b e f o r e
If Adeline were asked what would be one of the worst possible outcomes of this trip, she would simply reply with what she was currently doing. Pacing the floors of Dean's London apartment trapped inside with her supposed-to-be-dead brother, the guy she spent half her life loving, and the owner of said apartment, sitting on his lounge and bickering with her brother about his lack of food.
"I'm not sure what you expect," Dean argued. "I haven't even stepped foot in this place for well over a year."
"Well, you made me drop my pastry." Alexandre was opening the empty cupboards in his kitchen, yelling over his shoulder. "It's only fair you repay me in some way."
"I didn't make you do anything." Dean leaned his head back against the head of the lounge, rubbing his temples. "You just have clumsy hands."
"I will have you know," Alexandre stopped digging around the kitchen and walked over to the couches. "My hands are incredibly skilled."
Draco, who had been standing by the large window and half-listening to the ridiculous argument, looked back with a face of displeasure and annoyance.
"Could we please get back on track?" Adeline demanded, finally ceasing her pacing.
Alexandre sighed, throwing himself into the armchair across from Dean. "I don't even see how I can. I'm completely famished."
"Tell me again why we can't just strangle him right now." She muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Because you'd die," Draco spoke, finally leaving his spot at the window. He'd been there since they entered, silently brooding in the corner.
"And so would everyone else." Dean reminded, emphasising his point with a swooping hand gesture.
"Except for you," Alexandre commented, looking pointedly at the boy across from him. He leaned in closer. "What's your deal anyway? I understand why I couldn't very well see the other one brooding in the corner over there, but-"
"I'm still a little confused about that," Draco interjected, he stood behind the lounge where Dean sat. Luckily Adeline's brother didn't seem very interested in acknowledging Draco's presence.
"But not you. Unless..." He turned around to look at his sister, raising his eyebrows in question. It was odd for the other two boys to watch the siblings interact like they were having some kind of conversation without even needing words. Adeline gave him a blank look to his unasked questions. "No, okay."
He turned back to Dean. "So, what is it – demon's blood? Dragon's? Are you part spider or something?"
"You think I'm Spiderman?" Dean asked incredulously, his head still leaning against the top of the lounge.
"Who is that?" Alexandre questioned. "I've been dead for fifteen years; I don't know every wizard."
"Why didn't Draco bleed when I cut you then? If we're all connected as you say, how come I had the injury but not him?" Adeline interjected.
"I told you, my dear. We have a special bond." Alexandre stated, she scowled at his words. "We are bound together by something deeper than a few dark spells; our power is linked. You're my balance little sister. We keep each other in check. Everyone else's lives are tethered to each other; their hearts are connected, not their bodies."
Adeline grimaced, she hated pretty much every word he said.
"How are we supposed to believe you?" Draco demanded. He'd taken off his sweater and now stood in a t-shirt, the shirt tight around his arms.
Alexandre looked at him like it was an effort to even breathe the same air. "I could kill you if you'd like. Then we can watch the little domino effect of death."
"What do you want from me, then?" Adeline asked. "You've bound us all together. Why?"
"Life insurance." Her brother spoke, black eyes blinking up at her. "We are all going to go on a little trip to a witch I know. I need to pick up a few things and she can sever this lovely connection we share if you so wish."
"Why do you need us to come? And why doom everyone else in the process?" She pressed, confusion clouding her thoughts.
"My Me, you ask a lot of questions." Alexandre stood, stretching. "You're coming with me because you want to get unhitched from my wagon. I shackled us all together so you wouldn't try and kill yourself – since I know you have a knack for attempting it – and the reason I did all of this to begin with, is because I knew you'd come looking for me eventually, so I thought I'd speed up the process a little and do it all in one fell swoop."
His answer sounded so simple, and Adeline didn't believe it for a second. Nothing with her brother was ever as it seemed. She felt the surprised stares of Dean and Draco, both probably stuck on certain words of the explanation.
"We've been here before, haven't we?" Alexandre asked, his full attention on her. She looked at him, trying to decipher what he meant. The elixirs were working when she'd been living here, and she couldn't recall ever having problems with him appearing.
"It feels familiar like I've seen it through your memory." He continued, looking up at the ceilings. "Did you live here or something?"
