IV. The after-dreams

The hall was dark and the corridors were cold. A cloaked figure stole out of the granite tower and rushed past the carpet of fallen autumn leaves, leaving a flurry in its wake.

There was another hooded figure, on horseback, waiting patiently for the other in the shadows. They must not be seen, not heard, not known- or else the witness shall die.

When they finally met, they briefly held hands before throwing off their hoods.

"Oh, Gellert."

"Albus."

"Oh damn!"

Keira sat bolt upright, clutching her blanket. The nightmare was too real, and it was all the headmaster and his stupid game's fault that her imagination was keeping her from getting a night's rest. She rubbed her temples. It was fortunate that her three roommates slept like logs; only one seemed to move and it was to unconsciously wipe the drool from her mouth.

She wondered if there had been a purpose to that dream or was it just some sick joke to remind her that she lost the game and had to arrange a date. With Sirius Black. Lord of the blockheads. She shook her head. No, she decided, it was actually James Potter who was lord of their group; Sirius could be vice-blockhead or something.

Her stomach churned. Why the hell was she thinking about those guys in the dead of the night anyway? It could have been just like the other dreams that she had, but what with the current situation, it wasn't very likely. Or could it?

Cautiously, she padded towards the lone window and parted the curtain to take a peek outside. Nope, there wasn't anyone there. She breathed a sigh of relief and shuddered. How, oh, how could she even begin to like Hogwarts?

A few hours later, she walked bleary-eyed into the Great Hall for breakfast, grateful that they didn't have classes for the day. However, she was annoyed that somebody else had finished the marmalade that she particularly liked and was in a foul mood after that.

Lily Evans seemed to have noticed and went over to the Slytherin table with half a pot. "Here, you can have some of ours. We prefer strawberry anyway," she smiled. Some of the Slytherins around the table turned around muttering something and looking her up and down.

"Thank you," Keira said, mildly surprised but pleased all the same. "You really didn't have to do this, Ms. Evans."

Lily scrunched up her face in mock disgust. "Ugh, Ms. Evans. That sounds so marmy. Call me Lily, alright? By the way, what are you going to do this afternoon?" she asked, green eyes twinkling. They were so green that Keira mistook their glitter for a really bright flash of green light accompanied by some woman screaming something to protect some person named Harry.

"Who's Harry?" she blurted out, disconcerted and unfocused from lack of sleep. Then recovering, added, "if you don't mind my asking, that is."

"Harry?"

"Yeah, Lily, who's this Harry I'm hearing about?" James Potter suddenly appeared over her shoulder. As expected, his whole gang wasn't far behind. Remus was talking animatedly to Sirius about something while Peter was shifty-eyed as usual. Imagining him as a rat wasn't too hard for Keira; she had a dream about that not only once but thrice, and all of them were disgusting.

"I don't even know a person named Harry!" Lily exclaimed.

"Rather common name: Harry," James turned to his mates. He was wearing his red Quidditch robes and tossing a glittery ball that resembled a snitch.

Lily pouted, obviously forgetting that Keira was there, silently musing with the marmalade. "But it sounds so much better than James!" she said with sarcasm before storming off. Keira wondered if those two even had a decent conversation of more than five or so arguments. Well, it wasn't her loss anyway; maybe it was even her gain.

"Harry-James," Sirius whistled. "I wonder who'll win, mate." Then catching the look from his friend, he raised his hands, "just kidding."

They turned to leave. Keira coughed, but it was Lupin who turned back.

"Look, sorry about that. You'll have to bear with James when he gets like that," he smiled.

He could have been handsome, she thought, if he didn't look too shabby and depressed for the most part. "It's alright. I was going to ask if-" she wondered if Lupin was the right person to ask to arrange a meeting with Sirius.

"He's still mad at you? Nah, forget it. At least I know there's more than one girl who can resist James' charm. So if he needs a kick somewhere, I'll know who to ask," Lupin replied.

Right.

He must have misread her expression and added, "but trust me; James is a nice and cool guy. He wouldn't be that- ah- popular if he weren't. Take me, Sirius and Peter. His heart is in the right place."

Yeah, inside his chest where it belongs. Keira was suddenly getting tired of being told what she had already observed; knowing that Sirius was practically a disgrace to the Blacks, and Lupin was on the impoverished side and Peter on the extremes of being pathetic. But she smiled politely anyway and thanked Lupin for sparing her that bit of time. Obviously, he wasn't the one she needed. She needed someone with more tact, someone who knew what to do.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to make sure that Sirius Black gets detention for tomorrow?" Severus Snape said, narrowing his eyes. "What's in it for me?"

Keira crossed her arms and hissed, "it's not like you don't fancy the idea."

She couldn't see his reaction from behind the huge pillar in front of the schoolyard, but was pretty sure he was stifling a smirk. She had found Snape sitting behind a pillar sometime after breakfast and so took the opportunity to make a deal.

"Do this for me and you get Lily Evans' attention the day after," she promised. Now, she could tell that he was interested.

"Wait, don't you mean: get detention for Potter?" Snape clarified.

"You heard me. Black. I don't really care what happens to Potter," she added quietly.

There was rustling of cloth and paper. "What's in it for you as to go as far as pleading for my help, eh, Mitri?"

Haha. "It doesn't concern you. Just remember: no delivery, no payment. That is all," she began to walk away but stopped a few steps after she heard Snape getting up too. "And, if anyone hears about this, I'll make sure the people in the common room hear about one of your little secrets. You don't need to know which." With that, she left Snape cursing the rest of her family tree.

That night, Keira dreamt of Snape and for some strange reason, when she abruptly woke up at the strike of three in the morning, her pillow was soaked. She resolved she would bury the images to the back of her head to where a lot of things were put away to be forgotten. Keira turned over and hoped tomorrow would be better.

If what happened the next day fell under the definition of better, Keira couldn't actually decide. Snape had done his part by ensuring that when she arrived at the Divination tower, an aloof Sirius Black was there along with three buckets of water and mops. What she hadn't anticipated was the bonus he had included: James Potter.