Author Notes:
I'm sorry
for the VERY over-delayed part, but here it is! Oh, and as for the question/s
about whether or not I have read Tamora Pierce: I have heard of her, but never
read anything by her. I do read the Night World Series and that's where I got
this whole Wild Magic thing (plus other fantasy books that are crawling with
this stuff ^-^) *grins* I hope you like long parts. I think I made up for Part
3's shortness pretty well, no? ^-^ I talk too much, I know. Please go on and
read part 4.
Summary:
Night before the Yule Ball.
By
Iris Marie
Lily lay
on her four-poster, staring at the flimsy material that separated her from the
other Gryffindor girls. They had been talking to each other since midnight,
most of them eager for the event that tomorrow... no, wait. Lily glanced at one
of the nearby clocks and saw that it was already 2 in the morning. Well, the
tonight event is going to bring. She turned, wondering why she couldn't sleep
and her hand instantly went to the chest she had brought along with her from
James's house.
'What is
inside?' she thought for the billionth time, bringing the chest in her line of
view. 'Why are you so secretive about the contents, Angelyn?' She shook her
head, her eyes once more moving towards the clock and seeing as the minute hand
still hadn't moved. Sighing, she sat up and placed the chest back on her
nightstand.
Grabbing
a robe and putting on her slippers, she slipped out of the door and down the
stairs. "You couldn't sleep either?" a voice whispered from the
couch. Startled, (even though she knew who the voice belonged to) she jumped
and gave the boy a glare. James chuckled, flicking his wand in front of him and
the fire in the hearth roared higher. "Nightmare, Lil?"
Lily
shook her head, walking towards the couch and flopping down beside him.
"Just couldn't sleep. You?"
He nodded
his head to tell her it was the same reason. They sat silent for a while, both
of them staring intently at the flames. "Lily?"
Lily
glanced at him, noting that his voice seemed worried. His head was bowed and
his fists were clenched. "Have you been feeling this... I don't know...
this feeling as if something really bad is about to happen?"
"Like
you stepping on Calphyne's feet while you two are dancing?" Lily asked
even though she knew that James was being serious.
The
tension within him loosened and he chuckled again. "Yeah, that too, but...
something else..."
Lily
shook her head. "No. Why?"
Running a
hand through his messy hair, he shrugged. "Maybe I'm being paranoid."
"Maybe?"
"All
right, I get the point. I, James Potter, am paranoid." When Lily nodded her
head in agreement, he turned back to the fire. "I never was good around
girls," he blurted, his face bright crimson.
Lily
laughed, punching him lightly on the arm. "Never good around girls, James?
Who do you think you're talking to right now?"
"I
meant girls I am attracted to," James said. Lily's brow rose.
"No, not like that!" James said quickly before he was hexed. "I
meant... you know..." He paused, trying to get his words right. However,
all he was able to say was what he had already said. "... You
know..."
"It's
all right," Lily said before James hurt himself. "You should go to
bed, you know," a glare was sent and she laughed. "I don't think Calphyne
would like it if you were dozing off on her. You might give her the wrong
impression and have her believe she's boring."
James
nodded, standing up. "What about you?"
"I'll
go up, eventually."
"Just
make sure you get some rest, Lil," James said. "Good night!"
"Night!"
---
Arabella stood in front of her full-length mirror, conversing with it. "My dear, you look fabulous," the mirror said. "As do you, dear," the mirror added sincerely towards Lily who was fidgeting.
"Are we
ready to go?" Lily asked impatiently.
"Have
been for the past few hours," she replied. Arabella, though a Ravenclaw, had
sneaked her way to the Gryffindor girl dormitories. Lily's roommates were
running around the room, casting their hair in place and fixing crinkles in their
robes. Lily rolled her eyes. "Then c'mon!"
James
yawned, lounging on the common room couch. "Gees, what's taking everybody?"
Arabella shrugged, sitting next to
him while Lily stood in front of the fire. "And I thought us girls would take
long," she muttered. She glanced towards James and whistled. "James, my love,
do you know how handsome you look tonight?" she chided, elbowing him. "Right
Lil?"
Lily
turned around and grinned. "Marvelous, James, Calphyne will simply melt!"
