Disclaimer:I do not own any characters from the Harry Potter series. I make no money off of this, only well loved reviews. I am not J.K. Rowling.
The long awaited sequel to Afterimage is finally here! This is just the prologue, mind you, but it's quite long for just an intro! This is set nearly right after Lily and Lysander leave for the village that will train them. I must apologize about the wait for this story, and I will apologize once more for the wait on future chapters, for I know that will happen. I'm also going to try to start back up on one of my other stories that I put off just for Afterimage.
Please enjoy, and let me know what you think!
Within Motion
Prologue
The sky was a beautiful blue, fluffy white clouds dispersed throughout it. Her red hair was set aflame in the sunlight, fluttering in the wind. Her head was thrown back, eyes closed, mouth parted just slightly. She pulled back on her broom a bit, before throwing herself forward and nosediving towards the Earth.
Just before she would have made deadly impact, she pulled her broom back up and came soaring back up.
High, higher, until she was nothing but a speck in the sky, a possible raven or owl to the naked eye. She came swooping back towards him, eyes bright with excitement, smile plastered across her face, cheeks flushed.
Lysander Scamander stared at his friend, a lump sitting in his throat. She was absolutely gorgeous; a fiery haired goddess, descending upon him in all her glory.
Lysander gave Lily a small smile and she gestured excitedly towards herself. She proposed a race and he accepted. She counted off, and shot away from him like a snitch.
He watched in amazement as her red hair became gold in the distance.
They made camp at sunset. Lily and Lysander had left all traces of civilization little over two months ago. They were both surprised how much progress they had already made by broomstick.
Lysander set up the tent with a flick of his wand and Lily set up a campfire. They had a kitchen inside the tent, but on cool nights like these they would charm floating lights around the area and cook food out a muggle grill.
After eating, they would usually retreat to the tent where Lily and Lysander would smoke a couple bowls while watching TV. Her father had enchanted the tent to fit many muggle and magical accessories inside.
Her aunt Hermione had commented on how lucky the two of them were.
"Muggle electronics didn't always used to work with wizarding magic!"
Lily had to agree with her aunt. Muggle TV was very entertaining. The news was interesting, if a tad repetitive.
Along with a TV, they had a muggle microwave, an oven and a stove, and a large ice box. Her father had helped to familiarize her and Lysander with the new and strange appliances. It had been fairly easy to learn how to use them and for a moment she understood her grandfathers fascination with muggles and their contraptions.
The overall layout of the tent include a full kitchen, a living room, two separate bedrooms and two and a half baths. It was insane how much work her father had put into making this tent livable long-term.
Lily sat next to her best friend, donning a black tank top and a pair of white cotton pajama pants. Her bare feet were tucked beneath her. In her hand she held her glass pipe that James had given her for Christmas.
She was crumbling bits of marijuana into the bowl.
Lysander was fixated on a comedy show on TV, one hand wrapped around a frosty Butterbeer and the other deep in a bag of crisps.
Lily shook her head, lighting the bowl with her wand. She coughed as she handed the bowl to Lysander, who passed her the bag of crisps.
Sometimes, Lily wished they would never make it to the village. That they could stay here, in this moment, forever. Friendly companionship, smoking some weed, watching some TV and gorging themselves on junk food.
Perfection.
They left the next day after breakfast. The tent collapsed easily and Lysander shrunk it down and put it into his pocket. They both then took off into the sky on their brooms.
They were headed south. That was the only clue her and Lysander had been given by Professors Slughorn and Sprout.
And so they flew, Lily and Lysander stopping every once and a while to walk-too much flying produced wobbly legs.
They stopped near a large creek at one point and Lily fished out the grill and her pipe while her companion waded into the creek. Lily turned away as he bathed.
Lysander waded farther down the little bed of water, summoning fish as he saw them. He came back about twenty minutes later cleaner and with two large fish and a couple smaller ones in tow.
They ate them for lunch, smoked a couple bowls and then returned to the air on their brooms.
It became gradually cooler the farther they went. One morning, they awoke to a light dusting of frost on the grounds and tent. Lily sighed-winter was approaching. Or rather, they were approaching winter.
Whichever it was, it worried Lily. How much farther they got on their brooms all depended upon the weather. They could technically fly above the clouds of snow, but the air would be hard to breathe-and perhaps even colder than the snow.
They skipped breakfast that morning, when they discovered the frost. Lysander was just as worried, and slipped gloves on before taking the tent down by hand. Lily herself had packed a bowl of her many bags of marijuana, and sparked it while helping Lysander.
The weed warmed them up a bit. It also made the flying go faster.
They settled down before sunset, for fear of snowfall.
"We'd be mad to fly in that," Lysander had commented. They made it three more days before it finally snowed.
