Author's Note:
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"GET UP!" said a familiar but thoroughlyirritating voice, "Get up, you stupid freak, get up and stop that awful shrieking."
Brianna sat up in her small, narrow bed. Sweat was pouring from her small, thin frame. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it explode right out of her chest. Brianna forced herself to take slow, deep breaths in an effort to clam herself. She knew it was only a dream, just a silly nightmare, but it always felt so real, as if she had actually lived through it.
Shielding her eyes from the soft rays of buttery sunlight that streamed in through the small white window that sat between the two beds, Brianna turned to see her fuming cousin, Marigold glaring at her.
Marigold huffed and preened herself in the mirror, applying her favourite bubblegum flavoured glittery lip gloss and smacking her lips. Her perfect blonde curls were neatly styled and pulled back with an emerald green headband.
"It's half past seven Brianna, get up, we are so late. I don't want to get into trouble because of you again. Ms Holden is going to have a fit." Marigold was already dressed for school, with her uniform and blazer on, her school bag slung over one shoulder. Marigold flicked a glace towards Brianna before saying in a harsh, scathing tone
"And if you are going to go on screaming ever night. I am going to have to gag you. I just can't bear it anymore" she turned back to her perfect reflection "maybe you need to see a shrink." she added as an afterthought.
Brianna tried to keep her anger in check as she rolled out of bed.
"Okay, Okay, I'm up. Give me ten minutes" she muttered and without looking at Marigold she walked out of the small bedroom they shared, across the narrow corridor and into the tiny bathroom, intent on taking a quick shower.
Marigold was an insufferable pain in the neck and the worst person to share a room with, but she was Brianna's cousin, and Brianna didn't really have any choice in the matter, for their was nowhere else for her to go.
As Brianna let the warm water wash over her she allowed herself a few moments to think and reflect. Maybe she did need a shrink. She couldn't control the nightmares, and had no idea why she kept having the same dream over and over again.
She had had the nightmare for as long as she couldn remember but in recent months it was becoming more and more frequent and she had had it every night these past few weeks.
Everytime she closed her eyes, she could see her mother, running into a small nursery, placing Brianna into an old fashioned cot, baracading the door and then standing guard over her, silent tears running down her pale face, her emerald green eyes shining with fear and her long golden red hair, hanging limply down her back as she waited. Brianna could hear the splittering off the wood as the door was flung open, and a black shadowy figure swept into the room. Brianna could hear her mother's heartwrenching scream and the figure's cold cruel laugh, she could see the flash of bright green light hurtling towards her mother and then the dream ended. Brianna never knew what happened next, the dream always ended with the lash of green light and Brianna's screams.
Brianna, who had never truely known her parents, did nor remember much about them, she had been a year old when they had died and she had been placed under the care of her relatives. Despite the fact that she had never seen her parents, not even in photographs, Brianna knew instinctively that the woman in her dreams was her mother.
The warm shower dispelled the remaining effects of the nightmare and now a lot calmer, Brianna turned off the water, dried herself off asnd struggled to get dressed as fast as she could.
Marigold was pacing up and down their room as Brianna quickly pulled on her ill-fitting uniform, her relatives never bought her anything knew, she was always given Marigold's old things, and Marigold was about a head taller than Brianna and at least two stone heaver with a soft round face and matching body.
Brianna's school uniform consisted of a moss-coloured blazer iver a white shirt, tucked into a pleated tartan skirt. Both Brianna and Marigold were coming to the end of their finale year at primary school, neither of them had yet to turn eleven as their birthdays wern't until they very end of the school year. Marigold's at the start of July and Brianna's at the end.
Marigold's pale grey eyes were like ice chips as she glared at Brianna, her arms crossed, her foot tapping on the bare wooden floorboards.
"Come on, Hurry up"
Brianna wore her scruffy black shoes and began rummaging through the piles of books on her desk, she was looking for her history report on the tudors. It was due in that morning.
"Wheres my homework?" she asked, Marigold put her hands on her hips in response frowning with what appeared to be mock confusion.
"Are you referring to the crumpled sheets lying on your desk?"
Brianna glared at her and nodded. Marigold grinned, a sly look creeping into her eyes, she shrugged.