Turning
red, he laid his chin on his hand trying to control it. "Is it time?" they
heard a rather squeaky voice say and they saw Sirius, Remus and Peter standing
with their faces pale. "Is it?"
"It looks like you're about to be
double hexed," Arabella said. The boys just turned paler.
"My robe
okay?" Peter asked, looking down at it and then trying his best to smooth it
out.
"Is
mine?" Remus asked. Sirius glanced at theirs and nodded his head.
"They're
as fine as they ever will be," he muttered while glancing at his. "Mine?"
James,
Arabella, and Lily stared at the spectacle of their best friends trying to
comfort each other on how the other looked. "They would have made fine girls,"
Lily whispered and James and Arabella began to crack up as they, too, were
about to say that.
Sirius
stopped in his complimenting of Peter's taste in robes. "What's so funny?"
"Look in
the mirror and you'll see," James said.
Sirius
paled drastically, about to run up the steps to see but Remus grabbed the back
of his robe to hold him down. "Don't mind them," he muttered. "They seem to
think that guys are forbidden to get nervous."
Arabella
was about to comment but Lily gave her a glare. "Umm… where's Mundungus?"
Arabella asked instead seeing as the final person of the group wasn't with
them. "James, didn't you tell him to come here?"
James
nodded. "I even got a first year to lead him in."
"As he
happily did." Mundungus came forward from a crowd of girls who were staring at
his and the rest of the boys general direction. Giving them all a bright smile,
he gave compliments to both Lily and Arabella for the, as quoted perfectly by
Sirius the day after, Aphrodite-shaming looks. "Why do you three look so pale?"
he asked as he caught sight of Sirius, Remus and Peter.
"Just
vouching their rights as males who can get nervous," Arabella said, dismissing
the looks that were sent towards her direction.
"Bell,
dearest," Sirius began knowing that Arabella couldn't stand the nickname. He
was happily awarded as her hands curled up into fists. "Mind your manners."
"Oh
I'll-" she was cut short as Mundungus already had her held back.
"Sirius,
did you have to?"
Lily
shook her head as Arabella and Sirius began catcalling to each other about this
and that. She glanced towards James, his brows furrowed as if something much
more important was bothering him. '... Do you feel as if something bad is going
to happen?' she recalled him asking her. She stood there, wondering if her
sleepless nights were considered 'having bad feelings.'
"Hey
Lil!" she heard and when she snapped out of her doze, the room was deserted and
James was in front of her. The rest of her friends were waiting in the hallway.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" he asked, worried.
She
smiled, nodding her head causing ringlets of red curls to go bouncing on her
shoulders. "Enough to know that I got the energy to beat you down to the Great
Hall!" she said, already lifting up her robes so she wouldn't trip.
"You
wish!" James yelled as Lily got her head start. "Hey! You were supposed to wait!"
"And
who said that?" he heard her voice yell. "Catch up if you can!"
They all sat on one of the
tables, the boys especially listening to every word that Kennilworthy Whisp,
the orator of the Quidditch games, was saying. "The Triwizard
Tournament," Kennilworthy said with awe in his voice. "Before, every
century it was play."
Calphybe
walked towards the table, her eyes on her date. "James?" Calphyne
said, taking his hand and nudging him towards the dance floor. A slow song from
the current hit witch band was beginning to play.
"...
And Hogwarts would compete against the other largest European schools,
Beauxbatons and Durmstrang..." James heard Kennilworthy saying in a hurry
as the other boys' dates were trying to get them on the dance floor.
James
stared helplessly at Calphyne and back towards what Whisp was saying. "The
death toll was so high that the game was discontinued."
"Death
toll!?! People actually *died*?"
"Well,
there would be these three champions, you see, who would be chosen to represent
their school. One from each school would have to go through three different,
and extremely dangerous, magical obstacles/tests in order to win."
"Something
like Quidditch?" Sirius asked, his date waiting impatiently for his
attention.
"James..."
Calphyne whispered. "This is the last dance!"
"Just
a moment, please?" James whispered.
"James,"
Calphyne once more muttered. James bowed his head and nodded.
"All right."
"...
