Chapter Two
Nightmares Again?
Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione found a compartment all to themselves. Ginny sat next to Hermione and Ron sat next to Harry. They started playing childish Muggle games that Harry and Hermione had taught Ron and Ginny last year. Ginny became tired and decided to sit a game out. All of a sudden, she was overwhelmed and fell asleep.
She was standing in a dark place. All she could see were the trees around her. She felt scared and upset. Then she figured that Lily Potter was visiting her like she had so many times last year. "Lily?" She called, but nobody answered. "James?" Still no answer. "Anybody?" Suddenly, a cackle rose out of the air. She spun around, yet she couldn't see anyone there. "Who's there?" She called, really becoming frightened now. The voice that answered sounded cold and harsh. It was a voice that she had heard twice before, but she couldn't remember who it belonged to. "Can the little rose come out and play?" It started to laugh, a cold, icy laugh that chilled Ginny's bone to listen to. "Who are you?" She called, wanting to get out of her own mind, but she couldn't. She was trapped. Trapped by the taunting she spun around, the laugh continuing on and on in her head. "Stop! Stop it and leave me alone!" She started to scream, and the laughing stopped. She opened her eyes. Harry was lying before her. "Harry? Oh, Harry, I am so glad it's you. I keep hearing this person laughing and . . ." She stopped, and looked more closely at him. He was bleeding, a deep wound in his side. "Harry? Harry, what happened?" Harry didn't answer. His body started to change. His hair becoming bushy and brown, his teeth becoming bucked, and he was Hermione. This time, there were slashes across her face, her eyes wide and afraid. "Hermione? No! This is a dream. Come on Rose, pull yourself together and wake up." She turned around, and saw Ron lying there. He was badly wounded, too. "Stop!" She screamed. "Stop messing with my emotions!" The laugh continued, high, unending. "You can't escape me, little rose. You got away once, but you can't live. Not while I am alive. I will destroy the people you love most, and then I will destroy you!" A caped figure came out of the darkness. The hood drawn up, she could not see the face. "Leave me alone!" She screamed again. She ran past the hooded figure, and saw the corpses of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "They will be your undoing, Rose. You mustn't love. Love is for the weak. Those who are weak can never survive." Harry, Ron, and Hermione became Mary, Bill, and Lynn. They became Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill. Then they became Percy, Fred and George. Then there was Charlie and Sandy. It finally went back to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Stop!" She yelled, and then collapsed near the bodies and started crying. The man continued to laugh. She couldn't stop it. She couldn't control it. It was going to drive her insane if the laughing didn't stop. She curled up in a ball as the corpses continued to change, the order changing with it. Harry, Charlie, Percy. Lynn, Hermione, Bill. Ron, Harry, Mary. She was going to go insane. She was going to be trapped in this nightmare. "No!" She yelled. "Stop! Stop! Stop!"
"Rose, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here." That voice? Was it that man? Was the man here, and getting ready to kill her the minute she opened her eyes? "Rose? Come on, you have to wake up. We're almost to Hogwarts." She opened her eyes slowly, and looked up into two green eyes. "Harry? You're alive?" "Last time I checked I was. Maybe I better check again, what do you think?" He said, the old glint coming back to his eyes. She realized his arms were around her and that she was on the floor. "What happened?" She asked slowly. "Where are Pawn and Books?" "They went out to get some Chocolate Frogs. Remember what Professor Lupin used to do? Whenever someone wasn't so well, he'd pull out some chocolate. So they decided we should try it one more time." She laughed a little, not quite used to being awake again yet. "What was so wrong? You kept screaming stop, and then fell out of your seat." Harry said, looking concerned. "I couldn't wake you up. Is there something the matter?" "No," she said, touching her forehead tentatively where it felt like it was burning. "No, I'm fine. Just a little nightmare, that's all." "Are you sure?" "Harry, I'm fine." Ron and Hermione came in, both with arms full of Chocolate Frogs. "You got her awake!" Yelled Hermione. "Yeah, she came through about five minutes after you two left." "Are you okay Rose? You had us really afraid for a minute there." Said Hermione. "I thought Pawn was going to pass out. He was really afraid for you. We all were." Said Harry. Hermione turned to look at him. She at least had heard the love in his voice. Ron, however, was busy