"Harmony, darling, you really need to get up. Class starts in fifteen." a voice, yet again, sliced through Harmony's blissfully unconscious mind.
"Give me five more." Harmony growled, pulling her covers up over her head.
"I gave you twenty. Now let's go." Liven told her, yanking the blankets off of Harmony's body. "I won't be late because of you."
"I'm going to skip." Harmony announced. Her eyes were still closed, her mind having no intention of becoming fully awake within the next ten minutes.
"Harmony. You can't. Exams are in two weeks and the teachers won't take any excuse that isn't being a victim of attempted murder as to why you're not in class."
Harmony groggily opened her eyes. "Yeah, well, fuck them. Look at my face, Liven. Do I look like I care in the slightest?"
"Harmony, get up." Liven started pulling Harmony into a sitting position.
"I will snap your neck, Liven!" Harmony yelled, eyes shut again.
"Of course you will." she said, sighing. "But do it after we get to class."
Ten profanity-filled minutes later, Harmony was being ushered down the stairs and out the portrait hole. Her spirits were so low that they were scraping the cold stone floor, and she had good reason.
It had been a week since Harmony got slapped by Tianna, a fact that was hard to ignore because of the constant whispers and rumours flying around; thanks to the bitch herself. Her friends had 'accidentally' leaked it to the entire school, and Harmony had never dealt with more built up anger channeled towards one person (maybe besides Voldemort).
What was she supposed to do? Sirius had prevented her from rigging Tianna's dorm with fireworks and other explosives because he was trying to keep her out of trouble before exams. She didn't exactly blame him, but dealing with even more of Tianna's bullshit was not benefiting her state of mind, either. The girl still had the nerve to walk around like she owned the place and Harmony couldn't do anything about the fact that she got slapped by a girl two years younger than her. It was a downright humiliation tripled three times worse because everyone knew. Harmony always promised herself she wouldn't get in the thick of any petty, typical drama but here she was - the very sun of it. She was fully prepared to burn down a small community in anger.
By the time she got to class, Harmony honestly just felt like crying in a mix of anger, frustration and stress. Unfortunately, Transfiguration was not the class to have a mental meltdown in.
"Girls." McGonagall said sternly as they stepped through the doorway. The bell shrilly rung out, signalling the beginning of classes. "Cutting it close, aren't we?"
"Sorry. Wardrobe malfunction." Liven lied instantly, then she dragged Harmony over to a free seat and sat down beside her.
McGonagall didn't comment back, and soon the lesson had started. Harmony scribbled down notes in gloomy silence, her eyes burning as she forced to keep them open. There was a loud scraping noise beside her and she looked over as Sirius dropped his books on the other desk beside her. Evidently he had just ditched James as the boy was sending a rude hand gesture to Sirius from across the room. McGonagall turned away from the board and James hastily made it look like he was casually picking the nail around his middle finger.
"Nice save." Sirius whispered to his mate, then he turned to Harmony. "You look like hell."
"Thank you." Harmony replied, her hand still writing on the parchment.
"Did you even fall asleep last night?" Sirius asked, tucking a stand of hair behind her ear.
"Eventually." Harmony replied. "I'm pretty sure it was close to five."
"Fuck, Harmony. You know you can't do that to yourself." Sirius whispered, pulling his own piece of parchment out.
"I don't mean to." Harmony mumbled. "I'm just stressed and I have so. Much. Homework-"
"Mister Black and Miss Sea, I would appreciate it if you kept quiet while I'm attempting to teach you a lesson containing content that is on the final exam." McGonagall snapped, turning back to the board.
Sirius sighed, and wrapped one leg around Harmony's under the desk. They continued writing in silence for the rest of the period, McGonagall talking herself involuntarily mute. By the final bell of first period, her voice was raspy and she hurried back to her desk to fill a goblet with water. The chalkboards were no longer clean and clear, there were hundreds of words scrawled into every corner as per McGonagall directed with her wand.
Harmony was still feeling like complete shit as she gathered up her books and shoved them into her bag, preparing for second period. Sirius was quiet while he watched her for a few moments. He then unexpectedly grabbed her middle and pulled her to him in an embrace.
"Thanks." she said into his shoulder. "I needed that."
Thank god for that boy.
