Serpent On Fire | DRACO x OC | HERMIONE x OC

Foreword: The Train to a New World

The train was far louder than they had expected - bumpier, too. And yet, it was still more comforting knowing that the trip was still a bit longer than anticipated. The rain and fog had delayed their departure time, and, as inconvenient as it was, luck must have been on the Visage twins' side.

Io Visage was the oldest, but her character made up for what she lacked in stature. Her black near-sapphire blue fringe fell into her face as she struggled to read the papers in her hands, blurry from fatigue.

Her twin, in comparison, Aster Visage, stared out the window, daydreaming past the glass and out into the gloomy hills of the countryside. She pulled her icy blonde curls back to stay out of her face, grayed out and sullen. They had been on the train for a few hours now, and any conversation worth having fizzled out. All they had to view were gray skies, gray faces in photographs - gray as far as the eyes could see. The actual Hogwarts Express was in front of their cart. Apparently their arrival was meant to be somewhat of a secret, but to Aster, this made it more of a scene. They'd be the oldest of the new arrivals. Not that she cared that much. She relished the idea of making an entrance, and she knew, deep down, Io felt the same. While Aster didn't hide her vanity, Io played coy, defining their individual charisma.

Io and Aster were fraternal twins, though they could probably get away with being confused as identical. Io was born with the darkest midnight blue hair imaginable. By the age of five, it was pin straight and she struggled to keep it out of her face, so their uncle gave her bangs that sat at her brows. She still has the bangs, while her hair has changed lengths over the years, never that far below the shoulders. Aster on the other hand had hair as white and icy as her demeanor. Her hair was always longer than Io's. Together, they looked like perfect puzzle pieces, dark, charismatic, and, frankly, frightening to anyone who hadn't spoken to them before. Io didn't like to admit it, but she liked that people were scared. It kept them curious. Aster wanted to frighten them more - if only for a chuckle.

Io looked at the pictures one by one. They were given so many people to study, and it just wasn't enough time. While each person had their own distinct features and she had no doubt she'd be able to find them easily, she still worried that maybe her gift of perception might not be as accurate as she hoped. Of the natural born gifts the twins possessed, perception, empathy, and intuition were her strengths.

Putting all her materials down, she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small pendulum, the very end of its string grasping onto a small gray crystal, decorated by black beads and golden shimmers from the light. It was a beautiful cloudy gray color, shaped like a teardrop.

"It's a moon stone - beautiful, isn't it? Quite small, but very great in terms of importance."

"What's it for?"

Io recalled Uncle Altair's gaunt face as he pondered his answer for a moment. He stared at her quietly, looking past her glance and into the stone as if he was transpiring a message.

"Keep it safe."

Noticing her distraction, Aster's gaze shifted over to her sister's trinket, being reminded that she'd been holding onto her own, letting its chain tangle in between her fingers, now warm with anxiety. She was always the more fiery of the two, being younger and more attuned to what she did and did not want. The elder was always more inclined to hold back her negative reactions, able to control her face better when in distress. At first glance, Aster's own pendulum was something she did not want, and in fashion, she made it very obvious.

"Not to your liking? It's jade."

"It looks like a superfluous trinket."

Their uncle grinned at her naivety, for the first time letting his humor shine through his sad eyes. He held it in her hands like it was a treasure before letting it rest on her palm. The pale green stone was carved into a dagger-like point.