Dawn: Part 1
"Lily, take Harry and Aurora, and go. I'll hold him off."
"But James, you…you can't beat him! You'll…I love you! Please don't do this!"
"I love you too. And we'll be together again soon, I promise. Now take them and go!"
"I love you, James…goodbye."
"Goodbye, Lily."
A lash of white-hot pain to her scar, a flash of sickly green light, a burst of evil high-pitched laughter, and her dream was over.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Aurora Potter sat straight up in her small, metal, orphanage bed and bit back a scream. She brought a small, thin hand up to her forehead, and wincing, she gingerly touched her scar. It still smarted from the pain of the dream. Which was odd, she thought, smiling slightly, because dreams don't give you pains. But then again, almost everything about her was odd.
Climbing quietly out of bed, so as not to wake the other five girls she shared her room with, she walked over to the small cracked mirror on the dresser she shared with her new bunkmate, Caitlin. Aurora picked up the brush sitting next to the mirror, and began to brush out her long, coppery auburn curls. Glancing at the mirror, she gasped and put a hand over her mouth. Her lightning-bolt shaped scar was GLOWING. It was fading fast but still. This had never, ever happened before. Not even when…but it was best not to think of it.
Looking closer at her reflection, Aurora sighed. A pale, lightly freckled, short, skinny, emerald eyed girl of 14 stared back at her unhappily. She put the brush back and got dressed. Then she put in her contact lenses. The New York orphanage she lived in had been forced to give her glasses, but by working hard and kissing good-bye her pocket money for over a year, she had managed to save up enough for the contacts. Spinning around, she looked at the clock. It was only five in the morning, and she had a whole hour before the other girls woke up, with their taunts and hurtful words. Even the new girl, Caitlin joined in.
Running back to her bed, Aurora got on her hands and knees and crawled under the bed and pulled up a floorboard. Reaching under, she pulled out her diary. She sat on her bed and turned to a fresh page. She uncapped her pen and began to write.
Dear Diary,
It's around 5 o'clock in the morning. An odd dream woke me this morning. Well, not so odd since I've been having it for seven nights running. You know, the one about "Lily" and "James" and "Harry"…And ME! Weird thing is, they seemed to be a family: Mom, Dad, and son. Where do I fit in there? Maybe…They're MY family. No…that's impossible. How could I know what they look like? Mom and Dad have probably been dead for years. Of course, I'll probably never know since I was dropped off at the ripe old age of one! But I'm just being bitter. Anyway the weird thing about the dream was that when I woke up, my scar felt like someone had pressed a white-hot iron to it. Then when I looked in the mirror it was GLOWING!!! There's this feeling in the air that something BIG is going to happen. I just haven't figured it out yet.
Love,
Aurora Potter
Smiling, Aurora closed her diary, and placed back beneath the floorboard. Silently she wished she had woken up earlier. Then maybe there would've been time to sneak out to Central Park and..Shaking her head to clear it, she walked over to the window and opened it. She sat down on the windowsill and watched the sun begin to rise over Central Park. As it stretched long golden fingers of light over the horizon, Aurora heard a faint hooting sound. At first she thought she had imagined it. But as the sound grew louder and more persistent, the realization hit her. It was an owl.
The big barn owl was perched on a broomstick in front of a woman wearing, burgundy robes. Her black hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and she was wearing square-rimmed glasses.
Aurora fell backwards into the room with a loud thump. Quickly, she stood up and glanced around the room, making sure the other girls were asleep. Leaning out the window, she realized the odd woman on the flying broom was headed her way. She ducked down as the woman flew in and landed neatly inside the room.
"Who ARE you?" Aurora managed to get out.
"I am Minerva McGonagall. You are Aurora Potter, correct?" Was this imposing woman's response.
"Yes…How do you know my name? How can that broom FLY? What is going on?"
"I am a witch. And so are you. We've been trying to find you for four years, ever since the Sorting Hat announced that you were alive. As to how the broom can fly, it is bewitched. You are quite famous in our world, my dear. Your twin brother Harry has just been informed of your existence."
"Harry? This morning I dreamed of a boy called Harry. But there's no such thing as witches or wizards. That's fairy tales. And what do you mean, 'Sorting Hat'? What are my parents' names? Are they alive?"
"You may have the gift of prophecy. That would explain your dream." Here Minerva's eyes grew misty. "Darling, your parents have been dead for almost 13 years. The evil Lord Voldemort murdered them. Somehow he could not kill you and Harry and his power broke. The Sorting Hat tells us who is eligible to attend Hogwarts. It's the best Wizarding School in Europe. I am Deputy Headmistress there. And there are witches and wizards. How else would that broom fly? And haven't odd things happened when you were hurt or angry or sad?"
"Well…" Aurora didn't know what to say. It was true.
"When I was a little girl, my older brother turned my doll into an ugly hag. His nose then grew to the size three cucumbers. He ended up changing back my doll and buying me a new one." Minerva laughed.
"Whenever the girls in my bunk decide they want to beat on me, they can't seem to be able to get near me. Sometimes I float to the ceiling. Other times it's as if all of a sudden they can't move." Aurora laughed. "It's quite a sight."
"So you believe me?" Minerva asked hopefully.
"Yes."
"Can you pack up your things in, say, five minutes?"
"Yes. Where are we going?"
"London. You need to get your school things. And I've gotten us passes to the World Quidditch Cup. It will be quite exciting."
"What's quidditch?" Aurora asked as she took her pillowcase off her pillow and began stuffing what little belongings she had into it. She was done within a few minutes.
"I keep forgetting how much you don't know. Quidditch is a very popular wizarding sport played on brooms. Are you ready?"
Aurora nodded.
"Good." Minerva tied the pillowcase onto the broom. She then pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill, and began scribbling a letter. " Dumbledore, Have found Aurora. Will head to London immediately."
"Who's Dumbledore?"
"He's headmaster at Hogwarts, and one of the greatest wizards ever. Now hop on the broom and away we'll go!"
Author's Note:
I worked really, REALLY hard on this fic, and I would appreciate constructive criticism ONLY. No flames, please. I will simply ignore them. Please review, and tell me if you would like more of this story. Thanx, *~Aurora~*