A Dream Come True

She opened her eyes slowly, hoping it was just a dream. But then she shut her eyes again. It was not a dream. She was on the same wooden bed, with the same white hangings around it that were slightly open so she was able to see the rest of the room.

The walls were made of stone. The four-legged mahogany table next to the bed had a steel jug filled with water and a glass set atop it.

She opened her eyes again and got out of the bed. Her bare feet touched the cold stone floor. She walked to the balcony of the tower where she was imprisoned. She had been a prisoner for so many years, she had lost count.

She looked outside the window and could see the lake below. Crystal clear, rippling. She wished she could jump right in it and swim across to the other side.

Surrounding the lake was green grass, though some of it was turning yellowish brown because of the weather. The place didn’t have any trees, but even still, it was beautiful.

It was so quiet, calm and peaceful. The tranquil environment made it easy for her to relax. She shut her eyes, trying to get rid of her worries.

The quiet was interrupted by the twittering of birds. She opened her eyes again and looked at the sky. A flock of birds were flying, chirping as they flew. This wasn’t noise, though, not to her. It was like beautiful music to her ears.

It was then she noticed the sky darken. The cloud cover blocked the sun’s rays from reaching the ground. And then, it started raining.

Reaching her hand out of the open window, she felt a drop of rain on it, and then watched the rest fall, making a sound that felt soothing to the ear. She saw them fall on the lake, making more ripples than ever.

Suddenly, she heard something else. It seemed like the sound of hooves. She looked everywhere until she finally saw something in the horizon. After a few moments, she could just make out what it was: a man on a white horse.

Her heart filled with joy as she thought it might be a prince who had come to rescue her. But he would have to pass the tests first, she thought, a grim expression settling on her face. Willing herself not to get depressed from the failures of previous attempts, she prayed that the prince would succeed.

Several princes had come before him in hopes that they would free her - the princess locked in the tower. Free her from the curse by passing the tests and opening the door of the room where she was held prisoner. Then they could take her away and marry her. She knew the reason why they came to save her. They wanted the fame of being brave enough to free her, and, hopefully more than that, they wanted to marry the most beautiful princess in the kingdom.

She sighed; she didn’t know how she had gotten into all this. All she knew was that she was tired of living alone in the dark, damp tower. Tired of being cooped up in one place. She wanted to go out - to be able to swim in the lake below, to be able to run across the ground. She wanted to spread her wings and soar high in the sky like the birds. She wanted to be able to do everything she wished to. She wanted to be free!

She knew it was no use wishing for something, that she had to move one. So she went inside and sat down on the bed, her head bowed. She prayed with all her might that this prince would succeed in his mission to save her.

An hour passed and still the prince hadn’t come. Another hour passed, and she started losing hope. Why would he come when the others hadn’t? Taking a deep breath, in and out, she finally settled on deciding to continue to wait and pray. She would pray for him as well as herself. Heaven knew how much they needed it.

Half an hour later, she realised that she hadn’t had anything to eat since the previous night. Her stomach rumbled, but she didn’t feel like eating anything. Instead, she turned towards the table and poured some water out of the jug and into the glass. She brought the glass to her lips, and started drinking the water, but it didn’t seem to want to go down. Her throat hurt. She drank the water sip by sip, wishing that the prince would be able to save her.

Unable to drink the water anymore, she placed the now half-filled glass on the table and put her hand on her forehead. It was then that she heard a jangle of keys, so she sat up straight, looking at the door apprehensively. And then it struck her--it was the prince!

She waited impatiently for him to unlock the door. The fifteen seconds seemed like fifteen hours, but then, he finally opened the door. He came inside and walked towards her. He was wearing armour. The visor of the helmet covered his face, and she reached to push it back.

“Evans, wake up!”

Lily opened her eyes and glared at the boy now directly above her.

“Potter!” she snarled. “Why the hell did you wake me up?”

“Trust me; I didn’t want to. In fact, I had been wondering whether I should wake you up so you could sleep in your comfortable four-poster, or let you sleep, undisturbed, in this uncomfortable chair. That was until Madam Pince came right now and told me to wake you up as the library will be closing in three minutes.”

Lily didn’t answer; she was too upset to shout. She just walked out of the library, fuming. She was so angry she didn’t realise she had forgotten her bag behind.

*****

Lily entered her dormitory and got into her bed after pulling the hangings open. She didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone. She had been having that dream since she was a kid; the dream had grown up with her. She had wanted to find out who would be the prince to rescue her, and today, when she was about to find out, Potter had woken her up!

She cursed him, and then tried to go back to sleep, but it was in vain - she was still very angry with Potter. It was his fault she wasn’t aware of who her Prince was.

It wasn’t until four in the morning that she finally dropped to sleep.

He shook his head, held her hand, and together they walked out of the tower. They didn’t speak, nor did they look at each other as they descended down the stairs.

She stopped when she stepped out of the castle. It had stopped raining. The man came in front of her, and she saw his eyes--hazel eyes. She brought her hand to move his visor up, thinking he would refuse again, but he didn’t.

He was handsome--very handsome. His hazel eyes were warm, and she felt herself drowning in them. His raven coloured hair stuck up, and even when she tried to flatten it, it wouldn’t stay put. He smiled, showing his right dimple, and she smiled back.

They had heard of love at first sight, and now they were experiencing it themselves.

They looked into each other’s eyes. She no longer cared about the inviting lake, about the birds that were still twittering. She looked into his hazel eyes, and they were all she could see. Not the sun that was now peeping from behind the clouds, nor the rainbows on the lake. She only looked at him, and he looked at her. It seemed as if everything had become still.

Then, he suddenly cupped her face in his hands and brought it closer so he could kiss her. She closed her eyes, ready and for the kiss she’d been anticipating for so long.

“Lily! Get up! We’re already late!” a female voice broke the surface of her dream as its owner shook her awake.

Lily got up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Then she remembered the dream. So it was true. Her heart had been saying it since sixth year. Since when she had gotten to know Potter, but had resisted the feeling because she wanted to find out through the dream. This meant it had to be true.

She got up from the bed and left the dormitory, not listening to Emily’s cries of being late for breakfast.

She walked down the stairs, and looked around the room. Yes, there he was, leaving with his friends.

“Potter, wait!” Lily shouted.

James turned around to see Lily in her nightclothes and with dishevelled hair, but to him, she still looked beautiful. He brought his other hand forward, offering up the satchel that she had left behind.

“Here, Evans, your bag. I didn’t steal it, I swear! I’m sorry. You left it in the library, and I--” he said hurriedly before she would hex him, but Lily cut him off by pressing her lips to his.

James was surprised, yet delighted. He didn’t know why Lily was doing what he had wanted to do with her for ages. He didn’t know why she was doing it. All he knew was that he was glad she was finally kissing him. He didn’t care that the other Gryffindors were watching them. All he knew was that he had done something that had made Lily realise they were made for each other. That Lily was in his arms, kissing him. And he loved her.

“Lily, what…” Emily started as she came out of the dormitory, dressed, but she stopped as she saw her best friend kissing the person she claimed to hate most. She was so shocked that she dropped her bag on the floor.

“What brought that on?” Sirius asked as the two finally moved apart.

Remus sighed exasperatedly, and then turned to James and Lily, smiling. “I knew it would happen some day,” he said.

Peter congratulated the two, and then said, worriedly, “We’re going to be late for breakfast if we don’t leave now.”

Emily came up to them, turned to Lily and said, “Okay, Lily. I’ll just tell anyone who asks that you’re… um… ill. I’ll save you some breakfast.” She smiled and left.

Sirius turned to Lily. “Ill? She looks more like love sick.” He grinned, looked her up and down, and then said, “Wait a minute. You just woke up right now? Did you even brush your teeth before kissing James?”

Remus sighed whilst James and Lily laughed. “C’mon, Sirius. Let’s leave now,” Remus said before turning to James and continuing, “I’m guessing you won’t be coming for breakfast either.”

James nodded his head, grinning.

“Ah… then if someone asks, I’ll tell them that you hurt yourself.” That said, the Marauders, sans James, left.

“Right, so where were we?” James asked, grinning.

Lily started kissing him in reply, forgetting that the younger Gryffindors were still there and quite possibly thinking of following in their Head Boy and Girl’s footsteps.