At first, Lily and Lysander hadn't minded the light snowfall while flying. They had cast the water repellant charm on their faces, making it much easier to fly.
However by the third day it became quite clear that they would no longer be able to fly through the thick clouds of cold, wet snow.
They were forced to land that very day, and continue by foot.
Lily couldn't tell which way of travel was worse.
For the first time since they began their journey , the two friends stayed in their tent the whole day. The snow had become so thick and heavy that Lysander had had to cast several Incendio's when he stepped out that morning.
They had breakfast, played some chess, smoked several bowls. When lunch came, Lily was the one who melted the snow from the doorway. The snow itself had not stopped; if anything, it had seemed to become stronger. Lily couldn't even see the sky.
They continued the next morning. The snow was just as thick, but they had no choice.
"If we stay here any longer, we may be buried here under the snow. And the way it looks outside...well. I don't see it letting up anytime soon," Lysander said three mornings later.
Lily had agreed, and they both bundled up and cast several warming spells upon each other. Lily conjured up some blue fire in two jars for them as well, and Lysander had thanked her before taking his jar.
Lysander didn't bother taking the tent down by hand. He whisked it all away in one wave of his wand, before shrinking it and putting it away hurriedly into his pocket.
At Lysanders nod, they walked.
And they walked, and they walked. Lily felt as if they had been walking forever. But she knew that they couldn't have even been walking that long. Yet each day felt wasted. The days were shorter, the night longer. They were now starting out when it was still dark, even though they hadn't been getting up any earlier.
Lily didn't think she could take much more of it. She entertained her mind with memories of Severus, of the times they had made love.
It made her warm inside, and took a bit of the chill from the cold away.
It had now been five months since her and Lysander had left their friends and family.
Five months since they had seen any sort of civilization.
Five months without hearing her mothers voice.
Five months since she had seen her father.
Five months since she had left Severus behind.
Lily suddenly realized that this journey she had embarked on was going to be a lot harder than she had expected.
Sometime during that fifth month, Lily and Lysander awoke to clear skies, and bright sunlight. All around them the snow glittered and blinded them. The day was a bit warmer than most, but not by much.
"Definitely not enough to melt the snow," Lysander had pointed out. He then grinned and grabbed Lily's hand, raising it up high in the sky above them.
"But it's definitely a start!"
His voice echoed across the forest that they had camped in earlier that night.
The journey was much less dull, now. It was almost exciting again. Now that they could see, they hoped they could fly again.
Yet when they tried it they discovered how much cold wind actually hurt when whipping at their faces for long periods of time.
And so they continued on foot instead.
Another month passed by. The snow gradually became lower and lower until it turned to muddy water. The muddy water turned to swamp, and the weather became warmer. Flies buzzed about them constantly, whether because of their sweat or because of the water beneath their feet.
Finding a camping spot for the nights became a hassle. They had taken to sleeping during the day, and flying somewhat low to the trees at night. Finally, Lysander came up with the brilliant idea of setting up camp inside a tree. Lily had been skeptic at first, but when he showed her how he had managed to transfigure tree branches into wood planks, she was sold.
He had always done rather well in Transfigurations, she thought as she looked over his handiwork.
They had no more problems after that.
Lysander surprised her one morning with a small cake. The words Happy Birthday Lily! were printed upon the frosting in haphazard zigs and zags.
She had smiled, commented on how she had forgot what month it was, before hugging Lysander. They then smoked a bowl of Lily's best stuff, and cut slices out of the cake.
It was pretty good, for someone who didn't bake or cook to often, much less with a muggle appliance.
The swamp evened out to long sloping hills full of tall, soft grass. Little ponds dotted the hills, and Lily spotted a few animals while flying overhead.
In the far off distance she saw dark forests and a row of giant purple colored mountains. The view was breathtaking, and Lily felt her heart swell with excitement. They could come upon the village any day now.
And it was quite literally like that. The long sloping hills and tall grass were behind them. They were flying above the forest that Lily had spotted many days ago.
The both of them were flying lower than normal that day when Lily watched as Lysander descended quite fast towards the forested ground. Lily was confused, and yelled out his name.
He turned around and yelled something back, but she couldn't make it out. He disappeared beneath the foilage and Lily was forced to land herself.
"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" she demanded breathlessly as she jogged towards Lysander, who shook his head.
"I-I don't know. I was flying normally and then it felt as if...as if my broom was slowing down. Like someone was holding the back of it. And when I tried to push it farther, it went down towards the ground! I tried to tell you, but I don't think you heard me," Lysander replied, scratching his elbow.
