AYAM3
TITLE: Another You, Another Me
SUMMARY: A L/J-centered MWPP fic. Tangled lovelives, life
in the fear of the Dark Lord... Featuring Lily 'femme fatale', a
shy Rita Skeeter, and a serious Sirius Black.
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Although sadly, I must disclaim them
all. Even Sirius. *sighs sadly, then goes out of the room,
dragging her feet*.
PAIRING(s): L/J, S/L, R/I. (some OC's)
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I
really hope it was worth the wait, and that someone will still
read it. *bats eyelashes* Drat. Well, I re-wrote this chapter
*gasp* 4 times, and wasn't satisfied with it. Anyhow, here it is,
now. Hope you'll have a nice time!
Oh, and I wanted to say thanks
and a big sorry to my 2 wonderful beta-readers, DARK (Dr.
Adrienne Rose Kline, formerly known as Lorelai *winkwink*) and
Starrysign. You are da best!!!
The heavy raindrops hit his face, bluring the view of the
landscape. The black, somewhat majestic castle was visible,
despite these conditions. The moon swam in and out of the bog,
once covered, then uncovered by clouds, while the real moon
casted long, eerie shadows on the road.
He could hear the distant roar
of thunder as he dismounted his broomstick. A narrow path led up
to the enormous, wooden door that was guarded by a vampire. The
vile creature didn't move a muscle in the harsh
"Password?" hissed the
pale creature, in an icy and unpleasant sort of voice, the kind
of voice that sent shivers up and down his spine. The vampire
eyed him with hungry interest; it looked like he hadn't had
anything to eat in quite a long time. The poor boy shrugged, and
thought something about karma.
"Serpentium", he
answered, trying to hide his neck. The vampire, clearly
disappointed, opened the door that screeched loudly on the rusty
hingesand let him in. Relieved, the boy marched up the dusty
stairs, stomping his feet , looking at the familiar naked stone
walls. They were cold and hostile, as nearly everything else in
this castle was.
He finally reached the iron door
at the end of an empty corridor, took a deep breath, and knocked.
"Enter" said a shrill
voice.
He pushed the door open, and
stepped into a dimly lit room; its walls were lined with books
and various grimoires, most of them having to do with the Dark
Arts. In the center of the room stood a tall man with a scaly,
gray, hairless head, wearing robes so black, that they seemed to
absorb all surrounding color. The man was facing the fireplace,
in which resided a small ball of blueish light.
"You're late" he said,
slowly turning around. The boy flinched slightly, still not used
to the sight of a nose-less and red-eyed face. "You're in
luck boy", said the man, lazily twisting his wand in his
spider-like fingers "I have just received a highly
encourging report from one of our most faithfull agents,
therefore your lack of ponctuality won't cost you anything. This
time." he added, a small smile playing on the part of his
face where should have been a pair of lips.
"I am extremely grateful,
Master, you are the most mercifull..."
"That will do" the man
interrupted. "You do know why I summoned you?" he
asked.
"Y-yes, Master."
answered the boy, uneasily shifting his weight from one leg to
another.
"So? What do things look
like, back at school?" inquired the man. "I have heard
that you're not making any improvments. You disappoint me,
boy"
"W-we have tried
everything, Master," the boy said, a note of panic clear in
his voice "from love potions, to mind-controlling spells.
Nothing seems to work! Master." he added, in an
afterthought.
"If I would doubt my
Divining skills, you would have already been dead. Lucky for you,
I saw that you'll be the Potter boy's downfall. I am confident
that you'll find a way, if not on your own, then with some
help." the tip of his wand glinted dangerously in the
fire-light. "Just, from time to time, think of using your
brain, if you happen to have one"
"I will, Master..."
"Dismissed"
The boy sighed, bowed and kissed
the hem of the man's robes. He went out of the room, carefully
closing the door behind him.