Adeline continued to stare at him. She wouldn't tell him anything.
"I'm pretty sure you did. I never got to look at it firsthand, but you've certainly thought about this place somewhat recently. Before, you know," He made a ripping motion to gesture to him getting out of her head. Adeline was painfully aware of the other two listening to their one-sided conversation.
"It must have been before our lovely time together, with that the imprisonment business." Alexandre was still looking around as if he could faintly recognise the scuffs on the floor near the couch or the dent in the wall by the door. "A lot of anger during that time, as I recall. So moody, you were." He looked at her, his exasperation clear. Then he held up his thumb and forefinger pinching together as if trying to pin something into the air. "I can kind of still taste all of this rage and...betrayal."
Alexandre's gaze landed on hers. She'd been quiet and blank during his reminiscing, but there must have been something that flickered over her face. His eyes fastened on hers, his smile working on something sinister. He looked over at the other two people in the room, a lazy finger pointing at Dean as he turned back to her with a large grin. "Oh."
"Alexandre." Adeline stopped, hoping he hadn't just figured out what she'd been trying to keep secret these last few days. His smirk confirmed for her what she already knew. He seemed to understand her tone and he pocketed his hands.
"Let's get some food first before we leave. I'm about to die of starvation."
She, dutifully ignoring the eyes of the two near the couch, rolled her own and indicated for Alexandre to lead the way out the door.
"Try anything weird and I'll kill you." She promised as he fell into step beside her.
"I don't take particularly well to threats if I'm being completely candid," Alexandre spoke. The two behind them were closing the apartment door and brooding in annoyed silence together. "Besides, you'll take us all down with me."
They stopped in front of the elevator, hummingbirds whistling a distant tune. She smiled tightly at him. "I'm still trying to decide if I care or not."
They have to travel out of London, apparently. To a town two days from the city – by train. Adeline was really starting to wish one of them had a car. From there, they have to travel another three days hiking in the snow. Because apparently, Alexandre's mysterious witch lives in the middle of nowhere. Adeline thinks that if they all don't kill each other first, the cold will. Maybe that should be the appropriate demise of a group of powerful wizards – hyperthermia.
So that's five days of travel, five days of constant bickering and silent hatred, nights of wanting to murder each other and imagining ways to slip poison in each other's cups. Then Adeline would be rid of her brother forever.
Supposedly.
Not that she believes a word that comes out of his mouth, but she knows that she can't very well go around slicing his chest open and pulling out his heart when about four thousand other kids would die with him. Mass murder wasn't really her thing.
Once Alexandre felt he had sufficiently satisfied his hunger, they headed back to Dean's apartment – which Adeline had asked him about. Apparently, he wasn't technically supposed to be back there since it was used when he was still enrolled in Ilvermorny and it goes against them wanting him to disappear off the face of the planet.
"Seemed like an emergency." He had said.
Adeline didn't think he was wrong. Dean had two alleged killers and a sociopath on his hands; privacy was kind of a necessity.
It had felt wrong to be back, remembering the many months she had spent there. Surprisingly, there were still a few things of hers left behind. A few clothes in the cupboard, an open book faced down on the bedside table. It hadn't been hers; she'd borrowed it from the library, but she was in the middle of reading it when they'd left for the Black Estate.
Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. She'd picked it up when Draco had knocked on her open door, he'd been looking for her. He looked similar to how she felt – like she was stuck in a haunted house with too many ghosts. They still hadn't really spoken since the night before by the elevator and the remnants of shame came back to her when he leaned against her doorframe.
"So, I guess it was Dean who taught you how to fight." He'd said, looking back at the open door of the training room. He had his arms folded over his chest, as he usually did these days, and his silver eyes looked dim in the light of the apartment.
"A little. My body got tired pretty quickly, so the lessons were short." She'd replied, still standing by her bed with the book in her hand. "Wasn't much else to do around here."
"Right." He'd said, voice stiff and uncomfortable. She knew what he was thinking, and her mind cringed at the memory.
"Draco..."
"Which one is that?" He interrupted, lifting himself off the doorframe and moving closer to her. He was pointing to the book in her hands. She showed the front cover to him.
