Chapter Six

Blinking, Lori looked around. She was laying half off a small bed and white sheets were tangled around her body. She untangled herself from the sheets and stood up, looking around the dark room. The one window in the room let in the mid-morning light through the white curtains, and the small room seemed to reflect the light.

There was a dresser/night stand next to her, a closet, and a bookshelf/desk. There was a small TV stuffed in the corner, a stereo, a computer and a mirror were scattered throughout the room. The walls were pale blue, the furniture was oak with a glossy surface... It was all familiar.

Lori walked over to the mirror and looked at herself in the mirror leaning against the wall. She was wearing dark blue sleep pant bottoms and a white tank top-her old sleep clothes. She reached out and touched the mirror's cool, smooth surface. It was real, not just some imagination.

Turning Lori walked over to her door and opened it, only to see the familiar hallway that led to the bathroom, closet, guest room, the rec. room and the study. She walked down the hall until she came to the stairs that led downstairs. Tears slowly began to crawl down her cheek, she was back home-the home she knew and loved, the Taylor's home.

Lori opened her eyes in a panic. The Taylor's, she was finally home... She bolted upright but saw only drapes... drapes of dark green all around her. She wiped away a tear as she realized that it was just a dream, she wasn't back at the Taylor's. No, they were dead and she was here at Hogwarts, the school where they taught people like herself magic and taught them how to battle an evil wizard.

Nothing was normal here, nothing was the same-and it was never like the Taylor's... it was never like her home.

The next morning Lori dragged herself into the Great Hall for breakfast. She didn't know how she was able to withstand the annoying glares shot at her from other students or the curious glances and whispers that seemed to follow her all around. All she knew was that she hadn't gotten any sleep and she was about to scream the next time someone asked her if she was really Snape's daughter.

Sighing, she sat herself down at the farthest seat on the Slytherin table, idly putting food onto her plate. She didn't care what she had, just as long as it didn't make her vomit. A black shape jumped up into the seat next to her and began licking her neck. Akura had spent the night outside Lori's dormitory-she hadn't let him in because it would have bothered the other girls with his insane growling while sleeping. He still had weird dreams that seemed to rock him to the core.

"Hey Akura..." she whispered as she fed him a piece of bacon. "Whatcha been up to?" The wolf simply ignored the piece of bacon and chewed on the collar of Lori's new robes. He acted like they were some annoying insect that he wanted to get rid of. "Yeah, I don't like them either but it's what I have to wear."

Akura growled and gently took her wrist in his mouth. Lori looked down at him with curiosity. He never acted like this before... but the look he was giving her made her think twice about ignoring him. "What is it? What's wrong?" She asked him quietly. He only growled deeper and tugged at her arm.

Frowning, Lori stood up. Akura jumped onto the table and began pulling her down it, towards the exit. "What? Akura, what are you doing?" She yelled as he began pulling her with him as he ran down the table. "Akura, stop!"

Her yells were falling on deaf ears, though. Akura kept running, almost as if he was pulling her somewhere. Finally he let go of her arm and ran out the door, acting as if this was important to follow him. Lori was curious, maybe he was playing but the look in his eyes kept flashing through her mind. There was something wrong, and he wanted her to know it. So Lori ran after Akura, out of the Great Hall and down the marble staircase into the entrance hall.

Once her feet hit the bottom step of the staircase, Lori spotted Akura sitting calmly at the edge of her vision, right in front of the staircase that led down to the dungeons. He looked at her and then down into the darkness. This perplexed Lori, what was Akura up to? She walked over to him and took a hold of his collar, looking down the staircase. "What do you want me to do? Or are you just playing with me, silly..." she asked him.

She didn't get an answer. Suddenly Akura bolted down the stairs and Lori, having a tight hold on his collar, was taken along for the ride. But half way down the stairs she tripped and fell forward, hitting her head on a stair and letting go of Akura's collar. She rolled down the rest of the stairs and stopped at the bottom, her head bleeding and her body still.

"Ughn," Lori muttered as she slowly opened her eyes. She blinked and felt a stinging in her eyes. She carefully lifted up a hand to feel her head gingerly. When she pulled it away, she found that blood covered it. "Ooouh, ew," she whispered as she gazed at it. Wincing, she pulled herself up off of the floor.

Her world spun violently making her sick to her stomach, but still she pushed upwards. Her body began to shake violently making her more sick-she knew her body wouldn't be able to support her. She assumed she had a blood loss, making her subjectible to very severe dizziness spells and possible fainting... All right, so definite fainting.

Leaning against the wall she tried to make sense of her surroundings. Things were disoriented, deformed. She blinked a few times hoping that that would clear things up, but it didn't. Sighing, she pushed herself away from the wall and managed to stay upright for a few seconds before crumbling to the floor again.

"Maybe a nice nap would do good," she muttered as she closed her eyes and fell asleep instantly.

Author's Note: Yeah I know, short. But the next chap is coming out soon and it has a bit more info and all. Ooooh, what WILL happen to Lori? What happened to Hogwarts? What's with the explosion? And what in the world am I planning next? Well, you'll have to read to find out. Thanks to all who have reviewed!

-ShadowKat