Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other characters created by J.K. Rowling, nor do I own Utena. However, I do own Gold Shawson, Nicole de Laurette, and Ginger Anderson (which I should've mentioned in the other chapters).
Edit 1: I goofed up the timeline. I'm so ashamed to call myself a Harry Potter fan.
Without further ado, I present the first part of Part Three: The Frog and the Snake. Please, read and tell me your thoughts.
The Frog and the Snake Part I
(What is it about this world that makes me feel so…out of place?)
Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Gryffindor Dorm, Girls Wing
There is still one girl sleeping in bed, even though the others have already left. However, there is another person in the room as well. She slowly creeps up towards the girl's bed, her shadow ever so ebbing closer until it has fully enveloped the sleeping girl. The sleeping girl begins to open her eyes, but even half asleep she has now sensed the presence of the strange girl. The shadowy girl reveals from her robes her wand and raises right in the face of the poor girl in the bed. The girl lets out a startled cry for help, but it is too late
Nicole:
AGUAMENTI!
A sharp jet of ice cold water heads straight for Gold's face. She is now soaking wet. Nicole cannot help but laughing out loud when Gold forms a smirk on her face and takes out her wand. Nicole stops dead in her tracks
Nicole:
Now, hold on a-
Gold:
FERULA!
Bandages shoot out of Gold's wand and wrap themselves all over Nicole's face
Nicole:
…you think you're so funny.
Gold:
It's just something I learned from you.
Gold begins to dry off and get dressed while Nicole tries to get out of the bandages
Gold brushing her wavy, black hair :
How did you get in here anyway, Nicole?
Nicole struggling :
You, mmph, gave me the password, remember?
Gold snaps the brush in half in her hand
(I knew that would come back to haunt me)
Gold:
But you know it's against the rules for students to be in another's house dorm.
Nicole:
Since when have I ever listened to the rules?
Gold takes her wand and repairs the brush
Gold:
Good point.
Gold starts to get dressed in her school robes
Gold:
Do you mind?
Nicole:
Why? It's not like you've got anything I don't have.
Gold:
I know, I just don't want you getting jealous.
Nicole:
Jealous of what?
Gold:
What you've lacked to fill in.
Nicole begins to fume
Nicole:
You are an EVIL one, Gold Shawson.
Gold giggling :
Five minutes?
Nicole:
Alright. But don't disappear into a wardrobe or something.
Gold:
Do cupboards count?
Nicole:
Yes.
Gold:
Damn!
Nicole is now waiting outside the portrait of the Fat Lady
Nicole:
She is a completely different person in the morning, I'll tell you.
The Fat Lady:
You do know that you didn't have permission to go in there.
Nicole:
You weren't complaining when I went in.
The Fat Lady:
I was asleep.
Nicole:
I didn't know that was the word for "hung-over" these days.
The Fat Lady lets out a sound of disgust when she swings open
Gold:
Ready!
Gold steps out of the portrait. She is now fully dressed in her school robes and is completely dried
Gold:
Let's go get some breakfast. I'm starved.
Nicole:
Breakfast is over, Goldie. You slept through it.
Gold:
What?
Nicole:
By my mark the second half of Potions should've started right, about… now.
Gold:
YOU MEAN IT'S THAT LATE?!
The two dash down the hall in a whirlwind, leaving some students and teachers in their dust. They finally make their way to the Potions Dungeon on one of the basement floors of the castle. Potions is generally one of the least popular classes in Hogwarts, mainly because of the man who teaches it. Professor Severus Snape, who also happens to be head of Slytherin House, Nicole's house. Snape is known for his greasy black hair, hook nose, sallow skin, and uneven, filthy teeth. He is an unpleasant man who shows favoritism towards the students of his house, and has an absolute disdain for a certain fifth year with glasses and a scar on his forehead. But this is not that student's story. Moving on, Nicole and Gold has both made it to the dark classroom, where Snape is standing in front of the class and is looking very annoyed
Snape:
It took you two long enough.
