Mortem itineribus in
Lily was walking through the castle. It was dark, the pale moon shining as she floated through the empty halls. She couldn’t quite remember why she was walking, or where she was going, but her feet seemed to know the way, so she relaxed and continued forwards, never paying mind to the sudden eeriness of the usually homey castle.
Lily smiled as she suddenly recognized where she was going. The path she was on would lead her directly to the Great Hall. She wasn’t quite sure why she was excited by that, but she was. The smile remained on her face as she entered the hall, despite her sudden need to scream.
The Great Hall was filled with bodies. Classmates, friends, all covered in blood. Pale and cold to the touch. And a warning, a message on the wall, meant for the apparent only survivor.
Mortem itineribus in.
Written in blood, above the countless bodies, the message was an obvious threat. Lily surveyed the scene with mounting horror, bile rising in her throat as the blood seemed to flow down the wall and through the room, snaking towards her.
And yet the unholy grin never left her face as she drowned in it, teeth stained crimson as she tried to scream.
——————————————————————————————
Lily woke with a scream. Marlene, Alice, Dorcas, and Mary all jumped back from where they were crowded around her bed.
“Lily, babe, are you alright?” Marlene said, jumping up and rushing to Lily’s side. Lily blindly fumbled until she had a hold on Marlene’s wrist.
“Yeah, I just…. I had a really vivid nightmare.” Lily whispered, shaking slightly.
“Do you want to tell us, or would you rather keep it to yourself?” Dorcas asked kindly.
“Uh, fuck what she wants. If she woke up screaming, she’s telling us,” Alice said.
“Don’t force her to do something that makes her uncomfortable,” Mary shot back.
“Hey, peanut gallery? Could you maybe shut up for a minute? Thanks,” Marlene said, still at Lily’s side. “You wanna tell us what happened, Lils?”
“I… yeah, sure. I was walking through the halls at night, and they were empty, and it was really creepy but I didn’t stop. I was walking towards the Great Hall, and when I went in…” Lily trailed off, gripping Marlene’s wrist tightly.
“Go on,” Mary prompted softly.
“When I walked in, everyone was dead. There were bodies everywhere, covered in blood. And there was writing on the wall, in blood. I can’t quite remember what it said. It slid off the wall and I drowned in it.” Lily shuddered. “And throughout the whole thing, I couldn’t stop smiling. I wanted to, I wanted to scream, to cry, but I couldn’t stop smiling.”
“Well that’s fucked up,” Alice said. The girls all glared at her. “What? It’s true.”
Lily laughed. “Yeah, you’re not wrong. It’s ok, I’m alright, it was only a dream.”
“Yeah,” Marlene replied. “Only a dream.”
“Alright, well, as fun as this has been, it’s 3 am and we have classes tomorrow, so I’m gonna get some sleep,” Dorcas said. “Goodnight, everyone. And Lily, if you have a nightmare again, just tell us, alright? Madam Pomfrey likes me, I can probably get some of that dreamless sleep potion for you.”
“Thanks, Cas, but I’m alright,” Lily replied. “I’m just gonna try and go back to sleep.”
Everyone nodded and said goodnight, yawning and climbing back into their beds. Except for Marlene, who still sat at Lily’s side with sad eyes.
“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?” Lily asked softly.
“Not really, no.” Marlene whispered back. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah, just… could you stay here? Just for tonight?” Lily asked hesitantly. Marlene grinned in response.
“Do you wanna be big spoon or little spoon?”
“Little spoon,” Lily sighed, feeling relief as Marlene slid into bed behind her and pulled her closer.
“I’ve got you, Lils. Always,” Marlene said quietly. Lily hummed happily and began to drift off, feeling safe despite the nagging voice the back of her mind that whispered warnings: nobody would be safe again.
——————————————————————————————
“Wake up, nerds,” Alice shouted, ripping the blankets off of Lily and Marlene.
“No. Away, foul creature. Nasty beast of unfathomable horror, we banish you from this haven,” Lily replied. Marlene just groaned and curled closer. Lily absent-mindedly traced patterns on Marlene’s arm, which was thrown haphazardly over her waist.
“Aw, you two are so fucking gay. Did you sleep together?” Alice jokingly asked.
“A lady doesn’t kiss and tell,” Marlene teased as Lily flipped Alice off.
“Did who sleep with who now?” Dorcas asked. She froze upon seeing Lily and Marlene in bed together.
“No one slept with anyone. Marlene is like a living space heater, so occasionally I force her to cuddle me for warmth and comfort,” Lily responded.
“Also her bed is nicer than mine,” Marlene said.
“Cuz I didn’t set mine on fire in third year.”
