"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...
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The winter term passed quickly. The holiday break only giving a small reprieve to the work load, and it only felt like the teachers had doubled the workload on them as soon as everyone seemed to be back in the swing of things. Castor and Pollux found themselves occupied by their textbooks more often than anything else. Pollux, who was a very apt student, hardly ever challenged academically, found himself actually having to stay on top of his assignments. They weren't hard to complete, there was just a lot of them to do. Castor found herself stretched a bit thin as well. Between homework, quidditch practice, and her own TA work, now that Hagrid had come back from Buckbeak's final Ministry hearing in London...it was a wonder she ever had time to herself.
She missed her weekend walks through the forest, and, despite her brother's judgement and the still on-the-loose Sirius Black, was really looking forward to seeing her furry friend again. She enjoyed talking to Padfoot, he was a character, huffing and whining at her at the appropriate times and following her as they padded barefoot through the soft grass and over tree roots that wanted to trip her. He always waited until she was out of the forest before turning back and didn't mind if she chose to remain quiet and practice her Elements, so long as she brought him a treacle tart every now and then.
Fred and George had been busy with their own classes and spent all of their free time brainstorming and planning for the joke shop. She missed their company but chose not to bother them too much. The joke shop was something they wanted to become more serious about, and who was she to deny them something that brought them such joy. They'd never denied her the opportunity to talk about any creature she was studying that month, she actually thinks they enjoyed watching her excitedly wave her hands around as she explained different characteristics of said magical beasts.
Unbeknownst to her, they no longer bet on how long she would go on for anymore. With each excited smile and a rambling of facts of whatever creature she was talking about, George would only become more annoyed, and Fred's pockets would become a few coins heavier. It would usually end with a happy kiss to her cheek, or on her knuckles if she was sitting across the table. And later in the Gryffindor common room, George would tease Fred about his crush on the wild haired beauty, prompting Fred to smack his own twin's arm and mutter an amused "Shut up."
It was on a quiet Saturday afternoon that Castor finally found a moment to herself. The warmer spring weather was a welcomed change to the blistering cold the Scottish Highlands had experienced only weeks ago. Dresses in a light shirt with a plaid flannel and jeans, she found herself making her way through the courtyard and down to the hidden spot by the Black Lake. Hagrid had sent her a note earlier this morning to meet him to discuss the results of the hearing in London. She found the groundskeeper already in the water, still wearing his nice suit and bright yellow polka-dotted tie. His trousers were rolled up to his knees to avoid getting them wet, as he had waded into the water.
"Hey Hagrid." Castor dropped her bag by the tree, kicking off her Converse and rolling up her jeans. She tested the temperature of the water, wading slowly until she stood next to the gentle half-giant.
