Chapter Fourteen – Nightmares
The Hogwarts Express sped through the wild countryside of Northern England with a shriek. It was a cold, snowy January 2nd evening. A strange mist had been shrouding the entire country lately, one for which the Muggle weathermen of Great Britain could not give a satisfactory explanation. Riya, however, like the rest of the Wizarding World, knew exactly what had caused the strange cold mist: Dementors.
With a shiver, she tightened her sweater against herself and took another big gulp of warm tea from her thermos. Riya shared a train compartment with her friend Molly, who seemed to be in a fouler mood than most of late.
'I can't believe that hag Skeeter's still going on about how it was "Potter's biggest blunder since ninety-eight!"' Said Molly in a shrill imitation of the infamous reporter. She was reading the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. 'She keeps mentioning the "tragic deaths of the thirteen brave Aurors" and "the escaped horde of Dementors" like we don't already know all about it. Like my uncle could have somehow predicted what was going to happen. You know she's enjoying every minute of this, that cu – '
'You really shouldn't use "hag" as a derogatory term nowadays, you know?' uttered Riya. 'It's offensive.'
'Oh, come off it. There aren't any hags in here.'
'Still,' replied Riya with a sigh. She looked out the window on her left and into the darkness outside.
It had been over a week since the great showdown between the Aurors and the "Army of Death", as it had been called in the papers. The entire Wizarding World had been mourning the loss of the thirteen men and women who died in the fight. Well, the entire Wizarding World minus Rita Skeeter and her gang of journalists who would not miss an opportunity to mock and criticise Harry Potter and the Ministry even at the risk of being distasteful. The truth was, at least as Riya understood it, that it could have been much worse. According to reports, Harry Potter had destroyed the army of Inferi pretty much single handily, thus saving everyone from a far worse fate than a Dementor outbreak.
'Has your uncle still not shown himself?' asked Riya.
'I haven't seen him since that night. Nobody has. He's been hiding at home ever since…'
'I can't blame him. Merlin knows I would if I had Skeeter's lot camping outside my house day and night trying to harass me into making a comment.'
Molly chuckled. 'You know, my aunt Ginny's probably dying to hex her. Bet she would've done it by now, too, if she hadn't been sued after that incident at the twenty fourteen Quidditch World Cup final.'
Riya mustered a tired smile.
'You okay Ri? You look exhausted. Are you still not sleeping well at night?' enquired her friend.
'Still having those nightmares…' answered Riya.
Ever since her last night at Hogwarts, right before everyone had left for the winter holidays, Riya's nights had been plagued by insomnia and terrible dreams. Dreams about hooded figures, giant snakes, and long dark tunnels. Riya couldn't make sense of it. She tried scanning her memory for reasons why her sleep had been so poor in quality as of late. All she could remember from her last night at the castle was how tired she had been after her patrol with Jacob Nowak. Everything seemed hazy and unclear. Riya could barely remember what they'd talked about or how she got back in her bed. She woke up the next morning, packed her belongings, and went home for the holidays. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Nothing that would warrant constant, horrible, incomprehensible nightmares.
'Have you tried that Sleeping Draught we got for you at Diagon Alley?' Asked Molly.
'Yeah, but it didn't help much…' Riya was now looking down at her warm jasmine tea. 'I keep having those dreams. I wake up even more tired than when I went to sleep…'
'Tell you what. When we get back to school you should ask Professor McGarth to brew you a stronger Sleeping Draught. I bet you she'll do it for you if you tell her what you're going through.'
'Maybe…'
The girls sat in silence for a few more minutes. Riya, sipping on her last few drops of tea, pointed her wand at her thermos and performed a silent refilling charm. The tea helped. She had always been sensitive to cold, and the last few days had been especially difficult with the chill and gloom being added to her lack of sleep.
After several moments, Molly leaned against the window to her right and looked out.
'We're nearly there. I reckon you should change to your robes now. We should go for another round on the train before we get there, alright?'
Riya managed to muster a low 'hmm,' before getting up slowly and grabbing her robes from her trunk above her.
