December 2011
She hated it here.
She expected.
Well, it didn't matter what she expected.
This wasn't it.
So many people acted as if they hadn't been taught much of anything prior to coming here. She kept waiting for a homework assignment to be really challenging. So far, that had not happened. It was hard to pay attention in class some days because she'd already been taught this or that.
Her dad taught her things before coming here so she didn't have to work so hard right away. She'd been excited at the time, but was left wondering if she should have stopped him. Her knowing things, which she couldn't hide it seemed, even if she rarely raised her hand in class. Well, it led to people thinking she was sucking up or something.
Untrue.
Unfortunately, it didn't make her very popular. The Horned Serpents liked her because she earned them points most often out of the first years. There wasn't really anyone, though, that she'd felt comfortable really talking to. Becoming friends with.
There was another girl in their year who was getting all Exceeds Expectations and Outstandings, too. No one talked bad about Mia, though.
No, evidently it was just fine for her to be getting the grades.
It was because Eden was in the "nerdy" house. People thought she was showing off.
Could she help it that she liked learning? And liked answering her professors' questions? She only answered when she was called upon. She learned after the first week or so that she was ahead, so she kept her hand down after that.
"Miss Eden," her potions professor, Miles Walker, said as she started to leave the classroom. A few people in front of her giggled, and she sighed heavily.
"Yes, Mr. Walker," she said, letting her backpack drop to the floor once she reached his desk.
"I'm hoping you'll be more forthcoming with me than Miss Mia was."
She scowled. Mia was the other good student. Eden wasn't sure what she had to do with her. They weren't in the same house or anything.
"About?"
She tried to keep her voice from sounding impolite, but he was not a very good teacher. Maybe she was biased, coming from the best potions instructor around. He just didn't seem to really know things he should know. She had to bite her tongue when he had the wrong way to cut written down in his instructions. She tried correcting him once. She wouldn't do that again. She just did it the way she'd been taught.
"Your Antidote to Common Poisons potion."
She had to bite her tongue from snapping at him. That would not do. This was the last class she could fail.
If he was suggesting she turned in a subpar potion.
Well, he was wrong. It was a perfect potion. She knew that turning it in yesterday. Her lab partner was exceptionally lucky to have her because he was clueless when it came to the right steps.
What did Mia have to do with her potion, though?
"I have never in my five years of teaching had two students turn in a perfect potion on their first try on the same day."
This was worse than being told her potion was subpar.
He was suggesting she … cheated! That she would let someone cheat!
"I don't even know Mia. It's not like we have class together."
"And yet," he said, setting two vials on his desk. "Can you identify which is yours?"
She regarded both of the potion vials. She picked one vial up, looked, and set it down before picking up the second one. She honestly couldn't tell the difference. If she was forced to pick hers out, she wasn't sure she could do it with confidence.
How was that possible?
Mr. Walker, while sufficient (perhaps decent), was not her father, so no one would have learned to brew this potion so well in his class.
"I can't," she said finally, setting the second vial back on his desk. She felt defeated. And yet. She could stand up for herself. Politely. "That does not mean I cheated."
"Interesting, as she said the same thing. And as I told her, you and Miss Mia can see about explaining how it happened to me here in my classroom this evening. Immediately after dinner."
She stared at him for a second, the meaning behind his words taking a minute to sink in. He couldn't be serious. Could he?
"I'm getting detention?" She asked the question, thinking maybe she was wrong.
She couldn't believe it. For creating a perfect potion? Unbelievable!
"Take that tone with me, Miss Eden, and I will deduct points, too."
Oh, God, her housemates would kill her. One of the reasons they liked her at all was because she helped earn them points.
"Fine," she said, picking up her backpack dejectedly. She'd never gotten in trouble before. Ever. She was a good student. She did her work. She showed her teachers that she knew her material. She was homeschooled, but her father hired tutors. They never had a bad word to say about her.
Detention? For turning in a perfect potion!
She hated it here!
She murmured her complaint in French as she left his classroom. He either didn't hear her, or did but didn't understand French to know what she said.
Professor Walker was lucky she wasn't the type to tell her father what he'd just done. She could just imagine what he'd do if he caught the hint of someone accusing her of cheating. Especially in potions. He'd take it as a personal affront. And likely be here in person before the end of dinner.
She returned to her common room, setting about doing her homework. Others were here, too. She listened as a few talked. A couple asked her what Walker wanted with her after class. She told them. She didn't want to, but they would find out she was sure. Information got passed around very easily. Her dad warned her that was the case, and to ensure anything she said to anyone wasn't something she'd mind getting around to someone else.
