Wednesday 5 August 2009

Chapter Three

Marie breathed deeply and turned over in her bed. She’d had the weirdest dream ever. She’d dreamt she’d been somehow transported to the real Hogwarts and had met Albus Dumbledore. Jason had been with her also, which is how she knew it was a dream. She stretched out feeling the crisp cool cotton under her fingertips, she smacked her lips together as her eyes finally fluttered open.

“She’s awake thank god.”

Hang on, that sounded a little like Jason’s voice. She snapped her eyes open and stared up as Jason’s face came into view. A familiar looking man stood just behind him. She shut her eyes tight and rubbed them.

“Go away, this is just a dream.” she said, mantra like, over and over until she felt Jason’s hand on her arm.

“Marie, wake up, you’re not dreaming and we’re definitely not in Kansas anymore Toto.”

Dread took up residence in her stomach again as she opened her eyes and looked around her. She was in a long, stone walled oblong shaped room with a row of single beds against the two longest walls, effectively facing each other. Old fashioned screens had been placed around one of the beds a little way down from her. Daylight streamed in from the huge lead paned windows that surrounded the furthest end of the room.

“Good morning Miss Morgan, I trust you slept well? I’m sorry for the shock you must be experiencing but believe me it was the only way we could get you here.” The bearded man said.

“Here?” she asked in a small dread lined voice.

“To Hogwarts.”

“But Hogwarts is just a place in a book. It’s not real and you’re not real and oh god I’ve gone and done it haven’t I?”

“Done what Miss Morgan?”

“I knew I was working too hard and pushing myself to far and now I’ve gone and had a complete nervous breakdown. Jason warned me about working too hard and now I’ve conjured up Hogwarts and placed him in it.”

“Trust me Miss Morgan, you have not had a ‘nervous breakdown’ as you call it. Hogwarts is indeed real and you are indeed here. Mr Isaacs, I have to admit, was a complication I had not foreseen, but never mind, we’ll deal with that as and when we come to it.”

“Oh god, oh god, the men in white coats came to take me away.” she intoned in a sing song voice.

“Marie.” Jason said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Marie, look at me.”

Marie looked over at her friend and part time crush.

“I’ve even conjured you up. God my mind really has gone hasn’t it? To conjure up the only man I’ve ever seriously had a crush on. You must know I fancy you something rotten? Oh listen to me I’m admitting feelings to an image. How pathetic am I?”

“Listen to me Marie, you know in dreams you don’t feel heat or cold or pain?” Jason said

Marie nodded.

“Forgive me.” he whispered as he leant forward and pinched her arm really hard.

“Fuck! Jason that really hurt…” her mouth hung open, her eyes wide as his words truly penetrated, “Oh shit…” she trailed off, realising for the first time that this was real. She was here in Hogwarts, which meant magic must be real and if Dumbledore was here then surely all the other supposed characters from JK’s books must be real to, which meant…Lucius. Oh god Lucius Malfoy was real. She thought of Lucius Malfoy which in turn led her to think of Jason.

‘Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck’ she thought as her little speech to Jason about fancying him something rotten came flooding back. With a groan she covered her face and turned back into her pillow.

Jason grinned as he watched the exact moment her previous words had come back to her. Not that he blamed her for saying them, he probably would’ve thought he’d had a nervous breakdown if he hadn’t been witness to Professor Dumbledore levitating the unconscious body of his friend Marie along to the Infirmary where they’d been met by Madam Pomfrey who had fussed over Marie and had insisted she be given a sleeping draught to ensure the shock didn’t harm her system.

Jason, himself, had taken the whole thing quite calmly. He guessed the shock might hit him later but for now he was quite content to just sit back and go along for the ride to wherever it might take him.

After a few moments Marie poked her head out from under bedcovers and looked sheepishly at Jason who just grinned at her with a self satisfied smirk on his face.

“Are you quite well Miss Morgan?” Dumbledore spoke

Marie had quite forgotten about him in her complete embarrassment at having told of her feelings to Jason that she jumped a little at his voice.

“Oh Professor Dumbledore, forgive me I’m not usually so..” she spluttered at a loss for words.

“…much of a twat?” Jason finished her sentence for her, earning himself a look that if she could’ve killed him with, would’ve put him six feet under. He just sat back, chuckling, enjoying her discomfort. After all she was the reason he was here wasn’t she? In that case, a little bit of discomfort was only fitting for having taken him away from his life. His smile faltered a bit as he thought of the life he was leaving behind. His kids…and. Well best not go there right at this moment.

Albus smiled at the two people in front of him. Marie Morgan he knew all about but this Jason was a complete mystery to him, apart from his obvious similarity to a certain Minister of Magic he was a complete unknown and if there was nothing Albus liked better it was complete unknowns. He loved to get to the heart of them and find out just how best he could manipulate them into doing what was best for the Light. He could see the obvious regard each had for the other but wondered just how deep the regards went. It was something more for him to ponder and Albus loved to ponder. He wondered how he was going to broach the subject of why they, well Marie had been brought to Hogwarts.

“Why are we here?” Marie said, turning her grey eyed gaze to the man of the hour.

Albus opened his mouth to speak just as Madam Pomfrey bustled up to check on the patient.

“Ah perhaps now is not the time nor the place to speak of such matters. As soon as Madam Pomfrey had released you I suggest we adjourn to my office.”

Marie stared at him incredulously, surely no-one used such archaic language anymore, did they?

Madam Pomfrey waved what appeared to be a wooden stick over her, causing a blue light to eminate from the end.

Marie stared at it. A wand. She shook her head as the blackness of before threatened to encroach. She had to stay calm and quell the rising panic that threatened to overwhelm her if she was ever going to learn why they were at Hogwarts and more importantly how they were to get back home. She thought longingly of her small cottage that overlooked the banks of Loch Ness and sighed. She’d quite happily bought it when the production company had moved to Scotland and had made so much money from working on the films and with what she’d received from her Aunt’s legacy she’d planned to give up working after the last film and just settle down. Now it looked as if she’d never see her home again. Fuck it, why didn’t she just call herself Dorothy and wear a pair of red slippers.

Dumbledore chuckled to himself as he watched the myriad of emotions flit across the young woman’s face. He wondered exactly what she’d do when she found out the truth.

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