"I never got to finish reading it, though." She'd said. "We, uh, something came up and Arthur brought me home."
"The ending's pretty sad, actually." He'd taken the book from her and was looking down at it. "Their love ends up being the thing that ultimately destroys her, and she chooses to die to flee from him and the shame it all brought."
There she stood, listening to the L'Ange Dechu, her fallen angel, talk about the tragedy of ruined love.
"Spoiler." She murmured, a small smile on her lips. Draco looked up at her as if startled she was there.
"Sorry," He snickered. "I guess you don't need to read it once you get back."
She took the book when he handed it back to her, chest tight and eyes sad.
"Yeah." She'd said and spoke to the cover of the spoiled book that had lain in her hands.
So, now they were on the train – this time it had carriages and cabins so they could have some privacy. This just meant they were trapped in the confined spaces of their booth.
They were headed for out of London, the bickering hadn't ceased, the tension was only getting thicker, and if Adeline's life wasn't attached to most of the wizarding youth population, she probably would have thrown herself onto the tracks. They'd only been on the train a few hours and she'd lost count of how many times she'd thought she was in hell.
"I still don't see why we can't just travel there by spell," Dean said. He was the unlucky one sitting beside Alexandre, who had been going over the plan with them. "I don't want to speak for everyone, but I'd certainly prefer if we didn't have to hike three days through a snowstorm."
"As I have stated, you deaf oaf, the mountain has been sealed of any magic but hers. She's a very paranoid witch and doesn't appreciate it when people come unannounced."
"We're going unannounced?" Draco asked.
Alexandre scowled at him. "No, she knows I'm coming. But she still has many precautions in place. Before we leave, we'll take care of any problems you lot have with the cold."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, we're wizards, aren't we?" Alexandre spoke to them like they were children. "Adeline here is quite handy with her potion-making. She and I will just whip up something that makes us impartial to the cold."
"Right, because we trust you enough to take anything you make." Draco snarled.
Alexandre squinted at him, eyes dark and mouth in an ugly frown.
"Didn't you try to kill her?" He spat and then turned to Dean. "And didn't you have her imprisoned?" He sighed, looking at his sister. "Honestly Adeline, I don't think you can trust these people."
Draco stiffened, turning on her. "What?"
Adeline sighed, glaring at her brother. "It's not a big deal."
"He locked you in a cage." He bit out, looking at Dean. "What the fuck, Draguar? Where do you get off?"
"Little hypocritical, don't you think Malfoy? I think if anyone should be relieved about second chances it's you, you homicidal blockhead."
"Technically, this is like your third or fourth chance," Adeline muttered and then heard her own words. "Not that I'm giving any of you any chances. If I had it my way, I'd happily never see any of you again."
"What are you even doing here?" Draco snapped at Dean, the two glaring at each other. "Are you planning on turning on her again? Alert the conductor about the two murderers on board?"
"Right, yeah because if that was my plan all along I definitely would have wasted time and effort in saving your ass in that alley," Dean argued. "Or dealing with you over the last few days. Seems like a really thoroughly thought-out plan. What about you, huh? How do we know you're not just some shitty spy for your father? I find it a little hard to believe you decided to betray mummy and daddy and leave your pathetic life of fluffed pillows and caviar served on the backs of child slaves."
"I did it to protect her."
"Funnily enough, so did I."
"Locking her in a dirty prison really seems like the best option, then. I can't believe I didn't think of it."
"If you guys could stop talking about me like I'm not here, that would be great." Adeline interrupted. "In fact, just stop talking."
Draco stood. "I need some air." He muttered, glowering at Dean. "You better watch your back."
"I'm so scared of you. I better watch out or you might throw daddy's money at me." Dean snapped, standing up as well.
Draco stormed out of the carriage, going left, and Dean mirrored his action, going right. The door slid shut behind them, leaving Adeline in the silence and suffering company of her brother.
"Oops," Alexandre spoke, a faux guilty look on his face.
"Was that really necessary?" She asked, rubbing her temples.
He put his hands up in surrender. "It just slipped out."
Adeline rested her head against the cool glass, once again thinking she was trapped in some messed-up purgatory.
