Heaven is on Earth
The train wreck had been one of the most costly in years, 4 carts derailed going around a curve at too high a speed was the first guess of many, one cart caught fire and left identifying the victims nearly impossible. Called one of the biggest transportation disasters in years, it was covered by the media in most European countries. When it had all been added up and everyone had been accounted for the death toll was sky high.
As rescue workers arrived at the scene, it was mayhem, bodies everywhere, confused and panicking survivors trying to escape and find help. A single image burned itself into many of them. A slender frame of a young woman spilled out of a scattered window, a pale arm over her head, her long brown hair cascading over the ground and a worn copy of Happy Potter and the Death Hallows a few feet away, splattered with blood.
As the mist cleared she looked around, she was in what seemed to be Limbo, somewhere between here and now. Seeing a tall figure coming her way she got to her feet, subconsciously dusting herself off.
"What is this?"
He smiled gently at her
"What do you see?"
"A train station"
She looked around once more, looking at the benches, the tracks and the white mist
"But like nothing I have ever seen before"
The man nodded, she noticed he was old, thin, his face lined and wrinkled, his silver hair short. He looked a bit like John Hurt.
"Who are you?"
He smiled again as his blue eyes sparkled
"Who do you need me to be?"
Giving a confused laugh she shrugged her shoulders
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He gestured towards their surroundings
"If this is a train station, am I a conductor?"
Puzzled by his answer and this whole situation she shrugged her shoulders again.
"Are you supposed to send me on my way?"
He smiled
"I could be, where would you like to go?"
She chuckled as her eyes sparkled, she answered with an excited breath in her voice
"Somewhere magical!"
He eyed her for a minute before nodding
"It seems like you've made up your mind already"
She laughed again while trying to damper the feeling of being a fool.
"Like that's even a possibility"
"Maybe everything is possible here"
She looked at him for the longest time, trying to decide if this was just another dream.
"So what do I do?"
He gestured towards a large train who had appeared next to them, she flinched. A train was not exactly how she imagined having to move on, it was, after all, how it had all ended.
"I would think it is obvious, board the train"
Hesitating she took a deep breath which she held for a few moments
"Is there any going back?"
"Back to where?"
"Where I came from?"
The older man shook his head
"No, I'm afraid that you are done in that world"
Finding his choice of words odd she nodded hesitant with a frown furrowing her brow.
"Very well then"
Grabbing onto the handle of the door she twisted it and pulled the iron clad piece of wood open. Looking over her shoulder at him, a light smile lingering at the corner of her mouth
"Who won?"
He returned her smile
"The age you're entering, no one yet…"
"But… will I know? I mean, will I keep my knowledge?"
He continued to smile
"If you wish though some things might get lost in the transferal"
Entering the train she looked around, students crowded the corridors and filled into compartments, stepping back into a corner she looked around before she caught her reflection in the glass of the window. She was younger, quite a lot to be honest, no more than 15. She was a teenager again. An irritated sigh escaped her, going through that again was not something to look forward to but then again, if she could keep remembering where she came from she should be fine. Running a hand through her hair she pulled a face, her mousy brown hair was back, she had, for years, dyed her hair a dark rich chocolate brown because she hated her natural hair colour and seeing herself like this she remembered all too well the feeling of blending in, not being special or standing out in any way, ordinary!
Moving down the corridor she decided to go look for a place to sit, the emblem on her robe gave her some hint to whom she should be aiming for to accompany but before she got that far she stopped dead in her tracks. In front of her stood someone like her, not just looking a bit like her but looking exactly like her. The girl had seen the same, stopping and seemingly holding her breath. Starring at her for the longest time she slowly extended her hand towards her, to touch the girl, to see if she was real and the girl in front of her did somewhat the same. As their hands met she gasped as they did not touch each other, they slipped through each other, their fingers never touching, it was more like they were overlapping in time, like either one of them was a ghost. Pulling her hand back she starred at the girl, their eyes locked for what seemed like the longest time but all of a sudden a movement behind her and a curve and a bump in the tracks sent her forwards, holding her hands up she braced herself, she didn't hit her, her fingers, hands and arms flowed through her and the hands held up in a defensive manner went through her. As their chests touched she felt a surge go through her body, she gasped as she felt a pinch. The girl was gone! They had melted into one. A sudden flood of memories entered her mind, growing up with a family, not hers, the magic, the flying on brooms, two brothers, two parents, starting school, the sorting, the lessons. Knowledge of magic, wand movements, friends, a secret love, the castle – a school. Feeling dizzy she steadied herself on the rail under the window.
