Shadows ✯ Sirius Black

Chapter 4: Twin

The twins' second year at Hogwarts ended with Elara being the top student of the year. Daniel had come close, so close that some of their papers were rechecked by Dumbledore himself, who awarded Gryffindor fifty house point on the final day of school. 

This great win caused the rift between the twins to only become worse. Annelise had become used to being on top, so much so that she could not stand the fact that during their summer vacation, their parents repeatedly praised Elara. Finally, on one warm summers eve, the confrontation came to a boiling point. 

"I just think it is annoying." Annelise said out of nowhere. Their parents were throwing one of their many dinner parties, and the two girls had escaped to the back garden with a few stolen pastries like they always did. 

"What is annoying?" Elara asked, her mouth filled with cake. 

"Well they always say they don't want to pick favourites, but they let you get away with so much." she said. They were sitting on two swings that were hanging from the same tree. When they were kids they would stay there for days on end. They would swing as high as they dared and jump off, pretending that they could fly. 

"They let you get away with everything." Elara argued. "You can't possibly think that I am their favourite child. They are in there boasting about you. They always are."

"So you got jealous then." Annelise huffed. "Figured."

"Jealous of what?" Elara asked back. 

"Me having friends. Me being far more creative than you are." She answered immediately. "You have always been jealous of that, don't act like I don't see you looking."

"I don't need to be creative when I can actually get passing grades." Elara fired back. She had been bottling up her emotions all summer long. She was absolutely done watching her sister strutting around like she was far better than her.  "As for your friends, two of them gossip behind your back to some Hufflepuff girl and one is writing to Sirius over the summer holidays."

She had struck a chord with her sister, she could see it in her face. "I hate you." Annelise said shoving her sister off the swing. Elara fell on her back, with her sister hovering directly above her. For a moment she was scared she would try and kick her, but Annelise knew a way that hurt far more.

"It doesn't matter how hard you try in Hogwarts, in the end everyone will see you for what you are. You are a loser. The only reason people talk to you is because they think you are me. You will be remembered for nothing. No one wants to be your friend and you will spend the rest of your life alone." Annelise spat, before storming back to the house. 

Elara propped herself up on her elbows and watched as her sister reentered the house. A few tears clouded her eyes but she quickly blinked them away. She felt so betrayed. The one person that was supposed to be there for her had left her over something as stupid as jealousy. 

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Elara stared at herself in the mirror. It was Saturday, on Monday she would be taking the Hogwarts Express back to school. Back to her sisters territory. Their confrontation kept replaying in her head. She wanted the chance to say things differently. To respond calmly instead of letting her old insecurities take over. 

Annelise said that the only reason people talk to her was because they thought she was her sister. This was the one argument Elara could not find a proper response to. It was true, nine out of ten people who came to speak to her thought she was Annelise. There was only one thing left to do.

She plopped the dye on her head and worked on getting it all over her hair. It was PermaDye, a wizard company which made hair dyes that would change her hair colour forever. She had worn a blonde wig once, people told her it looked good. It was the one time in her life she was easily identified as Elara, not Annelise.

The dye only needed half an hour to work according to the packaging, but Elara left it in for an hour. It stung when she washed it out, but when she looked in the mirror she could not see a trace of her brunette hair peeking through. She was Elara now, not the twin of Annelise.