Merida DunBroch

Merida shoved her last flavor bean in her mouth before slipping in the door reading 'Professor Elinor DunBroch, Office'.

"Nice of you to knock before coming in Merida, hope you do that every time you come to a professors office." Earwax and sarcasm, this were running up to a nice start.

Elinor DunBroch was sitting neatly behind her desk with a straight back and her chin slightly drawn. Looking at her, Merida felt like she was back home, walking in to the throne room where her mother and father would sit. "My apologies, Professor DunBroch," Merida responded. "I did not consider it necessary to knock on my mother's door."

"That might be so, but it would have been necessary if I had someone in with me." Her mother replied in her all too familiar lecture voice.

Merida just rolled her eyes, "but there are no one in here so we are fine." She sat down opposite of her mother.

"No brooms on the table, Merida." Merida glanced down at her broom that laid on the table in front of her. With a sigh, she placed it against the wall in a corner, and dropped back into the chair.

"A princess does not sigh, nor does she plum into a chair like she is a sack of potatoes." Merida rolled her eyes a second time, as she straightened her back to a more pleasing position.

"Do not-"

"Mum!" "Can we not do this?" Merida complained, ready to take her broom and leave if the princess lessons continued.

"Of course, Merida," Elinor finally said, putting the papers away. "Tea?" she made a swift wave with her wand, and cups, tea cans, sugar and some other stuff levitated on the desk in front of them.

"I prefer warm chocolate,"

"With cream on top?" Elinor gave an amused knowing look to her daughter, and they both laughed, as Merida nodded eagerly.

"How was practice today?" Elinor asked while heating up the water.

"Practice? If you are talking about Quidditch, then great. Beside the fact that I forgot about it, came late and got scolded by the captain."

"You? Late? For Quidditch practice?" Elinor questioned surprised. "You are not feeling ill, are you?"

"Yeah, and no, I'm not ill. It just slipped my mind. It's all because of these nightmares. I can't sleep these days." Merida complained as she forgot her sitting position and slumped back in the chair.

"Nightmares? Not you too."

Merida raised an eyebrow, "You too?" "Are you having nightmares as well, mum?" "It's not about becoming a bear, is it? I swear; that witch cannot do a proper spell. Got bears running in her head-" "I'm sorry, mum. It's my entire fault; I should never asked for a spell that would change-"

"Merida!" Elinor knelt in front of her daughter. "It is okay, Merida. I am not the one with nightmares." She put her hand on Merida's cheek and stroke away a tear that had come running. "More and more students have been coming to Professor Sanderson about nightmares hunting them. That was what I were talking about." She smiled comforting to her daughter. "How long have you been having nightmares?" she continued after Merida had finally calmed down

"Two weeks, more or less, but it feels like months."

Elinor pulled Merida in to a hug, "About the time I turned in to a bear?"

She nodded, "but in my dream, you don't turn back, but become, Mor'du."

Elinor pulled away from Merida and lifted her head so she could look her in the eyes, "I know the dreams scare you, but this is reality, Merida, not a dream. I did turn in to a bear, but now I am back. Remember this when you go to sleep tonight, okay?" They both smiled reassuring smiles and pulled into a new hug.

"So… continuing," Merida muffled in my mother embrace. "If you did not mean Quidditch -by practice- but flying class." They broke up from the hug, "then that is something we –maybe- should talk about as well." She hesitated, in case her mother felt like interrupting. "I mean, we are not first years, we have all been flying on a broom for some years now, and 'basics?' Really, mum? It's like you are trying to cradle us asleep."

Elinor laughed, "I am sorry, Merida. I thought that because of the lack of sleep, some of the students could do with a quiet class. I guess it backfired."

Merida smiled, "Does that mean that next class won't be quite as boring?"

"We will see," she answered, with a smug smile.

"Oh, look at that: our drinks are ready."