"I threw them out with the rubbish last night, after you went to sleep. Mummy did say to clean the room, so I did" Marigold simpered
"That was my homework, I've been working on that report for weeks." Brianna groelrf out through clenched teeth. Marigold dismissed her with a wave of her hand.
"Well you shoulldn't leave your stuff lying all over the place if they are so important" she scolded, and Brianna's fingers balled into fists, she was moments away from punching Marigold in the face.
"They were not lying around, they were on my desk" Brianna spat the words, Marigold's eyes narrowed and when she started speaking it was in a cold condescending voice, the sort of voice adults use when talking to a tolder about to have a meltdown because they couldnt eat mud.
"Like I said, you should have taken better care of your things"
Sighing Brianna resigned herself to the fact that she would once again have to make up some plausible story about lost homework. Her teacher was not going to be pleased but Brianna had long since discovered that arguing with Marigold never got her anywhere. Marigold always wanted the last word and would go to any lengths to make sure she got the better of Brianna.
Brianna glazed at the mirror, there was no point in bothering with the unruly tangled of black curls that was her hair. It had now grown so long it touched her elbows. Tying it back into a rough ponytail would have to surfice.
"Mummy is supposed to drive us to school" Marigold said as we rushed downstairs. "You know how she hates to be kept waiting."
Aunt Petunia was standing in the kitchen, drumming her cherry-coloured false nails on the counter and looking extremely irritated. Her pale wispy hair was pulled back into an elegant bun, and her sharp, beady eyes glared daggers at Brianna as she walked in.
"Can't you ever be on time, Brianna?" her voice had a shrill, scathing tone to it "Tardiness is not tolerated in this house."
Brianna gave her a sulky nod.
"For the life of me I cannot figure out why me and my husband agreed to take you in" Aunt Petunia continued as she picked up the car keys, "If i had known the sort of person who would grow to become, well I would have sent you back to the slum you came from" she shot a glance at Brianna, and her lips curved upwards unto a sneer. "You can take the girl out og the gutter byt you can't take the gutter out of the girl."
Marigold laughed at this and gave Brianna a sly grin, nodding her head in agreement to her mother's words. Brianna flinched at the harsh words but chose, with great difficulty, to ignore them. That was the only way to deal with her aunt, especially when she got like this. Petunia was waiting for Brianna to react so she could find some more insults to hurt at her. It wasn't as if this were the first time she had said something similar to this. Brianna was used to it, in a way. Brianna knew that her aunt and uncle had hated her parents and in turn now hated her, but Brianna wasn't sure why. All she knew is that they were not talked about and Brianna was forbidden to ask any questions.
All Brianna knew was that until she was eighteen she would be forced to stay with the Dursleys.
Brianna tried to be courteous and respectful, she cleaned her room, helped make meals and assisted her aunt with the daily chores but it was extremely difficult. Her realtives where stull nasty to Brianna whenever they got the chance.
Brianna kept her mouth shut as she got into the backseat of her aunt's battered blue volvo. Aunt Petunia handed Brianna a piece of cold toast.
"I don't want you fainting in school because you had no time to eat breakfast." she said thrusting the food at Brianna, Brianna raised her eyebrows in confusion
"Thank you" Brianna said taking the toast, her aunt started the car
"Don't thank me" Aunt Petunia snapped "i didn't do it for you, I just don't want to be called into school to pick you up later today. I agve a very busy day ahead and have more important things to do than deal with your silly fainting spells. I really just don't have the time to waste on you."
Brianna's spine stiffened and she gritted her teeth. She had to keep remiding herself that retaliating would only make things worse for her in the long run. Unruly tears welled up in her eyes, but she brushed them away quickly.
It had been almost ten years since her parents died in a horrific car crash, or at least hat was what aunt petunia said had caused their deaths when Brianna had asked about their deaths. Brianna herself had been in the car when the crash ahd occured and she had recived a very odd scar on her forehead. The strange scar, shaped like a bolt of lightning sat above herright eye and shone red on her pale face.
Since her parents deaths Brianna had lived with her mother's sister and her family in a small, comfortable, two-up, two-down terrace house on the edge of a large industrial town in the north of england.
Once at school Brianna had to make an excuse about her missing project, as expected her teacher had not been pleased and Brianna, much to the amusement of Marigold, had had her break privileges revoked for the week. Instead of being allowed to play outside she would have to sit in the small quiet room next door to the staff room, unmoving and completely silent.
Marigold hated Brianna almost as much as her parents, but she was much more cunning and sly about it.
As the day rrudged in things steadily got worse. She failed a mental arithmatics test since she coulnd't concentrate. Got kicked off the netball team because she was late for practice again, duw to the fact that her kit had mysteriously moved from her peg and had ended uo in the caretakers cupboard. To top it all off she had no fiends and ended up sitting alone to eat her stew and drumplings. Just another day in her crappy life.
As she sat alone at omne of the large tables in the dining hall, minding her own business, and wondering how she was going to make her overcooked almost burnt food disappear without eating it a mousey girl with large glasses apoached the table. She was two years younger than Brianna and Brianna couldn't remember her name.
The girl handed Brianna a note.
Brianna took the note and looked up at the girl, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"What's this?"
The girl looked down, shuffled her feet slightly, avoiding Brianna's eyes as she thought about what to say and then she shrugged and walked away.
Brianna opened the note and glanced over it hurriedly. Her heartbeat quickened. This was no ordinary note. It was from Alexis Carrington, the most popular girl in the school. Brianna scanned the crowded dining hall rapidly. Alexis was sitting at a corner table, chatting asnimatedly with a group of her friends, giggling every now and then. Alexis was in a different class to Brianna and was part of the school council.
Alexis had high cheekbones, and stykushly cut blonde hair, as Brianna looked at her, she suddenly turned slightly and looked back at Brianna. Alexis had the bluest eyes Brianna had ever seen, and to Brianna's absolute astonishment Alexis smiled warmly at her.
Brianna flushed red, her eyes darting back to her bowl. How embarrassing, she'd been caught looking at Alexis.
Brianna tried to keep a straight face while her overjoyed heart did somersaults. 'Could it really be possible' she thought 'could Alexis Carrington really want her to be her friend.
The note said she wanted Brianna to go round to her house for tea rhe follwoing afternoon. Alexis could have come over and asked Brianna herself, as she didn't seem the note passing type. But Brianna could be wrong, maybe she was just being discreet.
Brianna wanted to get a moment alone with her, she gathered her courage and waited outside the dining hall, preparing herself to make an actuall friend. Alexis walked out of the dining hall, towards the playground surrounded by the usual gaggle of giggling girls that were her friends.
"Hi Alexis" Brianna said abruptly, as the group passed her by, as she stood awkwardly alone in the corridor.
"Oh hi" said Alexis as she stopped walking, the group of girls stopped too. "What's up?"
"Um, I got your note" Brianna looked down and shifted from one foot to the other, this was the first time Brianna had actually spoken to Alexis and she desperately wanted to make a good impression. Although she knew she wasn't doing a very good job of it.
Alexis raised her eyebrows, slightly confused, slightly amused a small smile forming on her lips.
"My note?" she said is a soft, giggling voice.
"Yes" said Brianna wondering if Alexis hadn't wanted her friends to know about the invitation. Brianna lowered her voice and continued "to go to your house for tea tomorrow afternoon, I'm looking forward to it, thanks for inviting me"
To Brianna's utter dismay Alexis Carrington began to laugh.
"Why would I invite you to my house for tea" she said scornfully
"But the note?" Brianna spluttered, fishing it out from her scruffy green knapsack, still confused and with a growing dread starting to creep into her stomach. Alexis took the note from Brianna's shaky hand, she stopped laughing and scanned the note. Fianlly Alexis kiijed up.
"I didn't write this, I'm really sorry but i don't even known your name"
Brianna eyes narrowed as she started to come to terms with what was happening. Then she saw Marigold standing at the far end of the corridor, a cold smile curled her lips revealing her pristine white teeth. Brianna's face burned and she fumbled with her backpack, her hands shaking harder.
Marigold and her gaggle of girls erupted into raucous laughter. Brianna felt her face burn even more as she realised that they had played a cruel joke on her. Marigold and her friends were laughing their heads off at Brianna's utter humiliation. Brianna turned and fled down the corridor, disappearing into the girls bathroom, the dissipating sounds of Marigold's evil laughter ringing in her ears.
Brianna had never been once of the cool, calm and collected girls and now with her already wobbly confidence crushed beneath Marigold's perfectly manicured self, Brianna would be the school joke, the person everybody whispered about behind her back.
After half an hour of crying and feeling sorry for herself, Brianna finally managed to dry her eyes and wash her face. She looked at her refection in the grubby mirror. Her skin was blotchy and red, her usually bright, jewel like green eyes were dull and bloodshot. Brianna sighed, she had to pull herself ogether so she could get to class.
She dragged herself out of the bathroom and managed to slip into her classroom unnoticed. She sat in the back of the room where she would not attract undue attention and tried to listen to what Ms Holden was saying as she warbled on about the significance of shakespeare's plays, and how they would be studying them in depth once they reached the big school.
Brianna knew her grades were not the best they could have been. She was not uninteligent, she had a good memory but at the same time she was often distracted. The nightmare seemed to consume her thoughts at times and she could concentrate on nothing else.
Brianna's mind once again filled with the memory of the nightmare, of her mother crying and screaming, of the dark shadowy figure laughing and of the flashes of green light.
Brianna shivered violently, her scar seemed to priclled and burn.
"Brianna Potter" came the crisp voice of Mr Watson our Headmaster. Brianna was jarred out of her reverie as she looked up. She hadn't even noticed him enter the classroom. Brianna wasn't sure what she had done, she wasn't exactly the best student but she had always made a point to scrape through just enough to avoid the headmaster.
Mr Robert's glared at Brianna as she sat staring at him.
"Brianna, i'd like to see you in my office" he then looked at Ms Holden who nodded, looking absolyly terrified of him.
Briana gathered her workbook and pencile case, plaed them in her bag and then got up from her desk. A few boys sniggered behind her, and some of the girls broke out into whispers. Brianna ignored them, she was far too used to this to care much about it.
Brianna had learned to ignore it and move on, but at times it was difficult and Brianna knew that after todays joke it would only get harder.
Headmaster Roberts' office was much smaller than Brianna had expected. She closed the door behind herself and turned to start at the long angular face of Mr Roberts, only to be surprised when she saw the round face of her uncle, his big, beffy body trying to balance on one of the narrow, high back chairs in front of the desk.
Vernon Durlsey wore his usual grey pinstripe suit and dabbed his sweaty forehead with a crumpled handkerchief, which he dug out of his pocket.
"What are you doing here?" asked Brianna curiously, Marigold's face flashed before her eyes. Brianna really hoped she wasn't in trouble for somethingshe had not done. She wouldn#'t put it past her cousin to frame her for one of Marigold's own mistakes, she haf done it to Brianna before.
Uncle Vernon looked at Brianna with dark brooding eyes hidden behing horn-rimmed round glassed as he pushed his dark gryeing hair out of his eyes.
"Good afternoon, Brianna" he said curtly, Brianna nodded. Uncle Vernon hated Brianna as much as his wife and daughter did. He would completely ignore Brianna unless he believed she had done something worthy of punishment. His punishments were severe and cruel.
Mr Roberts cleanered his throat, and then bagan speaking
"Brianna, my dear" he said and his voice was so different from his usual rude, clipped tone that Brianna was momenarily taken aback. Mr Roberts always had a soul look on his face as though he had just eaten whole bowl of lemons. Brianna had never seen a flicker of a smile on his face, and now he was grinning awat like his life depended on it.
"Your uncle had requested for you to take the rest of the school year off as a leave of absence"
"Right now?" Brianna blurted out, no one had said anything about this to her. Mr Roberts' eyes narrowed and she gave Brianna a stern reprouchful look, his lips a thin line.
"I am reluctant to agree to this but never the less I have agreed to grant this leave of absence as your uncle had explained the circumstances"
"Which are?" Brianna asked frowning. Mr Roberts clasped his hands in front of him.
"I am sure you uncle will explain things to you"
Brianna shot her uncle a questioning look, but he remained silent. Briannt wasn't too disappointed after all, missing the rest of the school year would be great, she would be away from the taunting and the teasing.
Uncle Vernon stood up and shook Mr Roberts hand.
"Thank you, you have been most helpful" Vernon said in his usual gruff voice, he then walked across the room and opened the door. "Come on Brianna, we have a busy day ahead."
Brianna remained silent, she gathered her things and followed her uncle out of the gloomy looking school. She had no idea what was going on, but she was sure she would finw out soon enough.