"I'm not accustomed to the trivial mood swings of your handsome bodyguard and your past betrothed. Which, by the way, have I mentioned how glad I am that that isn't happening anymore." Alexandre was looking at her. His sweet smile paired with his black eyes seemed sinister. She didn't respond to him, just let out another breath of irritation.
"I can't stand any of you." She muttered.
Her brother was still looking at her, a quizzical air to his eyes.
"There's something different about you." He commented. She took her head off the glass, eyes glancing at him before she looked back out the window.
"Maybe it's got something to do with my murdered parents," She muttered, feeling any remnants of human emotion ebb away and the steel of her heart begin to repair itself.
"Or your complete lack of care about it." He spoke. "I did it for you, you know."
Adeline glanced at him, boredom laced with her words. "You brutally disfigured our parents for me?"
He nodded. "Of course. They were awful to you. Besides they would have just gotten in my way."
Adeline hummed. The carriage went into darkness when the train went into a tunnel; it took a few moments but the light above them flickered on. Alexandre was still eyeing her.
"I wasn't planning on killing them. I just had to pick up a few things and they happened to be home. They were quite surprised to see me, I must say. I think I even saw tears in mother's eyes. It only made their deaths harder for themselves. I just think-"
"Alexandre, I really don't care at all." She interrupted. "Not about you, or our parents, or Arthur-"
He scoffed at the mention of their uncle, despite the tamed looked of confusion hidden in his dark eyes.
"Yes, dear beloved Arthur." He muttered. "One of the good guys."
Adeline stared at him, wondering if her brother was so clearly resentful because of all the years of aid and elixirs he'd given her to try and get rid of him.
"There's a lot you don't know about your favourite uncle, Adeline." He commented bitterly. "Like his dealings with black magic or his grotesque dislike for small children."
Adeline's brows pinched together.
"What are you talking about?"
He let out a dry chuckle, eyes darkening. "You should have really done your homework before you started pumping yourself with the drugs we kept giving you."
Adeline's heart gave a dull thump.
"Those pretty little elixirs of yours weren't a natural art." He clarified. "Didn't you ever think it was odd that he was able to come up with something so potent to dampen your magic, our magic? He said it himself, we're the most powerful wizards of our time – gods – and he was able to just switch it off with a little potion. I mean, come on Adeline, the man was all sorts of sneaky."
She looked at him blankly, trying to understand what he was saying.
"I should know." He muttered, gesturing to himself. "He's the one that killed me."
"What?" Adeline uttered, shock coursing through her body. "You fell down a hill."
He looked at her with an inscrutable gaze. "Really? I fell down a hill?"
That's what she'd always been told. Alexandre had been found at the bottom of a slope at the family estate, surrounded by the rocks that had ended his life.
"Arthur took me out there, at the crisp age of toddlerhood, and hit me over the head with a stone and then threw my body down there." He said as if he'd been witness to the whole thing over and over.
Adeline stared wildly at him. It had been Arthur who found him, Arthur who knew Alexandre to be the evil prophecy they all talked wildly about. She was then reminded of the muffled conversation she had heard outside her door; the words Sirius had uttered to him.
We will deal with this burden together.
Had he meant the consequences of his own actions? What would have become of Alexandre if he hadn't died? Was the reason he was living in her head because he had died so young, attaching himself to her to live? Is that why Arthur had felt so adamant about helping her? Because he knew it was his own fault.
"I've been taking dark magic?" She uttered, years of understanding coming to her now. Perhaps it was Alexandre who had been draining the life out of her since she could remember, but maybe those elixirs only made it worse.
"For years, little sister." Alexandre sighed. "And it will only take more finally to separate us."
Adeline's heart gave an erratic beat, clawing its way out of steel and armour. She needed to get away from him, she needed water and hopefully air. Steadily, Adeline pushed herself up and walked out of the carriage. She knew it wasn't smart to let Alexandre stay alone, so when she passed Dean at the bar cart, she asked him to go back and keep an eye out. He could see there was something wrong but instead of asking, he nodded his head and headed back the way she came.
Alexandre was inspecting his nails when Dean walked in and he noticed the spark of interest that registered in his eyes when he sat down in the furthest seat from him.
"Couldn't stay away, could you?" He smirked, dark eyes catching in the yellow light that must have turned on while he was out.