“Bitch, that was Alice’s fault and you know it,” Marlene replied, hitting Lily with a pillow.
“As relieved as I am to hear that you two didn’t get it on with the rest of us in the same room, we have to get to the Great Hall soon,” Dorcas said. “The house-elves told me that there would be raspberry scones, but Sirius will eat them all if I don’t get there first.”
“Alright, don’t get your knickers in a twist, we’re coming,” Lily grumbled, rolling out of the bed. Marlene sprawled out across the empty space, only getting up when Alice hit her with a pillow. Mary snickered from her seat at her desk.
The girls found the Marauders sitting in the common room. An unusual sight, especially because of Sirius and Dorcas’ unspoken scone rivalry, which somehow everyone was aware of without ever realizing they were aware of it. James stood up as the girls walked into the room.
“Hey, are you guys alright?” He asked. “We heard a scream from your room last night.”
“Oh, yeah, we’re fine, I just had a nightmare is all,” Lily answered.
“You alright then?” James asked, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Lily replied, smiling warmly at James, who grinned in response. “And hey, Christmas break is coming up in a week. What’s everyone doing?”
“I’ll be at the Potters’ place,” Sirius replied as the group walked out of the common room and towards the Great Hall.
“Yeah, same here,” Peter said. “Well, I’m going to my parents for the first few days, but then I’m headed over there.”
“Yeah, same as Pete,” Remus responded.
“Frank and I are doing the whole meet the parents thing, so that should be fun. Besides that, nothing’s happening for me,” Alice said.
“I’m just headed home,” Mary chimed in.
“I, uh, I don’t know. I don’t exactly have a home to go to,” Marlene said slowly.
“Sure you do,” Sirius replied casually. “The Potters are known for taking in gay strays, I’m sure they’ve got room for one more. The house is bloody huge.”
“I don’t know,” Marlene said. “I don’t want to be a burden. Plus, Christmas is a time for family, so I’m sure they won’t want me there-“
"Of course they bloody do," Sirius replied. "They're Euphemia and Fleamont Potter, they don't know how to not want more children around."
Marlene laughed. “Yeah, alright. That cool with you, James?”
“Are you kidding? Mum’s been telling me to invite you for two weeks, I just hadn’t got around to it yet,” James grinned.
“You sure?” Marlene asked.
“Hell yeah. Actually, we’re gonna be throwing a big Christmas party. Can you guys all make it? It’s the night of Christmas, so you can spend the morning with your family and then just come on by Floo or something.”
“Yeah, I’ll need something to keep me from going mad throughout the holidays,” Lily said.
“Why would you go mad?” Dorcas asked.
“Petunia,” Sirius answered for Lily, who just groaned in response.
“Oh right. Sorry Lils,” Doras said. “That can’t be fun.”
“It’s not. But at least now I have something to look forward to,” Lily said as they entered the Great Hall.
The next sound she heard was a scream.
——————————————————————————————
“What the fuck?” Lily cried at the sight that greeted them.
A girl was hanging from the ceiling, a noose around her neck. She was covered in blood, which dripped slowly down to the floor far below. The girl couldn’t have been more than twelve.
“I’m gonna be sick,” Mary gasped, sitting down heavily. Pete knelt beside her, hugging her tightly.
“Hey! Help! Someone help! A girl is dead!” Dorcas shouted into the hallway.
“Hold on, I’ll go get the professors,” Remus said, running off. Sirius followed him.
“Guys… look,” Lily said, pointing behind the gruesome image. There, on the wall just behind the professors’ table, was a message. Written in blood.
Mortem itineribus in.
“That was in my dream,” Lily whispered incredulously.
“What?” Marlene asked.
“That phrase, that was what was written on the wall in my dream.”
“Death marches on,” James exhaled shakily.
“What?” Dorcas asked.
“It’s latin. It translates, roughly, to death marches on.” He shook his head, sitting down and resting his head on his hands.
“Ok, wait, so you had a dream about dead people in the Great Hall with that phrase written on the wall, and now there’s a dead person in the Great Hall with that phrase written on the wall?” Marlene asked skeptically. “That’s…”
“Batshit crazy.” Dorcas finished her sentence. “This is fucking insane.”
“You think I don’t realize that?” Lily asked. “But I swear it’s true.”
“We believe you babe, it’s just scary as shit,” Marlene replied, wrapping an arm around Dorcas, who leaned into the touch.
“Move, move please,” McGonagall’s voice rang through the halls. “Everyone back to your dormitories, breakfast will be late this morning. Out of the way.”
