Ch. 17 The Transcender
“Lily! Lily!”
“Mack, go get Sirius, quickly!”
“What’s going on with her?”
“Shit, she’s cold as ice. Snape will know what to do…Trish, he’ll be in his office!”
“She isn’t dead is she?”
“Not funny, Pam,”
“Not joking, Sarah,”
“What happened?”
“Siri, she won’t wake up!”
“Touch her, she’s freezing!”
“I thought you two were watching her! Damn, Sarah, how could you let this happen?”
“Watch your mouth, Mr. Potter,”
“Sir, please help her,”
“What happened? Did any of you see anything?”
“Pardon me, sir, but can’t we figure this out later?”
“She needs Mum! She’s had another vision and she needs Mum to get her out of it!”
“For your information, Mr. Potter, your mother has been notified and is arriving on the grounds as we speak. I’m sure she is intelligent enough to guess we will be in the Hospital Wing, so we shall meet up with her there,”
“Let’s go then!”
**
The falling sensation stopped so I was stationary but my feet still weren’t touching the ground either; I was floating. I was still enveloped in darkness but it was less frightening, now that I wasn’t falling blindly. I could hear murmured whispers all around me and they sounded excited, not foreboding.
“Hello?” I called out bravely, my voice echoing around me. The murmured whispers stopped suddenly and for a moment, I thought they had all just been an illusion.
“Lily? Lily, what are you doing here?” a familiar voice asked as a figure approached.
“I’m waiting for the dream to end so I can wake up,” I replied.
The darkness suddenly evaporated and the area surrounding me lit up beautifully to reveal hundreds of people floating around. The old woman appeared in front of me and I breathed a sigh of relief while flashing her a smile.
“Good, you’re here. Can you let me wake up now?” I asked her.
She didn’t smile; her face was filled with confusion. She suddenly reached out to touch my hand and I shivered, she was freezing!
“You’re warm,” she stated.
“Well I was until you touched me!” I said, rubbing my hands together for warmth.
“But…I don’t understand this at all. You aren’t supposed to be here if you’re warm,” the old woman said in a quiet voice as though speaking to herself.
Those around her nodded and began murmuring again. My anxiety returned and I glanced at the visible faces around me. Everyone either looked confused or near tears. I once again was out of the loop. This did not bode well with me since the loop seemed to concern me at the moment. I inhaled deeply in an effort to calm myself.
“Look, Miss…” I began.
“Sybill. Please call me Sybill,” she requested.
I froze, my mouth open and ready to continue. A wave of nausea flowed through me. This was not happening! It was impossible! I hadn’t done anything dangerous at all…except rocket down a never ending hole. “S-S-Sybill? But I can’t be seeing you…you’re dead. I’m not dead. Oh, please tell me I am not dead!” I cried as tears streamed down my face.
“You are not dead, Lily,” another woman said. Her chubby, round face seemed vaguely familiar but I couldn’t place it. And, in all honesty, placing seemingly familiar faces wasn’t my top priority at the moment. I just gazed at her, thirsty for more information and hopefully some good news.
“Then why am I here?” I asked, growing more frantic with each moment.
“I think it’s becoming blatantly obvious she is much more than a Seer, Sybill,” the unknown woman whispered.
“Quite, Alice, quite a bit more,” Sybill responded.
“Lily, dear, what was the last thing that happened before you went to sleep,” the woman called Alice asked me.
“I was thinking about doing something and then debating my decision,” I evaded purposely. Explaining my actions to the Old Woman, well Sybill now, had been quite easy since it was just the two of us. Now I was surrounded by hundreds of unfamiliar people who were peering at me as if I were some type of puppy in a pet store window. It was quite unnerving.
“Explain further, please,”
I sighed. I had to answer her or else I’d be stuck here forever. If I just keep being honest with them, eventually I’ll learn how to get out of this place. “I wanted to See my Dad, to find out where he is, what he’s doing and to make sure he’s okay,” I admitted.
“So you chose to have a vision? That’s impossible! Never in all of my life have I ever heard of anyone accomplishing that goal. Only few have even attempted it you know…myself included,” Sybill told me.
“This isn’t a vision though. I’m not foreseeing anything, right? I’m just chatting with dead people apparently,” I mumbled.
A cool breeze ran through me and it caused the atmosphere around our group to shift significantly. The monstrous effect this small action had on those surrounding me was slightly frightening. “Lily, listen to me carefully. When you wake up, go to Severus Snape and tell him everything that has happened. Your parents will know how to find him,” Alice instructed, her words coming out quickly. Both of the women had begun pacing opposite each other, neither one of them took their eyes off of me.
“And tell him Sybill and Alice sent you,” Sybill added, frantically as she kept wringing her hands. Alice suddenly looked over her shoulder causing my breath to hitch and sweat to begin pooling on my forehead.
