Ame: Hello hello, here is the next chapter, duckies!
Dislcaimer: Just don't ask..
Chapter 9: Let the Nightmares Begin
The dark mark loomed ominously over her in a bright eerie green. She couldn't turn away despite every fiber of her being telling her to run. How could someone be so heartless? How could someone just kill innocent people? How? Tears trailed down her face. Her heart seemed to be ripping out of her chest as the faces of her parent and her two brothers flashed through her mind. "How?"
A cold dead laugh sounded in the silence as a ice cold hand gripped her shoulder tightly making her wince.
"Avada Ke…"
Bethany gasped as she shot up into a sitting position. Her reaction cause the two boys who were playing a muted game of dueling cards to jump, also causing the miniature Minotaur and a Gargoyle to fall to the ground along with the cards in hand.
"Bethany what's wrong?" Sirius recovered first, already up and taking the seat next to her.
"You look pale, I'm going to open the window for some fresh air." Remus added as he got to work with the small task.
Bethany looked up at Sirius. Her eyes pinked with stress and glistening with tears that wanted desperately to escape. She gripped the hem of her shirt tightly in some effort to ground herself.
"It was just a dream…" She breathed out. Her heart was still pounding in her chest; her whole body trembled in fear. Bethany felt lost at that moment. She wished Lily was there to reassure her and get her back to stable train-of-thought.
Sirius sighed as he pulled Bethany into his lap, letting her rest her head against his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair. She has such nice hair, he thought. Her cold fingers gripped the front of his school robes.
"Thank you." She breathed, closing her eyes. She focused on Sirius's heart beat as she tried to clear her thoughts. His fingers running through her hair was calming her down and centering her on the waking world.
"Are you going to be okay?" Remus asked resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah. It was just a bad dream." Bethany replied. She straightened up and slid off of Sirius' lap. A blush tinted her cheeks. "Sorry about that." She really needed to get a hold of herself. They must think the worst of her for such a reaction after a dream.
"For what?" Sirius asked.
"I'm acting like such a baby. It must be annoying." Bethany whispered ashamed.
"What! No." both Sirius and Remus objected in unison.
"Look Beth, you've been through something that is going to take a long time to deal with. I'd think something was wrong with you if you were not grieving." Remus explained. "Everyone has their own way of coping." He gave her a reassuring smile. "We are here for you. You always have friends."
"Thanks Remus." Bethany gave a smile. For the first time, she felt like she was going to be okay. "Ciandra was right. I do have great friends." She pulled Remus into a tight hug, who grinned, and hugged her back.
"Anytime." Remus didn't fail to notice the small glare that came his way by Sirius. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone.
The glare didn't last long as Bethany wrapped her arms around Sirius's middle, her now rosy cheek pressed against his shoulder.
Sirius' midnight-coloured eyes went wide for a moment, before they softened. Once more he found himself running his fingers through her hair.
She gave both boys a bright smile that literally took their breath away. There was just something about her that drew a person in. She was an extremely likeable person. Her personality was almost addicting, even her more quirky qualities.
"Well I better go get changed. Lily will go bonkers if she comes back and I'm still in my street clothes." Bethany got to her feet and was about to climb up on the seat to get her bag down.
"Here." Sirius reached over her and pulled it down for her. "James was right, you really are short." Sirius teased.
"I prefer petite." Bethany gave a glare that failed miserable because she couldn't seem to change the smile on her face. "But thank you."
"No problem." Sirius said. He watched her as she dug through the bag and pulled out her school uniform and her shoes.
"Well I'll be right back. We must almost be there by now." Bethany went to the door, looking at the two Marauders.
"Yeah, we will be in about ten to fifteen minutes. If we see Lily we'll let her know where you are." Remus smiled. He and Sirius took turns changing about an hour ago. Both afraid to leave Bethany by herself. It was hard to defend ones self if they were sleeping. Or in Bethany's case passed out.
"Ok thanks." And with that Bethany slid open the compartment door and headed towards the bathroom.
The restroom was completely crazy as girls frantically did their last minute touch-ups for the feast. Bethany pushed her way though the crowd. Saying greetings to some of the girls she knew.
"Oi Bethany, You can share a stall with me if you like." A tall blond hair girl called. A stall was just being emptied ready for the next girl to claim.
"Thanks Autumn." Bethany smiled at one of her Gryffendor friends. She managed to get by a couple of fifth year Slytherin's that glared and whispered some snooty comment that Bethany chose to ignore.
"Thank you so much, Autumn. I'm running a little late. I fell asleep and didn't realize how late it got." Bethany smiled as she closed the stall door.
"No problem." Autumn hugged her friend. "It good to see you. I'm sorry to hear about your family. I tried writing you." Autumn said as she started to pull off her shirt to exchange it with her Hogwarts one.
"Thank you. Sorry about not writing you back. I was in no shape to write. But thank you for the letter. It was very kind of you." Bethany forced a smile as she pulled up her skirt. She rolled it up twice to make it the length she liked best. She could always just shorten it with a spell but it felt more comfortable with a rolled hem at the top.
"I understand. I'm just so glad to see you." She gave Bethany another hug before opening the door for the next girl or two to rush in. "I'll see you at the feast."
"For sure." Bethany smiled as she headed towards the door only glimpsing in a mirror as she passed. She hoped Lily would be back at the compartment so she could fix her hair. It was a disaster after sleeping on it.
"Bethany there you are." Lily said pulling her into the compartment. Bethany noticed that James had also joined them. Peter was no where in sight.
"Sorry got caught up in the rest room. I was talking to Autumn." Bethany apologized. "Lily, could you quickly do my hair? It's a total mess." Bethany quickly grabbed her brush and a black hair holder.
"Of course." Lily pushed her into the seat next to Sirius.
Lily quickly pulled out her wand and cast a straightening charm on the brush before running it through Bethany's hair. Her hair fell straight flat, reaching down to her waist. Lily quickly pulled it up into a ponytail and brushed Bethany's shorter bangs to the one side so they were out of her eyes. Satisfied, Lily gave the brush back to Bethany.
"Thank you Lily." Bethany smiled putting her brush away.
"You know I think I like your hair better curly." Sirius commented randomly, his fingers combing through the ends. He failed to see the look James gave him or the smirk on Remus' face.
"Oh… I do too actually, but this is the quickest fix to a bad hair day and I don't have enough time to make it look nice." Bethany explained.
"Are you doubting my talent?" Lily teased putting her hands on her hips as she started to tap her foot.
"Of course not Lily, but you have to admit it would test it." Bethany smiled hugging her friend. "My hair looks nice this way too."
"Of course it does. I did it after all." Lily smugly smiled.
"Who would've thought that my Lily-flower was conceded?" James mused.
Ame: Sorry for the late update, everyone. My beta was being a silly snail because of her partying on Easter weekend! Ah well, at least this is up now. Yay! Yes, Lily is vain, and has confidence in her own abilities. So.. James better be careful how he comments around her, lol! Review, fave, bookmark, whatever!