“Professor,” Mary rasped out as McGonagall entered. “We don’t know what happened-“
“I understand,” McGonagall said, quickly but not unkindly. “Pettigrew, get her to the hospital wing, ask Poppy to give her something for shock.”
“Yeah, of course,” Peter responded. He coaxed Mary to her feet and led her away.
“Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, what happened here?” McGonagall asked, waving her wand, which untied the rope and brought the girl’s body floating down gently to land on a table that McGonagall conjured quickly.
“Well, we were coming in early for breakfast because Sirius wanted to get to the scones before Dorcas, and when we walked in she was there. No one else was here, and we didn’t touch or move anything,” James quickly said.
“Alright. Death marches on?” McGonagall said, seemingly thinking aloud. “I haven’t heard that one before…”
“Professor, is there anything we can do?” Dorcas asked, still leaning against Marlene.
“Go back to your dormitories. The Heads of Houses will address their students later. Classes are cancelled,” McGonagall said as she turned to the girl’s body. She had a Hufflepuff tie on, and was wearing pink tennis shoes under her robes. Lily wasn’t quite sure why, but the image of the shoes turning from pink to red as the blood dripped down haunted her more than anything.
——————————————————————————————
“This is all sorts of fucked up,” Frank said. He had slept through the event, but the rest of the grouped filled him in. They were all now gathered in the boy’s dorm, with the exception of Peter and Mary, waiting for news.
“Yeah,” Sirius agreed.
“You’re sure that was the phrase you saw in your dream? You said you didn’t remember it,” Alice said from her spot next to Frank on his bed.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Lily replied. “I didn’t realize until I saw it, but that was it.”
“Ok. So how did you have a dream about what was gonna happen before it happened?” Remus asked.
“I don’t know. It’s never happened before,” Lily answered.
“Ok. Look, is it weird that Lily had that dream? Yes, but it’s not like she knew it would come true in any way. No one knew.” James paced around the room, running a hand through his hair. For a split second Lily felt the wild urge to pull him down to sit next to her and fix his hair, but she quickly dismissed the thought.
“Yeah. No one knew it was gonna happen except for the people that did it,” Dorcas said quietly.
“What?” Marlene asked. Dorcas had been silent the whole time, sitting close to Marlene and choosing to fiddle with the necklace she had on rather than join in the conversation about the murder.
“Someone just murdered a student. Brutally. And we know the Death Eaters are recruiting in Hogwarts. And the message was death marches on. How much more obvious can it get? The people responsible for the Hogsmeade attack probably have something to do with this as well,” Dorcas said, getting louder as she continued to speak.
“Yeah, that’s a solid point,” Sirius chimed in. “Especially since the girl was a Hufflepuff. Aren’t Hufflepuffs known for tolerance?”
“You think she was targeted?” Frank asked, horror evident in his tone.
“No, I think it was a threat. ‘Don’t fuck with us because none of you are safe, not even here’, that kind of thing. Like how Mum used to leave bloody knives on my pillow right next to my face to mess with me,” Sirius replied.
“Ok, wait, what the fuck?” Marlene asked.
“Yeah, she was seventy kinds of screwed up,” Sirius responded casually, though he shifted closer to Remus, unconsciously seeking comfort.
“Wait, guys, I think Minnie’s here!” James said.
The group ran down the stairs and into the common room. Sure enough, McGonagall was standing in front of the fireplace with Gryffindors gathered all around, clearly whispering and wondering what was happening.
“Quiet,” McGonagall’s voice rang out over the crowd. A hush fell. “Earlier this morning, a girl was murdered. Her body was found in the Great Hall. We do not currently know who killed her. If you have any information about this event, come forward.”
The Gryffindors began eyeing one another, whispering suspiciously. Despite the susurration, not a single student came forward. Lily didn’t expect them to. If Dorcas’ theory was correct, than it was most likely someone who hung around with Mulciber and his friends, and no one in Gryffindor liked that group.
“Alright. Classes are cancelled for the day. It is recommended you stay inside your dormitories, and if you wish to go anywhere an older student must accompany you if you are below your fifth year.” McGonagall began to leave.
“Wait! Professor!” Lily found herself crying out. Everyone turned to look at her as McGonagall stopped.
“Yes, Miss Evans?”
“What was the girl’s name?” Lily asked quietly. The other students looked at McGonagall, listening carefully.
“Winnie. Winnie Shacklebolt,” McGonagall answered quietly as she left.
“What?” A fifth year boy asked horrifiedly.
“Kingsley,” the boy sitting next to him said, grabbing his arm. “Kingsley, I-“
The boy shook his head and tore his arm out of his friend’s grip, and ran out of the room after McGonagall.
After that everyone was quiet.