I didn’t understand why they were speaking so fast or why Alice had looked over her shoulder or why I should go to Snape, of all people, for answers. I had absolutely no intention of going to Snape for anything. As soon as I finished that thought Sybill pierced me with a look so powerful, I almost was forced to shut my eyes. I looked away and concentrated on those standing around me. They were still and silent for some reason. A few even stepped back away from me. Then suddenly the darkness returned and I was alone again. Alone in the dark…floating in no man’s land. I held in some tears and I played back my weird venture into my subconscious. There had to be some way out, I had to be able to somehow make myself return to reality.
“Lillian, please wake up!” Mum’s pleading voice called, penetrating all thoughts running through my mind.
The tone of her voice caused something to stir within me. My surroundings shifted and I found myself lying in the hospital wing. Mum had tears in her eyes and her defiant expression softened when our eyes met. She managed a weak smile and inclined her head to the others around her. I was surprised she didn’t say anything but then I realized she wanted me to see how much these people worried about me. Mack was clinging to Bry for support, both of them had their eyes closed and heads resting against each other. Sarah was crying into Mum’s shirt, Jake was sitting in Katy’s lap and she was whispering what I assume were comforting words in his ear while Siri paced the back wall that James was sitting against, both of them covering their faces so I couldn’t read their expressions. My gaze shifted to Snape, standing in the corner with his arms crossed simply observing those around him.
He suddenly looked at me and our eyes locked. I felt him searching my thoughts and decided to follow the advice I had been given. I concentrated solely on what had just happened and watched the recent events play back in my mind. I showed him my seemingly endless fall, the encounter with Sybill and Alice and how suddenly everyone had disappeared. The more I showed him caused more color to rise in his cheeks. He wordlessly walked out of the room, the door closing loudly behind him causing everyone to be pulled out of their own thoughts.
“LILY! HEY, SHE’S AWAKE!” Sarah cried, jumping onto my bed and hugging me fiercely.
“Course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
“We’ve been trying to wake you for nearly two days now. Mack and I found you in the dorm asleep. When I tried to wake you, you didn’t stir at all and I got really worried and then you suddenly became ice cold for no reason,” Sarah explained.
“I came in and tried all sorts of things. We shook you, screamed in your face, hit you with pillows…nothing worked,” Siri continued, pushing Sarah out of the way so he could squeeze me tightly.
“Then someone fetched Snape and Snape fetched Mum and we all came here to wait until you…woke up,” Bry finished, hovering awkwardly at the foot of my bed. He finally rubbed my foot as what I think he meant to be a tender gesture.
“Well, thanks…I think,” I said, uncertainly while looking at Mum. She looked exhausted and a little frightened. Her beautiful hair was in a lopsided ponytail, her cheeks were flushed and her robes were quite wrinkled. Perhaps Sarah had been clutching them rather tightly for some time.
“Did you See anything?” Mum inquired hopefully. She sat down next to me on the bed, pushed my hair out of my face and poked my nose.
I shook my head. “Not really. I think I may have been at Sybill’s home because…well, it’s just what it felt like,” I attempted to explain.
Mum patted my hand and kissed my forehead, then asked in typical-mum fashion, “Do you need anything, honey?”
“I’d like some tea, I think,” I requested.
Mum nodded and stood. “Now that she’s awake, I think you all can go back to your dorms. You need to rest and catch up on your lessons from today,” Mum ordered. Siri made an attempt to argue causing Mum to pierce him with a glare…the type of glare that didn’t leave any room for an argument.
She held open the door and ushered everyone out. “Just tea then?” she asked again.
“If you could bring me something to eat, that would be great, Mum. I haven’t eaten in a while, thank Merlin Gran isn’t here to hear that!” I told her, laughing.
Mum smiled and gave a small chuckle. “You seem fine, Lily. I’ll go get your food and meet you in Snape’s office okay? I can tell you’re just itching to discuss something with him,” Mum said.
“How-”
Mum laughed. “Lily, I’m your mother and that automatically means I can tell when you’re hiding something. I also think that it would surprise you to know how well I can decipher silent communication or a person allowing their thoughts to be read. Go on to the Headmaster’s Office, dear. I will meet you there shortly,” she promised, inclining her head toward the door.
I jumped out of bed, momentarily amazed at how unfazed I was by spending two days in bed, and ran out the door, amazed at how brilliant my mother continued to be on a daily basis.
**
For the first time in my short but eventful time at Hogwarts, I did not exactly dread going to the Headmaster’s Office. I actually felt a bit of excitement as I knocked on the door.
“Come in,” I heard Dumbledore’s voice call.
Despite my confusion and anxiety a smile appeared at the sound of the wise old man’s voice. I opened the door and crossed the threshold to find the office lacking any living occupant.
