Chapter Four

Marie sipped her tea and looked around Dumbledore’s office. It was huge, with rows and rows of books, all crammed in together on shelves that lined the entire space. Various knick knacks stood on spindly tables and what appeared to be a train set ran on tracks far above their heads, letting out a mournful toot every now and again.

The room was comfortable and cosy despite its immensity. Jason had wandered over and was checking out the vast library.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, causing both Marie and Jason to look at him. Jason put down the book of Spells, third grade that he’d been flicking through and made his way back to the vacant chair next to Marie opposite Dumbledore’s vast oak desk. A red and gold plumed bird trilled happily to itself on a perch a few feet away and apart from the total surrealism the room had a homely feel about it. Jason settled down in his chair and turned his attention to the elderly man.

“Now Miss Morgan, Mr Isaacs, you are probably wondering why you have been brought here.” he began.

Marie just looked at him with a look in incredulity on her face. She raised an eyebrow.

“You think?” she muttered, which earned her a look from Jason.

“Sorry,” she said, “please continue.”

“Thank you, “ Dumbledore said, “ Now what I am about to tell you may sound fantastic but please believe me, it is all true. As you may have gathered Hogwarts is a real place. I am a wizard and magic is real. The books as written by Ms Rowling, who is a witch, are, for all intents and purposes, real too. Obviously she had some poetic licence with the stories and added parts whilst removing others, but most of it did happen. Voldemort was destroyed by Harry Potter. The light overcame the dark, not without much cost, but in the end good prevailed. Of course it happened a few years prior to her writing them but that’s neither here nor there. As it happens we’ve enjoyed quite a few years of peace since then but something has happened and that’s where you come into it,” he looked straight at Marie, who looked back at him unsure, “Now the names of you parents, correct me if I’m wrong but I believe you knew them as Linda and Luke Morgan.”

Marie nodded, totally confused as to where he was going with this.

“Would it surprise you if I told you that they weren’t their real names at all, and that they were actually called Belinda Morgana and Lucas Hyperion Malfoy and you were called Mariana Malfoy.”

Marie had gone pale at this and her lips were compressed into a thin pale line.

“No, you’re wrong, my mum and dad were Luke and Linda Morgan, mum was Scottish, dad was French by birth, they owned a newsagents and were killed in a car crash when I was two.” Marie stated vehemently, visibly shaking.

Jason was shocked at the news and reached over to hold Marie’s hand, to comfort her.

“I’m sorry my dear but what I’ve told you is the truth. You are a witch and come from a powerful branch of the Malfoy family. You are distantly related to Lucius Malfoy, which is the reason for us bringing you here.”

Marie shook off Jason’s hand and stood up, stumbling, so desperate was her need to just get away that she caused the chair to fall over with a crash as she sped from Dumbledore’s office.

Jason shot the older man a dirty look as he took off after her. He found her a little way down a corridor, tears falling down her cheeks, totally oblivious to the students milling around them on their way to class.

Jason reached out for her and she collapsed into his embrace, sobbing. Trying hard to remember the right direction he led the distraught woman to the rooms they had been allocated the previous night.

Pleased that he’d remembered the way Jason led Marie into the large circular room and over to a sofa that sat adjacent to a roaring fire. She was obviously still in shock and was shivering with cold. The rooms they had been given were meant to be for the current head boy and girl but as neither had wanted to leave their respective houses as both had just started new romances within their houses the rooms had been free.

Marie shivered and stared unseeing into the fire. It was just too much for her to take. The whole Hogwarts and magic was real had been bad enough but to find that her parents were some how involved and by default so was she was just too much for her over taxed mind to cope with, and not only that but to find out that she was distantly related to Lucius Malfoy. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was surprised to find rational thought as by rights she should be pretty much catatonic by now. The rational part of her told her calmly that having a nervous breakdown wasn’t really going to help her out of this and besides it would be interesting in a way to find out exactly why she had been brought here. It was with this last link of logicality that her mind pushed the whole mess to one side and allowed her rational mind to come forward.

Marie turned to look at Jason who was sitting next to her on the comfy sofa and sighed. Jason chuckled mirthlessly and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

“Come here you.” he muttered as she collapsed against him, her white blond curls sticking up at crazy angles from her head.

