~A/N> Thank you for all the great reviews on the last chapter, I'm glad you all like the direction this
story is taking. This chapter is mainly about Lillian, I wanted to reveal a little more about her since I've kind
of depicted her as a bitch so far. I also hope you like the part with Conlan, I think I'm going to have fun writing
that part :)
Unaware of the serious discussion her parents were having, Lillian made her way back to the Ravenclaw common room with
Jenny, intent on making sure all her summer homework was in proper order and separated so that it could be turned in
the next day. Giving the password to the painting that guarded the door, Lillian walked into the common room and made
her way up to her dorm. After organizing everything for the next day, she went back downstairs to catch up with some of
her other friends that she hadn't spoken to much over the summer.
About an hour later she decided to turn in for the night; she didn't want to be tired on the first day of classes. After saying goodnight to everyone, she went back upstairs, went through her nightly ritual to get ready for bed, and was asleep thirty minutes later.
Deep in sleep, Lillian started to dream of how she would one day be the first woman Minister of Magic and happiness engulfed her as she saw herself being sworn in. In an instant, the wonderful dream turned strange as the image started to spin and twirl, the colors mixing into weird patterns. Dream Lily looked around at the swirling grey mist that now engulfed her, making it hard for her to see farther than her hands held out in front of her. While she squinted around, trying to figure out exactly where she was, she saw an outline of a person making its' way toward her.
"Hello?" she called out, her curiosity being overtaken by fear, "Is someone there?"
"Yes," said an airy feminine voice. Lillian watched in awe as a woman with long, curly brown hair, fair skin and huge, kind brown eyes walked out of the mist and stood before her. "There is no need to be afraid my child. I am not here to do you any harm."
Lillian watched her for a moment, and for some unknown reason felt as if she could trust the ethereal woman in front of her. Lillian looked around once more and asked, "Is this still a dream?"
"No, dear heart, it isn't a dream anymore. I have sought you out to give to you knowledge of something that will come to be, so that you may pass on what you know to others," the woman stated, "I have come with a warning Lillian, one that might save your family from the Evil that is fast approaching."
Lillian felt fear once again blossom inside of her, but tamping it down she asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Gaia, or Mother Earth," the woman replied, "I have come to warn you that your family and I are in grave danger...especially Conlan. There is an Evil hunting us, known as Erebus, that has been sent by Hera to erase us from this world."
"Gaia?" Lillian asked confused, "You-you're just a myth, made up by the Greeks to explain how Humans came to be in existence. You're not real."
Gaia watched Lillian intently as the young teenager continued to ramble before saying, "I am not a myth child, I am Earth and my existence is in peril if you do not help me . . . it will also be the end of your family, along with the rest of the human race."
Lillian's eyes grew wide as she took in every word Gaia said and then she asked, "But what can I do to stop Erebus? I am just a thirteen-year-old witch!"
"You're much more than that Daughter," Gaia replied, "Your parents have not shared your true Lineage with you yet; you are a descendant of Prometheus and Hera, Prometheus on your Father's side and Hera on your Mother's side."
"H-Hera? Didn't you say she was the one who sent Erebus?" Lily asked.
"Yes," Gaia answered, "The Darkness known as Erebus has been set forth upon the Earth. Hera had plans, that she put into motion fifteen years ago, to rule over the Earth as its queen; your parents stopped her though and she's intent on exacting her revenge."
"My parents stopped her?" Lillian asked, "Why haven't they ever said anything?"
"I believe they were trying to give you a normal upbringing," Gaia replied, "unfortunately, you and your siblings are anything but normal. The Darkness is coming and you and your brother and sister must work together to stop it." Walking up to Lillian, Gaia placed her hands on either side of her face and closed her eyes. "Now child, it is time I give you the information you will need to start the chain of events that will save us all."
Suddenly words and pictures started flashing through Lillian's mind, causing her to close her eyes at the dizziness it was causing. Trying to focus on the slide show that was furiously speeding through her mind's eye, Lillian felt the sensation of Gaia's hands on her face disappear and the next thing she knew, she was crumbling to the ground, blissfully free of thought.
