Disclaimer: I can't remember exactly what characters I do own and
which I don't, so I'll say this: All copyrighted, trademarked or otherwise
owned property is property of it's respective owner and no ownership is
implied on the author's part. Enjoy!
~~Chapter Eight: Memories~~
Kevin laughed along with everyone else as Rauol and Jerry reported their success with their most recent exploit; terrorizing the caretaker's two dogs, from what he could hear over the laughter. The sound and the light were getting to his head, though; he was beginning to feel a bit dizzy. He stepped outside of the tapestry, and suddenly the sound was gone and no light came through. Peaceful dark.
He walked over to a window, looking out across the snowy plains. The blizzard continued mercilessly as it had for so many hours after even the most trained weather wizards had predicted; some were calling it supernatural by now. Kevin thought it looked beautiful, and he was warm here inside the castle.
"Like the view?" Kevin turned in surprise to see Julianne standing beside him, looking out the window also.
"I noticed you were gone. You never stay around when there's a celebration going, Kevin. We miss you, you know." She smiled at him. "You're the unknown hero of that threesome's adventures."
Kevin laughed at that. "No, Jerry is the plotter. I only help sometimes." He paused. "As for that-" He gestured back to the tapestry-"I don't really like loud noises and bright lights.
"You're nocturnal," Julianne teased, nudging him with her elbow. "Learn to enjoy the sunlight more."
They both laughed again. Kevin's thoughts wandered. Julianne was pretty. mysteriously so. Recently, he had found himself thinking about the way she looked more, noticing her pure diamond eyes, her wonderful smile, her soft voice. Kevin didn't understand, quite, but he tried not to think about it too much, unlike his carefree friends. He disliked change.
She turned around, watching him watching her. He didn't look away. Her eyes were so perfect.
Her eyes. The first time he had ever seen them-arriving at the school gates, and there she was, standing in the hallway, watching the new arrivals enter the castle.
Her eyes. The last time he had ever seen them-starting back into his, desperate, terrified. Screams were everywhere, death all around him. Through some miracle, the two of them had been together, lived this long. but something hard and heavy fell onto him, crushing his leg; he lost touch of her hand. and the world faded into black.
They just told him that no recognizable bodies had ever been found.
Four friends, dozens of acquaintances, hundreds of human lives, thousands of dreams, and a million memories lost-what evil could destroy all that? Snatch it away in an instant?
Fate could.
Kevin awoke in a cold sweat. The old pain in his leg was back again, and worse then ever. It was late at night, the world was still dark.
Of course. He had forgotten his potion before he slept, the first time in the five days since he had gotten it from Dumbledore. And this was his punishment. -Damn you,- he thought to his mirror-that was how he had come to think of the other him, the reflection. -Why don't you give up? I'm not going to surrender to the despair you're trying to bring me to.-
-I'm not making these dreams come to torture you, Kevin.- He started-- that was the first time it had addressed him by name. -You need to face your fears.-
-What I need to do is kill you and kill my old memories. No, just the memories. that's what you are, too. Just a figment of my mind feeding off of painful thoughts.-
There was a pause. -Even if you destroyed your memories, Kevin, you wouldn't be free. Free of me, but not free of your past, and your future.-
And then it was gone. It could only speak to him when he was partially asleep, just after or before he drifted off to sleep. Dreams, he guessed, were its realm of power. An interesting discovery As long as he took the potion, he would be left alone. Everything would be normal.
Nothing would be normal again without. them.
With his face buried in his pillow, he wept.
"Kevin, Krysten!" Lyra called out. She ran through the common room to where him and Krysten were sitting, helping each other with homework (actually, Kevin doing both their homework, but he didn't mind). "I just got the hang of the whole palmistry thing, it's really fun!"
Krysten looked dubious, but Kevin smiled. "As long as you ignore everything that old fool Trelawney says, and don't read any books she recommends, it's great."
Lyra laughed and sat down beside them. "Here." She set a book down on the table and propped it open with her right elbow. "Give me your hand. Krysten. ok, Kev then."