Her hair had been the first thing he’d remembered about her. She’d been bent over her sewing machine, intent on finishing his costume for The Chamber of Secrets with a couple of knitting needles stuck into the rather messy top knot she’d created. As it was most of the ends of her hair had come loose and were sticking out from the knot. She’d looked up impatiently at him and then given him the brightest smile he’d ever had from another person before. He’d been so taken aback that he’d made some inane comment about the poodle trying to escape from her head and she’d laughed at his blushes. A firm friendship had arisen from that moment on.

Marie snuggled as far as she could into Jason, not noticing him sliding further and further back long the sofa until she was lying in his arms. He wrapped both arms around her, making her feel safe and secure for the first time since this craziness had started. The fire was both warming and comforting and she began to feel drowsy.

Jason noticed her movements growing still and her breathing evening out and knew she’d fallen asleep. He’d watched her for long enough down in the Infirmary to know when she was sleeping. He laughed quietly to himself at the absurdity of the situation. He was stuck in a place that up until a day or so ago he’d knew to be imaginary, with a woman who up until a day or so ago had professed undying lust for a character he had brought to life. He smirked to himself thinking of Marie’s words to him back when she’d thought she’d completely lost it about how much she fancied him. His cock twitched slightly as Marie grumbled in her sleep, pressing her breasts firmly against his chest. No, that would only complicate things he told himself firmly as he felt his cock began to spring to life as his mind took over and he thought of all the things he wanted to do to the woman so firmly ensconced in his arms. Ever since his break up he’d been without female company and he missed it dreadfully. Not just the sex though that was a large part of it, no, he missed the little things like waking up next to another, having someone to talk and laugh with and just having companionship in general. He missed his kids something rotten and with that thought in mind drifted off into a troubled sleep.

Marie woke to find her face pressed against Jason’s chest. The fire had burned down to mere embers and the room was darkened and quite chilly. She shivered in the cold air and tried to burrow closer and closer to Jason. Unfortunately her ministrations caused him to wake and turn over so he was facing her.

“Hi.” he whispered. Her face was shadowed in the darkened room with only a faint glow from the fireplace behind her. Her hair haloed around her head, lit with brilliant ambers and orange-reds from the dying fire. Without thinking he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her, tenderly at first then passionately when it became clear she wasn’t going to protest. His cock roared to life and pressed uncomfortably against his tight jeans. Marie moaned deep in her throat as his tongue demanded entry to her mouth. Wrapping her arms around his neck she allowed him entry, her heart rate speeding up as she felt his hand cupping a breast, rubbing the nipple through her soft cotton tee shirt causing the small nub to rise, painfully erect.

Jason swept his tongue into her mouth, desperate to taste her, licking and nipping at her mouth as he did so. Marie buried her hands in his hair and ran her fingernails along his scalp, eliciting a groan from deep in his throat. She lifted her topmost leg and wrapped it around his hip, bringing his iron hard cock in close contact with her core. She began to undulate her hips trying to rotate enough to cause friction.

Jason was getting frustrated by their clothing and pulling himself out of Marie’s grasp, he grabbed the hem of her tee shirt and pulled it over her head in one swift motion, leaving her exposed before him in her bra. He made short work of removing that and soon feasted his eyes on her sumptuous breasts. Groaning he lowered his head to one and sucked greedily on the nipple.

Marie gasped, throwing her head back as fire swept through her entire being, causing her toes and fingers to tingle. Her breath came in short gasps as he gently pulled on the sensitive nub, worrying it between his teeth. She could feel the familiar tension building in her abdomen and spreading out leaving her aching to be filled and touched. Feverishly she wrapped her arms around his back, desperately trying to pull his tee shirt off him.

Jason chuckled softly as he swiftly manoeuvred Marie onto her back and sat up, his knees on either side of her belly. Her breasts heaved in the cool night air, the nipples erect and begging for attention from him.

Slowly, torturously he grasped his teeshirt hem and began a long slow process of removing it.

