A visit to Hogwarts
By Ola
*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 9: So cold
They disappeared from the Griffindor's Common
Room…to find themselves standing in an empty plain, both blinking stupidly at each
other. It was daylight, and a warm breeze was running through the ankle deep
grass. Back at Hogwarts, it had been the middle of winter, while here, it
seemed to be late summer.
"A portkey," said James lamely.
"Deuh!" That was of course Lily. But as soon as she
understood, her temper rose, and she began to yell at James.
"What were you doing in the Common Room in the
middle of the night! What were you doing, touching my shoulder! And what were
you doing, spying on me, James Potter!!" she was seefing with rage, her face as
red as her hair. "How DARE you spy on me! I am NOT like one of your little
followers, running after you wherever you go!" After half an hour, when she
finally ran out of bad superlatives for poor James, he was speechless and hurt.
How could she have known that I wanted to tell her that I loved her? But I
definitely can't tell her now. Not when she's in one of her moods, or she WILL
slap me. Hard. James shivered, as much because of that thought as because
it was getting quite cold. Heavy gray clouds had been blown over the sky by the
gusty wind, and the temperature had plummeted. Goose bumps began to appear on
the unclothed parts of his body, which is to say, almost everywhere. The cold
finally cooled down Lily's anger, and she began to think about a way to get
back to Hogwarts.
"All right. We have to get out of here. Do you have
your wand?" At his headshake, she grimaced. "No, where could I have put it,
down my pants?" he answered.
She glared at him, but continued. "I don't either. I
wasn't suspecting that thing to be a portkey. And by the way, where IS the damn
thing?" Picking up the silver snake, she stared, as the first heavy snowflake
danced in front of her eyes.
"Pretty expensive for a portkey," said James, once
again jealous. And he couldn't help asking whom it was from. But Lily only
snapped at him. "None of your business!"
Around them, the snow was quickly accumulating on
the ground, a white blanket recovering the huge expense of now dead grass. Lily
looked around her and in a small voice said, "Maybe it was a joke from the
Slyverins. You know, snake, Slyverins…? James. James?" James too had been
looking at the falling snow. But he knew something that Lily didn't. Something
that made his eyes really big and dark. The dream! This is exactly like in
my dream! And if I don't do anything, Lily will… He couldn't finish his
thoughts, and as if from very far away, he could hear Lily's voice, calling his
name. Very slowly, he turned his head, looking into her green eyes. He seemed
to be moving through a thick fog. Lily, exasperated, and becoming worried for
James shook him by the shoulders, and as her fingers touched his bare skin,
both of them gasped.
"James! You're freezing!"
"N…n…no kid..d..ding!" his teeth were shattering,
and he could still feel Lily's hands on his shoulders. They had been as hot as
branding irons. Well, maybe the dream had been wrong. Maybe Lily will
survive, and I will die. It…it wouldn't be that bad. I'm so cold… But
through his murky thoughts, he could still see Lily, who was now too shivering
uncontrollably in her thin shirt. I can't…let… her die, thought James
between two clicks of his teeth.
In an unvoiced agreement, they cleared away the snow
from a patch of yellow grass, making a crude barrier against the restless wind,
and they sat down, huddling each other. By now, their hands were blue, and they
couldn't feel their feet.
"I'm s…s…so c…c…cold," whispered Lily.
James only held her closer, and a tear came rolling
down his cheek. All around them, the snow was gently covering the world, and
the wind sang its mournful song. No other sound could be heard. Silence was
heavier then the snow. James's mind was slowly drifting in and out of
consciousness, barely keeping an already slipping grip on life. I have to
tell her, he managed to think through the numbness of his mind.
"Lily," he whispered in her ear "remember the dream
I told you about?" she barely nodded. "I lied because I was angry at you. It…it
had been exactly like this, but in the end you…you closed your eyes, and…didn't
open them. Forever. You d…d…" he couldn't finish, as another tear followed the
first. "Do you believe me?"
She didn't say anything for a long time, and James
was beginning to think that she didn't. But she finally nodded and whispered,
"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm really grateful that you're here with me."
And with that, she closed her eyes. "I'm so cold," she repeated. Think of
summer, think of hot, humid days. Think of running in a meadow full of
butterflies, thought Lily miserably. Don't…don't think about the cold.
But how could she not think about it? She couldn't feel her body anymore. And
James, as much as he was trying, couldn't warm her enough. They couldn't
survive this much longer. James's body was turning blue, and he knew that if he
died, so would Lily. Oh, Lily, Lily, he moaned. Please God, don't let
her die. Take me instead. Please, Lily… I love you… But then, a faint idea
passed through his head. He was desperate, but it might just work. He
concentrated as hard as he could on his internal heat and on Lily. Please,
let this work. If only she could have my heat added to hers, she will survive.
I won't need it anyway, if she doesn't. He chocked on his tears as he
thought about a future without Lily. No! This has to work! And with a
last thought, a glowing blue light enveloped him and Lily. He felt warmth
passing from his already cool body into Lily, tingling his fingers as it
finally disappeared into hers. And with a smile, he opened his eyes to look
into her huge, surprised ones. Knowing it was probably the last time he ever
saw her, he told her what he didn't have the courage to tell her for so long.
"I love you," he whispered, as consciousness left
his cold body.
"James, it's getting warmer," said Lily, as she felt
heat pour into her chilled bones. "James. James?" she gasped as she touched his
shoulders. They were as cold as stone. And then, she remembered his last
whisper and it all made sense. "No! James! Listen, you can't do that. Do you
hear me? You can't leave me here alone! James!" she was screaming at him,
shaking his shoulders, but he didn't respond, only lay limply in her arms. Weak
with fright and hoarse from shouting, she cradled him in her arms to try to
warm him as best she could.