Gold winded :
Sorry, Professor-
Snape:
Save it. Fifty points from Gryffindor for holding up my lesson and having to make Miss Laurette leave to get you.
The Gryffindor students all groan
Gold:
But-!
Snape:
Please take your seats so we can finally start. Any questions?
Gold:
No Professor Snape.
Snape:
Good. Oh, and Miss Laurette?
Nicole:
Yes Professor Snape?
Snape:
Must I keep reminding you about that hair of yours?
Nicole:
Oh? And what about my hair?
Snape:
This a Potions classroom. With hair that long you are prone to cause an accident. If you aren't going to cut it, at least don't let it fly around like that.
(Here we go, Snape's hair lecture)
Nicole:
The rules state that there is nothing wrong with my hair or the way I wear it.
Gold:
Didn't the Headmaster already explain that Nicole's hair hasn't exceeded the limit? So technically, she hasn't broken any rules.
Snape:
I don't recall asking your opinion, Miss Shawson. Another ten points.
Nicole:
Oh but, Professor Snape, with hair as lovely as mine, it's only natural I'd want to take care of it and let it flow freely, so it doesn't look like, you know, something that dripped out of a dog's rear end like someone we know.
Snape:
Detention, Miss Laurette! Is there something you want to add, Miss Shawson?
Gold:
Yes, actually.
Later in Detention
Gold:
Did you have to make fun of Professor Snape's hair like that, Nicky?
Nicole:
You're the one who made that comment about his mother being a, what was it again?
Gold:
A dried-out mattress.
Nicole:
Good one. But, you know you didn't have to get detention with me. Cleaning potion vials isn't as bad as he makes it out to be.
Gold:
Don't be ridiculous. Don't you remember? We swore that if one of us ever gets in trouble, the other would do something just as bad so we could serve the punishment together. Isn't that what best friends are for?
Nicole:
But you already got in trouble for sleeping in. This is a little like overkill, don't you think? And he said we have to do this again for the next week.
Gold:
If you don't mind, I don't mind.
Nicole:
Gold Shawson, you are something else.
(Hi everyone. My name is Gold Shawson. I'm fourteen, British, and I'm a witch. The pale girl next to me, with the long white hair and blue eyes, is Nicole de Laurette, my best friend. We both attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and we're both in the same year. I'm a Gryffindor girl, and Nicole lives in Slytherin house. We weren't always best friends, though. My first year, Nicole and her former posse of Slytherins enjoyed making me miserable just because I was born to muggle parents. To those of you who don't know, a muggle is the term for people who can't perform magic. That year was especially brutal, because students with muggle parents were getting attacked by some giant snake that was moving through the school plumbing. Gross! Anyway, Nicole is a member of a British/French pureblood, that means all-wizarding, family called the Laurettes. Slytherin is famous for being made up of pureblood families. But at the start of my second year, Nicole changed. I don't know how, but suddenly she stopped teasing me and started protecting me from her former gang. When I asked what brought on this change, she told me a story)
Flashback
Gold is being bullied by three Slytherin girls, one of whom is levitating her bookbag in the air and causing the contents to spill out
Gold:
Stop it! Please!
Girl:
Oh look, the mudblood is gonna cry!
Nicole:
Hey!
Nicole walks up the girl who's levitating the bookbag and slaps her. She then starts to pick up the items that spilled on the floor and is putting them back in the bag
Nicole:
Here are your things. I'm sorry.
Girl:
What are you doing with that mudblood, Nicole?
Nicole:
As of this moment our friendship is done. You parasites go find someone else to cling to.
The three girls walk off, shocked that their leaders has abandoned them
Gold:
Why did you help me?
Nicole:
Gold, have you ever heard the story of the Frog and the Snake?
Gold:
No.
