Hello everyone, it's me again J
Sorry it took so long, but tennis season just started and I have practice every day after school.
Actually , I've already written the next few chapters, I just have to type 'em, and you know how long THAT takes!
Anyway, thanks for everyone who reviewed.
Delores: yes that will happen in a little while! J
Arianna: yea, strawberries are one of my favorite fruits.
And now, enjoy the story, and review! J
Oh, and by the way, I was thinking of changing the title of this story to "the heart of magic"
What do you think? Will it make too much problem?
Ok now I really am going to stop and let you read!
*~*~*~*~*
A visit to Hogwarts
By Ola
*~*~*~*~*
The floor seemed unforgivably
hard, and rushing toward her very quickly. Too quickly. Quick. Shit, …!
Alex caught a handhold on the
foot of a carved griffin, hanging precariously above empty space. This is
not good. This is NOT GOOD! It was all she could do not to scream for help
and alert everyone. Panting and sweaty palmed, she was terrified. Gone was the
calm and cool. She could hear her heart thumping wildly, and blood rushing to
her temples. God, it's even loud enough for you to hear it!
Suddenly, window opened below her hanging feet. Doom
or salvation. A friend coming to help, or Snape and his cronies coming to gloat
on her predicament. God, please, let it be help! Please! I will be a good
girl for the rest of my life, if only I come out of this alive… And I will
never walk on windowsills again! Please…!
She felt her grip slipping. Our father who art in
Heaven… She began praying fervently. And she screamed when she felt someone
tugging at her right foot. "James? Lil?" Looking down, she saw two heads, one
black, one red, trying to bring her into their room. Suddenly, she let go…and
crashed right into James and Lily, everyone landing on the floor in a broken
pile.
"Dear God, thank you. Thank you! But that thing I
said?… it, eh… was made under duress, so it doesn't really count… does it?"
said Alex breathlessly, looking at the ceiling.
*~*~*~*~*
She must be crazy. Yes, that's it. She had a
concussion while falling, thought James. Then, as his emotions calmed down, he began to feel
every little bruise, … and it hurt. And on top of that, well, on top oh HIM,
were two red heads with eyes shiny with fright. They look beautiful. Both of
them. Well, deuh! But they do. How come I never noticed how Lily's eyes had
golden specks in them?… and all those freckles… like stars on a winter sky…
"James, why are you frowning?" asked Lily, finally breaking this wonderful moment.
"Your, your eyes… they're different. You both look the
same except for your eye color. You have green ones, and Alex has gray ones,"
he whispered, surprised.
The girls looked at each other then smiled
knowingly.
What? Was I supposed to know that? Sight. Girls are way too
complicated to understand. EspECIALLY those two.
"Eh, guys… sorry to interrupt, but if you want to
get out of here, we should hurry up, because prof. Binn still thinks that there
is a Lily in the girls' bathroom. And if she doesn't come out, he will know
that she either escaped… or fell into the toilet," she added with a mischievous
smile.
"That's all right with me, but only if you two get
of off me first." Finally realizing that they were both lying on James in a
position that I won't talk about (A/N ain't I evil?! J), they scrambled up hurriedly, brushing dust
off their jeans.
*~*~*~*~*
Back in the common room, James and Lily were back to
arguing with each other.
It was too good to be true, but there DEFINITELY was
some improvement. I guess they either don't want to acknowledge it, or they
don't want anyone else to know about it. Well, anyone else but me. Thought Alex with a smirk.
"I have better friends than you do," said James in a
loud whisper. "Sirius and Remus will do anything I ask them to, and I have
known Sirius since I was born." He added with confidence.
"Well, how come they didn't try to get you out of
detention? If I remember correctly, a certain red head, MY friend, came to our
rescue," said Lily with a smirk.
"…I…eh… I didn't ASK MY friends to get me out. I
could have stayed there, or even better gotten out by myself," he said hotly.
