Disclaimer: The princess and pilot are references to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope from 1977. I've published this chapter before with a direct mention, but now that Disney owns it, I'm just going to distance this story from it to avoid copyright issues.
Translation:
Ma trésor (French) – my treasure
Also, you are most definitely going to hate me after this chapter. You've been warned ;)
"But I'll still sing you love songs written in the letters of you name and brave the storm to come, for it surely looks like rain." – The Grateful Dead, 1972.
"Please, please, you have to tell me what happens next! Do they end up together? Well, do they?"
She inhaled, taking in the crisp spring air, and exhaled slowly with extreme delight; even the simple act of breathing was a wonderful experience for her these days.
"… Marianne?"
She inhaled again, tuning out the excited chatter around her, and closed her eyes as she savored the moment, thought of Remus' comforting embrace and let herself … be.
"Bonjour! Nanette is asking you a question about that new Muggle film. Have you been obliviated or something?"
Two Ravenclaw Chasers rocketed over the three girls and quickly penetrated Marianne Minot's peaceful state of mind, sending her into a state of confusion. Random shouts of House pride rung in her ears; bright daylight overwhelmed her eyes. Nanette tugged on her sleeve once more while Gabrielle scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I only want to know if the princess and the pilot ever get together," Nanette whimpered.
"It's obvious they don't," Gabrielle sassed, "because she would have told you if they did."
"Enough," Marianne finally intervened, fighting the urge to roll her eyes, "both of you." After a deep breath, she bent down to her younger sister's eye level and addressed her directly. "Nanette, the film ends before we find out if the princess and pilot ever become a couple – they may never be together, for all we know."
"But I know they get together," Nanette said quite seriously. "They have to."
"Merlin, you're such a romantic sometimes," Gabrielle retorted. "She told you a synopsis of a Muggle film she didn't actually see and you think you can predict the rest of the plot?"
"Gabrielle," Marianne warned.
"What?" she answered smartly. "How can this little one – who, by the way, doesn't truly understand what a 'space pilot' does - see all the sexual tension just from your unbiased summary?"
"Here we go, everyone - the players are lining up on the pitch!" Frank's voice boomed.
Marianne was very grateful that the start of the match had interrupted their conversation, since she was unable to give her sister a logical and well thought out answer. She hadn't meant to add her own embellishments to the story, but her personal feelings must have come out during the retelling, she mused. Marianne played with her hair absentmindedly. When Remus had first told her the plot, she couldn't help but empathetically connect with the lead female; even though she had never seen the film, Marianne agreed with Nanette whole heartedly, for she knew from personal experience that the galactic princess couldn't resist the daring rogue with nothing to lose. Despite being opposites, they were simply meant for each other.
"And now for the formalities!" Frank announced.
The two teams nervously fidgeted; Madame Hooch facilitated the handshake between James and Walter. When the captains took their positions, the Gryffindors started their House chant and immediately, the Ravenclaws around Marianne burst into song. Even though she usually wasn't a fan of Quidditch, she felt her heart race with anticipation after the referee finally unlatched the balls with a wave of her wand.
And that's when Murphy's Law went into effect; everything that could go wrong, did.
"THE MATCH BEGINS! The Quaffle is up for grabs – there goes Davies, but Potter's might have it with that outstanding dive – MERLIN'S BEARD, MCKNIGHT'S CAUGHT THE SNITCH! I REPEAT, MCKNIGHT HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!"
"I can't believe it," Marianne whispered in shock.
"She was sitting there and – and it happened to fly directly at her!" Nanette recounted excitedly.
"Hold on a second," Gabrielle said as she adjusted her glasses. "If we scored one hundred and fifty points before the Gryffindors could even touch the Quaffle, that means we've surpassed them in the overall totals …" The girl uncharacteristically whooped for joy. "WE WON THE CUP! WE WON THE CUP!"
The rest of the Ravenclaws in attendance quickly came to the same conclusion and all hell broke loose; the three Minot sisters were separated as the crowd churned chaotically.
