Art Gave Lifeless Life 1990-2006 Alexx's History

Hogwarts, 1996

Seventeen-year-old Vivienne Séverin stood in her dormitories, eyes scanning frantically over a letter from her father. His words were etched hastily onto the parchment paper, a few stray drops of ink dropped about the pages in an unorderly matter. This was urgent- Franck needed to get the point across, yet somehow, none of it made any sense to her. He spoke in riddles, or rather tongues, as if all of this were some sort of a secret. As if someone were reading over her shoulder when they shouldn't be.

Vivienne was in her ball gown, just ready to be carried away by her date, Naoise McCleary. He was a kind Hufflepuff in her year. It was 1996, and news of the war, or what was to be the war, was spreading. This was her last year at Hogwarts, but arguably her most frightening. A girl from her dorms, Sophie Cobb, called out her name, informing her that Naoise had arrived. Likely a boquet of flowers in hand, a smile spread across his face, twinkle in his eyes. Naoise intended to dance. However, Vivienne needed to know the end of this riddle. The result. What she was to do. There was only one mind in Hogwarts who could solve this. Raoul Helm.

Slipping off her heels and into a set of flats, she hiked up her dress and ran to the door, crumbling the letter in her hand. She couldn't let him see it, but she couldn't set it down either. "I apologize, Naoise, but I've fallen a bit ill tonight. Lady problems, and all. You understand, surely?" She quipped, giving him a soft smile. His face was disappointed and broken, yet he fell for it. The charm of the elegant French girl made it all the more convincing- no one could fault her. Even her dormmates believed it, offering her assistance should she need it (those who fell behind, perhaps either without a date or because it was cool to not conform to the standards of society, anyway).

After the boy had fallen for it and wished her all the better, Vivenne strided back to her room, slipping out of her dress and into a more comfortable outfit that would still conceal her in the dark. All that she could hope for now was that no professor would spot her and her consultant this evening. Perhaps they could blow it off that they had left the ball early, slipping away without anyone having seen them. Changed from one set of clothes to the next, and instead were studying. Curfew hadn't hit yet, which means the libraries were not illegal at this hour. And the brilliant Raoul Helm would not be attending the ball by chance, because he was awkward and shy and didn't like to dance. Three taps on the Ravenclaw dorms, a set of shuffling shoes tapping down the staircase, hushed voices giving clear instructions, and then the paper uncrinckled. Whispers. Desparate whispers. Eyes scanning the scratched ink marks over and over again, repeating the same lines outloud.

"Clues." Raoul proclaimed in a hushed voice. "Your father has left you clues. But why?" His voice was unsure, almost as if he didn't know what he was saying.

Snatching the paper back, Vivenne shook her head violently. Her hair was still pinned up, ready for her night out. "I said no questions."

A trail, a union, together tied. Come across me and you will find, you cannot change the course I'm on, without me you cannot travel on.

Thirty men, but only two women, yet these two hold the most power. Dressed in black and white they could fight forever.

You can swallow me, but I can consume you too.

Consult him when you find him.

What did this mean? None of these words seemed to go together. Vivenne was torn- unsure of what to make of this. "Raoul, do you know what these riddles mean? Can you help me solve them?" She pleaded, pushing the paper closer to him. Raoul studied them again, clicking his tongue the way that he did when he was thinking. His eyebrows cinched above his piercing blue eyes. He was clearly studying the words as if it were his life mission. Raoul was in love with Vivienne, but she didn't know that. Vivienne always thought her life would be normal- she would marry some guy she went to school with, have a kid or two, though she would never take the family home as that was listed as Jean being the next in line to the metaphorical throne. But her life would be perfectly normal. And then Jean turned up missing, and now the family name was on the line.

Grunting, he leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh. "Are you prepared to leave school? It appears..." he paused, reading over her father's name again. "Franck Séverin is requesting that we leave Hogwarts immediately." He responded. She jumped to attention, standing up adruptly, knocking the chair over. Raoul looked just as shocked, snapping his head to attention.

"We? No, you're staying here. Sorry- I have to go."

Undisclosed Train, 1996

Vivienne's green eyes scanned her surroundings, watching all of the objects that passed by. Tree. Bush. Grass. Taller grass. Fence. Tree. Bird. It was all very repetitive. Her foot made a tapping sound as her leg shook, and she put a hand on it to try and make it stop, though it didn't help. Her nervous tics would not easily be defeated. It hadn't made any sense why her father asked her to willingly leave school. Vivienne was looking forward to graduating with all of her classmates. She wanted the chance to soak in the green dorm one last time, to dance with that nice Irish both, to attend a few more lessons. There were many things about her teenage years that she was missing out on, and it frustrated her. Worst of all, she had drug poor Raoul into all of this. It wasn't fair on his part. She told herself that it shouldn't have been too much of an injustice- the smartest person in the room should expect to be called upon in moments of need. She was just lucky that the two were close to begin with.

As for her counterpart, now partner-in-crime, he was sound asleep, head against the window. The ride was smooth, so there wasn't much trouble keeping him that way. It wasn't that she didn't want him awake, but it was more so that she didn't need more things to be worried about right now. Raoul was brash and straight to the point, so he would tell her if this was dangerous. She needed that, mostly because she was a naive little girl who was about to enter the arms of trouble, but right now all she wanted was a moment of peace. The calm before the storm was much appreciated. In any case, she certainly hoped that the ministry showed up and detained her, because she did not want to find out about whatever it was that was waiting for her. She knew they were checking owls thoroughly these days, and it was likely that he father's owl seemed suspicious. The ministry was smart- they'd stop them, right? She could only hope. She was far too young to be in this mess.

As the train came to a stop, Raoul rubbed his eyes, looking out into the night. "We're here?" He asked groggily, squinting before putting his glasses on. Vivienne didn't respond but instead grabbed her luggage and began to exit the compartment.

Once outside the train, the night air felt cold on her skin. She was wearing a black skirt and a t-shirt of some band that she didn't listen to anymore. She inhaled the surroundings. The first clue was a train- no, she knew that. But she had to take another train. If Vivienne was supposed to think back on every train she had ever taken in her entire life, she would never reach her family at this rate. Why couldn't he be more specific? And a train that led to what, thirty men and two women? Was that supposed to mean anything to Vivienne?

Raoul stretched, popping his neck. He was a very awkward and lanky fellow and his arms kind of hung around as he did so. Vivienne watched him with a blank stare, awaiting him to say something. He looked at her, almost as if he didn't know it was his time to talk. "Oh. Right. Train. Was it that train? Wait... Wait no, I'm just tired. Okay, so the train is going to be significant to you. Or... Maybe not the train, but the destination. Do you have any significant trains or destinations?" Vivienne almost lost her head. She only brings him along because he's good for decoding riddles, and here he is not doing shit for her. It was a nightmare.

"I am 17. In 17 years I have been on hundreds of trains, and probably to twice as many places. So how the fuck am I supposed to remember every single one and pick the most important?" She knew that she shouldn't be frustrated with Raoul. He didn't do anything. And she was the one who asked him to help. But her frustration was still picking at her, so right now, he was her target. She sighed, facing away from him. Her mind went to thinking. What was even important? And it would probably have to be significant to her father, too. That just made it all the more complicated. "We're chasing dead ends! My father is running us in circles!"

Sighing, Raoul shoved his hands in his pockets and walked on. He had nothing to say right now. Nothing that would be significant, and it would probably only piss her off more. He didn't want to take his chances.