Belladonna 14

Lack of Sleep

17 December 1992

Sleep did not come easily for Ana for the next several weeks. Her dreams were plagued by strange, swirling lights, blurry faces, and a weeping woman begging for Sev to help. At night she'd toss and turn in a restless state, but come morning the dreams would vanish quickly and she could make no more sense of them than the first night.

Unfortunately for Ana, the lack of sleep began to show in her school work. One week in Herbology, she was so distracted she got entangled in the Venomous Tentacula and had to go see Madam Pomfrey when she injured herself with a severing charm. In Charms, she'd accidentally sent Professor Flitwick flying across the classroom and sent him to the hospital wing. She'd actually received a Dreadful on an assignment in Transfiguration because she fell asleep half-way through and had to turn it in incomplete. She always left Divination with a headache; though, that could have been from the heavy incense as opposed to the lack of sleep. But…even Potions was affected by the lack of sleep

"Miss Evans," Professor Snape said from directly behind Ana, causing her to jump. "Restate what I just said."

"Uh… Evans miss?"

Flora and Hestia giggled, as did many others, but Sev was not amused.

"Ten points from Slytherin for your lack of focus, and five for your cheek."

Ana nodded. She probably deserved that.

"Now, pay attention, and see me after class."

Much of the class heckled until Sev turned on them as well. The remaining thirty minutes seemed to drag on forever. Ana tried to pay attention, truly, but she'd had Divination before that and her head was still foggy. It didn't help matters that this lesson was of the lecture variety and not a practical one.

When the bell finally rang, Ana told the girls to go to lunch without her; she'd catch up with them later. Then she waited for the rest of the class to file out before approaching Sev. He stood near the front of his desk with a look he usually reserved for the Gryffindors.

"Please don't look at me like that, Sir," Ana said.

"And how is it that I look?" he asked dryly.

"Like I'm the biggest regret of your life."

The softening of his features were miniscule, but Ana noticed them and was appreciative of them.

"Take a seat, Belladonna, and tell me…what troubles you now?"

"Nothing," Ana lied. She didn't want to tell Sev about the dreams because she didn't want to sound like a child complaining.

"I would disagree. You failed to perform a simple seize and pull charm, and instead you sent Filius to hospital. You received a Dreadful on an assignment for Minerva, and now you cannot tell me what is in a shrinking solution."

"I can too! It's… that's what you asked, isn't it? You know I can brew a shrinking solution, Sev."

"Then speak."

"I…" Ana sighed. "I haven't been sleeping well lately." She knew it was probably a foolish notion to think that would be a sufficient enough of an explanation for him. His look told her she'd been correct in that assumption, so she continued.

"I…I've been having these…strange dreams ever since the bludger incident."

She was looking down at her hands as she spoke so she missed the fleeting look that grazed his face at the mention of dreams. He quickly concealed it before his next words however.

"What are these dreams about?"

"That's sort of the problem, Sev! I…I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to snap; I'm just tired." She rubbed the corner of her eyes before continuing.

"I don't know what they're about. I can't figure them out. I just know that I hardly sleep through them and when I wake I'm just as tried, if not more, than when I went to bed. I told Professor Trelawney, and she lent me a copy of The Dream Oracle and she said that I should write it all down. I've tried, but the dreams fade so quickly when I wake. I can't gather much."

"And what have you managed to gather from them?"

"I… There's this girl…a little girl…I think she may be me…or something. And there's this…this man and woman…there are two men, and…"

Ana started off by simply focusing on the log she'd started keeping, and she was fine. But when she started trying to actually recall the dream itself, she began to have a terrible headache, like an acute stabbing pain behind her eyes. She pinched her eyes shut until she saw bursts of light on her eyelids as she tried to force more of the dream out.

"That's enough!" Sev said severely. Ana opened her eyes wide and it took a moment for Sev to come into focus. The dream faded quickly leaving only a dull ach behind.

"Sir?"

"This is foolish, Belladonna. It is merely a dream; it means nothing. I don't want you to think on it anymore. It is clearly causing undue distress. Holiday begins tomorrow; you will get proper rest then. And I…I will mix up a mild sleeping draught to help with that."

Ana was confused and surprised. This was not the first time Ana had trouble sleeping; most young children go through a period of bad dreams, and Sev had never offered to make a sleeping draught for her then. So why now? It didn't really sound like him, but she was desperate for a bit of sleep and decided not to question it.

"Thank you, Sir," she said.

"Now… about this…Dreadful," his lip curled in disgust. "I have arranged for you to meet with Minerva for a little extra credit assignment…"

"You did what?! But, Sev…"

"I will not hear it, Belladonna. A Dreadful is absolutely unacceptable. No ward of mine will settle for such disgrace. I should dock more points from Slytherin for it, but I will not…this time."

"There won't be a second time."

"Obviously. We are done here. You may go and speak with her now. I will have the draught ready for you tonight."

He waved his hand towards the door and Ana knew she'd been dismissed. She grabbed her bag and left quickly.

Ana was not looking forward to talking to Professor McGonagall about receiving extra credit. The woman was not known for her extreme kindness, especially towards Slytherins. She was as strict as Sev was, which made Ana curious as to what Sev had to sacrifice to get her to agree to this.

McGonagall was not in her classroom; of course she wouldn't be now as the bell for lunch had already rung. Ana doubted she'd be in her office either, but she figured she'd try just so she could say she did. When she stood just outside the door, she could hear voices on the other side. Oh well. Best to get it over with, right? She raised her hand to knock, but before she could the door opened and there stood…George.

"Little Snake!" Fred popped up over his brother's shoulder. "So you like spending extra time with McGonagall too, huh?"

"Who doesn't?" Ana asked through clenched teeth.

"Well, I imagine…" Fred looked like he was about to list names but McGonagall stopped him.

"Mr. Weasley! Let Miss Evans through; I don't have all day to doddle."

"Right you are, Professor."

Ana moved back to allow them to exit. George passed quickly and without a word or a glance in Ana's direction. Fred, however, did not. As he passed Ana he laid a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Good luck."

The sensation of his touch and his breath on her skin sent shivers down her back. She smiled as she watched him walk away.

"Miss Evans, today if you please," McGonagall said.

Just nine hours of work left then its off to Vacay! And I promise to try and work on Scars some too.