Zenith《Marauders Era》

By authorsbane

257 14 20

Atalanta and her sister, Aletheia, could not be more different. One is a rebellious Slytherin with a useful h... More

Chapter II: Of Rum And Water
Chapter III: When it Comes to Shooting Stars
Chapter IV: Well a Witch

Chapter I: Cigarettes and Flower Petals

120 5 18
By authorsbane

"You've gotten ash on my notebook, Ata."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Al. Here, let me-"
"No, I've got it. Just be more careful."
"Sure thing, Sis."
Atalanta and Aletheia Phileo threw their stuff onto the seats in their compartment. Aletheia opened the window.
"Bye, Momma! Bye, Pappa!" She called, sticking her head out of the window.
"Bye, Love." Her mother, Natalia, kissed her forehead.
"Get that cigarette out of your mouth young lady and give your father a kiss goodbye," said George Phileo, scowling at his other daughter. Atalanta rolled her eyes and flicked the cigarette out of the train window. She stuck her head out and kissed both her parents on their heads.
"I love you," her father told her. She smiled and nodded. Both girls pulled their heads back into their compartment.
"We love you both so much! Don't forget to write!" Natalia yelled as the train whistle screamed, signaling their departure. "Stay safe!"
"Bye! Love you! I'll write every week!" Aletheia promised, waving with a wide grin on her face.
"I probably won't speak to you until Christmas!" Atalanta waved as well with a grin mocking Aletheia's. George stood tall, arms at his side, face almost expressionless. To Aletheia, she saw it as his attempts not to cry, but Atalanta saw disappointment etched into every line of his face. Natalia, on the other hand, had tears running down her dark, befreckled face. She waved her dainty, gloved hand in the air as the train started to pull away from the station.
"Bye my loves!" She continued calling after her daughters until they could no longer hear her.
When the train had fully left the station, Aletheia finally sat down in her seat, glaring at Atalanta as she stuck another cigarette in her mouth. She looked up to see her sister's distasteful scowl and crossed arms.
She shrugged her shoulders, holding the lighter in her hand.
"I thought we agreed. Only one every two days."
"But that last one didn't count! I didn't get to finish it," Atalanta argued. Aletheia raised her left eyebrow and crossed her legs. With a melodramatic sigh, Atalanta shut her lighter and slammed it down on the seat next to her.
"Fine!"
Aletheia smiled and touched Atalanta's knee.
"It's just-"
"I know, I know. You don't want me to 'slowly kill myself with such toxic instruments'. I heard you the first billion times."
"And yet you still don't listen." Aletheia retracted her hand, scowling again.
"It's something I like to call 'selective hearing'."
Before their bickering could continue, there was a light rapping at her door.
In the hall stood a squat boy with a mousy face and thin, brown hair.
"Oh, hello Peter!" Aletheia exclaimed, her scowl disappearing instantly. Atalanta stuck her unlit cigarette into her mouth and stared out the window.
"Hey, Theia."
"Where're the other boys?"
"I don't know. I can't find them. I came around to see if you had."
"Nope. Sorry, Pete, but we'll let you know as soon as we see them."
Peter Pettigrew smiled sadly and looked down.
"Come in and sit with us, Pete. We'll keep you company until the boys show up," Atalanta said, letting the cigarette dangled from between her teeth. Aletheia smiled encouragingly. Once Peter had taken his seat beside Atalanta, the two started playing a game of cards. Aletheia opened her journal and began flipping through pages of doodles, flattened and dried flowers, poems, and snippets of stories.
"Three chocolate frogs says you can't beat me," Atalanta said, her lips forming a smirk.
"You're on," replied Peter with an equally mischievous grin.
"Once we get to Hogwarts, there will be no more gambling," Aletheia said, not looking up from her journal.
"Whatever you say, Ms. Prefect."
Not five minutes later, after Atalanta let out a triumphant "booyah!", there was a tap on their window. Alethia scowled and pushed her glasses on to the top of her head. Peter handed Atalanta three chocolate frogs while Alethia stood and opened the copartment window. She stuck her head out and looked up.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing up there?" She yelled at the three head peaking over the sides of the train.
"Crazy cart lady trying to kill us!" The black haired boy yelled back.
"Very cold and windy!" Shouted the one with glasses.
"Please let us in," asked the boy with scars on his face. She backed out of the way of the window and sat back on her seat.
"What's that?" Asked Atalanta, shuffling the cards in her hands and now happily chewing on a chocolate frog.
"I found the boys."
There was a blur of motion from the window and a shout of pain as the first of the boys swung in through the window.
Sirius Black lifted his head and blew a mass of hair out of his face.
"Hey Al, Pete, Ata. What's u-"
A second blur of motion and James Potter was laying on top of Sirius, cackling.
"Getoff!" Sirius pushed James off of him. "You weigh like a million pounds."
Before he could move off of the floor, a third and final blur introduced Remus Lupin to the group. Sirius grumbled as Remus landed on top of him.
"Oh hey, girls. Peter." Using Sirius' head as a hand hold, he pushed himself up and plopped himself down next to Aletheia. Sirius finally stood up, glaring daggers at his two friends. He rubbed his head and squeezed himself between Atalanta and the wall. She grinned up at him.
"New tattoo," he said, pointing at the moon on her wrist, "I like it."
Her smile widened.
"Do you? I do too. Pappa didn't enjoy it too much, but Momma thought it was fine. Look, she even put some magic on it."
Sirius watched in awe as the moon started to change, shifting to the different phases then stopping back on full.
"That's so wicked. Did she do any others?"
"Well of course. Once she did this one, I made her do the other two." Atalanta shifted her jacket off her shoulders to show her small black cat, which was currently licking its paw. When the small, black silhouette saw Sirius staring, it dropped it's paw and cocked its head to the side. He lifted the jacket back on to her shoulders.
"And the other?"
Atalanta's grey eyes sparkled. She lifted her ankle, accidentally kneeing Peter in the side.
"Sorry, Pete," she said. He nodded and went back to his card game with James.
On Atalanta's ankle, the word 'truth' was written in black ink. It faded slowly. Before their eyes, as if an invisible pen was being used,the word began to rewrite itself.
"Your mother is a genius," Sirius mused. Atalanta's smile held fast.
"Yes, she is."
While this encounter was going on, Remus was catching up with Aletheia.
"I see you've got a new journey," he said, glancing up at Atalanta and Sirius. "And I see Ata's already got ash on it."
Aletheia sighed and nodded, but a smile played at her lips.
"Yes, she has. But I love her anyway."
"Did you write any new poems while we were away?"
"What a silly question, Remus. Yes I did."
"Can I hear some?"
Aletheia glanced down at the page she was on, the page full of lopsided hearts and a tear soaked poem and a blush creeped up her face. She pushed the pages against her chest. Remus laughed and tucked his hands behind his head. He put his feet up on Peter's lap, earning a glare from the boy.
"I see. You're being secretive. Is it about a certain someone?"
Aletheia's blush deepened.
"Ah, ah. I see. Do I know this person?"
Aletheia covered her face with the book. Remus laughed again.
"I see, I see. You don't want me to know. But mark my words, Aletheia Phileo, I will discover your secrets, if it's the last thing I do."

