*Nursie Note*- First of all, I want to say a few things. Please bear with me here and I'll try to make this short. *lol*
1. Thank you for the continued interst in this fic, even though I had to venture off into some of the back story so that readers wouldn't be so confused. However, I do promise that this is the last Interlude with Willow and Lupin as the main characters for a while. While Willow will probably make appearances, she won't be the focus anymore. I think I gave everyone a general background as to why she is there and how she came. If not, I'm sorry but I do hope you keep reading simply for the Harry/Hermione stuff that will be dominate from now on. *Phew* with that said... I am just happy to be done with the interludes so I CAN focus on teh H/Hr relationship and lighten things up a bit.
2. OK, now I have a new Beta reader. I want to thank her and give her credit because without her, I wouldn't have been able to get through the last two interludes. My brain had simply shut down and I desperately needed her help. Sarmi is a very good beta reader. She is thorough and very descriptive in her opinions and explainations on how things should go. You will see how much better this fic is with her betaing. I can tell already.
3. Enough said- Please read and review (any questions you can email me direct at the following address Nursie1126@hotmail.com )Part 10 on should be all about Harry/Hermione's evolving relationship. While there may be another interlude in the distant future to tie up loose ends, it will be in the distant future. Thanks for reading.
Hugs
Nursie
Interlude 4: The Letter-
*Begin Flashback*
Willow looked at the envelope with trepidation. Whatever was inside would change her life. She knew this she could just feel it.
Her fingers shook as she gently pried the seal away from the back of the aged parchment. Slowly, she inched the letter out of the envelope it had been in for longer than she was alive.
It was her mother's handwriting.
Without further delay, Willow began to read.
Dearest Willow,
I am sorrowful to know that this letter has to exist causes my heart more pain than you know, but there was no other way. I fear time is growing short and that my own efforts to finish my journey maybe sabotaged by my own blood.
Your mission is a simple one dear daughter, and I am sorry to inform you that you must take it. There is really no other way.
You can change everything with a simple turn in time if you are brave and as I look at you now sleeping, I know that you are. I had hoped to complete this task myself, so that you would never know the pain you've lived through so far, and undoubtedly will live through when I am gone.
Go to the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore will know exactly what this letter means and act accordingly. He will know how to set things right.
Among these treasures inside your father's trunk, should be a simple chain with a charm, if it is not here then you must have it already. I can only foresee giving it to you early in the event of my death, but that would be the case in fact if you are reading this letter. A wand, use it wisely, for it is not just any wand. The wand chooses the person, as I am sure you knew the moment you touched it that it was once your father's wand. I went through great lengths to keep it safe; for you cannot fathom the efforts I made to se that it was not splintered into pieces. I know that your father would have wanted you to have it.
There should also be a map, now this is no ordinary map. It will seem like a dull piece of parchment but Remus will know how to unlock it.
Take this letter to the headmaster, and tell no one of your quest. I fear if it falls into the wrong hands, then your world would be more devastating than it already is now. I fear for you, Willow but you are my only hope. You are the wizarding world's only hope.
I love you,
Mum
Willow had read it seven times before she blinked. Her tears spilled over onto the parchment and dotted it with them. She hugged this letter to her heart and fell into a fetal position, crying uncontrollably. Her last coherent thought before she cried herself to sleep was one of her mother and father dancing. Her mother wore a brilliant white dress and her father, black dress robes. They looked so happy, and - . Willow couldn't remember what came next. Her mind drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Willow woke up with a start. Jerking her body to a sitting position, she still held the now crumpled letter in her hand. She was disoriented, wondered what had wakened her, not to mention what time it was.
There it was, that was it, that was what had awaken her, someone seemed to be staring directly at her in that uncomfortable way people do when they want to wake someone. She gasped loudly as she turned to see the sliver hair and nearly floor length beard of her headmaster, and there was that glint in his eyes again.
"PROFESSOR! You startled me," she exclaimed as her memory flooded back to her.
"Miss Potter, I dare say you have been gone for quite some time." There was an added laughter in his voice; that was so comfortable there.
