Author's note: THANK YOU FOR READING! It makes me all teary-eyed and stuff.
*sniff* ok. this is where it gets all dark and stuff. ok, ill shut up.
Jamie walked swiftly through the Slytherin common room, drowning out the rude comments and snide remarks. She ran up to her dormitory, and threw herself onto her four-poster bed - desperately hoping she would be asleep by the time the other girls came up for bed. This wouldn't be very difficult because she was already extremely tired.
Sleep didn't come right away, and thoughts about her family crept into Jamie's mind. She wanted to see them. She closed her eyes. Indistinct voices traveling over the distance of time gradually became more clear - and before she knew it, Jamie could hear what they were saying.
"Where are you going?" asked her mother in her always smiling voice.
"The school. I'm going to see if I can get that teaching job." said an unfamiliar man's voice. Jamie strained her eyes to look at him, but couldn't make out any features or details. He was a blur - that was all. Jamie was very frustrated about this. She had been hoping to see her stepfather.
"All right," Jamie's mother said, giving the man a brief kiss. "Do you think you could take Jamie?" A small girl standing beside her beamed and started jumping up and down. "I think she should be properly introduced to the castle." she added, smiling at the small girl.
The girl's brown eyes widened, "I'm going to go to school at a castle?" The little girl's mother smiled and said, "Yes, but it will be quite a few years before you actually go to school there." The little girl frowned, and her mother turned back to the man. "I'll stay here with the baby. Say hello to the headmaster for me."
"I will, Becca." he said, giving her a gentle kiss before grabbing the little girl and lifting her up onto his shoulders. The girl giggled and waved back at her mother. "Bye, momma!"
Jamie's mother smiled and waved.
She called back, "I love you!"
The man and the little girl left out the door. The girl's mother frowned, put a hand to her mouth, and then shook whatever she was thinking out of her mind, and turned around to hush the baby in the cradle behind her who had started to cry.
The baby's cries faded, and Jamie - in her dormitory - lost the vision as she drifted off to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~
Her sleep was not without dreams. It was so strangely real, that Jamie knew it had once happened. She was standing in a circular stone room - years ago. Jamie knew she had been in this room before, but at the time, this had been her first visit to wherever she was. She was not sure how old she was, but she kept thinking about ice cream, so she supposed she was probably very young. She was aware of two men talking calmly in the room.
The walls of the room faded and swirled as Jamie's vision was shifted to her mother - screaming. (Author's note: there's double meaning in there!)
A cruel voice rose above the screaming and yelled, "You left me - and you took my daughter with you. She's my blood!"
Jamie could see this man just fine - except for he had his back to her, and was wearing a long hooded cloak. The woman yelled through her tears, "She was never yours! I was never yours!" The man advanced on her and raised his wand - pointing it at her heart.
"I have no use for you anymore." he said coldly.
Jamie woke up with the late January sun shining down on her face. The Slytherin girls around her, fortunately, had not woken up yet. Jamie was still tired, but she knew she would never get back to sleep.
She did not want to go back to sleep - for the chance of her dream continuing was very disturbing. She knew the next words in that dream were going to be Avada Kadavra, and Jamie would have watched her mother die. She was glad that it had stopped where it had.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jamie entered the Great Hall for breakfast slightly dazed. She frowned when she looked over at the Ravenclaw table and saw that Lisa wasn't there.
"Jamie!" came Lisa's voice from Jamie's right. She looked over to where the voice had come from to see that Lisa was sitting at the Gryffindor table, next to Ron. Hermione didn't seem too happy about it, but brightened when she saw Jamie.
"Sit over here!" she called, and scooted over as Jamie walked over to the table.
Everyone in Gryffindor was laughing and chatting - completely unaware that Jamie had just witnessed murder.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, concerned at the awfully blank look on Jamie's face.
Jamie looked over to see his eyes were searching her face for a sign of what might have happened to make her so quiet. He had experienced so much death and anguish in his life - he understood, and was the only one who noticed. He must have recognized the look on her face as one he had often worn.
And yet, Jamie didn't want to pour out her troubles when Harry had so many of his own problems to deal with. She forced a smile after a moment's hesitation. "I'm fine." she said, and then felt guilty for lying to him when he knew perfectly well she wasn't fine.
