Quills
Chapter six.
A/N: I'm entirely pissed at myself right now, I tend to read fanfiction for too long and forget about my homework and stories until my mother, brother, or father barge into the computer room to do their stuff and whatnot. Sorry, here's the next chapter. Oh yeah, the beginning is a broken-up and rearranged excerpt from DH.
Disclaimer: I don't own most of the word order from this first section or most of the characters in the fic all together.
.XXX.
--Lily Evens--
"Lily, don't do it!" Petunia shrieked in horror as her sister launched herself off of her swing at the very height of its arc. The redheaded girl flew through the air with a great shout of laughter, and instead of crumpling on the playground asphalt, she soared like a trapeze artist through the air, staying up far too long and landing far too lightly.
"Mummy told you not to!" Petunia stopped her swing by dragging the heels of her sandals on the ground. "Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!"
"But I'm fine," said Lily, still giggling. "Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do." Lily had picked up a fallen flower from a nearby bush, Petunia advanced, evidently torn between curiosity and disapproval. The younger waited until her sister was near enough to have a clear view, then held out her palm. The flower sat there, opening and closing its petals, like some bizarre, many-lipped oyster.
Petunia watched in shock for a few seconds before adopting a frightened expression. "Stop it!" she shrieked. Lily looked crestfallen.
"It's not hurting you, Tuney," she mumbled, closing her hand on the blossom and throwing it back to the ground.
"How do you do it?" asked Petunia with a trace of longing in her voice.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Petunia shrieked again and ran backward towards the swings as the boy who had spoken rolled his eyes. He was skinny, his stringy black hair overlong and clothes so mismatched that it looked deliberate: too short jeans, a shabby, overlarge coat that might have belonged to a grown man, and an odd smock-like shirt. He had been hiding behind the clump of bushes.
"What's obvious?" asked Lily as she took a tentative step forward.
"I know what you are," the boy whispered with an air of nervous excitement.
"And what would that be?" asked Petunia sourly as she came up behind her sister. The boy glared at her and she back. "What do you mean, Snape?" Snape ignored her and turned to the redhead.
"You're a witch."
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Lily shrugged. "And that's how it happened," she said in a bored voice.
"Really?" asked Sirius curiously. "So that's why you were so friendly towards Snape on the train and how you knew each others' names." The other Slytherin nodded mutely. "Why are you still friends with him?" Lily looked up at him, furious.
"Because," she seethed, green eyes blazing, "he's my best friend. You should just except that, Sirius, you're supposed to be my friend too." Sirius looked startled.
"Lily!" he exclaimed. "I am your friend!"
"I know," she said softly, slipping off his bed and taking with her a deep emerald blanket. She sighed and turned back to her friend. "I know that Sirius…but I don't see what you have against Sev, he's an okay guy, sure he might hate my sister's guts but the feeling's mutual there. He hasn't done anything to you or the others."
Sirius sighed deeply and fell back against his pillows. "It's in his eyes, Lily. Just look into his eyes tomorrow at breakfast and you'll figure it out." Lily shook her head despairingly before leaving the room for her own dorm right across the stone hall. The black haired boy sighed again; he got up and left the room too, but headed in the completely opposite direction.
"I really should tell James that I found the kitchens," he muttered to himself as he walked through the dimly lit common room. "They've been looking for them long enough…"
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--Perenelle Potter--
Perenelle was staring absent-mindedly at the orange beeswax candle flickering before her; the N.E.W.T. level Divination class was supposed to be reading both the flame and the candle itself to see what the future held in store for them. Personally the seventeen-year-old witch thought that it was a complete waste of time, but she couldn't say that out loud considering that most of this years' class were firm believers. She sighed out loud, ignoring the many scowls that were sent her way.
"Thanks so much for abandoning me guys," she muttered sourly as she thought of her best friends, none of them were in the class with her and none of them had bothered to inform her of that until they had received their schedules. Even Gideon had baled on her and the fool pretty much worshiped the ground that she walked on! "I really do hate school."
Another five minutes passed and the wick of the candle still wasn't scorched. The redhead looked across the table at her partner, a seventh year Hufflepuff with blonde pigtails popping out the side of her head. Perenelle grinned at the expression on her friend's face: horrified.
'Only fools believe in crap like this,' she thought. 'But then again, it is quite convincing sometimes. I should believe it, I'm a living example.' She snorted and Jaycee's head snapped up from her own purple candle. The Hufflepuff's eyes were brimmed with tears as she frowned at Perenelle.
"First off, this is not crap, I'm not an idiot, and don't look at me like that! I've known you for seven years and well enough to know what that stupid expression means!" She looked back down at her candle and Perenelle did the same, her eyes widened in shock. The candle's flame had flared and shot down the length of the wick, the wax wasn't melting though and it looked like the candle was glowing from the inside out.
"Open your book to page five hundred forty-four," Jaycee whispered. Perenelle complied.
Reading Charmed Candles
Meaning of the Signs
Flame in the shape of a dove – you will soon experience a great love.
Flame retains normal un-charmed shape – danger is lurking.
Flame grows twice fold within a minute of lighting –mediocre tragedy soon to be experienced.
Flame in the shape of a flower – good luck awaits you.
Flame in the shape of a cloud – happiness is nearer the smaller the cloud.
Flame constantly switches colors – bad luck in your occupation.
Flame in the shape of a crooked cross – trials and suffering.
Flame in the shape of the sun – great joy for a short period of time.
Flame in the shape of an acorn – unexpected gold.
And so it went on, Perenelle scanned the page three times before finding the one she was looking for.
Flame travels the down the wick, not causing the candle to melt, but glow – an omen worse than the Grim, it means not death to you but massacre almost to the point of (attempted) genocide.
Perenelle gasped and looked up into the Jaycee's apologetic face.
"Do you believe it this time, Nell?"the Hufflepuff asked nervously.
"Sadly…yes…I do," the Gryffindor answered quietly. "Over the summer I had another one, I told my parents about it and they told the Wizengamot and all and nobody believed me. Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster, he told me that it would take time for people to accept what I had seen because it was so unbelievable coming from some girl still in school.
"He's the only one besides my family who believes me one bit…James overheard me telling Mum and Dad and even he believes it!" Perenelle slumped back in her chair as she sulked.
Jaycee frowned at her. "Nell, what is it?"
"Some, thing, that calls itself Lord Voldemort is planning to either exterminate or rule over all Muggles and Muggle-born witches and wizards," she grumbled, Jaycee's eyes widened in shock, "and planning on having control of the entire wizarding community no matter what. I doesn't even matter to him how many living things he has to kill in order to achieve his ultimate goal, he'll try till the very end."
"Really?" the Muggle-born Hufflepuff's lower lip began trembling. "I don't want my f-family to d-die!" she wailed, momentarily forgetting where she was. The entire class stared at them in bewilderment as Jaycee broke-down and began sobbing in the middle of the lesson.
.XXX.
Yay, Cliffhanger! Although not as bad as chapter four's. Hehe, uh, sorry for that one…
Hope that you get the hint with Perenelle now and what that little scene between the Potter siblings meant in chapter two. If you don't then just inform me and I'll explain it at the beginning of chapter seven. Sorry that this isn't going faster than it should be.
Ciao, Nicole
:D