Author's Note: I have been meaning to address the topic of Mary Sues for a while now, but always forget to before I post a chapter. But actually, this is the perfect chapter to bring it up. First of all, I am aware that Elizabeth has many Mary Sue characteristics. First off, she's your classic American transfer student. I was originally going to make her British, like the rest of her family, but after living in Belgium for 3 years and attending an international school, I have come to despise stereotypes, and I'm afraid that if I make my main character any other nationality than the one I'm most familiar with, I'll end up accidentally stereotyping some other group, something I would hate to do even more than creating a Mary Sue. And yes, Elizabeth does have special powers, which start to become evident in this chapter. That, however, is the fault of a wild, late-night imagination. I made up this story during an extremely difficult year for me, during which I would imagine a story before falling asleep and continue it every night until it reached an end in order to keep my mind off crying. Pathetic, yes, but it worked. This story came about while I was waiting for the 4th Harry Potter book to come out. Although she is rather powerful, Elizabeth is not perfect. She has several very big flaws that will eventually lead to major suffering (not in this fic, though . . .) Oh, and there is absolutely no possibility of me developing a romance between Elizabeth and any existing Harry Potter character. Harry is Ginny's, Ron is Hermione's, and that's that. Samantha is the only one who finds romance in this fic, but there's no need to worry about her being Mary-Sueish – she's British, she not all-powerful, and she never finds her happy-ever-after. But I'm going to stop rambling now. I'm detaining you from the chapter, and I'm on the verge of giving something important away . . .
Warning: I've been away from home for a month and have fallen into the habit of adding short installments to this chapter whenever I have time. In doing so, I somehow made this chapter much longer than intended. I want to apologize ahead of time for any boring parts and especially for taking up more of your time than usual ^_^
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling, anything you don't recognize from the books is most likely mine.
Chapter Six: An Investigation Into Intoned Charms
A slight rustle awoke Elizabeth the next morning. Drowsily, she rolled over – and opened her eyes to find her face buried in a bouquet of sweet wild flowers. "Wha-what?" she muttered, sitting up and yawning. It was then that she noticed the many faces gathered around her bed. Her eyes focused first on the figures in the background – Hermione, Harry, the Weasley twins – and then on the person right before her. "R-Ron?"
Ron gazed at her, head slightly bent, while she tried to determine whether or not this was a dream. "Er . . ." he began, and Elizabeth decided she was awake. People were usually more articulate in her dreams. "I . . . er . . ." He glanced nervously at his friends behind him and colored slightly. "I'm sorry they all followed along," he mumbled. "They just aren't used to seeing me, er . . . apologize . . ." Elizabeth perked up. Apologize? "I brought you these flowers," he was continuing, "and I wanted to tell you I know I haven't really been the nicest person to you lately . . ."
"Understatement of the year," George interjected.
Ron glared at him and continued. "And, well, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I can get a bit carried away sometimes. I don't mean to, I just do. Also, I wanted to invite you to our Quidditch practice this afternoon. I sort of ruined your flying lesson yesterday, so I thought you might like to learn with us. Not that you really need help, but if you'd like, we'd be glad to have you . . ." he trailed off, looking slightly silly.
Before he realized what was happening, Elizabeth had flung her arms around his shoulders warmly. "That was so sweet I don't even mind that you woke me up early to tell me." Releasing him, she buried her face in the flowers.
Ron remained standing there, blushing furiously, while Fred gave Elizabeth an incredulous look. "Woke you up early?" he laughed. "We waited 'til the last possible minute so as not to bother you. Classes start in ten minutes. Oi! Which reminds me, George! We have Astronomy first this morning! We'd better get going or we'll never get to the Tower on time!" The twins rushed off as Elizabeth collapsed back against her pillow.
Harry and Ron stared at her. "Aren't you going to get up?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, yeah . . . give me a minute . . ." She closed her eyes and pulled the covers up tightly. Ron and Harry glanced worriedly at Hermione.
"Well, honestly," Hermione clucked. "She's not going to get up and get dressed with you two in here. Now go! Off to Transfiguration with you!" She shooed them out the door and closed it after their retreating backs.
