Chapter 1

The speed of her broom took her higher and higher into the sky as she searched for the flickering golden ball. The crowd of the stadium was loud and her heart beat faster and faster as the excitement grew. The first quidditch match of the season, and her first year as Gryffindor captain. The sun warmed her cheeks as the wind bit at her cheeks as she rode her broomstick. Beneath her were flashes of red and green zooming around each other. Taking a moment she watched the exchange between the quaffle and the chasers catching and intercepting the big red ball. This was what she loved most about the magical school, everyone gathering around the pitch to play or to watch and support their houses. Friendships being made within and between the different houses. Things had were a lot quieter now that the infamous Harry Potter and his friends had graduated and there was no more war in the wizardry world.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw her best friend and fellow Gryffindor, Danny Lawrence, steal the quaffle and sped towards the other team's goal posts. And before she knew it, the bell went off signaling the goal. "And Danny scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!" The announcer shouted. Following his cry there were the obvious boos and cheers from the crowd below. "The score is now Sixty to Sixty!"

Just then the snitch appeared right in front of her and she made a reach for it, only for it to speed off in a different direction. Speeding up she chased after it, dodging the other players and balls on the field. She was closing in on it fast and just as she reached out for it a bludger slammed into her side, causing her to lose balance on her broom and land hard on the ground. The wind was knocked out of her and she instantly knew she had some broken ribs, and was bruised everywhere, but she didn't care. She just smiled down at the small ball she had in her gloved hand.

She had caught it.

They had won.

"Hollis has caught the snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

The crowd cheered and her teammates gathered around her.

"Way to go, Hollis!" Danny cheered as she dropped off her broomstick and ran over to her best friend. Her smile dropped as she neared her and saw she was still lying on the ground. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just a couple broken ribs, no big deal." She played it off as Danny offered her a hand up and helped her off the pitch back to the changing room.

"Let's take you to Madame Pomfrey. She'll fix ya right up," Danny suggested but Laura just shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll be fine, Danny. Just need some ice is all."

"If you're sure..."

Laura and Danny changed back into their weekend clothes before grabbing their duffle bags and headed back to the common room, where there would definitely be a party going on to celebrate the first win of the season.

Sure enough, as soon as they stepped through the portrait cheers and applause enveloped them. People patted them on the backs as they made their way through the crowd and into the middle of the room where the rest of the team was waiting with Butterbeers for each of them. Smiling Laura allowed herself to relax enough to ignore the pain she felt on her right side. Ice could wait. There was no way she was going to miss celebrating with her friends and fellow classmates. Not after the game they just played.

The corridor was dank, dark, and something was chasing after her. She could feel the breath of it against her neck as she pushed herself, begging her legs to run faster. Whatever was chasing her wasn't slowing down. She froze in her tracks when she a dark shadow appear in front of her. The air around her went from humid to bitter cold. She knew what it was that was before her now, but she couldn't find her wand, and the creature behind her was now slowly approaching her. She was surrounded. There was no way out and she couldn't defend herself without her wand. At least not against these creatures. Turning around she reached her hand out to try to fend off whatever had been chasing her. She couldn't make out what it was, but she saw the big green eyes shining in the darkness. She was about to make contact when all of a sudden, it pounced on her.

Laura jolted awake in her bed, the sheets were cold and her pillow damp from the sweat on her forehead. She sat up and rested her head in her hands as she tried to recall her dream. "What the hell?" She muttered to herself. "No more Butterbeer for me before bed." Checking the time on her watch, she noted she still had a couple of hours before she had to get up for her classes. Groaning, she threw herself back against her pillows and stared up at the window to her left to stare at the early morning sky. Today was going to be an eventful day, Laura just didn't know it yet.