Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters
mentioned in this story, except for Kailey and Alysha.
Author's Note: Well, here it is. Chapter 4. I don't think the set up will be in this one, not with what I have planned so far. But I promise it'll come soon.
~*~*~
Alysha looked around, confused. She was in a small room; no, not a room, more like a dungeon. It had a hard stone floor and walls, and there were no windows, just a wooden door held shut with a large iron lock. She saw someone huddled in the corner opposite her. As she crawled towards the other person, she noticed it was a girl. A girl that looked very much like Kailey.
"Oh my god," Alysha scrambled towards her best friend and threw her arms around her. "Kails? Are you alright? What's going on?"
Her friend didn't react. She just stayed still. Just then Alysha felt something wet. She pulled back. There was a large gash along Kailey's abdomen, and it was bleeding profusely. Alysha gasped and shook her friend vigourously.
"Oh my god! Are you alright? No, wait. You're obviously not alright; you're bleeding. Oh my God. Kails, hun? Can you hear me? Kailey? Wake UP! C'mon, hun, just open your eyes. It's not that hard. Just do it. Come ON!" Alysha was beginning to get frantic. She felt for a pulse and leaned up to see if she was breathing. There wasn't a pulse. She couldn't feel or hear any breathing. Tears streamed down Alysha's face. "No, Kailey, hun. Listen to me, you ARE going to wake up, and we ARE -"
Just then, Alysha stopped. She felt something; the slightest hint of a pulse. It was barely there, but it was still a pulse. Then she noticed the regular brush of air flowing past her cheek. Kailey was breathing, but just like the pulse, just barely.
Alysha brushed a stray hair from Kailey's face. "We'll get out of here, I promise, and then we'll get you to a healer and everything will be okay. I promise. Now you have to promise you'll stay with me." She gripped her best friend tightly. Suddenly, the door slammed open, and before Alysha could react, one strong arm wrapped firmly around her waist and arms, while the other covered her mouth. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. She felt something brush against her ear, and then heard a harsh whisper from somewhere beside her.
"Your turn."
~*~*~
Kailey grabbed Alysha's shoulder's and shook her fiercely. "Aly, hun, wake up!" she repeated. "C'mon! Wake up!"
Alysha continued to thrash wildly in her bed, letting out a piercing scream. Hermione and Ginny were crouched next to Kailey, also trying to wake the frightened girl.
The door slammed open and six people rushed into the room. First came Ron and Harry, followed by Fred and George, and behind them, Molly and Arthur. Molly shoved the boys out of the way as she rushed into the room.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"We don't know, Auntie Molly. She won't wake up! C'mon, Aly!" Kailey was really frightened. She'd never seen anything like this before happen before, let alone to her best friend. She'd had plenty of occasions where she'd seen Alysha sleep; and nothing like this had ever happened before.
Molly knelt down on the other side of Alysha's bed. "Alysha, dear, wake up. It's Auntie Molly. Your alright, it's only a dream. Wake up."
Harry rushed forward to stand beside Molly, he grabbed Alysha's shoulders and shook her slightly as Kailey tried hitting her face lightly. Ron, Fred, George, and Arthur had come forward slightly and were watching the scene before them with worried eyes.
Just then, Alysha shot bolt upright with a gasp. She saw Kailey's face, lunged forward, and wrapped her arms around her best friend.
"Oh god, Kailey. Oh god. You were hurt. I thought. Dead. But you're alive. He took me away from you!" Alysha gasped for air. "Oh god, you're alright. Thank god. Oh god, it was horrible!"
Kailey slowly rocked her best friend back and forth. "Shh, honey, it was only a dream. It wasn't real. You're alright. Everyone's okay. Don't worry. It's alright."
Alysha pulled back. "Oh god, it was horrible," she gulped. "I was in a small dungeon-like room, and I saw you crumpled up in a corner, and you had a long gash across your stomach, and I thought you were dead, but then I noticed you were breathing very faintly. But then a guy came up behind me and picked me up and pulled me away, and told me it was my turn. Oh god, oh god. I was so afraid." Tears started streaming down her face again, as she hugged Kailey once more.
