Tartarus
A long, long time ago.

In the pits of Tartarus, four sisters, each with varying degrees of hideousness, sat by a window, which surveyed the realms and skies of Tartarus. Not that they cared. These sisters were preoccupied with their own business … and plans to cause each other grievous bodily harm.

The first sister, Tyche, who sat on the window ledge, wore nothing but the ebony skin she was born into, and the long shining black hair that hung to her knees. She was by far the prettiest … at least on the outside, because inside, she was just as rotten as her three sisters.

The second sister, Clotho, was the youngest. She was short and plump, with a sickly green coloured skin that bulged at her joints. She resembled a toad, with a wide smile and pointed teeth, and huge, protuberant eyes.

The third sister, Lachesis, was fairly average, though her long fingers were covered in sores. Her hair was mousey brown, and fell in frizzy strands in front of her face and boyishly flat chest. Her skin was deathly white with smudges of black under her bloodshot eyes.

The last sister, Atropos, towered above the rest. She was incredibly tall and her grey skin was pulled harshly over her bones. Her fingernails were long and yellowish, and her eyes absent of any pupils. She spoke in soft whispers, which gave the other three painful goosebumps on their arms and legs.

'What a fine thread, Clotho,' Tyche cooed, licking her rose red lips, 'so beautiful, so perfect.'

'What do you want, Tyche? Your voice drips not only with the stench of your breath but the scheme you're brewing,' Clotho hissed, holding her thread out of her sister's reach.

'I was merely giving praise to my wonderful sister, yet she throws it back in my face,' Tyche pouted.

'See through your petty plans, we do, you can't outsmart your own blood,' Atropos muttered, as Lachesis nodded eagerly behind her.

Tyche fumed, angry red sparks crackling in her eyes. 'Fine!' She spat. 'What are my plans then? Since you seem to have added mind reading to your list of talents … and I use the word loosely.'

'My dear sister, the mere idea of you trying to conceal an idea from us with your subtlety is as laughable as you not sleeping with anything that doesn't have genitals.' Atropos cackled, as with her bloodied knife she sliced through another thread that promptly shrieked and splattered a few drops of blood on the stone floor below.

'Oh I hope your lips rot off!' Tyche shrieked, but was only answered by louder laughter from her three sisters.

'You want to make this thread,' Lachesis said softly, 'this spirit godlike. You want to turn this soul into your own little pet.'

Tyche raised her chin. 'So what if I do?'

'You can't keep making gods among mortals! Living out your own little fantasies through your creations!' Atropos shouted, lifting her knife swiftly above her head and hurling it at her sister. Tyche tilted her head as the blade skimmed past and impaled itself on the wall behind her.

'Fine, I won't make the soul among mortals … I make it among the magicks.'

'Don't be stupid,' Lachesis laughed, her voice low and raspy, 'the magicks are no better than the mortals. They just have the ability to kill each other without slipping blood.'

'But they are more powerful. They respect the ways of nature … and they're ambitious, clever,' Tyche paused, sighing, 'and they make wonderful little play things.'

Tyche pulled the knife out of the wall and threw it back at her sister, who caught it in her bony hand and stabbed another thread, breaking it in two.

'Let me make my hero, sisters,' she pleaded, swooping in between the three, her bottom lip caught in her pearly white teeth, 'I want my spirit to be one who's respected, who one day, might have Zeus replicate its mortal face among the stars! He'll be a saviour … the poor victim who strikes back against the oppressing force! I want my hero.'

'This hero will have no rest lives! It'll be one Greek tragedy after another! They'll be more drops of blood splattered in this time line than Zeus has had mistresses!' Clotho warned, as Atropos and Lachesis screamed with laughter.

'You'll live to regret this!' Lachesis backed.

'The mortals will discover your plan!' Clotho.

'They'll laugh at you!' Lachesis.

'And your soul will be victim of an onslaught of abuse and teasing!' Clotho.

'It'll be expected to do something amazing with each new breath of life it takes!' Atropos.

