A visit to Hogwarts
By Ola
*~*~*~*~*
Lily stared at Dumbledore with her mouth hanging
open. Has he lost his marbles? Maybe he stayed in that mirror for too long.
It's impossible. Alex is sixteen. If she were magical, she would have been sent
a letter to attend Hogwarts on her eleventh birthday. But she didn't. So she
isn't magical. …Is she? She really wanted to be a witch, and it would be great
if she really were. She would be able to stay here, thought Lily, and then,
she remembered something. Oh my god! The mirror. She said she saw herself
with a wand! The mirror shows the future. So it IS true. She really is a witch!
She knelt down beside Alex, making sure she was all right, because Sirius was a
boy, and boys didn't know anything about girls. That was a fact. At that time,
Sirius was looking from Alex to Dumbledore, comprehension dawning on his face. Is
this real? Or am I dreaming? He pinched himself. Hard. Ouch! Definitely
not a dream. This is great! She will be able to stay here! Yea! Great! He was thinking along the same lines as Lily,
but for a different reason. As much as Lily wanted Alex to stay because she was
her best friend, Sirius wanted her to remain for that too, but also because…
Well, I'm not going to lie to myself. I love her. And I AM old enough to know
what love is. She might look like Lily, but deep down, she is really different.
I'll leave 'fire ball' for James, thought Sirius with a smile.
Meanwhile, Alex had regained consciousness to hear
Dumbledore's last words. And she was thinking…nothing at all, but emotions
rushed through her like a mountain spring. Fear, wild delight, indecision, bewilderment…
"Is…is it real?" she asked in a tiny voice, afraid
that if she spoke louder, she would wake from this wonderful dream.
"As real as can be," answered Dumbledore warmly. "And
I might as well explain to you what happened, as I see it," he said, sitting
down on the floor cross-legged. Lily quickly dropped on the floor too, and Alex
found a comfortable position in Sirius's arms.
"Most of the time, people are magical because their
parents were. They inherited that magic from their ancestors through the ages.
People who are called muggle-born but find themselves using magic also
inherited that magic from their ancestors. But it was so long ago that they do
not remember that they even had a magical person in their family. Bus as I said,
that happens most of the time. Rarely, very rarely, a person who is truly muggle-born
can become magical. That happens when a magical and non-magical persons work
together on a powerful spell. And both have to be willing to do it. That is why
it I so rare. Wizards usually do not work with muggles, and muggles are usually
afraid of them anyway. But if something like that happens, the simplest way to
explain it is that the non-magical person is blasted open with the force of the
spell. Depending on the force of the spell and of the wizard, the newly magical
person will either have very weak powers, very strong ones, or she will die
from the impact, which happens most frequently." He stopped to let the
information sink in. "This…method…has advantages as well as disadvantages," he
continued seriously. "The new wizard/witch will be able to perform magic
without having to use a wand, as it will come from inside her. It will be more
instinctive. However, he or she will be very weak for a ling time, and that too
will depend on the power that was blasted through them. The more power, the
weaker the person, for a longer period of time. And I fear that you, my dear"
he turned toward Alex "received a great amount of that power because Lily,
here, is a very powerful witch indeed. But since I am already telling you this,
I should as well tell you that using such powerful spells is dangerous for a
different reason too. Such spells can be 'seen' from far away. And the stronger
the spell, the easier to 'see'. Voldemort will surely be looking for such
powerful spells. I am sorry to put you into danger, but I had no idea that such
a thing as just happened COULD happen. The fault is mine. Something should be
done about it. But for now, I would ask you to please not go anywhere alone.
Always have a friend with you. As for what to do with you, Miss Westwood, I would
advise you to sleep and rest for as long as you need, and then finish your
studies at Hogwarts. Although your power is instinctive, you cannot always
depend on instinct. And even more important are the ethics of magic. No wizard
should leave his school without graduating from this class."
"Eh, mister…" interrupted Sirius.
"Albus Dumbledore," Dumbledore finished for him.
Sirius's eyes went big in recognition, but he
continued. "Mr. Dumbledore, we, eh…don't have any ethic class in Hogwarts."
