JKR owns the people and places, I own Karista, Julia, Amaia, Vanessa, some chick named Jolene, Callidus and the dream...*Wipes forehead*

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Chapter 25: The Afterlife Curse

The months had drowned into March, and for many people, it didn't mean much. There was a war on the horizon that had the potential to destroy the magical community as they knew it. Yet throughout all the chaos that surrounded the magical community, Hogwarts stayed as serene as ever…that is until Marauders woke up.


James still snored, even if Lily knocked him over the head with her slippers, doused him in ice water and set off a firecracker in his ear. It was simply no use. An atomic bomb could go off beside his head and the man would just roll over and snort, 'Lily'. She sighed. It was actually quite a pleasing site to watch James sleep; his messy hair cascading over the pillow and dousing out Lily's brilliant red locks. James unconsciously reached out for her and she willingly let him grab her into a bear hug and snuggle under his chin. She pulled the blankets over them both and was soon placed into her own deep sleep creating a cacophony of a pig and a cat underneath the sheets.

Soon the alarm went off and Lily moaned lightly into James' chest.

"Why now?" she cooed, wrapping her arm around James' waist. He shifted slightly before walloping the alarm with his clenched fist.

"Mornlilymdear," James moaned, raising his arms over his head and rolling onto his back, taking Lily with him.

"Morning," she whispered into his stomach. Amazing, she thought to herself. An alarm clock can wake up my husband, but not even me. She rolled off him before James kissed her lightly on the forehead and brushed some hair out of her face before rising from the bed and heading towards the shower. Lily reached over and grabbed a rather small, leather-bound book off the nightstand and setting it in her lap. The book flopped open revealing a picture of Lily and James' wedding day, as well as a picture of their first train ride to Hogwarts. How I hated him then, not even I know, she relished as she snapped the album shut. She could hear James' off key singing rising from the bathroom and giggled to herself before rolling out of bed and pulling on her dressing robe. She stepped into the thick steam which was once known as the bathroom and pulled out her toothbrush.

"Lillian, dearie…are we going to look for a house somewhere soon?" James sang as Lily loaded her toothbrush up with paste.

"Dumbledore says that until Voldemort is gone, we're staying here…Harry too."

"Tsk tsk tsk," James clucked as he resumed belting out some rock music Karista had been playing earlier. Lily chuckled to herself as she studied her face in the mirror. She looked considerably better than she had when Harry first found her and now she was starting to feel better, if it hadn't been for the weather that she had noticed stirring outside when she first got out of bed.

"Lily…did you look out the window this morning?" James asked as he whipped the towel off of its hanging place and proceeded to dry himself off. "The weather looks kind of…er…foreboding, doesn't it?"

Lily turned to look at James' head, which was poking out from the gap in the shower curtains, a puzzled expression on her face. James motioned his head towards the window that would normally give a peaceful view of the Hogwarts grounds. This time, however, the clouds and rain made it seem more like eight in the evening rather than eight in the morning. She furrowed her brow slightly, now studying the sky outside.

"You know what, for a marauder, you are pretty observant," she clucked as James jumped out of the shower with nothing but a towel on. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him.

"I know. That is a random characteristic that Moony, Padfoot and myself have."

Lily laughed for a few moments before finally calming herself down enough to realize what the weather meant.

"You think its strange that we are so focused on the weather outside?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled because of her mouth being buried in James' shoulder. "I mean, if anything, it brings back some…er…bad memories."

"Well, not all of them were bad. I mean, you, me and Harry cooped under a single roof for nearly a year had its…advantages," he chortled, raking a comb through his wet and for once, tamable hair. He still had his arm wrapped casually around her waist and seemed to be studying her in the mirror. "I must say that I think the rest of Hogwarts might be eagerly awaiting our presence, don't you?"

Lily stifled a giggle before throwing her dressing robes on the floor (A/N: You all have dirty minds if you were thinking Lily didn't have PJ's on…or did she? Grins wickedly) and starting the shower. With one last naughty glance at his wife, who was still trying to stifle her giggles, James stepped out of the bathroom and into their bedroom.

***

Karista wandered through the smoky mists, not aware of where she was or who else might have been there. She automatically knew it was a dream by the way her pajamas shown in the light from the full moon. After walking for a few minutes, Karista paused, a grouping of menacing features ahead of her. A high, cackling voice broke through the night air and sent tingles up her spine.

"Thought you could be me, Karista?" Voldemort cackled as he circled the spot where a large, pale and bloody lump lay. She was clutching a hand over a wound that was now bleeding freely through her robes. "Thought you could lay waste to me? Looks like you thought wrong."

Karista stared at the lump on the ground before realizing it was her.

"Too…b-bad it w-wasn't y-you that d-did it," Karista-in-dream spluttered as a small amount of blood trickled from her mouth. Karista could barely make out Voldemort's face, yet knew that he was once again flushed with anger at the Karista-in-dream's statement rested upon him. His wand raised and his breathing coming out raggedly from Karista's snide comment, Voldemort circled her once again.