opening a Chocolate Frog for Ginny, breaking off a small piece and placing it into her mouth. "Are you going to be okay?" Asked Hermione. "Should we get someone?" Ginny finished chewing up the Chocolate Frog before she answered. "No. I am going to be fine. Really. Now what are we supposed to do with all these Chocolate Frogs? You didn't expect me to eat them all by myself did you?" They all laughed. Ginny couldn't shake off the feeling of uncertainty that the nightmare had left her with. In about five minutes, they changed into their Hogwarts robes, just before the train pulled into Hogsmeade station. "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" Called the familiar voice of Hagrid. They all waved at him, and he waved back, just before he led a line of scared looking little first years to where the boats were taking them to Hogwarts. They climbed into a carriage, and it pulled them away. They watched as the tall turrets of Hogwarts castle came into view. "You notice that a lot of the first years looked a lot younger than they normally do this year?" Asked Ron, looking over at them to see if they agree. "Yeah, I noticed that too." Agreed Hermione. "Do you think Dumbledore invited the kids younger than usual that had magical potential because of all the deaths last year?" Ginny shivered. All those children that had died. Just so that Voldemort could get more power and lose it. She hoped that Harry wouldn't have to carve anymore names on that rock this year. "Maybe. He might not have wanted to take any chances this year." Said Harry, wisely. "Or it's because we are getting so old, that they just look younger than they should." Suggested Ron. They all looked at each other, and said at the same time. "Nah!" Sally slithered over to Ginny. "Hey Rosssse. I know you were lying to everybody when you sssaid you were okay. I'm going to ssstay with you tonight ssso I can talk to you, and make sssure that what ever wasss bothering you on the train thisss afternoon doesssn't bother you tonight. If it doesss, I'm going to go get Harry, and you have to tell him what isss wrong." "Why?" "If you two are going to go out, you have to be open to him about thessse thingsss. He'sss Harry, he'll underssstand if you have to wake him up in the middle of the night. Essspecially for sssomething asss important asss that." "Thanks Sal." "No problem." "Sometimes you knowing my feelings is a pain." "And then at other timesss it'sss a blessssing. I know."
They walked up the stone steps. Ginny was uncertain about what this year would bring. Would it bring another bundle of deaths? Would there be a new prophesy? Would there be a new Harry's parents' old friend teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts? Or would it be a *gasp* normal year? They walked into the Great Hall and the first thing that Ginny noticed was the new lady, that must have been the D.A.D.A. teacher. Hermione noticed her, too. "She looks nice enough." Said Hermione. Indeed, she was a middle-aged woman who had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a very nice smile, and smiled at everybody as they walked in. "Well," said Harry as they all sat down. "This is probably a miracle." "What is?" Asked Ron. "This is the first Sorting that I will have been to since my own." "Yeah, that's right." Said Ginny, surprised that she just realized that. "Congratulations Harry!" "Hear! Hear!" Agreed Ron and Hermione. Ginny looked around at the other house tables. There was Draco, sitting with the Slytherins. She frowned. He didn't look to good. She wondered what was wrong with him. Had his father been beating him again this summer? Was he safe at his house? Should she have told someone about his father and his brutal behavior? She couldn't really think about that right now, because Randy, the girl that Harry had saved last year, had come over to say hello to him. "Hi Harry!" She said, grinning from ear to ear. "Randy! How has my girl been?" "Good! After I came back, I worked really hard and made it into the second year! And everybody has been really nice and supportive of me lately! My mom says to tell you that she said hi, and to thank you again for her. She really likes you Harry. Well, good-bye!" "Bye Randy!" The hall went silent. The first years came in with scared looks on their faces as they stood in line, waiting for the Sorting to begin, Harry noticed a little girl that looked a lot like Oliver Wood. She had the same brown hair, and go-for-the-gold glint in her eye. He pointed this out to Ginny. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I noticed that too. Now we have to be quiet though, the Sorting is starting." Professor McGonagall was carrying out the stool and the old school's Sorting Hat, that sorted the students into their rightful houses. As she set the hat onto the stool, the brim ripped open and broke into song:
Welcome to Hogwarts,
Where you will learn magic of all sorts.