Everyone in the room exchanged astonished looks. That was some dream. Was it some sort of premonition? Was something bad going to happen to the two girls? Molly decided she wasn't going to take any chances, she was going to write to Dumbledore the moment she got out of that room. These two girls were going to go to Hogwarts, and they were going to have fun. They were NOT going to be in ANY sort of danger. Not if she had something to say about it.
~*~*~
Alysha was sitting in Ginny's bedroom, leaning against Kailey, wrapped in a blanket as her friend rubbed soothing circles one her back with her hand. She wasn't feeling too well. It was the day after her nightmare, and she was still shaky. She had thrown up earlier. She was confused, too. She'd had some pretty horrible nightmares before this one, but none had affected her like this. There had been something different about that dream. She wasn't sure what it was, but it still hadn't seemed right.
Alysha hadn't left the room all day. Molly had brought up her lunch, but she hadn't been able to eat much of it, so she had completely skipped dinner. It was fine with her. She felt like if she ate anything, she be sick again, and it was definitely a feeling she wanted avoid.
"I'll be right back, okay?" Kailey said, getting up.
Alysha smiled and nodded.
A minute or so after Kailey had left, there was a knock on the door. Alysha looked up and saw Harry standing in the doorway. She smiled. "Hey," she said softly. She normally would have blushed around Harry, but at this point, her body was too ill to really take notice that she was alone in a room with Harry. He walked in and quietly shut the door behind him. Alysha motioned for him to sit down on the other end of her bed.
"How're you feeling?" Harry asked quietly.
"Been better," Alysha grinned at Harry. He smiled back. 'Oh god,' she thought, 'Again with the smiling. I'm going to melt on the spot.'
"I just wanted to tell you that if you needed to talk to anyone, I'm here. Ever since I saw Cedric die in the cemetery." Harry's voice quietly trailed off. Alysha nodded. She understood. She'd heard all about what had happened. She placed her hand lightly over Harry's and again felt a small tingle go up her arm, unaware that Harry was feeling the same thing.
"Thanks," she said sincerely.
The two teens were plunged into an awkward silence.
"So. Umm." Harry said nervously
"Yeah." Alysha smiled sheepishly.
"I should probably. Uh. Go downstairs."
". Yeah."
Alysha lifted her hand off of Harry's, looking directly at him. They held each other's gaze for what seemed like eternity until they both looked away at the same exact time. They both looked back at each other for a few seconds and laughed. Harry then got up and shot a glance back at Alysha as he walked out the door.
Kailey then came back through the door. She saw Harry walking down the hall, away from Ginny's room, and Alysha still sitting in her bed, smiling to herself. Kailey smiled widely, and walked towards Alysha.
"So, Aly, what happened?"
Alysha blushed as the realization of what actually HAD happened hit her. "Umm. Well, Harry came to tell me that if I needed anyone to talk to, he was there, because of all the stuff with Cedric and all. And then we sat for a few seconds not talking, and then he left."
Kailey came and sat down on the bed beside Alysha. "Did you kiss?"
Alysha rolled her eyes. "Kailey, I just told you what happened. I would've told you if we had kissed too. It probably would've been the first thing I said to you. I have to say, though; I wish we had."
Kailey smirked. "Oh, I know. And I'm also pretty sure most of the people in this house know so too. You are WAY obvious."
Alysha flushed beet red.
"And I think they also know that Harry wants to kiss you, too. When you had your nightmare, you should've seen him. He looked so scared. He was shaking your shoulders so hard, but you weren't waking up."
Alysha looked up at Kailey, surprise written all over her face. "He was that worried about me?"
Now it was Kailey's turn to roll her eyes. "Duh. Stupid Aly. So innocent. So blonde."
Alysha stuck out her tongue.
~*~*~
'Stupid, stupid, stupid, Stupid!' Harry cursed himself silently. 'So. Umm.? So-effing-Umm?' That was the best his little brain could come up with? Was he doomed to become Mr. I-can't-think-of-a-damn-thing-to-say whenever he was talking to a girl he liked? He stormed into the living room, where Ron and Ginny were playing a game of exploding snaps, and Hermione was half- watching their game, half-reading a book. He stormed over to the couch Ron was sitting on and plopped himself down beside his best friend, grumbling quietly. Ron looked over at him.