Elizabeth jumped out of bed. "Thanks, Hermione."
"You sure you'll make it to class on time?"
Elizabeth laughed. "Of course! I have twice the time I usually save to get ready in the morning. Hmm . . . I might even have time to conjure up some breakfast. Remind me to thank Ron again."
Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "Alright. I'll see you in class then?"
"Yep. See you in five minutes."
*~*~*
"Sam! Samantha! Wake up! Class starts in five minutes!"
"Uhm . . . hmm . . ."
"Samantha!"
As someone began shaking her shoulders she snapped, "What?" then opened her eyes. "Oh!" In her astonishment she forgot all exhaustion. "Sirius?"
"You have to wake up! McGonagall will have your head if we're late for class!"
"What are you doing here?"
"Waking you up!"
"Does Lily know you're here? I'm sure she'd disapprove of it . . ."
"Lily is already seated in her Transfiguration seat like the good little girl you used to be before . . ."
"Before . . ?"
Sirius gave an exasperated sigh. "Just get out of bed, will you?"
Samantha threw herself despairingly over her pillow. "I'll never make it in time!"
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Just pull some of those incredible charms you do. You know – to put up your hair, get dressed . . . Transfiguration's just down the hall, we can still make it."
"You go on. I can handle being late."
He smirked. "I very much doubt that. You're not the type who gets in trouble
often, and you've already had one detention this week. Besides, I'm not leaving without you. So hurry up, or you'll make us both late."
Staring at him, amazed, she shrugged and popped out of bed and into the bathroom. Within thirty seconds she was back out, dressed and ready to go, and was soon flying through the halls on Sirius' arm. They arrived in Transfiguration, breathless and laughing, just as the bell rang. Lily raised her eyebrows as Samantha disentangled her arm from Sirius' and sat down beside her friend. "Something happen last night that I should know about?" Lily whispered to her.
Samantha sighed. "No.
Just stayed up too late writing my detention homework for Flitwick and
couldn't wake up this morning."
"Detention homework?"
But just then McGonagall began her lesson, and the two girls were forced to leave off talking.
***
"He's up to something," Lily announced later at lunch when Samantha told her how Sirius had awoken her that morning.
"Excuse me?"
"Why would he risk further trouble with McGonagall without a reason? Goodness knows he's had enough with her already . . . No, he wants something from you."
"Excuse me?" Samantha repeated, unable to grasp what her friend was telling her.
"Think about it, Sam," Lily replied logically. "You've already proven you'll risk great trouble to help him. He figures if he's nice to you for awhile and wins you over he'll have eternal help on his homework."
"He felt guilty!" protested Samantha. "It was his fault I was up so late and he felt responsible! You're letting your hatred for him and James go too far, Lily."
Lily merely pursed her lips and shook her head. "Just warning you, Sam. Potter and Black aren't the kind of guys who just help people like you and I out of the goodness of their hearts. I don't want you to get caught up in a mess you can't escape from."
"I can take care of myself."
"I know you can, I just worry that he'll have a bad influence over you."
Samantha laughed. "Lil! He's barely a friend! He can have no influence over me! Besides, your influence has been so good that I doubt even the strongest evil could corrupt me!"
Lily smiled at her friend and turned her focus to her meal. She would drop the topic for now, but she would be sure to keep her eye on Black.
*~*~*
McGonagall's eyes flashed as Elizabeth sailed into class just as the bell rang. "Cutting it a little close, Miss Satine," she commented through pursed lips.
Elizabeth paused on her way to her seat, a question entering her mind suddenly. She turned slowly and asked, "Professor – how did my Aunt Samantha die?" This was only her second class with McGonagall and they weren't exactly close yet, but Elizabeth felt she could trust the Professor. Besides, she was obviously friends with Sarah, and made it clear she knew about Samantha, when very few people did. Including Elizabeth.
McGonagall had blanched. "Sarah never told you about your – about Samantha?"
"No." Elizabeth felt a little uncomfortable at the appearance of tears in her teacher's eyes.