Before you can sit down to eat,
I'll sort you through and then you can take your seat.
Try me on and you will see
I'll tell you where you ought to be.
You might go to Gryffindor
If you have a brave heart
You might belong to Ravenclaw
Where dwell the very smart.
You might go into Hufflepuff
Where sit the loyal friends
Or down to sly old Slytherin
Who are cunning to the end.
So try me on and I will say
Where you belong, and there you'll stay.
The crowd broke into applause as the hat bowed to each of the houses and then stood still. "Could one of you please tell me why the Sorting Hat sang a different song than it did the time I got sorted?" Asked Harry, sounding more like he was whining than he meant to. "Because it makes up a new song every year. You'd think that the hat would have more to do than just sit around all day. It probably uses the whole year to make up a new song." Said Ginny as the Sorting Hat sorted Susanna Applebee into Hufflepuff. The Sorting went on until, at last, it finished with Carrie Wood, who became a Gryffindor. "I knew she looked like Wood!" Said Harry, as he applauded with the rest of the Gryffindors at Carrie's arrival. Dumbledore stood up to face the students, looking pleased to see them all there. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I have two words to say to you and here they are. Tuck in." "Hear hear!" Yelled all of the older students as the plates filled up with delicious food. Everybody ate until they were filled to the bursting point, and Dumbledore stood up again. "I have just a few more words before you all turn into your dormitories. I want to first introduce your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Crumbie." She stood up briefly and took a small bow while everybody applauded her. "She has kindly taken the role, and hopefully you will all make her feel right at home. Also, Mr. Filch would like me to please remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, and the list of forbidden items among students still hangs outside of his office, if any student wishes to see it." He smiled slightly. "Now, will the prefects please lead the first years up to their dormitories? Good night." Harry stood up with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and headed for the Gryffindor common room. Before they could leave the Great Hall, however, Draco Malfoy came up to them. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the return of the infamous Dream Team. Did you all have a good summer?" He asked with a mock kind tone in his voice. "It went very well, thank you." Commented Ginny. Harry looked at her in amazement. How could she always sound so kind to him when he tries to sound so mean? "Heard your mom got attacked. What did she do wrong?" He asked in a would be mocking voice, but Ginny alone could hear the kindness in his voice. Malfoy was afraid for Mrs. Weasley. "Nothing." Said Ron, irritated. He hadn't heard what had happened with Malfoy last year yet. "Shove it Malfoy." "Oh, I'm afraid of the little Weasel. You'll get what your mother did next Ronnie, I promise." And with that, Malfoy left them. "I don't get how you can be so kind to him Rose." Said Hermione, shaking her head. "He seems rotten to the core." Ginny didn't answer as they all walked up the steps toward Gryffindor tower.
( T/N: Heather~ You're pretty fast.
Me~ Thank you. I finished chapters one and two in less than a day.
Heather~ Maybe Lily should take lessons from you.
Me~ Don't talk about your creator like that!
Heather~ Her fans are getting impatient.
Me~ She's on vacation with Ally, and I think Draco is going with them. Maybe she'll get some work done.
Heather~ Your Sorting Hat song seems a little plain.
Me~ So I couldn't think of anything good! Lily's the good one. I mean, she wrote a prophesy that was 3 pages long!
Heather~ Yeah, J.K. Rowling's sudden prophesy idea seemed a little fishy.
Me~ You noticed that too? And how about the sudden mention of murtlaps? Did she ever mention murtlaps before?
Heather~ Not that I can think of.
Me~ I'm going to talk to Lily about this when she gets home. I'm sure she'll agree with me about the weirdness of the murtlap.
Heather~ What am I? Chopped liver?
Me~ No, I just like to get her opinion.
Heather~ Well, okay.