She held onto him for another moment, then she pulled away. McGonagall's eyes were on them as they left the class to go to the dungeons for Potions. Thankfully Slughorn was much less strict than McGonagall so Harmony and Sirius could talk freely while making potions.
"Hey, Liv." Harmony called to her friend when they entered the dark classroom located in the roots of the castle. "I think I'm going to pair up with Sirius today."
Liven smiled understandingly. "You basically do everyday anyway, Harms." then she turned her head and yelled, "Lily! You're with me!"
The class settled in after Slughorn announced the potion they were to make in review for the exam and Sirius started pulling basic ingredients and tools out of his bag. "You're not okay this morning."
"I just want this school year to be over. Exactly one good thing came out of it and that's you." Harmony sighed, fiddling with the burner holding up the cauldron after she had lit it with her wand. The flame dangerously leapt up the side of the black pot and Harmony hurried to turn it down again.
Sirius smiled slightly. "Did you eat this morning?"
"Nope." Harmony put her head down, her eyes still on Sirius.
"Well, you probably should've." James passed by the table and tossed more potions ingredients on Sirius and Harmony's desks that he had retrieved from the store cupboard along with his own. "Thanks, Prongs." Sirius said.
"Why do you say that?" Harmony sat up again and thumbed through her textbook in search of the page that was written on the board in chalk.
"Because there are two people's time of months that I need to remember and that would be yours and Moony's." Sirius sighed.
Harmony snorted and smiled a little. "Does he know you call it 'time of month'?"
"Yep! He hits me every time I use the phrase." Sirius said gleefully, chopping up mint leaves as per the instructions. Harmony started reading over the textbook instructions, figuring that it was probably a good idea to actually study this potion if it was part of review for the exam. Too bad she couldn't concentrate.
Harmony leaned completely back on the chair, letting her hair fall down the back. "Yeah, it is my time of month and it fucking sucks. I am constantly torn between killing everything and eating everything."
Sirius laughed. "That's exactly like Moony." Sirius looked at Harmony suddenly and said, "I'm going to tell him that."
"Sirius-" Harmony started, managing to conceal laughter but not her smile.
"OI!" Sirius yelled, his eyes still on the measuring spoon in his hands. "Moony, c'mere."
The dungeon had quieted when Sirius yelled for his mate and Harmony put her hand over her mouth as everyone started to look curiously over to either Sirius or Remus.
Remus stood up, his face red, and walked over, muttering not so quietly: "I'm not your little bitch, Padfoot."
"Why of course you are because I love you." Sirius told him when he got to the table.
"What the hell do you want now?" Remus sighed, leaning on the table. The class had resumed previous conversations and the noise level in the dungeon was retuning back to normal.
"We were just discussing-" Sirius started, and Harmony said at the same time, "Not we, you."
"-the fact that your time of month is remarkably like Harmony's-"
"Good god." Remus muttered. "How do you put up with him?"
"I have no fucking idea." Harmony said, a laugh betraying her because Sirius was blabbing on about the similarities and differences between Harmony and Remus.
"I'm just gonna-" Remus gestured back to his table and Harmony nodded, closing her eyes and trying not to laugh.
Sirius stopped talking to catch his breath. He leaned in close to Harmony. "You're welcome."
"For what?" Harmony threw her head back and laughed.
"If I was you I would have punched me in the face already. Hah!" Sirius turned back to the potion, a smile on his face because he successfully made Harmony laugh.
"You're such a little git, you know that?" Harmony grinned to herself, helping Sirius crush up something that resembled a mouldy peanut.
"So, Harmony," Sirius said, watching her.
"So, Sirius." Harmony replied as she continued to hit the unknown plant-type thing with a knife.
"We're planning a sick after party for the final Quidditch match. And even if we lose - WHICH WE WON'T LOSE BECAUSE WE'RE FUCKING GRYFFINDOR -" James whooped loudly from across the room and yelled back "FUCK YEAH!"
"Language, gentlemen!" Slughorn cried out from his place behind his desk.
"Sorry sir!" Sirius cried, not sparing the professor a glance. "Even if we lose then we'll still have the party in celebration of the end of the year."
"Seems like you have it all figured out." Harmony snorted, resting her head on the desk again and checking the clock.
"We do." Sirius said proudly. "I just need your help with getting the booze."
