You will be owled all wedding plans as soon as I finalize them."
Mimosa clasped her mother's hand. "Thank you for doing this, Mother. You don't know how much I appreciate you taking this on."
She couldn't help the ghost of a smile that escaped onto her lips. "You give me too much credit. Planning events is my specialty, and it helps me pass the time while your father is on business."
Her daughter didn't respond to that; she didn't like thinking about how since her engagement and their family's new protection, her father was spending an abundance of time 'out on business'. "So, the twins never showed up?" She said, quickly changing the subject.
Spica scanned the bustling crowd for her two younger daughters. "Vega did say they would be here." She loved her children, and after having Vega and Electra spend the summer with family in Italy, she was a bit desperate to see them. Despite saying they meet their mother on the platform, they were nowhere in sight. She sighed in defeat. "Catch up with them on the train for me and tell them to write to me as soon as possible so I can hear all about their vacation."
The scarlet engine whistled its warning call. "I will." She promised, breaking away from her mother.
"Tell them I send my love!"
"Yes, Mother." She heaved her trunk onto the train, then jumped on and went in immediate search of her sisters. After peering into a few dozen compartments she spied their identical, curly heads.
Upon opening the door, they pounced. "Mimi!" They squealed as they hugged her.
Vega was the first to break away. The older sister wondered if she was aware of her hands fluttering at her sides as if she was attempting to achieve liftoff. "I've been dying to see you. Like actually dying; I love Nonna and Nonno, but they're super old and-"
"They married you off?" Electra interrupted. It was wise, If they let the younger twin finish her monologue, it would be night.
"I'm engaged, not married."
"Yet." V just had to voice what they were all thinking. That 'yet' that silently percolated around the room like a miasma.
Mimosa agreed with a heavy sigh. "Yet."
"Merlin, Circe, and Morgana! You're barely sixteen. This is wrong, I hope you know this is very, very wrong." Electra had never been one for beating around the bush.
"I didn't have a choice! And neither did Mother or Father." Both twins opened their mouths to interject but were silenced by a hand. "You've seen the headlines, things are getting worse and we needed protection. Wizards with innate abilities are starting to go missing. I overheard Mother and Father talking a couple of weeks ago, it's the real reason they sent you to Colombia. The entire reason I'm going through with the engagement is to keep you safe."
"Are they really searching for people like us?" Vega's voice was small.
Electra crossed her arms in defiance. "He might be searching, but that's the reason we keep the whole legilimency thing under wraps, right? If he doesn't know about us he can't find us."
The older sister saw Vega's wide eyes and recognized the false bravado in her twin's words. Her disagreement stopped dead in her throat. "Right, it's just extra important you tell nobody." Thirteen was too young to be worrying about being hunted by dark wizards. Despite her comforting words, awkward silence followed. "Hey, so I think I'm gonna see if I can find Marlene. I'll see you at the feast?"
"Sure."
"See you there."
She walked down the train corridor with a knot in the pit of her stomach. How did it get to be that people were being hunted and that was normal? The twins read the papers, yet they went on with their lives as if nothing was happening. For all, she knew they would be the next names in 'The Missing' column. Vega didn't stand a chance of staying hidden from the Death Eaters; ever since she was small she'd never been able to keep a secret to save her life, the only reason more people didn't know of their abilities was her knack for planting memories coupled with her Electra inducing their target to believe them. They were symbiotic, one couldn't work without the other, Vega supplied the raw strength and power, while Electra molded it into something useful. If somebody came after them they could hold their own until one of them was incapacitated, then they would be at their attacker's mercy.
"Mimosa!"
At the sound of her name, she was jolted out of her dark thoughts and she swung around and saw a familiar face.
"It's Sirius from your engagement party." He sauntered over, hand in the pockets of some dark, muggle jeans. "You remember me, don't you?"
"Of course I do." She said with a grin. "What happened to you for the rest of the summer? I saw your family at a few other gatherings, but you were never there."
His smile faded and his eyes swept the carpeted floor. "My family, well, we just weren't working out. You know how it is, differing opinions and the like."
"Oh." She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Family can be difficult sometimes."
He gave a sardonic snort as they made their way to an empty compartment. "Try all the time." Then he gave his head a shake as if it was water off a duck's back. "Enough about me, how's Knobhead?"
"Knobby as ever. He's a right prick, isn't he?"
"You have my condolences." He said, sitting next to her and slinging his arm around her shoulders.
She raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you friendly." Sure, she was surprised by how familiar an action it was, but it felt nice, sitting there with him.
"Friendly, that's me." His mouth suddenly formed an almost comical 'O'. "I just remembered where I know you from."
