Chapter 4: Of Cookies and Milk, Dreams and Nightmares
Ianna was dreaming. She stood in a gray cement hall. Frantic footsteps echoed off the walls and suddenly her father rounded a corner at the far end. She knew then what would happen. Ianna had seen this dream many times before and she braced herself for what was to come. Her father, Ian, was too focused on reaching his destination to see or hear the hooded figure come around the same corner. He didn't hear the curse until it was too late. The sheaves of paper fell from his grasp and her father writhed on the floor, his screams of pain echoing as the Death Eater's footsteps had mere seconds before. Somehow through the pain and the curse, her father found the strength to apparate back to his office.
Ianna knew what happened then. As an unspeakable, being seen meant no more job. His memory had been modified. He had been given a random inferior job. They had escorted him home. She now stood in the living room of her home, watching as they explained what had happened. They assumed that Ianna and her mother knew nothing of Ian's activities. How could they have known? Neither Ianna nor her mother had been thinking clearly enough to tell them. It didn't occur to them that knowing could hurt. The ministry officials left later without knowing.
Suddenly, she was seeing her father being tortured. He screamed and tears rolled down his face. He was apparated away to be found in the lobby of the ministry building. That was where history stopped and nightmare began. Ianna was put in his place. Pain rolled in waves through her body and she screamed in an inhuman way. She was drawn away from the nightmare by someone's hand on her shoulder. Ianna quickly realized she was still dream-screaming and shut her mouth, swallowing hard. She took a couple cleansing breaths and looked to her side. There, framed by the light of his wand, stood Percy.
"Follow me," he whispered. Ianna slipped her feet into her slippers, wrapped her housecoat around her pajamas, and then followed him to his room. He closed the door softly after she walked in. "Have a seat," he gestured towards a chair by a small table. On the table sat two glasses of milk and some cookies. Ianna sat down and looked questionably at the food. "My mom always gave us milk and cookies after we had a bad dream. I figured I might extend the tradition towards you." Ianna picked up a glass, took a sip, and then cleared her throat.
"I'm sorry I woke you up." She said looking at him.
"I wasn't asleep. I'm trying to finish my reports. Mom wants me to have the weekend free." Percy said and Ianna could tell that it would be hard for him to spend two days without something concrete to do. "Do you want to talk about it?" He offered as he sat down at his desk.
"No. That would make it worse." Ianna shook her head. "Can I just sit here for a minute or two?" she asked. Percy nodded then turned back to his work. She nibbled on a cookie then leant her head back against the wall. Her eyes were starting to droop when Percy turned around and saw her jerk her head up and open her eyes. As he watched she closed her eye again then opened them. She seemed to be fighting off sleep. He chuckled a bit. It was a funny site.
"Why won't you sleep?" he asked. Ianna jumped and looked at him.
"Nightmares…" she yawned. "They always come back."
He nodded then turned to his bookcase that stood near the desk. He randomly selected one of his favorites and handed it to her. "Perhaps, you would rather read."
Ianna took the book and smiled. "One of my favorites," she said as she opened it.
"Oh, no," Percy cautioned. "Don't read there. My mom has a spell on my room. The lighting is only suitable for reading by my bed. If a book is read anywhere else, an alarm in her room will go off." Ianna quickly closed the book. She looked at his bed then back at him. "Go ahead. I won't be sleeping tonite anyway" he said. Ianna sat down on the bed and started to read. Halfway through the book she fell asleep, her head resting on a pillow Percy had gotten for being Head Boy at Hogwarts. 'Ah, those were the days' he thought as he turned back to his work.
A/N: I know my mom wishes she had a spell like that. She always walks in and yells at me about the lighting when I'm reading. Thought I'd throw in some…I dunno…real stuff in there. I'm off.