CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE BOND

"What is the meaning of this?" Blaire said as her eyes flickered between the mark on her hand and the one on Severus's. He noticed her looking and he quickly pulled down his sleeve and she did the same, feeling her cheeks suddenly turn warm.

"You still had a nightmare even after taking the Dreamless Sleep Potion?" McGonagall spoke and Blaire nodded.

"Impossible!" Severus blurted. "The Dreamless Sleep Potion is designed to allow the person who has consumed it to have a dreamless sleep. No dreams or nightmares will happen."

"I know." Blaire said impatiently. At this rate, she was not going to have any peaceful sleep. "I am sure that I drank every drop."

"Maybe it's not a dream." Dumbledore said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Blaire frowned at him.

"The potion has never failed before, and I am sure Severus had brewed it correctly. The only theory I can come up with is that your nightmares are not nightmares after all. You did mention they seemed real, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I still don't understand." Blaire ran a hand through her hair. The nightmares were not nightmares? What was Dumbledore trying to say? And what has the mark on her hand mean? Fortunately, she did not have to ask.

"What about me, headmaster?" Severus asked. "What does the mark mean? And why do I have it too?"

Dumbledore removed his glasses and pressed the bridge of his nose. "I am afraid I don't have the answers, Severus. Except I believe, you might be involved in this. We can't do anything until Blaire confronts with this man that she meets every night." He said.

Blaire who was playing with her hands looked up."Confront? But how?" Blaire asked.

"You have to. You have to confront this man." Dumbledore said. "Or I'm afraid you will never get some sleep. You'll have to confront your demons."

Blaire felt her mouth went dry. Confront her demons? It was easy for him to say that. He was not the one who wakes up on the floor screaming every day.

Blaire pulled her blanket over herself as she cuddled Tigger. She was back in her room that night. She shivered as she thought of what she had to do. "Confront your demons. Confront your demons." She muttered to herself. Falling asleep was not hard, for she was tired. "Goodnight Tigger." She mumbled as she closed her eyes.

Blaire found herself in the room. She resisted the urge to scream and slapped herself instead. She felt pain. "I'm awake. Merlin!" she muttered to herself. She took a few steps forward. The room was empty. There were only walls, no doors, no windows, nothing. She was still nervous though. The room turned dark suddenly and Blaire let out a scream of surprise. Like she had expected, there was a light at the corner of her room. Instead of resisting, with shaky hands, she went towards the black hooded figure, the man. "Blaire." He said in that oh-so familiar deep voice.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she asked, failing to hide the tremble in her voice. She felt him grab her hand which felt wet and there was a slight pain. She looked down and she knew it was blood. He tried to pull her with him but she resisted. "No! Who are you?" she asked loudly, trying desperately trying to catch a glimpse of his face. He said nothing but raised his free, not-bloodied hand, to her face and gently stroked her cheek. He said her name softly and she felt her heart beating faster. "Please, tell me who you are?" He shook his head. "You know me." he said softly and tugged her hand hard, causing her to trip and fall…

Blaire's eyelid flew open. She was awake. Her eyes glanced at the clock. It was almost eight in the morning. She sat on her bed and absent-mindedly touched her cheek. It was no nightmare, but she was confused. Her gaze dropped to her wrist where the mark still stood. She had done what Dumbledore had told her to alright, but there were still no clear answers. She yawned and got off the bed. At least she was not on the floor, screaming anymore and she felt less tired than before. She got dressed, fed Tigger before leaving her room for breakfast at the Great Hall, deep in thoughts.

Author's Note: This chapter is just a short one, kind of a preview for what is to come. :)