Me~ See ya guys! Review! :) )
Nightmares Again?
Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione found a compartment all to themselves. Ginny sat next to Hermione and Ron sat next to Harry. They started playing childish Muggle games that Harry and Hermione had taught Ron and Ginny last year. Ginny became tired and decided to sit a game out. All of a sudden, she was overwhelmed and fell asleep.
She was standing in a dark place. All she could see were the trees around her. She felt scared and upset. Then she figured that Lily Potter was visiting her like she had so many times last year. "Lily?" She called, but nobody answered. "James?" Still no answer. "Anybody?" Suddenly, a cackle rose out of the air. She spun around, yet she couldn't see anyone there. "Who's there?" She called, really becoming frightened now. The voice that answered sounded cold and harsh. It was a voice that she had heard twice before, but she couldn't remember who it belonged to. "Can the little rose come out and play?" It started to laugh, a cold, icy laugh that chilled Ginny's bone to listen to. "Who are you?" She called, wanting to get out of her own mind, but she couldn't. She was trapped. Trapped by the taunting she spun around, the laugh continuing on and on in her head. "Stop! Stop it and leave me alone!" She started to scream, and the laughing stopped. She opened her eyes. Harry was lying before her. "Harry? Oh, Harry, I am so glad it's you. I keep hearing this person laughing and . . ." She stopped, and looked more closely at him. He was bleeding, a deep wound in his side. "Harry? Harry, what happened?" Harry didn't answer. His body started to change. His hair becoming bushy and brown, his teeth becoming bucked, and he was Hermione. This time, there were slashes across her face, her eyes wide and afraid. "Hermione? No! This is a dream. Come on Rose, pull yourself together and wake up." She turned around, and saw Ron lying there. He was badly wounded, too. "Stop!" She screamed. "Stop messing with my emotions!" The laugh continued, high, unending. "You can't escape me, little rose. You got away once, but you can't live. Not while I am alive. I will destroy the people you love most, and then I will destroy you!" A caped figure came out of the darkness. The hood drawn up, she could not see the face. "Leave me alone!" She screamed again. She ran past the hooded figure, and saw the corpses of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "They will be your undoing, Rose. You mustn't love. Love is for the weak. Those who are weak can never survive." Harry, Ron, and Hermione became Mary, Bill, and Lynn. They became Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill. Then they became Percy, Fred and George. Then there was Charlie and Sandy. It finally went back to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Stop!" She yelled, and then collapsed near the bodies and started crying. The man continued to laugh. She couldn't stop it. She couldn't control it. It was going to drive her insane if the laughing didn't stop. She curled up in a ball as the corpses continued to change, the order changing with it. Harry, Charlie, Percy. Lynn, Hermione, Bill. Ron, Harry, Mary. She was going to go insane. She was going to be trapped in this nightmare. "No!" She yelled. "Stop! Stop! Stop!"
"Rose, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here." That voice? Was it that man? Was the man here, and getting ready to kill her the minute she opened her eyes? "Rose? Come on, you have to wake up. We're almost to Hogwarts." She opened her eyes slowly, and looked up into two green eyes. "Harry? You're alive?" "Last time I checked I was. Maybe I better check again, what do you think?" He said, the old glint coming back to his eyes. She realized his arms were around her and that she was on the floor. "What happened?" She asked slowly. "Where are Pawn and Books?" "They went out to get some Chocolate Frogs. Remember what Professor Lupin used to do? Whenever someone wasn't so well, he'd pull out some chocolate. So they decided we should try it one more time." She laughed a little, not quite used to being awake again yet. "What was so wrong? You kept screaming stop, and then fell out of your seat." Harry said, looking concerned. "I couldn't wake you up. Is there something the matter?" "No," she said, touching her forehead tentatively where it felt like it was burning. "No, I'm fine. Just a little nightmare, that's all." "Are you sure?" "Harry, I'm fine." Ron and Hermione came in, both with arms full of Chocolate Frogs. "You got her awake!" Yelled Hermione. "Yeah, she came through about five minutes after you two left." "Are you okay Rose? You had us really afraid for a minute there." Said Hermione. "I thought Pawn was going to pass out. He was really afraid for you. We all were." Said Harry. Hermione turned to look at him. She at least had heard the love in his voice. Ron, however, was