Chapter Seven: The Second Nightmare
Vivian returned to Manchester around four in the morning. She felt sick and exhausted. The Dark Lord is attacking closer to Hogwarts. If that castle falls, then the whole wizarding world will fall soon after. She walked shakily inside the house and sat down in the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water but spit it out because it tasted old and stagnant. She searched through the cupboards and found two bottles; one was a dark red liquid which she immediately disregarded and the other was an amber color. Sniffing it, she knew it was brandy. She tossed the glass in the sink and drank straight from the bottle. The alcohol soothed her nerves. She was dozing off when she heard the front door slam. Her eyes were glazed over and she couldn't focus on anything. I'm not drunk said the drunk. Vivian saw the blurred figure of someone step into the room. The bottle fell from her hands and shattered onto the floor.
"Vivian…"
She was unconscious the rest of the morning and day.
Open your eyes…
Vivian opened her eyes and found herself standing at the end of a dock. The pale moonlight shimmered off the lake water. There was a cold breeze that blew from what she thought was the north and it whipped her robes around her harshly.
They are going to die because of you…
"Who?"
The children who are our only hope.
"How will that happen? I still have the locket!"
You won't have it for long. You won't have long for anything.
The voice made Vivian shiver. She bared her teeth ready for any cutting comment it might make. The waters of the lake became turbulent. The moon turned red and gave off a dark light. Vivian looked all around and felt the darkness. She felt the darkness in her skin, her muscles, and her bones. It was as tangible as the water beneath her feet. She screamed in frustration. For a moment she felt as if she were floating. Looking down she saw the dock disappear under her feet. Vivian fell into icy black water. Her robes dragged her down. Her lungs started to hurt. She cupped her hands and started to reach into long strokes. The surface of the water glittered red above her. Something grabbed her ankle. She tried to kick out of the grip but it pulled her down even more. She arched her back, kicking both feet at the same time. The move freed her legs but the flip brought her upper body down. Her lungs screamed in protest. She kicked her feet with all her strength and saw the surface come closer. The hands grabbed her shoulders. Gasping, she felt an icy surge of water enter her mouth. She turned with one last effort to free herself. A horror met her face. Dead and rotting flesh clung to the skull of the creature that held her. Its eyes were milk white and blind. Long blond hair floated behind it.
"Vivian," its voice was frightening familiar.
She screamed and inhaled more water. She was going to die. She was going to—
Her lungs took in a gulp of musty air. Her eyes opened wide. It was just a dream. She sat up and saw she was in the master bedroom.
"Are you okay?"
She jumped, a sick wave of fear washing over her. Red eyes glowed in the darkness on the other side of the room. It was just Sanguini. Sweat was dripping from her skin.
"Vivian? How are you feeling?" he asked again.
Vivian's dark green eyes adjusted to the darkness. Her stomach cramped immediately.
"Sick," she muttered and leapt out of bed and into the bathroom. She threw up everything in her stomach. Her hands were shaking. She felt Sanguini's cool fingers gather her hair out of her face and tie it back.
"That is one of the things that I do not miss from being mortal."
Vivian dry retched once more and then stood up straight. She glared at him. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face.
"Shut up, Sanguini, at least I could walk in sunlight."
"Ouch! That has mortally wounded me, dear."
Sanguini grabbed at his chest and feigned to be hurt. He received a sharp look from Vivian as she brushed her teeth. Her head throbbed and she still felt sick. She was not one of those people to swear off alcohol though because of a silly hangover. It would happen again so there was no point in denying it. Sanguini followed her out of the bathroom and down the stairs to the kitchen. Neither wondered at the amount of fluids Vivian vomited.
"What time is it?"
"It's just after eight. You slept the whole time. I woke up just an hour ago to your screaming."
"I dreamed that I was drowning."
Sanguini raised an expectant eyebrow for her to continue. She did not elaborate.
"What did you have planned tonight?"
"I don't know. I need to write to my aunt. Dovetown was burned to the ground. It's only ten or fifteen miles from Hogsmeade. I was there last night. I could see Hogwarts."
"The Dark Lord destroyed the whole town? How did you know?"
"I went to Godric's Hollow first. I met up with… a new acquaintance…the half-blood of the Dark Lord's ranks. He told me the Dark Lord has a massive army and he is already mobilizing them."
All the gore she saw last night flashed in her mind. She remembered the look in the deatheater's eyes as he disapparated away.
"It was awful, Sanguini. The deatheater knows the Dark Lord is going to attack Hogwarts. If he does, it will be a bloody massacre."
Sanguini walked around the kitchen, his arms crossed. He had a frown on his pale face. He looked lost in thought.
"What are you thinking?" she asked quietly.