"Harry, are you okay?"
He grumbled. "Just bloody fine."
Ginny and Hermione exchanged a look. They knew he had just gone to see Alysha. They both made a mental note to ask her about it later.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Ron asked again.
Harry just grumbled, and Ron didn't say anymore. He didn't want to push Harry; he had no desire at all for his best friend to blow up in his face. He turned back to the game with Ginny.
~*~*~
Alysha was lying in bed reading a magazine. Two days had passed since her dream, and she was feeling much better. She had even eaten her whole breakfast that morning, and hadn't thrown up. Yep, she was feeling much better. Just then Ginny looked up from her bed where she had been writing something. What was on the paper, the other three girls had no idea.
"Oh, yeah, Aly, 'Mione and I have been meaning to ask you something. After Harry came downstairs after speaking to you the other day - and yes, we know that's why he went upstairs - he was in a right state. What happened up here?"
Alysha blushed. "Nothing really." and she told them what she had told Kailey, but with a few more details.
Ginny winked. "Maybe he was upset because nothing happened."
Alysha laughed. "Maybe," she said hopefully.
"Hey, Gin. What're you writing?" Kailey asked, looking pointedly at the piece of paper lying on Ginny's bed.
"Nothing!" Ginny said quickly.
Kailey smiled, looking back at her book. "Suuure, whatever you say."
~*~*~ The next morning, Kailey and Alysha walked down the stairs into the kitchen. They saw Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Fred, George, Molly and two men they didn't recognize sitting around the table, talking amiably. Everyone looked up when the two girls walked in.
"Good morning, girls!" Molly said, while various 'Hello's and 'Hey's came from the group. "Alysha, this is Charlie, and this is Bill. They've just dropped by to say hi." She turned to the two men. "You already know Kailey. This is Alysha, Kailey's best friend."
Once Kailey and Alysha had come over to the table, Kailey gave both Charlie and Bill a hug, and then Alysha shook hands with the two.
"Nice to meet the both of you," she said.
"Bill works for Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank, and Charlie works with Dragons in Romania," Molly explained.
Alysha's jaw dropped. "Dragons? You're kidding me, right? Dragons aren't real."
Charlie laughed. "Of course they are, Muggles just refuse to believe it."
Alysha just stared.
Kailey snickered. "My dear friend seems to be having a bit of trouble adjusting to the Wizarding World."
Alysha rolled her eyes at her friend. "Well, I'm sorry if Dragons seem just a little unrealistic to me. I grew up with them being the creatures of fairy tales."
Kailey looked back at the rest of the group. "So, what's up for today?"
Ron groaned. "De-Gnoming the garden."
"De-Gnoming? Gnomes are cute! They're all small and Santa-Claus-like! Why would you want to get rid of them?" Alysha asked, bewildered.
Everyone at the table looked at Alysha.
"Aly, hun. I'm afraid you have ALOT to learn about the Wizarding World."
~*~*~
"Ron, could you help me look for my CD? I can't find it anywhere."
Ron looked up at Kailey. "Uhh. Sure. Why aren't any of the other girls helping you?"
"Oh, they're all busy." Kailey said easily. "Okay, you take this room, and I'll look in the kitchen."
Ron looked into the room. It was very dark. He could barely make out anything. He took a step in. Just then he heard the door click shut behind him, and he was plunged into total darkness. He heard a few giggles just outside the door, and then heard Ginny's voice. He recognized the spell she muttered; she was locking the door! He tried opening it just in case. It wouldn't budge. And he didn't have his wand.
'Oh, this is just bloody fantastic,' he thought.
~*~*~
Ginny tucked her wand back into her robe, and turned around to face Kailey and Alysha with a big smile on her face.
"Ladies, I think our work here is done." Kailey said happily, winking at her cousin and best friend.
Then, laughing, the three girls headed downstairs.
~*~*~
Note: Sorry this chapter is kind of rushed. I'm trying to get to Hogwarts as soon as possible. That's when more of the REAL plot starts to take place. It'll get better, I promise. Also, I know I said the set up probably wasn't going to happen till the next chap. But, it seemed to work. Review, please (
Author's Note: Well, here it is. Chapter 4. I don't think the set up will be in this one, not with what I have planned so far. But I promise it'll come soon.
