CHAPTER 5 ~
A Way Weird Dream
Aileen turned in her bed for the umpteenth time. It was a while before she realised it would be a restless night. She sat up, her chin resting on her knees, the thin sheet she had for cover almost transparent with the pale glow of moonlight filtering through a gap in the curtains.
She winced as she laid her head against the back of her bed. Even moving her little finger was much too painful.
Her back was hot, as if they just had plunged her into a boiling, skin scalding bath. Her legs and arms looked as if she had raced through a thorny labyrinth, and every single muscle she could think of suffered a painful cramp and that included her tongue.
Her tan face was lined with exhaustion and two patches of furious red coloured her cheeks. Heart beating still too fast, she recalled what had happened just a few hours ago.
Mrs. Inglet and Miss Hornell had been shouting their heads off because of the stupid incident with the stupid apples. Then they had laughed at what Aileen was, and after that... This was the part where Aileen thought she had slipped into a too realistic daydream.
The large window had shattered before her eyes, apparently on her command. No, it could NOT have been her. How many real 11 years old were able to make windows explode because they were in a bad mood? ...
Still, it had helped her. Maybe Miss Hornell and Mrs. Inglet were so shocked/scared that they had dismissed her, ("Just for this time. One more unacceptable behaviour from you and you're out!" hear me? O-U-T!,") but unfortunately, they were not THAT freaked out to let her go without a severe and 'suitable' punishment.
That night, there had been no proper supper for Aileen, because she had been working on till late night and the girl had to help in the field and the flowerbeds until she had reached the end of her resistance. Plus, everyday from now to a month, she would be working in the kitchen extra hours, covering other girl's turns, not leaving aside those two points less she would have for behaviour that month. Not that Aileen cared about what no mum or dad would say about her grades, but the sneering face of the old cow (alias Miss Hornell,) was an unbearable torture for her.
She had finished about four hours ago, and crawling up the stairs had reached her bedroom, which to her bad luck was in the highest part of the large barn like house. The girl hadn't bothered to change into her pyjamas (anyway, she would be the one washing her laundry) and had expected to fall asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, but surprise, she was still awake.
She looked at her hands. Could it be possible that she, Aileen, had shattered the glass? Thinking hard about it, that was not the first time strange things happened around her. What about the time when she spilled a jar of water, and so panicked of what they would do to her if anyone saw the flood, all the water had suddenly vaporised. Or when she fell down the roof once and managed to get up with nothing more than a scratch? Aileen turned around in her bed again, her stomach protesting in hunger and her hands numb with pain. And all because the stupid letter she hadn't been able to take anyway...and she was too hurt to risk being caught sneaking out of her room.
Tomorrow she would wake up early and go for the letter. If the wind hadn't swept it away, which probably it had. It was howling and crashing against her window at the moment. Aileen rolled up in a ball, hugging her scratched knees.
Either way, she wasn't going to have time to look for it. Every month, the students were taken on an 'educational' trip, and though she had to admit museums weren't exactly her cup of tea, she preferred to go than to stay another day in that place.
Aileen turned in her bed, every inch of her groaning in protest for the effort. Finally, after adding another number to the list of 'things I would do to Miss Hornell if she was not such a cow,' she managed to doze off.
* * * * * * *
She was there again. The room she had been in in her previous dream. Aileen looked around, expecting to find the man in the corner, but there was no one there. She walked toward the door and pulled it open, hoping she was one step ahead of the policeman that made her trip...but no one came. Maybe she was dream mistaken, but there was something familiar about the house, though she couldn't think of what.
The room was warmly lit, though Aileen could see no lamps or any source of electric energy. The girl felt sudden warmth, as she had never felt before. The place seemed to be vibrating with happy memories. There was a chimney with orange flames roaring welcomingly at her, and the warmth in Aileen's body increased to a point she felt she was...home.
She felt a sudden urge to rush to the circular sofa next to the fire and sleep in her own dream until they waked her up. Dreaming was certainly wonderful.
She looked around the room, which she noticed, had a strange, unreal quality to it. Even the walls were strange. They were different shades of blue, and the next second, they were a pinkish white, that turned to a soft brown before changing to a deep night blue. She looked around the room, wishing she had eight eyes so as not to miss anything. But her eyes stopped on several picture frames on the mantelpiece.
She looked at them with curiosity. On the first one, there was a handsome man smiling at Aileen, but the curious thing was he looked strangely familiar, though the closest thing she had ever seen to a man was the bus driver.
