Still a bit shorter than I'd like but they chapters will get larger, I promise. Longer note at the end of the chapter.

The Reverberations of Choice

"I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell."

Macbeth (II, i, 62-64)

Chapter One: An Unexpected Exchange

"Commutent spiritum meum…"

Aster Evans woke up with a start. He rubbed his forehead, expecting to find it covered in blood. His hand was clean, however. There was no blood. Aster sighed and fell back against his pillow until he was able to catch his breath. Then, he grabbed the leather bound journal off of his night stand and scrawled the details of the dream on a clean page. Ten year old Aster had had strange dreams for as long as he could remember—dreams about a world that didn't exist—a world that couldn't exist—a world where people could do the same things that he could do—a world where he was someone else, a girl named Lily.

His mum and dad said they were just dreams. The doctor they took him to said they were just dreams.

Only...he was convinced they weren't.

Because sometimes—sometimes—the things he saw really happened.

More than that, Aster knew that he was just like the people in his dreams. He might not be a girl named Lily, but he knew that he was a wizard. Well, at least he thought he was. He couldn't exactly be sure that he was the one responsible for the strange things that sometimes happened whenever he was angry or scared.

He really hadn't meant to turn his big sister's favorite doll into a spider after he discovered his picture of a man turning into a dog ripped into pieces, but all the same he had. And he hadn't meant to make her mouth disappear, but he just wanted her to stop calling him a freak! It didn't help matters that no one but him remembered those things, either.

Nobody believed him. Everyone just thought that Aster had a very active imagination. Once he'd overheard Dr. Billingham tell his parents that sometimes gifted children—which he was considered to be—suffered from isolation from peers and that the dreams were just his way of inventing a world where he fit in.

Aster knew that wasn't the truth, though. Because if the dreams were just dreams, why did strange things happen around him, and why did they sometimes come true?

With a sigh, Aster got out of bed. There was no sense dwelling on things he couldn't change. Plus, something very important was going to happen today.

Today Aster was going to make a friend.

The playground was just as deserted as it had been in the dream even more so because of the absence of Petunia. Given a choice, Petunia stayed as far away from Aster as she possibly could. Unfortunately, for both of them, their parent's didn't often give her a choice. Today, though, she was in bed sick with a cold.

It didn't bother Aster that his sister wasn't with him. After all, he was used to being alone. He almost preferred it, actually.

He spent several minutes on the swing set absently swinging as his eyes swept over the playground continuously. Then he leaned against a tree and began to read his well-worn copy of The Fellowship of the Ring. He got so lost in the book he didn't notice the rustling in the bush next to him until he felt the weight of someone's eyes on him.

"Oh!" he gasped. He dropped his book in surprise when he looked up to find himself face to face with Severus Snape, the boy from his dreams.

The boy's sallow skin flushed, and he fumbled to retrieve the book to Aster. "I didn't mean to disturb you," he muttered.

Aster gave him a bright smile. "You didn't disturb me. I've been waiting for you."

The boy's eyes widened with surprise and then narrowed in suspicion. "Waiting for what?"

"To meet you, of course. Hello Severus. I'm Aster, and we're going to be the best of friends."

Severus' mouth dropped open. "How'd you know my name?"

"I've been dreaming about you for ages," Aster said. Severus opened his mouth to speak, but Aster pushed on. "I know you've been watching me, too, and I really wanted to talk to you before. I thought it best to wait, though."

Severus seemed to have calmed a bit because the suspicious look on his face was gone, replaced by one of utmost eagerness. Without being asked—not that he needed to be asked—he sat down next to Aster in the grass.

"You dreamed about me?" he asked after a minute. His eyes were drinking in Aster, from his dark red hair to his bright green eyes.

"Yes," Aster confirmed.

"What were the dreams about?"

Aster shrugged. "All sorts of things, really." He paused. "You believe me, don't you? I hate to ask only no one ever really believes me." He sighed.

Severus nodded his head almost violently. "I believe you."

Aster chewed his bottom lip as he studied the other boy, looking for any signs of dishonesty. Seeing none, he leaned forward and asked in a hushed voice, "Do you believe in magic?"

Again, Severus nodded his head. "I do. I'm a wizard. So are you. I've seen you do magic before. That's why I've been watching you."

Now it was Aster's eyes that widened. "So, it's real, then? Magic?"

Severus' look became serious. "Yes, it is."

The boy's spent the next several hours exchanging stories. Severus told Aster about how his mum was a witch. He also told Aster that he thought he might be a seer after Aster told him about some of his dreams. When Aster told him that some of the things he dreamed about had come true, this seemed to confirm it. It was only when the sun began to set that the boys parted.

"Same time tomorrow?" Aster asked as they parted.

Severus nodded. "Same time tomorrow."

-end

Heyyy, okay. So I'm sure you guys will have tons of questions. Feel free to ask them, but I reserve the right to not answer if it'll spoil the story! Also, do you know how difficult it was to find a flower name for a boy? I'm fairly happy with Aster though.