Title: The Dream
Disclaimer: Own the plot, lame as it is...don't own anything else, though...oh! I DO own Esme Francis – Yay!!
A/N: I'd like to thank Crazy-HarryPotter-Nerd and slytheringirl 135 for all their support and reviews. And guys, don't worry, I think u'll find this chapter very, well, see it for yourself! And yay!! Enter – Esme! - At LAST... (I just LOVE the name Esme!!)
Winter was not doing a very good job.
Inside the boys' dormitory, the air was damp and hot around James as he tossed in his four-poster bed, strangled in the covers. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and into his tear-stained pillow, on which his thick dark locks mashed onto messily.
He was having a bad dream. A very vivid bad dream... was it a dream?
"Don't be silly, boy," the man said, "there's no such thing as magic."
"Yes, there is!" he was persistent, he was adamant, he was succeeding – "I'll show you – here, look -" and he shoved the stolen prophecy under the man's nose –
- Flashes of colours - aagh - too bright - another toss -
It was dark. Everything was black. James looked up at the tall shadow of the man.
"What do you want me to do?" asked James fearfully.
"Go to the Forbidden Forest after midnight," said the man, "My people will meet you at the acromantulas's den."
"The acro – what?"
"Oh, you silly, ignorant little boy," sneered the man, "here, let me show you –"
And with that, he plunged his hand into his robes and brought out a thin, sealed flask, which glimmered in the darkness.
"There is a Pensieve in the Head's office. It's up to you to decide exactly how and when you want to use it without anyone's awareness." He paused, and then smirked, "And now wouldn't be a bad time."
Then, with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.
- A swirl of darkness - and then he was falling, falling -
He was running, trying to catch up with two gigantic spiders, which were somehow flying across the forest floor, each carrying a human in its front legs. He saw trees fly by as he ran, and some were VERY familiar – he knew how to go to the acromantulas's den –
- So hot – can't breathe – toss –
"Kill them," clicked the monstrously ugly great spider fretfully. "I was sleeping..."
"We're friends of Hagrid's," shouted one of the boys, and James heard his own voice, as though a little deepened, and with a jolt, realized that it was his father – he knew that anyways – but he realized that it was his father and his uncle Ronald who had chosen to put themselves at such a perilous risk –
Another flash of blinding white – another toss –
"He was brave!" bawled James.
"NO, he was NOT," snarled Luke. "For his interference with EVERYTHING, the Dark Lord has been defeated. The Dark Lord, who knew – who wanted us to be known for our superiority, our power, above ALL those filthy Muggles with their stupid nuclear weapons -"
Danny Swayer yawned. And Lord, it was hot in there!
He pushed himself off his bed, trudged along the row of beds, ignored a moan from a wildly thrashing Potter and threw open the large windows. Almost immediately, gusts of cold wind filled the room. Yawning in the soothing cold comfort, he walked back to his bed and flopped down in its covers, already asleep.
Five beds away, the dream continued, although much of its vividness was reduced by the sudden cool.
The wind tossed the flames higher, and now they were towering over the house. The villagers watched and gasped as the fire cackled – no, cracked and spit when it hungrily devoured the threadbare roof. Beside James's petrified body, a woman screamed:
"ESME-EEE!!"
Tearing his eyes away from the dancing wild flames, he focused them upon the woman, who now was heaped on the ground, her breast heaving with sobs, arms of a thin, bald man wrapped around her.
"Patrick," she choked out, "Patrick, save her, Patrick no – she – Esme – my Esme, my darling – no – save her – Patrick – she – die – fire – my darling Esme, no, Patrick..."
The man Patrick looked around helplessly, his eyes wide, sad and fearful. James saw him squinting his red eyes up at the oranges of his demolished house, and then look away, his face screwed up, his arms wounding tighter around the wailing woman, pressing her to his thin chest. At the same time, an ear-splitting scream full of despair and fear tore through the smoky sky.
James did not think, did not hesitate. All he knew was that somewhere in the depths of the fire, the girl still lived –
"AGUAMENTI!"
The small room was very cold. Shivering, the sleeping boys pulled the warm covers up to their chins, and once more, succumbed into their comfortable slumbers – and for some, dreams began from where they left off.
The girl was about his age, and very, very pretty, even though her whole body was blackened and charred. Her hair was singed and frizzy in the heat, but James could see that it was a lovely shade of blonde, skin a rosy-white texture. She had big, wide grey eyes, underneath a fringe of almost invisible eyelashes, and plump cheeks with a dimple on her chin. As James's eyes travelled further down her body, he couldn't help but notice the graceful arch of her long neck, and below that – his eyes widening – heart pounding –
She was looking at him now. Her enormous grey eyes bored into his hazel ones, and James saw her pink, full lips turn up at the corners, parting slightly, exposing a straight set of small, white teeth, and then he realized that she was smiling at him, a smile which gushed gratitude and – was there more to it? – and he tried to return the smile but all he could manage was to make his heart pound louder and much faster and his breathing was stopping, and oh God –
People were yelling now. Quite shaken from his daze, James looked around him – angry villagers were clutching a cross at their breasts and chanting something and casting fearful glances at his wand while making a tight circle around him – James looked back at Esme – but she was gone – no, she was gone!
- Shivering – tossing – rubbing feet to generate warmth -
And now he stood, afraid, gripping his only source of protection, his mind already rushing through spells and curses that could aid him but right then, he heard a loud crack -
- too cold -
-and someone was beside him and holding his arm and then there was another crack and he couldn't breathe, no, stop, he was gasping for air – his lungs – and then he could breathe again and he felt a cold breeze greet him and he looked around and he wasn't in the burning village anymore, and he beamed at his saviour and saw it was Luke's grim face which smiled happily upon his, and he realized with growing dread that he had accomplished his first task of exposure and he couldn't beam anymore but it was too cold and so cold -
Oh, it was freezing cold now. Little white flakes littered the floors and the beds and upon the shivering boys, who aroused themselves and came to their senses and shut the windows, but by then the sun was up and seeing no reason to go asleep again, they resigned to laze about and dress for the new day.
And James couldn't wait to see Esme again.
A/N: I really, REALLY hope you guys like it-Cuz I loved to write it!!