"I guess we'll continue on foot...maybe we're close to the village and they've put some kind of spell in place so people flying overhead wouldn't be able to see the place? It is being kept hidden by a Secret Keeper. Who knows. Come on, let's go," Lily replied, shrinking their brooms and putting them in her pack.
They started through the forest.
They camped that night in the forest. They had dinner and Lysander produced a bottle of Firewhiskey once Lily had settled down on the couch with her bowl and marijuana.
"Bought a couple bottles before we left," Lysander answered when Lily voiced her surprise. He then poured the each several shots.
Lysander and Lily clinked their glasses together before tossing them back.
"Woo!" Lily breathed out, her chest feeling like it was set on fire. She then sparked her bowl and passed it to Lysander.
"I wonder what my mums doing right now?" Lysander said later, his speech slightly slurred. The bottle of Firewhiskey was now half empty. Lily was draped across the couch, a glass of fiery liquid in her hand. Lysander was leaning against the front of the couch.
The TV was on in front of them, and displayed some Asian reality show.
"What're we watchin'?" Lily asked, struggling to get up. She felt like the couch was sucking her into it.
"I betchu my mum and Lorcan are driving my dad nuts righta 'bout now," Lysander informed the room.
Lily had finally managed to sit up and she grabbed the remote, flipping through the channels. She stopped when she came across a cooking show.
Lysander whined and tried to grab the remote from her hand. Lily jerked the remote back towards her chest, eyes fixated on the woman chopping onions.
"Aww, Lily!" Lysander cried out, rolling onto the floor in exaggerated despair.
"Can't we watch somethin' with-with fire and e'splosions and those little, weird gray gunwands? Something exciting, not food...?"
Lily shook her head, gaze never leaving the screen. Lysander groaned and got to his feet, stumbling towards the bathroom.
When he returned, Lily was hitting her glass bowl. Lysander plopped down on the couch next to his friend.
The channel had been changed to some movie involving magic, which he and Lily giggled over as they watched.
They passed out on the couch together around an hour later.
The next morning, they packed things up and continued on their journey. They walked for several hours, stopped for quick lunch, and then continued on. They passed the pipe back and forth between each other as they walked.
The day ended with themselves deeper within the forest, both of them feeling no closer to their destination. Lily brewed some potions that night, more for practice than for any actual use. Lysander himself explored round the forest and came back later that evening to dinner.
They once again ate dinner, finished off the bottle of Firewhiskey and passed out on the couch.
The next couple of days went on like this-breakfast, walking, bowl, walking, lunch, walking, walking, bowl, walking, dinner, bowl, Firewhiskey, sleep.
It wasn't until their seventh day in the forest did they stumble upon two adults walking about the forest. Lily hesitantly asked if they were wizards, to which they responded yes.
Lily and Lysander cheered, hugged each other and asked the older male to take them to the village.
"I'm trying to get a Potions Master degree; Lysander needs an Herbology degree...we've been on our way here for...little over year now, I think? It was a long way!"
The new people nodded with understanding, and motioned them to follow as they started off down a particularly dark part of the forest.
After some time, they came to stop in the middle of a clearing. Bright sunlight filtered through the opening of the trees, giving a phenomenal view of the blue sky and white fluffy clouds that were passing overhead.
While Lily was busy staring up at the sky that they hadn't seen since entering the forest, the two men her and Lysander had encountered were fussing over something to the left of them.
Lily turned her head to look over at the men who had escorted them to the clearing. She wondered what they were talking about. Yet before she could continue down that thought, something flickered next to the two men.
Lily narrowed her eyes, wondering if what she was seeing was a trick of light. It almost looked like dust particles swirling very fast within a beam of light. But something about it didn't look right-the area where the dust seemed to be was growing very bright.
"What's that?" Lysander asked, the phenomenon now catching his eye. He put one hand on her shoulder firmly, as if ready to knock her aside in case something happened.
They both stood in the middle of the forest, the men now quietly watching the scene as well. As they all gazed upon the dust like particles that now looked to be flickering as well, Lily noticed several small pieces float towards the ground.
A similar amount floated upwards, and the remaining particles flew towards the left and right.
"Wha-" Lysander stuttered as a thin, web like substance sprung from one particle to the next, creating a golden colored vertical rectangle of light.
It slowly grew brighter and brighter until it almost hurt to look at it. Yet Lily continued to stare through squinted eyes.
And then, the light began to fade. Where there had been a bright rectangle of light now stood a wooden door. A large silver doorknob was affixed to the door, but Lily noted there was no keyhole.
Lysander was now gripping Lily's shoulder a little less tightly. While the effect of the light and dust had been strtling, it was just magic.
Just as Lily was about to step forward, the doorknob rattled once-twice-before the door creaked open.
"Er-"said one of the men who had escorted them here. Lily craned her neck, trying to see through the darkened crack the open door had presented.
