Little Kaie sitting in a train. Tap tap tap goes her laptop while the darkness falls outside. Till late in the evening she travels, even when an early morning waits. Nearby sits a girl, she knits rainbows to her mittens when the hour changes to another. In the north, there where is home, first snow falls gently down painting white patterns on the ground.

Chapter 6

Where memories come back to haunt us

She was falling. Falling straight down and head first towards the unforgiving ground below. In the window shrinking rapidly above were downcast ice-blue eyes full of concern. Falling so fast that the wind brought tears in her eyes, beating her wings, begging her to open them up to save herself from the impact. It was a long way down. Long way to fall. She had plenty of time for unnecessary thoughts, when all she wanted to do was close her eyes and let her body drop. Endlessly, endlessly down she went. And then, when the ground was so close that it would only take a heartbeat for her to be squished in to a bloody puddle in the crass, she opened her wings and glided gracefully over the field. Hands caressing the long crass while she went.

The night was so dark, that even if someone was to look out of the window they wouldn't be able to see her little stunts. The sky was overcast with heavy clouds but it wasn't raining yet. Wind was blowing hard, pulling and pushing her in different directions while she sore back up to the sky over the castle roofs. Peaks that were so sharp that they punctured holes to the looming storm clouds above. For this night only, she would let herself go.

-XXX-

"Here you are! We searched everywhere for you." James' tone was a bit accusing when he seated himself on a nearby armchair. They had found Remus calmly sitting on their usual corner at the common room after an hour of looking around the castle.

"When you weren't in the library we thought you had gone for dinner but Peter said he hadn't seen you since lunch. Where have you been?" Sirius wasn't happy either when he pulled a chair for himself, closer to the fire like he usually preferred.

"The library was too busy with people so I came here. Wasn't really hungry either." Remus answered from behind a really big and old looking book that seemed like no-one else had read it in ages.

"Seriously Moony, you are not acting like your usual self. Is everything alright?" It was typical James to jump right to the core of things. He was never the one for a mindless chitchat when something needed to be sorted out. It was one of the things Sirius valued in his all but blood brother the most at times like these.

"Sure, it's not like something is really wrong or anything. I have just been feeling a bit off lately that's all." Remus sighed, lowering the monstrous book to his side at the sofa and looking at the two of them with his tired eyes.

"Seems to me, that there is more to it than just that." Sirius was not ready to let the matter be brushed off that easily. His gray eyes were the same color as the storm clouds gathering behind the window when they directed their piercing stare at him. It took few moments before the staring contest finally had an effect.

"I haven't been sleeping well lately." Remus started. "I see all these weird dreams that I don't really understand. They feel off, like they are really not my dreams at all if that makes even sense." It seemed like a floodgate had been opened and the words were just pouring out of his mouth at their own accord. "It's like seeing these confusing glints at someone's dreams or memories, but they come at me completely warped and unrecognizable. It's hard to concentrate at anything when I'm so tired with this and the coming full moon are combined and I continue to see glimpses of that stuff when I am awake too..." he finished, pulling at the roots of his hare frustrated and at loss of what to do.

James and Sirius just sat there looking at him. Their faces were twisted in equal looks of worry and sympathy, and neither of them really knew what to say or do to console their usually so composed best friend.

"Maybe it has something to do with your furry little problem? Have you tried to look something up from the books at the library or mentioned this to madam Pomfrey yet? "Sirius asked finally furrowing his brows, deciding that when a situation was this confusing they really needed some sort of a plan.

"Of course I have searched the books already, but I didn't find anything, and you know I don't want to mention this to Poppy. She worries about me enough already." Remus rubbed his aching eyes with the soles of his hands. He felt relieved after telling his problems to his friends, but didn't like the fact that now they were worried about him without actually being able to help.

"We will head to the library together tomorrow alright. I'm sure we can figure this thing out together." James said soothingly. "What's that you were reading before we came?" he pointed his finger to the book laying on the couch, that was so heavy it made a deep dent to the cushion it was on.

"Its about myths and folklore and stuff. I figured it might help you guys with dealing with the fay..." Remus didn't add that he had a feeling it might help with his problem too, judging by the images flashing through his mind in his sleep.

"Good thinking. Let me have a look then?" James took the book with an oof and scanned the page Remus had been reading earlier. "Well its all written in rhymes and stuff so it's not really clear, but I think its saying here that the sidhe dislike water. They are a bit like cats in that extend, not wanting to get wet" He chuckled. "I wonder how they clean themselves then." he finished wit a laugh. Sirius looked rather disgusted by that thought and looked at Remus disbelievingly, begging him to say that what ever it was he was thinking wasn't right.