~*~*~
Alysha looked around, confused. She was in a small room; no, not a room, more like a dungeon. It had a hard stone floor and walls, and there were no windows, just a wooden door held shut with a large iron lock. She saw someone huddled in the corner opposite her. As she crawled towards the other person, she noticed it was a girl. A girl that looked very much like Kailey.
"Oh my god," Alysha scrambled towards her best friend and threw her arms around her. "Kails? Are you alright? What's going on?"
Her friend didn't react. She just stayed still. Just then Alysha felt something wet. She pulled back. There was a large gash along Kailey's abdomen, and it was bleeding profusely. Alysha gasped and shook her friend vigourously.
"Oh my god! Are you alright? No, wait. You're obviously not alright; you're bleeding. Oh my God. Kails, hun? Can you hear me? Kailey? Wake UP! C'mon, hun, just open your eyes. It's not that hard. Just do it. Come ON!" Alysha was beginning to get frantic. She felt for a pulse and leaned up to see if she was breathing. There wasn't a pulse. She couldn't feel or hear any breathing. Tears streamed down Alysha's face. "No, Kailey, hun. Listen to me, you ARE going to wake up, and we ARE -"
Just then, Alysha stopped. She felt something; the slightest hint of a pulse. It was barely there, but it was still a pulse. Then she noticed the regular brush of air flowing past her cheek. Kailey was breathing, but just like the pulse, just barely.
Alysha brushed a stray hair from Kailey's face. "We'll get out of here, I promise, and then we'll get you to a healer and everything will be okay. I promise. Now you have to promise you'll stay with me." She gripped her best friend tightly. Suddenly, the door slammed open, and before Alysha could react, one strong arm wrapped firmly around her waist and arms, while the other covered her mouth. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. She felt something brush against her ear, and then heard a harsh whisper from somewhere beside her.
"Your turn."
~*~*~
Kailey grabbed Alysha's shoulder's and shook her fiercely. "Aly, hun, wake up!" she repeated. "C'mon! Wake up!"
Alysha continued to thrash wildly in her bed, letting out a piercing scream. Hermione and Ginny were crouched next to Kailey, also trying to wake the frightened girl.
The door slammed open and six people rushed into the room. First came Ron and Harry, followed by Fred and George, and behind them, Molly and Arthur. Molly shoved the boys out of the way as she rushed into the room.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"We don't know, Auntie Molly. She won't wake up! C'mon, Aly!" Kailey was really frightened. She'd never seen anything like this before happen before, let alone to her best friend. She'd had plenty of occasions where she'd seen Alysha sleep; and nothing like this had ever happened before.
Molly knelt down on the other side of Alysha's bed. "Alysha, dear, wake up. It's Auntie Molly. Your alright, it's only a dream. Wake up."
Harry rushed forward to stand beside Molly, he grabbed Alysha's shoulders and shook her slightly as Kailey tried hitting her face lightly. Ron, Fred, George, and Arthur had come forward slightly and were watching the scene before them with worried eyes.
Just then, Alysha shot bolt upright with a gasp. She saw Kailey's face, lunged forward, and wrapped her arms around her best friend.
"Oh god, Kailey. Oh god. You were hurt. I thought. Dead. But you're alive. He took me away from you!" Alysha gasped for air. "Oh god, you're alright. Thank god. Oh god, it was horrible!"
Kailey slowly rocked her best friend back and forth. "Shh, honey, it was only a dream. It wasn't real. You're alright. Everyone's okay. Don't worry. It's alright."
Alysha pulled back. "Oh god, it was horrible," she gulped. "I was in a small dungeon-like room, and I saw you crumpled up in a corner, and you had a long gash across your stomach, and I thought you were dead, but then I noticed you were breathing very faintly. But then a guy came up behind me and picked me up and pulled me away, and told me it was my turn. Oh god, oh god. I was so afraid." Tears started streaming down her face again, as she hugged Kailey once more.