"Hey Wood, had a good summer?"
She turned, looking at the two red heads that came rushing past her, a small smile greeting them and a nod to answer their question. Watching them disappear she felt an arm being hooked with hers and as she turned her head she looked into the most gorgeous chocolate brown eyes and she was greeted by a brilliant smile.
"Hey Manda, come join me and Ali instead of standing here, it's about to turn into a battle field out here if you're to trust what F'n'G are promising"
Allowing the ebony girl to lead her towards a compartment she sat down on a vacant seat, looking around at the people already seated there. Gryffindors, all of them apart from herself. A crooked nosed girl sat next to her, her raven dark hair falling into her face as she focused on her book intensely. Angelina sat down across from her. Angelina… she felt curious where that name and that memory had come from, she knew who she was, she knew they were a few years apart. Quidditch! She was a chaser on the Gryffindor team.
"Alicia"
She whispered the name of the other chaser, not intentional but still. The girl's head snapped up
"Wut?"
Shaking her head she felt embarrassed
"Sorry… nothing…"
Angelina eyed her closely
"What's up with you Amanda?"
She felt her cheeks burn, this was weird, she knew these people but they were still strangers to her. She had heard about them before, she had known them before but how? Shaking her head she ran a hand through her hair while muttering
"Sorry, I'm just a bit off today…"
In this world being 'off' was probably not an excuse but it was all she could offer at the time being, she knew you could be controlled by magic and be someone else but at what level was the alert at the moment? How far into the planning was the Dark Lord? Did they know he was back? Seeing the blue Ford Angelina flying past the window she smiled as she slumped further into her seat, no need to real worry just yet. As she reached for her bag and her book she pulled the 700-something page brick out and looked at it. The cover was blank. Frowning she flipped the pages open, they were all white. It hadn't happened yet so of course it wasn't written. Her head started hurting, this world was fiction where she came from but here, it was obviously real. Knowing what would happen could turn out to be as much an advantage as a disadvantage. The rules had to be something along the lines of time travel, if you bend a straw a tree falls. She couldn't tell a living soul. Or a dead one for all that mattered.
"So I heard you got a new neighbour"
Amanda looked at Spinnet, her brow slightly furrowed as an image of a Scottish countryside flashed through her mind, a small cottage, a stone ferment surrounding it. The smell of roses.
"Err…"
Angelina laughed, a pearly laugh that made you smile, you just couldn't help it.
"Oh my, not willing to share? Is he that cute?"
Amanda shrugged her shoulders, she actually did not know whom the girl was referring to but that didn't stop them, for what seemed like hours they continued to grill her on her summer, about the boy who moved in next door 'was he cute' 'what did he look like' 'was she going to go for it' – all the usual teenage gossip which she found tiring. Excusing herself with an all too real headache she pulled her robe to her chin and pretended to sleep. Alicia had returned to her book and Angelina went on a hunt for the twins. She had noticed Oliver Wood was sitting in the compartment too, all too deep into conversation with Lee Jordan while Trish Hamilton was doing her nails, not paying attention to anything or anyone. She was only there to be close to Oliver. There was something about Oliver, something she could not pinpoint. He was the captain of the team, a year older than her but there was more. He was her brother! Seeing him refer to something in a book before consulting the piece of paper spread out on the small table she felt a strange feeling spread in her chest. She had never had siblings but now she did… there was another one too, an older brother, one who was done with school. Feeling dizzy again she pushed herself out of her seat and excused her by mentioning some fresh air, no one tried to stop her. She pushed the door open to the corridor, she needed to find someone, someone else than these people. She had to have friends in her own house – right? Dodging a firecracker coming her way she stumbled into a compartment and quickly learned that walking backwards in an overcrowded train was a bad idea, tripping over a pair of feet she found herself on the floor in seconds. The look on the faces that came into view made her blood run cold, she was certainly not supposed to be there. Slytherins! And not just any Slytherins but the Quidditch team. Before she could get up, react or in any other way move, a large dark haired youth had grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and thrown her out of the compartment, slamming the door shut behind her. Hitting another person she slid onto the floor of the corridor before looking over her shoulder at the person, on which lap she was now sitting.
"Manda, where have you been?"
This was the person she had been looking for
"Elisabeth!"
The girl scrunched up her face
"Who are you, my mother?"
"Sorry, Lizzy!"
