The Nightmare

[G]

"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us.
What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.”

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Thursday, September 2nd, 2117.
The Hufflepuff Commonroom - 6:00 AM.

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The shop was dimly lit, flickering light thrown from the candles grouped between the clutter of her work station. From this view, peering through the frost-bitten glass of the front window, it was only possible to see her silhouette, frizzy, unkempt hair forming a gold tinged crown around her small frame. She was bent over her desk, shuffling through pieces of parchment with one hand, a long, ostrich feather quill in the other; occasionally making a notation on this piece or that. An ordinary night spent till late in her shop, going over records, cataloging new items she'd procured.

The shop was filled with these; shelves of strange and ancient looking things. His eyes moved over them with little interest - there was only one thing he was interested in, and he doubted she'd be foolhardy enough to keep it here, where any member of the Wizarding public might stumble on it. He wasn't even sure she had it, but this was the last lead he'd been able to find, to lead him to... he shook his head slightly, trying to clear the fog that seemed to have gathered in the corners of his mind. The name of the object escaped him; but no matter. He knew how important it was; knew he must have it.

He took a step toward the door, then froze as she looked up from her work, a small frown deepening the wrinkles on her aged brow. She looked toward the window, lips pursed. He didn't move, though he knew she couldn't see him; not in the darkness, made deeper by the light inside. Not through the misty glass. After a moment, she looked back to her papers, and he drew his wand, pointing it at the bell that hung below her shop sign.

"Muffliato," he said in a raspy whisper, and reached for the handle, knowing the doorbell of Angelique's Antiques and Oddities would not make a sound, now, when he slipped it open; just wide enough to steal inside. A manic, almost desperate desire was overtaking him now, as he stalked silently between the shelves toward her. He was going to hurt her, to make her tell him what he needed to know. She looked up again as he reached her; her expression one of surprise rather than fear. That would change soon.

"Hello? I'm sorry, dear, we're closed," she was saying, her voice cracked with age, and he could see her clearly now, her still-bright blue eyes widening; a tinge of fright in them now as he lifted his wand rather than reply.

"Crucio," he muttered, and she shrieked in pain, her back twisting into a rigid arch as she fell from her chair to the cold ground beneath, twisting in agony beneath the point of his wand. He cut off the spell with a twist of it, and she panted, fighting to catch her breath as she looked up at him; panic shining in her bright eyes now.

"Wh... what do you want?" she tried to ask, but he had muttered the word again, his body filling with a cruel delight as she began to writhe, wizened fingers clutching at her head, her chest.

"P... please! Why!" she managed to cry, and his lips curled into a twisted smile, leaning over her.

"There'll be plenty of time to answer my questions later, dear," he said, the word a cruel mockery of her earlier endearment. He cursed her again, and her screams echoed into the street beyond.

[P.K.]

Dawn shuddered awake with a small frightful cry. "Stop!" The darkness that surrounded her as she set up clutching at the blankets around her as she stared widely around with her good eye. The familier familiarity of the room washed over her but did little to stop her trembling. Her breathing shake in shaky gasps as she tried to calm herself hopping she hadn't woken anyone else with her cry. She released the blankets and rubbed her hands together to warm them as her body felt chilly. "What a horrible dream." She breathed out putting hand hand to her racing heart. Where had that come from?

[G]

Ingwe Ellis was startled into waking by a loud cry, and sat bolt upright in bed, her heart thudding.

"D.. Dawn?" Her voice was groggy with sleep. She pulled the blankets aside, crossing the room to stand a few feet away from her classmates bed; the source of the sound. The girl was breathing heavily, obviously very shaken, and Ingwe teetered uncertainly on the balls of her feet, unsure whether to approach or not.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her timid voice barely louder than the other girls' shuddering breaths. "You... you were yelling, just now, in your sleep! Saying... what do you want? And stop, please, stop!" The slender girl shuddered, looking almost as shaken as Dawn herself did.