"So," the man said,
turning yet again to the direction of the fireplace "is
there anything you'd want to add to what Wormtail said?"
A pale boy slid gracefully out
of the shadows surrounding the fireplace. He had silver-blond
hair and steel-gray eyes, with an almost unnoticable hint of
blue. A nasty dark-green tattoo representing a skull with a snake
protruding from its mouth marked the otherwise fair skin of his
left forearm. He nodded.
"Yes, Master. All of our
plans have failed because of some blunder of Wormtail's; I could
have handled them on my own, but you insisted to have him
helping" he sounded somewhat resentful.
"Are you questioning me,
Lucius?" coldly replied the man "I know that crediting
Wormtail with a brain is tough, but I saw it, I saw that he'll be
the one to lead me to Potter. And that he'll have a very
important role in our community afterwards"
He waved his hand impatiently,
as if tossing aside something of a minor value. "For the
moment, we need to concentrate on our major task, that is
eliminate Potter and not let him produce an Heir. And," his
eyes glinted coldly in the dim light produced by the blue ball in
the fireplace "Wormtail will help you, in whatever you plan
to do about it. Me and the older and more experienced Death
Eaters already have our plan, but for it to function, you have to
do your part until graduation"
"Yes, Master" answered
the boy, bowing slightly.
"You can go now" said
the Dark Lord, half-amused, half-pensive. He watched the boy
going away, wondering.
"I don't understand the
pain" he muttered to himself as he turned his back to the
boy's retreating figure. "Green lightning?" he walked
down to the fire, picked up a big, dusty book and strted reading,
a pensive frown on his face.
***
Since morning, school had been
unbearably boring. Lily almost went nuts in Divination, in
Transfiguration she had to go out of the room because she began
to hallucinate, and she fidgeted throughout whole Potions lesson,
which was her last class that day. She thought that she would
sleep, faint, or even throw up if she'd make even the slightest
effort to learn anything.
In the moment the bell rang,
everyone seemed to come to life. They stuffed their books into
bags and dashed out of the Potion's dungeon, as if their lives
depended on the speed of their legs. Lily of course, was among
the first ones to get out of the dungeon. She was with her
friend, Rita Skeeter.
They wanted to go to Hogsmeade,
to pick up the photos Rita made on her birthday party. So the two
friends walked under the drizzling rain together, across the damp
lawn. It was rather dispiriting, the way the weather hanged over
them. Rita, too, was dispiriting. It looked as if nothing has
ever changed, but it had. There was elusive insincerity, a toxic
mist of incertitude that floated between them. It made it
impossible for the two girls to return to their previous
relations, based on trust and unconstraint.
They were just passing Hagrid's
hut, when they met Ivone Ackerly. She was 15 years old and was
Mrs. Ackerly's, their Arithmancy teacher's, daughter. She seemed
to have just returned from Hogsmeade, for she had a bag from
Zonko's in her hand. It probably contained something for her
boyfriend, Remus Lupin, who was known to be a great prankster.
Lily amicably waved at the
black-eyed girl. She liked Sarah, who visited her from time to
time, whenever she had a problem or simply wanted to chat. Now
she was glad about their meeting, because at least Sarah gave
them, Lily and Rita, a reason to start a conversation. Before
they saw her, they had walked in silence, which was had been
growing unbearable.
Now, conversing freely, they
exited the grounds and walked calmly through the alley that led
to Hogsmeade.
Though the sky was depressingly
grey, and it was a bit foggy, Lily enjoyed the walk. It has been
a long time since they talked to each other. Since Rita's
birthday party, to be more precise. Lily didn't like to think
about it, but it seemed that yet another friend of hers was
changing.
Finally, they entered the
building. There were big, shining photos on the wall, moving, as
every photograph did in the wizarding world. Wizarding photos
already had colour, on contrary to the Muggle ones. There were
already two people waiting for their prints.
