Gemini Malfoy (a Harry Potter OC)

Credence

The great hall buzzes with excitement as students settle in, first years gasp with large smiles when the feast appears, shortly followed by a few squeals from the far end of the Gryffindor table as Sir Nicolas pulls his head from his neck. The feast carries on as usual except for a few sixth year Gryffindors who spend much of their time glancing to the door; Save Ron, who absentmindedly shovels chicken into his mouth.

"Will you stop eating!" Hermione finally snaps next him, smacking her friends arm with her book. "Your best friend is missing!"

"Oi! Turn around you lunatic." Ron lucks out having spotted Harry walking towards them.

"He's covered in blood again." Ginny observes. "Why is it he's always covered in blood?" He finally arrives at their seat with his head down.

"At least looks like it's his own this time." Hermione interjects glumly.

"What happened to you?" Ron asks when Harry reaches them.

"Tell you later." He brushes them off, briefly sparing a glance at the Malfoy's across the room. Both Ron and Hermione manage to spot Gem through the crowded hall only to find her hurrying to look away.

They'd failed to win the liquid luck. The two Malfoy's, along with the rest of the potions class, seem to glare holes into Harry as Professor Slughorn hands him the vial. A skeptical Gem watches Harry pocket the clear liquid, bitterly recalling both Draco, Hermione and herself being notably better at potions than him. She thought desperately about how she might go about stealing the liquid luck, realizing quickly that once he made it back to Gryffindor tower it was a lost cause, and she new better than to try her hand at pick-pocketing.

The twins left the dungeons defeated, and wordlessly walk side by side to the seventh floor corridor. Only exchanging eye contact once the door of the come and go room appears in front of them, both hoping the other might look more enthused.

The coming weeks came and went fast, the only memories sticking in Geminis head were the ones of long hours they spent with that damned cabinet, and the few close calls she'd had with Harry, Ron and Hermione. She figured they'd try to talk to her, indicate for her to follow them somewhere private and ask what's going on. Hermione and Ron had almost managed to corner her in the near empty library one night when she was fetching books on mending magical items, she'd found it more painful than she could have anticipated to brush past them rudely and ignore their call of her name. On occasion she still catches Hermione sending her a hopeful look, but apart from that they seemed to have gotten the message. She'd have given anything to go to them, to tell them everything, but the stakes were too high this time, and Gem was far too scared to risk it.

The twins spend another long afternoon with the cabinet that turns into a long evening. Gem pours over her books in hope of a solution but, by hour seven, finds her eyes scanning the same paragraph over and over again without reading.

She sighs. "I think we need to act on the other task." She finally closes the book on her lap, looking at the back of Draco's head where he stood facing the vanishing cabinet. Gem found herself surprised to be the one to bring it up.

Draco turns his head towards his sister but doesn't look at her. "I have the necklace in my trunk."

She swallows nervously. "Hogsmede this weekend?"

"Let's do it."

So they made a plan, one that ended up being mostly Draco's idea. After a few attempts of using the imperious curse on each other it was clear Gem would be the one to watch the door, leaving Draco to do the dirtier work.

"What was that all about?" Ron questions once Slughorn's finally walked away from a very odd conversation with the golden trio.

"Dumbledore asked me to get to know him." Harry explains. His eyes follow the Professor for a moment but snag on someone else moving hastily through the three broomsticks. Draco notices his gaze and freezes, meeting his eye with a scowl before Gem prods his back forcing him to move on. Harry watches curiously as his nemesis and one time friend make their way to the back of the shop, Gem of course knew he'd seen her, and adamantly refused to look back.

"Why is it when anything happens it's always up three?" Professor McGonagall pleads later that day.

They'd been walking back to the castle when Katie Bell had touched the cursed necklace. They'd all seen the terrible sight of her dangling up in the air, her mouth open in a silent scream.

"Believe me Professor, been asking myself the same question for six years." Ron answers for the group, perhaps a bit too genuinely.

"Oh Severus." McGonagall spots Snape enter the classroom behind the children. He spares a glance their way but quickly moves forward to inspect the necklace, using his wand to levitate it. "What do you think?"

"I think miss Bell is lucky to be alive."

"She was cursed wasn't she." Harry quickly interjects. "I know Katie, off the quidditch pitch she wouldn't hurt a fly. If she was delivering that to professor Dumbledore she wasn't doing it knowingly."

"Yes, she was cursed." Professor McGonagall confirms solemnly.

"It was Malfoy." Hermione and Ron look at Harry, off-put by his audacity say such a thing in front of Professors. "Draco and Gemini." Hermione frowns.

McGonagall looks at him astounded. "That is a very serious accusation Potter."

"Indeed." Snape looks at him unhappily. "Your evidence?"

"I just know."

"You just know." Snape repeats slowly and belligerently.

The moment they're dismissed and in the corridor Hermione's pace picks up, walking at full speed ahead of the boys.

"Oi wait up." Ron calls confused.

"Hermione—"

"How dare you say such a thing?" She spins on her heel, looking at Harry accusingly. "Malfoy I know you hate, you've always hated each other, but Gem?"

Harry looks to Ron for help only to find him looking back, clearly wanting the same answers. "Hermione, she hasn't said two words to us all year. She just stood there while Draco broke my nose."

"Harry, her father was arrested last year, can you imagine the summer she had?"

"Yes and Sirius died!"

"But you had us!" Her eyes well at the thought. "Harry she was alone."

He huffs. "She had Draco."

"Yeah her emotional support twin, I'm sure they were very supportive of each other." Ron interrupts.

Harry runs his hand through his hair thinking over and over the same frustrating thought that plagued him since September. "Well she could've had us!" He finally snaps. "It's been her choice to ignore us since September." He looks between Ron and Hermione, all three standing in silence. "Her father's out of the picture, Umbridge is gone, what reason does she have to be so cold? That's not the Gem who helped me last year." He scowls bitterly. "Not the Gem who played chess with Ron, or who kissed you."

"Stop it." Hermione replies firmly. "She's different, we all are, but she's not a death eater."