Smiling to himself, Kevin held his hand out for Lyra to examine. He remembered how interested he had been when he had found out how affective different forms of Divination were, back in his first year.
"...and you have a very short life line, here." She smiled at her book. "But don't think that means you won't live a long time... no, this is interesting, here. Oh, I'll have to look that up." She released his hand. "Well, you are powerful and confident," she noted. "That's all I've really found out, yet... I'm still learning."
"I know," Kevin said. "It's fun, though. You'll like it, I'm sure."
She raised her eyebrows. "You know Divination? I thought you were just as far as I was."
"Oh." Kevin mentally chided himself yet again. "I, uh, did a lot of Divination work back home."
"That's nice," Krysten replied. "Your parents must both be magical, then?"
-No harm in telling them about them, really. There's no connection.-
"Yeah, they were. My father was actually the last remnant of an ancient pureblooded magical family; ancient, but maybe one of the least regarded ones ever."
Lyra, who had leaned forward to listen, didn't seem to notice his use of the past tense; Krysten did, however. She frowned. "Er-- what happened?"
"They were murdered." Kevin grimaced. "There was a Wizard's Council in the city we lived in, they monitored magical activity in the area. It turned out they were all supporters of... him... they had never acted when he came into power, but when word came around that he had been defeated..."
"I'm so sorry, Kevin," Krysten said quietly.
"It's fine. I was only a baby-- I had barely been born when it happened. I've been told a lot about them, but I can't remember them. I just have a few pictures."
Kevin suddenly noticed that Lyra's eyes were hazy with unshed tears.
"Lyra?" He and Krysten asked simultaneously. Krysten continued, "What is it?"
"I'm sorry," The blond-haired girl sniffed. "Selfish of me." She wiped her eyes on a silk handkerchief, looking away.
Kevin didn't know what to say; he had always been awkward in situations like this. Krysten, shooting Kevin a quick smile, took Lyra by the hand and they walked off to the girls dormitories, whispering to each other.
A/Ns:
Sorry, another short chapter. I just didn't want to put more content into this chapter, I don't think it needed it. This one should have been more readable. Thanks!
~~Chapter Eight: Memories~~
Kevin laughed along with everyone else as Rauol and Jerry reported their success with their most recent exploit; terrorizing the caretaker's two dogs, from what he could hear over the laughter. The sound and the light were getting to his head, though; he was beginning to feel a bit dizzy. He stepped outside of the tapestry, and suddenly the sound was gone and no light came through. Peaceful dark.
He walked over to a window, looking out across the snowy plains. The blizzard continued mercilessly as it had for so many hours after even the most trained weather wizards had predicted; some were calling it supernatural by now. Kevin thought it looked beautiful, and he was warm here inside the castle.
"Like the view?" Kevin turned in surprise to see Julianne standing beside him, looking out the window also.
"I noticed you were gone. You never stay around when there's a celebration going, Kevin. We miss you, you know." She smiled at him. "You're the unknown hero of that threesome's adventures."
Kevin laughed at that. "No, Jerry is the plotter. I only help sometimes." He paused. "As for that-" He gestured back to the tapestry-"I don't really like loud noises and bright lights.
"You're nocturnal," Julianne teased, nudging him with her elbow. "Learn to enjoy the sunlight more."
They both laughed again. Kevin's thoughts wandered. Julianne was pretty. mysteriously so. Recently, he had found himself thinking about the way she looked more, noticing her pure diamond eyes, her wonderful smile, her soft voice. Kevin didn't understand, quite, but he tried not to think about it too much, unlike his carefree friends. He disliked change.
She turned around, watching him watching her. He didn't look away. Her eyes were so perfect.
Her eyes. The first time he had ever seen them-arriving at the school gates, and there she was, standing in the hallway, watching the new arrivals enter the castle.
Her eyes. The last time he had ever seen them-starting back into his, desperate, terrified. Screams were everywhere, death all around him. Through some miracle, the two of them had been together, lived this long. but something hard and heavy fell onto him, crushing his leg; he lost touch of her hand. and the world faded into black.
They just told him that no recognizable bodies had ever been found.
Four friends, dozens of acquaintances, hundreds of human lives, thousands of dreams, and a million memories lost-what evil could destroy all that? Snatch it away in an instant?
Fate could.
Kevin awoke in a cold sweat. The old pain in his leg was back again, and worse then ever. It was late at night, the world was still dark.
Of course. He had forgotten his potion before he slept, the first time in the five days since he had gotten it from Dumbledore. And this was his punishment. -Damn you,- he thought to his mirror-that was how he had come to think of the other him, the reflection. -Why don't you give up? I'm not going to surrender to the despair you're trying to bring me to.-
-I'm not making these dreams come to torture you, Kevin.- He started-- that was the first time it had addressed him by name. -You need to face your fears.-
-What I need to do is kill you and kill my old memories. No, just the memories. that's what you are, too. Just a figment of my mind feeding off of painful thoughts.-
There was a pause. -Even if you destroyed your memories, Kevin, you wouldn't be free. Free of me, but not free of your past, and your future.-
And then it was gone. It could only speak to him when he was partially asleep, just after or before he drifted off to sleep. Dreams, he guessed, were its realm of power. An interesting discovery As long as he took the potion, he would be left alone. Everything would be normal.
Nothing would be normal again without. them.
With his face buried in his pillow, he wept.
"Kevin, Krysten!" Lyra called out. She ran through the common room to where him and Krysten were sitting, helping each other with homework (actually, Kevin doing both their homework, but he didn't mind). "I just got the hang of the whole palmistry thing, it's really fun!"
Krysten looked dubious, but Kevin smiled. "As long as you ignore everything that old fool Trelawney says, and don't read any books she recommends, it's great."
Lyra laughed and sat down beside them. "Here." She set a book down on the table and propped it open with her right elbow. "Give me your hand. Krysten. ok, Kev then."
Smiling to himself, Kevin held his hand out for Lyra to examine. He remembered how interested he had been when he had found out how affective different forms of Divination were, back in his first year.
"...and you have a very short life line, here." She smiled at her book. "But don't think that means you won't live a long time... no, this is interesting, here. Oh, I'll have to look that up." She released his hand. "Well, you are powerful and confident," she noted. "That's all I've really found out, yet... I'm still learning."
"I know," Kevin said. "It's fun, though. You'll like it, I'm sure."
She raised her eyebrows. "You know Divination? I thought you were just as far as I was."
"Oh." Kevin mentally chided himself yet again. "I, uh, did a lot of Divination work back home."
"That's nice," Krysten replied. "Your parents must both be magical, then?"
-No harm in telling them about them, really. There's no connection.-
"Yeah, they were. My father was actually the last remnant of an ancient pureblooded magical family; ancient, but maybe one of the least regarded ones ever."
Lyra, who had leaned forward to listen, didn't seem to notice his use of the past tense; Krysten did, however. She frowned. "Er-- what happened?"
"They were murdered." Kevin grimaced. "There was a Wizard's Council in the city we lived in, they monitored magical activity in the area. It turned out they were all supporters of... him... they had never acted when he came into power, but when word came around that he had been defeated..."
"I'm so sorry, Kevin," Krysten said quietly.
"It's fine. I was only a baby-- I had barely been born when it happened. I've been told a lot about them, but I can't remember them. I just have a few pictures."
Kevin suddenly noticed that Lyra's eyes were hazy with unshed tears.
"Lyra?" He and Krysten asked simultaneously. Krysten continued, "What is it?"
"I'm sorry," The blond-haired girl sniffed. "Selfish of me." She wiped her eyes on a silk handkerchief, looking away.
Kevin didn't know what to say; he had always been awkward in situations like this. Krysten, shooting Kevin a quick smile, took Lyra by the hand and they walked off to the girls dormitories, whispering to each other.
A/Ns:
Sorry, another short chapter. I just didn't want to put more content into this chapter, I don't think it needed it. This one should have been more readable. Thanks!