I own nothing.
**
Chapter 3: Dreams
"I had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was."
--A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare
September 16, 1977
"What's up, Sirius? You look like you've seen a ghost or something!"
"N-n-n-n-n-new."
"What?"
"N-n-n-n-new."
"New what?"
"C-c-c-c-lass!"
"What?" Lily cried, grabbing the parchment from his hand and scanning it quickly. It stated that the entire school would be taking a new class called 'Ancient and Practical Magic,' taught by Professor Madhura Patel.
"What? How are we supposed to fit a new class into our schedule? Is there any time?" Lily asked.
As if to answer her questions, writing appeared at the bottom of the page.
'This class will meet from seven to eight-thirty every Monday and Friday until further notice, effective immediately.'
"WHAT?" Sirius yelled. Several people looked over curiously. It was mid-way through September on a Friday afternoon, and there weren't many people left in the common room.
"Yea," said Lily irritably. "Tonight. We have to go tonight!"
"Go where?" asked Peter, coming up from behind Lily and Sirius and sitting down on the couch across from them.
"New class," explained Lily. "I've never heard of Madhura Patel though. Her name sounds foreign."
"It's Indian," said a voice behind them, and Lily and Sirius turned to see Potter and Remus coming through the portrait hole.
"How do you know?" asked Lily, irked that he knew more than she.
Potter smirked at her. "My dad works for the ministry, Evans. He heard that she was coming to teach here. I can't help but overhear."
"With a little help from your dear old Aunt Jemima," Remus snorted, propelling Potter forward. "Move. You're blocking the portrait hole."
Potter scowled at Remus good naturedly and sat down next to Peter. Remus took a seat in the solitary armchair.
"What does his Aunt Jemima have to do with anything?" Lily asked irritably.
"She gave him the Potter Inv-oof!" Peter huffed as Potter elbowed him in the stomach.
"Shut it, Wormtail!" he hissed.
"So, what do you know about Patel?" asked Sirius quickly, and Lily knew he was changing the subject.
"First of all," Potter sighed, "her name is pronounced Puh-TALE. Okay? Not, 'patel'."
"Forgive me, O Mighty One of all things such as pronunciation," Sirius mocked, grinning. "Mr. I-can-hardly-levitate-a-feather."
"Shut up, Padfoot," Remus said absently, inspecting a hangnail. He pulled out his wand and healed it before looking up at Potter. "Go on."
"She's an expert on Ancient Magic. Really young. That's all I know."
"I want to be an expert of something," Lily said wistfully, as Potter and Sirius began to speculate what they would learn in the new class.
"Hey, Lily," Remus said, distracting her from her thoughts.
"What?" she asked back.
"Where's Sunny?"
Lily tried not to grin. So, Remus fancied Sunny, did he? Good for them. They would fit well together.
"Library. Needed some books. Actually," she frowned and looked at her watch. "She should be back soon. I hope she didn't get into trouble. Then she might get points taken away from Gryffindor."
"I'm sure," said Potter.
"Oh, you shut up, Potter," Lily ordered, throwing a pillow at him.
"You!"
"You!"
"You!"
"You!"
"You!"
"Oh god, not again!" Lily cried, throwing up her hands in defeat and covering her face with them.
"You sure, Evans? Because I can go on all night."
"Nuh-uh, Potter! That was me, remember!"
"What in blazes are you talking about?" Sirius asked incredulously.
"Sex?" said Remus dryly, not looking up from the book he was now reading.
"WHAT?" bellowed Sirius.
"Calm down," said Lily hastily, glaring at Remus. "We just had another one of those 'Shut up,' 'No, you shut up,' 'You!' 'You!' fights a few weeks ago! What did you think we were talking about?" she asked.
"Sex?" offered Remus again, turning a page. Potter threw a cushion at him.
"Do you enjoy making comments as dry as burned toast?" the messy-haired boy asked bitterly, "Because it's ruining my goddamn life!"