"I can do that." Harmony told him. "I like booze."
"Don't we all." sighed Sirius. "How're you feeling?"
"Less like an explosive diarreah and more like a solid shit." Harmony answered. "You're helping me become happier."
Sirius snorted loudly at her analogy then took her hand in his, putting his head down on the desk beside her as they waited for their potion to come to a boil. They were quiet.
"What do you want to do tonight?" Sirius asked her.
"Curl up in a fetal position with painkiller potion." Harmony told him. Talk about being a downer.
"How about: curl up in a fetal position on Sirius with painkiller potion." Sirius suggested, smiling.
"How about: we don't do that because exams are super soon. Instead, we should go study in the library."
Sirius wrinkled his nose. "I'm pretty sure I'm banned from there. Wait, hold up-" Sirius sat up and called to James, "Prongs!"
"Yeah?" James yelled, looking at Sirius from across the room.
"Are we banned from the library this week?" Sirius asked loudly.
"Yup!" James replied cheerfully, then he turned back to his steaming cauldron.
"So. That's not going to work." Sirius concluded to Harmony.
"Okay so here's what will work: I get books from the library and we study somewhere else."
Sirius mixed the potion exactly seven times clockwise. "How about this: you study on me and I'll read over your shoulder."
"We always end up snogging, Sirius." Harmony sighed.
"Exactly."
Harmony looked at him for a second then laughed at his logic. "You are going to make me fail my exams."
"Well I'm going to fail too because your beauty distracts me." Sirius said, grinning like the smooth motherfucker he desperately wanted to be.
Harmony leaned in close and whispered, "How long have you been cooking up that one?"
"Longer than I care to admit." Sirius laughed.
Soon, the class was over and everyone was scrambling to get their potions cleaned up so they could go off to lunch. Harmony grabbed her bag and stood up, feeling a bit better. Sirius slipped his hand in hers and they exited the classroom along with the eager wave of students.
The corridors were packed and loud, people running in all directions and calling out to their friends in ear-splitting harmony. Sirius just shoved through everyone with Harmony, using his height to his advantage. This was always the way in between classes.
Finally, they arrived at the Great Hall and the group of sixth-year Gryffindors found their seat on the bench along the loud house table. Food appeared as they settled in and hundreds of serving forks and spoons were flying everywhere, hungry students helping themselves.
Harmony really did love all the Hogwarts chaos, though. She grabbed a sandwich off the tray in front of her and started eating, while Sirius piled on chicken and potatoes. They all ate and talked for the entire meal and by the time it was time to head off to third, Harmony's spirits weren't so low anymore.
The day trickled on and eventually the final bell rang, signalling freedom until 9am the next day. Harmony walked back to the common room with Sirius as the others all scattered off in their different directions, always coming back together at dinner. "I need to put my shit away up in my dorm, want to come help?" Harmony asked, as they stepped through the portrait hole.
"Sure. But I'm warning you, I'll probably just lay on your bed and be annoying." Sirius told her, then added on, "Let me get the broomstick."
Harmony nodded and leaned against the wall while he ran up to his own dorm. Just then, someone approached her. That someone was one of Tianna's many cronies - this one had bright blonde hair and a lot of eyeliner.
"Good god," Harmony muttered, sighing. She was way beyond the point of surprised now. She had been expecting this all week.
"What are you going to do to Tianna?" the girl leaned forward and stared at Harmony with what was supposed to be an intimidating glare.
"Nothing." Harmony told her. It was almost true. At the moment she wasn't going to do any act of revenge towards Tianna, but this was mostly because she had to figure out what exactly she was going to do. What's the best form of revenge for someone who slapped you across the face?
"Liar. What are you and Black cooking up?"
"Nothing! Wholy fuck." Harmony couldn't stand being in this girl's presence anymore, and luckily Sirius came down the staircase at that moment, his broomstick replacing the spot in his hand where he was carrying his school bag.
Harmony wordlessly started up the girls' staircase, Sirius in the air beside her. She pushed open the door to her room when she arrived at the top and found it empty.
"Who was that?" Sirius asked her, setting his broomstick against the wall by the doorframe.
"One of Tianna's buddies." Harmony replied, crashing onto her bed.