"What do you mean? You do not learn the ethics of
how and when to use magic?" At the headshakes from Lily and Sirius, he
continued. "Then I suppose that you at least learn physical defense, and not
only magic!" More head shakes. "Heavens above! What has this school come to!
This is inadmissible! Tell me, who is the Headmaster of Hogwarts now?"
"Prof. Dipett," said Lily in a quiet voice, a little
afraid of the old man's outburst.
"Dipett? DIPETT!? Then no wonder this school is
falling apart!" said Dumbledore, outraged. Then he looked at the three teenagers
and said, in a much milder tone, "I am sorry kids. But do not worry. Prof.
Dipett is an old friend of mine, and I believe it is high time that I pay him a
little visit." And with that, he disappeared.
*~*~*~*~*
Silence took the professor's place, as the three "kids"
looked at each other, at a loss for words. Then, finally, Alex realized that
she was leaning against Sirius. She blushed and tried to get up, but she was
too weak to stand, and anyway, Sirius was firmly holding onto her. For a
moment, I thought I had lost you forever. You can't imagine how it made me
feel. And I don't want to remember how it felt. Ever. I won't let you go again.
Please, tell me you will stay, thought Sirius, looking at Alex with eyes
full of hope and anxiety.
"Alex," he whispered. She did not answer.
"Alex." She was lying limply in his arms. For a
second, Sirius became frantic, afraid that something had happened to her again.
But then, a happy smile spread through his face. She was only sleeping. At the
same time, Lily was watching her two friends with mixed emotions. She was very
happy for them, but also felt a pang of loneliness. I wish James was here. I
wish he would grin at me with his funny smile…But she did not let her mind
wander on this path for very long. She dared not. Not yet. And anyway, Sirius
suddenly got up, and carefully picked Alex up.
"I think we should bring her to the secret room. She
will be safer there." Lily only nodded, still trying to keep her mind of a
certain person, and they left.
*~*~*~*~*
Her eyes are beautiful, thought Sirius. And she
seems so innocent. Snort. Yea, right. As innocent as me. But it's what makes her the
way she is: just perfect. Sirius was sitting on the floor, with his head
propped up on the couch on witch Alex was sleeping. I don't know how I ever lived without her. Soft
laugh. I sound like a fool in love, like in one of those mushy ballads…but
hey… it's true! But the joy in his heart was quickly replaced by worry and
dread. What if she wants to go back home? She has friends and family over there.
I'm sure she will miss them. And what will she tell them? 'Mom, I'm a witch,
and I will leave you for a year to attend a wizarding school in England'? Ha!, I
don't think so. Sigh.
*~*~*~*~*
As for Lily, as soon as she made sure that Alex was
all right, she left to go back to her room. Tired as she was, she thought she
would fall sleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. But she soon found out
she couldn't. She was thinking about James, and couldn't get him out of her
mind. What do you want James? She thought as if he was right in front of
her. Why won't you leave my mind alone? Why do you have to be so cute? Why
do you have to have such beautiful sparkling brown eyes? All right, she
thought grudgingly, I love you. But you don't have to know. You will
probably just laugh right in my face. She sighed again, then decided to
take a walk downstairs. Fortunately, the stairs didn't creak. In the Common Room,
the fireplace cast dim, flickering shadows on the walls; living shapes, dancing
to an unheard tune. Lily sat down in a red armchair, curling her cold feet
under herself, and stared at the flames, trying to think of nothing. But a few
minutes later, she stifled a scream as she felt hands touch her shoulders.
"Potter!" she said angrily between her teeth, "what
are you doing here? You scared me, idiot." Sorry about the 'Potter", James,
but I can't let you know how I feel yet, she thought, not seeing the hurt
look on James's face.
"Relax Lily," he told her softly, and of all things,
began massaging her shoulders. What the…? Thought Lily, surprised,
tensing up. Maybe I should tell him… NO! She thought resolutely. It would only break this moment. Mmmm…this
feels so good. Where did he learn to do that? Lily finally relaxed under
James's warm hands, closing her eyes, a smile on her face. Slowly, she was
falling asleep under James's rhythmical strokings. Finally, he stopped,
whispered "good night," and quietly left Just before he reached the bottom
of the stairs, Lily opened her eyes, sad that he had left, and whispered "thank
you James," wondering if he had heard. Reluctantly, she went back to her dorm,
and fell asleep thinking about James, and wondering about the strange feeling
in the pit of her stomach.
