A/N: This is a rather short chapter, although I try to keep my chapters
between 1,000 and 1,500 words each, this definitely is closer to the bare
minimum. Well, this is really a genetic connection happening between the
two of them, and since I'm not always clear in my writing, Harry and
Michelle are never once in the same room in this chapter, just keep that in
mind nearing the end.
As more about James's complicated past unravels itself, Harry is beginning to learn more things about his late Godfather. But when he discovers too much about the Marauders, Harry's life is thrown into a fatal vortex. Voldemorte is back, he's already failed countless times in killing Harry, and he doesn't intend to fail again.
Between The Heavens, a Trial of Faith: Chapter 13, Dream Interrupted
********************
"And she just let you?" Hermione said looking appalled.
"Yea, pretty much," Harry replied shrugging.
Harry had just finished telling Ron and Hermione about his adventures of the previous night. It wasn't a big story, but it was something to say.
"Harry, you could've been expelled if anyone else had caught you," Hermione said defiantly. A tone of nagging that she reserved solely when Ron and Harry were planning something that she did not approve of. A tone of a mother.
Harry remembered last night vividly. Surreal nightmares plagued his sleep, but it hadn't felt like an ordinary dream. Instead he had gotten a chiseled feeling that the dreams were the memories of someone else. Sirius, he felt, was trying to tell him something. He had dismissed this idea easily at the time, but now he was beginning to feel that it was not so easy as it appeared to be.
"There's something you need to know...." The voice from his dream continued to echo. It hadn't sounded human, but it was Sirius, that much he was sure.
"What?" The dream version of Harry had screamed back, "WHAT!"
Harry had awoken with cold sweat hanging on for dear life on his skin.
Harry's head turned back to Hermione, reliving his nightmares wasn't on top of his grocery list right now. "She didn't do anything wrong Hermione, like she said, Dumbledore knows what happens in his castle, he's got his reasons for hiring her."
"He had his reasons for hiring Mad Eye too!" Hermione shrieked.
"Hermione," Ron said, breaking his way into the conversation, "it's OK, Harry's fine, the defense teacher didn't try to eat him in his sleep."
Tears started falling out of Hermione's eyes, "I'm sorry," she whispered, "it's just that..."
She didn't need to finish her sentence, "it's just, that I worry." It was on the tip of her tongue and both of them knew it. They felt it day in and night out. Hermione worried, Hermione wasn't herself; Hermione had lost something that they couldn't quite understand.
********************
"I know what you're thinking, professor," Michelle said dryly in his office, Dumbledore with his back towards her.
"Michelle," he said slowly, turning around, "how can I just make you understand that Harry is James's son, not your own. He isn't like you-"
"He's enough like me to go after Shadow, isn't that enough proof for you professor?" Michelle was on her feet now.
"Stay calm, please, just stay calm," Dumbledore put his hands on her shoulder, "Michelle, remember that you and James were not alike, and Harry is a combination of the two of you. But first and foremost, he IS James's son, you expect things from him that are too great to imagine."
"How can I stay fucking calm, Professor," she said coldly, "when he's almost been killed, and under your watchful eye at that? Professor, we both want the same thing-"
"But we're going about it two different ways. Yes, Michelle, I know what you're thinking. You can't save him anymore then I can, anymore than Sirius could."
"But I can make him see who he is, professor, I can show him who his father was, who Sirius was, and who they would have wanted him to be," something dawned on her at that moment, "you know this. You've seen this, and all this time-"
"Yes," he said slowly, "and all this time we kept it from him. Michelle-"
"You don't get it," she said slowly, tears glittering off of her cheeks, "we can't tell him, Dumbledore, please I'm begging you, he's already lost his parents and a dad, please don't make him loose an aunt as well."
"Michelle," he said, looking at her dark eyes, "you will survive, you'll live, you'll see past these dark years, and one day you'll look back and I can only hope that you'll realize that I was right."