"What did she want?" Sirius asked, laying down next to her. They both studied the scarlet overhead canopy.
"She wanted to know what revenge prank I was going to pull."
Sirius was quiet, then he said, "I wish you'd let me handle it."
Harmony sighed and turned over so she was on her stomach, looking at Sirius with her chin in her hands. "What would you do?"
"Talk to her."
"Sirius, she's going to try to snog you."
"I'm pretty sure I can hold her off."
"I'm pretty sure I don't want you to take the risk."
"Harmony." Sirius sighed. "The only way she's actually going to leave you alone is if you act mature about it. Even if putting hair dye in her shampoo sounds great, it would only make her more pissed off."
"I know. You're completely right." Harmony agreed. "What am I supposed to say?"
"No, let me talk to her. I feel like she would probably listen to me more."
"Fine. Alright." Harmony studied his face. "Don't let her come within a three foot radius. But if the occasion arises, I'm going to get her back."
"Believe me, I won't. And fine, deal."
"Good." Harmony stood up, stretching. "Now help me."
Sirius poked her belly as she stretched, and she swatted his hand away. "Fiiiiiine. Can I fold your underwear?"
Harmony laughed. "Nice try, kiddo." she leaned down and grabbed a uniform button down off the floor, folding it. Sirius was grinning as he picked up a t-shirt and started to fold it.
"So let's have a study date in the Room of Requirement tonight, how about?" Harmony suggested, yanking open her drawer and shoving the folded shirts in.
"Sure." Sirius replied, and they continued chatting for a little while as the mess surrounding Harmony's bed slowly diminished.
After they had successfully made Harmony's little bubble of room space look somewhat tidy, they agreed to go back down to the common room and see if anyone was there.
"But wait," Sirius said. "I want to make the staircase a slide."
"I'm pretty sure the whole female population of Gryffindor want to hurt you." Harmony laughed. He ignored her comment and took his broomstick in hand. Sirius walked out of the dorm and cautiously toed the first step, before standing on it completely. About three seconds went by and then the stairs melted into a sleek slide; Sirius completely lost his balance.
There was the high-pitched screeching sound - the sound of skin on a sleek surface. Harmony started laughing.
"That's going to leave a mark!" Sirius yelled from the bottom. Harmony only laughed harder. "Come on!"
"Sirius, I'm in a kilt." Harmony called, catching her breath.
"I'll make sure no one sees." Sirius called back.
"You're using this as an excuse to look up my kilt, Black." Harmony scolded, but nevertheless, she plopped down at the top and used her hands to pull the plaid fabric of her kilt tight against her legs.
She pushed off, and Harmony slid down the staircase-slide in a rush of wind and laughter. Just as soon as it began, it was over, and Harmony crashed right into Sirius. Luckily, he caught her before she fell on the floor.
"I hate it when you do that, but I love it at the same time." Harmony laughed. "Good thing they didn't transform back into stairs while I was half-way down this time."
"That was hilarious. I felt bad for your butt though. Ouch." Sirius laughed, guiding Harmony over to the couch where Lily and Becca were talking animatedly.
"Hey, kids." Harmony said breathlessly.
"Hey!" Lily smiled. "What're you guys up to?"
"Nothing, really." Harmony said and she sat down on the couch, Sirius attempting to sit on her until she shoved him off, laughing. He was grinning as he, instead, plopped down in the spot next to her.
"Well we were just talking about this end-of-the year party. Which, by the way, James decided to have in the Room of Requirement so other houses can come." Becca said. "Anyway, we have a brilliant idea to celebrate."
"Go on," Harmony grinned.
"Okay, so we all became really tight this year, right?" Becca said, leaning forward. "So we should all like, have this massive sleepover after the party."
Harmony grinned. "That'd be fun."
"Like, have it in one of our dorms and we could just fill the whole place up with blankets and pillows."
"I like this idea," Sirius interjected.
"And if it's after the party we'll already be super drunk and it'll make it that much more fun. I don't know, it'd just be nice to get together as a huge group and talk and laugh and stuff."
"I'm in! Have you talked to the others?" Harmony asked.
"Not yet, we literally just invented the idea right now." Lily told her.
"And Lils? You would be okay with like, sleeping in close proximity to James?" Harmony asked tentatively.