*~*~*~*~*
James heard Lily coming downstairs. No, I felt
her coming downstairs, he thought, surprised at this new, strange feeling, making
his way downstairs. This seems to be becoming a routine, he thought wryly.
Lily was sitting in a big armchair, her hair reflecting the firelight, seeming
to have a life of its own. His breath caught in his throat. Without thinking,
he came up behind her and started massaging her shoulders. She seems to be
enjoying it, he thought wryly. Does she love me? Naw, she wouldn't have
said 'Potter'. Sigh. The worse thing that can happen is when love is
one-sided, bumping against hate. Am I becoming philosophical? He smiled. Oh,
Lily has fallen asleep, he thought, a weird feeling in his stomach. She
is so beautiful when she is not screaming at me. For a moment, he
considered giving her a kiss, but then thought better of it. I won't screw
up this moment, I've already done it too many times. So he left, saying "good
night," and thinking, I know I will have a good one, thinking of you. At
the bottom of the stairs, he heard Lily murmuring a thank you, and saying "James,"
instead of her usual "Potter", and his heart skipped a beat. Not knowing what
to answer back to her, he went up the stairs, beaming, a new hope blossoming in
his heart.
*~*~*~*~*
A hooded figure was sitting in a big, high-backed
chair. The chair was exactly in the middle of a small dark room. The shades
were closed and so were the windows, but despite the darkness, the room felt
dark, musty, old, and…evil. A small fire smoldered in the smoky chimney, but it
gave off no heat, and the light it produced was swallowed by the darkness,
which seemed to push the light out, strangling the life out of it. But it made
no difference to the hooded figure; it didn't notice its surroundings. It was
too preoccupied with the feelings that washed through him, like waves breaking
on dark cliffs.
"Argg," it said silently. "So dear Dumbledore is out
in the world again," sneer, "and he found himself a nice little witch to do the
spell for him." It laughed madly. "Well, we will take care of that. Won't we?"
Now, its voice was cooingly sweet, a rotting candy. It whipped out a long wand
and began moving it through the air, cackling like a madman.
*~*~*~*~*
James was lying on his bed, looking at the ceiling,
but not noticing anything, and only wearing his boxers. This time, they were as
green a Lily' eyes. Lily. Should I tell her now? But what f she says no ads
slaps me? For a moment, his cheek stung, and he raised his hand as if to
touch it, then let it fall on the soft mattress. Suddenly, making up his mind,
he leaped out of bed and made his way downstairs, if a little uncertainly.
*~*~*~*~*
Down in the Common room, Lily was sitting in a
crimson armchair, absorbed in the little black box in her hand. The warm fire
cast an orange glow on her features, and her hair seemed to be flickering
flames. Slowly, she opened the box, and gasped. Nestled in a deep green cushion
was the little silver figurine of a coiled snake. Each little scale was
visible, and its eyes shone green. Wow, though Lily. This is
beautiful! It seems alive. Looking at the present, lily did not notice
James standing behind her, jealousy making his face red and his eyes fairly glow.
Who sent that to her?! A friend, or someone who loves her? I can't tell her
that I love her now. She will just say 'pff, look what MY boyfriend gave me'. And
the more James thought about that 'boyfriend', the more he hated him. Lily was
still enraptured by the silver snake. Slowly, her hand came up to touch it, and
James chose that moment to wake her from her daydream, touching her shoulder as
her fingers lightly brushed the figurine…and they disappeared from the
Griffindor Common Room…
*~*~*~*~*
A/N: well, it's the end of this chapter. That's what
you get for not reviewing: cliffhangers.
Most of you probably know that the thing that count
how many people read my stories has been disabled indefinitely, so I have no
way of knowing if people actually read my stories. It would be a GREAT help if
you could drop by and tell me what you think: please review. I am getting tired
of asking for people to review my chapters but they seem either blind or they
don't know how to read.
Disclaimer: read the ones before. They're all the
same J
Oh, so what do you think? Should I change the title
to : "The heart of Magic"? (You could
at least review that., couldn't you? Please. And I am asking nicely, if you
haven't noticed!)