Hey y'all! I'm gonna talk especially southern today cuz I just got back from cheer camp at Bama University and everyone there talked southern (everyone except the girls on my team cuz in our part of Tennessee, there ain't no accents, only drawls). Now, this series is going to be part songfic starting with this chapter… and it's not who y'all think it is. Oh and I fixed the ending to Chapter 7… I forgot to replace content after I edited the original document
Disclaimer: I don't own the plot of Harry Potter or any songs that I use and/or edit in my story.
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Dumbledore convinced Nicki not to look for the Mirror of Erised again and the invisibility cloak stayed at the bottom of her trunk for the rest of the holiday vacation, Sydney made sure of that. However, the images shown by the mirror were not as easily forgotten. The girls started having nightmares. Repeatedly they dreamed about their parents disappearing in a flash of green light while a high voice cackled in evil laughter.
"You see, Dumbledore was right about that mirror. It drove you both mad," Ron chided proudly after the twins told him about their dreams.
Justin, who came back the day before term started, took a different view of it all. He was shocked that the three of them, especially Sydney, would sneak out of bed and annoyed that they hadn't at least found out who Nicolas Flamel was.
The four students had almost given up hope on finding Flamel in any library book even though Nicki was positive that she read the name somewhere, she just couldn't remember where. Once the term started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during breaks. Justin and Nicki had even less time than the other two because Quidditch practice started up again for Nicki and Cynthia was acting more possessive about Justin than usual. Sydney just wished Justin would break up with Cynthia; little did she know Justin wished the same thing.
Wood was working the team harder than ever—even the endless rain that replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits. The Weasley twins complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but Nicki was on Wood's side. If they won the next match against Hufflepuff, they would defeat Slytherin in the house championship for the first time in seven years. Also Nicki realized that she had fewer nightmares if her practices tired her out.
However, during one especially wet and muddy practice session, Wood gave the team bad news; he got all over Fred and George for dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.
"Will you stop messing around! That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time and he'll be keeping an eye out for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor," he yelled.
George actually did fall off his broom after hearing this.
"SNAPE'S REFEREEING?" he sputtered though a mouthful of mud. "When's he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if there's the chance we might beat Slytherin."
The rest of the team landed next to George and started complaining too.
"It's not my fault," Wood argued. "We just have to make sure we play a clean game so Snape can't find excuses to pick on us."
Which was all very well, thought Nicki, but she had another reason for not wanting Snape near her while she was playing Quidditch…
That evening Nicki returned to the common room to tell her friends about the referee for the next match. They all started shouting out answers.
"Don't play," Sydney stated, as if it was that easy.
"Say you're sick," said Ron.
"Pretend to break your leg," Justin suggested.
"Actually break your leg," Ron submitted.
"I can't," replied Nicki. "Gryffindor doesn't have a reserve Seeker. If I back out, the team can't play at all."
At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. How he managed to climb through the portrait hole was unknown, because his legs were stuck together with what Nicki recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. Neville must've had to hop all the way up to Gryffindor Tower.
Ron, Justin, and Nicki fell over laughing while Sydney ran over and performed the counter-curse. Neville's legs sprung apart and he got to his feet, trembling.
"What happened?" Sydney asked while leading the scared boy over to the couches.
"Malfoy," Neville answered shakily; Nicki stopped laughing immediately. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice on."
"Dang, he's a fast learner," Nicki cursed under her breath. "Neville I'm so sorry," she said as she walked over to the shaking boy.
"Why would you need to be sorry?" he questioned. "Malfoy was the one who jinxed me."
"Yeah but technically I taught him that curse when I cast it on him after the last match," Nicki admitted guiltily.
"Go to Professor McGonagall," Sydney urged Neville. "Report him."
Neville shook his head. "I don't want any more trouble," he murmured.
"You've got to stand up to him Neville!" Justin ordered.
"He's used to walking all over people but there's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier," said Ron.
"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be a Gryffindor—Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out.
Nicki put her hand in her robe pocket and pulled out her last Chocolate Frog from Justin for Christmas. She gave it to Neville who looked like he was about to cry.
"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Justin assured. "The Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor didn't it? And where's Malfoy… in stinking Slytherin."
"Thanks guys… I think I'll go to bed… Do you want the card Nicki, you collect them don't you?"
As Neville walked away Nicki looked at the Famous Wizard card.
"Dumbledore again," she said, "He was the first one I ever—"
She gasped and stared at the back of the card. She looked up at her sister and friends.
"I'VE FOUND HIM!" she whispered excitedly. "I've found Nicolas Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before—and you know I don't remember much stuff I read. I read it on the train coming here. Listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner Nicolas Flamel'!"
Sydney jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework.
"Stay there!" she ordered and she sprinted upstairs to her dorm room. The other three students barely had time to exchange mystified looks before Sydney dashed back downstairs with an enormous old book in her arms.
"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered breathlessly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."