Lily's cheeks gained a little colour. "Yeah, I mean we're friends now, so…"
"It's a plan!" Sirius cried. Harmony laughed and turned to him as Becca started talking to Lily again about something or another.
"How's Charlotte doing?" Sirius asked, out of the blue as Harmony swung her legs over him.
"She's good, actually! I miss her like hell." Harmony replied.
"She's the cutest thing to ever live." Sirius gushed, and Harmony laughed lightly.
"That she is. When you come over this summer she'll be thrilled to see you. She has a little fancy, I think."
Sirius laughed. "The Sea sisters both have a thing for me."
Harmony snorted, "I would hit you but, it's kinda true." Harmony leaned back on the couch, her head buried in Sirius' shoulder. Just being in his presence calmed her down, made her happier. She finally felt like might survive the school year unharmed.
The room was dark. That was really the only word to describe it - dark. Everything was black, pure, undivided darkness; it was like being in the very pit of all darkness. Harmony couldn't see anything, and that terrified her beyond belief. She didn't know how she got there. She didn't know where 'where' even was. All she knew is that with every, tension-filled second she spent in this area, it felt as though the walls were closing in on her. Some part of her registered that is was extremely childish to have a fear of the dark at age seventeen. Except, Harmony wasn't just afraid of the dark - she was afraid of what it held. She was afraid of what came alongside darkness; evil. She was afraid of what was in it, what it was hiding.
Harmony knelt, trying to grasp some mental image on where she was. Cold, solid ground met her fingertips. It felt like stone, yet she couldn't see anything except the black all around her. She got back on her feet, and that's when the voices started.
They noise was gradually getting louder - it sounded like a dull hiss until the volume rose and rose, finally reaching its peak and allowing Harmony to hear that it wasn't just one voice. It was hundreds. Talking in all different pitches about things Harmony couldn't quite hear. It was just the inconsistent sound of mouths slipping over syllables over and over again. But it kept getting louder and louder. Harmony covered her ears and shut her eyes tightly. Where are they coming from? she thought.
"Hello?" she called out uselessly. The voices kept getting louder until Harmony physically could not stand it anymore. "Stop." she moaned, sitting on the ground with her arms covering her ears protectively. "Stop!" she tried again. No response.
Suddenly, the voices did stop. The silence was even worse than the hissing. It was thick with an emotion that Harmony could feel in her bones, yet couldn't put her finger on. She was too terrified to breathe, to exhale in the slightest, in fear of someone hearing. Someone was there. She was sure of it. She didn't know who or where they were exactly, but Harmony knew they were there. She summoned up every last ounce of her courage and whispered, "Who's there?"
There was no verbal response. However, Harmony heard the shuffle of footsteps coming closer to her. She scrambled to get to her feet again, and her heart was beating so rapidly in her chest that it was causing her pain. Her breathing came out faster and faster and before she knew it she couldn't breath at all. The footsteps kept getting louder as they picked up speed and Harmony was trying to breath and think and process what was going on all at the same time, but she simply couldn't. All she could focus on was the fact that there was something charging at her through this thick darkness and she didn't know who it was or what they wanted.
"W-what-" Harmony gasped, her lungs momentarily working again. It was short-lived. She backed up too quickly, and stumbled on the ground, scraping her knee. She didn't feel the pain. The sound of the footsteps were so loud, yet Harmony found it impossible to pinpoint where they were coming from. The sound just kept bouncing and reverberating off the walls around her, magnifying it and increasing her paralyzing terror.
Her whole body was on fire and she couldn't breath. Her heart was pounding and she was pulling herself backwards and away from the spot she was in a moment ago. Her legs were shuffling her body along on the cold floor, creating distance between herself and whatever was trying to get her.
Something touched her and Harmony froze, not daring to move. Her head felt like it was going to explode if she didn't take a breath in yet her body was stopping her from doing so. Suddenly, two unrecognizable arms lurched out of no where, wrapped around her chest and yanked her backwards, further into the dark. She kicked at them, she clawed at them, yet they did not move away from her body. She couldn't breath, she couldn't think, there was too much darkness, she was clawing at the arms around her, her heart felt like it literally was going to stop beating at any moment, the voices were back and they were screaming now, positively screaming, she couldn't breathe-
Harmony shot up in bed, gasping for air. She grabbed at her chest, where she swore arms were a second ago, her legs still kicking, and barely got her hand over her mouth before she screamed. She still couldn't breath. She was trying to hold onto something - anything - that would stabilize her.