"Well," replied McGonagall, quickly regaining her composure, "That's something you'll have to talk to her about." Her expression softened. "But if you ever need any other kind of help, know I'm always here for you." And she left Elizabeth to sit down as she started her lesson.
Elizabeth sat through class patiently tapping her fingers on the desk, ignoring McGonagall and fully absorbed in her own thoughts. Obviously her question had ruffled McGonagall a little, because she left Elizabeth alone during class.
Afterwards, Elizabeth approached her teacher. "Professor?" she asked. "I was wondering if you could help me with some research I'm doing?"
McGonagall looked up from the papers she was shuffling through. "Of course. What are you looking for?"
"I need a book on Intoned Charms."
McGonagall gave Elizabeth a hard look. "Why?"
"Just interested, that's all."
The Professor looked like she didn't believe her. "We don't carry books like that in Hogwarts anymore."
Elizabeth was shocked. "What?!? Why not?!"
"Power seekers," she muttered, avoiding Elizabeth's eyes, "always lead to evil."
"But Intoned Charms can only be used for good," the girl replied, although she didn't really understand her teacher's meaning.
"They can't be used at all anymore. Not enough Ancient Magic. People will waste away trying to learn that magic all so they can be powerful. It's not worth it, Miss Satine."
Elizabeth had the sudden desire to quit the room, like a child running away to avoid a lecture. "I was just curious," she muttered, turning to leave. She didn't see McGonagall reach an agitated hand to wipe away the tears suddenly flooding her eyes.
***
"Hey Satine! You gonna fly or not? We didn't invite you to our practice so you could read!"
Elizabeth looked up from the binder she had checked out of the library – Selected Issues of the Hogwarts Observer – and grinned at Fred. "I'm coming. Hold on." She finished up the article she was reading (just one day had made her an avid fan of Lady Sam) and jumped down from the bleachers.
"Need a broom, Liz?"
"Nope. Got my Cleansweep 7 here. And don't call me Liz."
Fred gawked at her. "Cleansweep 7? How're going to fly well on that old thing?"
"Madame Hooch let me borrow it. I did a few repairs." Fred continued staring. "You know – couple of improvement charms. I like that broom, it saved my life yesterday."
"It almost killed you."
"That, my dear, was your brother's doing."
Fred shook his head, a smile on his face. "You're not going to let him forget that, are you?"
"I wouldn't mind waking up to a bouquet of flowers every once in awhile," she replied coyly, but inside she knew she could never hold a grudge against Ron. In fact, she was extremely grateful to him for having introduced her to flying and a freedom she might not have discovered otherwise.
Her gaze wandered over to where Angelina was releasing the Golden Snitch from its box. "C'mon Harry! You need the practice!" she cried. Harry grudgingly mounted his Firebolt, but Elizabeth was faster. Grabbing her Cleansweep, she swept into the air without a second thought.
Harry caught sight of her and grinned. "What do you think you're doing?" he called teasingly.
"Challenging the best Seeker at Hogwarts that I can catch that Snitch before him!" She gave him a mock competitive glare, and both burst out laughing. But neither relented. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie, who were tossing the Quaffle back and forth at the far end of the pitch, stopped to watch, amused, as Elizabeth and Harry darted around the field almost too fast to catch sight of. Trailing each other, circling back around, leaping into steep dives to throw the other off, all the time laughing hard, but concentrating on the Snitch even harder.
It took fifteen minutes before Harry finally closed his hand around the tiny golden ball and the two 4th years collapsed on the pitch, clutching their stomachs and gasping for breath. Each had come close to capturing the elusive orb several times, but had been foiled as the other had come sailing in and sight of the Snitch had been lost in a moment of confusion and panic of collision.
Elizabeth and Harry still lay on their backs on the grass, too exhausted to move, but their laughter had settled and their ragged breathing had returned to normal. "That," Harry commented, slightly amazed, "was the most challenging flight I've had in a long time. That was only your second time on a broom? You almost beat me."