Marianne's eyes frantically scanned the students around her and failed to find her younger siblings. As Ravenclaws poured onto the pitch to celebrate, the crowd began to thin, but she still couldn't see them. Marianne quickly moved to the top rows to get a better view, and in the middle of all the pandemonium, unknowingly merged into the neighboring Slytherin section. After hiking up her black dress, the heiress climbed the last couple steps and landed directly next to Rabastan as he finished his cigarette.
"Bonjour, Mademoiselle," he purred salaciously just after exhaling a stream of smoke. "Here to engage me in conversation?"
"No, Lestrange," she growled as she stood up on her toes, "I'm trying to find my sisters."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about them," he said, his lips curling into a colossal smirk. "Come, come, sit with me for a while – I want to hear your hopes and dreams. So I can make them come true."
"Excuse me?" she asked, very concerned. She didn't like where this was going.
"Merlin, have your parents not told you?"
Black spots quickly appeared in her field of view and suddenly, Marianne couldn't breathe; when she failed to answer, he laughed incredulously. Thoughts of Remus whirled around in her head as she prepared herself for whatever he was going to say.
"They gave me permission to start courting you," Rabastan explained. "I hope to marry you – although, I would never want to force you into anything, ma trésor. I am a man of tradition, and therefore, will woo you with the proper decorum and respect. You needn't lift a finger – I will take care of the all the plans, locations and expenses." He grinned. "But I will tell you that I am persistent. I like the chase."
"So we aren't betrothed," Marianne clarified, just about a whisper.
"No," he smirked, "not yet, at least. It's your choice. But purebloods always love summer weddings, so I will be expecting your final answer in the coming months."
The Slytherin took another drag from his cigarette. She immediately thought of Remus again - internally shaking with immense fear for his safety - but ultimately knew that if Rabastan was going to be on his best behavior to court her, he would do anything she told him to do. She had no idea what her answer would be, but knew that she had to distract him enough to keep him from finding out about her secret relationship. And so, Marianne reverted back to her high society defense mechanisms and snobbishly jutted her chin in the air.
"Impress me, then," she said through her teeth. "I like effort and I've got expensive taste."
"Do you now? What do you desire? Necklaces? Earrings?"
"Too expected. I like uniqueness."
"A challenge. Perfect." A shiver ran down her spine. She tried not to throw up. "You can expect a gift soon then."
Marianne couldn't take it anymore. She gave him a curt nod, acknowledging his advances while doing her very best to stay composed, and descended towards the pitch. She internally screamed her lungs out, but wouldn't allow herself to cry in public.
Lily Evans bit her lip for the fourth time and finally drew blood. Nervous energy tingled up her spine; she felt short of breath. She grimaced as she wiped her mouth with her jumper sleeve and Remus ruffled his hair dejectedly as Peter kept looking over at Aeryn, who seemed to be in a daze. Several other Gryffindor Quidditch faithfuls waited with them in solidarity.
"Do you think it's time to find them, then? Prongs and Padfoot?" Peter finally squeaked. He reached out to grasp his girlfriend's hand.
"They always meet us in the Gryffindor stands after a match," Remus answered with a sigh. "They'll come out eventually."
As Peter huffed and let go of Aeryn to cross his arms over his chest, Lily started to pick at her nails. Although she remained silent, she whole-heartedly agreed. It was time to find them. She wanted to see James, wrap her arms around his large shoulders and give him a loving kiss. She hated knowing that he was hurting without her support.
"I still can't believe it," Alice began after minute or so.
"I think that was honestly the shortest match in Hogwarts history," said Peter.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was the shortest in all of history," mumbled Remus.
"I'm glad I'm graduating this year," Frank said with an aloof smile, "because I don't think Dumbledore would have let me announce another match after I let out those obscenities over the loudspeaker."
A Fourth Year next to them giggled softly as he recounted some of Frank's expletives under his breath and Lily threw him an icy glare. He cowered in fear, quickly gathered his things and sulked out of the stadium towards the Castle. After seeing the Head Girl's angry wrath, others followed.
"Lily," Alice whispered in her ear, "calm down. James is going to be fine." She ignored her best friend's soothing words and focused on chewing her lip again.