"With magic you morons!" Remus barked, laughing at their shocked expressions, the mood around them feeling a lot lighter than it had for days.

-XXX-

"Lets go this through one more time to make sure that Peter understands." Sirius said. It was day after Remus' little rant and their plan had had time to form. Peter was shoveling his lunch down his throat, looking a bit green after realizing what his friends were expecting him to do.

"First we set everything up and make sure that no-one else will mess up the plan by walking in on it on the wrong moment. Then you go to her and tell her that professor Slughorn asked her to fetch some more antidotes from the cupboard at the hospital wing , sense he likes to keep some at hand in his classroom just in case an accident happens. Give her directions if she asks them. Then when she comes and opens the door to the cupboard and steps in, a ton of water will fall on her and she will be wet as a fish in the pond. It's a classic and a bit unoriginal but at least this time it will work." Sirius finished and shoved a forkful of mashed potatoes in to his mouth.

"Why does it have to be me? Why not Remus?" Peter whined, food still in his mouth, witch was not a pretty sight.

"Because she doesn't know you and so she will not suspect anything." James explained for the thousandth time. After that, they all finished their meals in relative silence and headed off to class. The day passed quickly after that and it was soon late afternoon and time to put their plan in to action.

While Peter went to look for Valerian they sneaked in to the hospital wing to set everything up and hid behind the corner to watch the events unroll. They didn't even have to wait all that long before Val appeared looking almost puzzled and determined, if you had to name those hints of an expressions she wore on her eerily doll-like face.

"I can't believe she fell for it after all that trouble we went through with trying to hex her." Sirius whispered while they watched how the fay approached the cupboard door, placed her hand on the handle and pulled it open, stepping inside after some time of hesitation. They heard her scream in surprise and after that a bang when the door swung closed after her. For a moment they waited for the fireworks to start and for Val to come out fuming at them so bad that smoke would come from her ears. When they could hear someone banging the door on the other side an the howling started, they soon realized that something had gone seriously wrong. It was a heartbreaking inhuman sound that chilled them to their core. They couldn't help but wonder what kind of person could possibly let out a sound like that.

"I think the door is jammed." James said finally, his face ash pale.

-XXX-

The water was nailing her down, draining her and stopping her from mowing. Her wings felt heavy and aching and she was unable to lift them properly, unable to shimmer out of there - out to where was safety. She felt cold, so cold. The iron in the room in the form of shelves and boxes and pots was hungrily eating at her magic, her life the precious resources that were already spreading too thin in this hateful place.

"Please, please somebody!" She begged, banging the door for the last time before falling to the floor. She didn't realize that in her frantic condition, no-one was able to understand her. To them her pleas for help were just blood curling howls, eerily enchanting and terrifying at the same time. Violent shivers ran through her body while flashes of her memories traveled before her eyes. When they finally were able to open the door and get her out of there, her mind had already given in to the terrors of her own psyche and her deep indigo eyes were staring emptily at sights they couldn't see.

"Come on Valerian, It's full moon and you need to get your strength back." Her mother's voice had been soft and alluring while she prompted her along. The early summer night had been warm and the scent of flowers hanging heavily on the air. She remembered how the wind had felt on her wings, and how the crass had been wet with morning dew while they danced chanting their prayers for the guardians of night. They had followed the familiar paths of the rituals and the magic had filled her yet again, made her new and strong and filled her with the feelings of joy and peace. It had felt right and familiar, like any other time before that. When they had come out from their hiding places to be one with the night they were a part of. It was their way of life, how the sidhe sustained themselves and their magic. It had been like any other night of her life.

There had been no warning. Not a sense of dread or ominous sings to prepare her for what was to come. Suddenly she had felt something cold and wet hit her. When she had tried to shimmer back home or to fly away, her wings weren't working. Instead they had been wet and hurting all over, feeling so heavy that she was almost unable to lift them at all. Frightened, she had yelled for her mother, trying frantically to find her in the darkens only to see, that they were both surrounded by black-hooded figures, wearing masks to cover up their faces. It was like a scene from a nightmare. It had felt so surreal, that when one of them lifted his hand, holding a thin stick firmly in his fingers like it held all the power he would ever need in his life, she hadn't known what to expect. The last thing she remembered hearing before the flash of light and the following blackness was her mother's voice shouting at her name. She had sounded so terrified that she had thought it meant she was dying.

So this is what happened when dad made me too many cappuchinos with their new espresso machine. I was at home visiting my parents for the weekend so I had time to write. I would hate to say that I won't update before I get even one more review, but at least I would really like to hear what you think. It keeps me motivated to upload new chapters faster ;)