Elizabeth smiled back appreciatively. "Nah . . . it may have seemed that way, but I was really just flying my heart out. I can swoop around, but actually catching that Snitch is pretty hard." She paused and both lay in silence for a few minutes, watching the three Chasers high above them shoot the Quaffle mercilessly at Ron, who was desperately trying to defend his goalposts. He was doing surprisingly well, considering that Fred and George were aiming both Bludgers at him at the same time. Eventually Elizabeth murmured, "But I'll get you next time." Harry smirked and Elizabeth laughed at her over-confidence. Then they jumped up simultaneously and ran to join the others.
***
Elizabeth failed to beat Harry the next time and the time after that, but a week later she won her first victory over him, grabbing the Snitch from right under his nose. And as she pointed out, "If I had a Firebolt, I probably would have caught it before you long ago." But the competition was all in good fun, and soon became a routine part of every Quidditch practice the Gryffindor team held. The entire team was pleased with Elizabeth. As her flying skills improved, so did Harry's. Of course, they would never allow her on the field until the end of practice. After flying against each other, both teenagers would be so exhausted neither was good for any more training. And even if they had the energy, they wouldn't be in the frame of mind for serious improvement.
Elizabeth grew to love Quidditch practice, because not only did it mean the wonderful sensation of flying, but it always promised at least half an hour of non-stop laughter and fun – the perfect break from a stressful school schedule packed full of extra classes to make up for what she'd missed the past year. While Quidditch practice continued to be exhausting to the seven team members who had strategies to work out and games to prepare for, Elizabeth compared it to the recesses she'd so much enjoyed in elementary school back in Connecticut. Her only other free time was absorbed in a more daunting task – researching Intoned Charms.
Elizabeth had to admit that it was a serious fault that when someone told her to forget something, she took it in her mind to find out as much about it as possible. But as she took up her investigation into Intoned Charms, she was soon doing it not out of spite for Professors Flitwick and McGonagall, who seemed bent on making her forget the Ancient Magic, but rather out of personal interest. And a burning desire to prove that the Ancient Magic was not extinct.
In a way, it was also a form of procrastination. Although Elizabeth was nearly caught up in all her other classes, and with Hermione's help was getting top marks, it was obvious her true talent was in Charms. Every evening after a long day of lessons, she had set aside an extra two hours to catch up on the few months of work she was still behind on. But as with many teenagers, Elizabeth was an avid fan of productive procrastination. No other class could capture her interest like Charms could. So instead of learning how to transfigure a porcupine into a pincushion or how to brew the perfect shrinking potion, Elizabeth had taken up a study of advanced charms. She wasn't working on exactly what she was supposed to be doing, but it was still work. In her mind that justified it.
So Elizabeth, who had already been far ahead in Charms from her mother's summer lessons (Sarah's talent and interest were in the same area), was determined she could master an Intoned Charm. Just one, that's all she wanted to do to be satisfied. She had the perfect one in mind, too: the Levitation Charm, so simple she was sure she could intone it. Now all she needed was a book to teach her how . . .
***
Her breakthrough came one day near the end of the first month of school.
"Elizabeth? Elizabeth, are you coming?" A timid knocking sounded off the door of the 4th year Gryffindor girls' dormitory, and Neville Longbottom's voice drifted in through the crack at the bottom. "Hermione and I have the cauldron set up in the courtyard and almost all the ingredients assembled. We just need some longroot and we can begin."
"Longroot? Isn't that a common healing root?" the girl called back.
"Yes, a little too common. Professor Sprout just used up the last batch to make some cough syrup. We're trying to find some growing in the gardens," replied Neville, the pride of his knowledge in Herbology evident.
"Yeah, actually, I think I might have some. I'll go check. Tell Hermione I'll be right down, 'kay?"
"Okay."
As Neville's echoing steps receded down the hall, Elizabeth began rummaging in the bottom of her trunk – the part Sarah had packed. "I'm sure mom put some in here somewhere," she muttered. "She's always so worried I'll get hurt . . ." She reached blindly down beneath the piles of clothes until her hand closed tightly around a soft velvet bag. She pulled it up and curiously peeked inside. No longroot, just some old books. She tossed the bag aside and kept digging.