Once she was dressed, Riya and Molly got out of their compartment and proceeded to walk about their carriage and peer into the different sections. Molly kept trying to make conversation with her friend, but Riya was too tired to actively participate.
'…besides, these dreams have got to have some meaning right? You don't just randomly start dreaming about hooded figures and snakes out of the blue. It could be prophetic. Or…' Molly paused abruptly and grabbed Riya's arm. She seemed to be thinking fast now. 'Do you think maybe something happened that night with Nowak and someone modified your memory?!'
'Hmm? Oh…' replied Riya who had only been half listening. 'But what would happen to me that includes snakes and tunnels and hooded figures at Hogwarts?'
'Maybe you ran into that Erasmus guy again – no Ri don't roll your eyes, listen – maybe you saw him doing something he shouldn't in the hallways that night, and he figured he'd ought to Obliviate you. But he screwed up, you see, and now – '
'That's one giant leap of logic Mol… I think it's more likely that I'm just having a really stressful and rough year. It's all going to be fine.'
'But why would you start having nightmares the day you're leaving for the holidays? That doesn't make any sense Ri.'
Riya was too tired for this brainstorm. She made a noncommittal sound and hoped that Molly would drop the subject.
'Look all I'm saying is, you might want to talk to Nowak and see whether he's having freaky dreams too.'
'I don't want to talk to Nowak. Did you know he kept trying to hit on me while we were patrolling? I'd rather have tea with Filch than suffer through another alone time with Nasty Nowak.'
'But – '
'Drop it Mol, please, I'm begging you.'
They walked around for a little longer and reached a compartment where Molly's cousins James and Fred and their mate Ton were gathered around something on the floor.
'Oh, what are they up to now…' muttered Molly as she grabbed the handle and swung the door open.
'…I nicked it when he wasn't in the room. He nearly caught me. Pretty cool eh – '
'What exactly did you nick James?' asked Molly in a threatening tone.
The trio jumped and turned around at her remark. James had been holding an old-looking piece of parchment. It was completely blank and unimpressive.
'What the – '
'It's just a cool piece of parchment Mol. Nothing special. Here, have a look,' James handed the parchment to his cousin.
'Right, you're telling me you bothered stealing some old blank piece of parchment and that it was so impressive, so awe-inspiring, that you all decided to sit down and admire it on the floor right here – James how stupid do you think I am?' said Molly venomously as she grabbed the paper out of James' hand.
James gulped nervously.
Molly pointed her wand at the parchment and uttered 'Aparecium.'
As though an invisible hand was writing upon it, words appeared on the smooth surface of the map.
'Mr Moony extends his greetings to Miss Molly Weasley and congratulates her on becoming a Prefect despite her… interesting… choice of hairstyle.'
Molly stared, dumbfounded, at the message. James, Fred, and Ton were visibly fighting the urge to laugh out loud. The parchment was not done yet, however. Another writing appeared beneath the original message.
'Mr Prongs is astonished that Molly had not yet been swarmed by a pack of in-heat Cornish pixies. He would also like to compliment the previous holder of this item for his exquisite name.'
And another…
'Mr Padfoot would like to inquire for the particular motive behind purple being the colour of choice for the impressive streak in Molly's hair.'
Finally…
'Mr Wormtail wishes Molly a good term at Hogwarts and would like to kindly ask that she let go of this item as her Prefect-ness might be contagious.'
'What the – who the hell are Moony, Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail?' Molly asked the boys who were now bursting with laughter.
Riya was just about done with this nonsense. She grabbed the sassy parchment out of Molly's hands and gave it back to James with a sigh.
'Come Mol, let's just go back.'
Soon after the girls got back to their compartment, the train began to slow down for its stop at Hogsmeade Station. Riya was so tired. She was unresponsive by the time they reached the Great Hall for the welcoming feast, barely awake when she brushed her teeth and took a shower, hardly conscious when she finally laid down on her four-poster bed and drifted off to another nightmare-filled sleep.