Nicole:
It's an African fable. At least I think it is. Anyway, there was once a young Frog, and one day, he met up with a young Snake. The two started to play together and they became fast friends. When they went home after playing, they told their parents about the new friends they made. The Frog's mother was shocked, and told her son that snakes are supposed to eat frogs, not be friends with them. The Snake's mother was shocked as well, and told him that frogs are actually food for snakes. The next day, the Snake visited the Frog's home, and told him to come out so they could play a new game he invented. But the Frog knew that Snake was really going to eat him, and he refused. To this day, frogs and snakes don't play with each other, because they are supposed to be mortal enemies. All because of what their parents told them to do. But…
Gold:
But?
Nicole:
But I don't think children should have to make the same mistakes their parents made. This summer opened my eyes to that. I'd like to be friends with you, to say I'm sorry for the misery they, I caused you last year.
Gold:
I think I'd like to be friends with you too.
(We started to become best friends after that. We vowed that we would always be there for one another People are always so amazed at the fact that Nicole and I are friends, and not just because of our houses. As I said before, Nicole is pale with long, straight white hair, and her eyes are blue, like looking into a pool of water on a sunny day, whereas I have dark skin, which Nicole usually tells me is the same shade as chocolate, and wavy black hair and gold colored eyes. I love the day, while Nicole is more nocturnal. I like dogs, she likes cats. I like sunflowers, she likes lilies. My favorite color is yellow; hers are navy, purple, and black. Despite our small differences, we still care for each other more than anyone can tell. But despite that, she still won't tell me what happened that summer before our second year)
Nicole:
Oh, by the way…
Gold:
What?
Nicole pulls Gold's head down
Gold:
Uh…
Nicole:
Wait for it.
A few minutes later, something made up of sparkling lights whizzes by Gold's head and starts to bounce off the walls. The thing then bounces off a bookshelf and the walls and out of the dungeon back into the hallways. Argus Filch, the Hogwarts Groundskeeper, and his pet cat, Mrs. Norris, stick their heads in the doorway. They are obviously trying to snuff out whatever the thing is
Filch:
Did you see a-
Nicole:
Just missed it.
Filch runs past the door to follow after the sparkling thing. A few seconds later, twins Fred and George Weasley enter the dungeon as well
George:
Have you two seen a-
Nicole:
Just missed Filch.
George:
Right.
The Weasley Twins dash off after Filch
(Oh, did I mention that Nicole can see the future? Well, not the entire future. She can only see bits and pieces of a day like what someone is going to eat for breakfast or what might happen during a class)
Gold:
Well?
Nicole:
Well what? Oh!
Nicole lets go of Gold's hair
Gold:
What was it?
Nicole:
The Weasley Twins were messing around with Filch's head.
Gold:
Those two are gonna make it big in the prank business one day.
Nicole:
If they live long enough.
Gold:
What's that supposed to mean?
Nicole:
Well, all this stuff that's been going on lately. Cedric Diggory's death, the disappearances, and not to mention the fact that Voldemort is back.
Gold:
What do you think might happen?
Nicole:
Well with the way Fudge has been acting, trying to get the Headmaster sacked…
Gold:
And having that toad Umbridge take up the D.A.D.A. position.
Nicole:
Dada? Isn't that an art style that's the opposite of art?
Gold giggling :
No, silly. D.A.D.A. D, A, D, A. Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Nicole:
'Course. That should've been obvious. Still, won't be long before its all-out war, and the Weasleys are going to be right in the middle of it, just like a certain know-it-all and the resident celebrity.
Nicole has a dour look on her face
Gold:
Nicole…cheer up! You wonder why people are always pegging you as a goth girl.
Nicole:
Why do people call me a goth girl?
Gold:
Because you always wear dark clothes.
Nicole:
You try wearing white without blending into the scenery.
(Before we go any further, you're all probably wondering what it was we were just talking about. No not the clothing! First off, Voldemort is this really evil wizard. Pure evil. Before either of us were born, Voldemort had legions of followers, each one believing the idea that people like me, witches and wizards who have muggle blood, were vermin that needed to be exterminated. He…died a year before I was born, but they say that he came back last year. But no one knows what to believe. Everyone's been acting crazy and paranoid. The Minister of Magic sent in Dolores Umbridge who, in my opinion, is the most horrible woman in the entire planet. Every day she treats her students like trash while sounding like your sweet little granny. She makes me feel the way I already do, only worse, but I could never tell Nicole that)
Gold:
Should we clean up the books that got knocked over?