Everyone in the room exchanged astonished looks. That was some dream. Was it some sort of premonition? Was something bad going to happen to the two girls? Molly decided she wasn't going to take any chances, she was going to write to Dumbledore the moment she got out of that room. These two girls were going to go to Hogwarts, and they were going to have fun. They were NOT going to be in ANY sort of danger. Not if she had something to say about it.
~*~*~
Alysha was sitting in Ginny's bedroom, leaning against Kailey, wrapped in a blanket as her friend rubbed soothing circles one her back with her hand. She wasn't feeling too well. It was the day after her nightmare, and she was still shaky. She had thrown up earlier. She was confused, too. She'd had some pretty horrible nightmares before this one, but none had affected her like this. There had been something different about that dream. She wasn't sure what it was, but it still hadn't seemed right.
Alysha hadn't left the room all day. Molly had brought up her lunch, but she hadn't been able to eat much of it, so she had completely skipped dinner. It was fine with her. She felt like if she ate anything, she be sick again, and it was definitely a feeling she wanted avoid.
"I'll be right back, okay?" Kailey said, getting up.
Alysha smiled and nodded.
A minute or so after Kailey had left, there was a knock on the door. Alysha looked up and saw Harry standing in the doorway. She smiled. "Hey," she said softly. She normally would have blushed around Harry, but at this point, her body was too ill to really take notice that she was alone in a room with Harry. He walked in and quietly shut the door behind him. Alysha motioned for him to sit down on the other end of her bed.
"How're you feeling?" Harry asked quietly.
"Been better," Alysha grinned at Harry. He smiled back. 'Oh god,' she thought, 'Again with the smiling. I'm going to melt on the spot.'
"I just wanted to tell you that if you needed to talk to anyone, I'm here. Ever since I saw Cedric die in the cemetery." Harry's voice quietly trailed off. Alysha nodded. She understood. She'd heard all about what had happened. She placed her hand lightly over Harry's and again felt a small tingle go up her arm, unaware that Harry was feeling the same thing.
"Thanks," she said sincerely.
The two teens were plunged into an awkward silence.
"So. Umm." Harry said nervously
"Yeah." Alysha smiled sheepishly.
"I should probably. Uh. Go downstairs."
". Yeah."
Alysha lifted her hand off of Harry's, looking directly at him. They held each other's gaze for what seemed like eternity until they both looked away at the same exact time. They both looked back at each other for a few seconds and laughed. Harry then got up and shot a glance back at Alysha as he walked out the door.
Kailey then came back through the door. She saw Harry walking down the hall, away from Ginny's room, and Alysha still sitting in her bed, smiling to herself. Kailey smiled widely, and walked towards Alysha.
"So, Aly, what happened?"
Alysha blushed as the realization of what actually HAD happened hit her. "Umm. Well, Harry came to tell me that if I needed anyone to talk to, he was there, because of all the stuff with Cedric and all. And then we sat for a few seconds not talking, and then he left."
Kailey came and sat down on the bed beside Alysha. "Did you kiss?"
Alysha rolled her eyes. "Kailey, I just told you what happened. I would've told you if we had kissed too. It probably would've been the first thing I said to you. I have to say, though; I wish we had."
Kailey smirked. "Oh, I know. And I'm also pretty sure most of the people in this house know so too. You are WAY obvious."
Alysha flushed beet red.
"And I think they also know that Harry wants to kiss you, too. When you had your nightmare, you should've seen him. He looked so scared. He was shaking your shoulders so hard, but you weren't waking up."
Alysha looked up at Kailey, surprise written all over her face. "He was that worried about me?"
Now it was Kailey's turn to roll her eyes. "Duh. Stupid Aly. So innocent. So blonde."
Alysha stuck out her tongue.
~*~*~
'Stupid, stupid, stupid, Stupid!' Harry cursed himself silently. 'So. Umm.? So-effing-Umm?' That was the best his little brain could come up with? Was he doomed to become Mr. I-can't-think-of-a-damn-thing-to-say whenever he was talking to a girl he liked? He stormed into the living room, where Ron and Ginny were playing a game of exploding snaps, and Hermione was half- watching their game, half-reading a book. He stormed over to the couch Ron was sitting on and plopped himself down beside his best friend, grumbling quietly. Ron looked over at him.