It suddenly swung open very fast, causing both Lily and Lysander to jump back. Lily put her hand to her chest, feeling her heart beat a quick little tempo beneath her fingers.
From out of the door stepped two people. One male and one female. The male stepped out first. Lily's first impression of him was that he was very old looking. His face was wrinkled and his hair white as the snow her and Lys had traveled through earlier in the year.
He had a large white beard which was braided into three smaller sections. His robes were moss colored, and his eyes, while a bit misty, seemed very knowledgeable. In his left hand was a cane with some sort of design carved into the side. Lily couldn't make out what the design actually said, or whether it said anything at all.
The woman came behind him. Her skin was the most fair Lily had ever seen. Her hair shined blue black in the light of the sun, and her eyes were cast down upon the ground. She had her hands clasped before her, and her outfit consisted of a long sleeved white robe with a blue trim.
"Greetings, lady and gentlefellow," said the old man, his voice deep and calm.
"I am Potions Master Goren. You are magic users, this much is true. For what reason have you sought us and our village out? I can tell you we don't get many people passing through this area without good reason. Please, speak."
Lily opened her mouth, and an odd whining sound escaped. She felt her face flush and turned to look at Lysander, who eyed her back. He seemed just as intimidated, and Lily returned her attention to the man and woman before them.
The image of Severus rose up before her and she reminded herself why she was here.
"M-Master Goren. I am Lily Potter and this is my friend Lysander Scamander. We were...instructed to come here for training in Potions and Herbology? We've been on our way here for little over a year now...we're very tired."
Goren did not react to Lily's last name, but nodded when she ended her small explanation.
"Yes, yes," he replied to her, gesturing them forward. The men who had escorted them disappeared into the doorway, ignoring the young woman standing behind Goren.
Lily and Lysander walked forward, disappearing into the doorway after the men. It was very dark wherever they were. They walked forward for no more than five minutes before they emerged out onto an obvious village.
Lily turned and watched as door swung shut behind them, blending in neatly with the forestry behind them.
It was quite large for a secret wizarding community, she thought to herself.
Many cottages lined the cobblestone streets, there were several vendors selling items that floated behind them. Between every sixth or seventh cottage was a large greenhouse.
Many small gardens grew outside of every couple house as well. It was all very quaint.
"We grow our own food and potions ingredients. The greenhouses are also where Herbologist are trained and tested. You two are coming in on the end of summer harvest," Goren explained as they walked through the village.
"The potions houses are over there, and there," he continued, pointing out the larger buildings near the back end of the village.
"I would explain more to you two, but right now I have to coordinate the summer harvest celebration. I'll have Hyu show you to your quarters. I'm sure you'll find them satisfactory," Goren told them before disappearing.
The girl who had been following behind Goren now looked up. Her eyes were a deep and clear blue.
"Follow me, please," she prompted gently. Lily and Lysander followed her to a cottage, where she bowed and hurried away.
The two friends entered their cottage and were surprised to see it was as small on the inside as it looked on the outside.
"Maybe we should set up the tent in here," Lysander said in a half joking tone.
Lily nodded half heartedly, before saying, "I kinda expected more...'oomph!' You know? I dunno. It's just. They went through so much trouble to make this place secret, but why? For what reason? This place looks like nothing special."
Lysander shrugged, scracthed his chin.
"Everybody seems pretty busy, too. What month is it? I lost track after my birthday," Lily said, her tone somewhat embarassed.
"I think it's September..."Lysander replied, his eyebrows screwing up in thought. He gave up after a few seconds, suggesting they ask someone tomorrow.
"For right now, I'm just happy we finally made it." He set his pack on the ground and added, "I am going to set up that tent in here. Not enough space for my liking."
Lily smiled and opened the door to their little hut. She poked her head out, and for the first time realized how much of an accomplishment they had just made. She stepped outside and shut the door, sitting down on the little step that led to the front door.
There were many people about, even some toddlers waddling about. Lily wondered if they had lived here all their lives or if they had made the journey as her and Lysander had.
It was amazing that they had made it here, she finally admitted. At the start of the trip Lily had almost thought they would be wandering the country side forever.
She sighed with content and watched as several young girls hurried by with baskets full of vegetation.
Lysander popped out and asked if she wanted dinner; he had just finished up the tent.
"You can stay here, I'll make it. You've cooked pretty much every meal on our trip here. It's about time I did something for you!"
Lily grinned and nodded, letting her friend return inside.
They had chicken with boiled potatoes that night. And when Lily went to sleep later that evening, she couldn't help but wonder how her tutelage here was going to go.
"I'm doing this for you, Severus," she whispered to the ceiling. Then she fell asleep.