"Oh, hi, it's you!"
said Rita happily. Just in front of her was a very handsome,
dark-haired boy. He had amazing, steel-grey eyes. "It's
William Abbot. He's a boy from the Huffelpuff house."
introduced Rita.
William smiled at them from
above his white bletcher. Lily smiled back, and immediately saw
in his eyes something she saw a bit too often these days: vivid
interest.
Of course, she was flattered,
but she had the impression that destiny was being truly wasteful.
After all, she didn't need anyone, absolutely anyone, especially
not a man, to be happy. But look, yet another wooer. He stared at
her face and smiled goofily.
"I'm hungry" angrily
announced Lily "I'm sorry that I won't wait for you for the
photos, Rita."
"Oh, then I'll walk you to
the castle" instantly offered William, even though it was
his turn to pick up the photos.
Just her luck. What an absurd
situation. Rita turned an odd shade of crimson and turned her
face away from her friends.
"We'll all go" decided
Lily, angry like a wasp "Oh, look, it's your turn"
The tension vanished as suddenly
as it has appeared. Both of them (William and Rita) picked up
their photos, so they could show them to each other.
William's photos showed himself
in silver-grey dress-robes, dancing with Poppy Pomfry, a pretty
Huffelpuff girl. Rita mainly photographed James: James chatting
with his fellow Marauders, James eating, James glaring at Snape,
James casting furtive glances at Lily's legs.
"I think it's time to
go." said the green-eyed girl.
She returned Rita's photos
without another word, though her mind exploded with hundreds of
questions: did Rita have a crush on James? And why, why did she
have this nasty burning feeling at the thought of James with an
other girl? This was getting really...strange.
They all walked out of the
building: a disgruntled Lily, a sullen Rita and a smiling,
vivacious looking William. They strolled along the alley leading
from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, occasionally stopping to look at
something in the shop-windows.
"Aren't we pretty?"
laughed William, drawing Lily closer towards him, staring into a
particularly bright window.
Well yes, they were pretty, in
this rectangular piece of glass - like in a window to another
world, where in a ghostly light everything went inside out. Rita
stood beside, staring dismally at the picture; her little, bony
face with a small nose expressed great sadness.
"I gotta go" Lily
roused from her place and started to walk towards the castle. She
couldn't stand looking at the picture for any longer.
Naturally, when they reached the
castle and Lily said that she must go to her common room because
she was extremely hungry, William offered her company. He didn't
say a word to Rita, even though his common room was almost
exactly at the same place as hers.
'Oh, no you don't' thought Lily,
and said that she changed her mind.
"I think I'll go with you,
Rita, I desperately need the book you borrowed three years
ago..."
"But you're hungry,
remember?" snapped Rita and went away, leaving Lily and
William next to the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the four
great founders of Hogwarts.
William, silly-ass didn't notice
a bit of the tension that passed between the girls. When Lily set
forth on her way to the Gryffindor common room, he hastened after
her. He chattered all the way about something, seductive and
vivacious, and she walked along with him, remembering all her
school years with Rita.
It all seemed to happen in
another life: their walks, talks, whispered confidences and
adventures. And every single memory enclosed, like a precious
treasure, a proof of Rita's loyalty, Rita's helpfulness, Rita's
kindness, and Rita's friendship. And they all transformed
themselves into horrible pangs of conscience. Even though Lily's
fault was none. None at all!
'Oh, hex it!' she thought 'Curse
hormones! Why does everyone have to grow up? I don't feel like
doing it, really! I want to remain a little girl, forever. And I
want Rita to stay a little girl as well, that way nothing like
this would separate us, no such adult nonsense and ugly secrets!
Why does everyone expect me to be mature, responsible and stable,
if I didn't agree to grow up!?'
They reached the portrait of the
Fat Lady, who, seeing Lily's face, didn't even ask her for the
password, but swung open. Lily turned around, and William
received a look so full of revolt, despair and anger, that he
choked, not understanding a thing.
