Thrice Defied
Lily ran through the corridors in her bathrobe, pajamas, and slippers, with James on her heels clad in similar clothing. Their footsteps echoed loudly, but they were too intent on getting to their destination to care. "Almost…there," Lily panted, skidding around a corridor. She and James stood doubled over in front of Dumbledore's stone gargoyle, trying to catch their breath.
"Fizzing Whisbees," James panted. The gargoyle stepped aside and the two of them sped up the spiral staircase and into Dumbledore's office.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Lily exclaimed, running to where Dumbledore sat behind his desk. She leaned on the desk for support. "Professor, something dreadful has happened!"
Dumbledore looked up at Lily, his blue eyes staring at her without their usual sparkle. "Please, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, sit down," he said, gesturing to the two cushioned chairs in front of his desk.
"Professor, I'm not really sure what happened," James said in a rush, sitting down. "Lily screamed, so I went into her room to see what was wrong. She woke up and told me…well, she'll tell you."
Lily took a deep breath. "I was asleep, and I had a—well, I guess the best way would be to call it a nightmare, but it wasn't that. It felt real, tangible. Voldemort was in a—a cave, or something. And all his Death Eaters were there. He—he told them…I think he said that he was breeding dementors? Well, the dementors are on his side, Professor."
"I see," Professor Dumbledore said calmly.
"He told them to weed out anyone who was unfaithful among his followers, or…useless. They found one man, and gave him"—Lily took a shuddering breath as a few tears streamed down her cheeks—"they gave him the Dementor's Kiss. I felt it. It felt—It felt like someone ripped my heart into pieces and stomped on them. It was—horrible." Lily sniffled and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "Do you know what my…er…my dream, or vision, or whatever it was…do you know what it means?"
"I believe," Dumbledore started delicately, looking at her closely from over his half-moon glasses, "that Voldemort sent it to you. It is my understanding that he is intent on having you on his side…or having you dead." He paused, surveying the two teens in front of him sadly. "What he meant by sending you this, I can only guess. However, I think that he wanted to show you where he was. He wants you to go after him. In not doing so, you have defied him," Dumbledore sighed, "thrice."
"But, Professor," Lily protested, "isn't there something we could do? You know, about the dementors?"
Dumbledore sighed. "I'm afraid the only thing we can do is to inform the Ministry of Magic. Surely they will issue out a warning."
James, after remaining silent throughout the whole thing, spoke up. "Sir, did we really…er…'defy him thrice', or whatever you said?"
Dumbledore nodded sadly. "Yes," he said gravely. "And let me stress how important that is. For no one else has defied Lord Voldemort thrice…and lived."
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Sirius walked through the empty streets of Hogsmeade stealthily, his cloak clasp the only thing visible in the darkness. He couldn't believe what he was doing, but it was too late to turn back now. He walked to a small, unnoticeable shop that he knew would be open, and walked through the door.
"I'm here to pick it up," Sirius whispered nervously to the shop owner, who was sitting half-asleep in his chair.
"It," the man said. "Of course." He turned around, picked up a small parcel, and put it on the glass counter between Sirius and himself.
"Thanks," Sirius said, handing the man twenty gold Galleons; they were the savings of more than five years. He was planning on using the Galleons to pay for a flying motorcycle, but this—well, this was far more important.
"You're a bit young to be handling that, now, aren't you?" the shopkeeper asked, pointing at the parcel that now lay in the palm of Sirius's hand.
"You're a bit old for gossip, now, aren't you?" Sirius said, smirking. "And besides, I'm of-age now."
"If you say so," the man said, sighing, as he watched Sirius walk out of his shop and disappear into the night.
A/N: So, here it is. Everything is slowly coming to a close for the seventh years, but it's not over yet! A few more things happen that will really change everything. But that's all I'm saying. Anyways, tomorrow (December 30), is my birthday! So, the next time I update, I'll be FOURTEEN! Wow. So, um, review please? Kay, thanks.