~Awakening the Mind~
Chapter 4: Letters for Rose
Lysander shifted on the couch to face me straight on; his blonde hair cascaded into his face, obscuring his sapphire eyes from my watchful view. I naturally moved a lock of my wavy red hair behind my ear as he began. "The plan is relatively simple, go to Professor Longbottom and ask to participate in some extra credit chores. If you're lucky he might give you a job like watering the Mandrake or something. Just snatch the hellebore then and bring it back here so we can turn it into the syrup."
He was right. The plan was relatively simply, at least if it went right. "What if the hellebore is not there?" It was a possibility, after all, it was the beginning of the year and so many plants were just in the process of blooming. "Also, why don't you just grab a vial of the syrup while in Slughorn's potion closet?" This was the question caught Lysander off guard but he quickly answered confidently like it didn't frazzle him.
"Clearly, if we steal the two main ingredients for a Draught of Peace from Slughorn he will notice someone is going to brew it and will be on high alert. We can't have that risk when we are brewing." I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes to ponder the possibility of getting caught. But as I feared, it would be incredibly easy to catch the culprit that way.
"Then I will steal it next week. We need to give the hellebore a chance to mature." Lysander nodded in agreement then bid me goodnight before departing for the boy's dormitories. It wasn't long after that I left for the girl's dormitories through my exhaustion.
I shuffled my feet across the dormitory's hardwood floor and plopped down on the unoccupied blue canopy bed. Beside me lay my trunk from the Hogwarts Express. I tiredly opened my trunk to pull out some pajamas to sleep in. As I pulled out my pajama bottoms a note fell out. My mum and dad probably left it in my trunk was the initial thought. So I just tossed it back into my trunk so I could change and fall asleep in my new bed.
I quickly threw on my flannel pants and a loose-fitting white t-shirt and laid down on the soft blue comforter. My wavy scarlet hair draped over the fluffy pillow as my eye lids began to give in. Lying under a bewitched canopy, which twinkled with stars and occasional comets, made it relatively easy to fall asleep.
Hellebore. Just inches from my wanting grasp. A swift pluck and it will be mine. It was such a simple mission, almost too easy. I grabbed the stem of this toxic plant to give it a swift yank and- Azkaban? I was surrounded by crumpling stone walls and uneven limestone flooring, my hands and feet handcuffed to the wall. How did this come to be?
A chill rose around me as I pressed myself against the cool damp stone barrier, shirking way from the cool air that was swirling around me. All hope, all dreams, and all happiness in my body drifted away from existence into nothing. Violent shivers took over my body and my breath was visible in the chilly atmosphere.
A skeletal hand appeared from the opposite side of the rusted iron door. The entrance swung open with a little motion from flexing its fingers. I tried to run but shackles restrained me, chafing my wrists and ankles with every moment I attempted. Chained to the wall with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, would I live? I could answer that myself- no. I cowered against the wall as the skeleton with shadow robes hovered above me and lifted its hood. It began breathing in and with every breathe I died a little inside. It doesn't matter if I died from the inside or the out. It was still the Dementor's Kiss and I was surely dead as everything faded to black.
I woke up in cold sweat; a temperate sunrise was looming over the mountains leaking through the windows, to engulf the girl's dormitory. Would I go to Azkaban for just stealing some hellebore? It was for a worthy cause I believed, saving Lorcan from some sort of magic malady. I would prefer him tolerating me for more than five minutes, instead of the one minute yesterday evening. How was helping a friend's brother so bad? I don't know, I guess I will find out when we brew the Draught of Peace.
I was afraid to close my eyes again. I didn't want to relive that again. I would not be able to stand it! I hugged my knees against my chest and laid my head on top of it. Tears escaped from my eyes and collected on my pajama bottoms. I quietly wept in that position until an eerie tapping echoed from one of the windows.
Of course, like most people, I went to investigate. I quickly wiped away the tears from my eyes and scooted out of the bed. I followed the sound closely and peered out every window until I saw a snow white owl carrying an envelope. The owl was beautiful with white feathers that were speckled with light brown spots. Its eyes were like molten gold and were also very gentle.
Confusion flowed within me. Mail wasn't expected until breakfast but I slid the window open anyways and retrieved the letter anyways. When I accepted the letter the elegant owl flew up to the top of the west tower, back to the Owlery.
I glanced down at the letter I received with my name written in a fancy script. I walked down the steps toward the common room, still staring intently at the letter. Who would send a letter at this early hour? I took a seat at the comfortable couch again and opened the note.
"Meet me at the Whomping Willow at noon, don't be late."
It was an interesting thing to ask a first year, because mainly, I have no idea where in Merlin's name the Whomping Willow was! So at least I can conclude that the sender isn't a first year.
I wandered back into my dormitory, which was still in dim lighting, and made my way back to my bed. Pained shot up my toe as I glanced down to see it pressed against my trunk. Obviously I stubbed my toe on it. I hopped down on my bed and rubbed my toe until the pain was relieved.
I bent down toward my trunk again but this time I heaved it onto my bed. I opened it to stare at the crimson and gold things my mum and dad packed for me this year. Sadly I could never wear those colors. I lifted my wand from one of my trunks many compartments and laid out all of the red and gold ties, scarves, and crests on the bed. I pointed my wand at the objects and whispered, "Caeruleus." Blue sparks floated over the objects turning them the Ravenclaw colors of blue and bronze and were now wearable to me.
I turned to place my new Ravenclaw uniform away when something caught my eye. The letter my mum packed in my trunk that I noticed last night. I pulled out the letter with new excitement that I was too tired to express last night. I extracted the letter out of the crisp envelope and unfolded it eagerly with a smile that spread from ear-to-ear.
My smile disappeared as I noticed the handwriting was foreign to me. I read the letter again and again. Shivers crawled up my spine again. This note made no sense to me but still the message it said could send a chill up anyone's spine. I folded it back into its rectangular form and shoved it back into the envelope. Then I placed the letter in the trunk and then rested my new Ravenclaw uniforms on top to conceal it from my view.
No matter how hard I tried not to think about it, the letter's words were still seared into my mind and I had no idea what to do about it. When I laid down for my last hour of sleep the letter kept repeating in my mind. Staring at the bewitched canopy as a sunrise appeared on the colth didn't soothe my active mind either. It still repeated:
"DO NOT AWAKE THE MIND."
A/N: So it took longer than expected to write this chapter, writer's block. I was able to plow through it though! Also, it seems that my attempts to get reviews for this story are failing, miserably. So, until I get at least one review I won't continue to the next chapter (I will also be away for a bit, too.) Reviews would make my day, so please review. DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters or places in Harry Potter, all credit goes to JKR! :D
Okay, last attempt to have some fun here:
~Review and tell me who you think wants to meet Rose at the Whomping Willow.~ :D
