Chapter 6A: Cursed
Authors Note: I am unbelievably sorry that this has taken so long. It was due to be up this time last week, but AOL cut my access to the Internet, and since then I've been on holiday. As for before that, I really have no excuse, I can only repeat I'm sorry. Anyway, I hope this lives up to expectations. It's only the first part, as the whole thing is longer than I thought it would be, so I've split it in two. The next part will be up very soon!
"It is very, very serious. Much more so than I originally thought. And you too are in great danger, Lily."
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"Why?" Lily demanded. "What's wrong? How do you know? How do you cure it? Why -,"
"Lily, please. I will explain it all if you'll simply give me a chance," Dumbledore said kindly. Lily looked up sheepishly, but could not keep the pleading look from her eyes.
"Your friends are under a curse. A very dark curse, which requires much power and knowledge of the Dark Arts to cast. It is the Ecliades Curse, named for the wizard who invented it. Its effect is to send the cursed people into a magical sleep, which slowly saps them of their physical strength. What we have not been telling you is that over the past few days, the pulses and breathing of the four boys has been getting slowly, but steadily, worse."
Upon hearing this, Orion jumped to his feet. "Why? Why haven't you been telling us?" he demanded angrily.
Lily ignored him. "How do you cure it?" she asked Dumbledore clearly.
"I'm very much afraid, Lily, that there is no cure. That is the genius of the curse. It is so effective because only the cursed person themselves can affect the outcome. It feeds off of will power, so the more determined the person is, the stronger it gets. It can only be defeated when the person totally gives up, which does not happen very often. And when it does, it can leave extensive psychological damage."
Lily, Luke, Orion and Dunworthy, who was also obviously hearing this for the first time, stared at Dumbledore, aghast. They were well aware of how stubborn the boys could be, and it was certain they were fighting the curse running riot in their bodies with all the strength they had.
Marshalling his wits, Luke said, "You said Lily was in danger."
"Yes…" Dumbledore said slowly. "And that is one of the more strange aspects of the curse. After the onset of puberty, it can take from one to twp weeks longer to begin to affect girls. Which means, Lily, you too could be cursed, and there is no way of us knowing, or of halting it," Dumbledore finished, looking very old. Dumbledore passed a hand across his eyes, while the three students sat in shock. It was almost too much to take in, and the feeling of helplessness had doubled, tripled, and multiplied a thousand fold. They had hoped that with information there would be something they could do. Now they knew there was not.
"An early night might be in order, I think, for us all," Dumbledore said kindly. "You are now excused from classes if you wish, and, of course, from all detentions. If you wish, I can give you a sleeping potion."
They declined his offer, and left the office. "I agree with Dumbledore, bed is the best idea," Luke said firmly. They walked with saddened steps to Gryffindor tower, and bade each other good night. Upon reaching the third year boys dormitory, where she had been sleeping for the past week, Lily rummaged in James' trunk. "Like hell I'm going to bed," she said aloud. "I'm going to the library." With that, she swirled James' cloak around her shoulders and left the room.
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James was running through a forest. It was dark, and wet, and tree branches smashed into him, but it did not stop his headlong flight. He was chasing something, something elusive, that he could just see in the distance. A sense of fear, and evil, pervaded everything he did, and he somehow knew that he had to catch up with his quarry, or they would come face to face with the evil he could sense all around him. He ploughed on through the dense woodland, avoiding all barriers in his path with an easy grace he did not possess in real life. The pounding of two sets of hooves could be heard above his ragged breathing, and he looked around desperately for the animal, before realising that he himself was a cloven animal, and so was what he was chasing.
Animal-James continued to run for what seemed like hours, and he was getting more exhausted by the minute, but he was making no impression on his quarry, and the feeling of evil was growing ever more powerful. The light of the moon flashed off the heaving sides of the creature in front of him, as it crested a hill, and began to draw even further away from him.
With a grunt of annoyance, the animal-James re-doubled his efforts to catch it, and the pain he found himself in grew apace.
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"So it's true," Lily whispered to herself. She held a book up to the glowing tip of her wand and re-read, 'The Ecliades Curse is possibly the most deadly of all non-instantaneous Dark Curses. It works slowly, is impossible to counter, and the more it is fought, the more painful the effects are. It takes great power to perform, and must be done in close proximity to the recipients.'
Lily closed the book with a snap, and left the library, feeling nothing except for burning anger at whoever had done this. Whoever it was deserved the worst fate possible, and she was determined to discover who it was. But still she could think of no possible suspects.
