the desk. "Madam Pince, my sister and I, we're lost here. There are so many books. Would you please help us?"

The woman glared at him like he had committed a crime for disturbing her. What did Elsa think he could do? Did he have a trick for McGonagall? Well, usually when he wanted her to stop yelling, he lowered his head and raised only his eyes, trying to look innocent. He tried it now on the librarian. Her vulture-like expression started to melt. She got up from her chair, her face contorting into what had to be a very rarely used smile.

"Of course, boy. That's my job. What's your name?"

Whoa. Did that really work?

"I'm Jack," he answered shyly, trying to keep the innocent mask on, "and that's my twin, Elsa."

"Twins, how cute," the woman said and smoothed the hair on his head. "Sure, I'll help you."

Elsa nudged him with her elbow, saying, "I told you so."

With the librarian's help, they found the Divination section, where she recommended books on scrying for lost objects. She smiled at them kindly, encouraged Jack to come to her anytime he needed, and left them to their research.

With the librarian gone, Jack dropped the puppy-eyes and faced Elsa. "Okay. Who are we looking for?"

"Our father," Elsa explained while touching the spines of the books to check their titles. "Mother refused to tell us anything about him but what if we could find him with magic?"

"Why do you want to find him?" He leaned against a shelf and folded his arms on his chest.

"You don't?"

Jack shrugged. "I never really thought about it."

"You're not even a little curious who he might be or what he's like?"

Jack looked down at his shoes, wondering if he could shed them. He didn't like where this conversation was going. "He left us with her. He doesn't care."

Elsa paused with a book halfway off the shelf. "Jack, what if we could live with him?"

Jack picked at his cuticles to distract himself from memories that were trying to surface. When he was small, he fantasized that one day their father would come to take them away. He waited and waited until he realized that if they ever wanted to see the world outside of Mother's mountain, they would have to escape on their own. No one would ever come to save them. It was easier to think that their father didn't exist.

Elsa started looking through the dusty tomes, and Jack quietly stood nearby. She was hopeful. He didn't want to take it away from her, but he was content with McGonagall. Maybe she could protect them from Mother. She was a powerful witch. They didn't need another stranger in their lives.

"The books won't bite you, you know?" she said with a smirk.

He glanced at the volumes, feeling overwhelmed. There had to be hundreds. Thousands! He was pretty sure they'd need magic to retrieve the books on top, the ladders didn't even reach that far, but he didn't know any spells like that yet. She didn't expect them to read it all, did she?

"Books are your thing. I'm no help to you here."

"Come on, just try."

She scanned the text with a finger. Was that a reading technique that they taught in her house?

He grabbed a random book and turned to the last page. There were twelve hundred pages in there. He felt lightheaded just thinking about that number. Elsa's book looked even thicker than that, but it didn't discourage her. It was like she was a different species.

"I wasn't smart enough to get into Ravenclaw, remember?" He put the book back. "I'm useless to you."

"Jack…"

"I'm sorry," he said, leaving her with the books.

Useless.

He rushed between the aisles, trying to get out of there. He just proved how useless he was, not helping with her project. He was a terrible brother for leaving. At least, he should've kept her company, but she made him think about things he wasn't supposed to be thinking about.

Useless.

No, he had to push those memories away. He had been doing very well recently. He rarely even dreamt about her.

Useless.

Jack ran out of the castle and didn't stop until he reached a circle of large stones. He sat on the ground with his back against the rock, hugged his knees, and tried to not think about her. Frost started spreading underneath him, and he didn't stop it. He watched it climb the rocks and tried to clear his mind of all thoughts.

It was a mistake, he realized when he felt the memory seep through his defenses. They were maybe four-winters old when their mother started training them. Out of all the sessions, the first one imprinted itself in his head the most—the day he realized that he would always be the weaker twin.

》《

The chamber they were ushered to was usually off-limits, so today felt special. Inside, a beautiful young woman sat behind a stone table, looking like a spark of life in an otherwise gray room.

"Sit down," she ordered, gesturing to the empty chairs across from her.

Jack marveled at her. They never got to meet anyone from the outside world before. Two lanterns hung from wall hooks behind her, illuminating golden hair flowing down her shoulders in beautiful waves. On her head, she wore a circlet made of colorful plants Jack didn't recognize. There was something familiar about her startling blue eyes which sparkled like diamonds in the night. He thought that he should know her but how?

He checked with Elsa, and she was just as surprised as he was.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The woman's nostrils flared momentarily and she pounded her fist on the table. A cold feeling filled the room, the familiar soothing sensation of winter magic—the same magic he always felt whenever Mother got angry.

"Mother?"

He couldn't believe his eyes. Why did she look so different? He saw her just a few days ago, and she looked almost like a hag, gnarly fingers, wrinkled skin, and hair as white as theirs. She was the prettiest hag of them all, but still… not this pretty.

"Sit," she ordered. Her face was beautiful and calm again, and her green gown floated around her feet as she gracefully crossed her legs.

Jack started to wonder what else would change. Hags mentioned that spring was here. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he felt a change in the Earth's magic. Was that what changed their mother?

"What happened?" Elsa asked, watching their mother with awe.

"No questions!"

Mother placed two small plants on the table, one for each of them. The end of it spread out into delicate purple leaves. Were they leaves? Jack wasn't sure.

Elsa poked at it and dared to ask, "What is it?"

Mother scoffed, annoyed at the question, but answered.

"It's a flower," she spat out as if the word disgusted her. "Meddlesome Spring Spirit's work," she murmured to herself.

Jack picked up the flower and felt a faint tingle of magic. It was very different from his mother's power, but he liked its warmth. Were there more of them somewhere out there?

"Now, freeze it," Mother ordered and looked at them expectantly.

Jack checked what his sister did—she scrunched up her brows, and the flower in her hand slowly became hidden in a blob of ice.

Mother smiled at her pleasantly. "Good. Keep this up, and I'll give you a gift."

Elsa grinned wide. Jack didn't dare hope for a gift, but Mother's smile would be enough. He focused on the flower in his hand, willing his magic into it. He did a good job covering it with white frost, but his mother did not smile.

"I said, freeze it," she said, not even looking at him, busy with admiring her hands. "Spring could melt that frost in seconds."

He concentrated even harder. A thicker layer of frost covered the flower while its magic began to fade.

"I said, ice! Not frost!" Mother yelled.

He didn't want to make her angry. He was trying, he really was, but ice wasn't happening. He looked to his sister for help.

"Just try, Jack," Elsa encouraged him. "It's not hard."

Mother looked just as angry as that time he accidentally disturbed her nap. She was starting to look like her old self, just younger. He closed his eyes and tried his very hardest to pour all his magic into his hands. He wanted her to be happy, to be this beautiful woman, and not a scary hag.

He felt the little plant's magic die and tried not to cry. He didn't want to kill the flower, but he didn't want to disobey his mother either. He willed all he had at the plant, thinking about icicles and frozen puddles. When he opened his eyes to check if it had worked, he found frost covering his hands and creeping up his sleeves.

He put the dead flower on the table, knowing he couldn't do what Elsa did.

"I don't know how," he admitted.

Mother stood up and said only one word, which from then on became her favorite nickname for him.

"Useless."