Black eyes met green ones.
"How can we trust a deatheater?"
"I don't know. I trust the information he gave me is real. I think…"
Vivian's head cleared and a mischievous smile grew on her face. Sanguini knew all the warning signs of trouble.
"Now, Vivian, whatever you're—."
"Shut up, Sanguini, and grab your cloak!"
"Why did I even open my fucking mouth?"
Vivian apparated with Sanguini holding her arm. They were back in London. Vivian grabbed the vampire's arm and began leading him down the street. She pulled her hood up and hid her face.
"Hold on," Sanguini said while looking around, "Why are we going to The Goblin?"
"You'll see… Just be patient. You'll figure everything out in a moment anyway."
They entered the pub. Vivian looked around and dragged Sanguini to the bar with her. Sanguini rolled his eyes. Vivian's sudden ideas always landed them into trouble. She ordered a double shot of scotch on the rocks.
"Are you sure you want to drink that?"
"Yes. And I am going to enjoy it."
They sat in silence. Vivian sipped her drink. Witches and Wizards came and left the bar. It was two hours later when a large group of people entered the pub. Most were dressed richly and were talking loudly. They carried themselves with arrogance. Sanguini's eyes widened.
"Deatheaters?"
Vivian's eyes glittered dangerously as she nodded. Without a word to Sanguini she moved closer to the group.
"Vivian!"
The deatheater's gathered around a long table. A young waitress had the unfortunate task of getting their orders. After, she came back to the bar very harassed and bad-tempered. There were seven deatheaters at the table. Vivian recognized a couple of the younger ones.
"Oh! The Dark Lord was so pleased with our success yesterday!" one of them blurted out.
They all raised their glasses and toasted. Vivian noticed Sanguini had moved to the other side of the table and was also listening to the conversation.
"Let's hope that our next assignment will be as successful. I would hate to see him angry at us."
"We won't fail," said a woman with short black hair. "We have everything we'll ever need. And with Radu and Annis…"
"Shut the hell up! Do you want the Dark Lord to find out you've been naming his highest officials! What if there was an Auror in here?"
"Get your head out of your arses, the both of you. I won't worry about the ministry. I would just worry about the Dark Lord and the resistance."
The group all lowered their voices and leaned into one another. Vivian had to strain to hear them. She knew Sanguini could hear everything fine and would fill her in on the parts she missed.
"The Dark Lord is planning something extremely big for next month, I heard. The youngest Malfoy is supposed to be in charge of it. That hidden advisor of the Dark Lord's won't tell anyone about it but I've seen Malfoy speak to him. There's rumors that the Dark Lord keeps the advisor hidden because he's a mudblood."
There was a collective gasp from the others. Vivian listened with more interest.
"I wonder what happened to that fellow who killed Dumbledore. He was celebrated as a hero and then disappeared. Do you think the Dark Lord killed him?"
"Why would he kill him?"
"Because he did something the Dark Lord has been trying to do for years! Albus Dumbledore was the only obstacle the Dark Lord had to Potter. Now that he's out of the way, why doesn't the Dark Lord go after Potter?"
"I don't know. You would do well to remember your place, too, O'Neil."
"I'm just tired of all this waiting, is all."
Another figure in green ran into the pub.
"The ministry is coming! The aurors will be here any second!"
The whole pub emptied in less than a minute. Vivian fought against the crowd that surged through the door. She looked everywhere for the group of deatheaters and only saw the man named O'Neil. She rushed over to him and, making sure no one saw, grabbed and dragged him into an alleyway. She held him at wand point.
"What are you doing, bitch! The aurors are coming!"
"Knowing the ministry, we have another five minutes until they show up. I can see from the little chat you and your friends were having that you know more than you let on. When is the Dark Lord going to attack Hogwarts?"
O'Neil tried struggling against her but he couldn't reach his wand. She dug hers more into his neck. He hissed.
"Who said anything about Hogwarts? The Dark Lord has his sights for something else."
"What is it then?" she growled.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw something move. She peered closer and saw that Sanguini was waiting for her in darkened niche.
"I don't know! Only the Dark Lord has hinted that. Even his second in command doesn't know where. Everyone has just assumed its Hogwarts."
She nodded.
"Thank you, O'Neil. Stupefy."
The man slumped onto the wet cement. Vivian heard popping noises behind herself. The aurors had finally arrived.
She met up with Sanguini.
"Let's go. I want to get a couple of hours sleep before heading off to meet Potter."
Both disappeared into the night.
Author's Note: I noticed I made an error in chapter three. I wrote that Vivian was two years younger than Lupin but in Chapter Two, she's 27. Vivian is 27. I'll fix the error immediately. More to come soon if school isn't so hectic!