"Padfoot!" Peter and Remus yelled when they saw their partner in crime suddenly emerge from the tunnel below the stadium. The Beater shuffled his feet, hung his head somberly and remained silent, even after his two friends climbed down onto the pitch and gave him hugs of solidarity. James, however, was nowhere to be seen. Lily's heart rate spiked with anticipation.
"Where's Prongs?" Peter asked, voicing her inner thoughts.
"Marauder Rule Number Five, mates," Sirius grimaced. He slapped his friend on the shoulder. "It's best we clear off."
Remus gulped and Lily felt small tremors buzz inside her stomach. What did that mean? She raced towards the front of the Gryffindor section and gripped onto the railing, completely ignoring Aeryn, who was still in a discombobulated state.
"What rule is that?" she called down to the three boys.
"Evans," Sirius muttered, but with her insane amount of worry, she heard him loud and clear. "I don't think you want to see him right now."
"Why not?"
"Because Prongs is in a mood," Remus replied, pinching the bridge of his nose, "and he's not going to take kindly to visitors. Please listen to us – he's upset and needs space. Give it to him."
"He'll tell you everything in a few weeks at the latest," Peter said, trying his best to be helpful. Lily blanched at the thought of waiting that long. "Because that's when the terms ends … But honestly? I think he's only going to need a couple hours to cool off. Then he'll come find you."
Lily frowned; she tried her best to be graceful as she jumped onto the grass to join them, but let out a headstrong growl when she almost rolled her ankle. She tried to take it in stride. She wouldn't be deterred, not from James.
"Sirius," she panted softly, "he needs me."
"Lily," he warned again, "I'm telling you, don't."
"You're wrong."
Lily turned on her heel and ran to the end of the tunnel Sirius had just emerged from. She paused slightly before pushing the door open, but entered the Gryffindor male locker room nonetheless and the sight before her caused her to gasp. Her boyfriend had thrown all the Quidditch storage cupboards open and hurled their contents all around the room; the place was an absolute mess. Lily slowly shut the door behind her and watched James sit with his head in his hands and mutter unintelligible thoughts to himself. He didn't seem to know she was there.
"James," Lily tested, "it's me."
He lifted his head, threw her a slowly burning glower and clenched and unclenched his hands. He did not seem happy, not in the slightest.
"I need to be alone."
"Oh, James," she responded empathetically as she quickly sat down on the wooden bench next to him. "I know you're hurting – I know you've been strategizing for this match for ages, but you don't have to go through this alone. I'm here for you. You can be completely honest with me."
Her soothing words backfired and triggered James' beast within; Lily finally saw the behavior that Sirius had warned her about.
"Honest?" he roared as he leapt to his feet. "You want me to be honest, when you're sitting there with your secret?"
"S-Secret? What are you talking about?"
"I saw you with Snape," James said through his teeth, "at the Slug Club party." She rose from the bench, her breath catching in her throat. "Don't think I didn't notice when he cornered you – and threatened you from what it looked like, the bloody bastard. I waited for you to say something and you chose not to tell me about it. Why, Lily?"
She stepped backwards, completely taken by surprise. He'd caught the whole encounter, even while he was talking to his Quidditch hero? He didn't show it at the time. But moreover, why was he attacking her? Why wasn't he crying in her arms and thanking her for being there with him, like he did on his birthday? What was going on?
"It was nothing – nothing important. He was baiting me with something stupid, so I tried to forget about it. It wasn't worth your time."
"Not worth my time? This is Snape we're talking about here! A Death Eater!"
"You – you know about that?"
"Of course I do! The bloke's got their bloody mark tattooed on his forearm, it's not hard to see! Lily, he could have hurt you -"
"I took care of myself! I've shunned him before!"
"But you didn't think to even mention it to me this time?" She gulped. "How's that being completely honest, dear?" he finished, his words starting to bite.
"James," she began, "I'm sorry, I -"
"Didn't think it was something worth discussing?"
"He was just being vindic-"
"If you want this relationship to be honest," he interrupted again, "then you can't keep things from me – especially things about that poor excuse for a human being. You still can't even tell me what he baited you with."