"Oh?" said Lily, raising an eyebrow that spoke
volumes. "Then why didn't you! It would have been a lot more pleasant in there
without you poisoning the air!"
"Guys. GUYS! Shut up! Or do you want the whole
school to wake up to find you two out of detention early, and two Lily's?" said
Alex, exasperated by their childish behavior. They ARE fun, but sometimes,
they don't realize what time it is. Well, actually, even I don't know what time
it is now. Probably going toward midnight… she though, yawning.
*~*~*~*~*
"So, Jamsie…" said Sirius, in a voice that made
James shiver. "I heard that you and Lily had a little, eh… incident? Which
ended with her lying on top of you…?" he finished with a knowing smile playing
on his lips.
"Well, yes, it was an ACCIDENT," said James in
self-defense, knowing that it wouldn't do any good. When Sirius got something
into his perverted little head, there was no possibility of dislodging it. So
he told his friend everything, finishing by "why didn't YOU come, by the way?"
"Well, Moony and I thought that we should give you
and Lily some time together. And as I can see, it paid off. Didn't it?" grin
with lots of teeth. "And I think she…" James didn't let him finish, springing
on his friend, and tackling him. The two boys playfully rolled on the floor,
once James had the upper hand, then Sirius was straddling him. But neither was
hurting the other. At least not consciously. A quarter of an hour later, they
were lying on the Grinffindor's red carpet like flattened sausages, and panting
heavily. Sirius had a black eye, as James elbowed him, and James had a bruise
on his stomach, where Sirius had jumped on him. But both boys were perfectly happy,
although for different reasons. James for changing the subject, Sirius for
rolling on the floor, and both of them for having a friendly fight. Remus, who
had been calmly observing the whole event finally commented on his friends'
behavior, grinning: "I can't believe you guys thought over a GIRL! And not ANY
girl at that, but the all-famous Lily Evans! I didn't know you both were her
secret admirers…" he hadn't time to finish all his taunts as the "admirers",
somehow found some strength to chase a laughing Remus up the stairs.
*~*~*~*~*
"Are you SURE you have the dungbombs?" whispered James?
The marauders, Lily, and Alex were once again roaming the empty halls of Hogwarts in search of mischief. They had been planning this TP (terrific prank) for days, and everyone was excited. They were all crammed under the invisibility cloak, which had been magically enlarged. But they still managed to step on each other's toes and curse under their breath. When they finally arrived into the Great Hall without anyone noticing them, they were awed. Not that they had never seen it by night on one of their numerous expeditions. But as it was enchanted to look like outside, thin tendrils of ghostly fog drifted between empty chairs, brilliant stars shone from the midnight blue sky, and a sliver of moon reflected the powdery snow in silver white. Shivering, they went to work, each person having a specific thing to do. The boys stayed in the hall, but the girls, Lily being best at charms, climbed the stairs in search of the Slyverin tower.
*~*~*~*~*
Snickering at the sleepy Slyverin, who had no idea
what was about to befall them, the girls left the dark tower, happy with their
accomplishments.
"I wish I could stay to see their faces when they wake
up," said Lily with a sight.
"So would I, but I'm falling on my face," Alex
whispered back.
"Let's see how the guys are doing. They should be
finished by now."
Still quietly talking, they tiptoed down a narrow
hallway full of moving tapestries. Alex eyed them nervously and she gasped in
fright when someone grabbed her hand and pulled her into an empty classroom.
"What…"
"Shhhhh…" said Lily quietly. "Filtch."
Alex nodded understandement, hearing his approaching
footsteps.
"Alex, come on, he's gone. Let's go," said Lily
finally. "Alex. Alex?"
Her friend was standing still in front of a very
tall mirror. It was framed in a silver carving of leaves and swirls of wind.
The little leaves seemed to flutter in an invisible breeze. They seem real,
thought Lily, reaching toward an especially ornate one on the left side of the
carving. But she jerked her hand back as if burned and snapped her head back.
"James?" No one was standing there. Turning back to
the mirror, she noticed that James' reflection seemed older, and so did hers.