'Ah, but, my sisters,' Tyche grinned triumphantly, a manic look in her eyes as she held up the thread, it already beginning to glow with her magic, 'it will always do something amazing.'

---

Divination Tower

April, 1977

'MR. POTTER!'

James's head snapped off the table, his glasses skewed, and drool dribbling down his chin.

'Wha-adda … wib .. Wha?' He snorted, grabbing onto the edge of the table before he toppled off his chair. Remus sighed exasperatedly.

'Ah, Mr. Potter, welcome to the land of the living. It's a wonderful place but if you continue to fall asleep in my lesson, I will be forced to throw you -without magic- out of the window, and since we are currently residing in a tower, I can't guarantee that you'll be with us for much longer. Nor that I will care.' The divination teacher raised a pencilled eyebrow, her red hair streaked liberally with grey was pulled back into a long plait which was woven with gold lace and fell to her lower back.

Professor Lufkin was far from the essence of all things mystical and ungodly. Brought up in the slums of Ireland she spoke with a low, husky Irish lilt and did nothing with grace, elegance or serenity. Death threats were a common occurrence in her classroom and a lot of the school suspected that there was more than leaves and water in her ever present mug of tea.

'Sorry,' James mumbled, rubbing his chin with the back of his sleeve. Remus was disgusted. They were sixteen for Merlin's sake, and yet James still didn't seem to have any sense of etiquette. But neither did Sirius, Remus supposed, or Peter. He scratched the back of his neck, trying to imagine Sirius in any outfit that couldn't be described as 'scruffy'. He snorted when a red dress and garter made an appearance.

'Mr. Lupin, calm yourself.' Professor Lufkin hissed, throwing two thick leather bound books on Remus and James's table.

'As some of you may have realised, in a few months you'll be departing for your summer holidays and returning to enter your seventh and final year.' She emphasised by slamming another book on Lily Evan's table. 'But before I bid farewell I need to teach you the importance of time, matter, space, life, death, the sun the moon and the stars.' Another slam. 'Earth and it's spirits have an on going story that started millions of years ago and will continue for many more moons to come. It's like an ongoing novel, but sadly, the plot is slightly repetitive, as you all are about to discover.'

The Professor clapped her hands and on top of each book a golden necklace appeared with a small hour-glass attached to the end.

'This, my children, is a-'

'Time Turner! My … Professor! These are very rare … I mean, there's only a few hundred of them in the world!' Lily Evans gasped, holding it up to the sunlight which was peering in through the half closed curtains. The light bounced off it and reflected in her eyes, which were as wide as galleons and a vivid emerald green.

'Yes, Miss. Evans, there is around nine hundred and twenty time turners in existence, all of which aren't available to purchase and are kept under strict lock and key in Ministries of Magic all over the world … and time.'

Remus panicked gaze darted between Professor Lufkin and James (who had that mad, rebellious 'I'm going to cause mayhem, destruction and panic all before bedtime!' look in his eyes).

'Why do we have them then?' Remus choked, as James picked the gold chain up and started poking it idly before swinging it around his head like a lasso.

'Because I have links in the Ministry, and a small class, it seemed logical to show you what I was teaching. I can't show you how fragile time is from a classroo-Mr Potter if you do that again, by my estimate you'll either end up fourteen years into the future or slightly concussed with my fist hitting your jaw.'

Marlene McKinnon's hand shot into the air. 'Professor, what has this got to do with Divination?'

Professor Lufkin sighed. 'This area of the course involves a lot of magical areas, such as History of Magic, Divination, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and to a degree, Transfiguration. In it, you study how your spirit fits into different times lines which touch all over the world.'

'Are you talking about … past lives?'

'Yes. In this course you discover who you were, and how their lives have effected yours. Mr. Potter here might be so sleepy all the time because he used to be narcoleptic, or perhaps just fat, only time will tell.'

'So, what do we have to do?' Lily asked, biting her bottom lip.

'Well, Miss Evans, at the minute, nothing. I am going to show you the importance of life. In a sense. How the human being affects the world and how the world influences it. I'll show you how one soul is destined to meet up with other souls no matter what body it inhibits, and how we carry on living over many millennia.'

