Leslie woke with a start. She'd been having a strange dream and she was almost glad it was over.
The dream had been strange for a few reasons. First off, it was so vivid, she remembered all of it. Secondly, she hadn't been in the dream. Instead, she'd dreamed that Samantha, Max, and Margot had ventured off under the Invisibility Cloak and gone into a room they had never seen before, where they had proceeded to pass out.
Leslie took a deep breath, trying not to think of the dream. She had gotten up to get some water when she realized that Samantha was missing from her bed. 'It has to be a coincidence, right?' she thought to herself. Something in the back of her mind told her it was not.
"Only one way to find out," she whispered, and quietly as possible, she snuck out of the first years' dorm room and downstairs to the third years', where Margot would be.
Silently, she crept in and noticed the one empty bed. She checked to make sure it wasn't a different girl that was gone, and when it wasn't, her heart started racing. She hoped it was all a coincidence, or she didn't know what she'd do.
So, she then crept up to the boys' dormitories, where there was, again, one missing bed, which, Leslie could tell from observation, belonged to Max.
Her heart plummeted. Had it not been a dream at all, but a warning sign? A desperate call for help from Samantha's subconscious? Leslie knew what she had to do: find them.
As quietly as she possibly could, she made her way out of the portrait hole and into the halls. She seemed to know where she was going, as if she were being pulled like a magnet. She found the corridor she remembered so well and walked down it, into the only door it had. There, she found the fallen bodies of Samantha, Max, and Margot.
Her breathing quickened as she stared down at them, and she knew she had to get help. Wandering around would do her no good, she needed Dumbledore, he would know what to do.
She wandered through the halls, straining to remember where Samantha had told her that Snape had taken her. She remembered Gargoyles... but what floor? Pausing to think, she slumped against a wall, racking her brain.
"And then he lead me up to the seventh floor, near two Gargoyles guarding the entrance," Samantha's soft voice rang through Leslie's head as she remembered that walk through the grounds.
Leslie felt so excited she could scream. She knew she was on the fifth floor, so she made her way to the closest stairway and ran up, checking all around for Filch or Mrs. Norris.
After what seemed like decades, Leslie found the stone gargoyles Samantha had mentioned.
"Can you please let me in?" she asked them.
"Do you have the password?" one of them asked.
"P- password? No," Leslie said sadly.
"Can't let you in if you don't have a password," the Gargoyle said.
"Please, my friends are in danger, I need to see Dumbledore," Leslie begged.
The Gargoyle seemed to consider it. "What kind of danger?" he asked
"They're unconscious in a room that's in a small corridor on the fifth floor," Leslie said, getting more desperate by the second.
The Gargoyle thought more about it, studying Leslie. "I will let you in just this once. Don't expect it to ever happen again," he said, and moved aside so Leslie could get by.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Leslie cried as she ran past the gargoyles and up the moving stairwell.
She had never been here before, and nerves seemed to hit once she had knocked on the door. Was she waking him up? Causing him trouble? Was this just stupid, a dumb prank Samantha had played on her? All the possible scenarios ran through Leslie's mind as she waited for Dumbledore.
Finally, the door opened. Leslie saw Dumbledore glance at her.
"Ah, Miss Carter. What are you doing here, at such an hour?" he asked her.
"Professor Dumbledore, my friends- I- well, I had this dream, and now Samantha, Max, and Margot are all really missing-," said Leslie.
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Missing, you say? Samantha Potter and Max and Margot Langbert?" he asked.
Leslie nodded. "Well, not exactly missing, I know where they are, but they're unconscious, and I- I needed help," she said.
"Where are they?" Dumbledore asked her.
"Er... a room in a corridor on the fifth floor, I can show you," Leslie said.
"Let's go then. Lead the way," Dumbledore said, and Leslie took him back down to where Samantha, Max, and Margot lay, again feeling as if she were being pulled like a magnet.
"They're... they're in here," Leslie said, pointing to the door behind which. her three friends were.
Dumbledore opened the door and peered into the darkness within. "Lumos," he whispered, and then made his way in with Leslie following close behind.
He saw Samantha, Max, and Margot sprawled on the ground.
Dumbledore whispered something, and all three bodies rose steadily into the air and out of the room.
"We must get these three to the hospital wing immediately," Dumbledore told Leslie as he levitated them out of the corridor and through the castle.
"Er, Professor Dumbledore, what's... what happened to them?" she asked.