She glanced toward the window, the pale blue sky outside telling her it was still very early. "Do... do you want to come downstairs with me? I could make us some cocoa, if you want to talk about it?"

[P.K.]

Dawn looked up at the other girl through the darkness. "O-oh I'm sorry Ingwe." She said softly. "I didn't mean to wake you. Yes, I had a terrible dream." She said before taking in a deep breath. "Yes, yes that sounds nice." She breathed before slipping out of the coverings and standing quietly before looking to Ingwe with a small smile. "Thank you." She said.

[G]

When the two were sitting comfortably in the Hufflepuff commonroom - a cozy space furnished in warm colours with a number of large, squashy beanbags atop a thick, soft rug - warm cups of cocoa in hand, Ingwe having prepared them from the small kitchenette toward the back of the room, which was stocked with an array of comfort food and drinks, she broached the subject of the dream again.

"So.. what happened, in your nightmare? It sounded awful!" she asked, sounding both trepidatious and concerned. "You know, dreams have meaning. I wonder what brought on such a horrible one!"

The common-room was nearly empty at this early hour, the only other occupants they could see a couple of second-year students playing Wizards' Chess at a small coffee table a little apart from where the girls' were sitting. Both of them, a girl with red, curled hair and a blonde boy who was regarding the board with a nervous expression, looked engrossed in their game, leaving the girls' free to talk in peace.

[P.K.]

Dawn looked down at the coco gently glowing on it and watching the steam swirl away. "I'm not really sure what brought it on." She admitted. "I certainly hope its nothing more then stress." she said before taking in a deep breath. "Well, from what I can recall there was an older women." she said starting to explain what she had seen. "oh, she was in a shop I believe, Uhm... angelique's uh...oddities O-or something like that. There were shelves and shelves of stuff, It... it was late and she was working." Dawn paused recalling more details of the horrible nightmare. "Someone crept into the store, I think, With magic." She shook her head dreading to recall the rest. the more she thought about it the more it seemed all to real. "Cruciatus... He tortured her." Dawn whispered staring into her mug of Coco, feeling less comfortable suddenly as she said it out loud.

"That's when I woke up..." She looked to Ingwe with a nervous look. "That couldn't... possibly have a meaning... " She said hopefully her good eye searching for some sort of confirmation that it was just stress... or something but not anything that had a meaning behind it.

[Minkasha]

“Knight to D6” The female Hufflepuff brushed back her wild red hair from her young face, totally in the moment as her obsidian colored mounted horseman levitated himself over her pawn and set upon a granite colored opposing piece. The boy, whimpered for he was helpless to watch his poor devoted pawn be broken into bits by the falling weapon of the knight.

“I tried something different too…” Jacob said to Saundra sheepishly, fingers curled to lips. Saundra smiled, a naturally fitting expression for her, and she patted the boy’s other hand on the table.

“You did” she teased with a giggle. Jacob glanced over to the two first year girls as they began talking but his friend was very interested in the game. “Jacob!” She whispered in a poorly whispered tone of excitement. It startled Jacob and he rocked back in his seat, leafy green eyes wide with surprise. “We have a game here”

“You’re right.” The boy sighed and looked hard at the board “Queen to-”

"oh, she was in a shop I believe, Uhm... angelique's uh...oddities” Jacob stopped paying attention to the board entirely, honing his eyes frightfully to the lightning scarred girl. Each of the words that continued to spill out so uncertainly screeched like strings of violins abused to make horrid sounds. It was of the cruel and frightening things he dreamed formlessly about. The bad things that would begin to eat away at his life, somehow. The boy’s tears rained on the table in a matter of seconds.

