Chapter 3
Incantatum
By Laura/Teria (elineryn@yahoo.com)
----------------------------------
A flash of red hair, a swish of school robes, and she was suddenly directly in his line of vision. He'd been laughing with his eyes closed, head thrown back, feeling that euphoria when your body overrides your mind for that single moment and you're just shaking, and then he opened his eyes and almost choked. His face was surely flushed and his hair was tousled (not that this was any surprise, as it was always out of control -- he'd given up on it long ago) but it suddenly (why?) mattered and that made him blush even more deeply than before.
"Coming then?" she said, but he was already standing up, throwing his books into his bag. He grinned sheepishly at her and she smiled demurely back, and marched off down the length of the Great Hall at his side. His heart pounded in his chest, caught between the anxiety of being next to Her, and that familiar misbehavior-triggered rush of adrenaline, still hot in his bloodstream.
As they picked their way through the Hogwarts corridors, James tried to think of something to say. Something, that is, that would make him seem less like the utter prat he felt himself to be at that moment.
He could barely draw a breath without inhaling the exhilarating scent of her hair. How could he possibly be expected to converse logically?
Luckily, though, he was rescued from his thoughts by Lily's sudden halt.
"Oh, no!" she cried, wrinkling her nose. "They've gone visiting again!" James blinked, confused.
Lily gave a small, defeated sigh. "The portrait," she said, pointing ahead of them. "We're supposed to give the girls the password, but now I've no idea what to do."
James recognized the painting ahead as being one of a veritable Shangri-la of rest and relaxation. It featured a secluded valley in a range of towering blue-purple mountains, tall pines on either side of a lushly sweeping expanse of grass. Rocks in the foreground gave the portrait's occupants a bit of privacy as they changed for a swim in the still pools of an otherwise torrential river just to the right of the trees.
Those occupants were a set of longhaired, long-legged girls that were forever in motion. When not swimming, they frolicked in the grass and basked in the sun, obviously invigorated by the chill air of the mountains, but, as the painting was perpetually sunny, they were never made uncomfortable by bothersome weather. When the girls became bored, they often made discourse with the deer, birds and other animals of the forest, revealing a little bit of what James thought of as their "Natural witchery".
James approached the painting, peering into it. The background revealed sweeping fields of wildflowers in full bloom, stirred delicately by the wind, but the girls were nowhere to be found. "Hello!" he called, and his voice echoed back to him: "Hello...hello...hello..." He took a step back, studying the picture.
"About where in the school are we?" he asked suddenly.
Lily thought for a moment. "Er, I think we're almost under Professor McGonagall's office, actually. There's a hallway behind the portrait, and the room it leads to should be directly beneath it."
James grinned, "I know another way." Lily looked anxious, so he hurriedly added, "It's better to be a little bit late than to not show up at all, anyway."
Lily nodded, exhaling. "Well, where are we going, then?"
"It's a surprise. Follow me."
A few turning corridors and large round antechambers later, Lily and James emerged into what appeared to be a small receiving room, the walls lined with tapestries depicting various wizard musicians. James made his way over to a trio of harpists, and Lily held her breath. What could be behind it? At Hogwarts, one never could tell. It could be anything, really, from a deeply winding, damp roughly carved tunnel, to an opulent, plush-lined gold-veined marble corridor. He grabbed the edge and pulled it back, revealing...
...a stone wall.
Lily raised one eyebrow. "Er, are you sure this is the right tapestry?"
James merely raised his wand with over exaggerated movements, as if conducting a symphony, and tapped one of the bricks three times. Part of the wall seemed to fade away, revealing a dark, narrow passage. Warily, Lily peered inside, eyes wide. Past the few steps illuminated by the soft light of the room, she could see nothing but inky blackness.
"I thought they were only rumors," she murmured. James stepped past her, into the darkness, and turned back. "Rumors?"
"Oh," she said, flustered. "The girls...I mean, they talked about secret passageways, and I know all about Hogwarts' tendency to, well...you know, change...but I didn't think anyone actually used them..." she trailed off. "Is it...safe?" James grinned. "It's perfectly safe," he told her. At least, he thought fervently, With me to take care of you.
Dare he?
Steeling his nerves, he extended his hand to her. "C'mon, I'll help you through. It takes a couple of sharp turns, and we can't put on a light, anyway. It might attract attention in some of the rooms we're going to pass."