"That," said Dumbledore, "is a very good question. I must say, even I do not know the answer."
"What's in that room? Will they be alright?" Leslie asked. Her brain was swimming with questions.
"I will try to answer your questions soon. Right now, I'm afraid, we need to focus on getting your friends to Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore said. Leslie followed him through the halls, struggling to keep up with his quick stride.
The pair, along with the three floating bodies, made their way to the hospital wing, where Dumbledore told Madam Pomfrey what had happened.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do," she told Dumbledore. "Your friends will be back in no time" she added on, looking at Leslie as she spoke.
When the two departed the hospital wing, Leslie made to walk back to Gryffindor Tower but Dumbledore stopped her.
"Leslie, if you could please come back to my office, I have a few things I would like to discuss," Dumbledore said. Silently, Leslie followed him back to his office.
"Drooble's Best Blowing Gum," Dumbledore told the Gargoyle, and it let the two of them up.
"Take a seat, take a seat," Dumbledore told Leslie, gesturing to a chair. Slowly, Leslie sat down, staring in wonder around her. She had not been able to take in the place before, but now that things were calmer, she realized how very interesting the room was.
"Professor Dumbledore, what was that room?" Leslie asked him.
"I'm afraid I can't say. I've never been in there before, never heard a whisper of it" said Dumbledore. "Your friends must be very clever to discover such a room," he added.
"But... but, they could've died. That's not very clever. I had a bad feeling about this, I told her not to go..." Leslie said, crossing her arms.
"And maybe she should've listened to you, yes, but she is her father's daughter, and I daresay would never pass up the chance for an adventure, even when warned against it," Professor Dumbledore told her.
"What- what does that mean? The part about her father?" asked Leslie.
"Oh, he and his friends were quite the troublemakers in their days," Dumbledore said, a sparkle in his eye. "Straightened out towards the end, though. Especially James. Peter and Remus were never too much for trouble, however, neither stopped it. Sirius caused the most trouble their last years."
"What happened in their last years?" Leslie asked.
"Lily Evans happened. James fancied her, you see, and he straightened out so she would consider him. Even became Head Boy his last year. Such wonderful boys..." Dumbledore trailed off, his blue eyes looking lost.
"What happened to them?" Leslie asked.
"James... well, you know what happened to James. Peter died as well, killed by Sirius, who's now in Azkaban. I never did know where Remus ended up, although he's not dead or in prison, I know that," Dumbledore said slowly. "But we are not here to discuss the Marauders, we are here to discuss your friends. How did you know they were there?"
Leslie recounted the night to Dumbledore. About how Samantha had planned to explore the castle, and Leslie told her not to. She then told him about the dream, and how she had checked the rooms to make sure all of them were missing. And finally, she told him about the magnetic pull she had felt that led her to their bodies. "Professor Dumbledore, how did all of this happen?" she asked him once she finished.
"Magic works in strange ways. Your friends were in danger and your subconscious took charge to save them. I'm not sure how, but the important thing is that they're safe because of you," said Dumbledore.
Leslie sighed, staring down at the floor.
"Now, it is getting late and you have classes tomorrow, so unless you have any more questions, I shall have to send you off to go get some sleep," Dumbledore said.
"Thank you, Professor. Good night," Leslie said, turning to walk out of the room.
"Good night, Miss Carter," said Dumbledore.
Leslie walked slowly towards Gryffindor Common Room. She was tired and yet extremely awake, and felt as if she would not be able to fall asleep.
Instead, she lay in the dark for hours, worrying about Samantha and Max and Margot, completely exhausted yet too alert to fall asleep.
When it was time for breakfast, Leslie reluctantly dragged herself out of bed and practically fell down the stairs on her way to the Great Hall. She was too tired to eat and instead sat there glumly until it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts, where she trailed behind Gwendolyn, Alyssa, and Katie.
She sat down, and that was the last thing she could remember before being shaken awake by Gwendolyn.
"Leslie! Hey, Leslie!" she whispered, one of her pale hands on Leslie's shoulders.
Leslie grunted softly as she rubbed her eyes, slowly opening them. "Was I asleep?" she asked.
"Through practically the whole class!" Gwendolyn whispered, gathering Leslie's things for her.
"Oh. Did I miss anything?"
