The Marauders 2.0

Comfort and Nightmares

Aquarius had never eaten so much. She knew her limits, and usually managed to keep within them to avoid a stomachache. However, this was an exception. There were so many types of food, and Ari was left regretting her choice to try them all.

When they had finished their meal, a red-headed prefect came by. He looked very similar to Ron. It was no wonder, as he introduced himself as Percy Weasley, meaning they were most likely brothers. He then called together all the first years, ordering them to follow him. He led the first year Gryffindors up the stairs, through a tapestry, and up some more stairs (Neville fell through a false step, and it took Ari, Caelus and Hermione working together to get him out) before arriving at their destination.

There was a picture of a woman wearing pink on the wall in front of them. Some of the kids, namely the Muggleborns, were shocked when it began to move, the woman leaning forwards and beginning to speak. "Ah, hello Percy, these are the new first years? Balderdash, that's the password right now. It changes every so often." The portrait swung forwards, knocking an unsuspecting first year boy in the back of the head, ("Ow! Bloody portrait." He said, rubbing his head and glaring at the offending picture) and revealing the Gryffindor common room.

The common room was cozy and comfortable, decorated in shades of red and gold, with hues ranging from burgundy to scarlet, bright yellow to nearly bronze. There were three couches and a few chairs arranged around the fireplace on the left, which held roaring orange flames, bathing the room in light and warmth. There were also several beanbags and large pillows arranged around the edges of the room, which curved to fit the tower. There were five high, stained-glass windows, all arranged on the right side of the room. Right ahead were two staircases, the only difference between them being one had a plaque saying GIRLS and the other a plaque saying BOYS.

"Alright, alright," Percy announced, "go up the staircases. Just find the door with your year on it, and head in there. You must be in the tower by 9 o'clock every night unless given specific exceptions. Other than that, you can stay up as late as you want." Several of the kids around Aquarius seemed enthusiastic about this.

Soon, many of the kids had trickled up the stairs, leaving only Caelus and Aquarius behind.
"Well, go on up then!" said Caelus. "Why don't you go first? I want to sit here and read for a while anyways." Ari answered, pulling out a book and sitting down in one of the plush red armchairs around the fire. Caelus seemed to hesitate, and then slowly walked to the wall between the two staircases, as if deciding which to take.
"What's wrong?" Asked Aquarius, her eyes on Caelus. "I umm. I don't know if it would let me go up to the boys' dormitories." He said, avoiding eye contact.

"Why wouldn't it let you up?" Ari's brow furrowed, confused at his words. "Well, umm. Do you support the LGBTQ+ community?" This seemed a random question to Ari, and she didn't see what it had to do with the dormitories. She still answered, though.

"Yes, of course. My best friend back home is gay, so it would be weird if I didn't. Why do you ask?"

Caelus seemed to relax at that. "Umm, well, I'm transgender. I umm. I was born as a girl. But I wanted to be a boy, so my dad helped me figure out the right spells, and like I'm a boy now, but I don't know if the dormitories will let me up."

"It should be fine, Caelus. If it's not, we still have 15 minutes till nine, so I'll march down to McGonagall's office and get her to fix it." Aquarius said, a determined look on her face. "Go on then, give it a go!"

"Ok! Ok."

Caelus stepped forwards and put a foot on the staircase. He kept walking, and soon disappeared. "I'd say it worked, wouldn't you?"

"You did it Caelus! Now go to bed, you're distracting me form this perfectly fascinating book."

She heard Caelus laugh, and smiled, before turning back to her book. It really was fascinating. She read for a solid hour, before going up to bed. Her trunk had been placed at the foot of her bed, and she rummaged through it, trying to find a pair of pajamas. She chose her favorite light blue ones and put them on quietly. While she regretted not meeting her roommates, she figured it could wait until morning.

She crawled under the covers, feeling the warmth envelop her. It was very cozy and felt safe, and she soon drifted off.

-
The dreams were never detailed. All she remembered afterwards was a fleeting feeling of warmth, suddenly cut short. A man's voice, rising in urgency, though she couldn't make out the words. A woman crying. A cry of pain and a flash of red light, then warmth again. Then the dreams morphed from whatever her subconscious was trying to tell her to normal dreams about whatever she had learned that day, about flying, normal things. Sometimes, she didn't get to dream normal dreams, and the scene would play over and over again until morning. She didn't know what it meant, what it was from, whether it was a memory or something else.
-
Tonight was no different. She woke up suddenly, and reminded herself that she was safe from... whatever that was. She got up and walked to the window, opening it and letting the cool night air calm her down. A quick time-telling charm told her it was 1:47 on the morning of September 2nd. She stood there for a while, gazing up at the stars, spread like dewdrops on the spiderweb of sky. How long, she didn't know. She walked back to bed, and this time fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

Little did she know that on the opposite side of the tower, an eleven-year-old boy named after the sky woke up from his own night terrors, walked to his own window, looked up into the night, and cursed the moon for his own nightmares before retreating to the comfort of his own bed.