"I sincerely hope you're not going to say my engagement. Or perhaps I've given you too much credit; you are a Gryffindor after all."
He put his free hand to his chest. "You wound me. I meant from before the party. You're that one Hufflepuff who's wicked good at History, right?"
She nodded. "How did you know?"
"I sat behind you all first year so I could cheat off your tests." He admitted with a smirk.
Her mouth flew open. "Sirius!" She playfully thwacked his shoulder
"No wonder I didn't recognize you though, not many Hufflepuffs who associate with the crowd you do."
"It's more my family's crowd than mine."
She felt him stiffen slightly at the mention of family. "I know the feeling."
Mimosa took a minute to gauge the situation. "Your parents kicked you out, didn't they."
A curt nod was given. "You know the whole firstborn disappointment routine? Well, mine took it a step or five farther."
"I'm sorry." She turned to look him in the eye. "But your parents are wrong. Nothing is disappointing about you."
He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. She froze.
"Sirius! What the hell?!" Pushing him back, her momentum brought her against the wall. "You-you..." She struggled for words. "What in the fuck were you thinking?!"
At least he had the decency to look sheepish. He raked his fingers through his hair. "Sorry! Sorry. I misread the situation."
"For what? A swinger club?" She was pissed. "I'm engaged! Merlin, I'm getting married."
"To an utter dildo!" He fired back.
"For my family. And you thought I would just throw it all away for a snog?" She started out of the compartment. "Well fuck you, Black. Fuck you."
He gave her an infernal smirk. "I'd like that very much."
"Jump off the train, why don't you!" Her cheeks burned red, though if it was out of anger or embarrassment was not clear.
He flipped her the bird. "Right back at you, Doll."
She slammed the door of the compartment and ran down the corridor. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. She thought she had begun to make a friend, or at least found somebody who was starting to understand her. Turns out he didn't give a shit. Fuck Sirius Black. She caught sight of a flash of blonde curls and a short skirt. Finally, she found her. "Marlene!"
She looked up and saw the dark-haired witch hurtling towards her.
"Compartment. Now!" She grabbed her hand and yanked the blonde witch into the nearest one. It seemed fewer and fewer kids were on the train each year.
"Christ, Mimi!" She squawked, hand at her breast. "The fuck was that for?"
"I hate him!" She paced the small area. "And he tried to kiss me!"
Marlene held her hand up. "Woah, woah, woah. Hold up, did Castor force you? 'Cause I'll break every bone-"
"Not Castor, Black."
"Sirius Black?"
Mimosa snorted. "I'm certainly not talking about his brother!"
"Take a breath, Mimi. Sirius is just a skirt chaser."
She glowered. "Well, my skirt isn't for chasing."
"Uh-huh." She began examining her nails. "Is that all? Sirius Black kissing a pretty girl is nothing to write home about." Her head cocked in thought. "Especially in your case. I can't imagine the Avery's would take too kindly to their daughter-in-law-to-be necking bad boys in dark corners."
"We weren't necking!"
Marlene raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't the one who was running around, yelling about kissing him."
The raven-haired girl collapsed onto the settee in a rage, crossing her arms and grumbling.
"Anyway, why are you so worked up about this? It's not like you."
"I thought I could trust him, you know, he gets it about the whole weird marriage thing. I guess not though, 'cause he just went and tried for a snog!" A tremor of anger ran through her voice.
"Oh, Mimi. Guys don't think with their heads; they never have and they never will." She pulled a pack out of her sweater pocket. "Cigarette?"
Mimosa accepted. That was as close to comforting as Marlene got. The remainder of the ride was spent chain-smoking in a quest to keep her now simmering rage from evolving to a full-blown rolling boil. Breaks screeched, and the train came to a slow halt.
"Fuck! Why didn't you tell me we were so close?" Marlene began hurriedly disappearing blue-grey smoke.
"How was I supposed to know?"
"Oh, I'm sorry." She snapped. "Were you too busy brooding? Poor baby."
As the rest of her cigarette was thrown out the window, familiar voices approached. "It's the twins, shit! Quick, they hate smoking, what do I do?" She wrung her hands.
"For a start, you could stop yakking and help me."
A minute later a knock came from the compartment door. "Mimosa."
"Just a second!" She frantically cast spells to mask their activities, but the smell remained.
Vega had not listened. As the door opened, she knew from the look in Vega's eyes that she was caught red-handed.
The teen plastered a sheepish look on her face. "Hi."
"You promised you'd stop!" Needless to say, the following carriage ride was taken up by a rantish lecture on black lungs and just how early she would find her grave.