Lily's heart pounded furiously, her nerves getting the better of her. It was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous to feel this way. After all, they'd known each other for ages. Ophelia was one of her closest friends. But she was nervous all the same. She cracked the door open, peering in.
"You might as well come in, Lily." Ophelia called, her voice sounding strained.
Lily blushed at being caught peeking and swung the door wide. She willed herself to act normally as she walked in.
Ophelia sighed. "Unless you're here to tell me that you've finally come to your senses, dumped Giovanni, and intend to give James the chance he deserves, then I don't think we have anything to say to each other."
Lily looked down, suddenly deciding that the floor was extremely interesting.
"Look Ophelia, I didn't come to have another row. I came...because I need your help."
Ophelia raised a brow. "Sit down." Her tone still wasn't friendly, but it was curious. A good sign. Lily oblidged her, settling down on the edge of the bed. "Spill." Ophelia demanded.
Lily fidgeted. "I've been having these...dreams. Weird dreams. And...I think they might..."
She trailed off, embarassed to even suggest it.
Ophelia smirked. "I thought Divination was a 'complete load'."
Lily colored again. "I...may have been wrong." She mumbled.
"Sorry? Couldn't hear you. What was that?" Ophelia was clearly enjoying this.
"Are you really going to make me repeat that?" Lily grumbled crossly.
"Yes." Ophelia smirked again.
"I may have been wrong." Lily repeated, carefully anunciating each syllable. "These dreams are...frightening. Disturbing even. And I'm worried." Lily confessed. "I was hoping that you could...make them go away."
Ophelia was already rummaging under her bed, pulling out stacks of books. She sorted through the pile and pulled one "The Collective Unconcious" off the stack, flipped it open to the index, unfurled a piece of blank parchment, and dipped her quill.
"Go ahead." She said, flopping back onto a stack of pillows, her quill ready.
After a moments hesitation and a deep shuddering breath, Lily let it all out, every gruesome detail. Ophelia's quill scratched furiously as she took notes, her brow furrowing in concentration.
"So that's it." Lily said, relieved that it was over. Repeating it was nearly as bad as being there, trapped again in that surreal world.
Ophelia began searching the text, frequently consulting her notes and ignoring Lily entirely. She paused suddenly, looking from her notes to the text and back again. The color drained slowly from her face. Her head snapped up and she stared at Lily with wide, terrified eyes.
"I don't know what the fuck you're planning on doing, Lily, but you ruddy well better not!" Ophelia's voice was ragged, horrified.
Lily flinched. "What...?" Was all that managed to come out.
Ophelia was still staring at her, not blinking. "It was no dream, Lily. It was a vision."
"A vision?"
"Yes. You know. A glimpse into the future." Here Ophelia hesitated. "But something is wrong."
Lily sighed. "Clearly. Or I wouldn't even be here."
"Lily." Ophelia was obviously concerned. "I know that Meredith told you about...my visions."
Lily nodded, trying to reserve judgement.
"So you know the reason I want you to give James a chance." She continued.
"Meredith was...fuzzy on the details." Lily admitted.
Ophelia sighed. "Look Lily, this dream is a warning. A clear warning. Normally these things aren't so...obvious." She hesitated and looked at Lily again. "Whatever it is that you're intending to do, whatever you have planned...well...at the risk of sounding trite and cliched...will have dire consequences. And not just for you."
Lily's brow furrowed. "It didn't seem very clear to me..."
Ophelia sighed again. "I guess it wouldn't to someone so blind that she won't even give a stand-up bloke like James a chance..."
Now it was Lily's turn to sigh. "We're not going to do this again, are we? I know that James is a nice bloke...but I love Paolo. It's as simple as that. I can't help who I love, Ophelia."
"Just...don't do it!" Ophelia cried out suddenly. "If you do it, you'll ruin everything! You'll kill him, Lily! Can't you see that?"
Lily flushed, finally catching a glimmering of Ophelia's meaning. "I...the last thing I want to do is hurt James. But what happens between Paolo and I..."
"Not James! Though it will kill him, too." Interrupted Ophelia, with more distress than before. "The baby!"
Lily's jaw dropped. "Baby? Ophelia what in Merlin's name--"
"The child! My Vision. If you...do this with Paolo...you'll kill the baby! And it'll all your fault when You-know-Who wins!" Ophelia was frantic now, her hands gripping Lily's shoulders violently.
"You're not making any sense, Ophelia! And you're hurting me." Lily was starting to feel that she'd made a horrible mistake in confiding in Ophelia.
"Can't you see that he's weakening? Nothing is certain now, Lily, nothing! And the path you're on...it could ruin everything!" Ophelia was shaking her now, roughly.
"Could?" Lily managed, pulling back and trying to remove herself from Ophelia's grasp.
"It's not worth the risk, Lily. This...thing...you're planning with Giovanni...it could..." But Ophelia trailed off.
"What could it do, Ophelia? Explain it to me or at least try. Because frankly, you're scaring me." Lily was trying to be patient, she really was.
"I'm not sure." Ophelia confessed. "The interpretation isn't clear. He...he might give up on you. You might die. But either way...the child..." She was staring off into space now as if in a trance, her eyes unfocused.
"Ophelia?" It was creepy if nothing else.
"Fourteen..." She murmered. "Blood spilled..."
A shiver trailed Lily's spine. "Ophelia?"
Ophelia shook her head suddenly. "It was weird. I thought it was coming to me for a moment there..." She looked at Lily again. "Just promise me you'll be careful, Lily. Can you at least do that much?"
Lily nodded. "I promise."