But before she could tell James the truth - that she had confronted her demons and professed her unending devotion to him – she saw the large tears in his eyes. He quickly huffed with unforgiveness and stormed out of the room, leaving Lily alone and in a complete and utter daze.
Hours later, the Gryffindor Common Room was still. No celebration, no chatter.
As the fire popped and crackled, Aeryn Miller felt confused and lifeless. Part of her was sad that her House had lost the Cup, because she'd seen how badly James had wanted to win … but another part felt almost delighted that her best friend had caught the Snitch. The contradiction caused her to short circuit and she blinked aimlessly, her face etched in a vague, hollow expression. A few students anxiously shuffled back and forth across the room, but for the most part, everyone kept to themselves.
Aeryn finally snapped out of her daze and sunk into her plush red armchair. The blonde began to feel more like herself, took a quick look at her boyfriend - who continued to obnoxiously snore next to her - and decided that enough was enough. She'd done her House duty and mourned the Gryffindor loss, but now it was only right to congratulate Cora on her speedy victory.
"Peter," she said softly. "Peter, wake up."
He continued to wheeze in his sleep.
"Peter," Aeryn said, louder this time. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a little shake.
He snorted inelegantly, scurried slightly with his hands and rolled over onto his other side. She frowned, but after a few seconds, ultimately decided to stop pestering him; she knew from experience that Peter was impossible to wake up when he entered deep sleep. Aeryn rose to her feet, stretched her arms over her head, took a deep breath and threw a guilty glance at her boyfriend just before making her way to Ravenclaw Tower.
She heard sounds of celebration long before she reached the right door. The exciting energy was infectious and she couldn't help but smile when she finally reached the Common Room entrance. Screams of joy and jubilation leaked into the corridor; the Ravenclaws were clearly having a blast. However, Aeryn soon realized that in order to see her best friend, she had to get past the knocker, which was not an easy task.
"The more you take, the more you leave behind," the bronze eagle asked ominously. "What are they?"
"Hair? Like, strands of hair? I leave those behind a lot."
"Incorrect," the eagle replied.
"Ugh," the Gryffindor groaned, "this is why I could never be a Ravenclaw. Ok, let's see -"
"Footsteps."
She looked back to see it was Kieran who had answered. Oh yes, Aeryn thought, I know him from the band! She looked back gratefully and returned his warm smile; even though the boy looked like a complete burnout, he did seem to have some wits about him. The eagle knocker nodded respectfully and slowly opened the large wooden door to reveal a scene of complete pandemonium. The entire House was dancing, drinking and getting down to music.
"After you, " Kieran said with a playful bow.
Aeryn giggled shamelessly, entered enemy territory and blended into the crowd; it was easy, since she'd left all her Gryffindor gear back in her room. As the Ravenclaws continued to passionately socialize with each other, Aeryn swerved around several people to find some breathing room. She squinted, scanned the entire Common Room for her best friend and covered her mouth to quiet her surprised gasp when she spotted Cora dancing on top of one of the tables. She was still dressed in her kit, but didn't seem to care. She swung her hips back and forth to the funky beat and tipped her head back with glee. Aeryn felt her heart quicken. She had subtly tried to avoid her best friend for the past couple of weeks, but their separation hadn't diminished any of her newly found desire. If anything, it fueled it.
"AERYN!" Cora screamed when she finally noticed her.
She vaulted off the table and sprinted towards her. In one swift movement, she lifted Aeryn up, spun her around and then plopped her back to her original position on the ground.
"Come on, hen," the Scot grinned, her breath reeking of firewhiskey. "Let's get out of here. I need some air."
Before Aeryn could get a word in, Cora grabbed her hand – sending familiar, but unwanted tingles down her spine – and snaked around a few people to guide her towards the door to girls' Seventh Year dormitory. The two friends quickly climbed the stairs, Cora giggling like a madwoman, and Aeryn gulped nervously when they reached her four-poster bed. No one else was there. Cora stumbled over to the nearest window, flung it open and stuck her head outside.
"Merlin's pimply arse, that feels good," the Ravenclaw slurred happily as she closed her eyes. "That room wastoo humid."
Aeryn should have interjected with a witty comment, but couldn't say anything; Cora's drunken demeanor easily brushed past her heterosexual defenses after she put her head back inside and grinned.
"Didn't think we 'Claws could get that blootered, did you? I didn't either, actually. Davies said he stockpiled before the match, just in case, and bloody hell, he got the top shelf stuff. Hold on – hold on, how did you get into the Common Room? You've never gotten past the knocker. Oh, I guess it doesn't matter now."
She came closer and Aeryn tried squash any and all inappropriate thoughts drifting around her head.
"What a match!" laughed the Seeker. "We spent hours and hours preparing for the bloody thing, but it didn't even matter! Shite, I don't even know how it happened – the snitch went neeeeeruum! past me and I just reached out and caught it and - "
Cora stopped punctuating her thoughts with absurd hand movements; she exuded delight and ecstasy with her every pant as they stood silent, both wondering what to do next. Cora suddenly reached out, grabbed the sides of Aeryn's face and pulled her into a passionate kiss. For one small second, Aeryn let herself enjoy the feeling of Cora's lips against her own. However, it quickly faded and the Gryffindor jerked back immediately.
"Cora," she began, but was soon cut off when her best friend kissed her again. It took all of Aeryn's strength to pull away for the second time. "You're plastered -"
"No -"
"You're drunk with victory, then -"
"Tell me you didn't feel something in that cupboard," Cora insisted forcefully as she looked her dead in the eyes. "Tell me you didn't feel anything."
She couldn't bring herself to tell Cora the truth; she'd felt lust, in addition to terror after she found out Rabastan and Luciana were involved with the Death Eaters. She still couldn't shake both feelings and hadn't told anyone about them.
"I – I -"
Aeryn's throat tightened as she quickly looked down at her promise ring, forcing her to consolidate all of her excuses into one short phrase.
"I can't."
As soon as the two words left her lips, Aeryn cowardly turned on her heel and sprinted away from the one person who truly made her feel loved.
Drip!
Drop!
Drip!
Drop!
D
r
i
p
!
"Oh for fuck's sake," Gemma Rawnsley groaned just before hurling her Defense textbook at the waterfall, "would you shut up already?"
The heavy book easily demolished the small thing and silence displaced the earlier nuisance. Gemma huffed and rolled over onto her back; she blinked several times, slowly noticed that one of the tapestries above her was starting to tear and considered going back to sleep. Yet, instead of taking another snooze, the Seer forced herself into a sitting position, scratched the back of her neck and yawned loudly.
Gemma was unaware of the recent Quidditch news, due to her extended nap that took up most of the day. But she didn't want to learn the result. It would only make her think of Sirius again. A cigarette fell from behind her ear into her lap, and although it was a bit old and squished, she decided to smoke it anyways. She lit the end and took a drag; soon, her stomach grumbled and signaled that it was time to make another trip down to the kitchens. While deciding between Belgian waffles or fish and chips, Gemma lazily shrugged a jumper over her naked torso. She failed to see that her rose trellis tattoo was completely dead and inanimate.
It hadn't been alive for weeks.
"Where are those stupid – ah, here they are," the Hufflepuff muttered to herself as she found her clogs. After shoving her feet into her worn down shoes, she rummaged around and found the patchwork wrap skirt she'd been looking for and put it on. After another yawn, Gemma checked her watch, noting that it was just past midnight, and wandered into the dark.
Suddenly, just after she started down a long passageway, a torch in front of her extinguished itself. And for the second time in her life, the Seer felt a strong, fearful sense of déjà vu.
"Shit," Gemma whimpered. "Shit, shit, shit."
She turned around with a snap! and sprinted in the other direction, hoping to outrun her future. But Gemma quickly found out that she was just postponing the inevitable, for when she rounded another corner, a hand reached out and pulled her into an old office. She thought about screaming for help … and yet, as the situation unfolded, she found that the abrupt location change didn't scare her whatsoever. In fact, when someone plopped her into a chair, put a cup to her mouth and pinched her nose so she had to open her mouth and drink a metallic potion, she almost felt relieved. This moment was meant to happen, she reminded herself. The ordeal was over as quickly as it began and Gemma gasped for air as the cloaked figure released her and muttered a soft Lumos! under their breath. The spell illuminated the small room and finally gave her a chance to see who it was.