Lily felt her ears get hot and her heartbeat speed as she realized what he was asking. How could she refuse? Taking a timid step forward, Lily grasped his fingers gently with her own and allowed the tapestry to fall behind her, plunging them into complete darkness.
At first, Lily used her right hand to guide her along the wall, keeping her grip on James' hand light as they hurried down the corridor. She could tell that the large stones were large and rectangular, smooth and cool to the touch, and placed in the wall at regular intervals. The sudden drop-off caught her completely off guard.
She'd been slightly resting her weight against them and the sudden absence caused her to pull sharply on James, gasping as she tried to keep her footing. Aided by quick reflexes honed on the Quidditch pitch, he quickly compensated by tightening his grip and by reaching out in the darkness to support her other arm as she stood straight again. "Are you alright?" he whispered urgently. She nodded, but realizing he couldn't see her, whispered, "Yes." "Good. We'll have to be especially quiet for a few moments, but after that we'll be through." He squeezed her hand reassuringly and drew her along, leaving Lily lightheaded, hoping her palms didn't sweat excessively.
As the pair inched along the dark tunnel, Lily could hear fragments of a lecture given by -- who was it? It must be Professor Williams, his classroom was in this area of the building, if she hadn't grossly miscalculated their position. As James led her past the area, the voice grew more and more faint, but she thought she caught the word "moth" and decided that, knowing the man's love of entomology, her assumption had been correct.
James pulled Lily to the far right passage of a twice-branching corridor, and he could see the faintly outlined rectangle of light that signified the end of their journey. He suppressed a sigh, the origins of which he couldn't quite explain, and pointed it out to Lily, whose face was becoming barely visible in the dim light.
"Oh," she said, and he thought (hoped?) that he heard a note of disappointment in her voice.
They reached the tapestry and James reached across to draw it aside, letting Lily emerge before him. Lily turned to him, giving him a sweet smile. "Well, that certainly was fun, wasn't it?"
"I'd imagine so," drawled a coldly sarcastic voice. "But I'm sure that Professor McGonagall would be more interested to hear about it."
James narrowed his eyes slightly. "Nice to see you too, Severus," he muttered.
----------------------------------
TBC.
Incantatum
By Laura/Teria (elineryn@yahoo.com)
----------------------------------
A flash of red hair, a swish of school robes, and she was suddenly directly in his line of vision. He'd been laughing with his eyes closed, head thrown back, feeling that euphoria when your body overrides your mind for that single moment and you're just shaking, and then he opened his eyes and almost choked. His face was surely flushed and his hair was tousled (not that this was any surprise, as it was always out of control -- he'd given up on it long ago) but it suddenly (why?) mattered and that made him blush even more deeply than before.
"Coming then?" she said, but he was already standing up, throwing his books into his bag. He grinned sheepishly at her and she smiled demurely back, and marched off down the length of the Great Hall at his side. His heart pounded in his chest, caught between the anxiety of being next to Her, and that familiar misbehavior-triggered rush of adrenaline, still hot in his bloodstream.
As they picked their way through the Hogwarts corridors, James tried to think of something to say. Something, that is, that would make him seem less like the utter prat he felt himself to be at that moment.
He could barely draw a breath without inhaling the exhilarating scent of her hair. How could he possibly be expected to converse logically?
Luckily, though, he was rescued from his thoughts by Lily's sudden halt.
"Oh, no!" she cried, wrinkling her nose. "They've gone visiting again!" James blinked, confused.
Lily gave a small, defeated sigh. "The portrait," she said, pointing ahead of them. "We're supposed to give the girls the password, but now I've no idea what to do."
James recognized the painting ahead as being one of a veritable Shangri-la of rest and relaxation. It featured a secluded valley in a range of towering blue-purple mountains, tall pines on either side of a lushly sweeping expanse of grass. Rocks in the foreground gave the portrait's occupants a bit of privacy as they changed for a swim in the still pools of an otherwise torrential river just to the right of the trees.
Those occupants were a set of longhaired, long-legged girls that were forever in motion. When not swimming, they frolicked in the grass and basked in the sun, obviously invigorated by the chill air of the mountains, but, as the painting was perpetually sunny, they were never made uncomfortable by bothersome weather. When the girls became bored, they often made discourse with the deer, birds and other animals of the forest, revealing a little bit of what James thought of as their "Natural witchery".