"Sorry," said Remus, staring at Potter, perplexed. Lily could understand why. Potter was being unnecessarily touchy, as was Sirius. What the hell was wrong with them?
"Okay, okay, center yourselves," Peter said, finally speaking. Everyone looked at him and he flushed.
"Muggle thing," he said sheepishly. "I'm taking Muggle stu-" he began, but before he could finish, Potter let out a short cry of annoyance.
"Argh! If I hear the phrase 'Muggle thing' one more time, I'm going to chase after whoever said it with a stick and beat them senseless!" he said loudly.
The common room was absolutely silent and Potter flushed.
"Carry on," he snapped, "nothing to see!"
The activity resumed and Potter sat down. He glared at each of the people around him in turn. "Not. A. Word."
"You know, James, if you promise that you'll chase after me with a stick and then shag me senseless, I might just say, 'Muggle thing.'"
Lily turned to see an extremely pretty girl with glossy brown hair and large blue eyes. Her gaze was fixed on Potter like tiger homing in on prey. Lily felt incredibly annoyed at this girl for interrupting their afternoon. She could already tell trouble was brewing.
The silence hanging over the corner was thick with tension, especially around Potter. The Marauders obviously knew something Lily didn't, because they were shifting in their seats, shooting glances at Potter and the girl out of the corners of their eyes.
"Danes," Potter said icily.
The girl laughed. "There was a time you called me by my given name, James."
"What do you want, Maria?" Potter snapped, letting down his guard. Understanding hit Lily like a freight truck. This was the girlfriend who had thrown a mace at Potter's head.
"I missed you over the summer," Maria whispered, stepping closer to Potter. Peter got up with a squeak and hurried over to sit with Sirius and Lily.
"You mean you missed shagging someone over the summer, Maria. Or perhaps your town just doesn't have men stupid enough to fall for you."
Maria Danes opened her mouth to say something but Potter cut her off.
"We've been through this," he bit out through gritted teeth. "Several. Painful. Times."
"I know," Maria said, biting her lip, "but I still think it's unfinished."
Potter laughed bitterly. "I think it was quite finished when you threw a ball of spiked metal and my head. I was in the hospital wing for an effing week! Do you know how scary Gauche is?"
Maria winced. "I'm sorry, James."
Potter cocked an eyebrow. "Are you now? Isn't that what you said when you shagged Rosier behind my back for the third time? Or maybe that was after the fourth."
Something akin to regret flitted across Maria's face and she buried her face in her hands.
"I-I just-you were so-oh, James!" she cried, forcing the words out through heart-wrenching sobs. She threw herself into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder, crying convulsively. Potter looked utterly torn. He must not know how to deal with a crying girl, Lily thought with contempt. She caught sight of Maria's face and raised an eyebrow.
It was totally perfect.
Not a tear in sight. No mascara runs. No eyeliner runs. No tear streaks that you read about in romance novels. Why, that little faker! Lily thought indignantly. I doubt Potter will see through her! Poor sod.
But Potter wasn't falling for it. He pried Maria's arms off his neck and pushed her away slightly. She wouldn't move. The common room was fixed on them, and neither noticed it.
"Maria," Potter said coldly, "Look at me."
Maria shook her head, keeping her face buried in his chest.
"Fine," Potter sighed. He looked utterly weary. "Maria," he continued, his voice suddenly sounding clipped and brisk, contrasting to his tender look. "I remember quite clearly the three times we broke up, and the last comment you had to throw at me before you through a mace at my head. I believe it was something to the effect of, 'You were an amazing shag, but I want someone who doesn't give a fuck if I'm joining into Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff orgies.' Forgive me if I don't give damn for you theatrics."
With one movement, he shoved Maria off his lap and onto the couch, standing and dusting off his hands as if he had touched something dirty, and several boys in the room clapped.
Maria looked furious and slightly confused. Probably wondering why her sobs didn't work, Lily thought scathingly.
"I don't want a relationship, James," the blue-eyed girl said softly, her face twisting into a wry smile. "I just want to be friends...with benefits."
