Chapter Two: No Turning Back
We finally make it to the castle after a bitterly cold and seemingly endless carriage ride: The journey was so miserable I hardly had the heart to reminisce poignantly and lament on how this would be my last one. Who am I kidding? Those things are awful! Good riddance, stupid horseless carriages. I nearly run into the Great Hall, anxious to start the feast, and am immediately disappointed by the absence of food. Why can't the feast happen before the Sorting? First years don't need to eat, just let the rest of us start sooner, damn it! I slouch into a seat at the Gryffindor table, with Mary and Marlene on one side of me and an empty seat on my other side. I'm hoping Lily is able to occupy it before a certain obnoxious—
"This seat taken?" Damn. Black would show up exactly where he's least wanted.
"Well actually—" I start, but I'm immediately cut off by Lily, who finally decides to grace us with her presence.
"Sorry I'm late, guys. Two second years got in a fight on the carriage, and, well, as Head Girl…" She trails off abashedly and shrinks down into the seat next to Marlene. Thanks, Lils, leave me with the annoying prat. I'll get her back for this one. Black is still staring at me expectantly, so I decide it's high time to respond.
"Never mind, I guess it isn't taken. Feel free," I say, hoping he made a silent promise to do the opposite of what I say. Normal people do stuff like that all the time, right? I mean it can't be just me…
"Good," he grins as he sits down. Apparently not. I'm actually surprised that he waited for my response before sitting down, though: Usually he thinks that any girl would be lucky to sit with him and doesn't even bother to ask.
James, Remus, and Peter decide to join the group, sliding into the seats directly across from the rest of us. Everyone finally seems to settle down, and after a seemingly eternal period of waiting, the doors to the Hall burst open as Professor McGonagall leads a hoard of nervous-looking first years down the center aisle. They look the same as last year: small, nervous, annoying. I zone out, counting the seconds until I get my food.
*Dog Days Are Over*
"Why so grouchy, Liv?" asks a half concerned, half amused Lily as I violently slam my drawer shut.
"What? You'd be grouchy too if you'd sat next to Black, who incessantly poked me 'accidentally' with whatever utensil he happened to be holding. That includes knives!" I yell. "And I completely hate unpacking." I shrug my shoulders and completely give up on trying to organize my stuff, choosing instead to fall onto my bed. "I could sleep for ages," I add.
"You're not even in your pajamas," she comments.
I groan and roll over, grunting something I hoped sounded like, "Too lazy." Lily laughs and goes back to her conversation with Mary. Why is she even in here? Doesn't she have some crazy-ass head dorm to go to? I mean I love Lily, but if I were head, I'd be livin' it up in a kick-ass dorm rather than being here, in a room that smells kind of like socks, talking with Mary. Did I mention how loud they talk? They're practically yelling. And Mars just joined in the conversation.
I slam my pillow over my head in an attempt to block out the sound—ah, I know what I forgot to do: sound-proof these damn curtains. I drag myself up and grab my wand, struggling to remember the spell I need: I make a complicated wand movement (I mean I'd describe it, but I'm not quite sure there's a word) and think the non-verbal spell. Kind of fitting that a spell that blocks out sound is unspoken. It'd be nice if the spell blocked the sound for both ways, but it doesn't, and I'm pretty sure my room mates' need is greater than mine: I tend to be a noisy sleeper and avid sleep talker. You know, nightmares about my tortured past. It's a miracle I'm as normal as I am.
"Why do you have to be so loud?" I whine.
"Why do you have to be so grouchy?" Lily retorts with a smirk. "It's incredibly out of character, actually. You were never this grouchy last year."
"I'm not grouchy," I pout, "just trying to get to sleep in a room full of noisy girls. Shouldn't you be asleep too? What time is it anyway?"
Marlene looks at the clock and guiltily replies, "One-thirty." She makes a poor attempt to hide a smile, but bursts out laughing instead. I groan and cover my ears. "You could just sleep in the common room," Mars puts it, finally getting over her laughter. Wait, Marlene McKinnon had a good idea? When was the last time that happened?
"Maybe I will," I say, grabbing my pillow and a blanket before marching out of the dormitory. By the time I reach the very empty common room, I've already second guessed this idea. What if I do have a nightmare? There's nothing in the common room that I can cast the charm on… I push the idea of turning back out of my head. There's no way I'm submitting myself to a sleepless night in the dormitory of raucous girls. And besides, the nightmare usually only comes on bad days, and I happened to think that today went pretty well. I lay out my pillow and curl up on the couch near the fire; before I know it, I'm fast asleep.
*Dog Days Are Over*
"Ollie, wake up!"
I'm running from the house. I have to get farther away—no, I want to go back. I want to go back. I WANT TO GO BACK. But I keep running, because no matter how much I want to, I can't go back. I can't—
"OLLIE!" I sit up at the sound of my name, gasping for air as if I actually had been running. "Are you all right?" asks a concerned-looking Sirius Black. I feel the tears rush to my eyes, and I shake my head, unable to form words. I look away from his apprehensive face and at the common room around me. I can only see a multitude of legs and a few worried faces from my perspective on the floor, which leaves me wondering: one, why I wasn't on the couch? and two, why were so many people in the common room just standing around staring at me?
"What happened?" I croak, my throat feeling incredibly sore for no apparent reason. Sirius glanced down at me nervously as though I were extremely dangerous and might attack him.
"Well you sort of woke up the whole House," he began, obviously wanting to stop there. One look from me, though, and he continued. "You just started screaming, like you were dying or something. I ran down the stairs and found you on the floor, and well," he took a deep breath, "we all thought you were dead."
The tears in my eyes spilled over; I tucked my head down between my knees. I heard Sirius quietly shooing everyone away; I was glad to hear Lily, Mary, and even Marlene protesting loudly about being made to leave, though they eventually did, vowing that if I wasn't up in the dorm in five minutes they'd be down to drag me up there and comfort me themselves. Sirius sat down on the floor next to me: I didn't exactly want him to be the one consoling me, but I couldn't bring myself to move away from him. For a while he didn't speak, just sat next to me.
"What happened?" he finally asked softly. I squeezed my eyes shut as I shook my head again. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me." Why did he have to say that? My mind suddenly became a lot clearer, and I picked my head up to look directly into his gray eyes. I cursed the stupid promise to myself, but finally I relented. I knew I was going to have to tell someone eventually.
**A/N: I was trying to do some revisions on this chapter, but SOMEONE (ahem, MySilverWings18) wouldn't answer me. So I think it turned out okay, don't you? Leave a review if you think it needs some changing (I don't mind doing post-posting alterations on chapters). And because I've been getting yelled at for 'stealing' catchphrases, I've decided to change it up a little! i Gracias mucho y que siga leyendo!