Marie huffed air through her nose, apparently unable to speak at the present time. Her eyes were wide, the pupils constricted so much they were almost black, with a little sliver of silver grey iris showing round the edges. She bit her bottom lip in anticipation of what was to come. Finally Jason removed the tee shirt and sat, bare chested atop her.

Firelight gleamed in his eyes as he bent his head to once again suckle and bite her tender, sensitive breasts. Marie groaned with sheer delight and ran her hands across his back. She could feel his cock digging into her belly and wanted to feel him in her hands. She brought her hands round to the front of him and began to undo the button. Jason caught her hands and pushed them away.

“I think not.” he murmured as he began to do to her jeans what she had tried to do to his. Unsurprisingly he was more successful and soon, with a little manoeuvring on his part, had managed to pull them down her legs leaving her clad only in her panties. Keeping eye contact with her, he slowly trailed his fingertips down her belly until he reached the elastic of her panties. He smiled, licking his lips before delving under the elastic and down into her folds.

Marie arched her back as a jolt of pure electricity shot through her as his finger brushed her clit. She let out a low hiss of pleasure as she felt him circling her entrance before pushing a digit inside her. Instinctively she tried to draw her legs up further but his lower body was still partly over her, trapping her. Her stomach muscles rippled as another finger joined the first inside her. He began to explore her slowly, before pumping his fingers in and out in a lazy way, causing all the breath in her body to leave her.

Her clit ached for him. She could feel the tension in her abdomen getting so tight it was almost painful. It was all she could do to breathe as his long slender fingers explored her innermost depths. Her head thrashed back and forth as feelings began to form deep within her. She moaned aloud.

“Please….” she muttered, her eyes screwed tight against the onslaught.

“Please what?” he asked, smiling.

“Please…Jason…touch me…for gods sake just touch me…gonna die.” she breathed out before her world exploded as Jason did as he asked and lazily swiped his finger over the sensitive nerve endings. She opened her mouth in a silent scream as he inner walls convulsed and bright heat spiralled out all the way to her toes. Her entire body shook as her orgasm overtook her.

Marie opened her eyes and just stared at the man who had just given her the most intense orgasm of her life. She could still feel her inner walls fluttering with aftershocks and knew she had to have him inside her right there and then.

She brought her legs out from under him and effectively wrapped them around his back bringing his cock closer to her.

Her eyes wide, she looked straight at him.

“Jason, fuck me now!” it was more a breath than a command but Jason needed no commanding as he pushed his aching iron hard cock into her, hissing as he was enveloped by her tight white-hot flesh.

“Oh god…not going to last.” he hissed as he began to move in and out of her, getting faster and harder.

“Harder, faster” she whispered, until she could feel the tip of him hitting the top of her cervix and the sound of his sac slapping against her inner thighs.

“Unnnngh” was all he could manage as he felt her walls grip him and he exploded deep within her.

Sweat dripped from him as he collapsed onto her, still joined to her.
Marie smiled and kissed the top of his head as he lay breathing hard, his head resting on her breast. She could feel him softening inside her and felt him slide out a few moments later.

With a Herculean effort he sat up and perched on the edge of the sofa, his body illuminated by the soft glowing embers. Marie lay back on the sofa drinking him in. She reached up to cup his face and was surprised when he moved out of reach.

“Jason?” she queried as he turned to face her, a troubled look on his handsome features.

“What’s wrong?” she asked in the silence.

“I’m sorry Marie, we shouldn’t have done that… I’m sorry.” he said, getting up and walking away from the sofa to one of the bedrooms.

Marie felt as if she’d been slapped. Not knowing what to think she got up and made her way to the remaining bedroom. It was much later as she lay, curled up in the covers that the tears came.

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.

Chapter Two

Marie opened her eyes. She was still clasped in Jason’s embrace. She knew that much as she was all too aware of his chest heaving and his rapid heart beat. He had his head snuggled into her shoulder and was holding her so tightly she felt as if she couldn’t breathe. She could smell freshly laundered cotton and Lynx shower gel. Hang on, where was the smell of burning? She cautiously flexed her arms that were wrapped around him. No, no pain. Although she felt she could quite happily stay forever wrapped up in Jason’s wonderfully safe embrace she knew they had to find out what exactly had happened and if anyone else had been hurt. She’d heard of lightening hitting buildings before but it was usually earthed into the building itself and never had she heard of green lightening. Cautiously she pulled away from Jason causing him to open his eyes and move his head up a little to look at her.