Time past, but in this bleak emptiness, she could
not have said if it had been hours or minutes since they first came here. The
snow was still falling relentlessly, burying everything under its cold blanket.
Lily was rocking back and forth in grief, holding the unconscious James, and
thinking about what she should have told him. "I'm sorry James, I'm so
sorry…i…I love you," and she really did. How could I have been so blind?, she
sobbed. I had to lose you before I noticed what my heart knew all along. And
now it's too late. The snow, the silence, and the desperation finally
caught up with Lily and brought her into a kind of trance, half asleep, half
awake. She didn't know what was going on around her, and she didn't care. All
she wanted was to get out of this miserable place with James, alive.
*~*~*~*~*
Back in the castle of Hogwarts, somewhere on the
third floor, two old wizards were having a conversation. And although they were
as different as any two person can be, physically and psychologically, they
were great friends.
"Ha ha! Dumbledore, old pal, I couldn't have thought
it of you. Stuck in a mirror for all those years! Really, this is too much! And
I had been wondering were you had gone to!" And the old wizard continued
laughing. Sitting in a comfortable red armchair with gold fringes, Dumbledore
was smilling to his long time friend. They had known each other since their
first year at Hogwarts. And even after "all those years" as headmaster Dipett
put it so well, they still liked each other's company.
"But, let us be serious for a moment Albus. I have a
proposition to make," said Dipett, his voice grave.
"And I too have something to ask you. Something that
I have heard from a few students and that pains my heart. Is it true that Hogwarts
does not have a Magic Ethic Class, nor a Physical Self Defense Class?"
Dipett heaved a great sigh. "Unfortunately, that is
true, and that is why I have that proposition to make. Dear friend, I want you
to become the new headmaster."
Dumbledore only looked at him with wide eyes, as if
struck in the back of the head with a board. Dipett, mistaking his friend's
expression for uncertainty added "please? You know very well that you would
make an excellent headmaster, and unlike I, you are well suited for the task."
Fortunately, or maybe not so fortunately, Dumbledore
was spared the answer, as both wizards felt a huge amount of raw magic being
used somewhere out of Hogwarts's grounds. Leaping from his chair as if it was
on fire, Dumbledore shouted, "Where did that come from? Dipett, come with me,
this is important." Waving his wand in the air until red, brightly glowing
sigils appeared, Dumbledore's face was very serious as he said, "whoever
produced that amount of power is in the Forsaken Land." After a few more sigils
appeared, floating in space, he gasped. "Goodness gracious! Lily and James!"
And with that exclamation, he made a magical gateway and pulled Dipett in after
him.
The cold slapped them in the face as soon as they
stepped through. Huddling in their cloaks, they slowly made their way to where
the residue of the magic spell was emanating from. Dumbledore was anticipating
the worse, knowing that someone had to have been desperate to try such a spell.
No one in his right mind would even attempt it if not in danger of death
because of the consequences of its failure, which was worse than death.
Dumbledore shivered, as much from the cold as from that thought. Magic so
powerful could destroy your mind, leaving you as an empty shell, or even worse,
burn out your ability to touch the magic flows and thus efficiently stopping
you from doing magic ever again. As for Dipett, he was following Dumbledore,
not being much of a leader. Why he had been appointed as Headmaster in the
first place was a wonder.
Finally, in the midst of the still falling snow, the
pair saw a form, half covered by snow, crouched in the white cold.
"Lily! James!" they began calling, hopping for the
best, yet fearing the worse. As they came closer, that form dissolved into a
shivering red- headed girl, cradling an unconscious boy with windblown, jet
black hair.
*~*~*~*~*
Lily was softly singing a sad tune, too tired to
cry, wondering if all this whiteness was what Heaven was like. She then saw two
angels walking toward her. No, those aren't angels. They don't have wings.
She thought flatly, not even caring whether they were here to help or to harm
her. She had spent far too much time in this bleakness, and after a time, even
James's magically transferred heat began to fade, to leave her shivering, cold
to the bone. She had stopped hopping. She was beyond hope, for herself and for
James. Thinking about James, she started sobbing, her tears freezing on her
cheeks. Was he even still alive? No! James! Don't go away! She yelled in
her thoughts, then whispered his name like a litany, "James, James…James…
…James…" The two people drew closer, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she
recognized Dumbledore's white hair and beard, and Headmaster Dipett.
"Lily, James, everything will be all right now,"
said Dumbledore, but his eyes, stealing a glance at James, said over wise. Lily
let herself be magicked back into Hogwarts, but never let go of James's hand.
Finally, she sank into a deep, dreamless sleep, under the influence of Mrs.
Pomfrey's medication.
*~*~*~*~*
A/N: sorry it took so long. The finals are
approaching, and that means only one thing: lots of studying (as if I didn't
have enough of that already). Anyway, thanks for everyone who reviewed. Lily
girl, you are right, it's not fair to punish those who DID review. So here was
the next chapter. Oh, by the way, I already finished the whole story! I just
have to type it. The "just" make take some time. Ha Ha, I know the ending and
you don't. sorry. J I just had to write that.
The thing is, I write my stories in my notebook, in math class, but I can only
type them at home, and usually, I don't have the time to do that. All right, I will
stop telling you about my life, which, if you really knew the whole of it, is
really weird. Anyway, I began another Lily/James story, but it's very
depressing.
For those who read "May your life be eventful", well
sorry, but it wasn't meant to be a series, so unless I have lots of free time,
it will stay that way for a while.
Finished my A/N. Aren't you happy? J
Please review.