"You got detention?" Ilene said. She was one of her roommates, and the closest Eden had to a friend. She told the girl that Eileen had been her grandmother's name, and they sort of bonded over that. (She hated that her parents left off the E from her name because she constantly had to correct people.) Ilene was from California, and couldn't wait to get home again to surf. The tan she'd arrived at Ilvermorny with had faded by now, but when she undressed in their room you could still see the faint lines from her bathing suit even in December.
"Yeah," she said.
"Like you need to cheat," her friend said. It was nice to have someone defend her.
"I'm not sure he thinks I did, or helped her to. He didn't totally explain. Either way, he thinks I did, I guess."
"It doesn't sound like she needs to cheat either," Ilene said.
"You know her?" she asked.
She'd never seen Mia Granger. She heard her name mentioned a lot because they were both getting near perfect grades. She supposed she could have walked over to the Thunderbird table at any meal, but she never had. That would be weird to do. Wouldn't it? As if she felt threatened or something. Until today, it hadn't posed any sort of problem.
"Not really, just heard about her, but we have our own wicked smart girl." Eden smiled a bit at that. This was said by Edwin, he was from Boston, and she had a hard time understanding him at times. (Just now, smart sounded more like smat to her.) Lots of things were wicked to Edwin.
"Thanks, Eddie," she said.
Detention.
What in the world was she going to do with that? Was it going to go on her permanent record that she was accused of cheating? Would her father find out? Morgana. She didn't want him to think she had to cheat!
*****
Mia stepped into the classroom. She couldn't believe she was here after class!
Detention.
Could she help it that her mom taught her things before she came to Ilvermorny? She'd been helping her mom brew the Antidote for Common Poisons since she was nine. She never quite understood why her mom taught her and had her help with these things.
Until coming here.
She knew her mom and godfather were famous, but hadn't realized they were the type of famous where people would stop and recognize them on a train platform. Or had chocolate frog trading cards with their pictures on them. Or who people gossiped about. That was a whole other level of fame from just people knowing their names.
There were people who fled to America in the seventies, eighties, and nineties during different points of the wars who acted so grateful to her mom and Harry. It was so weird. (And because her last name was Granger, they knew she was Hermione Granger's daughter.)
Her mom was just her mom.
She spotted the other girl who she heard consistently received as good of grades as she did. Her back was to her. It appeared she was looking at one of the pictures on the wall. She'd kind of hoped to meet the other girl talked about in the same breath as top of their class when Mia was. She never expected it would be while serving a detention.
"Eden, right?" she asked.
Her hair was very dark brown like hers, and looked long. Where Mia wore hers down, Eden's was pulled up into a makeshift bun with a scrunchy. From this vantage point, her hair looked like it might be as thick as hers, which meant the scrunchy would get stretched out in no time. It was one of the reasons she kept her hair down.
She turned around and Mia froze in place.
Before either of them could say anything - because she seemed just as puzzled as Mia - Professor Walker entered the classroom.
He glanced at both girls, doing a double and then a triple take.
"Uncanny," he said. "Are you two related?"
"No," they both said.
Merlin, she even sounded like her. Mia reached to brush her finger against her nose just as Eden did the same thing. Both froze, dropping their hands.
"So," their professor said, taking a seat behind his desk, regarding them. "How did two students in different classes, from different houses, both produce as near to perfect potions as I've seen without being in on it together?"
"My mom taught me…" overlapped with Eden's "My father is a potions master."
"Your mother taught you?" he asked. This was said with almost an amused sneer.
"Yes, Sir," she said. She didn't think it was unusual. Her mom provided muggle remedies more commonly, but there were magical people in the area who she brewed potions for, too.
"Why?"
She frowned, glancing at Eden who shrugged.
"Because she's a witch who makes potions for local people and taught me." The small apothecary business that catered to both local magical and No-Maj people was really a side business. Many in the area she grew up in were not very well off and couldn't afford trips to the doctor for this and that. Mom made sure all of her potions were affordable. She considered it an extension of her job as a human rights lawyer. Of making the world better, even if it was small.
"Are there any other potions your mother taught you?"
"Well, yes, Sir."
Did he think her mom just plucked Antidote for Common Poisons out of thin air to teach her daughter out of all the possibilities? What a foolish man!
"Both of you, make me a list of the potions you already know how to make. You," he said, gesturing to Eden, "will sit there. And you, Miss Mia, there."
