AN: Okay, so this song is a song I learned at Camp Namanu, a counselor named Otto (camp name) made it up. Miraculously, I found a video of Otto singing it at Riverbox or campfire or something. The audio is not the best, and there are the sounds of many fidgeting children. Also, it begins after "Day is ending, sleep's descending, I am sending to you my stars very soon, sunset sinks to the moon." Nevertheless, it's pretty good, considering. The link doesn't seem to be working, but type in "forest of dreams namanu" into the search box on YouTube. The one by hollerkateeee is the right one. Alright, so after that ridiculously long AN, to the songfic!
Forest of Dreams
It was late.
Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Lily's friend Kara were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, studying for their up-and-coming NEWTs.
Suddenly Lily slammed her textbook, startling herself, then, stretching, she said, "Well, I'm turning in. Come on, Kara."
Lily shook Kara gently; she had fallen asleep over her notes. "Wha-?" Lily started singing softly to her friend, "Day is ending, sleep's descending, I am sending to you my stars very soon, sunset sinks to the moon." As she cleared up the notes, Lily yawned and rubbed her eyes with her free hand.
James broke in, "Fire's fading, beds awaiting, eyelids laden heavily with sleep it's no surprise, the way I see you rubbing your eyes." At this, he grinned at Lily. Lily smiled back, acknowledging the joke and happily surprised that James was singing along.
"Welcome to the Forest of Dreams," the two sang together, their voices blending perfectly, "Laying in our beds, we're still playing in our heads," James winked suggestively at Lily, sliding onto the couch next to her, and she slapped him playfully on the arm, but their singing did not waver, "Welcome to the River of Things, that you see but never notice don't you know this doesn't mean it's passed us by."
They paused for a moment to see who would sing next. When no one started, Sirius came in.
"Making my way to the top of the hill, keeping in mind that when it's time I will roll back down, looking up to see the ground," he sang, referring to the relationship he wished he could have had with Lily, but Sirius was mature enough to know that he would have to let go of that hope. "Be that as it may I say it's okay to say 'goodbye' to yesterday. Tomorrow, tomorrow will be my today." Sirius looked at James, telling him that he would let go of the hope soon. He just needed some time.
"Welcome to the Forest of Dreams," this time, the three of them were singing, their voices creating a beautiful harmony, "Laying in our beds, we're still playing in our heads," though Lily had pointedly looked away from James, Sirius had winked at Kara, who had turned a deep shade of crimson, "Welcome to the River of Things, that you see but never notice don't you know this doesn't mean it's passed us by."
"Nobody's knowing where the river is going," sang Remus, thinking of James and Lily's love/hate relationship. Kara smiled and joined in, thinking the same thing. "Ebbing and flowing on down to the sea."
Bit by bit, James, Lily, and Sirius added their voices to the mix, until everyone but Peter was singing. "Swimming or soaring, it never gets boring, 'till on comes the morning to wash over me. And I'll see you in my dreams." James reached for Lily's hand and squeezed it. To his surprise, she squeezed it back and held on. His surprise was short-lived, however, as the others had kept singing, so he quickly joined back in.
"Welcome to the Forest of Dreams," the friends smiled at each other, no one noticing Peter in an armchair off to the side, "Laying in our beds, we're still playing in our heads," no one winked, but James squeezed Lily's hand again and she responded by laying her head on his shoulder, "Welcome to the River of Things, that you see but never notice don't you know this doesn't mean," here the others fell silent and listened to Lily finish, in almost a whisper, "it's passed us by."
They sat there, savoring the moment, until Remus yawned. Sirius got up and patted him on the back before heading towards the stairs up to the bedrooms. The rest of them quietly followed suit, Lily and James not letting go of each other's hands until they reached their separate staircases. Kara and Remus, following behind, smiled at their friends' obvious affection for each other.
Peter sat alone and forgotten in the common room, wondering if it was really worth joining the Dark Lord if he could no longer experience moments like that with his friends.
Before heading up to bed, Peter went and stared into the fire, wondering what the past year would have been like if he had not joined the Dark Lord, if he would have joined in tonight. Sighing quietly to himself, Peter whispered into the embers, seeing the faces of his friends, "I'll see you in my dreams."
And as he trudged up the stairs, even Peter know that these were his true friends, what they all knew as they got into their beds and drifted off to sleep.
The people to spend another hour, another day, another lifetime with.
The people they could always find in their dreams.
AN: Reviews love.