Set In Stone I

Chapter 1

October 1977AD

"Everyone's staring," Jetiana Black whispered as she and James Potter made their way down the corridor, his book bag banging against his thigh with every step and her books tucked safely under his arm, their hands clasped in the small gap between their two bodies.

"Let them." He replied evenly. "They don't understand." His voice was low as he continued, speaking for her ears only. "It doesn't matter. Don't think about it. It's me and you, Jay, the way I promised. It's just us." Much to her disgust, tears began to pool in the midnight depths of her eyes.

"Thank you…" there was a long pause, only filled in with the mutterings of others as they passed.

"…Black and Potter?..."

"…I thought she was with Lupin!..."

"…Merlin, what a whore!..."

"…Lupin dumped her two days before she moved on? God, what a slut…"

His hand tensed over hers reflexively. "Don't listen." His mouth was set in a tight frown and a muscle jumped in his jaw. "Ignore them."

"…Flaunting it in public? I'd be ashamed…"

"…No wonder Lupin chucked her, apparently they've been messing around for months!..."

"…You know she lost it to Potter when they were fourteen?..."

"…Fourteen?..."

Not heeding his own words, James seemed to flip before Jet's eyes, tearing his hand from hers and backing a Ravenclaw of about their own age up against the opposite wall, grabbing the front of his black robes with a dangerous glint in his hazel eyes.

"Shut up." His voice shook with barely suppressed rage and the Ravenclaw squirmed in his grip.

"I -"

"I said, shut up." He gave the boy a rough shake and he paled.

"Sorry." James grunted and shoved him backwards before turning back to Jet. She grabbed at his hand almost immediately.

"Please don't let go." She begged. "I need you…"

"I'm not going anywhere." He assured her at once, "Promise." He gave her fingers a comforting squeeze and rubbed small circles on the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb.

"Thank you…" she said again, sucking in a deep breath.

"…If she's that easy, do you think she'd do me?..."

"…Don't know what Potter sees in her, she might be fit but at least Evans has morals…"

Jet's hands began to shake uncontrollably.

"Never let go," she told him, "I'll lose myself."

Remus Lupin was the first of the Marauders to arrive for dinner. Despite piling great amounts of cottage pie onto his plate he didn't touch it, opting instead to push it around his plate glumly.

"...Look at him, the poor bugger. He doesn't deserve this..."

"...No idea how they ended up together in the first place. He's such a nice guy..."

"...Sleeping with his best friend too? What a slut!..."


Remus whipped around and was met by a flurry of turning heads as they pretended to be otherwise occupied. Warily he turned back round and after a slight pause the low mutterings started up again.

"Alright, Moony?" Sirius plonked himself in the empty seat next to him.

"Fine."

"...Why did he dump her anyway?..."

"...No idea but she must have done something awful. Look how hung up he is..."

Remus stabbed a carrot with unnecessary force and huffed in annoyance.

"The gossip still bothering you then?" Sirius asked.

Remus glanced up at him. "Doesn't it bother you? It's your twin sister they're calling a 'slut'."

Sirius frowned and gave a small shrug. "They're right." He started to pile food onto his own plate but, unlike Remus, didn't hold off from digging into it. "Everything they say about her is true. She is selfish. She is arrogant. She's just like the rest of my family."

He sounded casual but Remus knew him well enough to see the deep bitterness rooted in his words. "She didn't run away from home with you." He stated quietly.

"She showed that she cares about my family more than she does about me. She's made that quite clear."

Silence consumed the pair punctuated by the general chatter of the great many students in the hall and the softer, gentler whispers of the gossipers behind them.

"...Selfish bitch. Whatever possessed him into going out with her I'll never know..."

"...Probably because she's easy... "

"...Yeah. I heard she'll spread her legs for anyone..."

"...Bet that's the reason they split up..."

"I wish they'd shut up." Remus said angrily. "The crap they're saying about her is horrible. I didn't split up with her for any of the reasons they're saying."

"They don't know what the real reason is so, of course, they're going to form their own conclusion."

Remus's jaw set in a tight line. "They can't know what the real reason is, Sirius." He replied darkly. "If they found out they'd...they'd hate me."

Sirius paused in his eating, dropping his fork with a soft clatter. He swiveled in his seat to face Remus. "What happened wasn't your fault, Remus." He lowered his voice so only Remus could possibly hear him. "It was an accident. The only person you can possibly blame is Jet."

Remus refused to be comforted. "How could I possibly blame her when she was the one lying in the hospital wing with a broken arm, several broken ribs and lacerations covering her body. She could have died!" His face creased as the image of her broken body lying amidst the blood-stained sheets of the hospital wing crept into the forefront of his mind. "I could have killed her." He muttered softly. Breathing out a sigh he glanced around to see if anything he'd said had been heard. Satisfied he turned back to Sirius. "She's better off without me."

"You're better off without her." Sirius countered. "She got what was coming to her, sneaking around and sticking her nose into other peoples business."

