Author's Notes: Okay, someone asked why I aged the kids like I did. Well, I
did it because I wanted to have a cute little kid romance on the side while
I wrote this. It's going to be pretty heavy Willow content in the story and
I plan on a sequel to take place after the end of the fourth book. And I
want the kiddies in their romances by then, and it'll be darker, so them
being older works out better for me.
Part Fourteen
She looked down at her vanity top, frowning at the sight she saw there. She recognized all the ingredients lying in there, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out why they were there.
She looked up, giving an inward sigh when she saw everything was in black and white. Great, she was in another one of her dreams. That was just swell. Why couldn't she dream of more pleasant things? Things like Charlie Weasley and that incredible kiss he had given her before getting his butt back to Romania after the disastrous Quidditch game?
She winced as a pain wave went right through her. Willow bit her lip, trying hard not to cry out when it happened. Realizing that someone or something wanted her attention on her dream, she turned her eyes back to her vanity.
Her eyes locked with the mirror and she saw herself, but younger, once again. It was the same as before, her with long red hair that reached past her waist almost. Her eyes were a vivid green, and they, along with her hair, were the only things of colour in this whole scene.
Sighing, she looked away from her image and turned back down to look at the things piled on top of her vanity counter. She frowned again as she catalogued every thing on there, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do exactly. There were spell ingredients and various forms of makeup just littering the top, and what looked like a tiny cauldron on the side.
Willow reached for this cauldron, looking inside and seeing that the potion she had been brewing had indeed finished. Mesmerized, and unable to stop herself, Willow reached for a tiny container of lip gloss that had been lying not far away. She unscrewed the top, looking at the gloss below. It was strawberry lip gloss, tinted a
slight shade of red that she couldn't see due to the black and white nature of the dream, but knew anyway, somehow.
Willow watched as her arm went back to the cauldron, pulling it closer to the tube of lip gloss. The whole thing felt like it was being done in slow motion, and she couldn't really stop herself. She tilted the cauldron a bit, bringing the lip gloss container up to the rim of the cauldron and gently pouring a little of the potion into it. She quickly put the cauldron back on the corner of her vanity and reached for a stirring rod. She watched the lip gloss as she stirred the potion into it, mixing it up until she was certain that no one would see she had added anything to it. Once she was finished, she replaced the lip gloss on her counter and made to dispose of the rest of the potion.
Making her way to the bathroom in the corner, Willow let her eyes travel over the room she was in. She felt a slight quiver of fear as she recognized it as the room from her dream the previous night. This was the room she had been in right before she left to the Astronomy Tower to kill herself.
There were three beds, all neatly made, and three sets of dressers, closets, and various other things. She had roommates and that's why she was doing this all in such hurry. She wanted to be finished before any of them came back to the room. She didn't want them finding out what she had been doing, or even seeing her behave in any odd way. They might get concerned and then go tell . . .
A name escaped her, but an image came to mind. She saw the back of a tall boy, he had dark hair and was dressed in school robes. It was the same boy from her other dream, the one who's face she never did get to see. But she associated him with that hissing she had heard before, the same hissing that started up everytime her mind turned to him and tried to remember who he was.
She shook herself, reminding herself mentally of her task. Willow watched as she dumped the rest of the potion down the sink and quickly washed away any evidence of the draught she had created. Then she scurried back into her bedroom, putting away all potion ingredients and make up in a rush. She left no trace behind of her
deed, save the container of lip gloss she left on the counter for the time being. But once she was done cleaning up, she turned her attention to the lip gloss.
Almost resignedly, the redhead seated herself back down at the vanity, pulling the lip gloss to herself. She felt tears well up in her eyes but couldn't understand why. With shaking hands, she applied the lip gloss to her lips, careful not to lick any of it off or to leave any of it on her hands. She screwed the top back on the container and slipped it into her pockets.
There, it was done. The younger version of Willow looked back at her from the mirror, an expression of complete remorse on her face. Willow watched in surprise as the girl's lips moved, telling her something very important.
"I was too much of a coward to stop it. This was the easy way out."
Willow was confused, getting up from the vanity and moving to head to the door. She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. A quick look around told her she was in the Slytherin dungeons again.