Becca was already at the end of her bed. "Harmony! What-"
"I-I can't-Becca-" Harmony gasped, trying to get up and off her bed, but the sheets were tangled all around her. "I CAN'T BREATHE!" she screeched.
Becca sprung into action as Liven fell out of her bed, and shot up. Becca ripped the blankets off Harmony and half-carried her to the bathroom while she gasped and shook so badly that it hurt.
The door was pushed open and Harmony registered light. There was light. She collapsed on the floor, and finally, her lungs let her breathe. She lied there, panting and shaking for a long moment.
Liven was at the door of the washroom, and Becca was crouched down a foot away from Harmony. Both of them looked terrified. "What the fuck just happened?" Becca cried.
"Nightmare," Harmony breathed, closing her eyes and willing her heartbeat to slow down, her breathing to return to normal. She let her body rest against the ground, eyes closed. Her muscles were still so tense that she felt like they might never relax again.
Becca reached out to touch Harmony, but Harmony shot away on instinct so quickly that her back slammed against the wall painfully. "I'm sorry-" she said immediately.
"It's okay." Becca said, much calmer than she was before.
Liven said something to Becca that Harmony didn't quite catch, and she disappeared. Becca stood up and grabbed a washcloth off the counter, turning the facet on and dampening it.
Harmony was still panting, but her heart rate was slowly calming down. Becca continued to wet the cloth, then she leaned down and handed it to Harmony, who felt like she was going to puke now.
Harmony dabbed her face with it for a minute or two, pulling her knees to her chest and curling up on the floor, back against the wall. She didn't even remember falling asleep - after her and Sirius returned back to their dorms at curfew from studying in the Room of Requirement, Harmony just recalled falling back on her bed to read.
There was the sound of footsteps and Sirius appeared at the door of the bathroom a couple moments later, dropping his broomstick and falling to his knees in front of Harmony. His eyes had sleep in the corners and there were red lines along her cheek where the sheet was pressed into his skin. Liven appeared a second later, panting.
Sirius studied her for a second, before pulling Harmony into his arms wordlessly. This time, she didn't flinch. "You're freezing, Harmony. And shaking like a leaf." his voice was deep and still thick with sleep.
It was true. Only now did she feel that coldness seeping into her body. Was she shaking or shivering? Probably both.
She drew a shuddery breath in and closed her eyes, allowing Sirius's familiar scent to unfurl around her. Her heart returned to its normal pace eventually, and she finally felt like she could breathe again. After a solid, silent minute, Harmony pulled her knees down and wrapped them around Sirius, along with her arms. She was still shaking pretty badly, but she could deal with that.
Sirius stood, his arms still around Harmony, and pulled her up with him. She let her legs slide off of him, so she could place both hands on the side of the sink and close her eyes again. "Just a nightmare." she muttered, more to herself than anything.
"What happened?" Liven asked quietly, asking the question that everyone was thinking.
"I-just-" Harmony sighed. "It was dark and there were voices and then something just sort of-" Harmony grabbed at the air with her hands. "I'm okay." she told them.
Her shaking body said otherwise, but Harmony caught sight of Sirius nodding at Becca and Liven in the mirror. They shot Harmony one last glance, so she knew that this was not the end of this subject, but nevertheless, they sauntered off back to bed, both visibly shaken up.
Sirius pulled her close to him again, and Harmony didn't resist. His warm arms held her bare waist under her t-shirt, and slowly but surely warmth entered her body again. "Don't shake." he whispered into her hair, "it was a dream."
"I know." Harmony said. Her voice was thick. It was absolutely amazing what terrors her brain could cook up. It was also amazing how her body reacted to them - it was honestly like she was actually there. It felt so real.
"You're okay." Sirius told her. He kept repeating it, over and over again, his fingers trailing along her skin lightly.
"I don't want to talk about it yet." Harmony said. He nodded immediately, and pulled her out of the toilet and back towards her bed. He laid Harmony down, but she refused to let go of his t-shirt.
