Demorior Mori Mortuus Amaris

To die for love

By Silver Sparklze

PROLOGUE

DISCLAIMER: I cannot be held responsible for the story below, as apparently my cats have learned how to type.

The man walked into the room, looking around and smiling. Sitting in the room were a lady with vibrant red hair and even brighter green eyes, and a baby, who'd the same eyes as the lady, and the same unruly hair as the man. The man strolled over to the woman, and kissed her long and hard.

"Mmm, I needed that," He said, rocking back on his heels.

"Hard day, James?" The woman asked.

"Incredibly. We almost had him this time." James shook his head sadly. "How was yours, Lily? Little Harry behave himself?" He reached out a hand to touch the baby, but Lily slapped it away.

"Don't you dare, I just got him to sleep." She said. "He's been rather unsettled all day for some reason. The Trick or Treaters sent him into hysterics."

"Aww, poor little mite. He's probably sensing our tension. We should be more careful. He might grow up to be a worrywart like Moony."

"Hmm…" Lily's lips were pursed. "We really should talk to him, you know. I'm sure he's not the spy. Shouldn't he be told that we swapped secret keepers?"

"Now, Lily, we've been through this. He's a werewolf, and as much as I'd like to trust him…I can't, I just can't."

"Very well." Lily sighed. "I'll put Harry to bed now." She rose, and was about to move when something shook the whole house.

"Lily, it's Him! Run! Take Harry upstairs and get out of here!" James yelled suddenly, pushing Lily and Harry towards the door.

"James I can't!"

"You must! You must survive, no matter what!" Sobbing, Lily flew up the stairs, and Addie followed her. She couldn't bear to see what happened next, and she screwed her eyes shut against the images that pervaded her incredible imagination. Moments later, Lily ran into Harry's room, and Addie watched her from one end, as she opened the window. Suddenly, the door flew in, and Lily turned away, shielding Harry with her body.

"Stand aside, girl." The man who spoke those words was probably handsome once, but evil had eaten away at his every feature, and his bottomless eyes were cold as ice.

"No!"

"Stand aside, and you will go free."

"No, please, have mercy."

"Fine! Avada Kadavra!" Addie screamed.

Adeline sat up in bed, still screaming. She got up, and ran to the bathroom, only just managing to get there before she vomited up her dinner. She rinsed out her mouth, flushed the toilet, and rested her hot forehead against the cool mirror in her bathroom.

Adeline Chandler was a perfectly ordinary girl. She was in her second year at Arts College, where she was studying sketching, watercolours, oil panting, charcoal, and literacy. She'd always been a good artist, and that's what she wanted her career to be. But ever since June three years ago, she'd been wondering if she shouldn't change her major.

Adeline growled in irritation, and pushed her sticky russet hair away from her forehead. She glanced in the mirror. Frustrated grey eyes stared back at her, framed by sooty black lashes and naturally arched eyebrows that stood out starkly in her pale face.

"Damn," She muttered, slamming her head against the glass, "Damn, damn, damn!" When this didn't wipe the images from her mind, she tried shaking her head wildly. "Why can't you leave me alone?!" She asked Lily and James, and little Harry. "Teach me to meddle in things I don't understand. I was three, ok? I didn't realise what I was doing! I was only three!"

"Adeline?" A sleepy voice asked, and a blonde head poked around the door, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Melody. Sorry if I woke you."

"You didn't. I was studying. I'm going to bed now though." Melody looked at her hard, blue eyes concerned. "Are you sure you're ok? You look a little pale. Was it another nightmare?"

"Yeah,"

"You really should write a dream diary, you know. Dreams are really important, even nightmares. This one could be trying to send you a message, especially since you seem to have it all the time."

"Melody…not tonight, please?"

Melody Richards was a practicing witch, a Wiccan to be more precise, and she was always trying to convince Adeline that she should write down her dreams. "Ok. Get some sleep, all right? Any sleep. We've got a huge test in Lit tomorrow, and I really don't think you wanna fail it."

"Ok." Adeline nodded, and went back to bed.

Lucius Malfoy alternated from one foot to the other, feeling nervous. His research had finally paid off, he'd found her, he'd found the girl who could walk into paintings. His lip curled. It was a pity that the last surviving member of the Karickin family was a muggle, but there was nothing he could do about it.

She'd been rather hard to trace, seeing as one of the Karickins had married a muggle, and changed her name, then only sons had been born for many years, which was bad luck, since the female line in the Karickin family had this trait only.

Then, finally, there'd been a daughter born, who'd died in her teens while giving birth to another daughter, who'd been adopted rather shadily, twice, since wolves had attacked the first lot of parents. Werewolves, he was sure. But even the tidiest operation had its weak links, this one being the adoption official, who'd been only too happy to reveal the address of the muggle's parents after being threatened with a knife.