“WHY WOULD YOU DREAM OF MY GRAN LIKE THAT!? LEAVE MY GRAN ALONE!” Jacob screamed at the top of his lungs, wailing and shaking where he sat. Saundra was entirely disconnected prior, eyes glued to the board as he had spoken his Wizard Chess command – until now. The redhead looked frazzled and stood up, putting her hands on Jacob’s shoulders, but it only made him cry harder – if that was possible. His face was turning red from acute shock. “THAT’S MY GRAN!” Jacob explained manically, getting up and pacing in a circle. “Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!” Tears stained his sweater, his black wool pants were rustling together passionately in his small strides. His steps were getting wobbly and he looked ready to collapse. “Dreams can be real. Wizards dream real things all the time. Merlin! Merlin! Oh my Merlin!” Paranoid whispers sputter from clanking teeth, entirely set off by Dawn’s beyond canny detail and synchronicity to his beloved childhood locale.

Saundra looked frightened and deeply concerned, hands hovering but not moving to or from the boy's proximity.

[Death of Korzan]

“WHY WOULD YOU DREAM OF MY GRAN LIKE THAT!? LEAVE MY GRAN ALONE!” Jacob screamed at the top of his lungs, wailing and shaking where he sat. Saundra was entirely disconnected prior, eyes glued to the board as he had spoken his Wizard Chess command – until now. The redhead looked frazzled and stood up, putting her hands on Jacob’s shoulders, but it only made him cry harder – if that was possible. His face was turning red from acute shock. “THAT’S MY GRAN!” Jacob explained manically, getting up and pacing in a circle. “Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!” Tears stained his sweater, his black wool pants were rustling together passionately in his small strides. His steps were getting wobbly and he looked ready to collapse. “Dreams can be real. Wizards dream real things all the time. Merlin! Merlin! Oh my Merlin!” Paranoid whispers sputter from clanking teeth, entirely set off by Dawn’s beyond canny detail and synchronicity to his beloved childhood locale.

Percy - who had been sat in the far right corner of the room drinking a fizzy muggle beverage and chatting with another First Year girl - perked up with fright and concern as Jacob yelled, watching as the boy settled into panicked whispers. Rising up from the chair - after politely excusing himself from the other First Year's company - the boy placed the mug of black liquid down upon the table he was sat at and made his way towards the obviously stressed out boy. "Is everything alright there?" The American boy spoke, placing one hand on the whispering boy's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

Looking up from the boy and at the two girls who had clearly been at the centre of whatever had freaked the boy out, Percy raised one of his eyebrows apprehensively. "What happpened girls?" He asked politely, his voice laden with concern.

[P.K.]

Dawn jumped with a small startled squeak as the young man across the room screamed at her. Dawn was speechless as he burst into a tearful panic. Her chest tightened making it hard to breath as her white knuckled grip clutched the warm mug of coco. She felt so terrible but she didn't know what to say so him in his panic. She hopped that he was wrong that it wasn't real but... why had she dreamed of Jacob's grandmother? a women she didn't even know.

Dawn's head was spinning, her good and bad eye wide in shock and speechless fear and paling face. She turned her head to Percy as he came over and spoke. "I-i..." Dawn started before swallowing looking once to Ingwe before returning her nervous gaze to Percy. "A nightmare." She responded before starting to get up from the chair. "I think we should tell someone." She started.

[G]

Ingwe looked on the verge of tears as the scene unfolded, the easily frightened girl startled by Jacob's outburst. Ironically, the youngest of the congregation seemed the most calm; Percy approaching to gently ask what was going on.

"I mean... it was just a bad dream, though, right? Are you sure it was your grandmother?" He certainly seemed sure, she thought as she watched the boys hysterics. "How could you dream about someone you don't even know?" she directed her next question back at Dawn. But hadn't she herself just said that dreams had meaning? Especially in the wizarding world. The 3rd year swallowed, not wanting to imagine the possibility that Dawn's dream might have been real.

"You could tell Professor Grimm," she suggested. The Headmistress intimidated Ingwe far too much to suggest going to her, but Professor Grimm was kind, and easy-going, as well as being the Hufflepuff Head of House. "But I'm sure your gran is fine, Jacob," she said kindly to the younger student. "why don't you send an owl home, and then you'll know she's okay."