Okay, so I waited till this afternoon. :P I has some nice surprises in store...of the Marauder variety.
Chapter 10: The Demon's Dream
Sarah
I stood in a grand-looking entrance hall, with paintings full of white-blond witches and wizards. A sweeping staircase split in front of me, and corridors under those. There were three doors besides, all ornately-decorated. The main front doors, or so I assumed, were gilded in silver, the doorknobs shaped like ornate golden snakes.
A man walked into the room, his wide, sweeping emerald robes stark in the white-and-silver room. He bowed deeply, his delicately long nose and the ends of his white-gold hair touching the marble floor.
"My Lord, I am pleased to see that you are, in fact, alive."
"As alive as I can be," said a disembodied voice. I noticed for the first time that there was a floating cloud of green smoke floating in the air in front of me. "For the moment."
"My wife is ready, my Lord."
The disembodied voice, which I supposed was actually the smoke, chuckled deeply. "I knew Narcissa would be, Lucius. The question is…is the rest of the world prepared for my rebirth?"
Lucius smirked, his head still down. "If they are not, all the better to take them by surprise, my Lord."
"Too right. Lead the way, Lucius, and be forewarned that this will hurt Narcissa."
There was something in that voice that sounded more like a threat than a warning, but I didn't really know why. Lucius stood straight, with a regal air, as if he were the very King of England himself. It wasn't until then that I noticed a cane sitting on the floor at his side, with a silver snake's head atop it. Lucius threw this into the air and caught it with a decisive flick of his white-gloved hands.
I followed, curious, as the green smoke-slash-disembodied voice and Lucius led the way through the hall. Lucius pulled open a large doorway, arched and embedded with rich rubies and diamonds and emeralds. Sitting in the room was a black-haired man with a rather large nose and very shiny, possibly dirty hair. I recognized him from school, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
"I trust the Elixer is ready, Severus?" Lucius asked.
"Yes."
"Good. You may return to Hogwarts. I will come to call again when we need another."
Severus nodded curtly, and walked out through the door that had been left opened. I watched as he disappeared through the front doors, then turned back to the scene within the room.
Sitting within a large glass case was what looked like a very large, uncut piece of amethyst. I recognized the stone only because I had read a lot of geology books when I was younger. Had I not been magical, I probably would have become a geologist. I turned my eyes toward Lucius, who had been speaking in hushed tones to someone within a four-poster bed.
My eyes shot wide open when I saw that the bed was now moving, bouncing up and down. Low whimpers came from under the sheets and behind the emerald curtains. The woman there was shouting now, crying out in wrenched, desperate pleasure. I turned my head away, suddenly aware of exactly what the two were doing.
They were having sex!
I tried to leave, to shut out the noises, the moans, the way the headboard was now banging against the wall in a rhythm I didn't want to think of. But whatever was going on, whatever this was on about, I could not leave. I shut my eyes, but could not shut my ears to the emotionally wrenching cries of the woman in the bed.
The woman cried out louder than ever, and then the headboard stopped banging. I opened my eyes now, and squeaked when I saw that somehow, I had moved. I was now looking directly into a marital bed. Lucius was panting, his head upon the woman's chest, his eyes shut, and a great smile covering his thin lips.
On the table to the side, as I had turned my face from the scene, was several bottles with a scratchy writing on the labels. The one that stuck out most was the Fertility Potion – certain to get the woman drinking it pregnant. A honey-golden potion also sat beside it, saying simply "Elixer".
The green smoke descended from its perch above the table, and settled directly over the stomach of the woman.
"Yes…it has worked. She is pregnant."
Well, no fake, asshole!
The smoke vanished slowly into the woman's stomach. "Make no mistake, Narcissa. This will hurt."
The pleasure writhing within that tone was more than the pleasure the woman – Narcissa – had made during sex with her husband. Lucius placed a hand over his wife's stomach when the smoke was gone.
"Don't worry. You are the mother of our Lord, my dear. He will be here soon, my love."
Narcissa nodded, still covered in the sheen of sweat from their exertions a few moments ago. She offered a smile and began to speak.
"Lucius, I know it will be hard…but –"
She suddenly gave a loud, howling scream, and held her stomach taut. She screamed so loud, and so close to me, that when the pain hit me, I could not keep it in.