“What the fuck just happened?” he growled into her bushy blond hair.

“I haven’t the foggiest idea.” Marie replied as he let her go, rubbing the skin on his arms, a puzzled look on his face as to why they weren’t all black and blistered.

The room was illuminated by a full moon outside allowing them to see each other and to make out shapes and objects.

“Hang on, let me see if my sewing machine light will work.” Marie muttered moving over to where her sewing desk was.

She swore as she bumped into something that shouldn’t be there.
She felt around the edges and discovered what felt like a school desk. The moon decided it was a perfect time to go and hide behind a cloud, plunging them back into darkness.

“Fuck!” Jason swore as he stubbed his toe on some immovable heavy object.

Marie could feel a slight panic building and forced herself to calm down. Ever since she was little she’d hated the dark and now was no exception. She could hear Jason hopping around trying to shake away the pain in his toe. She took a deep breath and made for where she knew the light switch was. Fortune was on her side as she didn’t bump into anything and the moon came out from behind it’s cloak of cloud, illuminating the very wall she was heading for. She stopped dead and stared in shock. There was no light switch. Her eyes had grown accustomed to the moonlight and she looked around the room in dread. All her costumes were gone, the desks she’d had brought in were also gone and in their place were rows of school desks; old fashioned school desks with inkwells.

She turned to look at Jason who was staring at a painting on the wall with a fascinated horror on his face.

“What?” she asked, trying desperately to keep the tremble out of her voice.

“That…that…that…that painting just moved! Tell me you saw it move! Oh god I think I’m going mad.” he clutched his head, reeling backwards until he rested against a desk.

A vague and indefinable pit of dread opened in Marie’s stomach as she peered in the gloom at the painting. It seemed to be of a man asleep in a chair. Nervously, feeling very much like a character in a horror movie, she moved closer to it, focused intently on the man in the chair.

“Stop staring! Don’t you know it’s rude to stare.” the man said, irritated.

Marie’s nerve broke and screaming she wrenched open the heavy door, letting in light from the corridor outside, only to stop dead in her tracks. Jason, already unnerved by the room had followed her at breakneck speed only to crash into the back of her.

Wordlessly she turned to look at him a look of complete and utter bewilderment across her face. Jason looked from her to what lay in the corridor. A man stood before them, dressed in robes of dazzling jewel like colours. He wore a long pointed hat and half moon glasses, over with he peered at them with dazzlingly blue eyes. He tugged habitually on his beard as he looked at them.

“Good evening my name is Albus Dumbledore. Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

Marie gave a little moan and fainted dead away , causing Jason to stumble catching her.

Chapter One

Marie looked out of the large, ornate, diamond paned window and frowned at the sky. Large, black-grey clouds had formed overhead, reducing the natural light that had flooded into her work area earlier that day. Although the area was brightly lit she always felt that her costumes came together better when she could view them in natural daylight. Sighing heavily she turned her attention back to the torn cloak she had spread out on the large table before her and, not for the first time, thought about what she would do to Daniel Radcliffe if he didn’t stop tearing holes in his costumes. For someone who was the star of the show he was so clumsy. She’d already had to repair most of his costumes and quite a few of Rupert Grint’s as Daniel didn’t seem to stop at ruining just his own clothes.

Lovingly she ran a hand over the sumptuous material as a flash of blond hair caught her eye. Looking up towards the doorway she caught a glimpse of Jason Isaacs stalking past, dressed in Lucius Malfoy’s finest. Marie smiled. She liked Jason and loved Lucius. She always marvelled at how he could be two completely different people just depending on what he wore. When he was himself he was quiet, funny, flirty but reserved and kind. When he wore Lucius’ clothes he became arrogant, sensual, commanding and domineering. Jason had joked once that most women seemed to prefer Lucius to him and privately Marie agreed with him. Lucius was the kind of person who would just flip you over and start again.

