Forever and a Day ~ James Potter

The First Lesson, the Bad Dream and the New Acquaintance

Chapter Five

It was dark. The only light to be seen was a flickering candle burning to a stub in the kitchen at the end of the long, fuzzy corridor. There was chattering in the room next to her, and Wizarding Christmas music was blaring faintly...

Roisín took a shaky step forward, feeling lighter than air. The door seemed to creak open, but when she looked down, she saw her own hand opening it. She peered into the music room. Isn't that on a different floor to the kitchen? Her whole family was sitting there; her father was smiling happily, his parents sat together in front of the fire, her mother's mother sipping a glass of sherry as she helped Alexander open his new toy, and Charles was sneaking a shot of Firewhiskey from the bottle on the table at the back. Everything was finally peaceful, but why did her chest heave up and down, up and down?

Roisín's feet began to carry her towards the end of the unfamiliar corridor, shutting the door behind her as a tear fell down her face. Why was she sad again? She couldn't remember. But she wanted to stay there, stay safe with the rest of her family in their merriment. Safe from what?

Finally, she found herself standing in the narrow doorway of the kitchen; the radio was crackling as it played merry music lowly and there she was...

Her mother crying at the wooden table with that knife in her hand. The knife Roisín had seen in its cabinet hundreds of times before - the knife that had given her that ugly gash on her cheek. Her Grandfather had given it to her mother as a gift on her wedding day...

Amélie's head snapped upwards suddenly, her eyes wide and bloodshot. Her usually neatly placed hair was a dishevelled mess, falling madly around her sharp features. She lifted a long, bony finger and beckoned Roisín forward slowly, not blinking once...

Roisin stepped down onto the cold stone floor, her bare feet seizing up a little at the change in temperature. The entire room was freezing her to the core. The fireplace was blazing, but no heat was coming from it, just the feeling of pure anger.

Suddenly, Amélie was towering above her, screaming and crying and throwing any jinx she could think of while Roisín found herself curled up in the corner of the room, sobbing fat ugly tears also...

SLASH! The knife had curved across her face as fast as a flash of lightning, again flaying open that horrible scar. Roisín was screaming too now, but no one was coming to help her. She knew that. Her mother hexed her often enough for them not to notice, and the rest of the family believed that she had always had a flair for the dramatics...

Roisín was suddenly standing, trying desperately to run away, but her feet would not move. Her mother grabbed her by the hair and pulled her backwards into her clutches...

The knife sliced through her stomach like it was a piece of cake. Once, twice, three times...

Roisín had fallen again, her fingernails scratching at the floor as she tried to stand up, but no amount of effort she put in made her move. And suddenly the slicing, the screaming, the crying stopped...

Her Grandfather towered above her, holding the knife to his own daughter's throat as he roared with a rage she'd never even imagined on him before, "Go! Get out! Stop the bleeding!"

Roisín nodded shakily, scrambling to her feet. She was on the stairs now, running up each step as fast as she could. Running and running and running. Except the stairs never seemed to stop...

Smack.

Tuesday 2nd September 1975 ~ 08:12 ~ waning moon

"Is she dead?" A familiar voice sounded in the distance, muffled and fuzzy. However, as Rosie stirred and came around properly from her sleep, her ears stopped ringing, and the voices around her began to solidify.