"Bloody hell!" Sirius exclaimed as she stood, pressing her body to Potter's rigid one. She ran a hand down his chest and placed her lips on his neck, moving them downwards. Potter shuddered slightly, then reacted by pushing her away.
"Not this time Maria. Not this time!" He looked desperate now and his breathing was picking up.
"Whatever do you mean by that?" asked Maria softly, stepping forward again. Potter backed away like a cornered animal, an almost…hunted expression on his face. "Don't fight it, love, just come with me, I'll do things you've never even heard of before-"
Lily decided it was time to intervene. Potter looked as if he was about to rip off Maria's clothes any second if she continued. His eyes were glazed over.
"Fifteen points from Gryffindor for inappropriate displays of affection!" she shouted, pushing Maria slightly to break her and Potter's eye contact. What kind of spell was that? She wondered. It had to have been a charm. "Get out of my sight!"
Maria glared at Lily before huffing away, throwing a look at Potter over her shoulder. He rounded on Lily angrily.
"Why did you do that?" he snapped at her viciously.
"Do what?" Lily asked, confused.
"Shove her away! I've been trying for ages to-"
"To what?" Lily cut him off. "To shag her again? Sorry, but I don't want to see that!" she snorted.
Potter glared at her, his entire frame shaking with repressed anger. He took a step forward until he was almost nose to nose with her. "If that's what you think of me, Lily Evans, then you can go SHAG YOURSELF!" he shouted, before whirling around and leaving her standing speechless.
Lily was left gaping after him as he left in a flurry of black robes.
**
"So, what d'you reckon this class will be like?" asked Remus, addressing the four people around him.
"I don't know, Remus!" Sunny answered cheerfully. She had joined them right after dinner, and had been regaled with the tale now dubbed 'The Snubbing of Maria Danes,' by several people.
"Oh, shut up," Sirius groaned. "You can drop the 'I'm so happy' mood! We're all a little shocked by what happened in the common room, so stop trying to avoid the subject! Just talk about the bloody drama already!"
"I know she must be using a charm," Lily muttered.
Sunny stared at her. "Who?"
"Maria Danes," Lily snapped. She immediately regretted it as Sunny looked down and away. "I'm sorry, Sun," she said in a softer voice. "I'm really sorry. I just know that Danes was using some charm or spell or something to attract Potter! He was fine until she started talking in the husky voice and keeping eye contact!"
"Uh, yea, Lils. It's called desire," said Sirius, as if he was talking to a child.
"Don't call me Lils!" Lily said irritably. She hated the shortened version of her name. Couldn't they just leave it at Lily?
"Okay, okay," Sirius said, backing away slightly.
"We've heard, Evans, several times in fact," said a voice behind them.
Potter drew up next to Lily and slowed to the group's pace, staring determinedly ahead. After their argument in the common room, Lily hadn't seen him all day, and he hadn't come to dinner.
"We were talking about Maria, James," said Remus carefully. "Anything to say?"
Potter stopped, and so did the other five. He put a hand to his forehead and sighed.
"Look, Evans," he said, surprising Lily by addressing only her. "I've been trying for ages not to shag Maria, but she gets in my head! You have to understand. It's impossible to not shag the woman once she gets it in her head to look for a bloke! She uses a charm or a spell or something...but I have no idea what kind or how strong."
Lily was nodding energetically. "I know, I know. That's what I was thinking! I doubt it's a love charm. There aren't many strong enough, unless it's something special. I'll have to look in the library-"
Unknowingly they started walking, and before they knew it, they had made it to the third floor and made their way down the corridor, stopping at the end and opening the door. The trap door was open and they went down the spiral steps, coming into an amphitheatre, with a raised platform in the center. Students were milling about in the chairs, but there was no sign of the teacher.
Suddenly, a sound like a loud gong rang throughout the room, echoing off the arched ceiling, and everyone was silent. A large platform was rising in the middle of the dais, with a single, solitary figure standing on it.
Everyone gasped as she stepped into the light.