Nicole:
Nah. We'll tell Snape the books got knocked over after we left if he asks.
Nicole and Gold finish cleaning out the potion vials and put them away in the cabinets. They head into the dungeon corridors
Nicole:
Did you get the homework from Muggle Studies class?
Gold:
Professor Burbage wants us to go over the lyrics in this Scare Tactics song and write up any stereotypes we can find.
Nicole:
Oh I love that band! Hold on…
Nicole looks through her bookbag
Nicole:
Uh-oh.
Gold:
What is it?
Nicole:
I lost the lyrics she handed out.
Gold:
No problem, I'm sure you can get another copy from Professor Burbage.
Nicole:
Meet me in front of the Great Hall for dinner?
Gold:
Sure.
Gold and Nicole separate at the Great Staircase. Nicole heads for the Muggle Studies and Gold heads up to the Gryffindor Common Room. As she starts heading down a corridor when someone says Waddiwasi, causing a book to go flying at Gold's head and knocking her down. Three girls walk up to her. Daphne Greengrass, her little sister Astoria, and Hera McNamara, girls in Gold's potions class. Daphne takes out her wand and points it at Gold's throat
Daphne:
Silencio.
Gold tries to open her mouth to yell, but nothing comes out
(My voice! I can't call for help)
Hera reaches down and grabs Gold's wand
Hera:
I'll be taking that. Not like you could do anything.
Daphne:
It's all your fault, Gold Shawson! You and your blood-traitor friend Nicole de Laurette. You two may have gotten detention, but the rest of us got double homework because of what you did!
Hera:
Ever since she started hanging out with you she's been making a mockery of Slytherin House, and causing trouble for the rest of us!
Astoria:
Yeah!
A portrait of a mother holding a baby notices what is going on
Mother in Portrait:
You leave that girl alone this minute!
Astoria:
You shut up!
The baby in the portrait starts to cry
Mother in Portrait:
Now look what you've done.
The mother and the baby exit the portrait. Gold gives the girls a look that says "I'm sorry", but they gang up on her until she's backed up against the stone wall. Gold tries to say something, but she can only mouth them
Daphne:
What should we do? Give her boils or turn her into a ferret?
Hera:
Why not make her teeth grow the size of a hippogriff?
Daphne:
Nah. The nurse can clear that up in a minute. Something that'll really mess her up.
Astoria:
How about we make her puke spiders?
Daphne:
Good thinking, sis!
(They're evil! Please, someone, anyone, help!)
Nicole:
UMBRARA!
Black shadows start to pour out of Nicole's wand and wrap themselves around the three girls. They start to cry and yell out, trying to break free of the inky blackness that surrounds them. Nicole picks up Gold's wand and hands it back to her
Nicole:
Finite Incantatem.
Gold's voice returns to her
Gold:
Thank you.
Nicole:
As for you three…
Nicole points her wand at the three trapped in the darkness
Nicole:
AGUAMENTI!
Water bursts out Nicole's wand and douses the three as the shadows begin to wear off
Nicole:
Now you're all wet.
Nicole grabs Daphne's wet hair
Nicole:
I thought I made this clear the last time, Greengrass. Mess with her and I forget we're family. Be lucky I don't stick your wands in a place where the sun won't shine. Now beat it!
Nicole pushes Daphne into her sister and Hera, and all three run off, soaking wet
Gold:
How did you-?
Nicole:
I was walking out of the third floor when this woman holding a baby in one of the pictures told me you were in trouble.
Gold turns to the portrait of the mother with her baby
Gold:
Thank you.
Mother in Portrait:
No problem.
The baby has stopped crying
Gold:
You'll think they'll tell Snape?
Nicole:
We've got witnesses. I thought Daphne would've backed off after the last time.
