Once class was over, I grabbed my things and left.
"Laurel!" Hermione yelled, jogging to catch up.
I bit my lip and turned, "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
I sighed, "Hermione, I shouldn't've yelled at you like that. It's just... I haven't really been myself since..." I stopped there, she knew what I meant.
She hugged me, "I know it must be really hard. But Fudge'll come to his senses at some point."
"I hope so," I whisper.
The next day, I was awoken by a nightmare. I shot out of bed, tangled in my bed sheets and panting.
"Laurel, you okay?" Mione mumbled from her bed.
"Yeah," I breathed.
"You sure, you were screaming?"
"I'm fine," I said before falling back onto my pillow, knowing I would not be falling back to sleep after seeing that.
I was in a beautiful meadow. Pansies, carnations, irises, tulips, daisies and countless other flowers were in full bloom, decorating the perfectly green grass. Their blades met my bare feet, providing a soft carpet for me. Lilies floated upon the lake with incredible blue waters while reeds and cattails claimed the banks. It was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen, the sun was shining on the lake. A cool breeze blew on my hair and blouse, a loose-fitted, off white lace t-shirt tucked into some short jean shorts. Birds were singing in sync with each other, creating a peaceful melody that made me smile.
"Laurel," called a soft voice.
I turned to see Cedric, his eyes were sparkling in the sunlight, his golden-brown hair caught the breeze, his bright white smile reflected the sun's rays so it was almost blinding.
"Cedric."
"Laurel," he said and opened his arms for me.
The fresh grass crunched lightly under my feet as I ran over to him. I threw myself into his arms and he hugged me tight. "I've missed you," I whispered, tears slipping down my face.
"Laurel, I've come to tell you to move on. Don't let me hold you back," he said softly.
"W-What?"
"I can't come back, Laurel, I'm dead. You need to forget me and move on. Don't let me hold back your relationship with Draco," he looked me in the eye.
"I-I," I stuttered as more tears rolled down my cheeks.
"Shhh, it's okay," he said bringing me closer to him, "This is just a goodbye, one last thing to remember me by."
"What do you-" I was cut off by his lips on mine.
After a few seconds of kissing, I was roughly thrown off him. I landed on a floor of dead leaves and fog. The sky was dark, tall, black trees blocked out any sunlight. My eyes wandered back to Cedric, but he was gone. In his place stood Draco.
"You filth!" he bellowed at me.
"Draco-" I began.
"No! You are just a piece of disgusting scum who's using me to get over Diggory," he spat.
"But I thought you-"
"You thought wrong. Crucio!" he yelled and pain took over my body.
I shivered at the thought of the dream, it scared me. Draco didn't really mean that, did he? But that wasn't the part that scared me the most, it was the fact that Cedric was telling me to forget him. To forget him and go to Draco, the one who had just tortured me. But it was a dream, right? Just a dream.
It was just a dream.
It was just a dream.
It was just a dream.
But I couldn't help but doubt myself, the part with Cedric had seemed so real, so like him. And the part with Draco so unreasonable. Then again, I barely knew him. Could I really count on him?