"No, you're fine. Lucky you're in the back, I mean. Come on, we've got to get to Transfiguration. Better not fall asleep there, or you'll be in big trouble," Gwendolyn said as she helped Leslie from her seat and walked her to Transfiguration.
"Thank you so much, Gwendolyn," Leslie said, stopping her before she walked into the classroom.
"No problem, Leslie," Gwendolyn smiled at her before turning and walking into class.
Although Harry was seated in class, his mind was somewhere else. He'd had a strange dream last night and hadn't been able to get it off of his mind. He felt as if it had been real, however, he had to keep reminding himself it couldn't be, because how could a dream like that one possibly be true? Samantha couldn't be under an Invisibility Cloak, because they didn't exist. Samantha couldn't be doing magic, because it didn't exist. The room was the only part of the dream with logic behind it, because there could've been some sort of toxic substance in it to knock them out.
But then, Harry thought, what had gotten him to the roof? What had turned his teacher's wig blue? How had his hair grown back so quickly those times Aunt Petunia had cut it? What about that time Dudley's food had appeared on Lauren's plate, or the time Dudley hadn't let Samantha hold a lizard and it bit him right after? Sure, the last one could be a coincidence, but it hadn't seemed so at the time.
Harry could think of no other explanation for these events except magic. He knew bringing it up to anyone would do him much more harm than good. He was already treading on eggshells around his aunt and uncle and asking them about magic would only make it worse.
"Harry? Harry, do you know the answer to number three?"
Harry was slowly brought back to the classroom as Mr. Lupin called to him.
"What?" he asked, suddenly realizing all eyes were on him.
"Harry, do you have the answer to question three?" Mr. Lupin repeated.
"Oh. Er, not exactly, sorry," Harry replied.
"That's alright, Harry. Can you work the problem quickly and then give us the answer?" Mr. Lupin smiled softly at Harry.
"Yes, I will," Harry agreed, and got to work doing the problem.
He finished quickly, and then told the class.
"That is correct, Harry. Now, I have no doubt whatever you were thinking about was important, but if you could please try to pay attention, that would be brilliant," Mr. Lupin said.
Harry's face grew hot and he avoided looking at anyone, especially Audrey.
Although he would much rather contemplate magic, Harry paid attention the rest of class, which was why he was surprised when Mr. Lupin asked to talk with him after class.
Cautiously, he walked to Mr. Lupin's desk, where the man was seated.
"Harry, I understand if you wish not to tell me, but I was wondering what was distracting you earlier?" Mr. Lupin asked him.
Harry was silent for a moment. He trusted Mr. Lupin, he decided, and he needed to talk to someone about it, or else he felt he might explode.
"I had a strange dream about my sister last night. She was... in a castle, with two other people, a boy and a girl, and they were hidden under an- under an Invisibility Cloak, and they were doing magic, and they went- they went into this one room, and all three of them passed out and that's- that's where the dream ended." Only now did Harry realize how foolish he must sound, going on about magic. "I know magic isn't real, but the dream felt so real that I can barely believe it was just a dream," he added.
Remus was shocked. This child, who'd had no connection with magic for nine years, was having dreams about his sister at Hogwarts. And if he was having such vivid dreams about stuff he shouldn't know, who's to say it wasn't real, and his sister was really in danger, passed out with friends in a deserted room at Hogwarts? He didn't know what to tell Harry, but he did know he must write Dumbledore immediately.
"Sorry, you must think this is really stupid," Harry said after Remus was silent, "but I almost feel as if it was real, I mean, maybe us being, well, er... magic... wouldn't be too crazy, right? It would explain where Samantha went, and a lot of other things that have happened around us that are strange. Like when I, you know, ended up on the roof or turned my teacher's wig blue or when Lauren got food to appear on her plate or when Sam made the lizard bite Dudley," said Harry, and then realized something.
"And Lauren, I just realized this, definitely has some sort of powers, she can- she can..." Harry didn't exactly know how to explain Lauren's powers. "It's like, she can feel things, and know what they are, if that makes sense? For example, she can touch a wrapped present, and know what's inside of it, and who sent it. Or she could touch me, and know what I feel right now," Harry explained.
Remus raised his eyebrows. He had never heard of this type of magic before, it seemed very useful. He did make a mental note, however, not to let Lauren ever touch him. "Could you explain your sister's, er, powers, a little more, please?" he asked Harry.
"I know it's quite unbelievable sir, but you have to trust me, you can ask her yourself, it's really real," said Harry.
