ALL I WANT ; TMR

three.

The glass orb on her ring awoke Colette, the bright light emitting from it disturbing her slumber. It certainly wasn't this bright when she had received it, so why was it acting up?

Sitting upright, Colette observed it. The orb was a misty blue, with a pattern like smoke circling inside of it. It radiated light, burning Colette's eyes and forcing her to look away. Just as she did, however, it spoke to her.

The orb didn't speak words, but she knew what it meant. There was a ringing in her head, somewhat muted but prominent enough for it to be noticed. As she stood, the ringing grew the slightest bit louder.

Seemingly possessed, Colette exited the guest bedroom. Her feet carried her to where she felt she needed to go, to where the ring was pulling her. The sound grew louder as she went along. She opened Alice's door, and saw the girl sound asleep in her bed. Paying her no mind, the ring tugged her towards the girl's vanity. Upon it was an assortment of hair cremes, makeup and perfumes.

The noise was unbearably loud now - telling her, warning her, about how close she was. The ring shook on her finger, before flying off and landing on a piece of parchment on the nightstand.

The noise stopped, and Colette was released from the spell the ring put her under. She gasped loudly, choking when she noticed she hadn't been breathing. Alice stirred, but didn't awake.

Colette's hands shook as she reached out towards the ring, picking it up and placing it upon her finger. It was the only light source in the room, so she pointed it at the piece of parchment. She now realized it to be a letter, sealed with what could only be the Hogwarts crest, the sloped handwriting on the back reading 'To Alice Larsson; Book List for 6th year.'

Alice's words reverberated in her head. 'It will aid you.' Taking a look at the Hogwarts stamp, Colette gulped.

-

The next morning was a hectic one. Colette had stayed up for nearly two hours after the incident to ponder over what it could mean, and as she finally reached her conclusion and set her head to rest, she was plagued with nightmares of her grandmother's corpse. So it was safe to say, the girl hadn't gotten much sleep.

The twins, Sterling and Mona, burst into her room early morning to pull her out of bed for breakfast. The irritated girl begrudgingly washed up before making her way downstairs, mind still plagued with the events of the night before.

Once she had reached the dining room, she was met with the whole family sitting and enjoying their food. At the head of the table was a blond man with strict features and dark under eyes. Colette assumed him to be Mr. Larsson. Adjacent to his right was Mrs. Larsson, who greeted the brunette with kind eyes and a worried frown. Colette had an inkling that she knew of her predicament. Beside Mrs. Larsson was Marigold, who was a replica of her mother. She stayed quiet, honey-coloured, doll-like eyes staring at her plate.

Aspen, the eldest boy, sat across his mother and beside Alice, reading over the Daily Prophet which was headlined 'Grindelwald Strikes Again; Dumbledore Speaks Out.' Colette's heart skipped a beat. Dumbledore. Dumbledore was alive. She had completely forgotten of the man's existence in this timeline.

Colette greeted everyone hesitantly, a 'good morning' tumbling off her lips in a fashion too awkward for her liking. Nevertheless, she made her way to the empty seat beside Alice. The girl smiled up at her, pulled back the chair so Colette could sit.

"'Letty! How'd you sleep, darling?" Her voice was soft, gentle as she spoke to the girl. Colette didn't know whether to mourn her grandmother when she sat right in front of her and shared so many of her qualities. But as she took in the girl's face, her porcelain skin and pouty lips, Colette was assured that her grandmother and Alice were not one and the same. Not yet, anyways.

"Alright, with all things considered." She smiled, before pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice. Oh, how she missed pumpkin juice. It had been a while since she had it.

Alice quirked her eyebrow, smirking at Colette as if she knew something she didn't. She didn't mention anything, however, before she turned to Mrs. Larsson and spoke. "Colette will be needing to come with us to Diagon Alley today, mother. I'm sure she didn't manage to bring her own school supples from the 90's."

Choking on her pumpkin juice, Colette looked at Alice. The girl ignored her bewildered gaze as she looked expectantly at her mother. Had Alice just decided that she would be attending Hogwarts with her? Unless-

"Hogwarts?" Mrs. Larsson questioned her daughter.

"Well, yes. We wouldn't expect her to miss out on any schooling, now would we?" Alice stated, before looking at the girl beside her, who was busy wiping the pumpkin juice off her chin. She whispered to her, "Don't think I didn't see you last night, your coughing was too loud for your own good. I told you, I told you the ring would aid you. And it led you straight to my Hogwarts supplies list. That must mean something, right?"

"I, for one, think Colette has a point, dear Cora. The girl can't be expected to just sit around, now, can she?" Mr. Larsson spoke up, finally inserting his own input. He looked at Colette, who's blushing face looked back at him. He gave her a look - up and down as if he was examining her - before giving a taut smile. "What house were you in during your time?"

"Hu-Hufflepuff. I don't think it'd be any different this time around, either." Colette cursed herself for stuttering over her words. She was just making a fool of herself every chance she got. It must have been the feeling of displacement that had her so tripped up.

"Oh, how delightful. We've never had a Hufflepuff in the family before! You see, father and Aspen were Slytherin's, mother was Ravenclaw, and yours truly is a Gryffindor!" Alice squealed. Colette blinked, pulling a rather awkward smile at the girl's enthusiasm. She didn't understand where it came from.

"Very well then. We leave at four, Colette, make sure to be ready by then." Mr. Larsson nodded curtly, before heading out. The dining room remained silent for the rest of breakfast, save for the occasional giggle from the twins.

-

Relatively short chapter but it weighs in with the plot, so it's alright.

Votes and comments are appreciated! Tell me what you think <3

- dina