Confused, Willow started to make her way down the hallway when she heard that telltale hissing start again. Fearful for reasons beyond her, the redhead spun around, trying to find the source of the noise.
She never saw him coming, only felt it when she crashed into him from behind. Very quickly two strong arms were wrapped around her body, holding her in place. She felt his right hand move, making his way to her pocket and grasping the lip gloss she had stored there.
Frightened, she tried to move before he could remove it, but it was of no use. She struggled vainly, tiring herself out and nearly drooping over. Her eyelids began to feel heavy and the hissing only increased in frequency. Before she fell into unconsciousness, she felt him raise her up, bringing his lips to her ears.
"Now I see how you did it . . ."
*****
*Bang!*
Willow gasped, shooting up out of bed and desperately grasping for her wand as she tried to locate the sound of the disturbance. Her fear dissipated only a bit when she realized that the noise had come from someone banging on her door.
The redhead frowned, looking out her window and seeing the moon high up in the night sky. It was in the middle of the night. Who would be banging on her door so loud?
Thinking for a second that something had happened to Dawn, Willow all but flew out of her bed, shrugging on her bathrobe and sliding her feet into her slippers. She had no real reason to think anything had happened to Dawn, but after the day Harry had, she wasn't willing to risk it. After all, they all knew someone had tampered with that bludger with the intention of harming Harry during the Quidditch game. Add onto that the creepy message written on the wall next to Filch's petrified cat, well, Willow wasn't feeling too optimistic about someone banging on her door in earnest in the middle of the night.
She reached the door quickly, opening it a bit and poking her head around it. She was shocked to see Snape standing there, a furious scowl painted on his features.
"What's going on Professor?" she sked tentatively.
"Staff meeting, right now," he barked at her, grabbing her arm and pulling her out the door. "There's been an incident. Dumbledore wishes to see all staff members in the Great Hall."
"But, what happened?" Willow asked, jogging to keep up with the professor's brisk pace. Snape scowled even deeper, eyes flickering dangerously for a second before he answered.
"A student has been attacked."
*****
He was frozen stiff.
Dawn gulped, trying hard not to flinch as she looked down at the petrified form of Colin Creevy. The young boy, usually so energetic and bubbly was pale and frozen at the time being. The nervous smile he had on his face was changed into a mask of shock and horror. His hands were still up, fingers grasping at the camera that was no longer there.
She turned away after a while, not able to look anymore. Her eyes fell on Harry and Ron in the corner, noting that they looked just like she felt. Harry had been that way since the professors had brought Colin in. Her, Ron, and Hermione had stumbled upon it when they had snuck down to see Harry under the protection of his Invisibility Cloak. The dark-haired boy had been glad to see them, not wanting to be alone in the infirmery with only Colin's frozen form to keep him company.
"It's amazing," came the breathless voice from Hermione beside her. Dawn turned, seeing how the brunette was wandering close to Colin, waving her hands in front of his eyes and poking him occassionally.
"It's just astonishing," she stated again, shaking her head. "I can't believe it."
"Poor Colin," Ron chimed in from Harry's side. "Actually, poor us. There's a monster running around here somewhere, and it looks like its after students."
"Are you sure that it wasn't Dobby?" Dawn asked again. "I mean, I know you don't think he's capable of it, but he did sic that bludger on you. I don't think this elf cares what he has to do in order to scare you away from Hogwarts."
"It wasn't Dobby," Harry denied. "If the Chamber has been opened like Professor Dumbledore said, then only the Heir to Slytherin could have done it. Dobby's a house elf, there's no way he fits that description. Besides, I think this whole Chamber business is why he's trying to get me to leave. Dobby wants to save my life."
"Well, he's going to end up shortening it dramatically if he keeps going like he is," Dawn retorted, pulling Hermione away from Colin as she made her way over to Harry's side. She looked down at Harry's bandaged arm, resisting the urge to roll her eyes when she thought of why his arm was bandaged in the first place. Stupid Lockehart. When was that man going to give up trying to prove he was a great wizard? All he was doing was reinforcing the idiot image Dawn and several others had of him. Unfortunately, most of the female population of
Hogwarts still had faith in him.
"I'll ask Willow tomorrow," Dawn promised her friends. "She's bound to know something."
