-Vicis is pronounced vee-CHEESE, by the way. Also, everything that is bolded is actually J.K.R.'s words. And yes, Lennette is only eleven. A very wise and snippy eleven-year-old. Also, sorry it took so long to get this chapter online, my Beta took a 2 week trip to France and Holland, and could not edit. I hope you like the chapter! And sorry about changing the title of the story, it just did not fit the story anymore...-
Lennette stepped up to the Sorting Hat. Remus had been sorted Gryffindor, along with the boy she faintly remembered as Sirius.
Lennette put on the old, worn hat. Immediately, it began to speak to her. Miss Lennette Meadows, or, should I call you The Two Minded One? Don't worry; I know which is yours and which is not. The question is, where do you belong…? Though your epilepsy causes you to forget, you are far smarter than many Ravenclaws I read, and with your superb ability to cover truth, I could easily put you in Slytherin… You're heart is as true as a Hufflepuff, but you do not belong there…. Oh my… Your bravery is great. You, like another who you know, experiences great pain when the moon is full, but not for the same reasons. You and he together are far braver than Godric Gryffindor himself! Such bravery belongs in… The Hat shouted Gryffindor, and strong cheers came from Lennette's new house.
Lennette faked a smile while walking down to Remus, seating herself between him and Sirius. She did not want to be in Gryffindor, though her father was one. She did not feel brave. She may live through seeing snippets of one boy's sad life, but she did not see that a bravery.
Lennette could tell that, Remus too, was faking a smile. Can he feel the dark magic cloaking my soul? Do werewolves have that power?
Lennette's train of thought broke when all the Gryffindors broke out in an ear-rattling cheer. A boy who Lennette did not recognize sat down across from her. She stared at him blankly.
The boy seemed to feel the stare, and said, "Oh. You don't me, but Peter Pettigrew. I know your name. Lennette Meadows."
That name. Peter Pettigrew began to burn a hole in her mind. She remembered a dream. One she never wanted to remember.
She entered the memory to the sound untimely cheers.
Lennette was in a simple living room. A fireplace sat under a portrait of the family, and two chairs sat under a window. On the couch sat a young couple. They were smiling and laughing. The man was reading the Daily Prophet allowed to his wife.
"The papers are trying to make sense of those Death Eaters Sirius jinxed last raid! Remember… the ones that he used the old pizza-face hex on… I remember Remus spending forever trying to master it until Lenny helped him out…" The lady laughed, but it was fleeting, then a frown rapidly transformed her face. "They were so happy together, James."
James frowned as well, "I know. The worst things happen to the best people…"
All of a sudden the night was interrupted by the shattering of windows. Both adults jumped out of their seats.
"Protect Harry, Lily!" James dashed into the kitchen, in a futile attempt to get to his wand. He did not make it in time however, because Lily heard a thump, and the attacker started heading past James into the Living Room.
Lily screamed with fright, and ran upstairs. She dashed into a childs room and blocked a crib with her body.
A cloaked figure strode into view.
"Move aside, Lily Potter. Hand over the child." He pointed his wand at the unarmed woman.
"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HARRY!" she shouted. "YOU WILL NOT HURT MY SON!"
The woman sobbed her last few words "I love you, Harry."
There was another flash of green light, and Lennette's mind swirled.
Soon, a small plaza came into view.
Two men stood opposite each other in the plaza, with their wands at the ready, and neither seemed to care that there were about 20 muggles watching.
"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard that ever existed? Only innocent lives, Peter!" said the darker haired and more regal-looking one. The one named Peter responded cowardly.
"You don't understand! He would have killed me, Sirius!" Sirius responded to this even more violently than before.
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"
There were flashes of light then, so bright that it was like looking into the sun. When the duel stopped, only Sirius was left, standing among dead bodies, screaming muggles, and single, bloody finger.
Lennette's flashback was broken by a violent shaking. It was Sirius. "You look like you just saw a ghost!" Lennette chose not to mention that she knew two out of the three boys ends.
"You should not just throw around the word 'ghost' as if they were not real. It can be quite insulting to some of us" said a voice, coming from somewhere behind Lennette.
Sirius, Lennette, and Remus turned around to see a transparent figure floating about a foot above the ground behind them. "I'm Sir Nicolas de Mimsy-Porpington, the Gryffindor ghost; Headmaster Dumbledore would like to see Mr. Lupin after the feast, and Miss Meadows tomorrow morning after breakfast in his office." He then floated off to a cluster of older Gryffindors, to welcome them back to Hogwarts.
"What was that for?" Sirius asked Remus and Lennette.
"Nothing", they responded in unison.
Peter seemed to be worried. "What's a 'Whomping Willow'?" he asked. "Professor Dumbledore mentioned something about a 'Whomping Willow'."
Lennette was confused. "What are you talking about?" She asked.
Sirius looked at her. "Where were you for the last five minutes?"
Lennette did not know quite what to say, so she responded "day-dreaming", even though it was more of a 'day'mare.
"Well," said Sirius, "Basically, we are not allowed near the Whomping Willow, which is a big tree that whacks you if you get too close, and we are not allowed to pull pranks and go out after curfew."
"Oh…" responded Lennette. She was still trembling slightly from the memory. Why am I still sitting with them? Lennette tried to rise from her seat, but found that she could not. It was Vicis. It was due to the approaching moon. She did not have full control.
Everyone dug into the feast. There was laughter, and joy. As old friends caught up, and new friends told stories, the only silence encased Remus and Lennette. Remus had 'burned' himself on one of the silver plates (Lennette knew that it was the silver that burned the wolf, not the heat), and Lennette was silent because she was sitting amongst the people she never wanted, or thought she would ever, meet.
