Chapter 1
Pandora:
Thoughts are like birds. They are easy to spot and easy to point out to others, people understand birds. Birds can be contained, trained. People understand birds. My visions aren’t birds. They float on the wind delicately flapping their wings content to come and go as they wish. My visions are butterflies. They cannot be contained, trained, or controlled by me. All of them are beautiful and different, but some can be poisonous. Some can be deadly.
The vision I’ve had most often since childhood was of me standing in the mirror with a man called Xenophilius, holding a little bundle of quilts with a tuffet of light blond hair. My daughter, my Luna. I’ve seen them so many times and I hope to see them many more until I can stand there with them, and watch them grow.
When I got my Hogwarts letter I was overjoyed. When I touched the parchment I saw myself by a lake, laughing, with two dark-haired boys, a blond boy, and a dark-haired girl with long dreadlocks with beads in them. They felt like home. I couldn't wait to meet them.
Many years have passed since that vision and today I lived it out, it felt amazing as living my visions always does, although I don't always get to live them before something changes. I've told my friends about them, my visions. We call them my butterflies, Evan came up with that name. He was the light-haired boy from my lake vision. I like him, and his boyfriend Barty. Barty was one of the other boys in the vision, he had medium brown hair and eyes that made you want to write sonnets, which Evan did. I found it ridiculous but Barty found it endearing. Dorcas was the other girl in our group, the one with dark skin and long dreadlocks. I think she is the prettiest in our group but Regulus disagrees. He says he is, but it is definitely Dorcas.
Regulus is the last person in our group, and to outsiders, he looks like the leader. He is also my best friend. He was the first person I met on the Hogwarts Express and the first person I told about my visions. He has a hard home life so we try to make Hogwarts as fun for him as we can. Our group is a home for all of us and if we fight we always make it back to each other.
“Dora, be a darling and pass me a bag of those muggle candies you brought us please,” Evan said, throwing his hand lazily toward the picnic basket I had brought out.
“Wait, how many have you eaten?”
“Three…. Soon to be four!”
“EVAN!” Dorcas exclaimed with barking laughter “Save some for the rest of us!”
“Looks like the Skittles are a hit,” I remarked
“Skittles? Hmmmm, I like that name.” mused Regulus “I have it!”
“What? You have what?” I responded curiously
“Our name! We can be called the Slytherin Skittles!” He practically yelled, a huge grin spreading across his face.
“All in favor?” called Dorcas. Remember when I said outsiders thought Regulus was the leader of our group? He is not. We decided early on that everyone would have a say, a luxury that most of my companions did not receive at home.
“All in favor say…salt” I offered
“Salt”
“Salt”
“Salt”
“Salt”
“Salt” I finished
“So we all agree! We are the Slytherin Skittles” Proclaimed Reggie with a grand flourish
“Great to meet you chaps!” said Dorcas with a grin, as she reached to shake my hand
~
There were death eaters everywhere, Dorcas standing in the middle firing spells as fast as she can; she was winning. Death eaters were falling fast their masks of silver falling from their faces, among them an older version of Lucius Malfoy, a popular boy ahead of me, fighting
Then all of the fighting stopped and an excited whisper went through the crowd and they seemed to part down the middle. Standing in the middle of the newly cleared aisle stood a figure in long black robes.
‘No,’ whispered Vision Dorcas
‘Yes.’ said the robed figure
Green light surged toward Dorcas as a scream started to leave her lips
~
Dorcas let go of my hand oblivious that anything was amiss. She reached out to Evan as Barty grasped mine.
~
Barty was much older, he had a crazed look to him. He was explaining how he had killed his father, about how ‘The Dark Lord’ was going to return. A young boy with glasses and messy black hair was watching intently. Soon the boy with glasses and a few teachers left as a tubby man in a green bowler remained. Barty looked over at him and flicked his tongue out.
‘Your ministry stands no chance against the Dark Lord, NO CHANCE’ he yelled. The man in the bowler hat looked terrified and shouted for help. A burly-looking man walked in with a dementor captured in a ball of light. The man let the light fall and the dementor swooped to Barty giving him his final kiss.
~
Barty let go and reached for Reg as Evan took my now shaking hand in his with a firm grip
~
It was dark, and Evan was crying. He was standing in the middle of a forest and a photo clutched to his chest as sobs racked his body. A twig snapped and a bulky figure stepped into the almost nonexistent moonlight. He had a chunk taken out of his nose and scars all along his face and a cane that he leaned heavily on.
‘Let's finish this here Rosier.’ he called but Evan did not look, he continued sobbing falling to his knees
‘KILL ME!’ he roared tears falling fast down and off his face,
‘Fight me first!’ called the man with his lips ever slightly turned up. Evan didn’t even try a powerful spell, it was a spell I invented, it made bubbles that looked like butterflies. Moody fired a green bolt of light, and Evan smiled through the pain for the last time.
~
Evan let go and looked at me with concern. I tried to fake a smile as he drew back. Reg looked over and saw that something was off.
“Alright there Panda?” he asked, resting his hand on mine.
~
Regulus was in a dark cave standing with a house elf.
‘Kreacher, once I get it you must leave and destroy it. Do not tell anyone. Understood?’
‘Yes master’ responded the elf; a grimace set permanently on his face. Regulus sighed and looked toward a strange crystal pedestal with a bowl on top.
“Panda, I'm so sorry, please forgive me.” A single tear fell down his face and he walked toward the pedestal. He picked up a shell and used it to scoop up the liquid in the bowl. He drank.
~
Tears filled my eyes; I had just watched my only friends in the world die . I didn’t know who the robed figure from Dorcus’ vision was, or what Regulus wanted from the cave but whoever or whatever it was, it wasn’t good.