AN: I apologize profusely for my lazyness. There will be more updates regularly but I will need to revamp the other chapter and a beta reader. ANYONE WANT TO OFFER? Enjoy the chapter.
It's Just a Nightmare 23
Harry's eyes fluttered open at the sound of the door creaking open and found himself face to face with a plump witch who looked as if she had smiled all her life but now seemed to think it was prudent not too.
Her full head of voluminous and wavy blonde hair was ill befitted into a large tight bun that seemed to need a considerable amount of maintenance to uphold. Bulky curls of hair stuck out of the bun in haphazardous ways and bounce as she drew away with a wince,
"I'm so sorry your highness. I was merely here to take your measurements," she grimaced as if she had expected an attack. Harry smiled brightly at her; she seemed a nice enough person,
"Oh don't worry, you didn't wake me up." He said brightly and jumped out of bed. The sleep had refreshed him even if it was short lived. The lady looked rather flabbergasted but proceeded to take his measurements.
Her movements were rather awkward and restrained, as though she had to touch him as little as possible. Finally she drew away quickly and gave him a feeble smile,
"Um….if you don't mind my lord, can I perhaps set up in here?" her voice wavered uncertainly and her lips were pressed together more tightly than before. Although Harry didn't know what "set up" meant, he had a fair idea that she was probably going to display some of her wares.
"Sure, it be more convenient for you, wouldn't it?" the witch looked rather puzzled and Harry notice the beads of perspiration glistening on her forehead. Surely she was not that afraid of him? He didn't look very harmful and although he hadn't looked in a mirror he had the gut instinct that he had always been a small boy.
"Oh thank you, my lord, thank you," said the witch with a mixture of confusion and relief.
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself, I'm Harry," The woman clearly did know who he was but he wanted to be introduced to her and was too gallant to do so directly. The witch's complexion became fainter and so did her lips. For ten seconds there was total silence in the room and the air drew thick with tension. It was finally broke by her high pitched nervous giggle,
"My name is Lola, um …. Just really Lola,"
"I'm pleased to meet you Lola. What are you going to set up?" asked Harry as he saw for the first time a small suitcase lying on the floor beside the door. "And please just relax, I'm really not dangerous!" Although it was meant to be a joke, Lola certainly calmed down somewhat and smiled appreciatively at Harry.
"I'm just going to open my suitcase and let you chose the material." With a flourish of her want the suitcase shot up into the air and expanded into a worktable and wall display of various materials. Lola gently set them down beside her and rearranged some lopsided robes.
"Wow, that was great. Must be good to have such a convenient suitcase," exclaimed Harry. Lola blushed at the praise and set about extracting various materials from inside the drawers. They all turned out to be an assorted variation of dark green silks. The strange instincts that has plagued him before had come back and were loudly protesting against the choice of colour, in fact he felt almost traitorous.
"Now let's see which one you're most comfortable in?" said Lola as she held a piece of silk against his hands. On closer inspection, what he thought had been a strange sort of light reflection on the silk turned out to be embroiderings of snakes in a shiny green thread. The colour was so similar to the fabric that the snakes were almost camouflaged. Like a snake in the grass, waiting to strike, thought Harry and immediately felt rather weird. Why had a piece of fabric prompted him to feel such strange negative emotions?
"Can I change the colour," Harry blurted out without thinking. Lola immediately withdrew the fabric and looked rather stressed,
"I'm really, sorry your lordship…" but Harry objected
"No call me Harry, please,"
"Harry, but his Highness ordered me to only bring green fabrics," she finished rather dejected. Harry smiled, wearing green was fine, in fact he had a feeling that green would look very nice on him. Hadn't someone once said it would bring out the colour of his eyes? As to who the person was Harry was relatively clueless and his mind was covered in a blanket of fog.
"It's ok, just not really used to wearing green that's all but I think I'd like it," he said feeling rather ashamed.
"Oh you will," said Lola jumping at the chance to defend herself, "Gorgeous, it'll bring out those lovely eyes of yours." Harry started, the phrase seemed so evocative to his sealed up memories. He could almost smell the pastry baking in the red agar over and he could hear the warm tones of a plump red hair woman telling him about his new dress robes.
Quite taken a back at his stream of memories, Harry forcefully jerked himself back to reality where Lola was nervously ringing her hands in anticipation. He could only force himself to smile in order to relieve her stress.
"I'm sure these dress robes will be just fine for the Serenade, Lola," he said as he indicated to the long sweeping forest green gown with an elaborate network of embroided silver thread that Lola had conjured in his mental lapse.
"Oh of course, you have made an excellent choice young master!" she exclaimed rather hurriedly and bewitched a goose quill to take down the necessary materials for the implementation. The illusion disappeared, which took Harry by surprise; the artifice had been brilliant. "I suppose that is all. Thank you very young master the robes will be ready by three in the afternoon and a house elf will bring them to you."