She knew this girl and she knew her well, they shared a room and several classes. Untangling herself she got up, seeing the blond girl do the same while brushing some dust off her robe.
"I've been looking for you, what were you doing in Hades?"
She gave her a puzzled look. Hades? And seeing her throw her head towards the compartment from where she had just been removed not too kindly she shrugged her shoulders.
"I tripped…"
Lizzy laughed before linking her arm with hers
"What a fall, from grace one could almost say. Flint looked furious"
She knew she looked confused, the name ran a bell or rather an alarm but she had no clue why this 'Flint' person should be an indicator of the devil and if he was a devil to all or just her. Allowing the girl to guide her through the corridor towards a semi-empty compartment she sat down across from her.
"What's with you today?"
Amanda shrugged her shoulder again, she was going to end up with a stiff neck if this continued but the whole hopelessness that came with teenage hormones was attacking her logic and communication skills. She had been a shy kid and an awkward teenager so unless she got her head in the game and started focusing on what life had taught her, she would be no better off than before, back at being a wallflower.
"I don't feel all that well to be honest, my head is spinning"
"Got your period?"
Amanda flinched, choking down a laugh. She had forgotten how blunt some people could be when it came to private matters, the whole filter of what to say and what to do did not get established until a certain age, for Lizzy that age had not come just yet so shaking her head in reply she hoped the girl would leave the matter alone.
"Want to see Pomfrey when we arrive?"
Amanda shook her head again.
"Naw, I think it'll pass with some rest"
Lizzy nodded before pulling a mirror and some cosmetics out of her bag, dumping them into her lap before starting painting her face. Her parents did not approve of such physical appearance enhancers as they called it, her father had once called her a 'Picasso' when she was on her way out the door. Amanda silenced a laugh, she herself had never had an interest in make up until she was rather old and in her twenties it had turned into an obsession, she had to get one brand and nothing else and she would not leave the house until she was completely satisfied with her appearance. It had bothered all of her boyfriends. Seeing Lizzy notice how Amanda had been looking a smug smile curled her already painted lip before she extended the mirror and eye shadow case towards her.
"Want to borrow?"
She had done this before and Amanda had always declined but deciding that the old Amanda was gone and the … what had her name been? Well, there was a change so she might as well embrace it. Thanking the amazed girl she took the case and mirror, her fingers and hand acting almost on their own, it was a routine, rehearsed a million times or more. She never wore lipstick, first of all, one should never share make up, certainly not lipstick or mascara, second of all; she neither had the time nor energy to renew it constant nor did she like the feeling. She had always stuck with a gloss. Finishing she handed the case and mirror back to the smirking girl.
"Oh my, a new neighbour has really renewed you"
Amanda gave her a 'I-think-you're-ridiculous'-look before reaching into her bag, hoping her lipgloss had made it through. Luckily it had.
As the night started advancing on them she caught her own reflection once more, this time more clearly. Her lip pulled in a sneer, seeing herself like this made her feel woundable, she had spent long on rebuilding herself, moulding herself into a person she felt she should be and right now she was back to square one. Catching Lizzy's eye she smiled reassuringly
"I forgot my diary"
It was a lie of course but the girl seemed content with that as a reason for a scowl. A diary… She raked her brain, a diary was important this year – right? Feeling her memories slip through mind like water through her fingers she frowned again, she had to keep remembering, it would be important to get through the war.
As they arrived at the school she followed the rest of her housemates to their means of transportation, seeing nothing pull the carts she felt relieved, she had not witnessed death, she could not see the Threstals and it comforted her in some way.
After the dinner she was about to leave the Great Hall with the rest of the students, each house now with new first years, wee lambs that needed protection, guidance and a helping hand. Smiling as a particular small girl with blond hair rushed past her to keep up with her new housemates she tried to recall how her first day had been but she was brought out of her train of thoughts quickly as a hand was placed on her shoulder and she turned only to be faced with the Headmaster. His eyes gleamed and a small smile curled his lip as he bend over, whispering a single word into her ear:
"Welcome"
She stood as if hit by lightning, he knew she wasn't her, that she didn't originate from their world? But before she could utter a single word or one of the many questions filling into her brain he turned and left, with an amazing grace he weaved through the students and was gone from view in seconds.
((A/N: This is the end, to this story, it's the beginning of so many other, it's alternative look upon death and a hope for those of us that does not believe in heaven and hell. I like dreaming and right now; I have just shared one of them with you guys ))