"When are you getting out of here?" Ron asked suddenly. Harry shrugged, frowning at Colin's body so many beds away.
"The way things are going right now, not soon enough."
*****
Part Fourteen
She looked down at her vanity top, frowning at the sight she saw there. She recognized all the ingredients lying in there, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out why they were there.
She looked up, giving an inward sigh when she saw everything was in black and white. Great, she was in another one of her dreams. That was just swell. Why couldn't she dream of more pleasant things? Things like Charlie Weasley and that incredible kiss he had given her before getting his butt back to Romania after the disastrous Quidditch game?
She winced as a pain wave went right through her. Willow bit her lip, trying hard not to cry out when it happened. Realizing that someone or something wanted her attention on her dream, she turned her eyes back to her vanity.
Her eyes locked with the mirror and she saw herself, but younger, once again. It was the same as before, her with long red hair that reached past her waist almost. Her eyes were a vivid green, and they, along with her hair, were the only things of colour in this whole scene.
Sighing, she looked away from her image and turned back down to look at the things piled on top of her vanity counter. She frowned again as she catalogued every thing on there, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do exactly. There were spell ingredients and various forms of makeup just littering the top, and what looked like a tiny cauldron on the side.
Willow reached for this cauldron, looking inside and seeing that the potion she had been brewing had indeed finished. Mesmerized, and unable to stop herself, Willow reached for a tiny container of lip gloss that had been lying not far away. She unscrewed the top, looking at the gloss below. It was strawberry lip gloss, tinted a
slight shade of red that she couldn't see due to the black and white nature of the dream, but knew anyway, somehow.
Willow watched as her arm went back to the cauldron, pulling it closer to the tube of lip gloss. The whole thing felt like it was being done in slow motion, and she couldn't really stop herself. She tilted the cauldron a bit, bringing the lip gloss container up to the rim of the cauldron and gently pouring a little of the potion into it. She quickly put the cauldron back on the corner of her vanity and reached for a stirring rod. She watched the lip gloss as she stirred the potion into it, mixing it up until she was certain that no one would see she had added anything to it. Once she was finished, she replaced the lip gloss on her counter and made to dispose of the rest of the potion.
Making her way to the bathroom in the corner, Willow let her eyes travel over the room she was in. She felt a slight quiver of fear as she recognized it as the room from her dream the previous night. This was the room she had been in right before she left to the Astronomy Tower to kill herself.
There were three beds, all neatly made, and three sets of dressers, closets, and various other things. She had roommates and that's why she was doing this all in such hurry. She wanted to be finished before any of them came back to the room. She didn't want them finding out what she had been doing, or even seeing her behave in any odd way. They might get concerned and then go tell . . .
A name escaped her, but an image came to mind. She saw the back of a tall boy, he had dark hair and was dressed in school robes. It was the same boy from her other dream, the one who's face she never did get to see. But she associated him with that hissing she had heard before, the same hissing that started up everytime her mind turned to him and tried to remember who he was.
She shook herself, reminding herself mentally of her task. Willow watched as she dumped the rest of the potion down the sink and quickly washed away any evidence of the draught she had created. Then she scurried back into her bedroom, putting away all potion ingredients and make up in a rush. She left no trace behind of her
deed, save the container of lip gloss she left on the counter for the time being. But once she was done cleaning up, she turned her attention to the lip gloss.
Almost resignedly, the redhead seated herself back down at the vanity, pulling the lip gloss to herself. She felt tears well up in her eyes but couldn't understand why. With shaking hands, she applied the lip gloss to her lips, careful not to lick any of it off or to leave any of it on her hands. She screwed the top back on the container and slipped it into her pockets.
There, it was done. The younger version of Willow looked back at her from the mirror, an expression of complete remorse on her face. Willow watched in surprise as the girl's lips moved, telling her something very important.
"I was too much of a coward to stop it. This was the easy way out."
Willow was confused, getting up from the vanity and moving to head to the door. She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. A quick look around told her she was in the Slytherin dungeons again.
Confused, Willow started to make her way down the hallway when she heard that telltale hissing start again. Fearful for reasons beyond her, the redhead spun around, trying to find the source of the noise.