"Been tasked to babysit," Dean responded, tapping his hands against his knees. "I'm a bit of a professional now."
Alexandre grimaced, but his interest didn't seem to wane. "You must have lived with Adeline during that wretched year I could hardly get hold of her. I'm rather surprised, she has more lovers than I thought."
Dean snickered. "It's not like that."
He seemed to pick up at this, but still managed to look out the window with disinterest. "Oh."
A silence would have been optimal but apparently the guy liked the sound of his own voice.
"She was very angry with you by the time I came around, I just didn't realise who she was so angry with. It's a pity I didn't see you coming, I would have enjoyed it."
Dean ignored the latter part of his statement, nodding his head. "Yeah well, you said it yourself. I locked her in a cage."
"For her safety, you say," Alexandre uttered. "Thank you for that, definitely helped move things along."
Dean didn't feel any better after this praise.
"It wasn't the right thing to do, I should have thought of something else. Besides I hadn't known you were in there with her."
"Yes, and I hadn't seen you at all." He observed. "Curious, isn't it, spider boy?"
Dean glanced at him and then looked out the window of the sliding door. He wouldn't tell Alexandre anything, not about the Ilvermorny or whatever else he's clearly trying to pull out of him. Dean didn't know why he couldn't see him, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the program. They were tasked to be invisible for a reason.
"So, this witch," Dean began, wanting to get the topic away from him. "Lives on the top of a secluded mountain, deals with dark magic and wants to help you. Sounds like a real peach."
Alexandre looked at him for a moment longer before he seemed to wane against his thoughts, looking out at the window again.
"She certainly is," he said, a suggestive smirk on his mouth. "We had some communication while I was still tethered to Adeline. She'd sometimes visit me while I was secluded to the depths of my own hell."
Something about this sounded familiar to him. "She was able to visit you in the spirit realm?"
Alexandre hummed, clearly disinterested in the topic. He turned back to him. "Have you noticed anything odd about my sister? She's acting differently."
Dean had, not that he'd confide in her evil twin brother about it. It was in the air around her, a bored and careless breeze that she never had before. He'd noticed it over the last days in their every encounter, more so when he mentioned her uncle or Ryland. Even the other night, when he'd watched her so quickly turn to Draco to try and get her way. She'd never been like that, she was brash and angry and couldn't even sneak through a hallway to save her life, yet now she easily attempted to seduce and manipulate any time she needed it.
"Might have something to do with you murdering pretty much everyone she loves," Dean said instead.
Alexandre hummed. "She did say something similar, but I'm not sure. It's like she doesn't care at all."
He seemed bothered by this, like he wanted his sister to be hurt by his actions, to hate him and fight with him, to show anything other than bored indifference. Dean couldn't tell if it was because he was undoubtedly dramatic and liked to feed off chaos or if it was something more.
"It seems she's lost her way." He spoke, voice airy and sure.
Dean snorted. "I've noticed how it's always the bad guys who say that. Almost like 'her way' means your way for her."
Alexandre gave him a dirty look. "I am not the bad guy. I saved her."
"Pretty sure you didn't though," Dean quipped. "She was better off without you."
"With those terrible elixirs?" He jeered. "No, she wasn't. My poor sister was trapped inside that house, inside that room, and then inside her own precious head. She needed to be set free, which is exactly what I did; I set her free." He spoke like he was a saint and he'd saved a part of the world.
Dean looked at him blankly. "You possessed her, had her believe all of the things you did were her own fault and then sat idly by while she slowly lost her mind and you got off on the chaos. I can't quite see how that is setting her free."
Alexandre looked put out. "First off, it was her own little trickster spirit who got up to trouble, I was just the one who released it for her. It wasn't my fault all her power was focused on that annoying Judas lad. And second, I allowed her to see just the precipice of her true potential."
"You killed her boyfriend. And her parents. And had everyone turn against her so she was alone for most of her life."
Alexandre blinked at him, eyeing him with speculation.
"Are you flirting with me?"
Dean ran a hand over his face, exhausted from this conversation. "No."
"Good." He quipped, turning his nose up at him. "Although, we'd make quite the pair. Purely because I'm involved."
Dean sunk lower into his seat, praying for someone to return quickly and save him from this hell.
