Fic: What Makes All The Difference ~Part 1
What Makes All The Difference
Part I
Padma had always considered the term ‘identical twins’ misleading. Even when she and her sister were very small, they were far from the same. Parvati was always the more eager one, hovering about their mother’s feet, desperate not to be ignored. It often made Padma chuckle from her own quiet chair in the corner where she was busy making pictures and leafing through picture books. Physically, she supposed, they were extremely similar but not entirely identical. The big toe on her left foot sat at an odd angle to the rest of her foot and there was a scar on her right elbow from where she had taken a tumble off her father’s broom in a late night, clandestine broom ride when her cousin Ravi had visited when she was four. Standing side-by-side in front of a mirror, there were subtle differences in their faces, the slant of their noses, the angle of their cheekbones, the fullness of their lips, even a very slight difference in the shades of their skin. She didn’t dwell on the physical differences much, but for a long time the word ‘identical’ had grated on her nerves.
On her first train ride to Hogwarts, Padma vividly remembered the murmurs of, “completely identical,” “right down to the last hair,” and “just like the Weasley twins.” Parvati had grinned and giggled, but Padma had grown agitated the more comments she heard. The infamous Weasley twins had even popped into the compartment they were sharing with a few other nervous first years to introduce themselves. Everyone else had tittered with laughter at their jokes, but Padma had been busy watching them. There were very few twins in the Wizarding world, let alone ‘identical’ ones and she had spent those few minutes observing and cataloguing their appearance and behaviours. Five minutes later when they had left, Padma was more convinced than ever that there was no such thing as identical twins. It was obvious that George was the instigator of the two, always first to speak, whereas Fred was the follower through. Their posture was slightly off from each other, clearly used to being on the same side most of the time and leaning slightly in towards the other. She wondered if Fred knew he fidgeted with his cuffs, or if George was aware of the way he played with the inside of his lips with his teeth when he wasn’t busy talking. Identical twins indeed. It was obvious they were closer to each other personality wise than she was with Parvati, but there were enough differences between them that she would be certain never to mistake the two.
Later that evening, as they entered the Great Hall, she had felt the trembling nervousness in her stomach as she approached the Sorting Hat. While other students seemed anxious, she had been certain no one else could possibly have as much riding on what the Hat had to say, with the possible exception of a very pale and worried looking Harry Potter standing just behind her. It had been a feeling nothing short of elation when she and her twin sister were sorted into different houses. She was closer to Parvati than she thought it possible to be with any other person in the world, but she had wanted to be her own person. She had needed to prove she was different.
Looking back on it, her first night at Hogwarts had been a huge turning point in her life. With the blue and bronze crest of Ravenclaw proudly emblazoned on her robes, Padma had entered her new sanctuary. A place where her identity would never be mistaken. That night, she had stayed up late with her new house mates discussing the history of their house, the intrigue of new classes and the curiosities of the Sorting ceremony. At one point someone had asked her how identical twins had been sorted into two different houses. Everyone had listened with great interest to her thoughts about the matter. No one laughed when she said there was no such thing. It had fascinated students of older years to hear her observations of the Weasleys and caused not a few amused chuckles when they considered their reaction when most of Ravenclaw house would now be able to tell them apart.
It had been that night, laying in her dorm with the other first year girls, the ‘Sorting Hat game’ began. Between the six girls in the room, they knew the majority of students in their year. They mentioned some surprises from the Sorting and postulated reasons for their placement in particular houses. Of course the big discussion was on Harry Potter, though his placement into Gryffindor seemed fitting from what little anyone knew about him. There were others though. Mandy Brocklehurst had wondered about Ernie Macmillan’s placement in Hufflepuff, knowing him to be an ambitious sort. She herself had wondered about Neville Longbottom, who on the few occasions she had met him seemed a rather meek and nervous boy. Together the girls had drawn up a list for their year, to chart incidents where they showed characteristics of each house. Even as they completed the list, Padma felt a bit foolish for second guessing the Hat, but it was all in good fun.
Six years later, Padma drew out the old, wrinkled parchment she and her dorm mates had made their first night at Hogwarts. It was a little sad doing it this year. Many students of their year, and others, had not returned. There were many she knew couldn’t. Most noticeable, of course, were the Gryffindor trio, but there were several handfuls of Muggleborn students in all houses who were not there and a few she knew to have recent Muggle heritage on one side whose families had obviously chosen not to take the risk. Mandy and Morag, the only other seventh year girls remaining, huddled onto her bed to take stock of the list.
“I’m still not certain coming back was a wise thing to do,” Mandy observed, skimming down the list with her finger, pausing at the name of each person who had not been seen in the Great Hall.
Morag nodded. “It seems like our year is small enough we will all be in classes together, sixth years as well.”
“I had a bad feeling when I got my letter, but I couldn’t say no. My father wanted me to stay home, but I feel like it’s my duty to be here. You know, Professor Flitwick sent me a letter this summer,” Padma told them seriously.
“When? What was it about?” Morag asked curiously.
“I received it less than a week ago and it was a mess. Not only had he written it in runes, but he had also translated it into Sanscrit. It took me two days to sort the whole thing out. He wanted to warn us about the Carrows and said there would be times when he would not be allowed to step in and protect us. Though the letter was very awkward, he seems very worried.”
Mandy nodded. “That’s a lot of work to go through to keep anyone from reading it. I wonder if that is part of all the Prefect changes. I know they had to do some shuffling since several of them aren’t here, but I wonder if the other Heads have ways of communicating more discreetly with their students. Having Alecto Carrow hovering around us in the common room gave me the shivers.”
“I hope they do. If Alecto was here keeping an eye on Professor Flitwick, you can be certain there was someone at all the house meetings. It will be difficult for them to do much about problems if it contradicts Snape’s orders,” Padma noted.
Morag picked up the list, pointing to the names under the Gryffindor subtitle. “Just poor Neville and that Finnigan left here. I suppose it makes sense the Ron Weasley wouldn’t be here without Harry. I wonder what they’re doing.”
Mandy shook her head. “Nothing pleasant I imagine, being on the run and all. Dean Thomas as well. He’s a Muggleborn.”
“I’m actually a bit surprised Seamus came back. I know his father is a Muggle. It can’t be very safe for him here. I would have almost expected him to go on the run with Dean. I guess coming back when your parentage can be used against you is a Gryffindorish sort of thing to do. Does he get a tick for that?” Padma wondered out loud.
“If he does,” Morag observed, “anyone with a Muggle parent should get a tick in the Gryffindor box. Then again, perhaps we all should. I can’t see this being a particularly safe place for any of us.”
“As safe as any of us would be at home. I’d rather be here. At least we’ll be doing something here,” Mandy pointed out.
Padma pulled out her quill and inkpot and smoothed the parchment out in front of her. “I think we shall take Morag’s point and note it on the chart. Any individual who came back, despite concerns about their family lines will receive one tick in the Gryffindor column. We’ll also rearrange the list so that those who are actually here will be at the top of their respective sub-lists.”
Mandy and Morag watched solemnly as Padma made the adjustments to the list and placed ticks in the Gryffindor column for those with partial Muggle parentage in each house. There weren’t many. When the ink had dried, Padma carefully refolded the parchment and placed it in the secure compartment of her trunk. Normally on the first night at Hogwarts, she and her dorm mates were eager to stay up late discussing their summers and wondering about the year ahead. Tonight, however, there didn’t seem to be much pleasant to look forward to. Padma had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that nothing good would come from a year that started with so little hope.
***
Part II