Opposite ends of the room, so they couldn't cheat further she supposed was his implication.
Mia sat in the seat assigned to her for detention, staring at the parchment. Her glance slid to Eden who was looking at her, too. She was glad to see that, because this was too weird. It was more than just an uncanny resemblance to someone she'd never met before.
It wasn't just her, Professor Walker saw the resemblance, too. Enough to ask if they were related. (Whether his question was serious or an attempt at a joke was up for debate.)
It wasn't just resemblance, though.
Oh, her hair was up and Mia's was down. Eden's was a little longer than Mia's. They had a different style when it came to clothes. Mia was sporty, preferring jeans and t-shirts. Eden seemed more proper in a skirt and sweater. Mia had no time for long fingernails. She usually broke them even when she did try growing them out. Eden's were long and polished. It didn't look like a charm either. She'd seen some girls charm their nails to look painted, but it didn't ever look the same in her eyes.
Other than those … external differences, which came to choices, she could be looking in a mirror. She'd seen her reflection enough to know.
Neither girl said anything, picking up their quills.
There!
She picked hers up with her left hand, too. The rising of her eyebrow told Mia she noticed she had, too. She'd never met anyone else left handed before.
"Is your father really a potions master?" she asked. She hadn't realized until now that Professor Walker hadn't questioned Eden on how she knew potions after she'd said that.
"He is."
"You were the one who was late, right?"
Eden sighed with a roll of her eyes. She didn't seem irritated at Mia. "I was. That seems to be all anyone knows me for. My father was hoping I'd go elsewhere. He thinks Ilvermorny is too progressive."
"Your mother doesn't?"
Interesting. Her mother had said the same thing about Ilvermorny when they talked about her education. Her mom had said as old fashioned as she had found Hogwarts at the time, she kind of liked it. To her mom, it was a real-life glimpse into a world muggles thought was dead.
"No. I mean, I don't know. I don't have one."
"Well, of course you do."
"I've never met her."
"Oh," Mia said. Eden's eyes were focused on her now, as if the other girl knew what she was thinking. She was apparently thinking it, too. So she said what was on her mind, knowing Eden would understand what she was saying.
Suggesting.
"I've never met my father."
She nodded simply, and they both set to working on their assignment because Professor Walker had come back in the classroom from his office.
About an hour of silence, except the sound of quill on parchment, as both girls completed their detention assignment. They walked up to the desk, Eden first, handing in their papers.
He looked at Eden's and then hers, eyes widening a bit.
"Your father taught you all of these?"
"Yes, Sir."
"I'm not familiar…"
"With Severus Snape?" Eden asked, sounding surprised.
"I'm afraid not."
"Read up on your British Wizarding War history then, Sir," she said.
"Detention served, but I'm watching the two of you."
"Yes, Sir," they said simultaneously. They collected their backpacks and left the room together.
"I've heard your father's name before," Mia said.
"I'd hope so. I don't know what rock he's been living under."
Mia couldn't help but laugh.
That wasn't where she'd heard his name before. She guessed by Eden's telling Professor Walker to read up on the war that her father had been involved.
No, that wasn't where she heard it. Her mom and Harry didn't talk about the war a lot. Sometimes things would come up, but the subject was usually changed to something else quickly.
About two years ago she'd been ill. Pretty severely, enough to the point her mom brought her to the muggle hospital to ensure the diagnostics that the healers at St. Beltrami's ran hadn't missed anything. She'd never taken her to a muggle doctor before, always saying she found magical healing less invasive. Her godfather had portkeyed there almost immediately.
"You need to tell Snape, Hermione."
"No. That was not our agreement."
"He would want to know."
"I disagree, and I am her mother."
Harry shook his head, but hugged her mom. "I'm sorry. I just, I would want to know."
"That's because you have a heart to love me with, Harry."
Her mom thought she was sleeping, or she probably would have gone out into the hall. She'd never thought about the conversation until now. Not really. She remembered finding it odd that Harry was telling her mom to call someone, but at the time assumed it was a healer or something that she knew from Hogwarts. She was sick and scared, so it really hadn't occurred to her to ask.
Now, though.
She also knew that her name was legally Snape Granger. She'd only ever gone by Mia Granger. Her mom never told her why, and Mia always just assumed it was Grandma Granger's maiden name or something. She'd grown up with people who were Catholic and they took a second middle name once they were confirmed. It was usually a saint's name, but she just never found it particularly odd.
