I don't own Harry Potter. :(

Dreams

Well, this was more like it. The Great Hall was as warm and welcoming as ever, floating candles illuminating the tables under a stormy ceiling. Ryua sat down in her seat, still feeling numb in her extremities and frozen everywhere else. Luckily, she often had a frosty attitude, especially when she was hungry, so no one commented. She waited through the sorting, barely noticing the fourteen new Slytherins who made themselves at home along the worn benches. Dumbledore made some speech about the Dementors guarding the gates So that's what they were and introduced Lupin, some shaggy looking wizard and Hagrid as the new teachers.

"Finally," Ryua muttered when Dumbledore sat down and food appeared on the golden plates. The thick, delicious soup disappeared quickly, followed by biscuits, chicken, carrots, and numerous other dishes as Ryua tried to warm up. Nothing had much of an effect, however, until the dessert. A rich, fudge-laden brownie pudding concoction appeared on each of their plates, and with the first bite of chocolate, Ryua felt a tingle of warmth start through her. She wasn't the only one, either. All through the Great Hall, one could hear people sighing with pleasure as the chocolate dessert chased the remnants of Dementor chill out of the students.

The common room was as cold and dark as ever, but the chocolate buzz managed to keep everyone's spirits up, until they all separated into their dorms. Then, it ended. Ryua's dreams were haunted by images of her life, and dark, cloaked beings trying to claim her as their own. She tried to escape, groping for her wand, unable to cast spells, cornered by Dementors, her Father, the Dark Lord, all intent on catching her. She couldn't find her wand, and they were telling her to do things, hurting her, and she couldn't stop them. Don't cry, don't let them see you're scared, don't let them win... but they would. They always did, and there was nothing she could do...

Ryua sat bolt upright in bed, stifling a scream as she felt someone's hand on her arm. She looked in panic, trying to penetrate the gloom, and heard a voice say, "Relax, Ryua, it's just a dream, okay?"

"Pansy?" She'd never struck Ryua as the kind to be caring.

"Lumos." Pansy's face flickered into view. "Yeah. Listen... um, you know... these dreams, where do they come from?"

"Dreams? Plural? What do you mean?"

"This isn't the first time you've woken me up in the middle of the night, you know."

Ryua's gut clenched. If someone knew, knew what went on... "And... what was I saying? You know, in my dreams?"

Pansy grimaced, then looked sad. "I'd always figured it was just my life that sucked. Some money, pure blood, and an old-fashioned family too involved in the dark arts. And I'd always thought you had it all; talent, money, respect... But Merlin's beard, Ryua, you did end up with some drawbacks to your wealth, didn't you?"

It was the closest anyone had ever come to understanding Ryua's life. She could read between the lines as easily as Pansy, and neither one would actually say it. You never talked about that sort of thing, but after that, Ryua and Pansy were always just that little bit closer, connected in a way neither wanted to think about, but couldn't just ignore.

Author's note: Hmm, I'm in a hurry to upload this, so sorry if it's a bit odd. I might read it over again some other time.

If you've reviewed my last chapter, I appreciate it, but I'm writing this before I get online, so I don't know.