Elrond felt a disturbance in the Force. Or at least he would have if that's what he called the knot growing in the pit of his stomach. He clutched the spot and fell out of bed to his knees, gasping in pain. So dizzy... a light before his eyes grew and the delicate screaming of bells in his ears blotted out the sounds of the resting elven city. He shouted for help but could not hear himself.

Elrond... a voice called out from the light and all became clear. He was standing on a crystal-blue bridge in a brilliant white vacuum. The figure of a woman stood before him, outlined in the flowing energy of the bridge. Elrond… she spoke again.

"Who are you?" he asked, not daring to rise.

I am the one child born of two worlds.

Elrond felt himself in a state without time, as though all the points and seconds of the universe were flowing in that bridge that stretched on for infinity. He knew this must be a prophecy. Nevertheless, all he could stutter was: "What do you mean?"

Prepare for my arrival.

And with a flash, she was gone.

Aure van Illmen stared out the window and imagined what it would be like to fly in the last dying rays of sunlight rather than sitting in her classroom and listening to Professor Whimsetti lecture about the goals of modern science.

"Finish chapter five and email me your essays by 8p.m. tonight," she heard him say, which brought her back. Essay? What essay? She looked down at her pathetic notes and found no written memory of said paper. As it was a Friday the class had dispersed quickly and she had no time to ask a fellow student. Only Professor Whimsetti remained, straightening his papers. He looked grumpier than usual, his comb-over less than straight and his suit a bit ajar. Like he'd had a rough day. She was in for it, alright. She bit her lip and walked to his desk.

"Miss… Illmen, correct?" he grumbled without looking up.

"Van Illmen, yes sir," she sighed. "I just wanted to ask a question about the ess-"

"The essay, yes, I'm sure," he said, finally looking her in the eye. He paused. From a distance she had been merely pretty, but up close her eyes seemed an almost unnaturally clear blue. As though if he stared at them long enough he might see through into another-

"Professor, I'm sorry, I'm having trouble concentrating with this class meeting so late in the day. It's not that I don't like chemistry it's just the timing." She tried to think of a way to put it delicately.

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

She looked down.

Despite himself, he smiled. She was so sincere.

"Miss Van Illmen, I've had many students fall asleep in my classes, but you're the first to dream with her eyes open. Might I ask why you chose chemistry as a major?"

At this she stared him full in the eye. He drew back.

"I like chemistry," she forced from herself. "I think it's close to something beyond the rules of science."

"What…?" he met her gaze this time, evenly, wondering if maybe she…

Could she be?

"I see. Well, the essay was about the details of lipid bonding and we've been working on it since last week, but since you've been "absent" I'll give you partial credit if you write me a page on this topic of going beyond science. I'm very interested."

"Oh…" she was surprised. "O-Okay. Thank you sir." She returned to her desk, grabbed her backpack and headed for the door.

"And Miss Illmen?"

"Van Illmen."

"I have someone I'd like you to meet."

Aure tried to walk back to her dorm to work on the essay but her feet, as usual, took her towards the tree line of the on-campus woods. As she walked the sky went from red to orange, reflecting in her ruddy golden hair. Annoyed at the weight of her backpack she found a good tree and skittered up to a healthy, strong branch and looped one of the handles around it. But rather than descending again for a walk she decided to watch the remaining purple light follow the sun on its way out.

She sighed. Why did chem class have to suck? She had always loved mixing things and always felt the sum of the parts somehow did not equal the whole… but the lectures themselves were not what she was looking for. It was something else.

She gave a shiver when she realized the sun had set and the streetlights were coming on below. She watched a couple pass under her tree headed for a "short outing" in the woods and remembered why she didn't go there at night anymore. She jumped down and started heading back for campus, when she heard a –click–.

"Don't move," a scratchy male voice said. She recognized the click as the safety on a pistol. She put her hands up slowly.

"That's it," he said. She felt him grab her long ponytail violently and anger shot through her body. She turned and kicked the man square in the chest and he flew, a bullet flying into the air. She heard a shout of surprise from above but did not have time to look. She had hoped the gun would fall out of the man's hand but it did not, and was in fact pointed at her again.

"What are you, psycho?" the man breathed, then coughed from the impact. He was now afraid. Aure was more afraid for herself, because the man felt threatened. She moved her hand to gesture that it was alright, but she heard the click again. In a sickening moment she began to drop out of the bullet's way, but already knew it was too late. She saw the puff of powder and her death coming in slow motion. At the same time she saw a man on a broom behind her assailant, and he was shouting something.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Had time stopped?

The bullet had.

Less than an inch before her face it was still spinning like crazy but had lost all forward momentum.

"Stupify!" the voice cried again, and both man and gun fell with a thud. Aure stepped out of the bullet's path and stared at the figure on the broom.