Willow had a hard time believing this was the same old man she had known all these years at Hogwarts. She stared up at him, from her position on the floor clearly seeing Albus Dumbledore as he had been described in legends of old. He stood from his chair and inched towards her. He winked at her, and his mouth turned upwards towards the ceiling, adding a few more wrinkles to the old man's face. She had an overwhelming feeling that he wasn't angry with her, and she did not fear him one bit.
"How long have I been lost?" she asked him, stumbling a bit as she stood. Her legs, despite her mind, were clearly still asleep.
"Hmmm… I wouldn't say 'lost,' per say." He placed his hand on his chin and stroked his beard. "I would definitely not say lost."
~ Dumbledore… Always speaking in code.~
She shook her head and gave him a confused look.
"Where am I?" she asked, her voice retaining the sleepiness that still dragged at her.
"Ah yes… a valid question. I do have one for you first though, if you do not mind, Miss Potter." His eyes sparked as he smiled yet again at, Willow couldn't help but feel slightly better, and that was a rarity these days if there ever was one.
"A question… for me?"
"Did you find what you were looking for?" he mused wisely, once more reminding Willow of the legend she had heard so much about.
She thought about that for a moment. True she had come looking for this room and last night was not the first time she had sought it out. What had she expected to find inside the room? And then it hit her. "I believe so, Headmaster," she replied.
"Good then. We have much to do before your graduation now. If I were you, I'd get some much needed rest."
"What do you mean, Professor?" she asked him, though she already knew the answer. He caught her eye then smiled broadly again, this time over his spectacles.
"When do I go?" she whispered, hanging her head slightly to look at the letter again. Dumbledore stroked his beard once more and his face twisted in thought.
"I suppose the sooner the better. However, there are certain requirements if you are to teach at a school of this caliber."
"Teacher?!" Willow cried bewildered. "I'm no teacher, Professor," shaking her head and he just gave her that same look he was giving her, like he knew what she was thinking.
"Willow my dear, you are a very brave person for having the thoughts you are having. I have waited almost two decades for this day to happen and now that it has, I know you are ready."
"Ready? For what?" Willow asked, arching an eyebrow. "How do you know what I am ready for?"
"Well, who do you think led you to this room? This is the Room of Requirement dear child, all it requires is the need to be found, and you were ready to find it."
Willow's eyes wandered around the room. "I required to find a room that looks like it hasn't been touched in nearly eighteen years and…" She paused, taking it all in. "This used to be my mother's dorm… didn't it? It's showing me what my mother's life was like when she lived here."
"You may stay and look around I know that you are dying to. However, I will remind you of this once more later on, but it is worth saying now as well. What we are planning is very dangerous. No one can know of it, or I feel it would be tragic." He shook his head. "You are to fix one event that has set off a domino effect, bringing Voldemort to power."
"The death of my father," Willow spoke softly as she realized the responsibility now on her shoulders.
Then Dumbledore faced Willow, looking down his crooked nose at the petite young woman. Diamond blue eyes bore straight into emerald green and Willow's breath caught in her chest as he began to speak.
"The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches… Born to those that have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the dark lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the dark lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord will be born as the seventh month dies."
Dumbledore finished telling her the prophecy, foreseen just over thirty-six years ago, exactly how it was spoken to him, as if he had heard it only seconds beforehand. He reached for Willow's hand, seeing the confused look that was gathering on her face. "It's quite all right to be confused Miss Potter. If you weren't, then I would be the one confused." He smiled with a bit of a chuckle.
"He - he's the only one that can do it, right? My father - he - er - one can't live while the other survives. I need to change history so that Vol - Voldemort dies instead of my dad." She eyed Dumbledore cautiously. "I remember hearing something similar to that, a long time ago, but only bits and pieces. It's some sort of prophecy isn't it?" Willow's tone turned regretful. "I wish I had been able to know them."
"I am afraid that is true. We must set things right so that the right wizard lives." Dumbledore blinked, and then looked her in the face once more, his voice this time sounding reassuring more than anything. "And you shall, that is the brilliance of this secret. Not only will you be able to see your family once more and get to know them as people, but eventually, the events that have occurred in your lifetime will not have happened. When you are born in that version of the future, you will never know anything different than having both of your parents as you grow."
"But…" Willow hesitated.
"Yes, Willow?"
"That is only if I succeed, isn't it and I won't be able to return either?"