I awoke screaming in pain. Hermione was at my side, her eyes still bleary from sleep.
"Sarah! Sarah, wake up!"
Hermione stared at me. "Are you okay?"
"When Professor Snape gives me that damn potion, I'll be fine," I said, holding my stomach. The pain was ebbing away slowly. I knew from the event with Justin that I wouldn't be injured truly unless I hit something in the "real" world. "I just had the weirdest dream, and it…was just weird. I felt that lady's pain, as if it was my own."
Hermione nodded in sympathy. "Well, we'd better get ready for breakfast. It's eight fifteen and we still need to get dressed."
I nodded, really looking forward to meeting Professor Snape. It was the first glimpse I'd get of my once-a-week Potions professor. Hermione and I dressed quickly and headed down to breakfast with half an hour before classes were to start. First was History of Magic (ugh), Transfiguration, and after lunch was Charms. With wand in pocket, books and parchment in bag, Hermione and I were ready. I adjusted my witch's hat, still deciding whether or not I wanted to wear it permanently. Most of the upperclassmen didn't, and they'd never gotten in trouble. Lavender and Parvati had already stopped, as had Harry, Ron, and Kaz.
We arrived in the Great Hall, and everyone in the room turned to stare at me as I sat down at the Griffindor table. I glared at Lavender and Parvati, who were both retelling what had happened last night to a group of second-year Ravenclaws. They looked appropriately chastised for two seconds before continuing on telling them about how McGonagall had levitated my body out of the room.
As I spooned myself up some oatmeal, grabbed an apple and some eggs, the owls began flying in. Every single one of them was carrying a bundle in its claws. An unknown owl dropped a package in Hermione's hands, which she found was actually addressed to herself, me, Lavender, and Parvati. She opened it, and found four books inside.
"Oh, these must be the new textbooks," Hermione said. She handed one with my name on the front. "I guess they're dipping into the school funds."
"Maybe," I said, glancing at the cover. "Dark Magic and Defenses, by Genty Fillwigs. Intriguing name. I guess that the new prof accepted the position. Wonder who it is."
"Well, we'll find out tomorrow if Professor Dumbledore doesn't announce it," Hermione said, immediately opening the book and began reading the introductions. A few seconds later, however, and Lucky had flown in behind the stream of owls still dropping off the packages of books. Lucky had a thick letter tied to his leg. Lavender and Parvati accepted their books from Hermione as they came down at last, but I was too wrapped up in reading my note to notice.
Miss Galis,
Your potion is ready. Meet me in the dungeons to receive it immediately.
Professor Snape.
Abrupt, short, and to the point. Well, at least I wouldn't be bored by overindulgence in details like I was in History of Magic. I swiftly drank the rest of my orange juice and grabbed a piece of toast for the road.
"Gotta go, 'Mione, I'll see you in class, okay?"
She nodded, and I'm certain that she had gleaned where I was going. Sometimes having a friend cleverer than you was a good thing. I brushed past Kurama, Kaz, Harry, and Ron on my way out, offering a smile to them.
"Are you okay?" Kaz asked before I could leave entirely.
"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey healed me right up," I said. "Not even any pain left. Cool, huh? I gotta go, though, I'll see you guys later."
I chomped on my toast as I left them behind. I hadn't yet been down to the dungeons in which my Potions class would be. Probably was the reason that I hadn't seen Professor Snape yet. It grew colder as I descended from the warmth of the ground floor, and a bit on the humid side, too. I guessed that with Potions always being brewed down here, it kinda would be.
I found Professor Snape's office fairly easily. It was just down the stairs and to the right, after all, with large, archaic silver letters spelling his name out on the door. Professor Severus Snape.
Wait a second…Lucius had called that guy, the one who made the Elixer, Severus. What if this was the same person? I gulped to myself. Well…cross that bridge when I got there, I guess. If it was the Severus in my dream, I'd go and talk to Professor Dumbledore. He'd know what to do.
I knocked on the door and waited patiently. "Enter," came a deep, baritone voice from the other side. Still clipped and curt. I opened the door and kept my face schooled carefully to the curious, brand-new first-year student seeing Professor Snape for the very first time. It was difficult, but I managed it. Because right just then, I knew that my worst fear had been confirmed. It was the same man as in my dreams.