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Sirius struggled with the other boy, knowing that much depended on the outcome of this fight, but not quite knowing what it was about. The other boy was fighting dirty, scratching, biting, and pulling his hair, and Sirius had the feeling, somehow, that he was seriously outnumbered. Around him, he could hear the echoing shouts of his friends, as James and Remus fought unseen attackers. He battled desperately, but seemed to make no headway, as his opponent met every attack he made with twice as much force. Screams from his friends made him resort to his last chance, and he kicked the other boy viciously between the legs. His unfamiliar foe fell over in pain, and Sirius was at last free to look at his mysterious surroundings, which were suddenly void of people. Dank, slimy walls provided an atmosphere of menace, and he shivered, realising that he must be somewhere within the dungeons.
He was still stunned from the fight, and it took him precious seconds to realise that James and Remus, his beloved friends, had disappeared. He looked around for an exit, desperate to find them, when all of a sudden; he heard agonised screams in a voice that could only be Remus. Seeing a doorway half hidden in shadow, he made for it at top speed, determined that whoever was hurting Remus would pay.
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Lily did not attend classes for the next three days. She told herself, and the anxious teachers, that there was no point, for she was not going to concentrate, and she certainly wasn't going to learn anything. She spent her days and most of the nights in the private hospital wing where the boys had been moved to, and which now held an extra bed in case she should fall sick. When she returned to the boys' dorm late at night, she would often hear Frank crying, or find Steve in his brother's bed.
By the second Thursday after the boys had contracted the curse, even Lily could see the boys were no longer in an ordinary enchanted sleep. Their breathing was fast and shallow, their faces a dull grey colour, and their temperatures high. They often thrashed or cried out, as if having bad dreams, and when this happened, Madam Pomfrey, who had been assigned to look after them full time, would rush over to try and calm them. It was rare that she got there before Lily did, however. Lily would hold her friends still, stroking their hair, and whispering soothing words, and they would soon become still, apparently comforted by her presence.
Lily would often spend these night times alone except for the nurses, for Luke had thrown himself into his schoolwork, Orion was allowing Lydia to comfort him, and Steve, at 10, was considered too young for lengthy visits. Lily was content to sit alone, for she often found that having people around her made her more emotional than she wanted to be. But her carefully constructed peace of mind was soon to be shattered.
The heavy wooden door opened with a squeak, and Lily looked around sharply to see who was disturbing her thoughts. Professor McGonagall walked in; looking much more dishevelled than Lily had ever seen her. She was missing her hat and cloak, and her normally tidy hair was messy. She sat down tiredly next to Lily, and looked over at her in concern. "Is there any change?" she asked quietly.
"None," Lily said shortly.
"And how-," the Professor began, but she was cut short by an agonised yell from Sirius. Lily rushed forward to calm him, finally turning away after pressing a kiss to his forehead. As she left Sirius' side, Lily's face showed her emotions unguardedly for a moment, and McGonagall saw quite clearly the mix of fatigue, stress, grief, and most clearly, despair. She held out her arms to Lily, wincing inwardly at the pain the thirteen year-old girl must be going through, and Lily paused for a moment, caught between the promise of comfort and her pride. But the comfort won out, and she suddenly rushed forward into the Professor's arms, letting out a torrent of tears.
It was a catharsis to Lily, who had not allowed herself to cry since Orion had hugged her on the day the curse had begun. She sobbed on McGonagall's shoulder for a long time, allowing herself to show her emotions, and for just a short time, to believe that there was an adult here who could take the responsibility of caring for and curing her friends. McGonagall hugged her tight, knowing that it was best for the girl to let it all out. "It's ok to cry, Lily," she said comfortingly, barely restraining her own tears.
"It's just that, they might not get any better, and there's nothing I can do, and I'm so-o-o scared!" she wailed, beginning to cry again. McGonagall drew a handkerchief out of the air and handed it to Lily, who scrubbed furiously at her face.
When she had composed herself again, Lily looked up at McGonagall. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't-,"
"That's ok, Lily, its important to cry," the older woman said, smiling slightly. "If you ever need to talk, remember, we're all here."
"Thanks," Lily muttered, feeling embarrassed that she was having this conversation with one of her teachers, who was usually engaged in telling her off.
"Now, I think it is time for you to go to bed," McGonagall said firmly. "It's ok, I'll watch over them, and I know Orion will be here later. Go to sleep, Lily. Get a good nights rest."
Lily left, after saying goodbye to each of her friends.
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Remus stood, in his human form, looking up at the night sky. It was obvious from the glint of moonlight on water that he was near to the Hogwarts Lake, and as the full moon glittered above him, he revelled in this opportunity to see the moon in all her beauty, a joy that had been lost to him with the wolf's bite. He sought the Dog Star, shining so brightly like Sirius himself, and stood, drowning in the magnificence of the moment.