"Harry, are you okay?"
He grumbled. "Just bloody fine."
Ginny and Hermione exchanged a look. They knew he had just gone to see Alysha. They both made a mental note to ask her about it later.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Ron asked again.
Harry just grumbled, and Ron didn't say anymore. He didn't want to push Harry; he had no desire at all for his best friend to blow up in his face. He turned back to the game with Ginny.
~*~*~
Alysha was lying in bed reading a magazine. Two days had passed since her dream, and she was feeling much better. She had even eaten her whole breakfast that morning, and hadn't thrown up. Yep, she was feeling much better. Just then Ginny looked up from her bed where she had been writing something. What was on the paper, the other three girls had no idea.
"Oh, yeah, Aly, 'Mione and I have been meaning to ask you something. After Harry came downstairs after speaking to you the other day - and yes, we know that's why he went upstairs - he was in a right state. What happened up here?"
Alysha blushed. "Nothing really." and she told them what she had told Kailey, but with a few more details.
Ginny winked. "Maybe he was upset because nothing happened."
Alysha laughed. "Maybe," she said hopefully.
"Hey, Gin. What're you writing?" Kailey asked, looking pointedly at the piece of paper lying on Ginny's bed.
"Nothing!" Ginny said quickly.
Kailey smiled, looking back at her book. "Suuure, whatever you say."
~*~*~ The next morning, Kailey and Alysha walked down the stairs into the kitchen. They saw Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Fred, George, Molly and two men they didn't recognize sitting around the table, talking amiably. Everyone looked up when the two girls walked in.
"Good morning, girls!" Molly said, while various 'Hello's and 'Hey's came from the group. "Alysha, this is Charlie, and this is Bill. They've just dropped by to say hi." She turned to the two men. "You already know Kailey. This is Alysha, Kailey's best friend."
Once Kailey and Alysha had come over to the table, Kailey gave both Charlie and Bill a hug, and then Alysha shook hands with the two.
"Nice to meet the both of you," she said.
"Bill works for Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank, and Charlie works with Dragons in Romania," Molly explained.
Alysha's jaw dropped. "Dragons? You're kidding me, right? Dragons aren't real."
Charlie laughed. "Of course they are, Muggles just refuse to believe it."
Alysha just stared.
Kailey snickered. "My dear friend seems to be having a bit of trouble adjusting to the Wizarding World."
Alysha rolled her eyes at her friend. "Well, I'm sorry if Dragons seem just a little unrealistic to me. I grew up with them being the creatures of fairy tales."
Kailey looked back at the rest of the group. "So, what's up for today?"
Ron groaned. "De-Gnoming the garden."
"De-Gnoming? Gnomes are cute! They're all small and Santa-Claus-like! Why would you want to get rid of them?" Alysha asked, bewildered.
Everyone at the table looked at Alysha.
"Aly, hun. I'm afraid you have ALOT to learn about the Wizarding World."
~*~*~
"Ron, could you help me look for my CD? I can't find it anywhere."
Ron looked up at Kailey. "Uhh. Sure. Why aren't any of the other girls helping you?"
"Oh, they're all busy." Kailey said easily. "Okay, you take this room, and I'll look in the kitchen."
Ron looked into the room. It was very dark. He could barely make out anything. He took a step in. Just then he heard the door click shut behind him, and he was plunged into total darkness. He heard a few giggles just outside the door, and then heard Ginny's voice. He recognized the spell she muttered; she was locking the door! He tried opening it just in case. It wouldn't budge. And he didn't have his wand.
'Oh, this is just bloody fantastic,' he thought.
~*~*~
Ginny tucked her wand back into her robe, and turned around to face Kailey and Alysha with a big smile on her face.
"Ladies, I think our work here is done." Kailey said happily, winking at her cousin and best friend.
Then, laughing, the three girls headed downstairs.
~*~*~
Note: Sorry this chapter is kind of rushed. I'm trying to get to Hogwarts as soon as possible. That's when more of the REAL plot starts to take place. It'll get better, I promise. Also, I know I said the set up probably wasn't going to happen till the next chap. But, it seemed to work. Review, please (