Uncanny Resemblance

[Margo Ellis]

Margo hadn't been herself of late. Being so absent-minded as she was, it wasn't easy to spot the change, but anybody who knew her well would have noticed she'd been wandering deeper into thought lately than ever before. In front of her on the library table her Transfiguration homework lay untouched; her eyes gazed off to some point of interest on the library wall; and thus engaged in a daydream, she tickled the end of her nose with her quill.

She was probably overthinking it. What were the chances, after all? Slim to none! It was just a coincidence blown out of proportion by her over-active imagination. But... what if it wasn't? There weren't that many people who looked like Margo's grandpa. The Ravenclaw sighed more loudly than she intended, almost forgetting Odette was sitting beside her. It wasn't even like she could just go and ask her grandpa if it were true. Dead people were always so inconvenient. No - the only way to tell for sure would be to... No! She definitely couldn't do that. Absolutely, completely and utterly definitely not. Margo rested her chin in her hand and sighed again.

 

[Odette Madison]

The realization that Margo was Odette's best friend was still odd to her. She could still imagine the girl the way she had been when they first met, her frizzy hair and uncertainty making her an easy target for manipulation. Yet here they were, Odette had confessed family secrets to the girl that required more trust than she thought she could muster. And even more startling was that Margo hadn't blabbed her secrets to anyone, as far as she knew, and hadn't tried to use the information against her. Odette wasn't so sure if she would have done the same if the tables were turned, and that thought was quieting.

Still, as much as she liked Margo and trusted her, her sighing next to Odette's ear as they were trying to study was highly irritating. Transfiguration was hard enough without Margo mopingaround. She nudged the Ravenclaw with an elbow. "Cut it out, that's so annoying. What's your problem? You're moping and even more distracted than usual." She wondered if it was the Hufflepuff boy Margo sometimes stared at. Honestly, that guy was not good enough for her. "How am I suposed to copy your transfiguration homework if you're too busy daydreaming to do it?" She was mostly joking, though she had hoped she could get some pointers from the other girl. Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart, after all.

 

[Margo Ellis]

"Ow," mumbled Margo, rubbing her arm when Odette's pointy elbow had jabbed it. She sighed again when her friend asked what her problem was, receiving her tone as nothing but perfectly friendly. That was just the way Odette showed she cared, Margo figured. She shrugged, dipping her quill into her inkwell and penning the first sentence of her essay. She'd only reached the full stop, however, when she put her quill down and sat back with a huff. Perhaps... perhaps she could tell Odette? They were best friends, after all; and though Odette had not always proven herself to be completely trustworthy, Margo felt a certain comfort from her that she'd never found anywhere else. Odette's recent family revelations had only further cemented the bond between them. If she could trust Margo with her family concerns, then Margo could trust her with her own, right?

Margo sat up straight and dug into her bag. "Look at this," she said, withdrawing a small moving picture and slapping it down on the table in front of Odette. Her heart thumped like it wanted to escape from her chest. Maybe Odette wouldn't see anything strange about the picture. Maybe she wouldn't notice it at all. If that were the case, Margo would just give up and stop thinking about it. Probably.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette rolled her eyes, she hadn't nudged that hard. Margo had been so quiet today, and she was starting to be a bit annoyed by it. If she would rather spend time with someone else instead of studying with Odette, she should just say so and go. She was glad to see Margo start writing, but she stopped almost immediately. Odette tried to look like she wasn't closely following her friend's actions, hough she was really curious about what was going on with her.

Then something changed as Margo sat up straight and pulled something out of her bag. It was a picture and Odette looked at it with a raised eyebrow. "Really? You carry a picture of Professor Pendleton around with you? Don't tell me you have a crush on him, that would truly be some truly tragic taste." She was joking, as she didn't really think any student would get a crush on the odd professor. He wasn't the type to have a crush on, in her opinion, none of her professors really were. But then she faltered as she looked at the photo a bit longer, she had just assumed it was their potions professor at first glance but it didn't actually hold up on longer inspection. It was clearly someone else that just... looked like him. "Wait, who is this?"

 

[Margo Ellis]

So Margo wasn't crazy!! She was so pleased that Odette had mistaken the man in the picture for Professor Pendleton that she barely remembered to roll her eyes at the silly remark. "Ugh, as if," she said, just to make sure Odette knew how she felt. She watched her friend pick up the photograph and examine it more closely, peering in for another look herself, even though she'd watched it a million and one times already. She had other photographs, too, but this was the only one she'd used developing solution on. It wasn't that she didn't have enough of the solution - she was just... scared. Scared that she might see something within one of the pictures that confirmed her suspicions.