"Hello," Luciana purred as she pushed back her hood. "Surprised to see me?"
Gemma tried to speak, but failed to produce any coherent sounds. The potion was starting to change things. A wave of nausea crashed over her and her stomach gurgled tensely; she wrapped her arms around her torso to try and combat the electric energy creeping her spine.
"Oi!" Luciana growled as she grabbed her shoulder and shook her. "Stay with me. I need you to be somewhat coherent for this!"
The Hufflepuff threw her an icy stare.
"Don't give me that look," the Slytherin scoffed.
Gemma narrowed her eyes and considered spitting in her face, but knew that would make things worse for her. But Merlin, did she want to do it. Luciana took a deep breath, lowered onto another vacant seat and calmed herself before taunting her prey once more.
"Now, I believe an explanation is in order. Do you want to know what you just drank? Hmm?" Gemma stayed silent. Luciana grinned as she pulled out a stack of notes from beneath of her cloak. "Morrigan's #1."
Gemma let out a gasp of shock as she felt the metallic taste in her mouth intensify. She almost threw up.
"I have an errand boy," Luciana cackled. "He's not that much help honestly - but one day, he finally told me something useful. He mentioned offhand that you're a Seer! Naturally I was intrigued. If I couldn't rely on my informant to give me helpful clues – because he's an absolute twit - why not ask someone with the inner eye instead? But I needed to know that you were the real thing. So I studied you … broke into your little room and saw that you had Morrigan's notes. After a quick copy, studied them too. That's how I figured out what I needed to do. It took awhile to brew an extremely potent batch of this and find the opportune moment, so you better not muck up. According to his notes, you're about to see the future of everything around you. It'll be like lucid sleep walking - you can walk and talk, but you're really not going to remember any of this."
Gemma panted sharply; Luciana grinned.
"So all you have to do is focus on me," she clarified as she grabbed Gemma's chin, "and tell me everything you see. Tell me what I'm going to do to impress the Dark Lord. Tell me my destiny. And then I'll let you go."
Yet, Luciana made one tactical error. It was impossible for a Seer under the influence of Morrigan's #1 potion to choose what to make a prophecy about; the elixir forced the participant to gravitate towards strongest stimulant in the vicinity and making a major prediction based on its powerful magic. And so, without warning, Gemma's inhibitions vanished and her fear morphed into absolute elation as she went into a dream state. A large smile burst across her face as soon, her soft giggles grew into full on laughter when she compared her experience to that of a wiggling noodle cooking in boiling water.
"Wiggle, wiggle!" she snickered as the walls around her began to breathe. "I'm a noodle!"
"Bloody hell -"
Gemma's short attention span forced her to look past Luciana's baffled expression and focus on the melting colors behind her. The Seer gasped loudly, her jaw dropping towards the floor with awe, and immediately leapt out of her chair towards the most magnetic thing in the room. She didn't even feel Luciana's attempt to guide her away from the stone Hogwarts Castle wall and instead decided to put her body next the cold surface to try and physically melt into it. Drool started to leak out of the side of her mouth and she laughed wildly. However, Gemma snapped to attention when the visions began.
An old book. A black ring. A serpent locket. A gold cup. A diamond diadem. A large snake. And a young boy. The images kept flashing in front of her.
"What is it," Luciana said in a panic. "What is going on, what are you seeing?"
The Hufflepuff turned away from the wall and stared the Slytherin; she picked up her nasty aura and paranoia flooded her senses. In one swift motion, Gemma quickly bolted past her and burst out into the hallway. Her years of running paid off, making her able to leave Luciana in the dust, and Gemma continued running until she reached the safest place she could think of.
Headmaster Dumbledore's office.
Author's note: Ok, breathe. That was a lot to handle, I know.
Big hugs to all of my readers, I love you so much! You keep me going!