I walked forward cautiously, unsure of what Snape had in store for me. Was he mad that I showed him only what I wanted him to see? Was he twisted enough to think it would be entertaining to suddenly appear and frighten me?
“Where is Snape?” I asked Dumbledore as I approached his portrait dwelling.
“The Headmaster has been kind enough to let me have a few moments alone with you, Lily. Please sit down,” he instructed, motioning to a rather comfortable looking armchair.
“This is new,” I pointed out as I sat down.
“I persuaded Severus to provide you with a more comfortable seating arrangement this evening. This is, after all, a visit and not a punishment my dear. I have also found that one pays more attention when proper seating is provided and an aching backside isn’t a distraction,” he explained.
I held back a chuckle. I may be young but I am more than capable of recognizing an attempt to lure me into a sense of relaxation so I’ll be more likely to talk. I wasn’t quite ready to unload everything on my mind…especially to the portrait of a dead professor, no matter how brilliant people believed him to be.
Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled from behind his spectacles and he flattened a few creases in his robes. “So, I hear you had quite an entertaining return to school, Lily,” he began.
“I guess it depends on what you would consider entertaining, sir. I actually find it frightening and a bit of a nuisance,” I confessed.
“Amazing isn’t it, Lily? People who hear about your ability consider it a gift, something one should feel special to possess. Yet here you sit, burdened with knowledge and afraid to even sleep at night. I would correlate that description with a curse more than a gift,” he said, peering at me.
I knew what he was doing but I could do nothing to stop myself from opening up, it was like some invisible forced reached into my throat and pulled the words right from me. “I’m only trying to accept this curse because that’s all I can really do. But I never know if I’m going to wake up again, I never know what I will run into or if I will be capable of defending myself when the need arises. It’s so bloody terrifying,” I cried as tears welled up in my eyes.
“It’s simply life, Lily. We all face those fears at some point, the best we can do is, in learning from our mistakes; prevent certain negative events from repeating, does that make sense?”
“Not really, sir. But sometimes I think its okay not to understand everything. When you know too much life gets really complicated,” I replied.
“Very true, dear. Now, would you like to discuss the ‘what’ part of your vision?” he suggested.
“The ‘what’ part, sir?” I repeated with a cocked eyebrow.
“Yes, Lily, you see I have not figured out the ‘how’ and ‘why’ yet but between Severus and myself, the ‘what’ has been discovered,” he explained.
“And?” I prompted.
“We were all wrong to believe you to be a Seer, Lily. You are much, much more than that. You possess a curse, shall we say, so rare that hardly any information about it exists. Severus has in his possession a very ancient tome and I believe there is information in this book that will help your recent…adventures make more sense to you,” he continued, eagerly.
“Well is this book needed for you to tell me what the talent is?” I asked, my nerves causing my hands to suddenly twitch.
“Of course not, Miss Potter,” he answered.
“Well please tell me, sir. I can’t stand waiting any longer!” I half-shouted.
“Lily, you are a Transcender,” he replied, clasping his hands together on his lap.
The previously ‘sleeping’ portraits all suddenly snapped their heads up and began staring at me shamelessly. I glared at the lot of them before facing Dumbledore again.
“I have no idea what that means,” I admitted through clenched teeth. I was becoming increasingly agitated and I couldn’t really explain why. Perhaps it was the hundreds of portraits staring at me and mumbling to each other.
“It means you can move from the land of the living to beyond the veil,” a voice drawled behind me.
“Beyond the veil, eh? Perhaps I’d be a bit more reactive if I knew what the bloody hell that meant,” I snapped at the approaching form of Snape.
“Oh you know, Miss Potter, I saw it in your mind. You knew the second after she told you her name, didn’t you?” Snape asked.
I turned away, my cheeks growing hot with anger. I knew all right and I wanted nothing to do with any of that nonsense.
“Transcending is extremely rare, Lily and it is even rarer to happen in a bloodline that hasn’t produced any Seers previously,” Dumbledore explained.
“Well great. I guess this means the ‘chatting with dead people’ thing wasn’t a one time incident then?”
“No and you should be aware that not everyone you encounter is an ally,” Snape informed me.
“Big surprise…what would this curse be without a few drawbacks?” I asked.
“Now sit back, my dear because Severus and I have a bit more to tell you,” Dumbledore revealed.
At that moment, Mum came in with tea and conjured a chair of her own. Severus waited until Mum was settled before opening a large, dusty book and piercing me with a look that simply said, ‘shut up and listen’. I slumped back in my chair and moaned. Why does everything have to be so complicated for me?
To Find the Truth by hopelesslyhopeful
Chapter Notes: Sorry it took so long, my first submission of this chapter was rejected so everyone cross their fingers that this one makes it through.
Lily finds her talent causes more complications and her life could quite possibly change forever.
Enjoy DH everyone!