"I never said I don't believe, I just wanted more information," Mr. Lupin said calmly.
"Sorry, I just... it's such a stupid theory, because obviously magic can't exist, that would be preposterous, I just... I think I'm just desperate for an explanation, is all," Harry said.
Lupin smiled softly. "That would make sense. Now, a little more about Lauren?"
"Right. Well, she can only do it if it's her bare skin touching it. If she has gloves on, she can't feel. It's involuntary too, so, say she was wearing a tank top and someone grabbed her shoulder, she would know what they felt. But if she were wearing a jacket, she wouldn't feel it," said Harry.
"Could she, say, touch dead bodies and discover the cause of death, or who killed them? That would be very useful for catching criminals," Remus said suddenly.
Harry shrugged, weirdly off-put by the question. "I don't know. She hasn't really been near many dead bodies. I guess it might be useful, but it might be kind of traumatizing to touch a bunch of dead bodies for a living," he said.
"Yes, that is true..." Remus said.
"Do you... do you believe me?" asked Harry.
"Yes, Harry, I believe you," said Mr. Lupin. "Now, get off to recess, you don't want to miss that."
"Alright. Bye, Mr. Lupin," Harry smiled.
"Goodbye, Harry," Remus said, and then watched Harry run through the halls.
"Right... Now, where's the parchment?" Remus muttered to himself, looking through his desk drawers. He could've summoned it, but thought that would be rather stupid, there were Muggles surrounding him and exposing the Wizarding World was not something Remus would like to do.
Finally, he found a small piece and quickly scribbled out a note to Dumbledore, who would of course know if Samantha and her friends were okay. The note read:
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
It's Remus Lupin. We have not been in contact, but something has recently come up where I must contact you. You see, I have recently taken up a position at a Muggle school that Harry Potter attends. He does not know about magic, yet just now, told me about a detailed dream he'd had of his sister, Samantha, doing magic and getting hurt in a room in a castle, which I assume is Hogwarts. Normally, this would be cause for little concern, however, the detail in which Harry told this story alarms me. He should have no knowledge of Hogwarts, and yet he seems to know a surprising amount. This made me want to check up on Samantha and make sure she is doing alright.
Best regards,
Remus Lupin
Remus read over the letter once more before quickly Apparating to the wizard post office and choosing the cheapest owl he could find to send the letter to Dumbledore.
All the way, he contemplated Lauren's powers. He had never heard of such a thing, and knew neither James nor Lily had had it, seeing as he had known both of them quite well and they would have told him if they knew things by touching them.
He wondered what it all extended to. What, exactly, did Lauren feel? Did she see scenes, or did the information just flow to her through her hand? This all completely puzzled Remus.
He wondered if he should've brought it up in his letter, but then figured that would just trouble Dumbledore even more than he already was, by sending him a letter asking about Samantha.
Thinking about it even more, Remus realized how absurd it was. 'Harry's had a dream', he told himself, 'it could mean anything. So what if his sister was doing magic, in a castle? It could all be a coincidence, and Samantha had probably been safe and sound in her bed last night' he tried to convince himself. "She's James's daughter, Merlin knows she wasn't in her bed last night" Remus whispered quietly to himself.
He remembered Lily's complaints about how rambunctious Samantha had been as a toddler, running around the house, traumatizing the cat, breaking everything. He remembered when Samantha had almost broken James's wand while trying to get sparks to fly out of it like her dad could do, or when she'd pulled a picture off of the wall while standing on the back of a toilet.
He remembered the letters Lily had sent at Harry's first birthday, about how he had almost killed the cat and had broken a vase while riding a toy broomstick Sirius had gotten him.
He remembered how Lily had said, in that letter, that even though Lauren was only a few weeks old, Lily could tell Lauren would be much less problematic than her siblings.
Remus could tell that was true. Although Harry was relatively calm, Lauren was even calmer. She excelled at anything involving creativity and loved being outside. Remus thought she'd be good at Herbology, and maybe even Potions. Charms, too, most likely. And, once she was old enough, Care of Magical Creatures.
It only took a day for Remus to get his reply from Dumbledore. Since it was such a long distance, Remus had been expecting much longer, however, he was glad to have gotten a quick reply.
He was scared to open it, scared he would get news of Samantha's death, or of some sort of permanent damage to her in some form or another.
With his hands shaking, Remus slowly opened the letter.