Disclaimer: I'd say it's fairly obvious i dont own HP. if I did, I would...oh, lessee. I'd be at home on the internet. a lot. and i would have a decent computer. Oh yeah, and for friendship's sake, I'd give some money to the ERTA fund. (dont ask - FO, you know wot i mean.)
I Am
Chapter 1The Future twists through many dark passages...
I am the girl who sat behind Sirius Black in our OWL exams. My name is Maria.
The day of the Defence Against the Dark Arts exam was hot. The sun was shining, and I thought at first it was a trick of the light.
But no. No. The vision was too solid, too real, to be a trick. The Aspecta was at work.
The Aspecta is a gift, they say, that allows you to see the future, but never when you choose to, and never what you want to. Important events, events that could turn either way, that is what I see.
A boy, this time. A boy, no older than me, appeared next to Severus Snape, a Slytherin. I had been looking all around me, bored, for I had finished the test and still had just over five minutes to go. The boy gazed around, then saw something that made him move, sliding quickly across the polished floor to James Potter, one of the fifth year boy's gang. The vision stood, staring, then looked up and at the other members of James's gang: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. As he looked at Sirius, his gaze slipped back to my face, and he smiled. I do not know why. Then I looked properly at his face. What I saw made me almost gasp in shock.
James Potter.
But….it couldn't be. Why does the Aspecta do things like this to me? I'd never be able to forget this. Messy black hair, glasses, same height, he just looked so much like James he had to be related. But in the future. But what's more, the eyes. Green eyes. Green, almond-shaped eyes. Eyes I most definitely recognised. There was no-one else's they could be. My friend Lily Evans's eyes. But in the future. So there's only one thing he could be.
Her son. Their son.
But that was impossible, Lily hated James. At least, she always said she did.
I was brought out of my reverie by the squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher. He let us all go, and I joined up with my group: Lily Evans, Hazel Potter, James's sister, ten months younger than him, Rosa Green, and Imperia Malfoy, younger sister of Lucius Malfoy. She surprised everyone by being placed in Gryffindor: the first in her family. Not like Lucius – he had become a stinking Slytherin like his parents and the rest of his family. He disowned Imperia, saying he would not be connected to filth. We'll get him back for that someday.
As we walked along, giggling about some of the answers Rosa had written for her test, I overheard a conversation going on between the fifth year boys behind us.
"Did you like question ten, Moony?"
"Loved it. 'Give five signs that identify the werewolf.' Excellent question."
"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?"
"Think I did. One: he's sitting on my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin."
What! Remus, quiet, shy, sensible Remus, my fellow Gryffindor prefect, was a werewolf? I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. Although I must say, I wasn't totally surprised…. I had suspected something like that, a thought that I had pushed to the back of my mind, because after all, he disappeared at the full moon each month….but he'd always said someone in his family was ill, or he was going to a funeral….
I must admit, after the initial shock, I just mainly felt sorry for him. Fancy having to live like that, turning into a man-eating monster every month; I don't think I could have borne it. I decided to be more sympathetic to him in future.
By then we were outside, and we headed over to our usual position in the summer weather; by the lake's edge. We took our shoes and socks off, then dipped our feet in the pleasantly warm water, heated by the sun. I had half an eye on the group over by the old beech tree; the Aspecta boy was still with them, watching them all the time. Lily was regaling us with the tale of James's most recent attempt to persuade her to go out with him….
"And then, if you'll believe it, he got down on one knee and handed me these chocolates and red roses, and I almost fainted, for a moment I thought he was about to propose to me! But I was ok, it was just the usual request….the day James Potter proposes to me and expects me to say yes is the day I die of disgust…."
Just then there was a commotion over by the tree. It was the same as normal – James and Sirius had caught sight of Severus Snape, and had attacked him, as usual. It was a recognised routine by now. But this time Lily was particularly furious. They had gone too far, attacking without visible reason, and incurring the wrath of Lily Evans was not a good idea. We turned to stop her, but it was too late; she had already jumped up and stormed off towards the boys, still with bare feet.
"Leave him ALONE!" Rosa, Imperia, Hazel and I ran after her, and stopped just short, staring at the scene before us. Snape foaming at the mouth – large, pink bubbles – and Lily standing there, shouting her head off at the James and Sirius. Sirius looked round her and caught my eye, I smiled shyly and flicked my dark brown hair over one shoulder, and he grinned and winked in return. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I glanced at the floor. I had always like Sirius, ever since when, in first year, he rescued me from the trick step in one of the staircases then walked me to my next class. I occasionally went….wandering….at night as well, and the four boys; Sirius, James, Remus and Peter; had often found me and let me hide under James's invisibility cloak. I knew that Hazel had done the same - after all, her older brother doted on her.
I was brought back from my memories when Lily yelled, "You make me SICK!" I knew she was still talking to James. She turned on her heel and hurried back to the lakeside, the four of us following behind, knowing she would be angry with us as well, because we hadn't helped. I turned back again as I heard James shouting, "Evans! Hey, EVANS!" Calling her just by her surname had never helped – he could at least have called her Lily. "Right. Right –" James was looking furious. "Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?" Believe me, what happened next was not a pretty sight – I don't think I really need to go into detail.
Suddenly I saw another vision, a worse-looking one this time – next to the misty boy, who was still standing there, watching James and Sirius – a tall figure in black robes, with straggly, greasy hair and a hooked nose. It had to be - an older Snape. What was he doing here? He didn't look much older than thirty from what I could see, so they couldn't have come from too far in the future; we were all fifteen, and the boy appeared to be roughly the same age...I tried to give up my track of thought there - messing with the future had never helped anyone; what if I changed something irreparably here, and something went horribly wrong later on? I would never know how it could have been...and I don't think I could live with that.
