* I am literally writing a chapter a day now... Oh well! Also, if anyone watches Last Wekk Tonight, did they notice the subtle reference from last chapter? No? OK... Anyway, my friend watched "The Angels Take Manhattan" yesterday, for the first time! She cried to much, because Rory and Amy were her favourite. I personally just think that Rory is the best...

Clara was finding this whole experience to be quite frustrating. She was so conflicted. First, she was so proud of John standing up to their professor like that. She never knew how much he was against killing. Well, until he said the last bit, about killing Peter himself. It was so unlike the character that had performed before.

Second, Clara felt awful because she kind of wanted Peter Pettigrew to die. She wanted him to know the pain he caused a boy. And maybe it was just her sentimental feelings that were for that boy that made her think like that.

Third, Clara was almost certain, that if she wanted to, she would've pulled the figurative trigger, killing Pettigrew. Clara didn't hate him, that was too much like the emotion Clara harboured for John. She despised and wished pain and horror on his very soul.

Clara shuddered at her thoughts while she went through the tunnel that lead them here in the first place. She paused for a second and nearly laughed at what she saw: An unconscious Professor Snape, a limb-shackled Professor Lupin and Ron to a murderer. A bloody Hermione, Harry and John, and a convicted murderer.

Clara heard a bit of Black and harry's conversation.

"...I'm your godfather."

"Yeah… I know…" Harry replied.

"Once my name is cleared, you could live with me… Unless you want to stay with your aunt and uncle?" Black asked.

Clara smiled. Harry never elaborated, but she was pretty sure that Harry did not like the Dursleys.

Clara winced at the sound of Snape's head hitting the ceiling. She tore her thoughts away from what was happening.

She thought of that woman. Clara didn't know why, but she always felt stronger when she did something that she thought that woman would do… It was reassuring and scary, but Clara knew that it was right. Clara nearly laughed at the fact that she was basing her actions off a figment of her imagination, that seemed to have her own life.

Maybe it was a special type of magic? As a child, Clara thought that she would be able brings things to life by concentrating and imagining hard enough. Maybe, she succeeded? More likely, she was suffering from severe trauma, but was too stubborn to admit it… Yeah, that seemed right…

Clara climbed out of the hole, and was glad that Crookshanks patted the tree knot. She did not want another gash on her face.

Clara studied the area for a second. It was very dark, and there were only little embers glowing from the school's windows. Clara swallowed hard, and kept walking. She didn't have a fear of the dark, no. But, there was a story… Stories actually, of the things that lurked in the shadows of the night… Monsters that crawled beneath your bed… invisible forces, killing with no mercy. Clara wasn't sure where all those stories came from, but sometimes her dad would say weird things…

Clara stumbled, and landed on the ground. She had been so out of focus, she hadn't notice everybody else stop. She hitched a breath.

Professor Lupin had gone stone solid, with only his eyes twitching. Slowly, his arms started shaking, along with his legs.

"No!" Clara said.

"Merlin, he said he didn't take his potion tonight! It's not safe!"

John grabbed Clara's hand, which caused a jolt of electricity to course through her.

"We need to run," he whispered.

Clara nodded, but was intrigued as to what was going to happen.

"Clara," John said more urgently, "Run!"

Clara nodded crazily, and took off. John was actually a fast runner, and he pulled her along. She hadn't seen the transformation, but she could hear the pained shrieks. Clara heard panting and footsteps behind her, saying that everybody else wasn't far behind.

Hermione screamed, and Clara stopped running, and turned back, which caused John to trip and fall on his face.

Clara, with horror, watched as Peter dived for the wand that had been dropped by Lupin. Everybody else was about ten feet away, so she ran toward them.

John cried for her to stop, but she didn't. Clara had to help her friends.

Harry yelled, "Expelliarmus!" And Lupin's wand flew out of Peter's hand, but it was too late. Peter turned into a rat and scampered away.

"No!" Clara shrieked.

John had run back to her side, with dirt on his face. He looked angry, and was probably going to chase after him, but, there were more pressing matters at hand.

Sirius Black was trembling on the ground, blood spilling on his back. There were long gashes. But, he got up hazily, and ran off.