"Miss Galis. Good of you to follow instructions. Hopefully you will do the same on Friday," he said, and handed me a small vial filled with a pale, sunshine daisy yellow liquid. "This is called Restrictive Cognance, and it is the potion that will cut off the magic dealing with your specific 'skill', as it were. Drink it all. You will need to return for another dose next week." I felt a faint tugging on my frontal lobe, and thought of barriers and blockades surrounding my mind from vicious intrusions.
I nodded and took the vial from his calloused fingers. Nothing else would I have expected of a Potions master. He wouldn't have become a master of it if he'd been lazy. He sneered at me, as though reading my thoughts. I tipped the potion down my throat, feeling a warming sensation, and then nothing.
"If you have any other strange incidents, you are to report them to the headmaster," he said. It was as if he'd truly, honestly seen deep into my very deepest thoughts. "You are dismissed, Miss Galis."
I nodded, numb but still in control of my face. A slight tugging sensation made me look back at him again as I opened the door to leave. It faded after only a few seconds, but I could see the faint look of shock on his face, faintly etched into cold, black eyes. I smiled brightly, never letting down the thoughts of blocks surrounding my private thoughts.
"Well, I suppose I shall see you on Friday, Professor. I look forward to the lesson."
With that, I dashed out and up, knowing that I only had five minutes to get to History of Magic before I was late. I flew through the door just as the bells began to ring. Hermione had saved my seat next to her, and I took it just as Binns soared through the window.
"Good morning, class, we will be continuing to look at great witches and wizards of early times. Our first witch of the day is Circe, a witch believed to have lived in around 600 BC. After the wizarding world was forced underground, she became part of the myths surrounding ancient Greece and Rome. Most of the witches and wizards we'll discuss today fall under this category.
"Circe's most powerful properties were her Transfiguration. She was the first witch to successfully become an Animagus, as far as we know today. Circe lived on an island with many lovers, but bore few children. We only know of one of them, Celine, who became the witch who discovered many of the uses of plants for beginning potions. She also was one of only five separate souls who successfully created the Sorcerer's Stone. We will discuss those fine people at a later date.
"Celine and Circe were both very powerful women. Circe was a Parselmouth, and Celine became a source of Dream Energy, one of only seven lines of witches and wizards who were capable of using it. When those lines died out, we lost that branch of magic with the exception of a few outcrops of powerful Muggle-borns."
He continued on to other, very familiar Grecian and Roman names, all of whom I'd heard of in Muggle myth. A lot of what was said in the myths turned out to be true, but I was still going back to Circe and Celine. What an interesting mother-daughter pair that must have been, all those centuries ago.
The rest of the day went smoothly, and Hermione, Kurama, and I did our homework that evening at a table in the Common Room. Justin, according to Hannah Abbott, was not back from the Hospital Wing yet. Ron, Harry and Kaz reluctantly settled down to write their essays for Transfiguration and we all lucidly practiced our new wand movements for Charms.
For once, I did not have nightmares.
Harry
Wednesday dawned a little too early for my tastes, but Kurama would not let me sleep in longer than an hour before the first class any more. We had all been close to being late several times, especially to Transfiguration. Today, we had Herbology again, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. At eleven o'clock, we would be escorted to the Astronomy tower for a one-hour class. I couldn't wait to see what the stars and planets had to offer us for magical purposes.
Sarah was looking a lot better, I had to admit. Whatever had happened to her, she seemed better now.
Herbology and Transfiguration ran by us without a hitch, and we settled into our seats in the newest class, waiting for the new Defense teacher to show. The class was entirely early, only comprised of the Griffindors to Hermione and Sarah's delight. The two were practically beaming to be sitting in the class. I wasn't entirely sure whether I liked Hermione – she was rather bossy – or Sarah – she was a little odd. But both had offered to help Ron, Kaz, and me do our homework right, so I guess they were all right.
As the class was buzzing around, Hermione and Sarah were discussing the first three chapters of the book we'd only gotten yesterday morning. Honestly, how could two girls read so much? They even surpassed Kurama in book-reading, and he read every last one of the books repeatedly. None of the three had yet ventured to the library, but I had a feeling it was only a matter of time.