James approached the painting, peering into it. The background revealed sweeping fields of wildflowers in full bloom, stirred delicately by the wind, but the girls were nowhere to be found. "Hello!" he called, and his voice echoed back to him: "Hello...hello...hello..." He took a step back, studying the picture.
"About where in the school are we?" he asked suddenly.
Lily thought for a moment. "Er, I think we're almost under Professor McGonagall's office, actually. There's a hallway behind the portrait, and the room it leads to should be directly beneath it."
James grinned, "I know another way." Lily looked anxious, so he hurriedly added, "It's better to be a little bit late than to not show up at all, anyway."
Lily nodded, exhaling. "Well, where are we going, then?"
"It's a surprise. Follow me."
A few turning corridors and large round antechambers later, Lily and James emerged into what appeared to be a small receiving room, the walls lined with tapestries depicting various wizard musicians. James made his way over to a trio of harpists, and Lily held her breath. What could be behind it? At Hogwarts, one never could tell. It could be anything, really, from a deeply winding, damp roughly carved tunnel, to an opulent, plush-lined gold-veined marble corridor. He grabbed the edge and pulled it back, revealing...
...a stone wall.
Lily raised one eyebrow. "Er, are you sure this is the right tapestry?"
James merely raised his wand with over exaggerated movements, as if conducting a symphony, and tapped one of the bricks three times. Part of the wall seemed to fade away, revealing a dark, narrow passage. Warily, Lily peered inside, eyes wide. Past the few steps illuminated by the soft light of the room, she could see nothing but inky blackness.
"I thought they were only rumors," she murmured. James stepped past her, into the darkness, and turned back. "Rumors?"
"Oh," she said, flustered. "The girls...I mean, they talked about secret passageways, and I know all about Hogwarts' tendency to, well...you know, change...but I didn't think anyone actually used them..." she trailed off. "Is it...safe?" James grinned. "It's perfectly safe," he told her. At least, he thought fervently, With me to take care of you.
Dare he?
Steeling his nerves, he extended his hand to her. "C'mon, I'll help you through. It takes a couple of sharp turns, and we can't put on a light, anyway. It might attract attention in some of the rooms we're going to pass."
Lily felt her ears get hot and her heartbeat speed as she realized what he was asking. How could she refuse? Taking a timid step forward, Lily grasped his fingers gently with her own and allowed the tapestry to fall behind her, plunging them into complete darkness.
At first, Lily used her right hand to guide her along the wall, keeping her grip on James' hand light as they hurried down the corridor. She could tell that the large stones were large and rectangular, smooth and cool to the touch, and placed in the wall at regular intervals. The sudden drop-off caught her completely off guard.
She'd been slightly resting her weight against them and the sudden absence caused her to pull sharply on James, gasping as she tried to keep her footing. Aided by quick reflexes honed on the Quidditch pitch, he quickly compensated by tightening his grip and by reaching out in the darkness to support her other arm as she stood straight again. "Are you alright?" he whispered urgently. She nodded, but realizing he couldn't see her, whispered, "Yes." "Good. We'll have to be especially quiet for a few moments, but after that we'll be through." He squeezed her hand reassuringly and drew her along, leaving Lily lightheaded, hoping her palms didn't sweat excessively.
As the pair inched along the dark tunnel, Lily could hear fragments of a lecture given by -- who was it? It must be Professor Williams, his classroom was in this area of the building, if she hadn't grossly miscalculated their position. As James led her past the area, the voice grew more and more faint, but she thought she caught the word "moth" and decided that, knowing the man's love of entomology, her assumption had been correct.
James pulled Lily to the far right passage of a twice-branching corridor, and he could see the faintly outlined rectangle of light that signified the end of their journey. He suppressed a sigh, the origins of which he couldn't quite explain, and pointed it out to Lily, whose face was becoming barely visible in the dim light.
"Oh," she said, and he thought (hoped?) that he heard a note of disappointment in her voice.
They reached the tapestry and James reached across to draw it aside, letting Lily emerge before him. Lily turned to him, giving him a sweet smile. "Well, that certainly was fun, wasn't it?"
"I'd imagine so," drawled a coldly sarcastic voice. "But I'm sure that Professor McGonagall would be more interested to hear about it."
James narrowed his eyes slightly. "Nice to see you too, Severus," he muttered.
----------------------------------
TBC.