She was beautiful...and her features held an almost ethereal quality. Her eyes were huge, almost too big, but it was a good look for her, and the deepest brown. She had high cheekbones and warm olive skin, with and softly pointing chin, topping off a heart-shaped face. Her lips were full and red, her teeth, seen in her smile, white and even. She was wearing a pair of slacks and shirt under midnight blue robes. That wasn't what made her so striking though.
She couldn't have been older than twenty.
"You said she was one of the most respected witches ever!" Lily hissed to Potter, smacking the back of his head. He was sitting in front of her between Remus and Peter, whereas Sirius and Sunny were on either side of Lily.
"She is!" whispered Potter fiercely, rubbing his neck and glowering at Lily.
"How old is she?" asked Peter incredulously.
Potter thought for a moment. "She's turning eighteen this winter. That's what the thing in December is for."
"But I thought that was for foreign delegates!" exclaimed Lily.
Potter bit his lip, and then leaned in so no one else could hear. "It's simple. He lied."
"But why-"
"Hello."
The word echoed in the silent room.
Lily shut up.
Patel's voice was like honey, bewitching, soft, smooth, candlelight.
"My name is Madhura Patel."
Silence.
"I am an expert on Ancient Magic, and that is what I am here to teach you. The first thing to do is evaluate all the students here. For this, I will need the assistance of my colleagues, Professors Dumbledore, Jarvis, Flitwick, Boot, Jones, Vector, and Sandrine. This list," she waved her wand, and a sheet of paper appeared before her, expanding until everyone in the room could read it while it was hovering in the air behind her, "will tell you what teacher will be evaluating you. Please go to that teacher immediately."
Lily looked closely at the list. She was with Professor Patel herself, along with Remus. Sirius and Peter were with Jarvis, Sunny was with Flitwick, and Potter was with Dumbledore. Lily and Remus pushed their way through the crowds toward the stage, pulling themselves up and making their way towards the large crowd around their new professor. Lily saw a few familiar faces, including Maria Danes and Severus Snape, as well as some other people she knew.
"Please form an orderly line," Patel said warmly. "When I call your name step forward, and I will inspect you for any of the many types of ancient magic. Danes, Maria!"
Lily watched closely as Danes stepped forward. She looked incredibly nervous as Patel pointed her wand at her chest and said, "Donis antiquus deorum pervideo!" Maria jumped and winced slightly, a sour expression on her face.
A whirring sound started up, and Lily looked to the woman's left. What looked like a Muggle printer which most certainly had not been there before was spouting out eighteen sheets of paper covered in swirls, words, shapes, and scribbles. Patel picked up the paper and skimmed over it, cocking an eyebrow and looking at Maria.
"Ms. Danes, I think we need to have a talk later on. Please step aside. Draper, Aaron!"
"Donis antiquus deorum pervideo!" Another sheet of paper spouted out of the printer, single. There was very little on it. "Step aside, then dear. Evans, Lily!"
Feeling as if she was being sorted again for some odd reason, Lily stepped forward, meeting the woman's huge eyes. They were twinkling merrily. "Donis antiquus deorum pervideo!" A sharp pain stabbed in her right temple. She clamped a hand to the side of her head and cried out softly, biting her lip to keep from screaming. This was agony!
Suddenly, as abruptly as it had appeared, the pain cut off. Lily looked down to see a stack of pages in the printer and gaped. Surely she hadn't produced all of that!
"Thirty-one pages, Ms. Evans," Patel said to her. "Did that hurt much?"
"Not really," Lily lied, knowing that the others had been under the same spell and felt nothing. Was she weak, or something?
"I see, Miss Evans," Patel said knowingly. "Step aside, please."
The strangest thing was that no one produced even half as much paper as Lily had. The largest amount below hers (and Maria Danes's) was to a Slytherin fourth year named Selentia Bones, who managed to spout out five pages. Remus, surprisingly enough, only produced half-a-page, which was strange as he was very smart.