She grabbed onto Eden's wrist, tugging her into a nearby alcove. Why was she so calm about this? She felt as if she was going to burst!
She just had to be right!
"April 24, 2000."
"What about it?" Eden looked suspicious, those dark eyes, exactly like hers, narrowed. "Are you a seer or something?" The question wasn't asked in a flattering way at all. Evidently Eden put as much stock in Divination as her mom did.
Mia, honestly, wondered if there wasn't something to the art. If there weren't people who had actual gifts. She hoped to find out more about it at Ilvermorny, though she knew her mom would likely tell her that she was wasting her time taking a class on nonsense.
"No, silly. I don't have a father. You don't have a mother. You're left handed. So am I! We have the same birthday."
"Shut up," she said, but Mia could see she was thinking it over.
"How else do you explain this," she said, gesturing to Eden and then her. "We're identical, Eden. except our personal preference as to hairstyle and clothing."
"My dad would never…"
"And yet, here we are."
"What's your mum's name?"
"Hermione."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"You've heard of her?"
"Yes. I've read about the war."
"I wasn't really allowed to," Mia said.
That sounded bad, as if her mom was trying to keep information from her. That wasn't it at all. Her mom just didn't want her to read about it until she got to school. Until more time between the final battle had passed so things said would be more objective.
"Your mum's not here now, is she? You have an entire library at your fingertips."
"Mom just didn't like talking about it, I think."
"Dad doesn't either."
"There has to be a reason we're both getting top marks in our class."
"Dad is very smart."
"Mom is, too."
Silence. Both seeming to think over the plausibility of the conclusion they were coming to being right.
"But you're Granger," Eden said.
She shrugged. She had no idea why they had different last names. Were their parents not married? Her mother had suggested things like unwed mothers weren't a thing in the wizarding world. And Mia had never heard her mom or Harry talk about Hermione having a relationship with anyone. Other than for a few weeks after the war with Ron Weasley.
"I don't know."
"Are you busy?" Eden asked.
She gestured to her backpack. "I was going to study."
"Let's study in the library."
*****
They had more than a handful of books spread out on the table between them, taking turns glancing through them. Books about the wars. Eden's focus was on the time before Voldemort returned and moving forward. Mia's was from the time they were born and moving back. The plan was they'd meet somewhere in the middle. They knew when they were born. They just didn't know if their parents even knew one another. Their mom had to have known their dad. He was a professor at Hogwarts. That didn't explain how they ended up having a set of twins together, though.
Leo walked up to them when it was getting close to curfew time. The library had been rather crowded when they got here. Not so much now. Mia only now noticed that they had maybe an hour left. Time flew when she was sitting with someone who didn't bug her all of the time about leaving. Her housemates had learned by now just to leave her alone when she was studying. Oh, she loved to be outside and do things. (She introduced a few other first years to soccer.) When she was studying, though, she was focused on getting that done. Leo was the only one who took the chance of bothering her anymore.
"What are you studying so late?" he asked.
"Nothing," they both said without looking up.
"Holy crap," he said.
"What?" Mia asked, finally looking at her friend.
"Nothing, you just sound alike."
"Mm," Mia said, glancing at Eden.
"Eden, this is Leo Miller."
"Hi Leo," Eden said. Mia smiled a bit at her dismissive tone.
She watched Leo's face as he processed what he was seeing. No one else had approached them tonight, so he was the first one to really pay any attention when they were seated together like this.
"Are you two related?"
Mia met Eden's eyes and they both shrugged.
"We don't know. We think we might be sisters."
"You could sure pass for it. You look more alike than my sisters do. And I have eleven of them."
"We think we're twins, Leo."
"Oh," he said. He glanced from one to the other. He frowned. "But," he scowled.
"We don't know."
He glanced over her shoulder to see what she was reading.
"We're reading books on the wars. Both our parents are from Britain."
"Oh, right. Because your mom was involved in the war."
"So was her dad," Mia said about Eden.
"Really?"
"Her dad's Severus Snape."
"How did you both end up here then?"
"We don't know," they both said again.
He was quiet, eyeing them. He set a hand at the edge of the table.
"What can I do to help?"
Eden looked at him then, interest reflected on her face. Until then she had seemed rather bored by him. Mia had heard about Eden, even if she'd never seen her before this evening. There were like one thousand students here. So, not seeing her until tonight when they both served detention wasn't unusual. She knew, though, from listening to others talk about the Serpents that she didn't have a lot of friends.
"You want to help us?" she asked. She didn't look completely suspicious, but it was clear she was questioning his motives for offering.