When the bell rang, a medium-height man walked purposely into the room. He had soft graying brown hair, and looked a little scruffy even in the new teacher's robes he wore. A soft smile alighted his handsome features. He looked tired, but more than that, he looked older than he really should have, I think.
"Good morning, class," he said. "My name is Professor Remus Lupin, but you may call me Professor Lupin. Padfoot, heel."
A large black dog with brown eyes shot with scarlet lumbered out of his open office door. It seemed to say "I'll make you heel if you say that again" with its eyes. It stood to Lupin's hips, but for all its ferocity, I knew it was a good dog. In its mouth was a tenderly held scroll.
Professor Lupin counted down the list, smiling to see that everyone was there. "I see that we have no stragglers, that's good. How many of you are Muggle-born?"
Hermione, Sarah, Kurama, Kaz, and Dean all raised their hands.
The professor smiled at them. "Well, well. Half of you, then. And I understand you, Mr. Potter, were raised entirely Muggle, as well."
I blinked at his knowledge, but nodded a confirmation.
"Then the six of you – and possibly even the rest of you as well – have no idea how to defend yourselves against Dark Magic." Here, the dog beside him growled. "That is exactly my job to teach you. The dangers and the spells and enchantments capable of recognizing and dealing with Dark Magic and Dark Creatures. This class will cross over a bit with Charms, Potions, and Care of Magical Creatures, should you choose to take that course come third year."
Hermione shuffled around a bit with some papers, though she was paying rapt attention anyway. Lupin saw something on her table, and smiled down at her. "I see you've found out about my friend Mr. Black's release, Miss…?"
"Granger, sir," she said.
"Miss Granger," he said, smiling. "A falsely-accused man, I would add heartily. I am glad that we have the uses of Veritaserum nowadays. Padfoot, please stand in the middle."
The black dog obeyed, to my surprise. How intelligent was it?
"Ah, well," said Lupin. "Today, I will introduce you to some of the more common curses that can occur. I'm afraid I'm not allowed to be practical until you've passed safety requirements in Charms."
And he began to tell us about vampires, zombies, and dragons, and creatures I had never heard of like Red Caps and kappas. All throughout the lesson, he was engaging and playful, able to keep anyone's attentions with ease. I had never had a better teacher in all my eleven years of life.
At the very end of class, he asked Sarah and me to stay.
Sarah sat off in the corner reading her book while he spoke to me in his office alone. Padfoot the dog sat on his heels, his red-brown eyes watching me so intently that I was sure for a moment that he recognized me.
"Harry Potter," he chuckled, shaking his head. "You are very much your father."
I gasped. "You know my father?"
He smiled sadly. "He was one of my very best friends. Sirius and I were, along with Lily, your mother. You have her eyes, you know."
My face felt flushed. "I keep being told that, yes."
"I just wanted to tell you that I knew them. And that you can come talk to me if you need to. Padfoot and I are always welcome to see you."
Here, Padfoot bumped his rather large snout against the back of my legs. I patted him on the head, eliciting a gentle whine of pleasure from the huge dog's throat.
"He's a good-looking dog," I said. Lupin chuckled at the scandalized look that suddenly came over Padfoot's face.
"Don't worry about it, old boy," Lupin said, patting him on the head, too. The dog sniffed and sat down again. "Well, I need to speak with Miss Galis, Harry."
"It was nice meeting you," I said, taking my exit.
"Nice seeing you again, Harry."
I walked from the room, intent on finding Ron so I could tell him. Maybe it would cheer him up, since Scabbers had yet to return.
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I'm going to go ahead and mention this, though we do find it out as the story progresses...When I wrote the last story on Empathes, the Empathes involved (namely, the Wolf family, more particularly, Bri) were Dream Empathes, not Dexterous Empathes like Sarah. Whereas Bri would be able to read the underlying thoughts of her target, and almost every emotion attached, Sarah does not have that ability. Dexterous Empathes are a bit different. One of the main things about them is the ability to block people from their mind - which is later mistaken for Occlumency. Sarah turns out to be pretty piss-poor at true Occlumency or Legillimens. Just thought I'd mention.
