Ascendio - Book 1

Chapter 4 - Chandler

It was easy to wait for the Slytherin house to come out of the great hall. It was easy to find Rose in the crowd and stick beside her, taking whatever paths she took and look wherever she would look. The blonde guy--Scorpius--was still next to her, and at first had looked at me like I was a threat, but our eyes had met and his softened imperceptibly.

My sister would not forgive me.

My movements became robotic. Step where Rose stepped. Look where Rose looked--but not at Scorpius. Let my thoughts wander. Let my heart heal.

She's always been there, stood by me. She was there when no one else was. She was my other half. The only person besides my parents I've ever cared for. And now... she wouldn't forgive me. I felt like I had been ripped in half.

Through all of this, I think I found another Slytherin trait. The ability to bounce back. Not to forget or forgive, no, but to avenge. To patch yourself up just enough to get the job done, and then, finally, you can let it all loose. All of the hate, tears, guilt, fear, loneliness.

I was starting to sound more like a Slytherin by the minute.

I kept thinking of Cress's face. She kept calling me Chandler, not her affectionate nickname. I had hated it when she first gave it to me, but now... I think I would do wondrous things just to hear her say it again. I felt like I had dug myself a pit and been dragged down, blinded by the mud and muck and not being able to scream because it filled up my lungs and soon I was choking--

"--okay, Chandler?" Rose said, giving me a concerned look.

"I... no. I'm not." I was still following her. Foot up, forward, down. Foot up, forward, down.

When I didn't elaborate, Rose looked at me worriedly. "What's wrong, then, O'Malley?"

I scuff my foot on the floor, breaking the mimic act. "Cresentia hates me."

"Why?" Rose drops the concerned look, now annoyed and... was that amusement? "What did you do?"

"I'm a Slytherin."

"So? Did you tell her the famed Rose Weasley was a Slytherin, too?"

"No, she... she didn't want to listen to me." The words echoed back to me. Heartless. Emotionless. I should have felt something by saying them, but all there was inside was a void. It seemed strange that it could come on so quickly, this nothingness... but I've never felt farther away from my twin. She was always there for me, and me for her...

"Well, that's her fault." When I didn't respond, Rose gave out a sigh. "Look. O'Malley. You... you didn't have a choice when the hat picked your house. It's..." She took off her newsboy hat for a second to run a hand through her shoulder-length hair. "Look, kid. I've never been good at this pep-talk stuff, see. But what happened back there wasn't your fault. You couldn't control the situation. D'you see what I mean?"

"But I might have been able to," I press. "I could have convinced the hat... I could have argued with it..."

"That may be true," Rose said. "But you can't change that now, see. She's your sister, O'Malley--even more than that, she's your twin. Honestly. She has to forgive you."

I slowed down, Rose passing me in a second. She has to forgive you. She might not, and that's what scares me. But Rose's words keep sinking in, and soon I feel a bit better. It's Cress's fault, not mine. She's the one thinking that I can't change, that just because I'm Slytherin means I can't be good. But I can change. I'll prove it to her. No--she is going to have to come to me. Because her grades will suffer blows without me.

I can't help but chuckle as my genius plan forms.

------

Our dorms are still located in the dungeon. Frankly, I can't see how anyone could get used to the moldy floors and the wet walls--or the smell--but Rose and Scorpius treated the place like a king's castle. The Slytherin common room was much cleaner, though, and was decorated with green and silver. A few large couches were strategically placed around a roaring fireplace, and I could see two doors where the dorms must be attached.

Rose flopped onto the sofa and gave a contented sigh. Scorpius sat beside her, a bit more gracefully, and I opted for a chair to the side of them. Rose closed her eyes and sighed, her body losing it's tension, while Scorpius's eyes melted again. Wanting to give them some privacy, I turned towards the fire. My thoughts drifted, and instead of going towards my fair-haired counterpart, I started thinking about a certain Ravenclaw girl.

What was Joyce doing at this moment? Was she scared? Perhaps she had found people that she would fit in with. Perhaps she had gone to find Tristan. My thoughts soured at that, and I shook my head. I didn't want to get involved with that love triangle. It wouldn't end well.

A girl sashayed into the room, drawing everyone's attention. Even Rose cracked open an eye. Her tie was green and gold, for some reason, and her ginger hair down to her waist. Her piercing green eyes felt like they cut right through me, and I actually felt intimidated. No, that's not right... scared.

The girl surveyed us. "I see the new first-years have arrived."

A few of the people murmured confirmations, slightly bowing their heads. Who was this person?

She gave her hair a flip as she strode over to one side of the room, facing a dark-haired, tall boy that reminded me of someone. "Be a dear, and get me the tests, Michael?" she said, leaning on him a bit. He was blushing as he walked--ran, really--out of the room and into one of the dormitories.

That taken care of, the ginger girl swiveled around to face us, hands on her hips. She pursed her lips, looking us over with those green eyes. Since I was hidden from her view by Rose and Scorpius, I didn't suffer the brunt of her intimidation. "Slim pickings this year," she murmured. "Honestly, don't they send anyone good to Slytherin anymore?"

Her gaze alights on me, and I try to mask my face like it normally is--uninterested, unimpressed, stone cold. She gives me a small smile. "Well, maybe one. Only the tests will say for sure."

Michael comes out of the dormitories with a fabric-covered contraption, and only when he gives the girl a nervous smile do I place where I know him from. Tristan had said something about having an older brother, and he has the exact same smile--except way less confident.

"Don't worry," he assures us first-years. "It's better than it looks," and he drops the cloth.

I'm not sure I can be friends with Tristan if his brother lies that badly.