"Aha!" She cried triumphantly a few seconds later as she held a handful of the plant in her hands. Standing up to join Neville and Hermione for her weekly Potions lesson, her eyes swept over the titles of the books she had just strewn carelessly on the floor. Quidditch Through the Ages, New Age Transfiguration, The History Behind Potion Making, and – Elizabeth's heart stopped as she saw it – Intoned Charms: Expression of the Ancient Magic.
The herbs in her grasp tumbled to the floor, forgotten, as Elizabeth bent down in a daze and her hands closed around the book. It was a pale cream with gold lettering scrolled across the top. The corners were bent and the binding was tearing lose, but it still looked well taken care of, as if someone had treasured it. Sitting down slowly on her four-poster bed, Elizabeth delicately handled the old book. She opened it and let out a small gasp at the name scrawled in the corner of the inside cover in neat black ink. The handwriting swirled in a beautiful script, and Elizabeth traced over the flourishing pair of capital S's in the name. Samantha Satine.
Fingers trembling, she opened the book and scrolled down the table contents. Introduction: The Ancient Magic, Chapter One: The History of Intoned Charms, Chapter Two: How to Intone a Spell. She stopped, quickly turning to the second chapter, where the directions to successfully complete your first Intoned Charm were clearly lain out, step by step. Scanning the page, several terms Elizabeth had never heard of before popped out at her, but in the margins, in that same elegant script handwriting, were notes explaining what was written, with stars next to useful tips. It looked as if Samantha had been obsessed with learning Intoned Charms, too. But what happened to her? Elizabeth paused, frightened, for the first time wondering whether or not she should heed her professors' words and give up this insane search. But how could she now that she'd discovered this?
Just then there was a knock at the door. Elizabeth jumped. "Elizabeth? Everything all right? We've been waiting for you. Neville said you had some Longroot and . . ."
Elizabeth ran to the door, cutting Hermione off. "Yep! Just found it! Come on – we'd better get started with this Potions lesson!" Hermione stared, bewildered, as Elizabeth grabbed her hand almost in a fervor and the two took off running out of Gryffindor tower and down to the Hogwarts grounds.
The cream-colored book lay open where Elizabeth had shoved it under her pillow.
***
It was 3 AM in the Gryffindor common room. Embers of a dead fire glowed softly in the grate and it was silent. The room was empty but for one lone figure curled cross-legged on the couch, staring determinately down at the book in her lap, fists clenched tightly at her sides. Setting the book aside, she closed her eyes and held her hands out in front of her, her mind probing the empty space around her. Nothing. She nearly screamed in frustration. Picking up the book once more, she scanned over the steps to make sure she'd missed nothing. 1) Choose a relatively simple Charm to begin, 2) Perform it several times with a wand, focusing on the patterns the magic makes, 3) Once you've felt the spell work, put away the wand and relive the sensation in your mind – this step is particularly important; if you cannot sense magic without a wand, your senses are not in tune with the Ancient Magic, 4) Cast the charm by commanding the air around you to form the patterns of your Charm.
"Command the air?" Elizabeth repeated skeptically. "What's that supposed to mean?" It was her fourth night in a row without much sleep. One step a night had been her plan, and she had thus far succeeded. Over the past few days, her senses had become amazingly attuned to the way magic flows through the atmosphere, shifting to form a spell, and had begun to understand why in the old days nature possessed the strongest magic of all. But the final step continued to elude her. No matter how hard she tried, she could not perform a charm without a wand. She turned back to reading in attempt to calm herself. She was becomingly increasingly frightened of her own obsessive determination to conquer this impossible task, and yet she could not sleep until it was done.
The first time performing any particular charm without a wand is both physically and mentally draining, using much of one's power. However, once a witch or wizard has successfully intoned the charm, each subsequent attempt will become increasingly easier, until simply reciting the charm, or thinking of it with a wave of a hand, is sufficient to perform it.
