[Thanks to Yuko for being schnoogleworthy. *grin*]
Nightmares by VerityHe still taught Potions.
The students were afraid of him. Something had changed that he couldn't define or understand. Hatred was easier to deal with. Now they shivered as he passed by their desks, though their hands were steady as they placed the Potions ingredients into their cauldrons.
And, to compensate for their irrational terror, he was less cruel. Not kind, though - kindness was an entirely different thing alltogether.
He mused on these things as he lay in bed, waiting for the Lord Dream's cold kiss...
She sits next to him, her knees tucked up to her chest, perched on the edge of the Astronomy Tower observation balcony. Her brown hair waves around her face, unbound, and she looks terribly beautiful, unbroken.
"Miss Granger," he says, look up to her.
She smiles at him. Her front teeth are perfect and even. "Dance."
And from somewhere, music comes: a song that he does not recognise, though she seems familiar enough with it.
She'll come back as fire, to burn all the liars, and leave a blanket of ash on the ground...
It's not an easy song to dance to, but they do, with grace, and suddenly it is as though he has stepped out from himself: watching student and teacher dance in perfect harmony.
I miss the comfort in being sad...
"And you will never get it back," she whispers.
He awoke in the dark, his heart thudding and knew: it had to come to an end.
- end -
music: Nirvana's Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle; lyrics used without permission.