Remus opened his mouth to argue but shut it quickly when he spotted her and James making their way up the length of the Gryffindor table, hands entwined. His mouth set in a hard line as they reached them.

"Hi Padfoot, Moony." James greeted them with a flicker of a smile.

Sirius sent him a nod in return and Remus said nothing finding instead his picked at cottage pie interesting enough to grasp his attention.

James and Jet slid into their usual spots, not at all put off by the lack of warm welcome. James slipped a confident arm around her thin waist, holding her to him and she let her weight fall on him, resting her tired head on his shoulder.

Remus could feel her dark eyes on him but refused to meet them terrified of what he might find there. Betrayal? Probably. Hurt? Definitely. Fear? Remus prayed not.

"So how're things?" James made a brave stab at conversation to cut through the tension hovering around them.

Sirius gave a small shrug. "Alright." He lied, his eyes darted to Jet who hadn't served herself anything and had slumped against James in exhaustion.

James nodded and there was a long pause while he served himself some food and began to eat. "We've had nice weather recently. Hopefully it'll stick around for the Quidditch match next Saturday."

Sirius nodded vaguely. Right at this moment he didn't want to talk to James about Quidditch, not when there was this rift between them. Jet and James on one side, him and Remus on the other.

James brow creased at the lack of enthusiasm he was receiving. Sirius seemed completely put-off and Remus was ignoring him completely. The weight of Jet's body against his suddenly felt very heavy indeed.

"Right." He muttered. Deciding he wasn't hungry he gave Jet a gentle shake. "Come on." He said quietly. "Let's go."

"Aren't you hungry?" She asked slightly confused.

James shook his head. "I don't want to eat with them." He helped pull her to her feet, picking up his satchel and her book's. He set off down the hall without glancing back, eyes following them as they left.


"What happened back there?" Jet finally asked as they walked up the staircases, her small weight leaning heavily on him.

"Lupin's being immature and I get the impression your brother doesn't like us being together."

Jet bit her lip. "I don't think anyone likes us being together."

"They'll get over it. It'll all blow over, Jay. You'll see." He shot her a reassuring smile. "They can't stop us."

Jet smiled at his words. "You make it sound very romantic." She teased.

"You underestimate me. I am the king of romance."

Jet's laughter was thin and it caused a wave of worry to pass over James's features. These days the bags under her eyes had become too prominent and her skin had become so pale it was almost translucent. No matter how much make up she put on to cover it, James could tell she was exhausted. He wrapped his arm tighter around her skinny waist in order to take more weight off her tired feet and sped up his pace.

They continued in a companionable silence that was finally broken as they approached the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Pigs snout." James gave her the password and the pair continued into the warmly lit common room.

Jet peeled herself from James tight embrace and threw herself down on the, thankfully, empty sofa by the fire.

"Come on, Jay. You can't sleep there."

"Watch me." Jet could barely keep her eyes open. The firelight shone orange through her closed eyelids comforting her. It was nice to close her eyes and not be engulfed by the blackness that overcame her when she slept in the dorms.

She heard a heavy sigh from James and then there was shifting on the cushions of the sofa as he sat down by her head. Jet nuzzled her head into his hip.

How much she wanted to just let go and fall asleep. She could feel it's gentle, caressing fingers stroking her and she longed to fall into them but there was still the knowledge tugging away in the corner of her mind that if she did those fingers would suddenly become claws.

Jet's eyes flew open again to be met with the sight of James looking down at her worriedly.

"Are you okay?" When she didn't answer immediately the concern grew. "Jay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing." Jet quickly amended and the concern lessened. "I was just thinking."

James reached out to stroke her head, pulling his fingers through her soft hair. "This is awful, Jay. I don't know what I can do to help."

"Just being here helps." Jet told him truthfully. "I need you here with me."

James wasn't comforted. "How long is this going to go on for? You're not eating or sleeping. You're sick with fear."

Jet didn't answer. She knew this already. This was her reality that she dragged with her always.

"You can't keep this up. Merlin! I can't keep this up. I'm constantly sick with worry for you."

Panic grew in her eyes. "Stop it, James! Don't talk like that."

"Like what, Jet?"

Jet bit her lip. "I'm scared." She admitted.

"I know that."

"I'm scared you'll leave me. Please don't leave me. I don't know what I'd do. Please…" She broke off as the tears came thick and fast. She struggled to wipe them from where they stained her pale cheeks.

"Don't cry. Not here." James dug into the pockets of his robes for some tissues and found only his woolly Gryffindor scarf. He decided it would do and began to dab at the tears still forming around her dark eyes.

Jet flinched as the scratchy material touched her skin but the gentle rhythm soothed her and she relaxed.

"Jet." James gently used his finger to tilt her chin upwards so her eyes met his. "I will never ever let you go. I promise."

Jet nodded mutely and the tears began to silently fall again.

"Oh Jet." James hooked his arms under hers and pulled her onto his lap. He cradled her thin frame to him as the sobs came. "I'm sorry. I don't know how I can help you."