********************
Harry woke up, and he could feel his lungs clot with fluids. It felt like an indescribable drowning sensation. What had happened? He remembered as much as he could, as much as his mind would allow him to. He had been led away from the horse, by the professor, the new professor. She was teacher Lupin's old position.
Lupin...a voice said slowly in his mind, you know Remus Lupin. Of course I know him, Harry said, trying to quiet it, he was my dad's friend.
He was James's friend too...the voice said slowly, carefully.
That's what I meant, Harry thought back.
Harry turned around; he was intent for something to preoccupy his mind from the thing inside of his head. It was still dark out, his head felt fine, but his conscience didn't. In his dream he had seen something he was sure he wasn't supposed to have seen. Michelle was in it, and so was professor Dumbledore, they were arguing over something...over him? That seemed about right. Michelle was angry, and Dumbledore remained calm, but Dumbledore always remained calm. Though something inside told Harry that Dumbledore was unhappy with her.
Perhaps because she gave me the sleeping potion? Yes, that sounded right, although Michelle had said herself that Dumbledore knew better than anyone what happened around his castle.
"Stop it," Harry whispered, "it was just a dream of how you imagine people might react. Remember the part with Hermione and Ron, that was part of the dream too."
But was it? That felt more natural, as if it was okay for him to by spying on his own conversations that have not yet happened, although it was wrong to be spying on the future conversations of different individuals. It is still, after all, breaking the basic rule of individualism and honorable living.
Slowly the thought came back into Harry's mind. Breaking the basic rule of individualism and honorable living? What did that mean, if anything that had not been his own thoughts. His body tingle, knowing that someone else was using his brain to think, someone else was doing what Voldemorte had done last year.
Harry woke up the next morning, looked outside and saw the sun's glowing light breach the surface of the horizon, with it a flame of pink and orange trailed behind it.
********************
"God," Michelle said slowly watching Shadow gallop on her horizon, "not a million words could describe this moment, except one. And I'll search for a million years for that one word, and find that it was on the tip of my tongue the entire time."
********************
Harry could only nod in agreement. He had not heard the statement with his ears, but he agreed with it full heartedly. He rolled over on his back and fell back asleep.
As more about James's complicated past unravels itself, Harry is beginning to learn more things about his late Godfather. But when he discovers too much about the Marauders, Harry's life is thrown into a fatal vortex. Voldemorte is back, he's already failed countless times in killing Harry, and he doesn't intend to fail again.
Between The Heavens, a Trial of Faith: Chapter 13, Dream Interrupted
********************
"And she just let you?" Hermione said looking appalled.
"Yea, pretty much," Harry replied shrugging.
Harry had just finished telling Ron and Hermione about his adventures of the previous night. It wasn't a big story, but it was something to say.
"Harry, you could've been expelled if anyone else had caught you," Hermione said defiantly. A tone of nagging that she reserved solely when Ron and Harry were planning something that she did not approve of. A tone of a mother.
Harry remembered last night vividly. Surreal nightmares plagued his sleep, but it hadn't felt like an ordinary dream. Instead he had gotten a chiseled feeling that the dreams were the memories of someone else. Sirius, he felt, was trying to tell him something. He had dismissed this idea easily at the time, but now he was beginning to feel that it was not so easy as it appeared to be.
"There's something you need to know...." The voice from his dream continued to echo. It hadn't sounded human, but it was Sirius, that much he was sure.
"What?" The dream version of Harry had screamed back, "WHAT!"
Harry had awoken with cold sweat hanging on for dear life on his skin.
Harry's head turned back to Hermione, reliving his nightmares wasn't on top of his grocery list right now. "She didn't do anything wrong Hermione, like she said, Dumbledore knows what happens in his castle, he's got his reasons for hiring her."
"He had his reasons for hiring Mad Eye too!" Hermione shrieked.
"Hermione," Ron said, breaking his way into the conversation, "it's OK, Harry's fine, the defense teacher didn't try to eat him in his sleep."