"Don't worry, I'm not going." Sirius whispered, grabbing her hand and laying down next to her on the bed. She scooted over and curled up so closely to him that there was hardly a centimetre between their bodies. Harmony closed her eyes and focused on the feel of his body so close to hers and it calmed her immensely. His breath was warm on her forehead and Harmony planted her entire face in his neck. "You're okay. It was just a bad dream." he said again, and she believed it. His hands were on her back and eventually Harmony drifted off to sleep again, not looking forward to tomorrow already.
Harmony woke up, her eyes opening immediately. She registered that there was a body beside her, and knew it was Sirius. Her legs were pressed against him and her face was so close to his that she could feel his breath. Harmony sat up and looked around the room. She could hear Lily and Alice chatting away in the bathroom, and Liven was seated at the desk chair, packing her bag. Becca was pulling her uniform out of the wardrobe. As soon as Liven caught sight of Harmony, she walked over.
"What happened last night?" she demanded, loud enough to call Becca over.
Harmony rubbed her eyes. "I don't know. I haven't had a nightmare like that in months."
"I think she's just stressed." Becca said, coming over and wrapping her arms around Harmony.
Harmony sighed and said, "I didn't feel that stressed last night."
"I know. The brain works in mysterious ways." Becca told her, pulling away just as Sirius started to stir.
"We won't tell them." Liven said to Harmony, her eyes understanding, just as Harmony was about to ask. She didn't need everyone treating her like a wounded puppy or a psychopath.
"Thank you." she whispered, and they all knew she wasn't just talking about them keeping it to themselves. Liven and Becca retreated, going back to their previous activities.
"Hey," Harmony said, as Sirius opened his eyes.
He rubbed them and sat up. "Hey." he said back, his voice rough. He turned and looked at her for a few seconds and said, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Honestly. It was just a nightmare." Harmony told him, then she brushed his hair away from his forehead affectionately. Of all the words he could've stared his day off with, he asked her if she was okay.
He studied her more and said, "Okay."
Harmony smiled slightly and ruffled his hair. "Lovebirds!" Liven cut in. "Breakfast starts in twenty!"
Sirius sighed and rolled off the bed, Harmony following him. She stood there, momentarily dizzy from getting up so fast, then regained her balance. They exited the room after Sirius grabbed his broomstick and stood at the top of the staircase. "I'll see you in ten minutes, okay? I just have to change." Sirius told her.
"Alright." she said, wrapping her arms around him. He reciprocated the movement and they stood there for a minute together. "Thank you."
In response, he just kissed her forehead, and they both pulled back. He waved as he hopped on the broom, and zoomed back down the stairs. Harmony retreated back into the dorm and pulled out her kilt and white shirt.
She processed what had happened last night. It was so bizarre and random. She hadn't had a nightmare like that in months, and another weird thing was that she hadn't experienced this dream before. Usually it was the same dream, which Harmony learned that meant there was a stresser in her life that she had not dealt with (Voldemort). But this one was new, and terrifying. It must mean that something shifted, either an event caused it, or a newfound feeling…or she was just looking too deeply into this.
Harmony shook her head, as she washed her face in the bathroom. Trying to clear her mind, she brushed her teeth and applied a light layer of makeup, too. Liven patted her on the shoulder as she left the dorm to meet Sirius.
Pulling her hair in a ponytail, Harmony met Sirius at the bottom of the staircase. He kissed her cheek and patiently waited until her hands were free to grab one. They left the common room together, and Harmony pushed the dream out of her mind for good. It was a one-time thing, and everything was about to get really amazing this summer. Harmony actually did feel genuine happiness as Sirius pretended to shove her into a suit of armour, and she actually pushed him into a portrait, both of them laughing loudly as the old bat in the painting started squawking about stupid teenagers. She felt better already, and the only thing left to deal with at the moment was Tianna.
A/N: Filler filler filler filler. Kind of. Anyway, I hope you still enjoy this update.
WAIT READ THIS: so this chapter took so long to come out because I am going through and editing all the previous chapters, changing some things (nothing major, don't worry) and going over grammatical stuff. So yeah, if you so desire you can go back and re-read them because they are much better written than before and lots of little details make sense now. Another note: I am unable to do line page breaks in between scenes anymore because Fanfiction has apparently removed the feature, so I apologize.