Margo took a deep breath in. "It's my granddad. Was my granddad. He died ages ago from cancer. But get this: I didn't know much about him, so I asked my mum, and she said he had a son with another woman before he married my grandma." She was staring intently at Odette, as if willing her to come to the same conclusion. "And it gets weirder. The woman he was married to before my grandma was called Liselle Pender. Coincidence? I don't know. But it sure is freaky." Margo sighed and slumped a little. "The only problem is, their son's name was Richard, not Monty. But my mum did also say that this Richard guy has been missing for years and years. I know it's crazy, Odette, but... what if Professor Pendleton is Richard?"

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette resisted the urge to tease Margo more, as the idea of her having a crush on a professor was quite amusing. But this mystery was actually pretty interesting. She stared at the photograph a little longer. Now that she knew it wasn't professor Pendleton she felt almost silly for mistaking him for the potion's professor. But they did look alike.

She turned to Margo to listen to her explanation, doing her best to follow it all. For once, it wasn't her family that was the weirdest and she was kind of happy about all this. "So your grandfather had a kid with another woman." She said slowly. "And she was named Pender, which is not the same as Pendleton but similar..." She paused. "So you think Professor Pendleton might be your uncle? Half-uncle? But he went missing, why would he go missing and go teach at a school? And change his name?" She laughed softly. "This is juicy, though. It makes my family seem almost normal, huh? Just half-siblings instead of half-uncles. Even if they're awful." She sighed. "There are worse people to be related to than Professor Pendleton, don't you think? Besides, it can all be nothing too. Just coincidence." Odette closed her transfiguration book. "Did you want to go ask him?"

 

[Margo Ellis]

Margo nodded with growing speed as Odette made sense of what she'd said and relayed it back to her. Then the Ravenclaw rolled her eyes. Trust Odette to think this was juicy. Margo wouldn't have dreamed of saying such a thing about Odette's family issues. At Odette's final question, Margo gaped. "Oh my God, no!" she said. "Can you imagine? 'Hi Professor - I know this sounds weird, but I was just wondering if you might be my long lost half-uncle who's been missing for over thirty years.'" Suddenly afraid somebody might have overheard her (Professor Pendleton specifically), Margo glanced around the library. Nobody seemed to have noticed. She turned her attention back to Odette, and sighed. "It wouldn't be that bad. It's just... it's really weird. If he is my missing uncle, then... what's he running away from?" Margo bit her lip for a moment, her curiosity slowly winning her over. "If I did ask, would you come with me?"

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette caught the eye-roll and jabbed Margo again with her elbow. She laughed when Margo indignantly told her they couldn't ask. "Margo, it's the only way you can find out! You can't ask your grandfather as he's dead and I assume not a ghost, and there isn't anyone else who would even know. Is there?" She asked her, hoping it was sound logic and they could actually go ask him. Now that it wasn't concerning her, Odette was quite eager to dig up some family secrets. It made her feel strangely better about her own situation. "Maybe he went into hiding because he didn't want you all to know he's a wizard. Your family isn't magical." She added, thinking it over. "That would make sense, wouldn't it? He decided to live in the magical world instead? It doesn't have to be anything shadier than that." She gave Margo a level stare. "Like, Professor Pendleton doesn't seem the type to murder someone. Does he? Can you imagine? Unless he's singing them to death." She added with a shrug and a small smile at the idea. "Now, if it were Styx..." Now it was Odette's turn to look around the library to make sure they weren't being overheard. She didn't think her head of house would approve of that comment. "Of course I'll come with you." She said confidently. "I'll even ask him for you, if you want."

 

[Margo Ellis]

Margo nodded, mulling Odette's points over. Maybe it was something simple, after all. And having Professor Pendleton as an uncle wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world. If only it weren't for that nagging feeling that something were wrong.

The Ravenclaw laughed. "I guess you're right. Thanks, Odette." She did feel a lot better, even if her concern still lingered in the back of her mind. She smiled at her best friend, glad she'd chosen to forgive her about the Yule Ball incident. It wouldn't have been the same without Odette by her side.

Taking a deep breath in, Margo nodded again. She couldn't put it off forever, and it was going to bother her until she finally got an answer. "OK. Are you ready to go?"