Tears started falling out of Hermione's eyes, "I'm sorry," she whispered, "it's just that..."
She didn't need to finish her sentence, "it's just, that I worry." It was on the tip of her tongue and both of them knew it. They felt it day in and night out. Hermione worried, Hermione wasn't herself; Hermione had lost something that they couldn't quite understand.
********************
"I know what you're thinking, professor," Michelle said dryly in his office, Dumbledore with his back towards her.
"Michelle," he said slowly, turning around, "how can I just make you understand that Harry is James's son, not your own. He isn't like you-"
"He's enough like me to go after Shadow, isn't that enough proof for you professor?" Michelle was on her feet now.
"Stay calm, please, just stay calm," Dumbledore put his hands on her shoulder, "Michelle, remember that you and James were not alike, and Harry is a combination of the two of you. But first and foremost, he IS James's son, you expect things from him that are too great to imagine."
"How can I stay fucking calm, Professor," she said coldly, "when he's almost been killed, and under your watchful eye at that? Professor, we both want the same thing-"
"But we're going about it two different ways. Yes, Michelle, I know what you're thinking. You can't save him anymore then I can, anymore than Sirius could."
"But I can make him see who he is, professor, I can show him who his father was, who Sirius was, and who they would have wanted him to be," something dawned on her at that moment, "you know this. You've seen this, and all this time-"
"Yes," he said slowly, "and all this time we kept it from him. Michelle-"
"You don't get it," she said slowly, tears glittering off of her cheeks, "we can't tell him, Dumbledore, please I'm begging you, he's already lost his parents and a dad, please don't make him loose an aunt as well."
"Michelle," he said, looking at her dark eyes, "you will survive, you'll live, you'll see past these dark years, and one day you'll look back and I can only hope that you'll realize that I was right."
********************
Harry woke up, and he could feel his lungs clot with fluids. It felt like an indescribable drowning sensation. What had happened? He remembered as much as he could, as much as his mind would allow him to. He had been led away from the horse, by the professor, the new professor. She was teacher Lupin's old position.
Lupin...a voice said slowly in his mind, you know Remus Lupin. Of course I know him, Harry said, trying to quiet it, he was my dad's friend.
He was James's friend too...the voice said slowly, carefully.
That's what I meant, Harry thought back.
Harry turned around; he was intent for something to preoccupy his mind from the thing inside of his head. It was still dark out, his head felt fine, but his conscience didn't. In his dream he had seen something he was sure he wasn't supposed to have seen. Michelle was in it, and so was professor Dumbledore, they were arguing over something...over him? That seemed about right. Michelle was angry, and Dumbledore remained calm, but Dumbledore always remained calm. Though something inside told Harry that Dumbledore was unhappy with her.
Perhaps because she gave me the sleeping potion? Yes, that sounded right, although Michelle had said herself that Dumbledore knew better than anyone what happened around his castle.
"Stop it," Harry whispered, "it was just a dream of how you imagine people might react. Remember the part with Hermione and Ron, that was part of the dream too."
But was it? That felt more natural, as if it was okay for him to by spying on his own conversations that have not yet happened, although it was wrong to be spying on the future conversations of different individuals. It is still, after all, breaking the basic rule of individualism and honorable living.
Slowly the thought came back into Harry's mind. Breaking the basic rule of individualism and honorable living? What did that mean, if anything that had not been his own thoughts. His body tingle, knowing that someone else was using his brain to think, someone else was doing what Voldemorte had done last year.
Harry woke up the next morning, looked outside and saw the sun's glowing light breach the surface of the horizon, with it a flame of pink and orange trailed behind it.
********************
"God," Michelle said slowly watching Shadow gallop on her horizon, "not a million words could describe this moment, except one. And I'll search for a million years for that one word, and find that it was on the tip of my tongue the entire time."
********************
Harry could only nod in agreement. He had not heard the statement with his ears, but he agreed with it full heartedly. He rolled over on his back and fell back asleep.