Fractured paths

Spreading the message

At Hogwarts, in the Gryffindor girls' dorm, Lily tossed and turned in bed. Sweat soaked the sheets and blanket, and her heart hammered in the silence.

Vivid dreams pulled her in.

An invisibility cloak hid Lily, and horror filled her as Dumbledore lay on the ground, his piercing blue eyes filled with sorrow.

"This won't bring you peace or happiness, Tom—only suffering," said the Headmaster.

Voldemort snorted and raised his wand. "You know nothing. Avada Kedavra!"

A green bolt hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest; his eyes flew wide as he fell to the ground. Dead.

Lily sat up straight in bed and screamed.

"Lily!" Bertha—in the next bed over—jerked awake. "What's wrong?"

Lily gasped for breath. I'm back in my own bed—in the dorm. "It was so real..." she whispered. "But... it never happened like that before." She hauled in another unsteady breath.

"What?" said Maria from the bed across the room.

"Lily, dearest, you're white as a sheet," Emmeline added.

Great. I woke up everyone. "When I... dream his dreams... they're always about the past, not... It can't be. Can it? Why now?" She covered her mouth in dismay. "Oh, Merlin! It's a disaster!" She threw off the covers and ran for the door.

"What is?" Bertha said.

"Everything! Come on!" Lily rushed downstairs and through the common room, heedless that she'd left her dormmates behind as she thundered up the stairs to the boys' dorm. She threw open James' door and bellowed, "Wake up! Get UP!"

"Wha... What?" James rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"You have to get up!" Lily jerked the blanket off Sirius, who almost rolled off the bed in his efforts to keep her from stealing his covers.

Peter jumped six inches.

"Lily?" Remus muttered. "What's the matter?"

James fumbled for his glasses and got them on.

"Dumbledore!" Lily said.

"What about him?" James crooked an eyebrow.

"He's dead!"

"What?" All four boys looked at Lily as if she'd gone mad.

James shook his head. "Why would you say that?"

"I saw it!" Lily said. "In my sleep! Voldemort killed him—sometime earlier today, I think!"

James frowned hard. "You're under a lot of stress. It was just a nightmare."

"No, it wasn't! I know what it was! It was Sev! Ever since I dug too far into his memories, we've been linked. We share dreams, even if he doesn't realize it. He's sleeping now and dreamed about what happened today. Voldemort fought Dumbledore! Please! You have to believe me!"

"Wait..." Sirius said. "You share Snape's dreams? Can't you tell where he is from that? Why didn't you tell us? We could have used that!"

"Doesn't work like that. A dream is a dream, you know. I mostly just see images from his past, or abstract things blurred together from all sorts of stuff. Thankfully, it's not every night. Besides, I'm done running around looking for him. He'd hate me if I did that. But this was different—recent—just several hours ago!"