What seemed like only moments later, Lillian sat up in her bed, breathing heavily and soaked in sweat; looking around frantically, she realized she was back in her dorm at Hogwarts. Snatching up her watch, she saw that it was only eleven at night, which meant she'd only been asleep for a couple of hours. Remembering everything that had just happened in her dream, she quickly put on her robe and slippers and went to see her parents . . . they had some serious explaining to do.
~*~
After the welcoming feast Conlan put his arm around Aemilia's shoulders and steered her toward the Gryffindor common room. With Josh and Melissa trailing after them, the two made their way into the maroon and gold room and with huge eyes Aemilia spun in a circle and said, "Wow! It's exactly how Dad described it!"
"I have something to show you," Conlan said, gesturing for his sister to follow him. He walked over to the table next to the cushy sofa and pointed down to a corner; "Take a look at this Lia" he said with a huge smile.
Aemilia walked over and looked down to where he was pointing; there, carved into the wood, were the initials HP, HG, and RW, along with the words, "The Golden Trio".
Feeling a bit of pride at the fact that she was in the same house her parents had been, Aemilia looked happily at Conlan and said, "That is just the neatest thing I have ever seen."
"They obviously wanted to leave their mark," Josh said as he walked up behind them. Looking at Conlan he said, "You, me and Lissa should add our initials to it someday."
"That sounds like a plan," Conlan said.
"Hey Liv," Aemilia called to her best friend, "Come here, you've got to see what our parents did!"
A little while later, the five Gryffindors sat in front of the fire, feeling tired after their day of traveling and the excitement of seeing old friends again. Just as Conlan was starting to doze off, a soft, feminine voice whispered "Hi Conlan," in his ear.
Conlan's eyes snapped open as he whipped his head around to find Lindsay McMurrey standing behind him, looking as beautiful as ever. "L-Lindsay," he stuttered, mentally kicking himself for letting her get to him like that, "How was your summer?"
"It was okay," she replied airily, "It could have been better though. How about you, did you have a good summer?"
"It was all right," he answered, unable to believe she was actually talking to him. He had crushed on Lindsay McMurrey since third year, but she had never even looked his way before. Now here she was, approaching him and starting a conversation . . . he was hoping he hadn't fallen asleep and this was some wonderful dream his imagination had conjured; he'd had many dreams about Lindsay, but none of them had been this tame before and he usually ended up scourgifying himself afterwards.
"Maybe you and I could go to Hogsmeade together some time?" Lindsay asked quietly, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Um, uh . . . sure, I'd like that," he answered with a huge smile plastered on his face.
Lindsay giggled at his awkwardness and then one of her friends called to her from across the room. "Well, I'll talk to you later," she said, giving him a smile that had melted many a wizard's heart.
As she walked away from him Conlan watched the sway of her hips and her long, perfect legs and he thanked the fates for smiling on him. When she had joined her friend, he turned to Josh and said, "Can you believe it? Lindsay McMurrey wants to go out with me!"
"Quit rubbing it in," Josh said while giving him a mock glare.
As her brother continued to discuss his turn in luck Aemilia looked over at Melissa, who was staring daggers at Conlan's back. Acting on a hunch, Aemilia asked her, "Melissa, is everything okay?"
Hearing his little sister's question, Conlan turned around and looked at his female friend, who looked back at him angrily. "Lissa, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing that would concern you," she replied.
As she got up and quickly walked up the stairs to her dorm room, Conlan looked back at Josh and asked, "What was that about?"
"I have no idea," Josh replied, "Must be one of those girl things."
"Must be," Conlan agreed, his gaze on the door Melissa had just slammed shut. Melissa had never walked away from him before, and he had no idea what had happened to upset her so much.
Shrugging it off, he turned back to Josh and the two continued to discuss Lindsay and the possibility of getting one of her friends to go out with Josh.
Aemilia looked at her brother and then turning to Olivia she shook her head and said, "Boys are soooo clueless sometimes."
