Dedicated to my friends that put up with my insanity.
Disclaimer-I own nothing that I could ever claim...
"My dear, please tell us exactly what you saw." said Professor Trelawny, looking at LJ with her giant coke-bottle glasses, which magnified her already huge eyes a hundred times. LJ remained silent, her eyes downcast. This was reminding her of all those f-ing reporters that constantly bugged her family. She didn't want to look up and see hundreds of eyes staring at her. The teachers and Professor Dumbledore and half the student body were all gathered around the tower classroom, wanting to know if it was true.
"Come now dear. Don't be shy." said Professor Trelawny, smiling in what she hoped was benevolent. LJ glared at her, flashbacks of reporters pretending they were her friends coming and going.
"I don't have to if I don't want to." said LJ quietly. Madame Promfrey was fussing all about her, spreading a salve on her face and bandaging it.
"But-!" Trelawny started, only to be silenced by Dumbleodre.
"She has had a rough day Professor. Leave her be." He placed a hand on LJ's shoulder, and she looked up at him gratefully.
Lauren looked at her friend. What had she seen? She wouldn't speak of it, and she didn't seem like she was going to any time soon. Slowly, the classroom emptied, leaving only Madame Promfrey, Dumbledore, Trelawny, Lauren and LJ. Trelawny kept looking at LJ like she was a big slice of chocolate cake. LJ kept her gaze averted from everyone.
Dumbledore sat across from her, and smiled. "Now, if you would like to tell me what happened, I'm sure that I would be able to help you."
"Um, I would Dumbledore, but..." LJ pointed over Dumbleodre's shoulder, at Trelawny who was flitting about his shoulder like a giant moth. Dumbledore gave her a look, and she went down the staircase
She took a deep breath. She hated being the one that the attention was directed at. She scratched her neck. She hated talking about things. Suddenly, Lauren sat down in front of her, and gave her a famous glare. It was the You'd-Better-Start-Talking. She smiled ruefully, and started to explain. She was done very soon, and she sat still.
Dumbledore remained seated across from her, and peered off into space, thinking. Lauren bit her lip. Did he think that LJ was imagining things? He linked his fingers and placed them underneath his chin. He finally looked into LJ's eyes and she was relieved by the wisdom that she saw swimming there. He gave a brief, moth-like smile.
"I do not believe that you are making things up, nor are just driven by fear that some things that have happened in the past several months. This is a real vision. You, Lauren Johnson, are a true Seer."
"I really can't believe it." said Lauren, sitting on her bed, watching LJ take off her bandages. LJ felt for scabs, but didn't feel any. She sighed with relief. She hated scabs, always had to pick them off.
"Yeah, Madame Promfrey sure knows her stuff." replied LJ, tossing the bandages into the garbage.
"I wasn't talking about that!" snapped Lauren, throwing a small cylinder pillow at LJ. When LJ caught it, she remembered that it had once been hers. A smile crossed her face as she remembered how she and Lauren met, one fateful summer when LJ had been 7 and Lauren was 8. She looked up at Lauren and grinned.
"What?" said Lauren, slightly worried at the expression on LJ's face.
"Do you remember how we met?" she asked, tossing the pillow back. Lauren caught it and her expression melted at it's silky touch.
"Yes." Lauren whispered. "It was the best summer of my life."
"Even better than the time we went to New York for our 12th birthdays?" asked LJ, staring at the pillow along with Lauren.
"It was summer camp. I remember we met at Orientation..." They both became glassy-eyed.
Double Flashback!!
"Good-bye, Lauren." said Mr. Jameson, shaking his only daughter's hand. "You'll enjoy this camp. I did when I was your age." LJ only glared at him. She could barely believe that her father was dumping her in this..this...glorified Muggle battle ground. He gave her a curt nod, and vanished into his fancy Italian sports car.
LJ sat down her giant duffel bag stuffed with all of her clothes and her sheets and quilt, a business quilt-gift from China. She glared around her at all of the nature. She had never been so close to it. It irritated her. Too dirty. She glared at the families parting around her. They were far more affectionate than her father had been. She glared about her, and hated everything that this camp stood for.
"Stupid Muggle camp..." she muttered, low enough so no Muggles could hear.
"I'm sorry. I must'va heard ya wrong. Did ya say 'Muggle'?" asked a voice from above. LJ's head whipped up and she saw a girl up in the branches of a tree, spreading it's leafy boughs in all directions. The girl in question was hanging upside down from a branch like a monkey. She had honey-colored hair with naturally blond highlights looking like gold streaming down. She was dressed in ripped jeans and a green shirt which contrasted wonderfully with her blue eyes.
"Uh...No." replied LJ, rather astonished that someone could hang upside down like that for so long without falling.
