"The brightest flame will defeat the deathly chill of seven Decembers."
Castor and Pollux Jones, transfer students from Ilvermorny, are now attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After the unexpected death of their mother, they move t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Christmas at Hogwarts was truly something special. The castle looked like something out of a fairytale book. Snow covered even the highest trestles of the castle and most students had gone home for the holidays.
Usually, Castor and Pollux Jones would be spending this time with their mother. Even though she came from a pure-blood family, Gemini Jones sometimes enjoyed doing things the muggle way. She enjoyed cooking and baking sweets for her kids and made sure to teach them the important of not relying solely on magic. During the holiday season, when the twins would come home from their temporary home in the mountains of Massachusetts, the Jones family would spend their free time baking cookies and drinking hot cider or cocoa. When the twins were little, barely tall enough to reach the counter, Castor and Pollux would spend more time covered in flour than getting anything into the mixing bowl. Gemini would simply laugh.
As they got older, Castor and Pollux would accompany their mother through the busy streets of New York, enjoying the festivities, playing in the snow in Central Park, and opening presents from their mother, and waiting for the return of their Uncle Nathan, who often times came baring extravagant gifts brought all the way from his home in London.
This was the first Christmas they would be spending without their mother. A season usually filled with bright eyes and laughter was now a sad occasion. Castor woke Christmas morning with tears in her eyes and a painful weight in her chest. Still, she pushed herself out of bed, dressing herself in a pair of dark jeans and a navy sweater. She shoved her feet into a pair of warm, fluffy socks and a pair of boots, slipping her hands through the sleeves of her large black overcoat, wrapping her Ravenclaw scarf around her neck, her wild, dark curls fell across her shoulders, bouncing as he made her way down the spiral staircase and past the Great Hall.
She didn't feel very hungry this morning. And she certainly didn't want to see everyone else showing off the presents they got from their parents, or the happiness they so effortlessly felt. No, instead Castor wanted to spend the day practicing her magic. So with quick steps, she made her way down the pathway towards the Black Lake, her boots crunching in the snow. The large trees that lined the shoreline provided good coverage from the castle. And with less students on the grounds, it was unlikely anyone would find her here, not unless they knew where to look. She walked to the water's edge, the wind rippling the surface just enough to see that this part of the lake wasn't frozen.
That was good.
Clearing her mind, or at least trying to, Castor spread her feet into a wider stance, breathing deeply, the cold burn from the winter chill freezing her lungs. Gliding her hands out in wide sweeping motions in front of her, she twisted and maneuvered her body gracefully, taking careful steps back and forth. The water below her began to move about, gliding and following the path of her hands, gently lifting into the air, and flowing in circular motions as it followed the will of the young witch controlling it. For a few hours she did this, breathing deeply and allowing the cold air to seep into her lungs.
It was much later that Pollux found her.
"Somehow, I knew you'd be down here." His voice called from behind her. She startled only for a moment before regaining her concentration. The water deformed, splashing in the air in front of her before smoothing out again. "You should come inside before you make yourself sick."
"I've been alright so far." Her response was proved wrong as she sniffled loudly. She didn't need to turn around to know her brother wore a smirk across his face.
"Come inside, Castor." His voice was softer this time, sad.
"I don't want to." Her voice was quiet, yet she didn't stop the flowing movement of her hands. Pollux sighed and moved closer, his boots crunching on the snow, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Uncle Nathan sent us a few presents. We can have hot tea and read by the fire, like we used to." Her movements stopped, the water hovering midair as it waited for the witch's next command. The warmth from her brother's hand was felt through her jacket, and a hot tea did sound nice right about now. She sighed, allowing the water to splash back into the lake gently and turned into her brother's arms with a shaky sigh.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was muffled by his coat. Pollux was quickly growing taller than her, and she found herself looking up at him more and more lately.
"I miss her too." Pollux squeezed his sister tighter against him before turning and leading her back up the path to the castle, an arm around her shoulder. "We'll be alright." She nodded, her dark curls framing her face as she ducked her head and followed alongside her twin.
~
Final exams had come upon them quicker than he thought. Pollux did well in most subjects. He soon found that less time spent studying and cramming information, usually meant he had more time to spend exploring the outdoors. He made sure to pay attention in class, took copious amounts of notes, did his homework mostly on time, and enjoyed reading a good book every now and again. He had already completed Potions and Transfiguration. Now, he was currently seated in the library alongside his sister, the two of them passing books and notes back and forth as they studied for Charms and Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures wasn't until the end of the week.
"Are you done with this one?" Castor asked her brother, holding up the large book they had been sharing. Pollux glanced up and nodded before looking back to his work. Without a word, Castor stood and made her way through the aisles, looking for the correct spot to return the book. She had just found the right area, when she spotted three young first years hovered over a very large and very wrinkled old book.
Her curiosity getting the better of her, she made her way over and peaked over Hermione's shoulder, recognizing the page she was on.
"Nicholas Flamel?" The three friends startled as they spotted the older 3rd year student. "I wouldn't have thought you guys would be interested in alchemy. That some advanced stuff for first years."
"You know about Nicholas Flamel?" Ron asked incredulously. Castor shrugged a shoulder as she smirked at the weird look Ron was giving her.
"Yea. I checked that book out last month for a bit of light reading." Hermione gave a wave to the older girl over her shoulder as if to say, 'I told you so!' as she looked at the two other boys. "How are your finals going?"
"I'm going to fail potions. I'm horrible at the subject." Ron leaned his head into his hand as he sighed. Harry simply shrugged at her.
"I'm sure you'll do fine. And if any of you need any help, Pollux and I are in the back corner." She gestured in the direction of her twin, who was still leaned over his own notes.
"We'll keep that in mind. Thank you." Hermione responded with a polite smile.
"Happy reading!" Castor sung as she made her way back to her seat. Harry looked after her curiously.
"Should we tell them?" He asked. Ron followed his line of sight.
"Why would we tell them?"
"Because they might be able to help."
"We've done alright so far." Ron responded and went back to his own notes. "Besides, we're not even supposed to know. And they might run and tell a teacher." Harry looked at Castor and Pollux again.
"You're right." Harry nodded. Hermione looked between her two friends, sparing a glance at the older 3rd years before looking down at the book again.
