Disclaimer: I know it, you know it, we all know it!
(A/N) Wow, I can honestly say this, but when I first started this story, a month ago, I never thought that I'd get so many reviews. Writing has never been my favorite thing to do, but over the past year, it's been a creative outlet for me. I want to thank each and every one of you who has ever reviewed from the bottom of my heart. Special thanks to the milestone reviewers!
Dragonsbane: Thanks soooooooo much for Hermione's present (you'll have to read it to find out!) and the names of one of them! You are so cool! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Dreamer22: You were my first ever reviewer. You have no idea how late it was when I finally managed to get to sleep that night! Thanks for always being there, even when I was suffering from awful writer's block (which I'm also experiencing on my Backstreet Boys fic that's on my website!).
Queen of the Clarinets: 100 will never be as sweet! Thanks so much for being a loyal reviewer! I'm really glad you love my story. Also, thanks for your weird ideas! Our interactive story will knock all others out of the water!
Stained4Life: Hey! You were my 50th reviewer! Thanks for reading, and I hope to God that your hiccups have finally gone away! Just kidding!
Anyway, onto the next chapter! Anything in italics is a dream!
Chapter Twenty-Three: Dreams
Arissa
I don't know exactly where I was. The trees were too thick as was the fog. "You know you can't escape," an evil voice said.
I looked around, seeing nothing. The fog was too thick. "Who's there?" I whispered into the everlasting fog.
Then I saw him, dressed in black from head to foot, but didn't recognize him because of the white mask that covered his face. "You know you can't escape," he said again.
I recognized that voice, but no, it couldn't be. But it was. It was Lucius.
He gave me an evil smile. "I'm so glad you could join me, Other One. But you know you can't live. I must teach my son a lesson. Fortunately, you saved me the trouble of going into the school."
I tried to run, but he placed the Leg Locker Curse on me. I fell to the ground, crying.
"Now, now, you stupid girl, we can't have you die when you're crying. Draco would want you to die without tears on your ugly Mudblood face," he said, pulling his mask off his face.
I gasped, nearly choking on my tears. "You don't want to do this," I said shakily.
"Oh, I want to do this alright," he spat. He pulled his wand out from his robes. He lowered it to my chest and smiled evilly.
"Avada Kedavra."
"Arissa! Come on! Wake up!"
I woke up to Simone shaking me. "What? What's wrong?"
She looked worried. "You were screaming in your sleep!"
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "It was nothing."
"I know you're lying!"
"I had a dream. Lucius killed me," I said, avoiding her eyes.
She gasped. "Are you sure?"
"I think Lucius saying 'Avada Kedavra' was supposed to throw me off," I said sarcastically.
"Knock it off, Arissa! It's Christmas morning."
I sighed. "I know." I grinned. "Let's wake up Mum and Dad!"
She laughed and ran with me to Mum and Dad's bedroom, screaming, "Wake up! It's Christmas!"
We jumped onto the bed. "Wakey, wakey," I said, shaking Dad.
"Ugh!" was Dad's reply from under the covers. "I think it's Christmas, dear," Mum mumbled before she turned on her side.
He finally got up and checked the clock. "Six-thirty. They let us sleep in this year."
"Come on! Wake up!" Simone exclaimed, shaking Mum.
"All right! All right! I'm awake!"
She stumbled out of bed, and came downstairs with us. "It looks like your friends sent you presents as well," Dad mused.
He was right. We each received a diary from Jordan, a silver bracelet from Christina, and a book on dragons from Lisa.
Simone looked at my diary. "Hey! You have Silver Dream's colors!" It was true though. My diary was all black with my first name written in silver cursive.
I smiled. "And you have Gryffindor colors." It was true. Hers was scarlet with her first name in gold cursive.
"Don't forget these," Dad said, handing us each a small package. We already knew what was in them. It was our silver dragons, but they differed from the others we've received in the past. Sure, mine had the same sapphire eyes, while Simone's had the same ruby eyes, but there's something different about them.
We also received lockets from our grandparents, gold (Simone's) and silver (mine). Mum gave the both of us cats! Simone's is all orange with little white paws and yellow eyes, while mine is all black with green eyes. I decided to call my cat Midnight, and Simone called hers Helios, after the Greek sun god.
"Can we take these to school with us?" Simone asked.
She nodded. "I've already asked Dumbledore. They uplifted the one pet rule."
"All right!" we screamed, giving each other high fives.
The rest of the day was spent with our family. It was peaceful and uneventful. It's nice to unwind sometimes, but I was wrong. I had another dream that night.
"Time to die, Other One."
Where is this voice coming from? I looked around, only to see nothing. I knew who it was, but I couldn't see him.
"Come on, you pathetic Mudblood, make this interesting for me!"
"I will not," I said firmly. "Just let me die."
"You and your dumb Gryffindor beliefs!" he snarled. "You must be taught a lesson. Crucio!"
I felt the curse from behind me. The pain was unbearable. All I heard was his evil laugh combined with my screams.
"Care for another, Mudblood?"
I didn't answer him. I turned around to where I thought he was, only to see his silver eyes.
"Crucio!"
Another blast of pain surged through me. This time, I might not make it. I screamed again, only to have the Silencing Charm put on me.
"No one will save you now, you stupid girl." He came up to where I lay on the ground, almost unconscious. "You were stupid enough to come out here alone. You should've known that tonight you would die. Now stand up!"
I didn't move. I was too scared. Then, he picked me up by my robe and made me stand. He tied me to a nearby tree.
"Avada Kedavra."
I woke up, sweat pouring off of me. This was going to be a long night.
(A/N) So what do you think? A bit scary, yes? Aw well, you know what to do! Review!