The Professor clapped her hands again and more Time Turners appeared. 'There's only eleven of you, so you each will receive a Time Turner. In the next lesson, we will investigate how they work, and I will hopefully show you a real time line. For homework, I want you to read the first three chapters of your textbooks and not to break your Turner. Although they don't function at the minute, due to several stopping and protective charms I put on them, they will soon, and I will show you how to work them.'

Lily grinned at her dark haired friend who sat next to her, as she looped the golden chain around her neck, tucking the necklace into her robes.

A few minutes later, Remus followed James down the ladder, awkwardly trying to hold on to the thick book and not fall on his arse at the same time.

'I mean,' Remus said, 'it's not really clear what we're going to learn.'

'Yes it is. We're going to learn who we were in the past and how they made me who I am. I betcha you were a girl.'

Remus scowled, and was about to reply but Lily Evans jumped down off the ladder and interrupted.

'Well whatever the hell you were, Potter, I'm pretty sure you were still an arrogant prick.' She grinned at Remus, before turning on her heel and walking in the opposite direction. James stared after her, ruffling his hair.

'Do you think we'll find out our future?' He asked. His voice barely above a whisper.

'Maybe, to a degree.' Remus suggested, a smile tugging his lips.

'She's in my future, Moony.' James nodded, smiling so his friend could see all of his teeth.

'Of course,' Remus sighed, as they walked down the deserted corridor. She'll be the one issuing the restraining order. Remus thought, as he skimmed the index of his text book. 'Lunch?' Remus suggested after a stint, pulling his eyes away from his precious reading material.

But James was already gone.

---

Hogwarts

November, 1002 AD

The bottom of her dark blue dress trailed over the muddy floor as she swooped rounded another corner and hurriedly walked towards a room on the bottom floor.

'Rowena!'

She stopped, rolling her eyes as she turned around to face her 'stalker'.

'Godric, this is most inappropriate, I have my children to teach and you have the North Tower to complete with Salazar.'

He finally caught up with her, doubling over and panting. 'My dear girl, you do put up a chase.'

'Only when I don't want to be caught,' she scowled, turning on her heel again.

'Rowena, wait-'

'Go and build your tower, Godric, and leave me to teach my children.'

Godric sped ahead and skidded to a halt in front of her, the candlelight from a holder on a wall flickering over his light brown hair and making the sliver stitching on Rowena's bodice shimmer. He stuck the palm of his hand out between them and a lily flower with pink tinges on the petals materialised.

'For the Lady Ravenclaw,' he beamed, handing her the flower which she accepted with another roll of her green eyes.

'Honestly, Godric.'

'Don't you like it?'

'You're just showing off.'

'I am not!'

She sighed, but placed the flower on top of the stack of books she was carrying, staring at it fondly for just a second. Godric beamed triumphantly. They both continued walking at a slower pace.

'And what are you teaching today, m'lady?'

'The properties of time, how the past effects the present and the future. How every little grain of sand, speckle of mud or blade of grass is precious and effects the future in many different and uncharted ways. And of course the theory of past life regression, time lines, and time charts.' She said offhandedly.

'My girl, these children are fifteen!' He spluttered. Rowena smirked gleefully.

'But they are my children.'

'And isn't that Salazar's area anyway?'

Rowena grumbled, the smile sliding off her face as she stopped outside a heavy oak door. 'I can do it just as well as he can.'

'Of course, dear. I was merely suggest-'

'Yes, yes,' she dismissed him, pushing the door open with her foot. Godric grabbed her upper arm to stop her going any further, the chatter from the students in the room abruptly died down.

'Why do you hate him so?' Godric murmured, sending a few death glares to students who dared shoot their two Professors inquisitive glances.

'Someday, my love,' Rowena whispered in a harsh undertone, glancing briefly around the classroom, the box of twenty or so tiny hourglasses sitting on her desk, 'you'll see Salazar in the same light both myself and Helga have seen him.'