He wore round glasses, but his bright green eyes were still visible beneath the tousled mane of jet black hair, and a curious scar shaped liked a bolt of lightning was stamped on his forehead.
Aileen looked at him for a while and turned to the other two. The next one looked like a large, family picture. The man in the previous photograph was standing there, but he looked younger. A red haired boy stood next to him and so did a girl with bushy brown hair. Then, two tall boys who looked exactly the same were embracing them in (judging by their faces) rib cracking hug. A smaller girl with fiery red hair was sitting in front of them.
It was a funny picture, since all of them seemed to be wearing black robes and a snowy owl was perched on top of the green-eyed boy.
She moved to the other picture and she felt her stomach clench, just as if someone had just dropped her from a large height. It was a very young and rather pretty woman with long silky brown hair and blue eyes, holding a baby girl tenderly in her arms. It was the baby who made her jump. She had emerald green eyes, messy jet-black hair and pale complexion. Feeling as though she suddenly had no insides at all, she turned to the picture of the man.
She stared at him hard, as though expecting something to happen. And happened it did. Suddenly, the man winked and his smile broadened, turning his head toward Aileen, who backed instinctively, severely freaked out. Moving pictures? No way! Not even dreaming! She wanted to get a closer look at the picture, but just then, she heard something behind her. She turned around and was surprised to see the man in the picture bursting in the room, holding what looked like a bundle in his arms.
She caught a glimpse of his face. Tears were running down his cheeks, but his eyes were burning with a fury that scared Aileen. As Aileen stepped backwards (not sure if she had to take part in her own dream,) he rushed to the room Aileen had come from, hesitated and turned to a staircase Aileen could swear wasn't there a second ago.
She thought he wasn't coming down again, but then the door suddenly burst open, and I mean burst, it exploded, wood splinter flying everywhere and shooting against the walls. The atmosphere changed in two seconds. The fire went out, and the lights turned a dying red glow. Aileen looked around and tripped over her own feet at the vision. She backed in horror from a tall hooded someone. He was covered in straps of black robes, a long thin stick stuck out of his left pocket.
But it wasn't that what made her clap a hand over her mouth to drown a scream. It was the smell, like rotten or burnt flesh, even his breath, that he gasped in hollow, rattling seemed to be exhale disease. But worst of all were the eyes behind the hood. His face was covered, but two red slits gleamed like rubies hidden in the darkness.
He stood in the doorway, his straps of clothing floating and slithering like snakes. He seemed to be waiting for something. He seemed to have found what he wanted, for he turned facing a wall, and Aileen didn't know how she knew, but she could swear the man had just grinned, a devilish, menacing evil grin, just the smile a crocodile would give his victim before snapping their necks it two. A sudden burst of something and the green-eyed man appeared out of nowhere, his face washed in sweat or tears, Aileen couldn't tell.
"Still feeling sorry for that mudblood? Let me tell you how she died. First I tortured her..."
" Shut up!" he shouted furiously, making Aileen jump. He too had a stick...wand, and was pointing it threateningly at the man. Aileen couldn't help but raise and eyebrow.
"He's gonna kill him with a stick?" but there was no doubt the other guy was insane.
Just then, someone burst into the room, not for the first time that night. In came a man with greying brown hair, brown eyes and pale complexion. He looked just the way Aileen felt after a few nights Hornell's torture, except for the pained expression in his eyes. The next words came in a blur, so Aileen wasn't sure if she had really heard them.
"Harry DON'T! That's what he wants. Either way will end the same! If you kill him, you'll be killing y..."
"I've said ENOUGH!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!! I don't care what will happen next as long as he is dead!" he (Harry?) bellowed. "You cannot help me in this one Remus. You've done enough, its time for me to end what I started," and then, a blinding flash of green light and Aileen woke up, screaming in terror.
Aileen screamed and sprang out of bed, tripping over her own feet and landing face down on the floor. She lay there for a while, and suddenly she broke out laughing nervously. "It was a dream again...how stupid can I get?" she thought still bending over with contained laughter.
She managed to stand up and crawl to bed again. The girl rubbed her face against a pillow. She remembered her dream, but smiled at the thought of knowing it was only a dream. "Who would have believed it though. Moving photographs, sure" she said and giggled again before falling asleep.
Next morning when she woke up, she couldn't remember anything except the face of a young man with bright green eyes veiled in mist.
