Marchent Dans Reve

You hear them whisper that Cissa Black is breaking down. Lily tells you to drop divination, that it's no good for you. It's too late, she's not telling you anything you don't already know. She doesn't understand though, none of them do (but at least Lily tries). You don't want them to. They don't understand when, at seemingly random moments, you'll stare into nowhere and tears will slip down you cheeks. They don't understand when you nearly kill Peter Pettigrew after he bumps into you in the hallway. Nor when you turn and hug James Potter after he pulls you off of Pettigrew. After that, you've been spending all your time in the library with tomes on foreseeing the future, and texts on time travel.

-

She's been having dreams, dreams about the Dark Lord. More specfically, the Dark lord and the Death Eaters. She's seen what happened the night the Potters were killed. She seen Lucius Malfoy torture and kill countless muggles, and she saw Bellatrix Lestrange and the Longbottoms. Sometimes the dreams change, and she sees two girls, one tall and thin with thick red hair and a spattering of freckles across her face, the other slight with wispy blond hair and sharp grey eyes that look too old for her face. Both are beautiful, their beauty enhanced by the love that radiates between them. Padma watches them together and their happiness defies every dark thing she has seen in her dreams. She believes it is because they are unaware of things to come.

-

There has to be a way to stop what's coming, what you see. You know there is, because you're seeing two different futures. Maybe even more than two. You'll see a boy murdered in his bed at the age of one, and see that same boy sorted into his house at Hogwarts. Yes, that boy with Lily's eyes and James Potter's hair and Lily wonders why you stare at James so much, why you go out of your way to speak to him. Just offhand comments mind you, but probably more than he wants from a freak like you.

There has to be a way to stop what's coming.

-

"Padma baby, what's wrong? You've been acting strange all week, like something's hunting you."

"It's nothing, Cho, just go to bed. There's no sense staying up with me, I'm just going to be studying like a zombie until breakfast."

"Studying what? Tomorrow's Saturday. There are no classes, and it's a Hogsmeade weekend. Whatever you're doing can wait, can't it?"

"Well..."

"I'm a Ravenclaw too, remember? I know for a fact that overnight study sessions are for Hufflepuffs. We simply don't need them. Come upstairs and go to bed."

"Come with me then. Please. You can give me reason not to sleep."

-

"Cissa, tell me what's wrong. Please, you've been acting so strangely ever since that day with Pettigrew."

"I-it's nothing. Just go on to bed, I really must study."

"We've nothing to study for tomorrow, and if we had, you'd have prepared weeks ago. That's how we Ravenclaws are, love, and you know it. Now, tell me what's really wrong."

"Something's coming, something evil. I don't want to tell you what it is. It's not something you should have to bear. I think I may be able to stop it. In my dreams, there are these girls -there's a boy too but he's not important- there are these brilliant girls, just like us- Ravenclaw lovers. I think they may be able to help us."

"Well, who are they then?"

"I don't think they've been born yet."

"Narcissa, tell me what you see when you dream."

"Sometimes I see the most horrible things, death, destruction, murder. But sometimes...sometimes I see us, our future together, our lives, our careers, and our children. Sometimes it's a girl and a boy, sometimes two girls or two boys; they always have your eyes. I see our families, happy and strong and accepting of each other. I see my cousin developing a crush on your sister that eventually grows into a relationship and produces a beautiful baby girl. I see my sister, Bella learning that Muggles are every bit as human as pure bloods, and I see Andromeda reconciling with my parents after they grow to accept you and yours. It's beautiful, and I'm doing everything I can to save it."

"So, what of James Potter and Peter Pettigrew?"

"If the rest of what I see comes to pass, you'll know."

-

Snap to Lucius Malfoy and his Master conversing in the dungeons. If you can call it conversing.

::You've done well Lucius, bringing me news of the Black girl's unusual behavior. That one has a gift, a powerful one. We will either bring her over to where we can use it for our power, or we will break her of it. I have a task for you.::

A glittering object dangles from fingers that are too long to be fully human ::Do you know what this is, Lucius?:: A time-turner, Master. ::Very good, Lucius. I want you to take this, and use it. Do not change anything but that which involves the Black girl and the Mudblood. Only travel back as far as to carry my orders, and do not travel into the future, except to bring yourself back. You may secure your reward with the assurance that if you fail I will keep you alive to recieve it, all the while I will make you wish for death. But you won't fail, will you?::

Snap to Lucius twisting it over and over in his hands. Twisting it until he can reach his father the year of his own tenth birthday to instruct him to host a ball for all the pure blood families with Hogwarts children that will be in his year. Instructs him to begin discussions with Gideon Black regarding an arrangement between Gideon's eldest daughter, Narcissa, and his own son, Lucius.

Snap to Lucius returning to his Master laughing, high and cold...

-

The Sorting: 1969

"Abbott, Denise" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Abercrombie, Mortimer" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Black, Narcissa" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Chang, Mei-ling" "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Crowell, Margaret" "RAVENCLAW!"

"Evans, Lily" "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Goyle, George" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Kole, Julia" "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Lovegood, Joel" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Malfoy, Lucius" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Patil, Sanjay" "RAVENCLAW!"

"Smythe, Ezekiel" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Zabini, Karl" "SLYTHERIN!"

-

Summer: 1990

I'll only be a minute dear, I just have to add the powdered Snorkack horns and then we'll see. It will be ever so exciting if this works. Yes, Luna you may watch me add them, but don't come too close, it's hot. Oh dear, Something's going wrong I think. Dear, why don't you get Luna away before-

-

"Cho, darling, whatever is the matter? You cried out in your sleep, quite loudly."

"N-nothing, I think, just a strange nightmare. There was a girl with long blonde hair, she was in the library with a book on time travel, and then all of sudden this black void came out of nowhere and swept her up. She screamed for someone, but the words choked in her throat. Luna, it was awful"

"Time travel...that's funny. My mother was working on a time travel spell when she died. If she'd succeeded it would have been the most innovative and useful spell to have been discovered since magic began. It would have completely outstripped the time turner. Pity, she never got to finish it, and all her work was destroyed along with her. Father's never found the heart to recreate it."

-

It's at that moment that Narcissa Malfoy, and Padma Patil both wake up in a cold sweat. Narcissa lying in bed next to her husband Lucius, Padma in the bed that Cho Chang has long stopped visiting in favor of someone who better tolerates her mood swings. Both have a sickening feeling of realization from a faded memory of a time that may or may not have happened, and the knowledge that there was a key that they didn't find. However, Lily Potter is long dead and buried, Parvati Patil is the twin with the psychic gift, not Padma, and Cho Chang has Luna to keep her from having the dreams she does not want and could not use. The children of two marriages that may or may not have been supposed to happen are sleeping in two polar opposite dormatories, and will probably try to kill each other tomorrow. Both boys look exactly like their fathers. Both have their mothers' eyes.