Supposedly this Goblet of Fire would choose the champion from each
school," James heard Whisp's voice mutter as he began to follow Calphyne
to the middle of the dance floor. He froze, the words seeming to echo. A flash,
a bright ray of both silver and gold flooded his vision and he saw for a brief
instant an old man with a very long beard in front of a Goblet. 'Dumbledore?'
he thought, confused.
-James?-
he heard a female voice. -Is that you?-
He
recognized the voice instantly. -Lily, do you see this?-
Another
flash and he now saw a huge dragon, Lily's thoughts trailing into his that said
a Hungarian Horntail. A boy on a broom was flying around it, trying to get
behind the huge dragon. For a brief instant the boy seemed to turn to look at
him directly and the first thought that went through him were those eyes. The
image then disappeared completely.
James's
whole frame buckled, his frame collapsing towards the floor. His breathing was
ragged, his head spinning at the suddenness of that... that image. He could
still feel Lily's presence within him and he grasped desperately towards that
link that was open. -Did you see?-
-That
boy... he looks so familiar...- he heard her tired reply.
"James!"
another voice screeched into his ear and the fragile link between them broke.
"Are you all right?" Calphyne's face finally came into focus and her
eyes were wide. He tried to stand up, but he fell again.
"Lily?" he whispered, turning around and seeing as Arabella and Peter were both trying to get her back on the chair. Remus was running towards Dumbledore and Sirius was rushing towards his side. "Lily," he whispered again as shots of ice began crawling through his body. Dumbledore was beside him now, as well as Sirius, and their mouths were moving as if they were screaming something. But, he couldn't hear, their lips moving but no sound coming forth and soon they began to fade, the room collapsing with each breath he took till there was nothing more but darkness.
It was dark for a long time. James was uncertain whether his eyes were open or close and he laid on the floor for a long time wondering. "James," he heard a faint whisper. He was about to sit up, but a shot of pain went through him. He paused, grimacing and waiting for the pain to pass. "James…"
A glow in the distance and then he saw a silver light moving forward. "James…?" The voice seemed scared and his golden light glowed in response. Soon, Lily stood in front of him offering her hand. He took it and the pain disappeared instantly. Standing up, she didn't let go of his hand, but instead asked, "Do you know where we are?"
"I don't know," he said. "I knew something was going to happen… I should have told Dumbl-"
"Shh!" Lily said sharply and he fell into silence. Her head was tilted and she seemed to be waiting to hear for something. "Do you hear that?"
"I-" But he paused as he did hear it. There were voices, three to be exact, arguing with each other. One was obviously a girl and the two others were boys. Then, to both of their surprise, a sort of mirage appeared in front of them that showed the Portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Hey, isn't that Gryffindors?" Lily asked in surprise. James couldn't answer as the portrait swung open and three persons stepped forward. The one that shocked him the most was the boy. Lily seemed to have noticed him too as the grip on his hand just tightened. The other two was a girl and a boy. All of them were in bathrobes and the girl looked mad.
"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall," he now returned the grip, "for knowing about Switching Spells."
The tall, red headed boy frowned in annoyance. "Hermione, go away."
"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so-" She turned and saw that the portrait was no longer there. "Now what am I going to do?"
"That's your problem," said the red head. "We've got to go, we're going to be late." The two boys turned and began walking away till the girl, Hermione, stopped them. "I'm coming with you."
"You are not."
"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me, Ron? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."
"You've got some nerve-" said Ron loudly.
"Shut up, both of you!" The boy James and Lily had both seen before said. "I heard something."
Lily and James froze, wondering why their lights had to be so bright. James, clearing his throat, began walking forward. "Uhh… excuse me, but we don't know where we are? Well… this is obviously Hogwarts, but there was this-" he was cut short as he realized that their eyes went right past him as if he wasn't even there. "What?"
"James…" he heard Lily say and when he turned around, Lily was looking towards his feet. He glanced down and saw as his feet went straight threw a boy that was curled up on the floor. His heart jumped and he stumbled away.
The boy soon uncurled and looked towards the three persons who were already there. "Thank goodness you found me!" James stared at the people stunned, not knowing if it was just him who was beginning to feel insane. "I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."
"Keep your voice down, Neville," Hermione said. "The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."
"How's your arm?" the boy with the dark hair and green eyes asked.
"It's fine, Harry."