'What is that supposed to mean? Who are you to mark a man like that? And an innocent man at that! He helped us erect this school from the grounds mere years ago, and yet you have done nothing but slander his name!' He hissed.

Rowena looked on him with pitying eyes. Salazar was Godric's friend. But Rowena had studied the time lines, she'd double checked them, triple checked them, and in every life, every generation, there was (and will be) the same outcome. Rowena levitated her books, and flower, to her desk before planting her hands on her hips, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

'You listen to me, and you mark my words, Godric Gryffindor, that man is the work of Lucifer himself. He does not care for us, or our school, nor the people that reside in its walls. The only person Slytherin cares about is Slytherin, and the purity of magical blood … and you know how I feel about that.'

Godric sagged against the doorframe, the students continuing with a quieter level of chatter.

'He is just … befuddled in his opinions, he means no insult to your heritage, nor your magical ability, he is just,' Godric sighed, 'I will talk to him, again. I will make him see reason.'

Rowena stepped into the classroom clapping her hands and the class immediately delved for their books, quills and wands.

'It is that,' she continued, not looking at him, 'that will be your downfall, Professor.'

But Godric had already left.

---

Gryffindor Common Room

April, 1977

In the Common Room, later that night, Remus Lupin read aloud to his three friends from an old squishy arm chair that had foam falling out of the back. Peter was sprawled over the floor, Sirius was sitting on the sofa with James at the other end, his legs propped up on a small table that lay in between the four.

'The Turner has been around for around one thousand years, the first recordings of them being used was with Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the four founders of Hogwa-'

'She was in love with Godric,' Peter said from the ground.

'Relevant, as always, Wormtail.' Sirius grumbled.

'No well, that's a rumour, the history records show that both Rowena and Godric married different people after their argument with Salazar.' Remus corrected, his finger left on the line he was last reading.

'Not surprised old Godric liked her, you seen her portrait in Ravenclaw Tower?' Sirius whistled, 'She's a looker.'

'Only you, would be able to fancy a woman who's nearly one thousand years old.' Remus remarked, turning the page. 'Anyway. Time Turners work by connecting the Turner's own time line to the main Time Line. Similar to how small country roads can lead off into a 'highway'.'

James, Sirius and Peter developed a rather blank expression.

'Okay, basically, it's saying each of us have our own life line. Like in Greek Mythology, the three fates, who controlled both the mortals and god's lives. Clotho who spins the Thread of Life, Lachesis who allots the length of the yarn, and Atropos who cuts it, ending the person's life.'

'Who cuts our string then?'

'Well, when a wizard or witch is born into a wizarding family, he or she is given gifts from various family members and friends. But there is one gift, usually given by the parents, called -surprise, surprise- the Thread of Life. It's like a film strip, but, well … magical. It wraps itself around the babies chest and disintegrates into their skin, only when that person dies does it make an appearance again. It's like a birth certificate for magical folk.'

'So the parents control how long their children live?' Sirius choked, suddenly realising he was severely fucked if his parents had any say in how long he's allowed to live.

'No,' James interrupted, looking at his own textbook, 'they're just Clotho. Lachesis and Atropos are some other godly force no magic has any control over. There might not even be a Atropos, if Professor Lufkin is suggesting our soul keeps going, and going, and going.'

'Well there has to be in some sense,' Peter said, pushing himself off the floor, 'I mean, maybe she just cuts off the mortal life, not the actual soul.'

There was a long silence, as the fire in the grate crackled and steadily got lower, and various Gryffindors filed out to their dormitories.

Both Sirius and Peter were beginning to regret not taking Divination, as they felt they were missing out on something. Especially Sirius, who hated not knowing something, particularly if it indirectly involved him. Remus on the other hand, wasn't sure he wanted to know. James was most probably right, he was a girl in a past life with an unhealthy cleaning addiction, who killed herself in a minuscule flat in Chipping Sodbury because her favourite character in Coronation Street had turned out to be gay or some other malarkey.