He stayed motionless, in
mid-gesture and mid-sentence, while Lily slid through the
portrait hole. The only positive thought she had in this moment
was the one about dinner. She had a feeling that there would be
something good to eat.
***
Rita Skeeter was a clever girl. She was talented, intellingent,
shy, and taciturn. The two last features didn't let her use the
first two ones properly, but it didn't change the fact that she
was generally known as one of the most intellingent witches in
her year.
Behind her pair of round glasses
were blue eyes the shade of forget-me-nots, under those, a
straight nose and a firmly set jaw. All of this was placed on a
pale face, framed by thin dirty blond hair that reached her
shoulders. She was quite skinny, had extremely long arms and
legs, and, obviously, the black of the Hogwarts' school robes
didn't really add anything flattering to them.
In the moment, the whole latter
was dashing towards the Slytherin common room, stomping its feet
and remaining oblivious to the fact that it was being watched by
a pair of silver eyes.
She didn't really know where she
was going to, the poisonous mixture of pain, disappointment and
anger sinking deep into her, soaking her limbs, her fingers, her
head, making her blind with an emotion close to hatred...It was
unbearable.
The fact that Lily tried to make
her feel better made it all even worse, for it was a proof that
her own embarassment and jealousy had been clearly readable. Lily
probably thought she was some poor unnatractive overgrown kid
(which, although sadly, she had to admit was true) whom she has
to take care of, as if she was some fragile porcelain doll. Lily
was probbably enjoying herself pretty much, playing the good
Samaritan.
She kicked the stone wall out of
sheer frustration, and realised that she was in a part of the
castle that she didn't recognise. This made her heart sink
further; it seemed to beat down at the level of her toes by now.
She was breathing slightly
faster then usual, and her ragged gasps for breath slowly
transformed into slightly choked sobs. She slid down to the
floor, her back against the wall, knees drawn to her chest, head
in her hands and tried to cry out all the dark, destuctive
emotions. Deep inside she knew that it ws none of Lily's fault.
She cried and cried, unaware of the time that passed and of the
presence of someone else next to her.
It wasn't until he person
lightly touched her shoulder that she knew she wasn't alone.
"W-what?" she
exclaimed in mid-sob. "What are you doing?" she turned
around and saw the face of the person that has interrupted her.
"Josh?!"
Next to her sat a tall and
handsome boy with dark, back eyes, peering at her with a strange
mixture of anxiety and curiousity.
"Why were you crying?"
quietly asked the dark-haired boy. "Not that you must
answer." he hastily added seing the look of pain breifly
flickr in her eyes.
"Why would you care about
that?" sharply answered Rita "I wasn't crying...a, a
speck of dust fell in my eye, and it kind of hurts."
"I didn't know that specks
of dust could provoke such a heart-wrenching reaction."
dryly commented the boy "This is a fascinating piece of
information, Rita."
Rita shrugged off his hand,
stood up and dusted off her robes. She picked up her bag and was
about to go away with all the dignity she could muster, as though
Josh Lestrange hadn't just caught her sobbing on the floor, when
it occured to her that she didn't have the faintest idea where
she was supposed to go.
"So..." said Josh,
lazily standing up. "Lost, are we? Or are you just waiting
for me?"
"Oh, just stop!" said
Rita, completely forgetting about her natural shyness as she lost
her temper "If you aren't planning to tell me the way out of
here, you can as well shut up!" She angrily marched away
from the boy.
He stepped closer to her,
closing his hand on her shoulder. "The common room is the
other way, Rita" he said, turning her around.
She looked mildly surprised,
probably at the gentleness of his voice, but walked along with
him. He wore a warm smile that illuminated his features, making
him look quite different from the normal Josh Lestrange.
***
Heehee!!! That was long, no? So,
if you made it this far, I think you can review. For the sole
plesure of reviewing, of course. ^_^
Smoochez
AMM. (aka Chiara Random Black)