(By the last time, she means one weekend at Honeydukes when Daphne had been venting at me because of something I said in D.A.D.A., leading Umbridge to give us two essays for homework (even though all I said was her lipstick was on her teeth!). Nicole froze her and stuck her in the Honeydukes basement. When they found her, she said that one of the workers thought she was a statue made of coconut ice and was gonna shave off her hand. Nicole, Daphne, and Astoria are cousins by Nicole's mom. All pureblood families are related in a way, which kind of makes it awkward if they ever date one another)
Nicole:
You alright?
Gold:
Yeah, I'll be fine. She just caught me by surprise, that's all. I didn't want to put you to trouble.
Nicole:
Nonsense! What're friends for, that's what you said right.
(Bitten by my own words, again)
Nicole:
You want me to bring you back to the common room?
Gold:
Nah. I'm fine.
Nicole:
Alright. See you later.
Gold:
You too.
(The truth is, I'm not fine. I secretly hated myself for having Nicole come save me. Whenever something like this happens, Nicole is always there to save me. I may mouth off to a teacher just to protect her, but I can't fight. I wish I could be more like her. More brave)
Gold turns down the corridor when she hears a scream coming from behind her
Gold:
Nicky!
Gold turns around and runs down the corridor to where the screams are coming from. Nicole is standing on one of the windowsills in fear
Gold:
What is it?!
Nicole:
THAT!
Nicole points a finger towards the floor. There is a cockroach on its back, its many legs kicking up in the air and its feelers twitching around. Nicole's wand lays near it
Gold:
This?
(She might not be scared of most things, but roaches really freak her out)
Nicole:
KILL IT! KILL IT AND SEND IT TO HELL!
Gold:
Calm down.
Gold steps on the roach, then twists her foot on the ground. She takes out a tissue and wipes the bug goo off of her shoe. She bends down and picks up Nicole's wand
Gold:
Why didn't you just zap it?
Nicole:
I dropped my wand the minute I saw that…thing. Is it dead?
Gold:
Not getting any deader.
That's when whatever is left of the thing jumps up and scampers down the hall. Nicole lets out a little shriek and jumps back up on the windowsill
Nicole:
Why are they allowed to live?!
Gold:
You're such a drama queen.
The Great Hall, Lunchtime, the Next Day
It was cold, sunny day. In the Great Hall, the ceiling reflected the autumnal sky which hinted that winter would be on its way. Halloween had passed, and November had started. December was almost near. Gold is sitting down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall when the owls come flying in with the mail. A small, grey owl drops off Gold's mail
Gold:
Thank you.
Among the mail she has received, a subscription to the Quibbler and an American music magazine which was for Nicole, some junk mail, and a letter attached to a red tin container. Gold sets everything down and takes out the Quibbler. After hearing about the slander that the Daily Prophet was spreading, Gold cancelled her subscription and switched to the Quibbler. It was a little far-out, but entertaining to read nonetheless, and the daughter of the editor was in the same year at school as she was, although they weren't in the same house
Gold reading aloud :
Let's see. In recent news, the Ministry of Magic has yet to confirm if the recent sightings of creatures of as-of-yet unknown species are in fact connected to mysterious occurences going on in Azkaban Prisoner. Strange activity among convicted Death Eaters, and the hospitazlization of brothers Rodolphous and Rabastan Lestrange may have connection with assaults perpetrated by said creatures. The creatures in question have been appearing in all parts of Europe. They are humanoid in appearance, and there is some possibility that they are responsible for the disappearances of some muggles, wizards, and squibs in the areas where they have appeared. While we at the Quibbler have not been able to obtain a picture of these creatures, a collection of snapshots were sent in by a muggle news crew from international news station SKU News under special pardon from the Minister of Magic. The specific details of this pardon have not been fully investigated, but we at the Quibbler are doing all we can to find the truth. Where did these creatures come from? Have they always been here? Did someone create them, and for what purpose? Whether or not these creatures pose a threat to the wizarding community, they must be left to their own habitat so we learn more about them. If any of you readers know anything at all, please contact the Quibbler with information. We now show you the photographs (none-moving of course), as they were taken by the brave reporters who've requested to be named A-Ko, B-Ko, C-Ko, E-Ko, and F-Ko.
Gold turned the page to get a look at the photos. The minute she did she started to laugh at how hilarious they were. The creatures in the pictures were indeed humanoid, but they looked so ridiculous. Their skin color varied and they carried around large objects and wore skimpy suits. The five reporters in question were either being attacked or defending themselves. For some reason, the girls had obscured faces, making it difficult to make out their features except for their hair. Gold couldn't tell who was who, but in one picture a tall, lanky creature with orange skin and begonias sticking out of its chest was swinging around a girl by her pigtails, trying to bludgeon a girl with lightning bolts in her hair while the other three were in the corner praying. In the next, a creature that was definitely female, with indigo skin, wild hair, and had a giant cat attached to her back, was being held back by the five girls, this time because a girl who had her hair pinned up, was holding a rabid dog to the female creature. The other four were hiding behind the one holding the dog. The next one had a shiny-looking one chasing after the five as they rode off on a bicycle with five seats. The one after that showed the four putting up a fight to a green one in a leotard. A girl in a ponytail had the thing in a headlock, and a girl with an antennae in her hair was about to slam it with her elbow as she jumped from a fence. But the final one was the funniest out of all of them. This creature, yellow and purple with a mop haircut, was singing with the five as they played instruments like they were in a band. It reminded her of a video she once saw of the Beatles. Gold put the Quibbler down as she started to calm down and tossed away the junk mail. She placed the music magazine in her bookbag to give to Nicole later. Gold took the letter that was taped to the top of the red tin. She recognized the handwriting on the front
(A letter from Aunt Lucy?)
Gold tore the top of the envelope and pulled out the letter, written in blue ink with a ballpoint pen. Like her parents, Gold's aunt was also a Muggle. But she was more…understanding about her abilities than her parents were. She was a woman of nice features in her late twenties who worked in a bakery. Before living with her, Gold had spent a year with her Grandma, before she succumbed to Alzheimer's Disease and was placed in a nursing home. Gold always felt a little guilty of having to live with her aunt, because she was still young and really wasn't sure if she was cut out to be looking after a child, even if she spent nine months away at school not counting breaks
Letter:
Dear Goldie,
how are things at school? Been keeping out of trouble and getting good grades? I hope so. Things have been pretty much the same at home since you left. Gran's been making some progress over at the home, but she's still forgetting things a lot quicker. One minute she thinks it's the 60s, the next it's the 40s. The doctors are worried. Besides that, I sent a care package from the bakery, and I wanted to know if I should expect you home for the holidays or not. I didn't have anything planned except to visit the relatives and this party with some of the guys from work. Lemme know in your next letter what you want to do. Say hi to your friend for me.
Love, Aunt Lucy
Gold set the letter down for a minute
(That's right, the holidays are coming up. Aunt Lucy has to work extra hard to help the family pay for Gran in the hospital. She probably has her heart set on this party)
She took the tin and popped it open. Inside were sweet potato turnovers, her favorite treat
(Aunt Lucy, you're too good to me)
Gold:
I wonder what Nicole got in the mail.
Gold stood up at the table to try and see over at Slytherin Table. Nicole had a letter in her hands, but the minute she finished reading it she crumbled it in her hands. She is visibly distressed at whatever this letter said. Gold was worried. It took a lot to make Nicole upset if it wasn't someone bothering Gold. Later, as classes ended, Gold and Nicole decided to spend some of their afternoon in the courtyard and talk
Gold:
Get anything interesting in the mail?
Nicole:
The mail? No, nothing.
(Why is she lying?)
Gold:
I got a letter from my aunt.
Nicole:
How is she?
Gold:
She's doing fine. Told me about Gran and wanted to know what I'm going to do for the break. She asked if I wanted to come home for Christmas. Oh, she also said to say "hi".
Nicole:
That was nice of her.
Gold:
Well, here you go.
Gold takes out the music magazine
Nicole:
Thanks. I need this for Muggle Studies class. We better get ready though, we still have detention tonight, homework, then we have to get ready for Astronomy tonight.
Gold:
Why can't we have Astronomy classes during the day?Nicole:
Huh? Because then we couldn't be able to see the stars, of course. They wouldn't be there during the day. Look.
Nicole points up the blue sky
Nicole:
Nothing but sky.
Gold:
But just because someone can't see them, that doesn't mean they're gone. They're still up there, in space. The sun just hides them, because…Nicole:
Because?Gold:
…because.Nicole:
What brought that on?Gold:
Oh don't mind me, I'm just rambling.Nicole:
Not like you to space out like that. Kinda odd, you almost sounded like Professor Trelawney.Gold:
No way! I do not sound like that faker!Nicole:
You did a minute ago. You gonna start wearing faux jewelry and running around screaming about killer dogs, Goldie?
Gold:
Nicky you're awful!
Midnight at the Astronomy Tower
There are no clouds in the sky, showing a full moon hanging above with the millions of stars. The moonlight casts an eerie shadow over some of the dead trees in the courtyard. The students are stationed next to telescopes pointing up towards the sky, and they have charts on tables next to the telescopes to record what they find
Sinistra:
Alright, class, for tonight's lesson, I want you to…
Nicole whispering :
Hey, Gold.
Gold whispering :
What?Nicole whispering :
Look at the moon.
Gold lifts her head up to look at the moon hanging in the night sky
Nicole whispering :
It's beautiful, isn't it?
Gold whispering :
Yeah, it is.
Nicole:
That reminds me, Professor Sinistra?
Sinistra:
Yes, Nicole?
Nicole:
I know this might sound silly, but what do you think of the possibility of a tenth planet?
Sinistra:
A…what?Nicole:
A tenth planet, one beyond even Pluto.(And she called me spacey)Sinistra:
Well, some Muggle scientists have hypothesized about a tenth planet and have started searching for one using their technology. So far, nothing.
Nicole peeved :
What if they aren't looking on the right frequency?
Sinistra:
The what?Nicole:
Did I just say that out loud?
Gold:
Shout a little louder, I don't think the penguins in the North Pole heard you.Sinistra:
I don't know what to tell you, Nicole. A tenth planet beyond Pluto, well it would have to be a very cold and desolate place. What did you mean by the right frequency?Nicole:
I'm just saying, what if they aren't using the right technology.
Sinistra:
That's just something you'll have to bring up during your next class with Professor Burbage. But ten points to Slytherin for a rather interesting question. Now then, everyone start to record on your charts these stars here, around Mars. Locate the position of the moons, Phobos and Deimos, and… As Professor Sinistra goes on, Gold and Nicole discuss Nicole's hypothesis of a tenth planet Gold:
Where did you come up with that, Nicky?Nicole:
Earlier when you were talking about the stars, it made me remember something from when I was a little girl. I once borrowed a book about the planets and I wondered why there was never a tenth planet. Mother used to tell me that Muggles could never find a tenth planet, even if it did exist, with their "inferior ecletrical machines and radios".
Gold:
She really said "ecletrical"?
Nicole:
She was half-drunk when she told me. But, over time, I forgot I even mentioned a tenth planet. After I took up Muggle Studies, I started looking over books on telescopes and astronomy, and I figured they weren't looking on the right frequency for it. But, it's just an idea.
Gold:
Nicky I am so proud of you!Nicole:
Huh?Gold:
That's the first time I've ever seen you so interested in school work before. I must be getting through to you.
Nicole:
And what makes you think you had anything to do with it?Gold:
Who convinced you to take up Muggle Studies instead of Ancient Runes?Nicole:
…you did.Gold:
Thank you, I'll be prepared to take my bow.Nicole:
Shut up and get to work on your charts, before she deducts some house points.(Astronomy is actually my favorite class. I get some of the best grades out of everyone in my year, besides Nicole, I mean. I love looking up at the sun and the stars. For some reason, looking at the stars makes us both feel whole, in a way. Like the moon. It doesn't really serve a purpose, and it's not something you normally think about, but you look at it from time to time and it makes you feel happy. I guess that's because we both feel like such outcasts in this world. My parents abandoned me because I could do magic, Nicole abandoning everything her parents taught her. What is it about this world that makes me feel so out of place? All I want is to just be accepted by this world, to be just a witch like I was born. Does Nicole feel the same way that I do, do she want acceptance. I hear her speak differently, but is that how she really feels? I don't have the heart to ask her. It'd be like jamming a sword through this friendship)Gold:
Say, Nicky?Nicole:
Yeah?Gold:
What are you doing for the Christmas break?Nicole:
The Christmas break?Gold:
Do you have any plans, or are you staying at the castle like you did last year?Nicole:
I…I'm…Gold:
Is something wrong?Nicole:
I'm going to France for the break. My, my mother told me I had to come home this Christmas.
Gold:
…is that what that letter said?
Nicole:
You know?
Gold:
I saw you reading it in the Great Hall. I was wondering what you looked so upset about.
Nicole:
Yeah. Yeah, that's what it said.
Gold:
Oh, that's too bad. I'm going to be lonely.Nicole:
But your aunt invited you to spend the holiday with her. Why aren't you going?Gold:
Because I figure she invited me out of duty.Nicole:
Duty?Gold:
She's still young. She doesn't need me hanging around her when she can be spending the holidays with her friends. It'd be nice to see her, but they'll be more breaks after this one.Nicole:
Oh.Gold:
Hey, maybe I can come with you for the holidays.Nicole:
Absolutely not! That is out of the question!
The other students turn to Gold and Nicole
Sinistra:
Girls, there a problem?
Gold:
No, professor Sinistra. Nicole just saw a bug.
Some of the other students snicker
Sinistra:
Well, don't disturb the other students.
Nicole:
Yes, Professor.
The students go on with their work
Gold:
You didn't have to yell. I figured you'd want someone to talk to if it meant you'd be spending two weeks with your mother.
Nicole:
I couldn't ask you to spend two minutes with that monster.
Gold:
I wouldn't be spending it with her. I'd be spending it with you.
Nicole:
No.
Gold:
Please?
Nicole:
I said-
Nicole stops short when she sees Gold staring at her with big puppy dog eyes
Nicole:
You can't, I won't, fine! But I apologize in advance for anything that mother tries to pull while you're there.
The Laurette Mansion, a Few Days Later
Maid:
Excuse me, madam?
Lillian de Laurette:
What is it? I have a headache so make it fast.
Maid:
This just came for you.
The maid hands Lillian a letter. In her early forties, Lillian de Laurette is mistress of the Laurette Mansion. Formerly Lillian Greengrass, she married Marcel de Laurette in her early twenties, then separated some time after giving birth to Nicole. But never divorce. What would Mother Greengrass ever say about divorce? Unlike her daughter, Lillian has blonde hair the same color of the gold ring she wears on her finger with the big honking sapphire on it. Her eyes are green, of course, but it's similar to the color of snake skin. She is always wearing a white fur robe over her lace nightgown whenever she isn't expecting company. She examines the letter and once she's done going over the contents, she crumples it up and tosses it on the floor
Lillian:
Why are my children such disappointments?
Maid:
I'm sure I don't know madam.
Lillian:
No one asked you! Now pick that up BLEEEP!
Maid:
Yes, madam.
The maid picks up the letter and puts it in a wastebasket
Lillian:
Now leave, my headache is getting worse.
Maid:
Yes madam. Oh, and Mitsuru wants to know what he should do with the roses that arrived.
Lillian:
Put them in Nicole's room. You know I can't stand yellow roses.
Maid:
Yes madam.
The maid leaves Lillian's room so she may sleep off her "headache". Once in the hall, she takes something out of her back pocket
Maid:
It won't be long now.
The maid opens her palm to examine the Rose Crest ring
Maid:
You better hurry, little frog. Who knows what might happen to you and the snake if you arrive too late.
To be continued in the next chapter