AWAKENING
The scream in the night was what alerted Harry that something was wrong.
He swung out of bed, grabbing his spectacles and his wand from the oak dresser at the side and ran out of the door.
Sprinting along the passageway, he saw that the rest of the household was already up and moving. He saw Ginny and raised an eyebrow.
"George", she whispered, raising a finger to her lips. "Shh. Ron's in there with him. Do you want to go in?"
He nodded the affirmative. "Go, then. But don't disturb him."
He rolled his eyes and pushed open the mahogany-wood door, and walked in. Ron sat by the side of the handsome bed, white sheets tangled. George's head was a dark silhouette against the outline of the pillow.
"You're awake", said Ron briskly, without looking in Harry's direction. "Can you get anything more out of him than I have?"
"What happened?", queried Harry softly, not wanting to disturb George.
"Can't really say, mate", Ron said. "All of us woke up when he screamed. He had a bad nightmare, I think."
Harry approached the bed. 'George?', he asked cautiously.
"Fred?" Suddenly, George spoke.
"Fred's not here right now, George. It's me, Harry. Ron's here too."
"Fred, Fred…" George whispered. After that came an indistinct murmur. Then his head fell back against the pillow and his breathing soon turned deep and regular.
"That's all he says. He calls for Fred or mutters something. 'The Darkness…' I can't hear anything more than that", Ron said. He leaned over and straightened the sheets on George's bed and strode towards the door. He paused to wait for Harry to follow.
"His wand's on the floor", Harry noted."It must have fallen. Come on."
They walked out. Ginny was waiting for them.
"I told everyone else to go back to sleep", she whispered. "You two should sleep too. You look dead on your feet."
"Yeah, okay." Harry said. He pointed with his thumb towards the door. "We'll ask him what happened when he wakes up."
They murmured their good-nights and went to their respective rooms. Ginny walked with Harry.
"Goodnight," she said softly as she reached her room. "Sleep well."
"You, too", said Harry.
She opened the door of her room and went in. Harry went on ahead. As he walked along the passage, he heard her door close with a soft snick.
He reached his room and pushed the door open. An empty cage stood on the top of his cupboard. Hedwig had not returned from her hunting excursion.
He lay down on the bed and drifted off into sleep. It had been a strange night.
Little did he know that this was one of the last good night's sleeps he would be getting for a long time.
Author's Note : Sorry for the delay. Enjoy! Chapter two will be up in a couple of days.