'Harry…' James thought before that mirage disappeared and the darkness once more replaced it. '… Harry …' he thought again. He was about to turn around to face Lily, but once more images began to overwhelm him. He gave out a cry as his knees buckled and he was forced onto all fours.
Flashes of Sirius, but much older, looking so sad and disgruntled alone somewhere with a dragon. A younger version of that boy, Harry, stuck in some cupboard, while a chubby kid was playing outside with toys. Another flash and he saw that same boy, but older, now in a bed and a scar on his forehead both glowing and giving him pain.
James cried out as his mind and body felt as if it was being stretched out thin. More images, now of a Yule Ball just like what he had attended, but there was Harry, Hermione, and Ron sitting on a table. Another flash and this time he saw Harry, battling this man that looked more like a snake then anything else. A man that made chills run through him and a name went flashing through him so quick and fast that he almost missed it.
'Voldemort,' he thought again and again, trying not to forget. Now pictures of that same man standing in front of a crowd that looked like his followers, preaching to them, ordering them to kill both muggles and wizards. That same man standing in front of some house that for some odd reason sent chills worse then before to run through him. That man, entering a house, a woman with a baby and a man with a wand in his view. James screamed, the pain intensifying with each new scene. The man had fallen, the woman now somewhere in the back of the house with a baby clutched in her arms. The woman, a red head, covering a tiny child and crying… crying…
Madam
Pomfrey stood over the two students in obvious dismay. She glanced to
Dumbledore, back to the two students and then back to Dumbledore again. "What's
wrong with them?" Sirius asked, staring at his two pale friends.
Dumbledore
just shook his head, unsure. Before he could get a word out to try to comfort
everyone, a moan was heard and then Lily began to move, her small body curling
up as if she was in pain. Madam Pomfrey rushed to her side, chocolate in her
hand. Peter and Remus were shoving the other students away so the two could
have air.
"Lily?"
Madam Pomfrey whispered and then Lily's teary eyes flickered open. "Oh dear,
eat some of this."
But Lily
wouldn't eat, her body still curled up and her eyes still wet with tears. "It
will make you feel better, Lily," Madam Pomfrey said, but that just made Lily
tremble more.
Dumbledore
stared towards her, but his eyes soon came back towards James who was still
out. But then, he too began to move, but not because he was waking up. His
whole body jerked, his hands first slightly trembling, but then they began to
shake violently. He was shimmering gold.
"James!"
Dumbledore yelled, something within him saying that he had to wake the boy up fast.
"James! Get up, now!" But James just continued to shake, his eyes not moving.
He heard Lily's whimper next to him and then he knew. He knew. They were both
connected, somehow, their magics bonded together. The pain he was feeling was
going to her and she began sobbing, curling up even tighter.
"Lily,"
Dumbledore said softly, trying to get her attention. She looked up, her cheeks
wet and her own shoulders shaking. "Get him to wake up… make him wake up." But
Lily shook her head, her sobs increasing. "You have to Lily. Whatever is
happening to him, his body can't take it. His mind can't take it. Lily, you
have to get him up, now, before anything drastic happens. Lily, please,
for James. Wake him up."
Whether
consciously, or unconsciously, her body began glowing silver and with a small
moan from her, it swirled with the golden light. Madam Pomfrey was already with
the students who lined the walls, unsure whether the light that was engulfing
the two was hazardous or safe. But whether it was or not, it just blazed higher
till the entire Great Hall glowed with it.
Dumbledore
wasn't sure what happened next. All he knew was that the next time he opened
his eyes from the glare the lights were gone and the candles were extinguished.
Not even the star's light above was visible. Muttering "Lumos" and leaning
forward, he saw James and Lily, both of them unconscious on the floor, but
their chests were moving up and down.
Dumbledore wiped his
spectacles and dabbed a conjured handkerchief to his forehead. "I do believe,"
he began as he beckoned for Madam Pomfrey to bring James and Lily to the
hospital wing, "that it's well past bedtime. Prefects, Head Girls and Boys and
House leaders, please lead the way for the others…"
To be continued…
Wow, I
actually feel a point for this story now ^-^ This part did take a while to come
about, I can't promise anything for the next part even though I know what I
want to do. Thanks to everyone for their reviews! You guys are the best J
Review again and you'll be the bestest (like that's even a word ^-^v)