Raising her hand, she was mirrored by her strange reflection. What the…?
Both pairs of eyes looked down on her protectively, with a sad smile on their
young faces, and then faded away. "No, wait!" whispered Lily; taking a step toward
her now perfectly normal reflection. Finally taking a look at the entire room
she saw Alex, wide eyed and open mouthed, staring at the mirror. Focusing back
into reality, Alex glanced at Lily, both girls sharing an awed and excited
look.
"What did you see?" the gray-eyed Lily finally said.
"I… I saw myself, but I was older… and I saw… James.
It seemed as if both of our reflections were looking at me… knowing something I
didn't. What did YOU see?" She asked curiously.
"I saw an older version of myself too, as a doctor,
but… I… I had a wand, and you and the guys were there too…"
"Well, at least I know now that I am not going
crazy," she smiled. "But what does it mean? Does it show images out of our
lives, or… or the future? … But it can't be. I don't want to see Potter any
more than I have to." Liar, lire, pants on fire! Shut up! She told her
internal voice. All right. I like him as a possible friend. She
grudgingly admitted.
"Miss Evans and Miss Westwood," said an elderly voice.
The girls whirled around on their heals to stare at
the previously empty mirror. It was now occupied by the image of an old man
with a long, flowing, whit beard, half moon glasses reposing on a crooked nose,
and sharp blue eyes, twinkling with understanding and knowledge.
"I am happy to see that you finally discovered this
exceptional mirror," he continued talking to the gasping girls, swinging his
long-sleeved hand to encompass the frame he was standing in. "Do not be
surprised," he went on, "that I showed myself to two Griffindors, since I had
been one myself… a long time ago." A twinkle of … mischief?… passed through his
eyes, which noticed everything without seeming to.
"W… who are you?" said Lily in a shaky voice,
finally managing to bring moisture into her mouth.
"Oh, yes. I am sorry. Yes, you would not know me,
would you? I am Albus Dumbledore, and I have, eh 'disappeared' as far as anyone
is concerned." He said with a tired smile. "In the youth of my foolishness, I
tried a spell that I shouldn't have, and I, eh, ended up here, with no way of
getting out," silly grin, "you can now see why I was a Griffindor, eh? Well,
anyway, I need for you to help me. The world seems to be getting dark again. I
don't suppose you would know who Voldemort is?" At the shocked gasp from Lily,
he continued with sad eyes. "So he has taken power once again? Killing everyone
in his path?… Girls, you need to help me. If Voldemort comes to power, there is
no way to tell what he will do. Or I should say, there is no way to tell what
he WON'T do."
The girls glanced at each other, then nodded. They
would do anything to help Dumbledore, and to stop Voldemort. They had stayed
awake in History of Magic enough to know that Dumbledore was the only one who
could, and who ever did, defeat the Lord of the Dark. They also knew enough
people with family members murdered by him to know that he wouldn't stop at
ending the life of an innocent little baby to assure his future success. Alex
especially knew that.
"But I want you to keep this little visit a secret.
There are far too many people here who would switch over to Voldemort's side if
they ever put their filthy hands on such information. Now, there is nothing to
fear from him… yet. But I would ask you to please come here tomorrow or the night
afterwards."
"We will" said the girls, solemnly nodding.
"But how do you know our names?" said Alex, curious.
"Ah, … I am not one of the most powerful wizards who
ever lived just by name," he said with a secretive smile. "And I can recognize
one of my own spells too," he added, with a look at Alex, who took an
involuntary step back. "Don't be afraid. You know more than you should, and not
only about Hogwarts. You made the right choice, and as unfortunate as those
events will be, there is nothing you can do. And if anything, you could only
make it worse," he told Alex with extreme sadness in his blue eyes. "But let us
part on a more joyous note. Be careful girls, and don't let anyone know what…
and whom… you found. My life is in your hands." And with that, he faded away.
*~*~*~*~*