Slithering, hissing, skeletal snakes led her through a dark tunnel. She was terrified. Paralyzed by fear, Riya floated along the dark path to a gigantic, hooded man. She wanted to scream, wanted to cry out for help, but for some reason, her throat sealed shut. She came closer and closer to the towering man. Riya tried moving, escaping, running in the other direction, but the skeletal snakes wrapped themselves around her and carried her forward. The hooded man pointed his wand at her and called 'Avada Kedavra!' as a bright flash of green light burst from its tip.
Riya woke up sweating profusely. As she looked around the room, she could hear Mia Clifford snoring loudly from the bed next to hers. A faint light shone through the curtains at the girls' dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. Riya shook her head and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her pyjamas stuck to her chest and stomach.
Without much time to try and go to sleep again (Riya figured that by the time she cleaned herself up and changed into something else she would already have to get up for class anyhow), she decided to get dressed for the day and go down to the Great Hall for an early breakfast.
About twenty minutes into Riya's breakfast Molly showed up and sat right across from her.
'Nightmares again?' she asked.
'Yes, but I don't want to talk about it Mol, please I just – '
'Okay. Blimey Ri. I just wanted to remind you to ask Professor McGarth for some Sleeping Draught, no need to blow your lid off…'
'Sorry…'
Potions was their first class that day at 9 o'clock. A long hour and a half session down at the murky, cold dungeons. Riya hated the chill and dampness down there, but she did like Professor McGarth.
The beautiful and charming Miriam McGarth had always been kind to Riya. Early on she had recognised her considerable talent and passion for potion brewing, which had often been the greatest source of house points for Riya. As her ambitions to become a healer at St Mungo's required her taking N.E.W.T. level Potions classes, Riya had been delighted to keep Professor McGarth on her curriculum.
And so, later that morning at exactly 8:50 Molly and Riya descended the familiar stairs to the dungeons. As they reached the Potions classroom, they took their regular seats at the front of the large class. Professor McGarth walked into the room several moments later. Riya couldn't help but notice that she looked a little tired herself when she leaned over her briefcase to grab her notes.
'Welcome back everyone,' said Professor McGarth in a little forced yet not uncheerful tone. 'I trust that you regathered your strength during the holidays and are now ready to proceed with our packed curriculum?'
A general humming sound was heard around the classroom.
Professor McGarth smiled at the class and pointed her wand at the board behind her. The words 'Polyjuice Potion' appeared on it.
'Oooh are we really trying this one out?' asked Molly enthusiastically.
'Yes indeed,' replied McGarth. 'I reckon now's the perfect time for it since you are all experienced enough at this point, well rested from the holidays, and we are not yet close enough to the end of term. This way, those of you who can actually pull it off will get to keep a vial of it as a souvenir,' she said with a smile.
'Now, the Polyjuice Potion is a complex and time-consuming concoction. It is, as you may have guessed, best left to highly skilled witches and wizards. The potion enables the consumer to assume the physical appearance of another person, as long as they have first procured part of that individual's body to add to the brew.'
'Professor McGarth?' queried a red-headed boy from the third row from the front that Riya only knew by face.
'Yes McSully?'
'What constitutes a "part of" a person?' he asked with a frightened face. Several people giggled.
'Well, McSully, a "part" may be anything – toenail clippings, dandruff or worse – but it is most usual to use hair. Now, the effect of the potion is only temporary, and depending on how well it has been brewed, it may last anything from between ten minutes and twelve hours. You can change age, sex, and race by taking the Polyjuice Potion, but not species. The ingredients for the first part of this month-long brew can be found here,' McGarth swung her wand at the board again and a list appeared on it, 'you will find anything you may need in the cupboard on my right-hand side. I have already stewed lacewing flies for twenty-one days and picked fluxweed during the last full moon so don't worry about that.'