Draco found Adeline in the dining carriage, the beginnings of the evening indigo sky darkening the rapid moving world around them. She was seated at a table, a menu in her hand when he sat down across from her. They probably shouldn't be in such a public area, especially not together, but oddly enough being recognised as a supposed killer was the least of his concerns.
Adeline glanced up at him when he sat and then looked back down at the menu. "This menu is abysmal, but I think I might get the Salisbury steak."
Draco looked down at his own menu in front of him, scanning the items. "Someone's still living in the last decade."
The options were limited and contained foods like ambrosia salad, seven-layer dip, deviled eggs, and rice-a-Roni.
"While it's certainly hard to turn down their tuna pie, I think that might be your safest bet." He commented, enjoying the way the corner of her lips twitched.
"And what's got your eye – the creamy chipped beef fondue or the cheeseburger and fries' casserole?" Her voice seemed to animate as she spoke. He was reminded of her comment in the diner, about him needing to eat, and wondered if this was her way of doing it again. Amusement licked his lips.
"I might stick with your choice." He replied, watching the way she nodded and looked back down at the menu, unseeingly skimming the words she'd already read. "Why didn't you tell me about Dean?"
Adeline stared at a place on the menu for a moment and then put it down on the table and blinked at him.
"Because you probably would have tried to kill him." She resigned.
Draco nodded, leaning against his chair. It was small and uncomfortable. "Probably, but I don't see how that's a problem. He's the reason you were in a cage for nearly two weeks, you conveniently left that out when you told me."
"And you tried to kill me," She reminded. "Twice."
Draco fell silent, trying to find the right words. "I'm sorry."
"Besides, Dean is useful for other reasons." Adeline ignored his apology.
"Like what?" He asked, he couldn't stop the bitterness seeping through.
"He spent the good half of a year travelling around researching the magic that binds Alexandre and me together."
Draco didn't say anything, knowing that was quite handy to have. He just wished it wasn't Dean Draguar – or whatever the hell his name was – that was the one with the knowledge.
"So, why am I here then? What use do I have?" Draco asked. "Other than being a pretty face to gaze at."
Adeline didn't smile at his joke, instead her expression was impassive and shielded.
"I told you, leverage."
"Not anymore. I'm worth more to my parents dead than alive." He spoke. "You could have left me in London."
"You would have followed us anyway."
"True, but you haven't tried."
"What would be the point?"
"You've never been one for unnecessary baggage."
Adeline stared at him, her jaw ticking just slightly. Her hands were on top of the table, and he saw them twitch just slightly.
"What did Alexandre mean when he said you had tricks up your sleeve, or all that stuff about a fuse blowing?" Draco continued, remembering the look of realisation that crossed her brother's face when he set his eyes on him.
"Who knows? He talks incessantly if you hadn't noticed, and it's usually nonsense."
Draco didn't believe her and Adeline knew it, too.
"Why couldn't he see me when I was around you?" He urged and her lips tightened. They blinked at one another for a few slow moments. Adeline's hands were folded on the table in front of her, knuckles white. Draco wished to reach out, to ease the tension and to soothe out any worry from her brain. He wished she'd let him in but he knew she never would. He had been too unkind and she had been so willing to forgive him.
"Hard to tell." She managed, eyes dropping to the menu as a quiet suffocated their table. Neither of them said anything more on the subject.
The other two find them in the dining cart once their food had arrived. Dean looked like he was ready to blow his brains out and Alexandre seemed offended that they had ordered without him.
"Well, isn't this cosy." He muttered with distaste, glaring particularly hard at Draco.
The table was four seated, Alexandre taking the available one next to his sister. Dean still stood above the table, leaning a hand against the back of the chair next to Draco.
"I'm starving," Dean said, an odd look in his eyes. "Adeline, where do I order?"
"At the counter." She said pointing to the waitstaff a few metres away from them with a confused scrunch to her brows.
"You know what, you'll have to help, the English confuse me. Come along." He urged, giving her a pointed look.
Adeline looked bewildered; questions raised in her gaze. "Okay..."
She stood from her seat and followed Dean away from the table. Alexandre looked back at them, his own bafflement was evident.
"He didn't even take a menu." He observed, shaking his head. "He really is a handsome bimbo."
