Seeing a Stranger

Chapter 4

Oliver didn't sleep very much at all that night. In fact, he never left the common room. It was three in the morning, and he was still staring at a fire long burnt out, when Eranne silently crept down the stairs.

"You couldn't sleep either?" she asked him.

"Apparently not," he said, raising his eyes to her. He almost choked on his own breath from what he saw. She looked like an angel against the moonlight, wrapped conservatively in a white satin dressing gown. "What's the matter, Eranne?"

She walked over to him, and sat down beside him in the chair, placing her head on his shoulder.

"I was just thinking about my father. I can't remember anything about him - I was five years old when he died. I wonder what he must have been like..."

"If he was anything like you, Eranne, he must have been the most wonderful person alive."

Eranne lifted her head to meet Oliver's eyes. She smiled, the most beautifully innocent smile ever, in Oliver's opinion. "You really mean that?"

"Every word."

"You're such a wonderful friend, Oliver."

Oliver stared at her. Her dark hair, usually pinned up on her head, was falling down around her face, almost obscuring it from view. He lifted his hand and swept it across her cheek.

"Do you think, Eranne - that we could be anything more?"

Eranne sat all the way up, and looked at him with a strange look of relief on her face.

"I was wondering when you were going to say something."

"You knew? Wow, am I that obvious?"

"Yes, and no. I think everyone knew during our Third Year, and to be honest, it's hard to hide anything from a Searcher, trained or not. We just pick things like that up."

"Oh..."

"Listen, Oliver, if this had been a year, or even three years ago, I would have jumped at the chance to start something with you. But I think that we both know that ship has long sailed. We are too great of friends now. It would be weird."

"Then I am an idiot for waiting so long," he replied, eyes downcast.

"You are never an idiot because of what you feel, Oliver. I think it's brave that you said anything at all. You will make some girl very happy one day."

"Thanks," he said glumly.

"Cheer up. Come on, the sun's almost up. Let's go see it! Race you to the Entrance!" Eranne shouted, already running towards the portrait hole.

"Oh, no you don't" Oliver shouted after her, and took off to catch up. Smiling, he thought to himself - who needs a girlfriend when you have a sister. And he understood.

"Come on, Oliver! We're going to be late for the Feast!" Eranne called from the Common Room. Her, Percy, and Oliver had just gotten back from Hogsmeade, and Eranne had made the rather inane mistake of following Oliver back to Gryffindor Tower to drop off his new purchase: a Quidditch Training manual.

"I'm coming," he called from the Seventh Year Boy's room. "Oh - wow! Wait 'till I try out this defense maneuver..."

"Oliver, if you don't come down this instant, I am coming up there and I will burn that book!"

Sure enough, moments later Eranne could hear the pattering of feet on the stone stairs. Oliver appeared at the bottom.

"Sorry, Eranne, but -"

"But Quidditch is your life and eating apparently is not a priority. I am starving, Oliver! I should have left you to come up here alone!"

"I really am sorry," he said, sounding a little hurt.

"And I am really not angry. Just agitated because I haven't eaten. Come on, let's go, I can smell the feast from here..."

With that, Eranne and Oliver walked out of the dormitory, and to the feast.

The feast was spectacular, as usual. Eranne ate like a woman starved, and even Percy commented at her new-found appetite.

"My word, Eranne, I have never seen you eat this much before! You're eating like a starved man! You always eat like a bird - are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine, I think. It's odd, I woke up today starving - like I hadn't eaten in days."

"Are you sure you're feeling well?" Oliver asked again. Eranne threw a hard candy at him.

"I'm fine. Other than feeling like I could eat about four more servings, I feel fine. Honestly, I may be growing or something."

"Don't grow anymore, you're almost as tall as I am!" Percy joked.

"Hardly, Percy. You're a good head taller than I am! Anyway, I had odd dreams last night. Maybe dreaming is a lot more work than I thought!" Eranne said, helping herself to more cake.

"Maybe - hey, have you two heard anything more about Sirius Black?" Oliver asked.

"I'm sure the Ministry will catch up to him soon," Percy commented. "Of course, if I were working at the Ministry, I would request that every available man be put on the job. I don't trust the dementors."

Eranne shuddered. "It's hard having them around. I can't really practice Searching with them here at all. Don't want to start convulsing again, do I?"

At that point, Harry, who had been sitting next to Percy, swung his head around to join the conversation,

"Did you pass out, Eranne?" he asked.

"Not exactly. I wanted to see why the train stopped, so I reached out with my mind - that's what a searcher does - to see what was happening. My mind almost got caught be a dementor, and sucked in. It wasn't pleasant."

"Oh," he said.

"Harry, did you pass out?"

"Um - yeah."