Ron seemed traumatized. He was pale, and sickly looking.

"What happened?" Hermione panted.

"I-I don't know."

There was no sign of Sirius or Lupin. Clara turned around frantically, trying to find some clue as to where they could've gone.

Clara grimaced when she heard the shouts of pain from the dark… She felt like throwing up, but she couldn't. There just wasn't anything…

John looked at Clara, and with a silent agreement of a nod, they ran in the direction of the canine wails. Harry followed soon after, and she heard Hermione yelp.

They reached the edge of the lake, where Sirius was crouched, head in hands, muttering and wailing.

Then, everything seemed hazy and blurry, and Clara felt a massive headache. She felt colder… And she collapsed, panting.

John mouth 'Clara', but she couldn't hear anything.

Clara turned toward Harry, who was obviously yelling, and she read his lips: 'She needs to think of something happy! We all do!'

Clara closed her eyes, and felt herself being rocked, like that lullaby… She smiled, and she was pretty sure that she was officially insane.

With all those images resurfacing because of the dementors, Clara did her best to focus on at least one happy one. Maybe, an imaginary memory, from an imaginary life was happier than anything from her life.

The chinny-man frowned. "In your book, there was a leaf. Why?"

"That was page one," the woman answered with a sincere smile.

Clara panicked when the happy 'memory' was suddenly plagued.

The woman stared at the people that were running past them. They had red cloaks, and dirt, blood and other grime stained them.

With horror, she gasped. "Are these the people you're going to burn?"

A different man from before, one Clara couldn't put her finger on answered, "There isn't anything we can do."

But, perhaps this 'memory' was shown to Clara for a reason.

Chinny said, "He's right! There isn't another way, there never was! Either I destroy my own people or let The Universe burn."

The woman was on the verge of tears. "Look at you. The three of you - The Warrior, The Hero... and you."

She seemed to be referring to Chinny, who asked, "And what am I?"

"Have you really forgotten?" The woman asked.

"Yes, maybe, yes."

Sighing, she said, "We've got enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero."

"Then what do I do?"

"What you've always done - be a Doctor. You told me the name you chose was a promise. What was that promise?"

The first one, the skinny one said, "Never cruel nor cowardly."

An old man, who seemed to tired and sad finished, "Never give up. Never give in."

Breathing hard, Clara was back in the real world. While the pain from the dementors still throbbed, she knew she could live through it. Clara gasped, and saw Harry frantically yelling.

"Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum!"

Harry was struggling, and Clara felt useless. "Please, guys! Help!" Harry panted.

Hermione tried, and failed.

John already had his wand out, but couldn't seem to even utter the words. He seemed lost, and Clara realized that perhaps he wasn't able to concentrate on a single thought. John put his hand against a tree, and seemed to drift away...

Raising her wand, and letting go of all the fake memories, Clara thought of her mum. Ellie was young and beautiful, and the best. Clara realized though, every memory, no matter how happy it was, was so cruel. Because, her mum's time was over, and she lived to see that. So, Clara couldn't do the spell either.

With a firm yell, Clara said, "NEVER GIVE UP, HARRY! NEVER GIVE IN!"

But, it was useless. Harry was overcome by dementors, and so was everyone else. Clara felt a shadow press on top of her, sucking the warmth from her skin. Clara had never felt so… so violated. Even with her new rush, it was nothing against the coldness of the Dementor on top of her. She was getting emptier, and emptier… And that little flame of hope was being blown out…

"Yeah, well Clear off!" The woman yelled at the old man.

The scene changed.

"Fix it. Change it. Change what happened. Save him. Bring him back!" The woman held a glowing key menacingly.

Clara gasped as a sudden weight was lifted off of her. The pain throbbed, but it wasn't sharp anymore. The 'memory' was still fresh in her mind, but it hadn't affected her this much. Clara did notice, however, that the world seemed bright and spinny.

The air was warming, and Clara gasped when she saw a silvery flash zoom about, driving the Dementors away.

Clara felt spots dance in her eyes, and she grabbed a tree for support. With a sigh, she felt all energy surge out of her, and the last she saw was her face heading toward the ground…