"I'm Lauren!" the girl called down. "I'll be down in a second!" She let go and dropped to the ground, landing, slipping and falling on her butt. She laughed quite merrily. "I'm such a klutz!" she said laughing. LJ just stared at her. Lauren suddenly tilted her head and looked in the direction of the main lodge. "Uh-oh, Mom's just seen me. Now I'm in for it. See ya later!" she called, dashing off.
LJ sat there, quite stunned. There was only one word to describe her...bizarre.
It was two hours later that she actually got assigned a cabin. She jerked a wheel-barrow away from a helper and loaded up her way-too-big-for-two-weekends-bag and hauled it to Cabin 13. As soon as she entered, a couple things hit her eyes. White walls, bare bunk-beds and Lauren. Lauren was spreading out a purple sleeping bag that looked like it needed darning. She was talking to two of the other girls in their cabin and seemed to be having fun.
She yanked her bag out and lugged it to the center of the floor. She looked around at all of the bunks. All of the tops were taken. She marched over to Lauren's bunk-bed and looked up at her.
"I want the top." she demanded, her eyes cold. Lauren looked at her with surprise. She already had her sleeping bag and pillow there. Plus she had already placed pictures of the ocean on her wall. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun, and looked down at LJ from the top her her bunk. This girl obviously didn't know the unwritten camp rules. "If a camper already had their things on a bunk, you don't claim that bunk."
"You want the top?" she asked, as if trying to get it clear. LJ nodded curtly. "Um, sorry, no." LJ's mouth fell open. She had never been refused before. She opened her mouth to retort, when one of the counselors swooped in and in a manner most convincing, got LJ to take the bottom bunk without too much fuss.
All too soon, it was time to go to get assigned skills. Lauren skipped ahead with Julie and Jessica from the other bunks. They had already formed a little club and LJ looked after her with a combination of jealousy and distaste. As the rest of the Children's Camp gathered, LJ drifted off, reading the signs of the skills. Sailing, canoeing, ceramics, crafts, interpretive dance, sign language, and at least a dozen others. They were allowed to choose six.
Lauren was so excited that she had already made friends with Julie and Jessica and that they could laugh together. They all had similar interests. But as they signed up for skills, she noticed that they didn't share everything. Like when she wanted to do archery and sailing, they wanted to do interpretive dance. So they went their own ways, smiling. Lauren eventually got archery, sailing, canoeing, crafts, nature, and ropes course.
Then they had to go to dinner. LJ was horrified by the amount of hot dogs, french fries, and Oreo brownies, but most of the kids dug in with relish. LJ watched Lauren load her hot-dog down with mustard and pickle relish. LJ quickly got herself some salad with low-fat dressing. When she sat back down, an annoying kid named Sean leaned across the table.
"Why ya eatin' veggies?" he asked, spewing bits of bun all over the place. Looking as distanced as her 7-year-old face could manage, she sniffed haughtily like her mother had taught her.
"It is none of your concern." she said icily, spearing a cucumber on her fork. She reached for the water pitcher, but it was empty. She looked about, but none of the others had cups out except Lauren. She glared at her, but before she could say anything, Lauren grabbed the pitcher and offered to get more water, but there was plenty of lemonade on the table. As she walked away, LJ noticed the skin on Lauren's hands had started to peel.
Later that night, when everyone else was asleep, LJ crept over to Lauren's bunk and shook her awake.
"What..?" Lauren sleep-mumbled. "I'm trying to sleep..."
"You're a Water-Nymph." said LJ, trying not to sound too jealous. Lauren sat bolt upright.
"How'd you know?" she demanded, fear in her voice.
"Your hand started peeling at dinner. My tutor-"-here she made sure that Lauren knew that she was better educated than her-"-made me study all of the species of the world that still communicate with wizards and how to recognize the more human ones."
"Wow, no-body's ever noticed that I'm a Water-Nymph before." Lauren said, smiling nicely. LJ was puzzled. Most girls reacted differently. She had to know this girl more and more in order to destroy her. And that did not happen. The more and more time she spent with her, the more she realized that Lauren filled in a gap in her life.
Lauren really didn't care that LJ had more money than she, or that she wasn't as educated as her. Lauren made LJ take a look about her and see that there was more to life than living up to a family name. At the end of the three weeks, LJ realized that she couldn't bear to part from Lauren. They were suddenly the best of friends. LJ gave Lauren a silk pillow from her bed set, and Lauren gave her a necklace made from hemp and glass beads.
After they left camp, they stayed in touch and spent nearly every weekend together. LJ realized that Lauren was her muse. Lauren knew that LJ must've been a sister of hers at some point of her life. They were inseperabe for all these years.