"Light?" Ron and Nicki questioned in disbelief. Sydney told the two to be quiet until she looked something up; she started flipping frantically through the pages muttering to herself. Finally she found what she was looking for.
"I knew it! I knew it!"
"Are we allowed to speak yet?" Ron grumbled. Sydney ignored him.
"Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!"
The effect of her words was not as significant as Sydney expected—Justin was the only one of the others that understood the meaning of the words.
"The what?" Ron and Nicki asked in unison.
"Oh honestly, Ron don't you read? I know Nicki doesn't but don't you? Look—read that right there."
The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.
There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his 665th birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (658).
"See?" said Sydney after the others had finished. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone. I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him because they're friends and he knew someone was after it. That's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"
"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" exclaimed Justin. "No wonder Snape's after it. Anyone would want it!"
"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," responded Ron. "He's not exactly recent if he's 665, is he?"
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The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Nicki and Ron were still discussing what they'd do with a Sorcerer's Stone if they had one. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Nicki remembered about Snape and the coming match.
"I'm going to play," she told her friends. "If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. I'll show them… it'll really wipe the smiles off their smug faces if we win."
"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," muttered Sydney.
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As the match drew nearer however, Nicki became more and more anxious. The rest of the team wasn't too calm either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful—nobody had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?
The twins didn't know whether they were imagining it or not, but they seemed to keep running into Snape wherever they went. At times they even wondered if Snape was following them, trying to catch the sisters alone. Potions turned into a weekly torture; Snape was terrible to Nicki and even to Sydney. Could Snape possibly know that they'd found out about the Sorcerer's Stone? Sydney didn't see how he could—yet she had sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.
The night before the match however, Nicki came across something in Sydney's trunk when she was looking for a quill to "borrow". Nicki found a few pages of her sheet music, but they were filled with lyrics, not musical notes. The brunette twin looked at the title of the song: You Belong With Me (I know this is a song written by Taylor Swift, but I'm going to pretend Sydney wrote it; I don't own this song).
Nicki chuckled to herself, "I knew Sydney had a thing for Justin, and I know just how to get him to realize that."
Suddenly, the door opened and Sydney walked into the room.
"NICKI! What are you doing with my stuff? Hey, give me back my song!" She snatched the papers from her nosy twin.
"You like Justin, you like Justin, you like Justin! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" Nicki sang while doing a happy dance.
"No I don't! I wrote this for, uh, Lavender Brown to give to, uh, Seamus," Sydney lied nervously.
"Don't lie to your twin—you're a terrible liar and don't forget that since I'm your twin, I happen to know that you start twisting your hair when you get nervous."
Sydney was indeed twisting her hair around her finger but dropped it immediately when she realized she was caught.
"Okay fine, I like Justin; happy now?" Sydney crossed her arms and turned away in frustration.
"Very. But don't worry—your older sister has a plan," Nicki suspiciously said as she put her arm around her sniffling sister's shoulder.
"First of all, you're only older than me by like three minutes; and second of all, no way. Your plans always fail," Sydney glared at Nicki.
"Don't worry, this one's foolproof."
"That's what you said about the plan to send Dudley to a 'private school' in Antarctica."
"Just listen to me—here's what we'll do…"
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Nicki knew when her friends wished her luck outside the locker rooms the next day, they were wondering if they'd ever see her alive again. That wasn't exactly comforting. Nicki hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk in the locker room next door as she pulled on her Quidditch robes and picked up her Nimbus 2000. Angelina tied up Nicki's hair and streaked it just like the last match.
Sydney, Justin, and Ron, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried. He also couldn't understand why all three of them had brought their wands to the match. Little did Nicki know that her two friends and her responsible and nonviolent twin sister had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd gotten the idea from Nicki using it on Malfoy and Malfoy using it on Neville. They were ready to use the curse on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to use it on Nicki.
"Now don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis," Sydney whispered as Ron and Justin slipped their wands up their sleeves.
"I know," Ron snapped. "Don't nag."
Back in the locker room meeting area, Wood took Nicki aside.
"Don't want to pressure you Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch, it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much."
"The whole school's out there," Fred observed while peering out the door. "Even Dumbledore."
Nicki's heart did a somersault.
"Dumbledore?" she asked, dashing to the door to make sure. Sure enough, Dumbledore was sitting in the faculty and guests bleacher.
Nicki sighed in relief. She was safe. Snape wasn't stupid enough to try and hurt her if Dumbledore was watching.
Maybe that was why Snape looked so angry as the teams marched onto the field, something that Ron also noticed.
"I've never seen Snape look so mean," he told Sydney. "Look—they're off. Ouch!"
Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.
"Oh sorry Weasley; didn't see you there."
Malfoy grinned evilly at Crabbe and Goyle.
"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on her broom this time? Anyone want a bet? How about you Weasley?"
Ron didn't answer. Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George had hit a Bludger at him. Sydney, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at her sister, who was circling the game like a hawk, searching for the Snitch.
"You know how I think they choose people for Gryffindor?" Malfoy announced loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there are the Potters, who have no parents, the Weasleys, who have no money, and Longbottom, who has no brains."
Neville's face turned bright red and he turned in his seat to face smug Malfoy.
"I'm worth a dozen of you, Malfoy," he stammered.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him Neville!"
"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."
Ron's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Nicki. Sydney sent her twin a quick mental message, something they could only do in emergencies.
"I'm warning you Malfoy—one more word and—"
"Ron! Justin! Neville! DUCK!"
The four Gryffindors ducked down just as Nicki sped over their bleachers, knocking over the three Slytherin bullies. She winked at her friends as she flew back above the game.
Moments later, Nicki went into a spectacular dive, drawing gasps and cheers from the crowd. Sydney stood up, covering her mouth in fear, as Nicki streaked toward the ground like a bullet.
"You're in luck Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground," jeered Malfoy.
Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron tackled him, using a wrestling move that Nicki taught him. Neville and Justin hesitated before climbing over the back of their seats to help.
"Come on Nicki!" Sydney screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as her sister sped straight at Snape—she didn't even notice the fighting boys rolling around under her seat or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Justin, Crabbe, and Goyle.
Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches—the next second, Nicki pulled out of the dive, her arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in her hand.
"Ron! Justin! Where are you? The game's over! Nicki won! We've won! Gryffindor's in the lead!" shrieked Sydney, jumping on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil, who had been sitting next to her.
Nicki jumped off her broom. She couldn't believe it. She'd done it—the game was over after less than five minutes. As Gryffindors ran onto the field, she saw Snape land nearby, pale and tight lipped. Suddenly, Nicki felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Dumbledore's smiling face.
"Well done," Dumbledore congratulated quietly. He then whispered to her, "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror… been keeping busy… excellent…"
Snape spat bitterly on the ground, frowning like Dudley when he didn't get what he wanted.
Nicki followed Snape after the match on her broom, keeping a safe distance away. He went into the Forbidden Forest. Nicki saw him meet with Quirrell and have a conversation about the Sorcerer's Stone and loyalties, but she didn't hear to whom the loyalties belonged. She looked at her watch and rushed back to the broom shed to put away her broom, realizing that she was late for the victory party.
Back in the dorm room, Nicki untied her hair, keeping the Gryffindor colored streaks for the party, and changed into her ripped white skinny jeans, off-the-shoulder red shirt, low slung gold belt, black converses, gold and black fingerless gloves, and sparkly black fedora. She walked in the common room, receiving a few whistles from older boys, and immediately found her friends. Sydney was dressed in light brown cowboy boots, knee length white frilly skirt, and a matching top. Her blonde curls hung down her back with gold colored ribbons woven through her hair.
"Nicki, where have you been?" Sydney squeaked.
"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Nicki on the back. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville and Justin took on Crabbe and Goyle! Neville's still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be alright—talk about showing Slytherin!"
"What's wrong Nicki? You look like you somebody tried to make you write an essay," Justin joked.
"I'll tell you guys what I say later. There are too many people here to tell you. After the party, we find an empty room and I'll fill you guys in, but right now Syd and I have to do something."
Nicki pulled her twin through the crowd up to the platform conjured up for entertainment. She gave the person handling the music a signal to stop the music. Sydney cast a spell on her wand, making it work like a microphone, and handed it to Nicki.
"Okay everybody, we're going to be hearing a song written by my sister Sydney. If you're that person from the song, realize what an idiot you've been and do what you have to do." Nicki handed to wand-mic to Sydney and pulled out her own wand, casting a spell on her electric guitar to make it sound like an acoustic guitar. Sydney lifted the wand-mic up to her lips and started singing.
You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift. (AN I originally had my slightly edited version of the song on here, but apparently there's a group going around fanfiction bullying authors who bend the rules, so I'm not taking any chances. From now on, if a song goes with a chapter, I will write the name of the song and you guys go look it up and listen to it as you read through that part)
The roaring applause filled the common room as Sydney finished her song. The twin sisters held hands and bowed together. Justin and Sydney made eye contact and he immediately understood that he was the boy in the song. As soon as the girls came off the platform, Justin hugged Sydney as hard as he could.
"I'll be right back—there's something I have to go do," he whispered in her ear.
With that, Justin left the common room. A few minutes later, a screech was heard all across the school. As soon as Justin returned, he told the entire common room that he broke up with Cynthia. Everybody cheered before they were sent to bed by the prefects.
Nicki explained everything to Sydney and told the boys the next morning. Sydney was glad her sister did something nice, but was told not to get used to it.
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So, how was it? I changed a few words to match it to Hogwarts, but I kept the song mainly the same. My brother says Justin and Sydney are too young, but it fit the best because I didn't want them to have the Harry/Ginny type of relationship where they like each other but break up soon after they get together. Oh well, leave reviews, no flames, and I'll update soon.