"Why are you embarrassed about it? Dementors suck the happiness out of you. My grandfather says they make you relive your worst memories if you get too close. Considering what happened to you, I don't think it was weakness that made you pass out. Look at who you have become, in spite of what happened to you all your life. I call that strength, and tell anyone who thinks otherwise that they can come talk to me."

Harry smiled a little, "Thanks." Oliver and Percy were beaming at her.

Moments later, Eranne, Percy, and Oliver were walking back to Gryffindor Tower, Eranne grumbling about how she was still hungry, when all of a sudden the mass of students in front of them seemed to stop. Percy immediately started pushing towards the front of the mass, Eranne and Oliver quickly following. Nothing could have prepared any of them for the sight that lay in front of the crowd. The portrait of the Fat Lady was utterly destroyed.

"Someone go get Dumbledore, quick," Percy said, his face unusually white.

Everyone was too stricken with fear to see Eranne collapse in the corner, but everyone heard the scream that came from her lips.

Eranne was caught in a world of dreams and illusions for what seemed like an eternity. There was no sound at all, save a meniachal laugh that chilled her very bones. All around her faceless people were screaming, and the world looked as if it were on fire. She could barely see because of the smoke, and when she tried to scream, tried to collect herself back to sanity to figure out where she was and what she was doing, the laugh would throw her back into oblivion.

Always remember that you can control every vision, you have the power to pull yourself out of this, her Great Aunt Arsinoe's voice echoed in her mind.

How, Aunt? What can save me from this? The fire - it burns at my soul. Where am I? She poured all of her strength into her mind, pushing the thought outwards, hoping that her Great Aunt was really there, and she wasn't hallucinating.

Center your mind. The fire is an illusion. It is not really there. Bring your mind back to yourself. I am here with you.

She tried to focus as best as she could, tried to believe that the fire wasn't really there, that the smoke wasn't burning her eyes. Slowly enough, the flames ceased to seem as hot as they were before, and she could see more clearly. She understood that she was standing in the midst of a vision, and needed to get out before she hurt herself. She closed her eyes and sent her mind wandering, searching for her real, physical self. She was almost pulled, like a magnet, back to her body. When she opened her eyes, she was lying in a hospital bed. How familiar, she thought, as she collapsed into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"Eranne?" came Oliver's voice. Eranne groaned. She hated to be woken up.

"Hmmm?" she groaned, barely opening her eyes. Even the slits that she opened were blinded by the sunlight pouring through the window at her head.

"You're awake! Oh, I have been so worried!"

Daring to open her eyes a bit more, she managed to grumble, "How long was I out for this time?"

"A whole week, though your Great Aunt said that you were just sleeping for the last two days. Eranne, that was worse than last year. What happened?"

"A week? My Great Aunt is here? What?" She attempted to sit up, and in her haste fell down again from exhaustion. Oliver was right, this episode was worse than any she had experienced before.

"I am here, Eranne. You are quite lucky that you went under when you did. I sensed you, and came at once. No, your mother does not know - yet," Arsinoe Caldwell emerged from behind the white curtain that quarantined Eranne's bed. "How are you feeling, child?"

"I hurt, I think. What happened to me?"

"We were walking back from the Halloween feast, and then you saw the Fat Lady's Portrait, and all of a sudden you were passed out in the corner, screaming your head off. Something about a traitor and a rat..." Oliver informed her.

"I felt like I was in a dream, except it was almost real. There was someone laughing, and smoke and flames. I couldn't see anyone else. I wasn't doing anything in particular at the time, certainly not Searching for anything. Aunt, what went wrong?"

"Sometimes child, when a Searcher comes into close proximity to something or someone that is close to her, it triggers a Jump. This is when your mind jumps involuntarily into someone else's, particularly the person that you are close to. It's a protection measure: you can see what they are thinking, and even locate them. I never told you because I didn't think it would ever happen to you. Now, young man, you say the Fat Lady's portrait was ripped up? Do you know who did it?"

"There were only rumors, Ma'am. They said that it was Sirius Black."

Arsinoe gasped loudly, which caught Eranne's attention.

"He's the man that killed my father. That would make me close to him, right? Could I be seeing my father killed? I couldn't really see anything at all, maybe because it happened so long ago?" Eranne looked at her Aunt for validation.

"That is what your mother told you?" She seemed to pause for an eternity. "It may very well be true, Eranne, I don't know for certain. I'm dreadfully sorry that I didn't prepare you for what happened, dear."

"It's okay, Aunt, you couldn't have known. Thank you for bringing me back." Eranne smiled sheepishly as her Aunt took her hand and squeezed it.

"You sleep now, Eranne. You'll want your strength back when you go back to class tomorrow."

Eranne nodded and lay back in the bed. Oliver was still sitting by her side, holding her other hand, as she fell back asleep.