The Relic- Brother of the Boy Who Lived
Chapter 2
I close my eyes.
Suddenly, I'm curled up on the cold autumnal forest floor, groping for leaves as a drowning man clutches at straws. The black dog cowers in front of me. The hooded figures dance towards me. Though I'm shivering, and quaking with fear, I know it's okay. The dream will end soon. It always does, in the exact same place.
The hooded figures are close now, closer than i would like to think. The black dog has left my side, as it always does. I prepare myself to wake up, break out in a cold sweat, and go back to sleep. But I never get the chance.
Rather than the scene evaporating and reality coming back into view, to figures are still advancing. This has never happened before. I would love to pinch myself, open my eyes, wake up. But I can't. I'm in too deep, like a diver who's submerged himself to far. They're less than a meter away now, I can feel the sheer danger radiating from them.
With one petrified hand covering my face, I raise my head, ever so slightly. And what I see is enough to make any man scream.
The hooded figures are not figures at all. They are shapeless black cloaks with rake-like hands protruding from the sleeves. Where a face should be, there is only emptiness. I vacuum. The leading...thing reaches out to me. It's freezing, dead hand cradles my face. Then, it leans towards me and begins... to... suck.
I don't know how to describe it. I can feel everything leave me. Happy thoughts, sad memories, everything. It's almost gone. But just as the last straggling thoughts, feelings and emotions begin to drift away, A ghostly white animal storms in front of me, separating the figures and me. The figures turn and levitate, more hastily than the way they came to me away into the heart of the forest.
The white animal gallops after them. I hear scream which i can identify immediately. It's my own.
I regain conciseness sitting bolt upright. I fumble with the bed sheets, which are dripping with sweat, grab my wand and creep down the stairs. Though its the middle of the night, and Hannah is fast asleep, I can still hear drunken voices downstairs at the bar. As much as I would love to join them, I'm still shaken, so I tread through the shadows to the edge of the fireplace, where a small pot is sitting. I've gone through this process so many times, I know exactly what to say and do. I reach my hand into the pot, and emerge with a handful of red powder. Stepping into the unlit fireplace, I drop the powder onto the ground and say 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'