She never saw him coming, only felt it when she crashed into him from behind. Very quickly two strong arms were wrapped around her body, holding her in place. She felt his right hand move, making his way to her pocket and grasping the lip gloss she had stored there.
Frightened, she tried to move before he could remove it, but it was of no use. She struggled vainly, tiring herself out and nearly drooping over. Her eyelids began to feel heavy and the hissing only increased in frequency. Before she fell into unconsciousness, she felt him raise her up, bringing his lips to her ears.
"Now I see how you did it . . ."
*****
*Bang!*
Willow gasped, shooting up out of bed and desperately grasping for her wand as she tried to locate the sound of the disturbance. Her fear dissipated only a bit when she realized that the noise had come from someone banging on her door.
The redhead frowned, looking out her window and seeing the moon high up in the night sky. It was in the middle of the night. Who would be banging on her door so loud?
Thinking for a second that something had happened to Dawn, Willow all but flew out of her bed, shrugging on her bathrobe and sliding her feet into her slippers. She had no real reason to think anything had happened to Dawn, but after the day Harry had, she wasn't willing to risk it. After all, they all knew someone had tampered with that bludger with the intention of harming Harry during the Quidditch game. Add onto that the creepy message written on the wall next to Filch's petrified cat, well, Willow wasn't feeling too optimistic about someone banging on her door in earnest in the middle of the night.
She reached the door quickly, opening it a bit and poking her head around it. She was shocked to see Snape standing there, a furious scowl painted on his features.
"What's going on Professor?" she sked tentatively.
"Staff meeting, right now," he barked at her, grabbing her arm and pulling her out the door. "There's been an incident. Dumbledore wishes to see all staff members in the Great Hall."
"But, what happened?" Willow asked, jogging to keep up with the professor's brisk pace. Snape scowled even deeper, eyes flickering dangerously for a second before he answered.
"A student has been attacked."
*****
He was frozen stiff.
Dawn gulped, trying hard not to flinch as she looked down at the petrified form of Colin Creevy. The young boy, usually so energetic and bubbly was pale and frozen at the time being. The nervous smile he had on his face was changed into a mask of shock and horror. His hands were still up, fingers grasping at the camera that was no longer there.
She turned away after a while, not able to look anymore. Her eyes fell on Harry and Ron in the corner, noting that they looked just like she felt. Harry had been that way since the professors had brought Colin in. Her, Ron, and Hermione had stumbled upon it when they had snuck down to see Harry under the protection of his Invisibility Cloak. The dark-haired boy had been glad to see them, not wanting to be alone in the infirmery with only Colin's frozen form to keep him company.
"It's amazing," came the breathless voice from Hermione beside her. Dawn turned, seeing how the brunette was wandering close to Colin, waving her hands in front of his eyes and poking him occassionally.
"It's just astonishing," she stated again, shaking her head. "I can't believe it."
"Poor Colin," Ron chimed in from Harry's side. "Actually, poor us. There's a monster running around here somewhere, and it looks like its after students."
"Are you sure that it wasn't Dobby?" Dawn asked again. "I mean, I know you don't think he's capable of it, but he did sic that bludger on you. I don't think this elf cares what he has to do in order to scare you away from Hogwarts."
"It wasn't Dobby," Harry denied. "If the Chamber has been opened like Professor Dumbledore said, then only the Heir to Slytherin could have done it. Dobby's a house elf, there's no way he fits that description. Besides, I think this whole Chamber business is why he's trying to get me to leave. Dobby wants to save my life."
"Well, he's going to end up shortening it dramatically if he keeps going like he is," Dawn retorted, pulling Hermione away from Colin as she made her way over to Harry's side. She looked down at Harry's bandaged arm, resisting the urge to roll her eyes when she thought of why his arm was bandaged in the first place. Stupid Lockehart. When was that man going to give up trying to prove he was a great wizard? All he was doing was reinforcing the idiot image Dawn and several others had of him. Unfortunately, most of the female population of
Hogwarts still had faith in him.
"I'll ask Willow tomorrow," Dawn promised her friends. "She's bound to know something."
"When are you getting out of here?" Ron asked suddenly. Harry shrugged, frowning at Colin's body so many beds away.
"The way things are going right now, not soon enough."
*****