Marie shook her head and started to pin the almost ruined cloak together again. She was a seamstress by trade and had managed, through a couple of contacts, to land the position of head seamstress on the Harry Potter films. This would be the fifth film she had worked on and although she spent most of her day working and had done since the very beginning, she still loved her job.

She looked around the room she had been given and smiled. The production company, Warner Bros. had been granted access to and use of a castle, that was similar in size and build to the computer generated Hogwarts after the sets at Leavesden had been burnt to the ground It was situated in the Highlands of Scotland, not far from Loch Ness. As the cost of relocating was infinitely less than the cost of rebuilding, plus it meant that shooting would be on schedule, the whole team had been moved, lock stock and barrel to the wilderness of Scotland. She’ remembered thinking at the time that it was strange that no-one had even heard of the castle before they’d needed it but had reasoned that it wasn’t really her place to ask such questions.

She leant over the sewing machine and switched the little lamp on as the skies seemed to have grown even darker. She glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that it was only 5pm. She shivered as a blast of cool air wafted across her, making her wish she’d put something more substantial on that the thin tank top and jeans she as wearing.

“Hey Marie.”

She looked up to see Jason Isaacs lounging in the doorway sans Lucius’ wig and clothes. He was wearing his own jeans and a short sleeved black teeshirt that showed off his well built physique. He had reminded her that he’d built himself up for a previous role and not to get to excited about the thought of his body in Lucius’ clothing. Marie had laughed whilst inwardly groaning at the mental image he’d given her.

She smiled, pushing her curly white blonde hair out of her face.

“Hi Jason. Filming finished for the day?” she asked, as he walked over to her.

“Yeah, well my part anyway. You know I begged JK to write more about Lucius in the books but you know her, it’s all about Harry bloody Potter.” he joked.

“You’re just jealous cause you’re on the losing side. Though I don’t think Lucius would be half as sexy as he is if he was on the side of good. It’s the darkness in him that makes him so damn sexy.”

Jason raised an eyebrow, a wry smile on his face. Ever since he’d first met Marie and they had clicked as friends he’d known of her penchant for Lucius and found it funny and slightly charming that she constantly referred to him as if he were a real live person and not just a character in a book.

“Honestly Marie, if you ever met Lucius you’d probably shit yourself that he was going to kill you.”

“As long as he did me first, I probably wouldn’t care.” she retorted, pinning the torn sides of the cloak together.

“Marie Morgan! I’m shocked to hear such words come out of that beautiful mouth of yours.” he said, smiling as he’d heard it all before.

“Come off it Jason, if I didn’t say such things about the love of my life Lucius “please shag me” Malfoy, you’d think I was ill or something.”

“Yeah probably…what the hell?” he frowned as he looked out of the large window.

Marie turned to look at what was making Jason frown and gasped. The skies overhead had turned a greenish black and what could only be described as tendrils of green light were snaking out of the clouds and moving along the moors outside of the castle grounds as if searching for something. Marie dropped the cloak back onto the table and stood in front of the window unable to believe what she was seeing. Jason came up and stood by her side, dwarfing the petite woman. Silently they stood watching the bizarre lightshow.

“I have a very bad feeling about this, Obi Wan” Marie whispered to Jason who just smiled wryly, not taking his eyes from the interplay of green lightning outside.

They stood side by side, just touching as the light seemed to stop for a moment then gathered force and rushed towards the room they were in, like snakes slithering over the moors and heather before it hit the stones of the castle.

It happened so fast that neither were fully prepared for the blast of blinding light that penetrated the gloom of the small room as the green light came rolling in with a roar so loud that neither could hear anything else above it. Instinctively Jason grabbed Marie to him and turned his back to the light, shielding her from the penetrating glare.

Marie wrapped her arms around Jason and buried her head against his chest, hearing his heart beating rapidly. All too soon she became aware of an awful burning smell then the pain hit her as she realised that her exposed skin was blistering in the light. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound emerged. Risking a glance at Jason she was horrified to realise that the same was happening to him and she watched, terrified as the blisters on their arms began to weep, their fluids combining. Just as she felt she would pass out from the pain and the horrendous noise, there was silence and total darkness