busy opening a Chocolate Frog for Ginny, breaking off a small piece and placing it into her mouth. "Are you going to be okay?" Asked Hermione. "Should we get someone?" Ginny finished chewing up the Chocolate Frog before she answered. "No. I am going to be fine. Really. Now what are we supposed to do with all these Chocolate Frogs? You didn't expect me to eat them all by myself did you?" They all laughed. Ginny couldn't shake off the feeling of uncertainty that the nightmare had left her with. In about five minutes, they changed into their Hogwarts robes, just before the train pulled into Hogsmeade station. "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" Called the familiar voice of Hagrid. They all waved at him, and he waved back, just before he led a line of scared looking little first years to where the boats were taking them to Hogwarts. They climbed into a carriage, and it pulled them away. They watched as the tall turrets of Hogwarts castle came into view. "You notice that a lot of the first years looked a lot younger than they normally do this year?" Asked Ron, looking over at them to see if they agree. "Yeah, I noticed that too." Agreed Hermione. "Do you think Dumbledore invited the kids younger than usual that had magical potential because of all the deaths last year?" Ginny shivered. All those children that had died. Just so that Voldemort could get more power and lose it. She hoped that Harry wouldn't have to carve anymore names on that rock this year. "Maybe. He might not have wanted to take any chances this year." Said Harry, wisely. "Or it's because we are getting so old, that they just look younger than they should." Suggested Ron. They all looked at each other, and said at the same time. "Nah!" Sally slithered over to Ginny. "Hey Rosssse. I know you were lying to everybody when you sssaid you were okay. I'm going to ssstay with you tonight ssso I can talk to you, and make sssure that what ever wasss bothering you on the train thisss afternoon doesssn't bother you tonight. If it doesss, I'm going to go get Harry, and you have to tell him what isss wrong." "Why?" "If you two are going to go out, you have to be open to him about thessse thingsss. He'sss Harry, he'll underssstand if you have to wake him up in the middle of the night. Essspecially for sssomething asss important asss that." "Thanks Sal." "No problem." "Sometimes you knowing my feelings is a pain." "And then at other timesss it'sss a blessssing. I know."
They walked up the stone steps. Ginny was uncertain about what this year would bring. Would it bring another bundle of deaths? Would there be a new prophesy? Would there be a new Harry's parents' old friend teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts? Or would it be a *gasp* normal year? They walked into the Great Hall and the first thing that Ginny noticed was the new lady, that must have been the D.A.D.A. teacher. Hermione noticed her, too. "She looks nice enough." Said Hermione. Indeed, she was a middle-aged woman who had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a very nice smile, and smiled at everybody as they walked in. "Well," said Harry as they all sat down. "This is probably a miracle." "What is?" Asked Ron. "This is the first Sorting that I will have been to since my own." "Yeah, that's right." Said Ginny, surprised that she just realized that. "Congratulations Harry!" "Hear! Hear!" Agreed Ron and Hermione. Ginny looked around at the other house tables. There was Draco, sitting with the Slytherins. She frowned. He didn't look to good. She wondered what was wrong with him. Had his father been beating him again this summer? Was he safe at his house? Should she have told someone about his father and his brutal behavior? She couldn't really think about that right now, because Randy, the girl that Harry had saved last year, had come over to say hello to him. "Hi Harry!" She said, grinning from ear to ear. "Randy! How has my girl been?" "Good! After I came back, I worked really hard and made it into the second year! And everybody has been really nice and supportive of me lately! My mom says to tell you that she said hi, and to thank you again for her. She really likes you Harry. Well, good-bye!" "Bye Randy!" The hall went silent. The first years came in with scared looks on their faces as they stood in line, waiting for the Sorting to begin, Harry noticed a little girl that looked a lot like Oliver Wood. She had the same brown hair, and go-for-the-gold glint in her eye. He pointed this out to Ginny. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I noticed that too. Now we have to be quiet though, the Sorting is starting." Professor McGonagall was carrying out the stool and the old school's Sorting Hat, that sorted the students into their rightful houses. As she set the hat onto the stool, the brim ripped open and broke into song:
Welcome to Hogwarts,
Where you will learn magic of all sorts.
Before you can sit down to eat,
I'll sort you through and then you can take your seat.
Try me on and you will see
I'll tell you where you ought to be.
You might go to Gryffindor
If you have a brave heart
You might belong to Ravenclaw
Where dwell the very smart.
You might go into Hufflepuff
Where sit the loyal friends
Or down to sly old Slytherin
Who are cunning to the end.
So try me on and I will say
Where you belong, and there you'll stay.
The crowd broke into applause as the hat bowed to each of the houses and then stood still. "Could one of you please tell me why the Sorting Hat sang a different song than it did the time I got sorted?" Asked Harry, sounding more like he was whining than he meant to. "Because it makes up a new song every year. You'd think that the hat would have more to do than just sit around all day. It probably uses the whole year to make up a new song." Said Ginny as the Sorting Hat sorted Susanna Applebee into Hufflepuff. The Sorting went on until, at last, it finished with Carrie Wood, who became a Gryffindor. "I knew she looked like Wood!" Said Harry, as he applauded with the rest of the Gryffindors at Carrie's arrival. Dumbledore stood up to face the students, looking pleased to see them all there. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I have two words to say to you and here they are. Tuck in." "Hear hear!" Yelled all of the older students as the plates filled up with delicious food. Everybody ate until they were filled to the bursting point, and Dumbledore stood up again. "I have just a few more words before you all turn into your dormitories. I want to first introduce your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Crumbie." She stood up briefly and took a small bow while everybody applauded her. "She has kindly taken the role, and hopefully you will all make her feel right at home. Also, Mr. Filch would like me to please remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, and the list of forbidden items among students still hangs outside of his office, if any student wishes to see it." He smiled slightly. "Now, will the prefects please lead the first years up to their dormitories? Good night." Harry stood up with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and headed for the Gryffindor common room. Before they could leave the Great Hall, however, Draco Malfoy came up to them. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the return of the infamous Dream Team. Did you all have a good summer?" He asked with a mock kind tone in his voice. "It went very well, thank you." Commented Ginny. Harry looked at her in amazement. How could she always sound so kind to him when he tries to sound so mean? "Heard your mom got attacked. What did she do wrong?" He asked in a would be mocking voice, but Ginny alone could hear the kindness in his voice. Malfoy was afraid for Mrs. Weasley. "Nothing." Said Ron, irritated. He hadn't heard what had happened with Malfoy last year yet. "Shove it Malfoy." "Oh, I'm afraid of the little Weasel. You'll get what your mother did next Ronnie, I promise." And with that, Malfoy left them. "I don't get how you can be so kind to him Rose." Said Hermione, shaking her head. "He seems rotten to the core." Ginny didn't answer as they all walked up the steps toward Gryffindor tower.
( T/N: Heather~ You're pretty fast.
Me~ Thank you. I finished chapters one and two in less than a day.
Heather~ Maybe Lily should take lessons from you.
Me~ Don't talk about your creator like that!
Heather~ Her fans are getting impatient.
Me~ She's on vacation with Ally, and I think Draco is going with them. Maybe she'll get some work done.
Heather~ Your Sorting Hat song seems a little plain.
Me~ So I couldn't think of anything good! Lily's the good one. I mean, she wrote a prophesy that was 3 pages long!
Heather~ Yeah, J.K. Rowling's sudden prophesy idea seemed a little fishy.
Me~ You noticed that too? And how about the sudden mention of murtlaps? Did she ever mention murtlaps before?
Heather~ Not that I can think of.
Me~ I'm going to talk to Lily about this when she gets home. I'm sure she'll agree with me about the weirdness of the murtlap.
Heather~ What am I? Chopped liver?
Me~ No, I just like to get her opinion.
Heather~ Well, okay.
Me~ See ya guys! Review! :) )