Riya had never encountered such a complex potion in her life – and this was the easy part – the second stage of the potion was supposedly the hardest to pull off. Before long, she and her classmates were sweating over their cauldrons with fists full of knotgrass and fluxweed and piles of dead leeches and stewed lacewing flies. Riya, though not as tired as she had been last night, still felt exhausted and could not concentrate on her brewing. She looked away from her cauldron to grab some leeches before looking back down on her potion to find it had turned completely solid and as hard as a rock.
'Oh dear,' Riya heard McGarth's voice from behind her, 'is everything alright Miss Singh? You're not usually one to miss instructions.'
Riya glanced at Molly. Her friend was giving her an encouraging look.
'Actually, Professor, I haven't been sleeping too well lately; nightmares. I was wondering if you could maybe lend me some extra strong Sleeping Draught from your stock?'
'Hmm, I'm afraid I haven't got any at the moment, sorry Miss Singh… But if you'd like to come down to my office at eight o'clock tonight, I'd be happy to brew you something that'll help you sleep better,' replied McGarth with a warm smile.
'Thanks Professor, I'd love that.'
'I think you should go back to your dormitory now and rest a little. There's no point in forcing you to make that when you're at this state. Perhaps Miss Weasley could lend you her notes from today? You could catch up with the rest of the class once you've had a good night's sleep.'
Riya, relieved at her dismissal, climbed back to her dorm and fell on her bed again. It was nice and quiet here, with nobody around to ask her questions and make annoying sounds. She breathed in the blissful solitude before dozing off.
Riya woke up with a startle. She couldn't let herself fall asleep again, not before taking whatever McGarth made her. She didn't want to dream again, didn't want to wake up sweaty, uncomfortable, and afraid. Riya spent the rest of her day fighting hard against exhaustion.
Finally, after a long and painful day, 8 o'clock in the evening had arrived. Riya climbed down the stairs to the dungeons once more and walked over to the gloomy room that housed Professor McGarth's office.
'Evening Miss Singh,' said a male voice on Riya's right.
She jumped a little too violently. Of course, he was here. He was always everywhere she went. Riya had nearly forgotten about it during the holidays but now…
Professor Montgomery gazed at her from the top of a staircase.
'Er – ahem – hi Professor, er – evening.'
'Fancy meeting you here at this hour,' he said. Something about Montgomery's voice made Riya extremely uneasy, though she couldn't quite figure out what.
'I am – er – I have a meeting with Professor McGarth in a minute – '
'Is that so?' he cut her off with a tone that was uncharacteristically slippery for him. 'And what is the nature of your meeting if you don't mind me asking?'
'I've been having nightmares, and I can't sleep – '
'What sort of nightmares?'
'Er – '
'Miss Singh?' McGarth had opened the door and was now peering at the two of them from inside her office.
'Oh, hi Professor I was just – '
'We were just discussing the nature of your meeting with Miss Singh, Miriam,' said Montgomery.
'I am brewing her a Potion for Dreamless Sleep so that she could focus on her studies again, Leviticus,' stated McGarth tartly.
'I gathered as much, Miriam, I was merely curious about – '
'What I'm curious about, Leviticus, is your business in my dungeons at this hour? Surely your duties as the Head of Transfiguration would not carry you down here very often?'
'I've been escorting Mr Burke back to his dormitory, Miriam. He has been stashing another set of Dungbombs in the first-floor boys' toilet – '
'Well, in that case, thank you for letting me know, Leviticus. I am the boy's Head of House, after-all, and I shall deal with him tomorrow.' She turned to Riya again and motioned her inside.
Without hesitation, Riya stepped into the dimly lit office. Professor McGarth bid Montgomery goodnight before quickly slamming the door in his face.
'Git…' Riya heard her mutter under her breath. She couldn't help but smile. The Potions Master caught her eye and smirked a little too.
'Please sit down Miss Singh, I'm almost done,' she motioned at the chair that stood in front of her desk.
On McGarth's desk stood a big cauldron over a small flame. Its contents displayed a liquid with a deep shade of purple and a slight odour of valerian. Professor McGarth leaned over it and waved her wand slightly above it.