"Sure. I mean, you've got tons of books here."
Eden gestured to the table behind them.
"The British wizarding paper, Daily Prophet . You could look for any articles around April 24, 2000, involving either of our parents."
"Sure," he said, taking a seat at that table.
"Thank you," Eden said. Mia couldn't help but smirk a bit at the blush that crept to Leo's cheeks. He never blushed like that when she thanked him.
*****
Dear Mom,
I've decided I'd like to stay at school over the holidays. I'd like to practice flying. There are a few others staying and they're going to teach me to play quidditch. It looks like so much fun. Can I stay? Please?
Love,
Mia
***
Dear Dad,
I'd like to stay over the holidays. A few friends I've made are staying. Besides, Christmas in the mountains sounds perfect. Thanks!
Avec Amour,
Eden
"Do you think she'll be suspicious?" Eden asked.
"No," she said. "She'll probably be disappointed, but my grandparents are there."
Eden got a wistful look in her eyes.
"I hadn't thought of that."
"What?" Mia asked.
"Dad doesn't have parents. He'll be alone." She glanced at the now empty spot where the owl she'd given her letter to had been a moment ago.
"He can always write back and say no."
"I don't know, Mi, maybe this wasn't a good idea."
"We can spend two full weeks together. Find out about our parents. What we did for eleven years."
They couldn't do that now, not as much as they'd like, because they had classes and homework. And they weren't in the same house. She'd asked if Eden could stay in her room during the holidays, and was told it would be fine.
Eden huffed.
"They can both come back and say no," Mia said. "Chances are they'll be so thrilled we have made friends that we want to spend Christmas with that they won't care they're alone. I don't know about Dad, but Mom didn't make friends easily." None of the research they'd done suggested either of their parents had been swimming in friendships. Mia thought a time or two over the years her mom was a little jealous at Mia's ability to make friends so easily. She wasn't exactly popular, but she just fit in pretty easily with most anyone.
"You're probably right," Eden said, though she didn't look thoroughly convinced.
They'd found no Daily Prophet articles that linked their parents together. No pictures of them or anything like that. There was one sentence indicating they'd married April 1, 1999. So, obviously that linked them together, but there were no pictures or articles of them being together otherwise. They were war heroes, surely if they dated there'd be pictures of them out together. Something.
No divorce, which they'd suspected had happened since Eden was a Snape and Mia was a Granger. Did they get divorced? If not, how did they have different last names? They did find information about a repopulation decree and the listing of magical births the month of April 2000 was rather numerous. No names were listed specifically and there were nine other babies born on April 24.
They hadn't looked at previous or months ahead of April. They knew when they were born, so there was no point. Both suspected, though, that the list of births from December 1999 through December 2000 were likely numerous every month.
Evidently there was no shortage of witches and wizards who entered into an agreement without the benefit of being married. Unwed mothers and fathers was not what the decree had been put forth to accomplish.
Leo had been the one to find information on the decree. He'd found the reversal of it, and from there backtracked until he found the passing of it. It was about a year before they were born and shortly before their parents had married when it was passed, so it fit in with the timing of when they would have been conceived.
So, that had to be it.
No wonder her mom didn't want to return to Britain anytime soon. Forcing people to have children!
They'd both searched, Leo helped, too, in between their homework. There was no legal documentation suggesting their parents divorced.
Were they really still married?
Almost thirteen years later?
What did that even mean if they were?
"Don't forget, don't mention our names," she said. "If they ask who our friends are anyway. I told Mom about Leo."
"I've told Dad about Ilene because of her name. She was our grandmother. Spelled differently."
"Eileen Snape?" Mia asked.
"Mm hmm. Prince was her name before she married Grandfather. Dad doesn't talk about either of them much. I know Grandma was a witch, Grandfather was not."
"Mom's parents are muggles."
"I knew Hermione Granger was muggleborn," Eden said with a nod.
"Right, of course you did," Mia said.
She should maybe be embarrassed that she didn't know as much about the war as others seemed to. She imagined it was her mom's way of protecting her, but at the same time not allowing Mia to think she was more important than she was. Some people would let that type of recognition go to their heads. She could see how it could be tempting.
"Unless he says no, I'll be here," Eden said.
"Great!"
They went their separate ways then.
Two weeks. They would have two weeks together, virtually alone with no one to bother them. With Eden able to stay in her room with her, they wouldn't be regulated by a curfew or anything either.
Story ©Susan Falk/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com