M.

There is soft wind on my body. I try to read the sky, find voices in the clouds- but, what it is that they all say? It's Greek to me. The heavens give up no secrets. I smile. I am thinking of my mother.

It is then I realize that I am not in my bed. Momentarily, I do not understand.

I hear screaming.

It is me.

-

"James! James!" Oh, please let him not be dead, she thought vehemently.

He sputtered and coughed and his eyes fluttered open, then closed, then half-open again. His chest began to rise and fall- erratically, but he was breathing. She sighed and sweet waves of relief washed over her.

"Lily?" He asked, squinting a bit at her. His glasses had been lost in the water.

" Marlene. Sorry."

He looked at her with his odd tawny eyes, golden and green and grey all at once. Fear, disappointment, and a hazy half-awareness. The eyes of a boy who had just woken from a dream.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know. A beach somewhere. It's morning, James. "

He sat up, swaying a bit at first. Looking out over the vast blue galaxy that was the sea, he said, " This...isn't a dream, is it?"

It wasn't really a question. She answered it anyway, to fill the silences they were creating.

"No. I don't think so."

"Are we alone?"

She said nothing for a long time.

"Marlene?"

" I don't know!" Then, gentler. "I hope not."

"Me too. Being stuck on a desert island with you would blow. Not to be rude."

" You're a dick, James."

-

R.

Cold

I'm drowning, where? Water

It's dark

Am I awake? Can you hear me?

So dark. I'm floating

Am I dead?

Drifting

No air

So, so cold.

Can you hear

Sleep

-

"So... What now?" Lily asked tentatively. James' arms were wrapped protectively around her.

"What do you mean, what now?" Sirius snapped. His long dark hair was a mess, crisp from sea salt and tangled by the waves, and his eyes were bloodshot. Remus suspected that Sirius was an accurate reflection of his own condition. They were a sorry sight to behold - seven blue-lipped, lank-haired, shivering bodies huddled together on a beach in the middle of the night. "I'll tell you 'what now.' We find a boat and get out of this godforsaken place."

" Find a boat. Right. Sirius, are you insane?" James said.

"What? Don't you want to get out of here?"

" Not tonight, in any case," said Emmeline, practically. "It's dark, cold, and we have no idea where we are. We could drown or get lost."

"What about the house?" asked Lily.

"What?" said James, Marlene, Peter, and Sirius all at once.

Remus sighed. His teeth chattered slightlyupon doing so. " Don't tell me you didn't notice the bloody great house up over the dunes. How could you possibly miss that?"

James stood up to look, and Remus was right- barely visible over the sandy dunes and the tall grass was the peak of a roof, and a small, round window, which was dark. Sirius was not so curious.

"I'm sorry, Remus, but, I was too busy freezing to death and wondering why the hell I'm here when I should be at Hogwarts, graduating! I am wandless, cold, hungry, wet, tired, and I want to go home, damnit! I want to go home!" Sirius shouted. Tears marked their shining trails down his cheeks. Everything was quiet for a moment as he wiped at his face with his sleeve and sniffed a bit, then glared around at everyone, as if daring them to say anything. Remus wouldn't meet his eyes.

"I think we should all go up to the house and see if we can find somewhere to sleep in there- at least until morning," offered Peter.

" Seconded," said Lily. James agreed, as did Remus and Emmeline. Sirius and Marlene did not look thrilled by this prospect. Sirius got to his feet grudgingly, and put out his hand to help Marlene up.

" I don't need your help." She pushed it aside and rose on her own, somewhat stiffly.

Remus looked at her wearily. "Marlene, don't. Just...don't. Not now."

"Fine. Let's go."

They went. Up the dunes and through the tall grass, and into the white house with the red door, all alone beneath the moon.

E., dawn

It was hard to find our way through the house in the dark. But we were lucky, I guess, that there was a moon last night. I think we would have given up hope without the moon.

We have only explored parts of the house. But as far as we can tell, there are three floors and one spiraling staircase. Marlene, Remus, and Peter and have taken rooms up at the top. James, Lily, Sirius and I are on the second floor. I write this now from the room I am sharing with Lily. I insisted that everyone choose a room - I thought that it might make everything feel a little more normal. Unfortunately, normal rather imploded.

When I started to settle in for the night, I noticed something hard under my pillow. I pulled it out and found that it was a book, this book. Most disturbingly, written on the pale blue cover was my name, in shining golden ink. Lily discovered the same thing only moments later. We ran out into the hall and yelled for everyone. Marlene was on her way down and Sirius was already standing outside of his room. Remus came last. His face was surprisingly calm. By now it seemed like everyone except him had gotten scared out of their minds.

Is someone watching us? Who sent us here? How? Why?

The sun is rising behind the house now- it has just broken over the horizon, I can see it from my window. There is a vast world of green-gold grass stretching out beyond. Lily is stirring. I will have to put down my pen for now. When I found this book, the pages were all empty. Now, this first one is not.

P., after dawn

Remus was last. We pulled him onto shore in the middle of the night. He sort of drifted into the little inlet a few hours ago, all pale and still. He looked like a dead thing- a corpse, bloated and shining with wetness in the moonlight. It was probably the scariest thing I've ever seen. I can't imagine how it would have looked to anyone else. But there wasn't anyone around to see it but us.

That's the weird thing. We didn't see any footprints or hear any voices. There isn't even any trash on the beach. It's so...unnatural.

You know what else is weird? This house is really quite clean. Dustless. It's almost like someone was here just yesterday, preparing it for us. Making it clean and tidy, pressing the sheets, putting fresh logs in the fireplaces. And the books. That's odd, and not in an even remotely interesting way. It's just creepy.

But there's nothing here now. There is no one here.

Well, no one but us, that is.