"James and Peter already went to change," Aletheia said, standing up. "We should follow suit."
She turned and left the room. With a heavy sigh, Remus stood and looked down at Sirius and Atalanta. He had her unlit cigarette in his mouth. She was laying her head on his lap, a book in her hands. Remus felt his throat tighten.
"You guys coming?"
Atalanta looked up from her book and smiled.
"We'll just change in here."
Remus dipped his head and left the room. He mindlessly walked towards the bathrooms. He tried to think of something other than Atalanta and Sirius changed in the same room together. He wondered why he couldn't be so comfortable, so confident. How long did you have to know someone before you could do something like that? It baffled him how close the two were. For how much Sirius detested Slytherins, it was amazing how close he'd become with one of the greatest Slytherin masterminds of their time.
Maybe that was it. Maybe it was because Atalanta always seemed to know what everyone was thinking and what to do about it. She never seemed to do her homework, but she aced all her exams. She could tell you the exact moment Filch would come around the corner or when McGongall would be checking which classroom at which time. It was an amazing talent Remus couldn't figure out.
Remus was torn from his thoughts when he ran into Hufflepuff Prefect Ophelia Orwell.
"Oh, Lupin! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there." The small, blue eyed 5th year was sitting on the floor, having fallen over.
"Ophelia! The fault is mine. I wasn't paying attention." He held out his hand to help her up. She took his hand and was soon standing. Laughing awkwardly, she brushed the wrinkles out of her yellow-trimmed robes. Her smile glowed, her tan skin radiating immensely. She had a small body, and a small face. She looked much younger than 15, and it didn't help that she always wore her strawberry blonde hair in double braids.
"No problem, Lupin."
"Please, Ophelia, its Remus."
Her freckles cheeks turned a shade of pink.
"Of course. Well, I'll see you later, yeah?"
"Definitely."
Remus smiled as he walked past her and continued on his way to the bathroom.
When he got back to the compartment, the others had returned. Sirius and Atalanta had changed and had taken back to their original position. Aletheia sat next to the window, rapidly scribbling something in her notebook. James and Peter were talking quickly about Quidditch beside her.
Without looking up, Atalanta lifted her legs, revealing room on the bench for Remus to sit. He sit down and she placed her legs over him.
He tipped his head back and before he knew it, he was asleep.