Adeline followed Dean to the counter, one of the waiters smiling politely at them and asking what they'd like to order.
"Just give us a minute," Dean said, smiling politely at the young girl with sleek black hair.
"No worries, just let me know when I can be of service to you." She smiled, batting her eyelashes. Adeline would have been amused if she wasn't so confused.
"Why are you being weird? You love the English, and you know how to order off a menu." She urged, her confusion showing on her face.
Dean stepped slightly closer to her, leaning in to speak lowly.
"Listen, I've got to talk to you." He spoke. "I was talking with Alexandre and I think I know the witch we're about to go visit. When I was in New Orleans I heard a lot about this woman who has a lot of dealings in dark magic. I'm pretty sure I've read about the binding spell that you guys are connected by. It's ancient and bridges you through your blood. It's probably stronger because you're twins."
"It's this whole ceremony and takes a lot of dark magic for it to be successful. It's completely unnatural and the natural world usually needs to find some kind of balance – what that is, I'm not sure. But I know that when you guys go through with it, you're both going to be really weak afterwards for a few moments."
"So, what are you saying?" Adeline asked.
"I know you won't just let him walk away so if you were going to strike, that would be the time to do it," Dean said, looking at her. She slowly nodded her head, teeth biting into her lip in contemplation.
"It's not just that. All the readings I did, every folklore or myth, every story relating to it talks about nature's balance. Alexandre died and you're the reason he could come back. I think there might be something important he's keeping from you."
Draco didn't take his eyes off Adeline, watching the way Dean leaned in and the contemplation over her face, lips slick with how she bit into them.
"You're being obvious," Alexandre commented, sitting diagonal to him and looking over the menu.
"Shut up," Draco muttered, looking back to the two people by the counter. Alexandre scowled at him.
"He's a lot better than you, you know?" He said, glancing up at him over his plastic menu.
"Thanks."
"He may have locked her in a cage, but he's handsome so it cancels out. Besides, he didn't try to kill her." Alexandre still wouldn't put down the menu.
Draco didn't respond, not in the mood to deal with him.
"You're probably still trying to kill her." He chided.
Draco gave him a dark look. "I think if anyone should be suspected of murderous intentions, they might look to you for the prime suspect. Besides, I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to her." He muttered the last part; he hadn't really meant to say it.
Alexandre scoffed. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to sympathise? I'm sorry, it must be hard being such an idiot."
Draco didn't respond, tiring quickly from the conversation. But when Alexandre didn't get a response to his comment he abruptly put his hands down on the table and glared at Draco.
"I don't like you." He stated.
"Okay."
"Really, I don't. In fact, I probably hate you. Always have. I was really hoping she'd get bored of you by now, especially because you treated her so poorly." Alexandre snarled, looking at him like he was the dirt under his feet. Draco often felt like that when he thought about the way he dealt with things with Adeline.
"So," Draco began, voicing the question he'd been wondering for days. "Were you ever in Adeline's head when..."
"When you tried to steal her virtuosity in the school hallways?" Alexandre finished his sentence, looking like he was about to murder him. "No, that's my point. You are the one thing standing between me and my sister. If it wasn't for you we could have been done with this business years ago. The only reason I know about you is that she thought about you enough to fill a whole character profile."
Draco didn't know what to do with the information he was being assaulted with.
"I don't see how that's my fault." He argued.
Alexandre scowled at him. "Of course, you don't, stupid Judas."
He rolled his eyes. "You have an attitude problem."
"Don't talk to me, someone might think we're friends."
Draco gawked at him, having a hard time believing this guy. It was impossible to believe he and Adeline were even twins, they looked hardly anything alike. The only similarity they had were their high cheekbones.
"We're literally sitting at the same table!"
"That's torture enough, do not remind me."
Adeline and Dean returned eventually. Soon the rest of the food came – Alexandre had been displeased when he realised he had to get up and order for himself. They all ate in relative silence, but all eyes were on Adeline's brother when he started dissecting his food. They watched in bewilderment as he scraped food onto the side of his plate and he noticed the attention on him.
"What?" He shrugged. "I don't like mushrooms."
Dean let out a laugh and Adeline looked like she was ready to throw herself out the window.