The muggle ways of killing were so messy, he reflected, but not without their uses. Now all that remained was telling the Dark Lord his news. He had a feeling that Lord Voldemort would not be.

"Enter!" Lucius walked in. "Ah, Lucius, good. Any news on the Karickin front?" Lord Voldemort was sitting on his stone throne, Nagini coiled in his lap, looking quite happy with herself.

"Y-yes, sir."

"Well?"

"I've found her, sir."

"Excellent!"

"Of course, sir."

"You don't sound too pleased, Lucius. What aren't you telling me?"

"She's a muggle, sir," Lucius whispered it; hoping Lord Voldemort wouldn't hear him.

"WHAT!!!!" No such luck.

Adeline's pencil flew over the canvass, sketching a face that she knew as well as her own. The face of the Lily of her dreams. Large wise eyes full of love for the little boy nestled in her arms, a waterfall of wavy hair which seemed to reflect her mood, smiling lips, tiny ears, high cheekbones, the list went on and one.

Adeline had always been a good drawer, but it wasn't until she was three that she'd discovered that not only could she make things stick on paper, she could bring them to life, and even travel to their world too. She'd spent most of her time playing with strange animals that she drew after that, but something awful had happened when she'd gone into her unicorn poster on the wall.

She'd walked through the forest in the picture, and come out on the other side. There was a small cottage there. She'd entered the cottage, surprised to find it unlocked, and had walked out the back door into a small old-fashioned garden full of pansies, june lilies, tulips, columbines, roses, lavender, and many other plants and flowers that Adeline could not name.

But the real surprise had come next. She'd seen a man – James – walking into what looked like a living room right in front of her – smack bang – and he'd kissed the woman – Lily. That was when she'd realised that if she wanted; she could probably leave pictures from both ends. After all, if this picture was connected to another, surely they all were? It was then the He had attacked. She wasn't sure who He was, but she was deathly afraid of him nonetheless, and even at twenty, she still had the nightmares. They'd been getting steadily worse since her 17th birthday three years ago, which was when they'd begun again. June 24th, if she remembered correctly, four days after her birthday.

"Wonderful, Adeline. You've really captured the love between a woman and her child." Professor Murick, Adeline's teacher praised her.

Adeline blushed. "Thank you, sir." She said, embarrassed.

"Who is it, Adeline? A modern Madonna? Perhaps your mother?"

"No, sir, it's someone I saw in a dream."

"Oh? Really…hmm…well, keep them coming, Adeline, keep them coming." Professor Murick walked off, a contemplative look on his face.

"This the painting?" The dark stranger asked.

Professor Murick nodded eagerly. "Do you really think she's good enough, Mr. Snape?" He asked eagerly.

'Mr. Snape' laughed cynically. "My boss will be very pleased, I can assure you of that. Perhaps I could have her phone number, so I may call her and tell her the good news?"

"Oh, no sir," Professor Murick shook his head quickly, "That's against the privacy rights of the students."

"Very well. Perhaps you could tell her I called in, and give her this card?" 'Mr. Snape' handed Professor Murick a small business card with White Bumblebee Talent Agency written on it in flowing green script.

"Of course, Mr. Snape, I shall give it to her personally."

"Wonderful." 'Mr. Snape' swept out of the gallery, and then out of the building.

Adeline closed her eyes, and hummed along to the music. She could already see the picture forming, a red haired girl and a dark haired boy, dancing a waltz to the music. She began to paint, and was just about to fill in the girl's hair, when the doorbell rang. She sighed in frustration, running her hands through her hair, painting the ends of her auburn curls an even brighter red. "Mel, could you get that?" She yelled.

"Sure," Melody replied. There was the sound of her speaking to someone, then the door closed, and she came into the room. "That was Professor Murick. He said you'd been spotted for a talent agency!"

"What?! Are you sure?" Adeline jumped up.

"Yeah!" They both squealed, and hugged each other happily.

"Omigod I can't believe it!" Adeline waved her paintbrush around, spattering Melody with scarlet paint.

"Yeah, well, I need to take a shower and get the paint out of my hair. Perhaps you should go to the Library and check this agency out." Melody suggested.

"I'm there. I'll just get my things." Adeline didn't other changing out of her pain-spattered jeans and her shapeless white t-shirt. The Librarian had seen her worse. She did, however, run a brush through her hair and put it into a ponytail. With any luck, that boy from her Lit class would be there, studying for the essay that was due in next week. An essay that she had yet to make a start on.

Cursing, Adeline grabbed the books that she needed to renew at the library, her purse, her car keys, the business card, and, last but not least, the painting of the boy and girl, and a smaller version of the sketch she'd been doing in class. She'd have no peace until she finished them. Quite suddenly, she felt the most peculiar tugging sensation behind her navel. It was then and there that Adeline ceased to be at 12/A Mulbert Cove.

AN: Good?