~*~
Harry sat on the couch in their quarters with his hands buried in his hair. Hermione had just left to show Deucalion and Pyrrha to their quarters while Harry sat worrying about how he was going to tell his children about his and Hermione's past, and the role they would have to play in preserving the future. Harry looked up and stared into the dancing flames in the fireplace, wondering what he should teach Conlan first, when a loud knock sounded on the door. Wondering who would be calling at that time of night, Harry walked up to the door and asked, "Who's there?"
"Dad, it's Lillian, please open the door," Lillian answered testily.
Perplexed as to why his oldest daughter would be coming to see them at eleven at night, Harry opened the door and upon seeing how upset she looked he asked, "What's wrong Lily?"
"Is Mum around?" she asked while looking around the sitting room.
"Your Mum will be back in a few minutes, is this something you could talk to me about?" Harry asked, concerned by the expression on her face.
"I really need to talk to both of you at the same time," she said shortly, "Is it okay if I just sit down and wait until she comes back?"
"Sure," Harry replied as he took the seat he had occupied only seconds before. Lillian looked at him for a moment, her shoulders losing their rigidity and slumping as if the weight on them had become too much, and then sat next to him on the sofa; to Harry's surprise, she laid her head on his shoulder and stared into the flickering fire. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, unused to her acting so affectionate and vulnerable, and he quietly asked, "Are you okay Lily?"
"Yeah," she answered, "I just need to discuss something very important with you and Mum."
Deciding to leave it at that until Hermione came back, Harry sat with Lillian, quietly staring at the fire and coveting this rare moment of closeness between them. When the door to the quarters opened they both looked up as Hermione walked in and asked, "Lillian? What are you doing here so late at night? Is everything okay?"
"I don't know Mum," Lillian replied as she lifted her head off of Harry's shoulder but didn't make a move to remove his arm from around her. Unused to seeing Lily act so unsure and frightened before, Hermione sat on the other side of her and placed her arm around her as well.
Lillian looked from her Dad to her Mum and asked, "Why haven't you ever told us that we were Descendants of Hera and Prometheus?"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked warily, glancing at Hermione over her head.
Sighing heavily, Lillian stood up and started to pace in front of her parents. "I decided to go to bed early tonight, so that I wouldn't be tired for the first day of classes tomorrow, and I had this dream," she explained, "Well, I wouldn't really call it a dream I guess, it was more of a-a vision."
"Okay," Hermione said, "What happened in this . . . vision?"
"A woman approached me, she said her name was Gaia and that she had come to warn me that my family was in danger," Lillian replied, "She said that she was in danger also, that Erebus was hunting us, and that Hera is bent on revenge because of something you two did." Running her hand through her mousy brown hair Lillian stopped pacing, looked angrily at Harry and Hermione and asked, "I'm not sure what is going on but I'm pretty sure that we're all in danger; Gaia stressed that there was something special about Conlan, Aemilia and me . . . that the three of us were going to have to do something to stop Erebus . . . what does all this mean?"
Hermione looked at Harry with a sad, serious look on her face, knowing the moment of truth was upon them. "Why don't I go get Conlan and Aemilia, that way we can tell them all at the same time?" Harry asked.
"I think that would be a good idea," Hermione replied. Harry leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips and then got up, walked up to Lily and kissed her on the forehead. She closed her eyes at the small amount of comfort her Dad's gesture brought and then opened them to see him walking out the door. Suddenly remembering the words that had ran through her head during the vision, Lillian rushed over to her Mother's desk and grabbed some parchment and a quill. Hermione, concerned by her daughter's erratic behavior, walked up beside her and asked, "Lily, what are you doing?"
"Gaia revealed something to me tonight Mum," she replied without pause, "The Prophecy that you gave while you were in Greece, the false one that Hera planted in your mind . . . I know what it really says . . . and I know that it's going to change Conlan's life forever."
~Next chapter: Harry and Hermione tell their children the truth and the true prophecy is finally revealed.