The suitcase refolded itself in a split second and Lola was ready to leave.
"Will you be coming back sometime Lola?" Harry asked as she turned to open the door. Hesitantly she twisted around to face him,
"I suppose not…Harry, I am only a temporary tailor, the court tailor has been ill of late…" she paused and an anxious expression crossed her face, "You know Harry, if you ever get to go out into London I have a shop called…" her voice faltered and dropped to a whisper, "I have a shop in Diagon Alley that you can visit. A secret shop, nothing illegal of course," her voice rose to a hearty laugh that seemed to cheerful to be genuine, "But you know Harry you mustn't tell anyone or it won't be secret any longer. You can visit me at any time of the night from today."
Suddenly Lola's eyes fixed upon Harry's forehead and he rubbed it self-consciously. She smiled nervously at the reaction and left with a brisk goodbye leaving Harry standing in the doorway feeling quite lost.
It was mid-afternoon when Harry ventured out into the gardens. His limbs had felt rather weak in the morning and sunshine he decided would help strengthen them.
An absurd voice kept popping into his head and repeating the words, Albus believes that sunshine has a positive effect on healthy mental development. Strange things did seem to go through his mind a lot after his illness and he did his best to suppress them.
Father would be worried if he thought I might be going crazy. I've caused him too much trouble already. Harry strolled aimlessly through the gardens occasionally stooping to look more closely at a particularly interesting specimen. I hope this Mid Summer Serenade thing will be okay…I don't think I can dance but surely Father knows better than me. There was a faint rustling in the bushes to his right and a small silvery snake appeared with bright red eyes that shone with great intensity. It was by far the most bizarre snake Harry had ever encountered and he felt sure he had seen a lot. It had a strange crescent marking under each eye that seemed to glitter in the sunlight and deep flowing grooved along its body that looked like the finishing touches to sculpture. The snake hissed rather menacingly and disappeared behind another bush.
Shaking his head slowly Harry slowly trekked back inside, bizarre snakes could be expected on such a large estate but there had been something about it that was unsettling.
Lord Voldemort had many associates and the Mid Summer Serenade was one of the most important social events of the year. It was a time for celebration, as it marked the tenth anniversary of his reign over Britain. The period had produced increases prosperity amongst the majority of the population. Trade and commerce with other parts of the world had flourished after some faltering. Small businesses were entitled to subsidies from the government to increase competition and the production of consumer goods. A cycle of prosperity had been developed in which Lord Voldemort had managed to balance the influence of the rich and powerful with the needs of the ordinary citizens.
However freedom was severely limited under the new regime but that was not much different from an average dictatorship. Opponents to the government had at first been eliminated but as the individual countries of Europe had settled into the regime, political opponents were dealt with less harshly. Criticism of the establishment was allowed as long as it was reasonable. The Daily Prophet even ran a daily column in which ordinary people could voice their concerns to the Home Secretary. However only issues that could be resolved were ever published and political dissidents were usually tried and sent to prison for life.
Due to the increased demand two new special high security prisons had been built in Transylvania. Demetors effectively ran the establishments under the overall supervision of a senior manager who was never present to sort out any "difficulties". Many prisoners lost their souls within weeks and were buried alive outside the gate; after all, Demetors had no use for those who could not express emotion. This procedure served to free up cells faster than naturally possible but there were those who were under state protection that the Demetors were not allowed to harm. These "long term" prisoners lived the life of pre-regime Azkaban inmates, most were mad and several prisoners a year committed suicide to the annoyance of the authorities. The Dark Lord always had a reason to spare someone for only the most dangerous of political dissidents were sent to Azkaban or Transylvania.
If one was to have an opinion on the authorities it would not be voiced. Such nonsense, they believed, led to investigation by the Midnight Patrol, a secret establishment that served the sole purpose of identifying and catching any serious political threat. However the government was not interested in anyone other than extreme political dissidents, usually rebels hiding in remote parts stirring up discontentment amongst the primitive locals.
In truth the regime faced little resistance in the years following the decisive victory. Officials occupied their time with the daily monotonous problems that all governments faced including regulating caldron bottoms and reducing council tax for elderly pensioners. Life was peaceful and none more so than for the rich ruling classes. Their lifestyle left nothing to be desired and certainly no grounds for rebellion. Lord Voldemort would be content if only his son would fit into his grand scheme of things.
AN: Oh God how long since I updated…too long slaps self in the cheeks I'll be brutally honest with you I was totally dazzled by a new fandom and worked on other pieces. It's Just a Nightmare needs a revamp and a beta reader…anyone like to offer? Next chapter the Ball...can't avoid it forever