Without warning, Sirius came into view, standing on the top of a small hill, outlined clearly against the moonlight. He looked so stunning standing there that the wolf inside Remus felt a sudden urge to rip and tear him to pieces, to destroy his beauty, and Remus' human form was unable to counteract the urge.
Slowly, fighting himself every step of the way, Remus moved towards Sirius, who not believing himself to be in any danger, looked at his friend with large, luminous eyes. Remus' fierce internal battle raged on, with his human side begging himself to run as fast as possible in the opposite direction, while the wolf, now in ascendancy, continued to move him nearer to his friend. Suddenly, with a characteristically joyful expression, Sirius bounded down towards the lake and Remus. Horrified, Remus exerted every ounce of his will power and collapsed to the floor, in pain worse than any transformation had ever put him through, willing the wolf back into submission.
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A day later, Lily fell victim to the curse herself. She was transported to the Hospital after the grief-stricken Steve had raised the alarm, and missed the arrival of the Blacks, Lupins and Pettigrews, as well as her own parents, by a mere two hours. Less than two weeks after the five most famous students in the school had been serving detention in the best of health, the staff, and few students who knew, were grieving for the loss of hope that at least one might remain physically unharmed.
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Peter stood backed against a wall, surrounded by some of the most evil-looking individuals he had ever seen. None were recognisable, yet without a doubt he knew they belonged to the House of his enemies, Slytherins. Where James, Lily, Sirius and Remus had disappeared to, he had no idea, but before leaving they had said to him only one thing: guard this with your life. He had no idea what 'this' was, but he did know that he should die before letting the Slytherins have it. That was why the usually timid Peter Pettigrew, the quietest of the five friends, was now facing down more Slytherins that even his illustrious friends could hope to fight and emerge victorious.
They moved closer to him, and Peter could feel the smooth stones of Hogwarts Castle pressing into his back. "Give it to us," the tallest of his enemies demanded in a low, rasping voice. "You can't possibly hope to hold out, and we'll let you go unharmed if you give it to us now." Unable, from fear, to form words, Peter shook his head vigorously. The semi-circle of Slytherins moved still closer, so that Peter could smell the faint reek of the Potions classroom coming from the leader. The boy clasped his hand around Peter's neck and pushed him back towards the wall, and Peter choked.
Just as he was about to give in, and hand the boy his precious secret, he heard James' voice echo within his head, entrusting Peter with this, the most precious Magical Mischief Maker secret. "This is the most important thing you can ever do for us, Pete, for me! Die before you give this up!"
Mastering all his strength, Peter shouted "NO!" at the top of his strained lungs, and the Slytherins moved back in shock.
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"Are you telling me that there is nothing, nothing, you can do to help my daughter?" Graham Evans demanded angrily. "For all your magic, my daughter is still going to die?"
"That's not exactly the case, Mr. Evans," Dumbledore said patiently. "The outcome of the curse can be affected, but only by Lily herself." As Graham Evans settled back to comfort his crying wife, Dumbledore reflected on this, the fourth time he had had to explain this today, and how weary he felt of everything. He had the utmost sympathy for the families of Lily, Sirius, Remus and Peter, and he understood all too well the hopelessness they were feeling, because he was feeling it himself. Lily's parents had been the last to arrive, having had to take the Hogwarts Express, and they were thankfully the last parents he would have to talk to about this. James' parents hadn't turned up, but then, he truly hadn't expected them to.
"Can we at least see Lily?" her distraught father asked after a few moments of silence.
"Of course, please follow me," Dumbledore said.
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It was a few hours later, by Peter's reckoning, and he was still surrounded by the now very angry Slytherins. A sharp stone was pressing into his back, and he was beginning to wonder what exactly the big secret was, that it should be worth all the pain he knew was coming. It was obvious the Slytherins were now debating the best way of taking his secret by force, and he knew that when they decided to attack, the memory of James' voice asking him to keep it safe would not help him. As the three biggest of his foes turned to face him, fists raised, Peter made a quick decision. They advanced towards him, but stopped abruptly when Peter took his hands, holding the secret, from behind his back. "If – if – if I give this to you freely, will you let me go?" he asked, in a trembling voice. 'Really,' Peter thought to himself, 'James and the others wouldn't have expected me to go through this to keep their secret safe. I think I've done quite well already.'
The leader of the Slytherins stepped forward. "Why, of course," he said in a silky voice. "Didn't we say that hours ago? But just hand it over to us, and you can walk out of here unharmed."
Peter took one look at what was in his hands, but his mind was already made up. "Here, then," he said, thrusting it at them, before walking out. As the door shut behind him, he could hear cackles of insane laughter, and was suddenly seized with guilt. 'Oh god, what have I done?' he thought, beginning to weep.
*Next part coming soon.