After the feast, Remus left the group to speak with Professor Dumbledore. Lennette followed the Gryffindors obediently. Lennette still had only one thought running through her mind. Why must I be near them? Me being friends with them won't affect their fates. It can't, because I'm not meant to exist.
Lennette was shown to her dorm. When she arrived, there were already three other girls sitting on their beds. Her trunk was placed at the foot of the last empty bed.
Two of the girls were blond, and were obviously identical twins. The other had straight auburn hair and looked just like… her. The one in the memory. The one protecting her son.
Her! Why? Why must it be her? Lennette hid her sad surprise. She even managed a shy smile.
"What's your name?" asked one of the blond girls. "Mine is Shannon. Shannon Moore. That's my sister, Annalee." Lennette looked at the two, and then looked over to her.
"My name is Lily Evans. Nice to meet you…" the girl paused, waiting for Lennette to finish her sentence. "Lennette. My name is Lennette Meadows."
The four girls readied themselves for bed because classes started tomorrow. Lennette reached into her trunk for her night gown. The trunk was neatly packed with clothing on one side, objects on the other. Amongst the objects was a small box. This box contained Lennette's journal.
'The journal I can't even let anyone but me touch. The journal that shall not be opened. The journal that MUST not be opened.' Lennette thought this to herself. She then took out a hand mirror. She hoped to see herself, but again all she saw was the old man. A man in the mirror. An old man in the midst of her mind. Trapped.
Lennette had never seen herself. She always came up as a blur in photos, and an artist could never capture her image. She could only know what she looked like by asking someone else. Luckily, when others saw her reflection, they saw her, not him.
After everyone fell asleep, Lennette snuck down to the Gryffindor Common Room. She checked to make sure she was alone, and crawled onto a window ledge, pulling out her mirror. The man in the mirror turned to look at her.
"Hello Lennette," he said in a parched voice. "I presume you would like to speak to me about your horrible day?" He was right, as always.
"Yes," she responded angrily. "Why did make me sit with them. Why! Why Vicis. Why…" Tears welled up in her eyes.
Vicis thought for a moment. "First of all, Lennette, no longer call me Vicis, just call me Time, for that is what I am. You are old enough now to accept this." He sighed. "Second, you had to. You have to befriend them. You have to make sure they live up to the fates we foretold. The Boy must live the life you foresee him live."
This was her purpose.
"Why could I sense Remus on the train? Why did I immediately know he was a werewolf?"
Time did not have to think up a response to this. "Because you are the Keeper of Dark Magic, Lennette. Evil is not the source of Dark Magic, like many believe. Time is, for time changes all. I am Time. I dwell within you. Remus is a dark creature. He will be drawn to you. You have the source of his power. You are the single human who can survive being fully engrossed in dark magic. You are dark magic. Like Remus, you are not fully human."
Lennette went down to breakfast early to avoid her to-be-friends-whether-she-liked-it-or-not's, and her roommates. She received her schedule from a prefect, and then asked a professor where Headmaster Dumbledore's office was.
"Oh yes, you must be Lennette Meadows," said the young witch, with just a bit too much excitement. "It's on the seventh floor, and behind a gargoyle. I don't know the password, but just wait there; in front of the gargoyle, the headmaster will notice your presence."
Lennette quickly made her way up the ever-changing flights of stairs, to the seventh floor, constantly asking directions, even though she already knew the way. She did not want to be stand out, as a first year who knew her way around the castle blindfolded may, but she still felt stares.
Why do they stare? Why can't they just walk on, minding their own business?
Lennette reached the gargoyle, and looked into its eyes. She jumped in surprise when it moved aside. She stepped onto the rising staircase. It grew up, and finally reached an oak door. She knocked and the door swung open.
The office Lennette entered was filled with tables with silver instruments on them. Many portraits hung on the wall, all talking to themselves. A man sat at a large desk, doing paperwork.
"Miss Meadows, you may enter. Come, please, sit down."
"I presume you would like to speak to me about my 'issue','' said Lennette.
"Please, tell me what you can."
Lennette did not know where to begin. "Well, you know I have seizures, warned with my eyes turning grey, but not why. I can't tell you why. Knowledge is power, and power corrupts, and the world does not need someone like you, Professor, corrupted by power."
Lennette wanted to tell him it all. She knew she could trust him, but he was smart. Smart enough to figure everything out, with anymore clues. She wanted to tell him all about the dreams. All about Time. All about the future, but she had to keep him hanging. Anyways, that what her journal was for. Storing the dreams. She had put every dream in there. Every page glowed. Every page had a dream. Every page contained the future.
"If anyone asks you what I am, say I'm human, because I used to be. I was before I Saw." Tears welled up in Lennette's eyes. She didn't want to think about this. She didn't want to have two minds. She didn't want to walk down the corridors of Hogwarts, knowing she was unimaginably different.
Lennette stood up and turned around. She had just reached the door when the headmaster asked a simple, yet rather rude, question. "What are you then?"
Lennette actually smiled though. "I'm not in the textbooks, if that's what you're wondering, Professor. I'm a prisoner of a prisoner, of who I am the warden. There is no better way to explain what I am without risking many lives. Please Professor; there is nothing more I can tell you. Simply tell the school nurse to treat me like anyone else who has had a seizure, but I warn that magic will not fix me when I am hurt."
Lennette tuned to the door again, when her exit was one again interrupted. "You are late to Charms, Lennette. You will need this." The headmaster flicked a small paper airplane off of his desk. It flew gently into her open palm.
With a final 'Thank you, sir', Lennette finally escaped the office scampered down the stairs to Charms.
-End of Chapter! Did you like it? It is meant to be kind of confusing by the way. Feel free to PM me about it, make me a favorite author, make this a favorite story, etc.-