A Way Weird Dream
Aileen turned in her bed for the umpteenth time. It was a while before she realised it would be a restless night. She sat up, her chin resting on her knees, the thin sheet she had for cover almost transparent with the pale glow of moonlight filtering through a gap in the curtains.
She winced as she laid her head against the back of her bed. Even moving her little finger was much too painful.
Her back was hot, as if they just had plunged her into a boiling, skin scalding bath. Her legs and arms looked as if she had raced through a thorny labyrinth, and every single muscle she could think of suffered a painful cramp and that included her tongue.
Her tan face was lined with exhaustion and two patches of furious red coloured her cheeks. Heart beating still too fast, she recalled what had happened just a few hours ago.
Mrs. Inglet and Miss Hornell had been shouting their heads off because of the stupid incident with the stupid apples. Then they had laughed at what Aileen was, and after that... This was the part where Aileen thought she had slipped into a too realistic daydream.
The large window had shattered before her eyes, apparently on her command. No, it could NOT have been her. How many real 11 years old were able to make windows explode because they were in a bad mood? ...
Still, it had helped her. Maybe Miss Hornell and Mrs. Inglet were so shocked/scared that they had dismissed her, ("Just for this time. One more unacceptable behaviour from you and you're out!" hear me? O-U-T!,") but unfortunately, they were not THAT freaked out to let her go without a severe and 'suitable' punishment.
That night, there had been no proper supper for Aileen, because she had been working on till late night and the girl had to help in the field and the flowerbeds until she had reached the end of her resistance. Plus, everyday from now to a month, she would be working in the kitchen extra hours, covering other girl's turns, not leaving aside those two points less she would have for behaviour that month. Not that Aileen cared about what no mum or dad would say about her grades, but the sneering face of the old cow (alias Miss Hornell,) was an unbearable torture for her.
She had finished about four hours ago, and crawling up the stairs had reached her bedroom, which to her bad luck was in the highest part of the large barn like house. The girl hadn't bothered to change into her pyjamas (anyway, she would be the one washing her laundry) and had expected to fall asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, but surprise, she was still awake.
She looked at her hands. Could it be possible that she, Aileen, had shattered the glass? Thinking hard about it, that was not the first time strange things happened around her. What about the time when she spilled a jar of water, and so panicked of what they would do to her if anyone saw the flood, all the water had suddenly vaporised. Or when she fell down the roof once and managed to get up with nothing more than a scratch? Aileen turned around in her bed again, her stomach protesting in hunger and her hands numb with pain. And all because the stupid letter she hadn't been able to take anyway...and she was too hurt to risk being caught sneaking out of her room.
Tomorrow she would wake up early and go for the letter. If the wind hadn't swept it away, which probably it had. It was howling and crashing against her window at the moment. Aileen rolled up in a ball, hugging her scratched knees.
Either way, she wasn't going to have time to look for it. Every month, the students were taken on an 'educational' trip, and though she had to admit museums weren't exactly her cup of tea, she preferred to go than to stay another day in that place.
Aileen turned in her bed, every inch of her groaning in protest for the effort. Finally, after adding another number to the list of 'things I would do to Miss Hornell if she was not such a cow,' she managed to doze off.
* * * * * * *
She was there again. The room she had been in in her previous dream. Aileen looked around, expecting to find the man in the corner, but there was no one there. She walked toward the door and pulled it open, hoping she was one step ahead of the policeman that made her trip...but no one came. Maybe she was dream mistaken, but there was something familiar about the house, though she couldn't think of what.
The room was warmly lit, though Aileen could see no lamps or any source of electric energy. The girl felt sudden warmth, as she had never felt before. The place seemed to be vibrating with happy memories. There was a chimney with orange flames roaring welcomingly at her, and the warmth in Aileen's body increased to a point she felt she was...home.
She felt a sudden urge to rush to the circular sofa next to the fire and sleep in her own dream until they waked her up. Dreaming was certainly wonderful.
She looked around the room, which she noticed, had a strange, unreal quality to it. Even the walls were strange. They were different shades of blue, and the next second, they were a pinkish white, that turned to a soft brown before changing to a deep night blue. She looked around the room, wishing she had eight eyes so as not to miss anything. But her eyes stopped on several picture frames on the mantelpiece.
She looked at them with curiosity. On the first one, there was a handsome man smiling at Aileen, but the curious thing was he looked strangely familiar, though the closest thing she had ever seen to a man was the bus driver.