"You think you and Harry can win against me, do you?" Voldemort spat as Karista-in-dream crumpled further into the ground. The real Karista looked up into the pale light floating from the castle and noticed the whole of the school watching the scene with bated breath, Harry out front and clutching his hand in a death grip. Karista heard her voice, soft and distant from below her.

"I…I k-know…h-he c-can beat y-you," Karista-in-dream said, her voice growing fainter.

"I would think not."

Voldemort stopped in front of her and raised his wand to meet her heart.

"It was a shame you never chose to take my offer, Karista. I am certain that you would be alive right now," Voldemort said casually, clicking his tongue. Karista-in-dream slowly began to sit up, taking very harsh breaths as she did so.

"I…I w-would n-n-never j-join y-you," Karista-in-dream gasped, propping her self up onto her knees and clutching the ground for support. "A-and H-harry w-will w-win."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes into sharp red slits before closing the distance between himself and Karista-in-dream. "Say goodbye, Karista."

"Avada…"

Karista watched in horror as Voldemort's face scrunched itself up into a sneer. Karista-in-dream raised her arms above her head and peered into the heavens, watching as the clouds parted for the briefest of instances and letting the moon pour down across the grounds.

"…Kedava."

She watched the green light shower over herself and hit Karista-in-dream directly in the chest, sending her sprawling backwards; blood flying everywhere. The Karista before her was dead and glowing eerily in the night.


"GOD NO!" Karista screamed as she sat up fiercely in bed. The room swam around her a bit until the sleep finally left her. The early morning sun flitted across her sheets and she could barely hear the light snores from her roommates. Karista brushed the hair out of her face and sprang up from her bed and into the bathroom, where she turned on the shower and stepped in.

"What was that dream about?" Karista asked herself as she let some shampoo out into her hand. "It couldn't be the future, could it? But I looked a bit older, didn't I?"

After showering, she went and got dressed, pulling her hair into a messy bun before exiting. She was almost passed the library when she remembered something from the dream that was already blurring from her memory. It was something definitely different about her in the dream she had. The images flickered briefly; raising her arms above her head. Her arms. Something about her arm. Her left one.

"But it isn't the Heir of Slytherin tattoo…it was too small to be that," Karista thought to herself as she leaned against the wall, scratching her head trying to remember what the little inscription on her arm meant. She was sure of two things. One, it was Latin. Two, it was most certainly magical judging by the way it was glowing in her dream. Then it fell into place.

***

It was a Friday back in early February, meaning that it might have been Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Glideron.

"Aurors have many forms of protection, as some of you may know," Julia said casually as she twiddled her wand between her fingers. "Can anyone name them?"

Hermione's hand, of course, shot up into the air.

"Yes Hermione?"

"Well, one of them is actually Dark Magic and only very few and powerful Aurors actually use it," Hermione said, sounding like she swallowed a textbook. "It is called 'Il Incideus Corpeus Maximus', or to protect the body and spirit. It provides with it quicker reflexes and also can lengthen the life of an Auror in battle."

"Very good, Hermione. Anyone care to add to that?"

The room was unusually silent and Julia let the merest smile cross her lips.

"Ten points to Gryffindor, then. Technically, the 'curse' is called 'The afterlife curse'. What it means is that when the proper tattoo is touched and appropriate words mentioned it could offer you a chance to live. Basically, you can be hit with 'Avada Kedava' and be seemingly dead. Little does everyone know around you that you have thirty minutes after being hit with the curse to live."

The class visibly shuddered and Julia could sense the tension in the air.

"Very well then. The curse is almost impossible to master and very few Aurors are granted permission. Even if they get the permission and get the charm done, it is only after you are killed in any way, shape or form and someone attempts to summon you back that you know it works. Hence the reason it is so uncommon."

***

Karista snapped her fingers together yet quickly stopped.

"If I used 'The Afterlife Curse', then would I still be alive?" Karista immediately kicked herself for not staying in the dream longer yet couldn't do anything about it now. Instead of making her way to the Great Hall, she went through the doors of the Library, instantly gaining access to the Restricted Section with her Prefects badge. She paused along a shelf that was hidden in the corner and picked up an old and withered looking book entitled The Auror's guide to magic.

She scooped it into her arms and sat down at the nearest table. After checking out the table of contents and skimming lightly through a few pages, she came across the curse, complete with instructions, the potion and charms needed to perform it. Karista stood up, marked the page by dog-earing it and left the library, a hopeful expression on her face.

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A/N: oh...this is getting so interesting, I might pee my pants *Just kidding people, gosh, have a sense of humor*

Anyway, I hope that this suits your fancy and I am sorry for not pumping it out sooner as I have been really busy with Volleyball *Our tean rules!*

Alright, now...soon to come:

Does Karista perform 'Il Incideus Corpeus Maximus'?

De-programing Callidus

RAW=WAR

It's a...cruel summer...ba dump ba dump ba dump...ohhhhhh yeahhhhh