"A wave of the hand," Elizabeth murmured, her eyes drooping drowsily. "A simple wave of the hand." Late nights and hard work had taken a toll on her body, and now, in spite of her resolve, she found herself drifting into an uneasy sleep.
In her dream, the common room appeared no different from the one she had fallen asleep in. The same stars twinkled in the dark sky through the windows, the same embers still glowed among ashes in the fireplace, the same silence – peaceful, yet somehow tense, expectant – reigned over the room. But in this dream version, the girl on the couch was not alone. And she was not Elizabeth, although she could have very easily passed as an older version of her.
The girl was sound asleep, her head resting on the shoulder of the boy sitting beside her, her hair spilling over his chest. He looked at her somewhat awkwardly before extracting his arm from behind her back and entwining it gently around the girl's shoulders, hugging her closer. Glancing around the room as if to make sure no one else was there, he whispered, "Everything's going to be alright. I'm going to carry you up to your bed and when you wake up tomorrow morning, you'll have forgotten any of this ever happened and will be as cheerful as ever. You're okay now." The girl, of course, made no reply. The boy stood up and lifted her with great care. Up the stairs to the dormitory and they were gone.
*~*~*
"Ha! Beat you again!" Sirius cried triumphantly as he won his third straight game of wizard's chess over James.
"Well of course you did, Padfoot," James muttered. "You're the only person I know who can still function properly this late at night."
"Excuses, excuses . . . is poor little Jamesy-poo a sore loser?"
"I'm going to bed, Sirius. You coming?"
"Nah, I need to stay up a bit longer before I'm tired enough to sleep."
"You'll be awful in the morning."
"But aren't I always?"
James grinned. "Alright, then. Good night."
"Night."
Sirius positioned himself comfortably in a chair by the dying fire and stared into it reflectively, enjoying this moment of peace. It didn't last long. Within a minute, the door to Gryffindor tower was flung open and a sobbing figure burst inside. She collapsed on the couch, apparently unaware anyone else was in the room. "Samantha?"
She looked up and her face went white at the sight of him. She hurriedly tried to wipe away her tears.
"What's wrong?" Sirius cautiously crossed to the couch and sat down beside her.
She looked up at his open, honest face and thought she saw a trace of true compassion, but she hesitated, remembering Lily's words. Her friend could be over-protective, but still, she was usually right.
"What happened?" This time Sirius' voice emanated with concern, and Samantha's eyes immediately clouded over with tears again.
"It's, it's just that . . . I can't take anymore of this! She's my sister! You'd think she'd at least pretend to love me, wouldn't you?" the girl burst out vehemently.
"Oh. Sarah again." There was an edge to his voice. He had seen the open displays of disgust Samantha's elder Ravenclaw sister Sarah had performed toward her younger sibling. Dirty looks in the hall, walking by Samantha shaking her head and clicking her tongue. When someone asked her if it was true that it was her little sister who had thrown a temper tantrum when pronounced a Gryffindor during the Sorting ceremony, Sarah had responded, "That immature crybaby? I've never seen her in my life." A rift had opened between the formerly inseparable sisters the moment they both set foot in the same school, and Sirius had never seen anyone more upset over a sibling rivalry than Samantha. "What'd she do this time?"
Between sobs, Samantha recounted what had happened. "I was on my way back from the library where I was tutoring a second year in Charms when I met Sarah and her friends in the hall. Sarah gave me the most awful look and asked why I was out in the halls so late. Her friend said I was probably on the way to another detention, and everyone began laughing. Except Sarah. She just stared at me and said, 'Samantha, I want you to get away from me right now. You're a disgrace to this family and a disgrace to me. And if I hear of you getting one more detention, I'll see to it that you don't return to Hogwarts next year.' And she whirled around and ran off. I wouldn't mind it so much if she teased me like normal big sisters do, but I can't stand her hatred."
Sirius sat in silence, slowly clenching and unclenching his fists. How could anyone say such a thing to a girl as sweet as Samantha? Especially knowing how melodramatic and easily hurt she was? He finally said, "Why didn't you say something back? You know – confront her and tell her how horrible she's acting?"