Harry sighed and nodded.
The owls came in to bring the morning post, and, as usual, Hermione received her subscribed Daily Prophet. She gave a knut to the owl, and scanned the front page as the messenger took off.
She gasped and began to read out loud, "Death Eater attack on a muggle town has turned the wizarding world upside down. Many bore witness to the attack, but could not describe any of the attackers."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Of course, because they were all wearing masks." She continued,
"Meanwhile numerous prisoners are constantly escaping Azkaban with a suspiciously small effort, and the Ministry still can give no explanation as to the behavior of the most recently careless dementors who have often been spotted leaving Azkaban and going after innocent wizard and muggle families alike. The Ministry is currently working very hard with erasing muggle witness's memories after getting all the information possible about the aforementioned events."
Lisa shook her head. "Something has to happen about this - about You-Know- Who - and soon."
At this statement, Harry dropped his fork and gave a loud cough. *Of course,* Jamie thought. *He hasn't told them.*
With a stab of guilt, Jamie realized that maybe if Harry didn't want anyone to know - he didn't want her to know either. Of course, the matter of openly discussing a prophesied murder to his friends must have been slightly alarming, and therefore, avoided.
Nevertheless, Jamie knew - she knew a lot of things, and this just happened to be one of them. It's not as if she welcomed these insights into other people's lives - they just came. Jamie had learned to shut out many irrelevant things, but some things resonated in people's minds so strongly, that she just wasn't strong enough to shut them out.
Harry remained silent the rest of breakfast, and Jamie noticed that he didn't eat anything either. Guilt and concern made it just as difficult for her to eat.
But since this morning a new guilt had stirred in Jamie's mind as she dwelled on her dream of her mother. The guilt came from the fact that her mother had been killed by her father because of her. Because of he blood.
Questions arose about what kind of a person would do that to someone who had once been their wife? And also, an even more confusing question on why Jamie's mother had married a person like that. There were also questions that were more intriguing than mysterious - where was her stepfather in all of this? And did he even die like Dumbledore had said? *Why couldn't Jamie see him?* But through all of this, guilt remained and stood out as a bitter reminder of the words, "she's my blood."
Jamie walked swiftly through the Slytherin common room, drowning out the rude comments and snide remarks. She ran up to her dormitory, and threw herself onto her four-poster bed - desperately hoping she would be asleep by the time the other girls came up for bed. This wouldn't be very difficult because she was already extremely tired.
Sleep didn't come right away, and thoughts about her family crept into Jamie's mind. She wanted to see them. She closed her eyes. Indistinct voices traveling over the distance of time gradually became more clear - and before she knew it, Jamie could hear what they were saying.
"Where are you going?" asked her mother in her always smiling voice.
"The school. I'm going to see if I can get that teaching job." said an unfamiliar man's voice. Jamie strained her eyes to look at him, but couldn't make out any features or details. He was a blur - that was all. Jamie was very frustrated about this. She had been hoping to see her stepfather.
"All right," Jamie's mother said, giving the man a brief kiss. "Do you think you could take Jamie?" A small girl standing beside her beamed and started jumping up and down. "I think she should be properly introduced to the castle." she added, smiling at the small girl.
The girl's brown eyes widened, "I'm going to go to school at a castle?" The little girl's mother smiled and said, "Yes, but it will be quite a few years before you actually go to school there." The little girl frowned, and her mother turned back to the man. "I'll stay here with the baby. Say hello to the headmaster for me."
"I will, Becca." he said, giving her a gentle kiss before grabbing the little girl and lifting her up onto his shoulders. The girl giggled and waved back at her mother. "Bye, momma!"
Jamie's mother smiled and waved.
She called back, "I love you!"
The man and the little girl left out the door. The girl's mother frowned, put a hand to her mouth, and then shook whatever she was thinking out of her mind, and turned around to hush the baby in the cradle behind her who had started to cry.
The baby's cries faded, and Jamie - in her dormitory - lost the vision as she drifted off to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~
Her sleep was not without dreams. It was so strangely real, that Jamie knew it had once happened. She was standing in a circular stone room - years ago. Jamie knew she had been in this room before, but at the time, this had been her first visit to wherever she was. She was not sure how old she was, but she kept thinking about ice cream, so she supposed she was probably very young. She was aware of two men talking calmly in the room.