Jet drew her head from his shoulder and kissed him. It was a kiss without passion, or love, a kiss full of hurt, desperately seeking comfort.

James pulled her in closer, pressing his mouth onto hers, her tears running onto his cheeks.

He could feel the eyes of the common room on them and struggled to block them out.

"…Look at them..."

"…at it again…"

"…no shame…"

"…Merlin, she really is a whore..."

He wrapped his arms tighter around her praying that she couldn't hear them. They would just have to get used to it. It was just him and Jet. Just like he'd promised.


October 877AD

The whisper of a cloak across the dead leaves announced her presence to the old forest and a symphony of scuttling could be heard as creatures of the forest hurried to get away to the dark shadows of the trees.

Somewhere above them, a full moon sailed. Light from her crept and snaked down in silvery spills through the bare, empty branches to illuminate the way.

Morgana moved through the forest silently, each footfall sliding through the decaying floor without a sound, her eyes tuned onto the clearing in front of her.

Without the trees to bar her, the moon's light shone brilliantly there, illuminating a small pool set into old stone with a reverential brightness.

"Sister." Morgana called softly to the calm emptiness.

"I am here." Came the swift answer from behind her and a smile grew on Morgana's rouged lips as she turned to greet her, her green cloak whirling at the gesture.

"I have missed you!" She exclaimed clasping Morgause in a silk-lined embrace.

"How goes it in Camelot?" Her sister asked, her dark-eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Her joyous expression was replaced by the darker look that had most frequented her eyes in recent times and her smile slid into a smirk with practiced ease. "It's insufferable. If I have to spend another day with that man, pretending to be his perfect ward I think I will go mad." She breathed out a deep sigh full of her bitter anger. "How long until we take Camelot? I can't take anymore of this."

"Patience, Sister." Morgause answered, smiling at her eagerness. "It won't be long now." She moved to the pool of water captured in the folds of stone and motioned for Morgana to join her. "I have a new plan." She told her intently and watched her sister's eyes light up at the words. "One that will be sure to succeed."

She raised a pale hand and swept it over the taught surface of the pool causing ripples to tremble across the glassy reflection. Morgana watched in fascination as the ripples died to form an image of Camelot castle standing proud over the forest surrounding it. A frown creased Morgana's brow as she realised there was something different about it. The small town surrounding it was gone, replaced with extensions of the castle. The road, the drawbridge, the moat… they were gone. Yet this was unmistakably Camelot castle.

She turned to Morgause with a questioning look. "What is this?"

Morgause smiled. "It is Camelot castle." She answered simply. "However, it is not as it is today. This image shows us what it will look like in the future."

Morgana's eyebrows rose in awe and she returned her gaze to it.

"In the future," Morgause continued. "it will not serve the same purpose as it does today. In the future, it will be a school." Her smile grew wider as she leant in closer so her breath tickled her sister's neck. "It will be a school, for magic."

Morgana's eyes lit up with the words and she exhaled a breath trembling with wonder and excitement.

"It will be full of students, all well practiced in the art of magic." Her sister continued.

"An army of sorcerers." Morgana caught on easily. "We will bring them here?"

Morgause's smile faded. "We cannot. Time is a tricky thing and it would be impossible to cross the Bridge and bring that many back. It would take a powerful magic. Far more powerful than we possess."

"Then what do we do?" Morgana asked with a frown. "If we can't bring them here how will we take Camelot?"

Morgause paused before answering. "We will have to go there."


Merlin stifled a yawn as he dragged himself through Camelot castle's drafty corridors, in the direction of Gaius's chambers.

It had been a long night, Arthur seemed to be suffering from insomnia and had used that as an excuse to keep Merlin from getting any sleep either. It was now a ridiculously late hour and the castle was completely still, everyone else sensibly tucked up in bed. Which was why Merlin was surprised when he heard the clacking of heeled boots on flagstones up ahead.

His exhaustion evaporated instantly and he darted into a rather convenient alcove that housed only a tall candelabra.

The footsteps were getting closer. He could hear them getting louder and louder and he shrunk further back into the shadows of his hiding place as the figure passed him.

When they were a significant distance from him Merlin's curiousity over ran his senses and he peeked around the stonewall that was hiding him from view.

The figure was cloaked, Merlin saw but the darkness of the corridor prevented him from determining anything else.

Finally the figure reached the end of the corridor where a tall window spilled it's light into the blackness and Merlin was able to see them properly.

Morgana. Of course, it was. His suspicions were confirmed. She was heading in the direction of her chambers so whatever misadventure had brought her out tonight it was over.

He drew back into the shadows until he was sure she'd be gone and then continued on his way.

There was only one reason she'd be returning to her chambers this late at night. She must have been meeting Morgause.

A frown spread across his brow. Whatever they had been discussing tonight it couldn't have been good and Merlin was sure that whatever they planned to unleash upon Camelot next would mean trouble, big trouble.