"I—I could never do that." She burst into tears again and no matter what Sirius did – offer her some Butterbeer or a game of chess that he promised to let her win – he couldn't get her to stop.
He finally said, "I'm having some real trouble with our Divination assignment that's due tomorrow. That's why I'm down here so late – trying to finish it up. Do you think you could help me?" He had finished the assignment hours ago, but he was prepared to do anything, even work, to get the girl to stop crying.
She looked up at him, her lip still trembling, but her tears coming to a stop, and nodded yes. After quietly discussing the meanings of star movements for about twenty minutes, Samantha had finally returned to as close to calm as was possible for the night. A slight creak made both of them look up to find Lily standing on the staircase.
"Sammy?" she asked. "What are you doing up? I woke up for a minute and panicked to see you'd never come back from tutoring. What are you doing?" She glared suspiciously at Sirius.
"Just doing my Divination homework, Lil."
"Helping Sirius, you mean." When Samantha made no response, Lily's eyebrows shot up and she walked back to her dorm muttering, "I warned her . . ."
Sirius was just about to ask Samantha what Lily meant, when he noticed she had fallen fast asleep on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and whispered, "Everything's going to be alright."
*~*~*
As soon as the boy and girl left the common room, Elizabeth's dream quickly soured. The girl lay comfortably in her bed, when she suddenly sat straight up, her back rigid. Her scream rang high and shrill, just before a blinding green light rushed into the room. In the dormitory across the hall, the boy awoke in a hot sweat. He tore out of bed and rushed to her room as fast as his legs would carry him. But when he reached it, her bed was empty.
Elizabeth's hands shot out at her sides as she woke from the dream, grabbing the couch in panic. She didn't release her tight grip until she had safely assured herself it was just a dream. She stood up and looked slowly around. Her eyes alighted on Intoned Charms: Expression of the Ancient Magic where it had fallen onto the floor from her lap. Despite the fact that her heart was still pounding in fear and her head was clouded by fatigue, Elizabeth felt a sudden flood of power surging through her veins. She took a step forward, turned around, and cried, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The large scarlet couch lifted into the air, hovered, and dropped gently back down.
Elizabeth's wand lay untouched on the ground.
AN: I'm too exhausted to do any editing beyond Spell Check at the moment & I really want to post this tonight before we leave for New York tomorrow, so bear with me and please ignore any mistakes. To my reviewers: Ra-chan, yes, fanfiction deprivation definitely is a scary thing. If I don't start getting proper doses, my chapters will keep getting longer & longer and I'll bore everyone out of their minds ^_^ Snowwolf, losing your touch? Never! I still love reading your reviews as much as always! And I'm so pleased you loved the flight scene! I was afraid I might be getting too lost in description. Lady Lanya Artemisan, 'unique?' Thank you! One of my favorite compliments ;) And I can return it – for your fics are quite unique, too =) Renai, thank you so much for reading this, and especially for liking Elizabeth! Although please do warn me if she becomes unbearably Mary-Sueish, as I trust your judgment in that area… Karma50, is Ron sweet enough for you yet? Glad you like the time-swapping, 'cuz I'm having tons of fun with it and don't plan to stop =) Blue Umbrella, ah, you came! I thought I might regret telling you about it, but now I'm just overjoyed. Your support means so much to me. But if I ever start making a fool of myself, you'll warn me, right? ;) Anne K. Letoile, I hope you were being honest when you said you like long chapters, because for some reason I'm becoming addicted to them, too. I'm coming to review chapter 4 of your story as soon as I post this (that is, if my computer doesn't freeze while I'm in the middle of reading it…) And of course, dear pixiepoop, you've cheered my day more than you can know! Don't worry about Ron becoming enamored with Elizabeth. How could he, when he's in love with Hermione? That's why he hated Elizabeth so much to begin with – she stole part of Hermione's affections from him ;) But I won't be getting into that romance in this fic. Maybe for my next one…? Hmm, there's a thought… And btw, the constrained praise of a total stranger means a whole lot to me. So thanks. To all of you.
~ WhetherRose