Remus sighed, turning the page again, realising he didn't really want to know his future either. It was common knowledge that werewolves tended to die young. If they didn't bleed to death from self inflicted wounds, their bodies couldn't keep up with the monthly changes and aged almost twice as quickly. Remus had even found a grey hair yesterday, he wasn't impressed.

---

Divination Tower

April, 1977

'Very good Mr. Lupin, yes, Greek Mythology still plays an important role in magical society, and some of their believes and ways of life are still respected, even today.' The Professor sat on her desk, her long black robes spilling over the edge and puddling on the floor, covering her shoes.

'The fates exist?'

'Perhaps … it hasn't been proven, but there must be someone, or something spinning the Threads of Life and controlling them. Actually, on controlling them, there's one fate you missed out on Mr. Lupin.'

Remus raised an eyebrow, while James feigned shock.

'It was claimed that Tyche was one of the Fates also. She is said to be the most powerful of the sisters because beauty, virtue, and good fame are in her keeping, and also because she finds pleasure in dashing immoderate hopes. I guess you could say she's the author of each life, she just doesn't know how the plot begun or how long it will go on for.'

'But of course, the Fates are part of a wider group who I call the Divine Sisters, who also control aspects of mortal life. There were the Erinnyes. Three sisters, Tisiphone, Megara, and Alecto, the agents of divine justice. They were born from the drops of blood that fell after Cronus castrated Uranus.'

James choked suddenly, losing his seating as he gasped for breath he fell off his chair.

'They were so frightening that they're name was not even spoken. They began their work at the entrance of Tartarus-'

Remus looked down at his text book.

"Tartaus is the lowest region of the world, as far below earth as earth is from heaven. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, a bronze anvil falling from heaven would take nine days and nights to reach earth, and an object would take the same amount of time to fall from earth into Tartarus. Tartarus is described as a dank, gloomy pit, surrounded by a wall of bronze, and beyond that a three-fold layer of night. Along with Chaos, Earth and Eros, it is one of the first entities to exist in the universe."

'-They weeded out those who had yet to atone for their sins. They also exercised their vengeance in the world for those who committed crimes against the gods, which included patricide. They punished through things such as wars, plagues, and a person's conscience.'

Professor Lufkin took a sip of her tea. 'There's also the Muses, of course. Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania. They were believed to inspire all artists, especially poets, philosophers, and musicians. The Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory.'

'Then there's the Graces, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome and preside over acts of kindness and courtesy. They're always together and they were the queens of song with their companions, the Muses. The Hours, who are the daughters of Jupiter and Themis … they guard the gates of heaven and are in charge of all who enter Olympus. And last but not least, the Seasons.'

'Spring, summer, autumn and winter?'

'Close. Thallo, Auxo and Carpo. Nurses to Hera -such a wicked woman- they organise the seasons and added balance to nature.'

'They're all women,' Lily Evans breathed, her Time Turner still hanging around her neck.

'All women. Women are a force not to be reckoned with, my dear,' she said, sliding off her desk, 'sure look at Minerva McGonagall,' she added with a wink.

Fifteen minutes later, the room had been cleared of all tables and chairs, and the students sat in a circle around the Professor as she plunged the room into a golden glow.

'This,' she announced, 'is my time line.'

It looked like a film reel, as it swooped out from her open hand and spun around the room, above the heads of the open mouthed students. Brief fragments of sound echoed around the room, crying, laughing, screaming, and incoherent talking rang in James's ears, as he caught brief images that were zooming around too fast to really make sense of.

'This line connects me to the main time line, that records ever event in mortal and immortal history.'

'How can we see this? I mean, it says in the text book that you can only see this after a person is dead.' Remus spluttered, his eyes darting back and forth between different images.

'No … well … you get a full beginning middle and end copy once you die, which is then filed in the Ministry of Magic to prove your existence, and allows historians to study you in years to come. Each time line has a number, and if we can trace one of your lives, following the rest of them should be pretty simple. Normally you'll never see your time line, but I'm a special person,' she added in an annoyed tone.

The line disappeared. Professor Lufkin stumbled backwards, landing safely on a pile of pillows. She was incredibly pale, wisps of her greying red hair sticking in sweaty curls to her forehead. The wrinkles were pronounced around her eyes and on her forehead, as she took deep rattling breaths through her crooked yellowing teeth.

'She didn't look too good after that spell,' Lily commented, as she and Remus walked to the Gryffindor Common Room, 'must've took a lot out of her.'

'Probably,' Remus muttered.

'But it's fascinating, isn't it? All those Greek gods and goddesses, I mean, I always knew women were powerful … because well, witchcraft dates much further back than wizardry, but it's just so wonderful to see that it's still so relevant in this society.'

Remus nodded, not really sure what to say. His hands were sweaty and his throat dry. Stupid hormones, stupid hormones, stupid hormones. He didn't even fancy her. But it seemed if he was in the slightest contact with anything even resembling female he got hot under the collar.

'I can't wait to track down my time line,' Lily grinned, skipping slightly alongside him, 'we probably knew each other in a past life, I'm pretty sure. I mean, ever since I met you in first year you've always attracted me somehow, this must be it!' She laughed.

'Sure it's not my animal magnetism? … Alright no need to be so cruel about it.' He murmured, as Lily doubled over giggling.

'No it's not that,' she gasped, still giggling, 'it's just that you're Remus, I've never really looked at you that way.'

'Ever thought of … oh say … James in that way?'

Lily stopped giggling.

'He likes you, you know.'

'Really? I never knew. Queen of subtlety that boy, like hammering nine inch nails into your head.'

'You don't know how much he likes you, Lily, seriously,' Remus said, a desperate tone entering his voice, 'Sirius had to jump on him the other day and beat the crap out of him because he came so close to etching your name with a butter knife into his forehead.'

'Oh joy,' Lily rolled her green eyes, her pace quickening.

'Why do you hate him?'

'I don't hate, hate is an awfully strong word. I dislike his attitude more than anything, all this macho 'I'm magic therefore I hex' thing is not impressive. It's rather tiresome.'

'He doesn't hex people anymore … really. Just Sirius and … well … Snape on occasion.'

'Severus may be unpleasant but he doesn't disserve that level of bullying, Remus,' Lily sighed, hoisting her books further up her chest, 'no one does.'

'But he called you a you know what,' Remus said in a strangled voice.

'He's just confused!' Lily said shrilly, shaking her head.

'Sure,' Remus muttered under his breath, 'he's misunderstood … they said the same thing about Greyback at a time.'

'About who?' Lily asked, perplexed.

Remus sighed. 'Doesn't matter.'

---

Quidditch Pitch

May, 1977

Sirius threw the quaffle at James, which hit his chest with a painful thump and knocked him off his feet.

'What. A. Girl.' Sirius mumbled, shaking his head.

'It's alright,' James said, pushing himself to his feet, 'I didn't need those kidneys.'

They were on the quidditch pitch on Sunday night, the sun was low in the sky and wind nipped at their faces. But, boys being boys, they didn't care. Both James and Sirius had the whole pitch to themselves without a slytherin or professor in sight.

'So what's the new plans on Legs then?' Sirius asked, throwing the quaffle up into the air and catching it again.

James scowled.

'Sorry, Lily … I keep forgetting, you want her for her personality,' Sirius said, putting on a girlie voice. 'You can't shag a personality, Prongs!' Sirius warned, pointing a long finger at his best friend.

'I'm going to send her lilies,' James began, ignoring his friend, 'thousands of lilies … all white, with that little yellow stalky thing and, and pink edges, 'cause girls like pink, right?' Sirius nodded. 'I mean, they dress babies in it a lot … but that could be kids look like shaved monkeys rather than humans.'

'There's that greeting card sentimentality you've got nailed, Prongs.'

'You can talk,' James scoffed, 'now hit me.'

Sirius threw another quaffle which smacked James up the face, knocking his glasses off. Sirius rolled his eyes skyward.

'What about your Divination stuff?' Sirius asked, handing James his glasses which had landed somewhere at his feet.

'Er well I think I found my number.'

'Your number?'

'My life number … er, like,' James paused scratching his head, 'a reference number, you can look it up in Ministry documents and link it with other lives which are recorded as having the same number.'

'Oh, anyone interesting?' Sirius asked, lifting a beater's bat and swinging it through the air.

'Mr. Potter you were not Saint bleeding Patrick,' Professor Lufkin yelled the next day in Divination, holding up his homework parchment and waving it in front of his face.

'I am! I linked my timeline up with his!'

The class remained eerily silent. Professor Lufkin raised an eyebrow at him, her Irish accent more prominent.

'I refuse to believe you were the saviour of Christian Ireland.' She scoffed, scanning his parchment again for mistakes, mumbling under her breath in rapid Gaelic.

'Ah HA!' She shrieked, jabbing the parchment with her finger. She quickly called out a string of numbers and a tiny box appeared with a pop beside her head. In it a man with a long grey beard, deep purple robes and crystal blue eyes appeared.

'Not Saint Patrick, Mr. Potter, but your life and Patrick's are linked.'

'Holy Hades I'm Dumbledore!' James gasped pointing up at the screen.

'You are not,' she said, the usual scowl vanished from her face, 'you're Lir!'

Across the room, Lily Evans blanched.

'Lir?' James asked, his face contorting.

'The Children of Lir!' James stared blankly back at her.

'It's an Irish story,' Dorcas Meadowes, Lily's dark haired friend, interrupted, 'Lir's wife, Eva, died giving birth to his children, he really loved her. His kids were magical and stuff, and he re-married this woman … Aoife and she cursed them so that they were swans for nine hundred years who could talk and stuff.'

'Not the most eloquent version I've heard of the story but yes, Miss. Meadowes is correct.'

'What does that have to do with Saint Patrick?' Marlene McKinnon asked.

'Aoife said to the children that they'd spend three hundred on Lough Derravaragh, three hundred on the Straits of Moyle and three hundred on the Isle of Inish Glora. To end the spell they would have to hear the bell of the new God.' She waved her hand and the little box disappeared. 'The new God was of course Christ and it was St. Patrick that brought it to Ireland.'

Professor Lufkin looked at James's homework again, chewing on her bottom lip. Making her excuses she walked through a door behind her desk and disappeared into a private room. The class erupted into a low murmur of chatter as James leaned across the table and tried to looked at Remus's homework. Remus quickly crossed his arms over it and glared at James.

'What?' James asked, and offended tone entering his voice.

'I don't want you seeing,' Remus said, stuffing his homework into his bag.

'You WERE a woman!' James shouted triumphantly.

Remus blushed. Just then the Professor walked back in, looking oddly flustered.

'Mr. Potter, I've some what could be considered good news,' she said, still holding his homework, 'it turns out your line actually does run into Saint Patrick's sometime in the future.'

There were a few gasps around the classroom. James's grin grew wider.

'You see, it's very easy to make mistakes with your life numbers, often they're very similar, especially if you have close friends, linked in past lives and things.'

'But how do you mean run into?' Lily Evans choked, looking awfully pale.

'Well, Saint Patrick's line is ancient … I mean, it's stuff of legends … it's said that Tyche created it as her … well, as hers. But,' Lufkin said, waving a dismissive hand, 'that's not the point. It seems that the lines of both Lir and his wife Eva come back together and run along side Patrick.'

'But what does that mean?' James asked, tipping his chair back on two legs, seeming utterly untroubled by the news.

The Professor bit her lip, seemingly having an internal debate with herself as to whether or not to divulge her information. After a few seconds she sighed and continued talking.

'It seems, Mr. Potter, that you become a father in the near future.'

The silence that hung in the room was interrupted, as James Potter fell backwards off his chair, and Lily Evans slumped to the ground in a dead faint.

---

Note: More to come ... sorry this isspectacularly unbetaed ... my fault. I will edit it later but yes. Sorry D: