Clear as Mud
Chapter 2 - You? It can't be you!
A/N: Well, here's the second chapter I promised! As ever, reviews are welcome! The third chapter will be up either today or tomorrow, depending on how long it takes to upload chapters. Not too long, I should imagine!
Disclaimer: All of the Harry Potter world belongs to JK Rowling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, my..." Ginny gasped. "You... you're... you can't be!"
"But - you're dead!" Hermione said, pinching her arm. "Ouch!" Hermione started to rub her arm.
The woman behind the desk laughed.
"Dumbledore said you'd do that!" she giggled.
Ginny stifled her laughter, instantly taking a liking to this woman - even if she was a zombie.
"Um...where is Dumbledore?" Ginny asked the couple. "And where exactly did you come from?"
Both of their smiles faded, and were replaced by mournful looks.
Ginny gasped again.
"He...he's not dead, is he?" Ginny feared the answer. Looking across at a dumb-struck Hermione, Ginny wasn't sure if she'd even heard what she'd said.
"No, but thank you for the concern," a voice said from the corner. Dumbledore said frowning slightly, but not angrily. He seemed a little confused.
"Now there's something I never thought I'd see!" the young man grinned. "Dumbledore looking confused? It must be one of the side-affects of the spell!"
Dumbledore gave him a reproving look, as if the man had said something he shouldn't have.
"James..." he warned. Hermione's eyes bugged.
"So...so it is? But how?" she stammered. Automatically, Hermione stuck her hand out in front of Ginny's eyes. "Ginny! Let them tell us before you go rooting in there! It's rude, you know!"
The couple's jaws dropped, Dumbledore's eyes widened, Hermione frowned and Ginny sighed.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "Just curious...I shouldn't have. Sorry." She apologized again.
"Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked. "Do you need to tell me something?"
"I think that might be why she's here, professor," the young woman said, as her green eyes studied Ginny carefully.
Suddenly, Ginny heard a voice in her head.
'I never thought that I'd meet another Seer. A real one, I mean. You are Ginny Weasley, am I correct?'
Ginny stared hard at the young woman. Something about the way the woman was staring at her told her that it was her Ginny was conversing with. She decided instantly that she could trust her, so she replied.
'I am. And you are Lily Potter aren't you? Don't worry, I'll wait until Harry gets here before I ask more than that.'
But before Ginny got a reply, the door to Dumbledore's office flew open.
'Being a Seer has its benefits, doesn't it? I should have warned you Harry can hear what we are saying. He is one, too. I suppose you'd guessed that, though?' The young woman replied.
It seemed that Ginny being a Seer and his supposedly dead parents standing in front of him was a bit too much for Harry to take in.
"Sorry," Harry said suddenly. "I'm in a wacky dream here. I'll just be off..."
Before he'd walked out of the door, Hermione grabbed his arm. Ginny and Lily both laughed. She still hadn't closed her mouth.
"Well, really," James smirked. "I never would have guessed that one of Harry's best friends would be a goldfish!"
Hermione continued to stare. Then, without warning, she keeled over in a dead faint.
Luckily, Harry caught her.
"Well, that's funny," Harry commented. "There was me thinking that she'd be the one having to stop be from splatting on the floor."
"What a wonderful vocabulary you have," James said dryly. "We have a walking talking thesaurus with us!"
"And another thing I would never have guessed," Harry said grinning at his father. "If I hadn't been a Seer, having my dead father tell me to broaden my vocabulary wasn't on my list of will-happens."
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
'I never thought I'd see you again!' she sobbed, but only Ginny and Harry could hear her.
'You might want to come out of Seer mode, Mum," Harry smirked. 'I don't think anyone can hear you...'
'I only needed you to, Harry,' Lily smiled at him.
"Ahem!" James cleared his throat loudly. "This is so unfair! I'm going to have to put up with you three mind-talking all of the time!"
Harry, Ginny and Lily exchanged mischievous looks.
Yet again, the door banged open. This time it was Ron.
"Professor Dumbledore! Harry, Hermione and Ginny are...here," he finished, looking around in astonishment.
Harry had to stop himself from laughing out loud at what Ron must be thinking about what was going on in front of him.
Hermione was passed out in Harry's arms, who was looking intently at Ginny and his dead mother, all three grinning mischievously, who were being glared at by Harry's dead father who was complaining that Ginny, Harry and Lily shouldn't be able to talk to each other in their heads and Dumbledore chuckling quietly in the corner.
"Perfect timing!" James cried. "Someone I can talk to that wont try to think at me!" He glared pointedly at Lily.
"Ahhh, does ickle Jamsie-kins feel left out?" Lily teased.
"Well, as you can see, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "We are currently welcoming our new guests!"
Ron smiled weakly.
"Ron Weasley, then?" James asked. "Sorry, but I can't just read you like this lot," Lily laughed. Everyone knew that James was just messing about, really.
"Er...read?" Ron asked.
James sniffed.
"Those three," he said, jabbing his finger over his shoulder at Lily, Harry and Ginny. "Have just discovered that they all have a connection in that they're all Seers." James looked down at him, a pleading look on his face. "Please don't tell me you're one, too! I don't think I could contain my envy!" Everyone laughed. "Harry, Lily, and Harry's girlfriend... not his best friend too!"
Harry and Ginny both sobered up.
"We're just friends," Harry said. "Ginny's not my girlfriend."
"Oh, yeah!" James said. "It went wrong! The great Seer thought that you'd see Harry before coming to Dumbledore!" James laughed at Lily while smiling at Ginny. "This makes it so much harder!"
Lily scowled.
"If you remember," she huffed. "I said that if Harry arrived with Ginny, a bit later, then that meant that Ginny would be Harry's girlfriend! And now look! You've embarrassed them both!"
James raised an eyebrow. Then he turned to Harry.
"Sorry, mate," he said in a stage-whisper. "She's a baby-photos type...the ones she has anyway...I think that we should get to the serious part as soon as Hermione wakes up." He bit his lip. "There are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Are we going to tell them about that thing tonight?" James directed the last question to Dumbledore.
Harry scoffed.
"And you accuse me of bad vocabulary!"
Ron came across and checked on Hermione who Harry had rested in a chair by the fireplace. Hermione's eyes fluttered open.
"Ron? Oh, Merlin, I just had the weirdest dream..." Hermione trailed off as she looked around the room, and laughed. "Or not!"
Regaining her control, she sat up. And pinched herself, just in case.
" Ouch! So, what have I missed?" she asked, rubbing the back of her hand.
"Just those three Seers gossiping in their heads," James said, winking at Ron.
"You're not going to let that rest, are you?" Ginny asked, briefly leaving her conversation with Harry and Lily.
James just grinned.
"Anyway," Dumbledore said. I think we ought to get on with some more serious topics, now. James, could you floo for Minerva - she ought to be here, if not only to be told of where several of her students have disappeared to. And you will probably want to floo Severus, Sirius, Remus and Arabella also, am I correct?"
"You are, professor," James nodded, "I'll do that now."
James reached down into a pot full of pale blue powder, and threw some of it into the fire.
"Professor Snape?" Hermione asked. "You were friends with him?"
"We were," Lily said. "He was in Gryffindor with us. He was one of the Marauders, in fact. He just had to transfer into Slytherin in third year, because his parents had already signed him over to Voldemort, so Severus turned spy. After that we rarely got to see him." Lily sighed. "I heard that he's still spying. I was hoping that when Dumbledore called us Voldemort would have been defeated..."
All of a sudden, a yell of surprise was heard from the fireplace.
"Sirius," Dumbledore chuckled. "I forgot. Maybe I should have flood everyone..."
"Oh, Mum?" Harry asked, albeit a little awkwardly - it still felt very odd to say that. "Who's Arabella?"
"Oh! I haven't seen Bella in ages! Her full name is Arabella Figg-"
"Figg?! You mean my next-door neighbour at the Dursleys?" Harry asked, astounded.
"Oh, Harry," James said apologetically, whilst dodging a red hot poker Sirius was shoving through the fireplace. "Padfoot! It's me, you idiot! I'm sorry you had to stay with those evil muggles! I don't know how you lived with them! SIRIUS!"
Lily nodded sympathetically, completely ignoring the fact that her husband was being stabbed with the poker.
"It must have been dreadful!" she said. "I can't even begin to - oh, for pity's sake! Sirius Black! Get off my husband! And get here right now! We have some explaining to do!"
Suddenly the poker vanished, and two figures appeared in the fire place, revolving slowly.
"Moony!" James yelled. "Padfoot!"
"Yay! Reunion!" Yelled Sirius, jumping around happily. "Oh, and sorry about the whole poker thing - I didn't realize it was really you. I thought it was Harry."
"Oh, cheers!" Harry said sarcastically.
"Well! You are supposed to be in bed now!" Moony cut in, in his friends defense.
"Some things might excuse that, Professor Lupin," Ginny said pointedly, whilst asking Lily:
'Is he always as bossy as that?'
'Yup' came the reply.
'Harry! Don't answer my questions for me! But yes, he is.' Lily said.
Ginny snickered.
"What? Oh, and please call me Remus. I'm no longer your professor. You can all call me Remus, or Moony. Whichever."
Hermione looked a bit hesitant, but remained silent.
"A little help!" Yelped James from the fireplace. It seemed that Severus had had a similar idea with the whole poker thing.
"SEVERUS!" Yelled Sirius. "Get over here now! And leave ickle Jamsie-kins alone!"
James growled, and everyone else, with the exception of Dumbledore, sniggered.
A moment later, Severus Snape had appeared in the office. With a flick of his wand, his hair receded into his head and his nose shrunk. He now looked like Sirius' twin.
"Hey cuz!" Sirius cried.
Snape raised an eyebrow.
"Weirdoes," Lily muttered.
"Not in your head, dear," muttered James.
"I know," replied Lily.
"So - what in Merlin's name are two of my dead best friends doing here - a chat, perhaps?" Severus asked sarcastically.
"Got it in one, Snake!" James teased.
"Get stuffed, Prongs!" retorted Snape.
"Oh, just shut up, wont you?" came a new voice from the fire.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stood confused as a young woman with raven- coloured hair stepped out of the fire and kissed Snape on the cheek, without turning a hair at his new look.
"Good to see your looking normal, love," she said, looking at Snape. "Hi! I'm Arabella! No, don't tell me... you're Harry...you must be Ginny...you've got to be Ron...and that would make you Hermione, right?" The four nodded. "Yes!" she said, punching the air with her fist.
"How did you know that was Ginny?" asked Lily curiously.
"Let's just say, like father, like son," she said, winking at Harry. "Oh, for Merlin's sake! Woman interest? Hello! Obvious or what!"
"I have to agree," said Severus. "She's right, for once..."
Snape got a whack around the head for that.
"Why did you marry me, then? If I'm so stupid..." Arabella trailed off, noticing the looks. "I guess you haven't mentioned that yet.."
Snape rolled his eyes. "Well done! Well observed."
Arabella sighed.
"Why did you not tell me?" Lily cried, hugging her friend in congratulations.
"Well, there was this small problem with you being dead and all..."
It was then, that Ginny spoke up.
"You're American."
"Wow, are we surrounded by bright women or what?" Snape rolled his eyes again.
"You should be careful those eyes don't go and roll out of your head," Lily bit back.
"Ooh! Touché!" Arabella grinned.
"I think it's time we got down to some of the more serious aspects of this," suggested Dumbledore, before Snape could retort.
"Now, first things first..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm ever so sorry for the weirdness of this chapter, it's all over the place. Next up we have people's reactions when it all sinks in, and how Lily and James came to be in Dumbledore's office. Please review and tell me what you think. I am not so pleased with this chapter, but I hope it's OK.
Review, please!
A/N: Well, here's the second chapter I promised! As ever, reviews are welcome! The third chapter will be up either today or tomorrow, depending on how long it takes to upload chapters. Not too long, I should imagine!
Disclaimer: All of the Harry Potter world belongs to JK Rowling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, my..." Ginny gasped. "You... you're... you can't be!"
"But - you're dead!" Hermione said, pinching her arm. "Ouch!" Hermione started to rub her arm.
The woman behind the desk laughed.
"Dumbledore said you'd do that!" she giggled.
Ginny stifled her laughter, instantly taking a liking to this woman - even if she was a zombie.
"Um...where is Dumbledore?" Ginny asked the couple. "And where exactly did you come from?"
Both of their smiles faded, and were replaced by mournful looks.
Ginny gasped again.
"He...he's not dead, is he?" Ginny feared the answer. Looking across at a dumb-struck Hermione, Ginny wasn't sure if she'd even heard what she'd said.
"No, but thank you for the concern," a voice said from the corner. Dumbledore said frowning slightly, but not angrily. He seemed a little confused.
"Now there's something I never thought I'd see!" the young man grinned. "Dumbledore looking confused? It must be one of the side-affects of the spell!"
Dumbledore gave him a reproving look, as if the man had said something he shouldn't have.
"James..." he warned. Hermione's eyes bugged.
"So...so it is? But how?" she stammered. Automatically, Hermione stuck her hand out in front of Ginny's eyes. "Ginny! Let them tell us before you go rooting in there! It's rude, you know!"
The couple's jaws dropped, Dumbledore's eyes widened, Hermione frowned and Ginny sighed.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "Just curious...I shouldn't have. Sorry." She apologized again.
"Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked. "Do you need to tell me something?"
"I think that might be why she's here, professor," the young woman said, as her green eyes studied Ginny carefully.
Suddenly, Ginny heard a voice in her head.
'I never thought that I'd meet another Seer. A real one, I mean. You are Ginny Weasley, am I correct?'
Ginny stared hard at the young woman. Something about the way the woman was staring at her told her that it was her Ginny was conversing with. She decided instantly that she could trust her, so she replied.
'I am. And you are Lily Potter aren't you? Don't worry, I'll wait until Harry gets here before I ask more than that.'
But before Ginny got a reply, the door to Dumbledore's office flew open.
'Being a Seer has its benefits, doesn't it? I should have warned you Harry can hear what we are saying. He is one, too. I suppose you'd guessed that, though?' The young woman replied.
It seemed that Ginny being a Seer and his supposedly dead parents standing in front of him was a bit too much for Harry to take in.
"Sorry," Harry said suddenly. "I'm in a wacky dream here. I'll just be off..."
Before he'd walked out of the door, Hermione grabbed his arm. Ginny and Lily both laughed. She still hadn't closed her mouth.
"Well, really," James smirked. "I never would have guessed that one of Harry's best friends would be a goldfish!"
Hermione continued to stare. Then, without warning, she keeled over in a dead faint.
Luckily, Harry caught her.
"Well, that's funny," Harry commented. "There was me thinking that she'd be the one having to stop be from splatting on the floor."
"What a wonderful vocabulary you have," James said dryly. "We have a walking talking thesaurus with us!"
"And another thing I would never have guessed," Harry said grinning at his father. "If I hadn't been a Seer, having my dead father tell me to broaden my vocabulary wasn't on my list of will-happens."
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
'I never thought I'd see you again!' she sobbed, but only Ginny and Harry could hear her.
'You might want to come out of Seer mode, Mum," Harry smirked. 'I don't think anyone can hear you...'
'I only needed you to, Harry,' Lily smiled at him.
"Ahem!" James cleared his throat loudly. "This is so unfair! I'm going to have to put up with you three mind-talking all of the time!"
Harry, Ginny and Lily exchanged mischievous looks.
Yet again, the door banged open. This time it was Ron.
"Professor Dumbledore! Harry, Hermione and Ginny are...here," he finished, looking around in astonishment.
Harry had to stop himself from laughing out loud at what Ron must be thinking about what was going on in front of him.
Hermione was passed out in Harry's arms, who was looking intently at Ginny and his dead mother, all three grinning mischievously, who were being glared at by Harry's dead father who was complaining that Ginny, Harry and Lily shouldn't be able to talk to each other in their heads and Dumbledore chuckling quietly in the corner.
"Perfect timing!" James cried. "Someone I can talk to that wont try to think at me!" He glared pointedly at Lily.
"Ahhh, does ickle Jamsie-kins feel left out?" Lily teased.
"Well, as you can see, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "We are currently welcoming our new guests!"
Ron smiled weakly.
"Ron Weasley, then?" James asked. "Sorry, but I can't just read you like this lot," Lily laughed. Everyone knew that James was just messing about, really.
"Er...read?" Ron asked.
James sniffed.
"Those three," he said, jabbing his finger over his shoulder at Lily, Harry and Ginny. "Have just discovered that they all have a connection in that they're all Seers." James looked down at him, a pleading look on his face. "Please don't tell me you're one, too! I don't think I could contain my envy!" Everyone laughed. "Harry, Lily, and Harry's girlfriend... not his best friend too!"
Harry and Ginny both sobered up.
"We're just friends," Harry said. "Ginny's not my girlfriend."
"Oh, yeah!" James said. "It went wrong! The great Seer thought that you'd see Harry before coming to Dumbledore!" James laughed at Lily while smiling at Ginny. "This makes it so much harder!"
Lily scowled.
"If you remember," she huffed. "I said that if Harry arrived with Ginny, a bit later, then that meant that Ginny would be Harry's girlfriend! And now look! You've embarrassed them both!"
James raised an eyebrow. Then he turned to Harry.
"Sorry, mate," he said in a stage-whisper. "She's a baby-photos type...the ones she has anyway...I think that we should get to the serious part as soon as Hermione wakes up." He bit his lip. "There are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Are we going to tell them about that thing tonight?" James directed the last question to Dumbledore.
Harry scoffed.
"And you accuse me of bad vocabulary!"
Ron came across and checked on Hermione who Harry had rested in a chair by the fireplace. Hermione's eyes fluttered open.
"Ron? Oh, Merlin, I just had the weirdest dream..." Hermione trailed off as she looked around the room, and laughed. "Or not!"
Regaining her control, she sat up. And pinched herself, just in case.
" Ouch! So, what have I missed?" she asked, rubbing the back of her hand.
"Just those three Seers gossiping in their heads," James said, winking at Ron.
"You're not going to let that rest, are you?" Ginny asked, briefly leaving her conversation with Harry and Lily.
James just grinned.
"Anyway," Dumbledore said. I think we ought to get on with some more serious topics, now. James, could you floo for Minerva - she ought to be here, if not only to be told of where several of her students have disappeared to. And you will probably want to floo Severus, Sirius, Remus and Arabella also, am I correct?"
"You are, professor," James nodded, "I'll do that now."
James reached down into a pot full of pale blue powder, and threw some of it into the fire.
"Professor Snape?" Hermione asked. "You were friends with him?"
"We were," Lily said. "He was in Gryffindor with us. He was one of the Marauders, in fact. He just had to transfer into Slytherin in third year, because his parents had already signed him over to Voldemort, so Severus turned spy. After that we rarely got to see him." Lily sighed. "I heard that he's still spying. I was hoping that when Dumbledore called us Voldemort would have been defeated..."
All of a sudden, a yell of surprise was heard from the fireplace.
"Sirius," Dumbledore chuckled. "I forgot. Maybe I should have flood everyone..."
"Oh, Mum?" Harry asked, albeit a little awkwardly - it still felt very odd to say that. "Who's Arabella?"
"Oh! I haven't seen Bella in ages! Her full name is Arabella Figg-"
"Figg?! You mean my next-door neighbour at the Dursleys?" Harry asked, astounded.
"Oh, Harry," James said apologetically, whilst dodging a red hot poker Sirius was shoving through the fireplace. "Padfoot! It's me, you idiot! I'm sorry you had to stay with those evil muggles! I don't know how you lived with them! SIRIUS!"
Lily nodded sympathetically, completely ignoring the fact that her husband was being stabbed with the poker.
"It must have been dreadful!" she said. "I can't even begin to - oh, for pity's sake! Sirius Black! Get off my husband! And get here right now! We have some explaining to do!"
Suddenly the poker vanished, and two figures appeared in the fire place, revolving slowly.
"Moony!" James yelled. "Padfoot!"
"Yay! Reunion!" Yelled Sirius, jumping around happily. "Oh, and sorry about the whole poker thing - I didn't realize it was really you. I thought it was Harry."
"Oh, cheers!" Harry said sarcastically.
"Well! You are supposed to be in bed now!" Moony cut in, in his friends defense.
"Some things might excuse that, Professor Lupin," Ginny said pointedly, whilst asking Lily:
'Is he always as bossy as that?'
'Yup' came the reply.
'Harry! Don't answer my questions for me! But yes, he is.' Lily said.
Ginny snickered.
"What? Oh, and please call me Remus. I'm no longer your professor. You can all call me Remus, or Moony. Whichever."
Hermione looked a bit hesitant, but remained silent.
"A little help!" Yelped James from the fireplace. It seemed that Severus had had a similar idea with the whole poker thing.
"SEVERUS!" Yelled Sirius. "Get over here now! And leave ickle Jamsie-kins alone!"
James growled, and everyone else, with the exception of Dumbledore, sniggered.
A moment later, Severus Snape had appeared in the office. With a flick of his wand, his hair receded into his head and his nose shrunk. He now looked like Sirius' twin.
"Hey cuz!" Sirius cried.
Snape raised an eyebrow.
"Weirdoes," Lily muttered.
"Not in your head, dear," muttered James.
"I know," replied Lily.
"So - what in Merlin's name are two of my dead best friends doing here - a chat, perhaps?" Severus asked sarcastically.
"Got it in one, Snake!" James teased.
"Get stuffed, Prongs!" retorted Snape.
"Oh, just shut up, wont you?" came a new voice from the fire.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stood confused as a young woman with raven- coloured hair stepped out of the fire and kissed Snape on the cheek, without turning a hair at his new look.
"Good to see your looking normal, love," she said, looking at Snape. "Hi! I'm Arabella! No, don't tell me... you're Harry...you must be Ginny...you've got to be Ron...and that would make you Hermione, right?" The four nodded. "Yes!" she said, punching the air with her fist.
"How did you know that was Ginny?" asked Lily curiously.
"Let's just say, like father, like son," she said, winking at Harry. "Oh, for Merlin's sake! Woman interest? Hello! Obvious or what!"
"I have to agree," said Severus. "She's right, for once..."
Snape got a whack around the head for that.
"Why did you marry me, then? If I'm so stupid..." Arabella trailed off, noticing the looks. "I guess you haven't mentioned that yet.."
Snape rolled his eyes. "Well done! Well observed."
Arabella sighed.
"Why did you not tell me?" Lily cried, hugging her friend in congratulations.
"Well, there was this small problem with you being dead and all..."
It was then, that Ginny spoke up.
"You're American."
"Wow, are we surrounded by bright women or what?" Snape rolled his eyes again.
"You should be careful those eyes don't go and roll out of your head," Lily bit back.
"Ooh! Touché!" Arabella grinned.
"I think it's time we got down to some of the more serious aspects of this," suggested Dumbledore, before Snape could retort.
"Now, first things first..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm ever so sorry for the weirdness of this chapter, it's all over the place. Next up we have people's reactions when it all sinks in, and how Lily and James came to be in Dumbledore's office. Please review and tell me what you think. I am not so pleased with this chapter, but I hope it's OK.
Review, please!
