Beyond Consciousness
She let the feeling soak through her body like water on cloth as she tossed and turned the night away. The single sheet of paper rested beside her pillow, the words burning into her memory like pain. Her heart began to pound in her chest, her throat tightened, suffocating the calls for help she wished would come. Her face began to pale as she shivered and closed her eyes against the dim lighting. She could see a slim figure above her, an angel wrapped in a dusty halo of orange light and she sighed as he spoke.
"Are you alright?" Remus asked as he moved from on shadow to the next. He at on the bed next to hers with a soft creak and looked around anxiously before his eyes turned to her. His face was pink with heat, his eyes heavy and tired. "I snuck back in after Madame Pomfrey left."
Ginny didn't answer him, her body was still in too much shock. Any words that would escape her would be unintelligible, any motion strange and awkward. She turned her face from his as her weakened body succumbed to guilt and despair. "You should go. It isn't safe here, you're not safe."
He looked at her and sighed, his eyes trained on the ceiling. He scratched his head silently, wondering just how much he would say, how much she'd understand, and how much he needed to be expressed. "James told me to come speak to you," he started slowly, knowing full well it wasn't what he wanted to say. "He said if got caught, I wouldn't get into trouble. I said that was a bunch of bull because he's Head Boy, but he didn't want to leave the couch."
His revelation should have made her laugh, or at least chuckle, but nothing came. She bit her lip hard and buried her face in the pillow. For a long moment, she said nothing, but the silence was never awkward. It was if she were with an old friend, someone she could trust to hang on to every word.
She pulled herself together and turned her eyes toward him. She watched as he glanced about the ceiling, folding and unfolding his hands as he tapped his toe against the foot of the bed. Her heart wanted her to tell him everything, as if he were still her professor, but she didn't. "Do you know what attacked me?" she asked finally, her voice timid and quiet.
"There are theories out there, terrifying tales of birds who haunt messengers of great power, who challenge the good to do evil, who mark their own kind with blood. I wouldn't want to imagine either of those fates, but there is probably a good reason for it. You know, not every negative symbol has to be hurtful. Sometimes, it just makes it a little less positive.' Remus said deep in his thoughts. He didn't mean to sound philosophical and so he said no more, but rose.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning. Classes for start "for real" tomorrow. The first week is usually just introduction and what not, but tomorrow is the first real lectures. I'll come by and give you your schedule and books, show you where everything is. It won't be too bad. You'll make friends and have a bunch of fun."
Ginny nodded and smiled the best she could. "Thanks," she said as she let out a yawn. "I'll see you tomorrow."
He left and she fell into a restless sleep filled with dreams that felt real, terrifying and real. She stood alone in an abandoned mansion, it's walls fading, paint chipping, and mold smelling up the whole house with its must. A strange figure loomed over her from behind. She couldn't see his face, but his presence was there, the thick scent of evil and disaster lingering in her nose and clothes. She faced a fireplace, the dark red flames threw themselves wildly into the air, twisting and twirling, dancing and flipping. Mesmerized, she felt herself being led toward it. Fear encompassed her as she fought her own feet. She tried to turn away, but she was under his control. "Don't fight me, Ginny," the voice said with an eerie kindness. "Let your master guide you toward the light."
She spun around with great violence, her face caught in a tight grimace. Bottling her fear, she let a curse leave her mouth with distaste. Her movements weren't quick enough, the figure behind her spun around her body like water and positioned himself on the other side. She could feel his cool hand upon her heated shoulder, his fingers digging into her soft flesh. Wanting to scream, she opened her mouth, but he silenced her with a deep magic that ran through him. Her mouth closed tightly cutting off her air until she took a long drag through her nose and began to sputter.
He laughed and she shuddered uncontrollably. Turning her around back toward the fire, he pushed her, and waited for her to march on under his direction. His mind entered hers, a vibrant green light filled her thoughts, a power so bold, she couldn't fight back. Her shivers began to increase as she began to whimper in distress. He pushed her through the flickering flames and watched slowly disappear into the darkness on the otherside...
Ginny sat up in bed, sweat pouring from her face as she felt her body burn in pain. Gasping, she opened her eyes to the dim Hospital Wing. Her dream scared her intensely. It reminded her of how it felt to write in Tom Riddle's diary, that sick feeling of evil bathing her in it's disgusting water and that hollow, almost empty feeling she felt when she returned to consciousness. She let out a final whimper, her mind pleading with her to be strong, to stand up to anything. Outside her window, the sun began to rise, a new beginning to an open ending. Sighing, she lay back down and waited.