After the entire group was done they returned to their seats. Sunny and Potter were already there. Sunny looked chipper and Potter looked troubled; he kept on touching his temple as if expecting something to be there. He was wincing every now and then.
"What's wrong with you?" Remus asked as they sat down.
"Ah, shut up Moony! Feels like I got a hangover! That hurt!"
"How bad?" asked Lily curiously.
"Feels like I got shot in the head and then had someone tap dance on my skull. My eyes have spots!" he cried.
Lily stared at him shrewdly. "How many pages did you produce, Potter?"
"Forty-six. Leave me the hell alone!"
Lily mouthed the number 'forty-six' soundlessly over and over again.
"I-I only got thirty-one," she said softly, feeling like she wasn't very clever all of a sudden.
"Yea, well, thank god. This hurts!" Potter looked at her. "Wait. Thirty-one? No one else in my group got so much."
"It was agony. God, it must bad for you! If thirty-one is that painful, then forty-six…" Lily murmured.
"Why do reckon we got so much?" asked Potter eagerly, scooting over closer.
His proximity flustered her. "I don't know, Potter," she snapped, instantly putting her guard up.
A strange expression crossed his face, and then he shook his head. "Right," he said quietly, touching his right temple again.
"Sorry," Lily said regretfully.
Potter looked at her in shock. "Are you kidding me?' he finally whispered.
"What do you mean?" asked Lily.
"You-you just apologized to me!" cried Potter, causing several people to look over, including Sunny, Remus, and Sirius and Peter who had just returned from Jarvis.
"Wow. The world is coming to an end," said Remus dryly. "Woohoo."
Lily shot him a withering look. "Shut up."
"Yea, don't talk to my girlfriend that way!" piped up Sirius. Beside Lily, Potter snorted.
"Do you have something to say, Potter?" Lily asked him suddenly. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights with wide eyes. "Because frankly I'm getting sick of your side comments and mumbling."
"Nothing," Potter muttered, kicking the empty air in front of him and slouching down. Lily turned to Sirius.
"Yes?" she asked when she saw him staring at Potter with the strangest expression on his face.
"Nothing," said Sirius. "I just think I figured something out," he added cryptically. Lily rolled her eyes. She could never get a straight answer from any one of the Marauders.
Patel announced that the class was over and the group of six headed for the doors, eagerly discussing their class. It wasn't until they were halfway to Gryffindor tower that Lily realized Potter and Sirius were gone. She looked over her shoulder to see Sirius pulling Potter along the corridor with both of his arms. Potter was putting up a tremendous fight.
Stealthily, Lily crept down the corridor, the one that led to the kitchens. One room door was open, and familiar voices were wafting through the air.
"-don't!" said Potter.
"Yes you do!"
"Not anymore!"
"I know you better than anyone, Prongs-" began Sirius.
"I SAID I DON'T!" cried Potter, sounding nearly hysterical.
"Alright, alright."
"Alright," said Potter, sounding as if he was pouting, "fine."
"Good. Now tell me why you're so hacked off at me."
"I'm not," said Potter plaintively.
"But then-"
"I had dreams," Potter whispered.
"Okay, mate, there's no need to tell me anything else!" cried Sirius in a panic.
"Not those kinds of dreams! I mean, nightmares. But it was strange, as if I was-intruding. And I was watching, not having the dream, it seemed…I've never seen anything so damn real--"
Sirius cut Potter off and Lily inwardly groaned. That close to finding out what they hell they were talking about and Sirius ruined it…
"I know I was supposed to end it," Sirius mumbled. Lily moved closer.
"No, Sirius," said Potter suddenly. Lily heard a chair scrape and she moved farther away in case she had to make a run for it. "You can keep on going with it. I'll be fine. Because I hate her anyways, and you need your three Galleons, don't you?" His voice was heavy with sarcasm and something else…
"See you at the tower," Potter spat, slamming the door open. Lily squeaked softly and pressed herself into the shadows.
She waited for a long time, but Sirius never left the room. Finally giving up, she headed towards the kitchens for a snack, her brain laden with confusion and questions.
**