He wore round glasses, but his bright green eyes were still visible beneath the tousled mane of jet black hair, and a curious scar shaped liked a bolt of lightning was stamped on his forehead.
Aileen looked at him for a while and turned to the other two. The next one looked like a large, family picture. The man in the previous photograph was standing there, but he looked younger. A red haired boy stood next to him and so did a girl with bushy brown hair. Then, two tall boys who looked exactly the same were embracing them in (judging by their faces) rib cracking hug. A smaller girl with fiery red hair was sitting in front of them.
It was a funny picture, since all of them seemed to be wearing black robes and a snowy owl was perched on top of the green-eyed boy.
She moved to the other picture and she felt her stomach clench, just as if someone had just dropped her from a large height. It was a very young and rather pretty woman with long silky brown hair and blue eyes, holding a baby girl tenderly in her arms. It was the baby who made her jump. She had emerald green eyes, messy jet-black hair and pale complexion. Feeling as though she suddenly had no insides at all, she turned to the picture of the man.
She stared at him hard, as though expecting something to happen. And happened it did. Suddenly, the man winked and his smile broadened, turning his head toward Aileen, who backed instinctively, severely freaked out. Moving pictures? No way! Not even dreaming! She wanted to get a closer look at the picture, but just then, she heard something behind her. She turned around and was surprised to see the man in the picture bursting in the room, holding what looked like a bundle in his arms.
She caught a glimpse of his face. Tears were running down his cheeks, but his eyes were burning with a fury that scared Aileen. As Aileen stepped backwards (not sure if she had to take part in her own dream,) he rushed to the room Aileen had come from, hesitated and turned to a staircase Aileen could swear wasn't there a second ago.
She thought he wasn't coming down again, but then the door suddenly burst open, and I mean burst, it exploded, wood splinter flying everywhere and shooting against the walls. The atmosphere changed in two seconds. The fire went out, and the lights turned a dying red glow. Aileen looked around and tripped over her own feet at the vision. She backed in horror from a tall hooded someone. He was covered in straps of black robes, a long thin stick stuck out of his left pocket.
But it wasn't that what made her clap a hand over her mouth to drown a scream. It was the smell, like rotten or burnt flesh, even his breath, that he gasped in hollow, rattling seemed to be exhale disease. But worst of all were the eyes behind the hood. His face was covered, but two red slits gleamed like rubies hidden in the darkness.
He stood in the doorway, his straps of clothing floating and slithering like snakes. He seemed to be waiting for something. He seemed to have found what he wanted, for he turned facing a wall, and Aileen didn't know how she knew, but she could swear the man had just grinned, a devilish, menacing evil grin, just the smile a crocodile would give his victim before snapping their necks it two. A sudden burst of something and the green-eyed man appeared out of nowhere, his face washed in sweat or tears, Aileen couldn't tell.
"Still feeling sorry for that mudblood? Let me tell you how she died. First I tortured her..."
" Shut up!" he shouted furiously, making Aileen jump. He too had a stick...wand, and was pointing it threateningly at the man. Aileen couldn't help but raise and eyebrow.
"He's gonna kill him with a stick?" but there was no doubt the other guy was insane.
Just then, someone burst into the room, not for the first time that night. In came a man with greying brown hair, brown eyes and pale complexion. He looked just the way Aileen felt after a few nights Hornell's torture, except for the pained expression in his eyes. The next words came in a blur, so Aileen wasn't sure if she had really heard them.
"Harry DON'T! That's what he wants. Either way will end the same! If you kill him, you'll be killing y..."
"I've said ENOUGH!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!! I don't care what will happen next as long as he is dead!" he (Harry?) bellowed. "You cannot help me in this one Remus. You've done enough, its time for me to end what I started," and then, a blinding flash of green light and Aileen woke up, screaming in terror.
Aileen screamed and sprang out of bed, tripping over her own feet and landing face down on the floor. She lay there for a while, and suddenly she broke out laughing nervously. "It was a dream again...how stupid can I get?" she thought still bending over with contained laughter.
She managed to stand up and crawl to bed again. The girl rubbed her face against a pillow. She remembered her dream, but smiled at the thought of knowing it was only a dream. "Who would have believed it though. Moving photographs, sure" she said and giggled again before falling asleep.
Next morning when she woke up, she couldn't remember anything except the face of a young man with bright green eyes veiled in mist.