Riya – waiting for McGarth to finish her brew – looked around at the office and the various curiosities it contained. The shadowy walls were lined with shelves of large glass jars filled with slimy, revolting things, such as bits of animals and plants, floating in potions of varying colours. There was a lit fireplace and a door that led to an unknown room at the corner – perhaps the Professor's quarters.
'And there we are, all done,' exclaimed McGarth. She pulled a large, round bottle from under her desk and – with a flick of her wand – moved the contents of the cauldron into the bottle. 'Take two medium gulps each night before bed. No more no less. This should last you about a month or so, if you're still having nightmares in a month you should go to Madam Longbottom.' She handed Riya the bottle.
'Thanks so much Professor,' sighed Riya, 'that'll really help me a lot…'
'No problem, dear. But say – if you don't mind me asking – what seems to be the reason for these nightmares that you're having?'
'Well… I really don't know Professor,' answered Riya. 'They started the night before we left for the holidays and kept occurring just as bad for the past few weeks…'
'And what exactly are you dreaming about? Is it the same thing each night?'
'Same things, yes. Always a hooded figure – a man I think – and dark tunnels. Oh, and snakes, though the snakes are skeletons – if that makes sense – not normal snakes.'
Professor McGarth's eyes narrowed. She sat down behind her desk and vanished the cauldron with a swish of her wand. She then pulled a crystal glass and a bottle of Elf-made wine.
'I'd offer you some but I'm afraid it'll tamper with the potion,' she said as she poured herself a glass. 'So, nothing out of the ordinary happened that night that you left for the holidays? Nothing unusual?'
'Not that I can remember. Though things are quite fuzzy in my memory… But I've been sleep deprived for a while now so…'
McGarth seemed to be thinking now. She observed the fire dancing in the hearth and played with the tips of her dark robes for a few minutes before speaking again. 'And tell me something else now; How long has Professor Montgomery been following you around?'
This question took Riya by surprise. She hadn't been aware that McGarth knew about Montgomery. But then again, they were colleagues, so she was bound to notice his odd behaviour at some point.
'Erm… a few months now. Ever since the first Hogsmeade weekend. He keeps trying to prevent me and Molly from talking to anyone important. We already told Harry Potter about it, but he doesn't seem to be doing anything.'
'You told Potter? That would explain the house-elf…' she mumbled with a smile. McGarth was thinking silently again.
'Professor?' muttered Riya quietly after another minute.
'Hmm?'
'Why is he doing that? He's never been like this before. He used to be okay – a little strict but nice enough – now he's just straight up mean… What's changed?'
'Oh nothing's changed dear, you are just seeing the person Leviticus Montgomery had always been. Under the surface. I reckon the noose is tightening around his neck and that unveils his real self.'
'But – do you think he's got something to do with my nightmares? Do you think he's done something to me? Or Nowak? Has it got something to do with the Cursed Child?'
'I think, Miss Singh, that you're ought to keep your guard up in the company of Professor Montgomery. I think you should be careful where you go in this castle and at what time.'
'But why isn't anyone doing anything about it? Why doesn't Professor McGonagall handle him? Why isn't Potter – '
'Professor McGonagall is working with the evidence presented to her, Miss Singh, and as for Potter… well…'
'What – '
'It's getting late now dear,' the Potions Master said abruptly. 'Come, I'll escort you to your common room.'
The Potion for Dreamless Sleep worked well. For the first time in weeks, Riya had a decent night's sleep. Over the coming month her mood would improve drastically. Molly even said it was 'like having the old Ri again.' Though her classes with Montgomery had been less than pleasant, and her mind still wandered to her odd nightmares and her conversation with Professor McGarth, Riya could not help but feel like she could finally breathe again. Even Tom's nasty looks hadn't bothered her anymore, nor did Nowak's constant attempts to talk to her alone. She could finally smile and laugh with her friend, finally concentrate better on her classes, and perform her Prefect duties. Riya had almost forgotten about the terrible beginnings of her sixth year at Hogwarts. Almost.