The walls of the room faded and swirled as Jamie's vision was shifted to her mother - screaming. (Author's note: there's double meaning in there!)
A cruel voice rose above the screaming and yelled, "You left me - and you took my daughter with you. She's my blood!"
Jamie could see this man just fine - except for he had his back to her, and was wearing a long hooded cloak. The woman yelled through her tears, "She was never yours! I was never yours!" The man advanced on her and raised his wand - pointing it at her heart.
"I have no use for you anymore." he said coldly.
Jamie woke up with the late January sun shining down on her face. The Slytherin girls around her, fortunately, had not woken up yet. Jamie was still tired, but she knew she would never get back to sleep.
She did not want to go back to sleep - for the chance of her dream continuing was very disturbing. She knew the next words in that dream were going to be Avada Kadavra, and Jamie would have watched her mother die. She was glad that it had stopped where it had.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jamie entered the Great Hall for breakfast slightly dazed. She frowned when she looked over at the Ravenclaw table and saw that Lisa wasn't there.
"Jamie!" came Lisa's voice from Jamie's right. She looked over to where the voice had come from to see that Lisa was sitting at the Gryffindor table, next to Ron. Hermione didn't seem too happy about it, but brightened when she saw Jamie.
"Sit over here!" she called, and scooted over as Jamie walked over to the table.
Everyone in Gryffindor was laughing and chatting - completely unaware that Jamie had just witnessed murder.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, concerned at the awfully blank look on Jamie's face.
Jamie looked over to see his eyes were searching her face for a sign of what might have happened to make her so quiet. He had experienced so much death and anguish in his life - he understood, and was the only one who noticed. He must have recognized the look on her face as one he had often worn.
And yet, Jamie didn't want to pour out her troubles when Harry had so many of his own problems to deal with. She forced a smile after a moment's hesitation. "I'm fine." she said, and then felt guilty for lying to him when he knew perfectly well she wasn't fine.
Harry sighed and nodded.
The owls came in to bring the morning post, and, as usual, Hermione received her subscribed Daily Prophet. She gave a knut to the owl, and scanned the front page as the messenger took off.
She gasped and began to read out loud, "Death Eater attack on a muggle town has turned the wizarding world upside down. Many bore witness to the attack, but could not describe any of the attackers."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Of course, because they were all wearing masks." She continued,
"Meanwhile numerous prisoners are constantly escaping Azkaban with a suspiciously small effort, and the Ministry still can give no explanation as to the behavior of the most recently careless dementors who have often been spotted leaving Azkaban and going after innocent wizard and muggle families alike. The Ministry is currently working very hard with erasing muggle witness's memories after getting all the information possible about the aforementioned events."
Lisa shook her head. "Something has to happen about this - about You-Know- Who - and soon."
At this statement, Harry dropped his fork and gave a loud cough. *Of course,* Jamie thought. *He hasn't told them.*
With a stab of guilt, Jamie realized that maybe if Harry didn't want anyone to know - he didn't want her to know either. Of course, the matter of openly discussing a prophesied murder to his friends must have been slightly alarming, and therefore, avoided.
Nevertheless, Jamie knew - she knew a lot of things, and this just happened to be one of them. It's not as if she welcomed these insights into other people's lives - they just came. Jamie had learned to shut out many irrelevant things, but some things resonated in people's minds so strongly, that she just wasn't strong enough to shut them out.
Harry remained silent the rest of breakfast, and Jamie noticed that he didn't eat anything either. Guilt and concern made it just as difficult for her to eat.
But since this morning a new guilt had stirred in Jamie's mind as she dwelled on her dream of her mother. The guilt came from the fact that her mother had been killed by her father because of her. Because of he blood.
Questions arose about what kind of a person would do that to someone who had once been their wife? And also, an even more confusing question on why Jamie's mother had married a person like that. There were also questions that were more intriguing than mysterious - where was her stepfather in all of this? And did he even die like Dumbledore had said? *Why couldn't Jamie see him?* But through all of this, guilt remained and stood out as a bitter reminder of the words, "she's my blood."