Chapter 5

It had been hours before Albus and Lily managed to drag a stunned Rose to the hospital, but it seemed like years to them.

"Tut, tut! What do we have here?" Madame Pomfrey clicked disapprovingly at them in a mother like manner.

"Lily got hit with a spell of some sort- I'm not sure exactly, but it somehow made her have an attitude." Albus replied, trying to sound casual. Lily shoved her elbow fiercely into his side, and her movement elicited an annoyed grunt.

"He meant Rose, Madame Pomfrey. It seems more powerful than a stupefy…so we came to you." Lily explained, letting go of Rose and leaving her swaying on the spot. Albus stifled a laugh as she almost fell over, and he hastily grabbed her again.

"Well then- out! Out! I need to check her up! Please leave immediately!" Madame Pomfrey pointed a quivering finger at the doorway, and they reluctantly obliged.

Her mouth formed an 'o' as she lifted the limp form onto a hospital bed, her shirt riding up to reveal an ugly wound. It was unlike any other wounds she had ever seen- a mottled green oval with two angry red slashes sliced across. They were not bleeding, but rather puffing up at the edges like a newly formed, large papercut. She couldn't exactly call the…the…spot a bruise, for it seemed perfectly rounded, like a green stamp pressed upon her skin. Madame Pomfrey poured a vial of clear liquid into a dropper, her eyes twitching as she glanced back. Rose looked helpless and weak….like a corpse.

After successfully removing the cuts and lowering the inky color from her stomach, Madame Pomfrey settled her in bed and waited for her mind's return. Surely it couldn't be….but Voldemort was gone….Dark Magic?

Rose was swimming, swimming….in a lake of salty water. Liquid poured from her eyelids, but she couldn't stop, couldn't stop crying. She felt no emotion inside- like someone else was feeling pain, someone distant, but altogether near. Her mind was a whirl of sadness, confusion, and shock. Swimming, swimming, the crying was unbearable. She felt no gut-wrenching pain, no twists of hurt at the stomach, no hammering silence in her heart. She felt nothing. Like a ghost, almost. Swimming, swimming….. She didn't feel. She couldn't feel. She wanted to. Wanted it so much, unlike any other thing before, that she pushed herself down. Pushed her self down, deep into the icy waters of painless hurt, but she couldn't drown. She could only swim….swimming, swimming…

Rose frantically pushed and thrashed about, moving her arms in a rhythmic pattern before shooting up like a beanstalk. Sweat poured through her pores, and her clothes stuck to her body in sticky heaps. She could feel it pulsing, pulsing….her hand wound its way under her wet shirt and pressed the faint cut. It was like she could feel something she was not allowed to feel, think something not meant to think, and know something she couldn't know. Rose slowly backed out of bed, and crept down the hall to the Slytherin dungeons, where Slughorn would be. He would surely help her, if not give her something to ease the gross pulsing. She couldn't see, her hands groping in the dark, feet moving on their own, feeling like it wasn't her who was thinking. The thought scared her immensely, and she broke into a frantic run, head tucked in to her stomach, arms moving wildly. She couldn't stop, couldn't stop…

BAM!

A white shock exploded before her eyes, and she slowly regained consciousness, feeling around for the thing she had run into. Rose stepped forwards, and noticed something odd. The floors were bumpy for some reason. As she stepped to the left, she nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice she heard.

"Weasley, what are you doing here?" Although she couldn't see, the voice sounded surprisingly familiar. The ground under her began to stir, and she leaped backwards.

"Who are you, and how did you know it was me?" she asked, faking ignorance. She heard a groan.

"I'll keep that a secret, thanks. And also- anyone would recognize your scream- we've heard it again and again when Hagrid decides to empty out his spider collection." The speakers voice commented, and she heard-him-get up, dusting robes off.

"I'm afraid I'll have to take points off, or give you a detention-I'm a prefect, you know." Rose said, careful not to boast.

"As am I. I'm afraid I could do you more harm- I being the one with the name advantage. Goodnight, Rose." He replied.

"Goodnight." She spoke quietly, before walking off in the opposite direction. Who was that?

Rose quietly approached the Potions dungeons, and rapped her fingers smartly on the door. She heard a creaky slam, and soon the wrinkled, plump face of her potions master popped up behind the bars.

Slughorn smiled slightly, wrinkling the corners of his old mouth. "And what troubles you now…Miss Weasley?"

Rose stepped inside the dungeon quietly. "I'm not sure how it happened- but- there's a mark that appeared on my skin…and I keep on having these dreams…dreams that I'm not supposed to have-like their someone elses. And I can't control my actions, and things are so confusing, and I really don't know what to do-so I thought you could help me and-"

She paused as Slughorn held up a wrinkled palm. "Enough, Miss Weasley. There is no potion that I can brew to fix…your problem…..but I assure you that it is probably a minor muggle disease. Tell me…do you tend to hallucinate often? Are you drinking enough water? Do you drink alcoholic beverages? Have you ever been through a traumatizing experience? Do you need a therapist?"

Rose shook her head, her red curls falling into her brown eyes as her mouth dropped open, shocked. "No, professor, you don't understand- I-"

Slughorn wagged his finger at her face as if she was a little child. "No, miss weasley, I believe I do. Now, up you go to bed-drink lots of water, stay out of the sun, and keep your paws off any nasty substances!" He then proceeded to shoo her out with his wand.

"But professor, I-!"

"No ifs or buts, Miss Weasley- I assure you, it is nothing too bad. Get enough sleep and it will be gone by tomorrow."

With a heavy heart, Rose trudged up to the Gryffindor common room. She was sure it hadn't been hallucinations- it was like she was living through someone else's thoughts and dreams. Just as she had been pondering on that thought, she had the sudden urge to jump up and down in excitement.

Her laughter vibrated off the walls and she threw back her head like a child in complete rapture. Everything could wait-everything! Oh, this was the best day of her life-!

Ten minutes later, an even more confused Rose lay upon her bead feeling like a beaver was sitting upon her forehead. What had just happened? Maybe Slughorn was correct- she really did need to get more sleep- she had been studying way to hard the past couple of days…..With the O.W.L.S coming up and such drama with the anonymous writer called backwards, AN. She had heard of circumstances like hers, and she hoped that it would go away soon, like Slughorn had said. After all, she didn't want to stumble into the great hall whilst everyone was eating breakfast, screaming like a maniac.

Her head landed in dreamland before she had enough time to process anything. Enough was enough. This sickness was going to go away the next morning- and she was going to make sure of it. If it didn't, she'd try something.

She was wandering down a long, long hallway….no one understood her. Her life was horrible- how could she have done that? She was walking, walking…..with no end. Scrambling frantically along, she finally dropped to the floor, expressionless. Here, no one could find her. Here, no one could bother her. Alone. By herself. Peaceful. Forever…..She stopped moving, her chest tight with emptiness. Nothing could hurt her now…

Darkness. Everywhere. It enveloped her in its shadowy hopes and dreams, but one thing stood out from all of them. They were cold. Cold, icy, like eating a frozen popsicle on a winter day, one with no flavor, one that was expired two years ago and couldn't be thrown out because of your own laziness. They called out to her, played with her hair, kissed her hands and feet until they too, were numb. She could feel nothing…..no pain, no sorrow, no regret…..nothing. No love, no warmth, no happiness….empty. She could stay here. Forever. He would never find her…..