Atalanta had her wand in her mouth, the lumos charm shining brightly. Across from her, Aletheia had her wand in her hair, the same charm glowing at the tip. She was still writing whatever it was she had been writing before. Peter was asleep on James' shoulder. Sirius' had was now in her lap, her Slytherin tones covering him like a blanket. Holding her book with one hand, she mindlessly ran her fingers through his hair. Beside her, Remus jolted awake, his eyes wide, chest rising and falling quickly. He looked around as if he was unsure where he was. She took her wand from her mouth and whispered 'nox'.
"Hey, hey, you okay?" She asked, setting her wand and book down. Remus turned to her, his brown eye frantic with fear. She tried a smile and touched his arm, but he pulled away.
"Hey, Remus, it's just me. It's Ata."
Slowly, as if he was still waking from the dream, Remus started to calm. His breathing slowed and his eyes returned to their normal state of not being scared to death. Atalanta plucked her water bottle from the floor.
"Water?" He took it and she noticed how his hands shook.
"You wanna talk about it?" She asked after he'd finished drinking and handed the bottle back. He shook his head.
It would be so easy. An inner voice said to her. So easy. You don't even have to ask him. He doesn't have to tell you. You can just-
Atalanta shook her head slightly and looked back at Remus, another, reassuring smile on her face. She touched his hand and instantly saw how much calmer he became.
"I'm here, if you need."
He nodded.
"You can sleep on me, if you want."
She saw his eyes move down to Sirius and the hand that was resting on his head. She let out a small snort and smiled at the mess of hair in her lap.
"Sometimes, I swear he's like a dog," she said. Remus scoffed.
"Wouldn't that be a novel concept."
She looked up at him, her mouth agape.
"Are you making fun of me?" She asked. He rolled his eyes.
"No," but there was evident sarcasm in his voice. She punched his arm with purses lips.
"Hey," he chortled. The two laughed for a moment.
"Shuddup. Sleeping." James mumbled.
"Sorry," they whispered in unison. The two looked at each other and held their gaze.
"C'mere," she said, her voice quiet. She tugged on his arm. "I'll keep away the nightmares."
Remus complied and leaned against her shoulder.
"You promise?"
"I'm not a miracle maker, Remus." He didn't say anything. "Yes, I promise. We'll be at Hogwarts soon anyway. Take a small nap. I've got you."
He didn't respond, but a few seconds later, small sounds of sleep came from his mouth. She leaned her head back and smiled.
Atalanta glanced over at Aletheia. Her sister was no longer writing, but had her journal open and her pen twirling in circles in her hand. Her eyes were glazed over, telling Atalanta that she was thinking. Her eyes were trained on Sirius, but Atalanta thought nothing of it.
"Al, you okay?" Atalanta whispered. Aletheia's head snapped up and she hummed in response.
"You okay?" Atalanta repeated. Aletheia smiled and nodded.
"Just thinking."
There was a moment of silence.
"I never said this before, but I really like the lavender."
Aletheia smiled at touched her hair.
"You do? It was a big change from the blue I had before. Pappa was mad enough when I dyed it green in third year," she replied, a sheepish smile on her face.
"It looks good on you. It goes really well with both your eyes."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
"I was thinking about doing red next. Like Lily Evans' hair."
At the mention of Lily Evans, James mumbled and breathed a sigh.
"That'll look good! I haven't seen very many blue-eyes red heads, so I don't know how your right eye will look, but the green of your left would look great."
Aletheia's smile grew.
"Thank you, Atalanta."
"For what?"
"For being the best older twin sister a girl could ask for."
Atalanta smiled.

______

Thats really all for today folks. Thank you for reading this very first chapter of Zenith. Tell me what you think! I love your opinions and I would love to know how to make my writing better. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Thank you for your support. Every one of you means something to me. Don't let anyone think you're not important. Because you are.

Thank you again. Love you all.

nox

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