"I'm afraid so," Dumbledore sighed. "However, you mustn't dwell on that aspect."
"Why not, I have a right to worry. To be afraid," Willow challenged. "There's no reason to come back here for and if I can change the way we live now then I… I… I'll do it."
Dumbledore shook his head and his sliver beard swayed with his motion. "There will be worry and at times you will be afraid. I would not expect anything less of you. But, one thing you can not do." Dumbledore put a hand on her cheek.
"What would that be, Professor?" she asked in a low trembling voice.
"You can not fail," he answered simply. He removed his hand gently from her cheek, turned, and took a step toward the doorway.
Willow watched his periwinkle robes flow behind him as he stopped suddenly, putting his hand in the air and gesturing with his finger that he had forgotten something.
"Oh, Miss Potter, forgive me if I seemed rude. If there is nothing else I can do for you right now, I shall leave you to your thoughts." A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth and his eyes once more flashed that sparkle that made Willow swear they were made of diamonds.
"Uh, er… No… Professor." She weakly waved him goodbye, dumbfounded.
"Well then, Miss Potter, I will speak to you about these matters soon, and then after your graduation," pausing, "I've been looking forward to this for some time now…" With an extra smile for encouragement, he bustled out of the room.
Willow stood for a moment engulfed in her thoughts and amazed at what had just happened. "Did he just suggest that I - Am I going to see my fath - Wait a minute!" Her brain screamed at her, echoing its last thought. She bounded from the spot she had felt glued to, running to the door.
"Professor Dumbledore! How do I get back to Gryffin-dor Tower?" Her words came out in syllables as she peered into the hallway. Directly to her right, was the portrait of the fat lady. She blinked hard, and double-checked, but she was indeed correct.
"How?" She cried aloud, but she smiled. Then, finally, after letting all of the information settle a second, she began feeling the door with her hand. She stepped back into the room, shutting the door.
"Well now, where to begin?" She thought to herself, looking over the room. She went to a bookcase wondering what else she would find. She had a good idea what she was looking for, but didn't know where to begin to look. With that thought, a small leather bound book fell from the shelf above her, and she ducked to avoid a hit on the head.
Bending, she picked it up and stared at the cover. It was a plain muggle style journal, bound in red leather with golden initials that spelled out her mother's name. Tracing a finger over each of the initials, she calmly stuck the letter from her mum into the cover of the journal and proceeded to tuck it under her arm. She picked up the wand and the invisibility cloak, running her hand through the silky material before gently folding it up and concealing them both under her own robes.
With another glance around the room, her eyes fell onto the litter box and food bowls in the corner. She smiled, thinking of how Crookshanks was probably curled on her bed waiting for her. She sighed, taking the first real breath of relief she had inhaled since she had entered the room, calmly readying herself to go. Her heart began to feel like a rock in her chest as she turned to leave, and she wondered if there was anything else the room could have told her. The rock in her chest filled with an emotion she wasn't quite familiar with, but welcomed just the same. For once in her short life she had hope, and she hugged her chest to hold onto that warm feeling for one moment longer before she took a step into the hall.
Her hand went to the doorknob pulling the door shut. She smiled, feeling the book and cloak tucked under her robes. A single tear escaped her eye and rolled slowly down her cheek. She sniffled softly and dried her eye with the back of her hand. "Thank you," she muttered, but to who, she wasn't quite sure.
*End Flashback*
Willow took a deep breath, realizing that she was staring out the window again. Lupin had sat quietly listening to all she had to say.
"What are you looking at?" he asked, after he sensed she had focused her thoughts elsewhere.
"Hmmm? Oh, sorry, I hadn't…"
"It's okay. We should probably be checking in with the others anyway. It's probably time for lunch and Molly is going to have our tails."
Willow finally cracked a smile at his remark. "I don't have a tail."
Lupin smiled back at her, happy that he had cheered her. "Rub it in why don't you."
Willow laughed heartily, and Lupin, realizing he had yet to hear her laugh, decided he found the sound comforting. He immediately started laughing along with her.
Willow walked to the door still giggling quite openly, and Lupin followed her, placing a soothing hand on her upper back, guiding her down the hall.
To Be Continued…
Part 10: