CHAPTER 17: DREAM MEANING
Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland.
Time Frame: "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," the morning after the Yule Ball
Jimmy O'Bannon trudged down the stairs and shuffled across the Gryffindor Common Room. He groaned and wondered why he'd bothered getting out of bed at all.
He stopped in front of the portrait hole, his shoulders sagging. Part of him wanted to stay in his dormitory all day. If he went out, he risked running into Mireet. The last thing he wanted to do was see her. It'd just remind him what could never be between them.
I can't ... we had such a great time last night ... how could she not ...
Okay, so this Marc-Andre guy back in France did her dirt. Obviously it hurt when he broke up with her. But how could she use that as an excuse not to be with him? Hell's Bells, that all happened months ago.
He leaned against the wall and snorted. This wasn't how he envisioned the morning after the Yule Ball. Originally he pictured himself bounding down the steps with a huge grin, cheerily greeting everyone he passed. His thoughts would be on the kiss - perhaps numerous kisses – he shared with Mireet, and the anticipation of seeing her again.
Instead, he thought about the long walk from the Beauxbatons carriage back to Gryffindor Tower. He barely remembered entering the castle he'd been in such a state of disbelief. He vaguely recalled walking up to the Fat Lady's portrait behind a very glum-looking Harry Potter. His trek from the Common Room to the dormitory was a blur. Had Ron and Hermione been arguing? He swore he heard her yell something about "a last resort."
When he reached his room and climbed into bed, he spent half the night staring up at the darkened ceiling, feeling depressed, wishing he could go back to Salem.
O'Bannon's stomach grumbled. He sighed. He didn't want to go out, but neither did he want to stay here and starve for the entire day.
Just eat fast and leave.
Reluctantly, he went through the portrait hole and headed down to the Great Hall. The entire time Mireet's rejection rang in his head.
"I don't know if I can do this ... If I let myself fall for you, I know my heart is going to shatter when you leave ... I just cannot bear to go through that sort of pain again."
O'Bannon balled his fists. More than anything he wished he could port key to France, find this Marc-Andre dipstick and kick his friggin' ass.
He paused when he reached the Great Hall. Was Mireet already in there? Would she try to talk to him? Did she wantto talk to him? What about the other students? Did they already know Mireet had shot him down? Were they all gossiping about it?
He slapped the brick wall next to him a couple times. His stomach growled. Maybe he'd just take some food back to Gryffindor Tower and eat alone. Then he wouldn't have to hear people's whispered conversations about him and Mireet. Or worse, have people pat him on the back and tell him it'll be all right.
No. It won't be all right.
Drawing in a deep breath, O'Bannon entered the Great Hall. He kept his head down, determined not to make eye contact with anyone. Determined not to look in the direction of the table where the Beauxbatons contingent sat.
Where Mireet sat.
He took a quick glance at the Gryffindor table and spotted the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan, Harry and Ron. Across from them sat Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Ginny Weasley and Hermione.
"Mornin'," he muttered as he took the empty space next to Lee.
The guys responded in kind.
"Morning, Jimmy," Hermione said.
He heard no such greeting from the other girls.
Brow furrowed, he looked up.
Ginny, Angelina, Katie and Alicia all shot him the same scathing glare.
His face scrunched in bewilderment. "What?"
The girls continued to glare at him.
"Uh, there some kind of problem?"
Ginny slammed the table with both hands. She huffed, shot to her feet and stormed out of the Great Hall, the eyes of several stunned students following her.
"What's gotten into her?" Ron stared after his sister.
Katie shook her head. "Merlin's beard, are all boys thick?"
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" O'Bannon blurted.
Angelina looked at him in shock. "I can't believe you're asking a question like that."
The three girls gave him very nasty looks before returning to their breakfasts.
O'Bannon scowled back at them. "Fine. Whatever."
He grabbed some toast and fruit and stomped out of the Great Hall.
XXXXX
When mid-morning rolled around O'Bannon had grown tired of staring at the same four walls of his suite, moping over the whole situation with Mireet. He grabbed some of his textbooks and headed to the library to do some homework.
Homework. He shook his head. Who the hell assigned homework over Christmas Break? They didn't do it at Salem.
But on this day, he was grateful for it. Hopefully it would get his mind off what happened last night.
It didn't. He sat alone at a table, his eyes barely focusing on his open Defense Against the Dark Arts book and the blank parchment in front of him. The whole, sorry scene in front of the Beauxbatons carriage between him and Mireet played over and over again in his mind.
He slammed his book shut and stuffed the parchment in his bookbag. There was no way he'd be getting any homework done today. He doubted any activity existed that would get his mind off Mireet.
Head down, he trudged out of the library. There had to be some place he could spend the day alone, just being miserable. Maybe the Quidditch field? With no Quidditch season because of the Tri-Wizard Tournament he doubted anyone would be there. Perfect place to . . .
Footfalls caught his attention. He looked up to see a slender girl with long, curled brown hair suddenly appear from around the corner.
Katie Bell.
She skidded to a halt, nearly colliding with O'Bannon.
"Um . . . hey, Katie."
Scowling, she stormed past him.
His face scrunched in anger. He spun on his heel. "What the hell's your problem, Bell?"
Katie stopped, her shoulders slowly rising in a measured breath.
O'Bannon stepped closer to her. "Hey. If you got a problem with me, out with it."
She whirled around. "You better believe I have a problem with you, Jimmy O'Bannon."
"What the hell did I do to you?"
"You didn't do anything to me."
He drew his head back, perplexed. "Huh? Okay, you're not making sense. I didn't do anything to you, but you're pissed at me? What gives?"
She snorted and shook her head. "Merlin's beard, you really don't have an inkling what this is all about, do you?"
"You know, I'm having a crappy day as it is. So quit playing games and just tell me what I did to piss you off."
"I told you, you didn't do anything to me."
O'Bannon rolled his eyes. Anger rose in his throat, ready to be unleashed upon Katie.
She beat him to the punch. "It's what you did to Mireet that's bothering me."
His neck muscles tightened. "So you heard what happened."
"You better believe I did. Me, Ang, Ginny. All of us."
"Then what's with the whole 'what I did to her?' She was the one who turned me down when I wanted us to get serious."
"And then what did you do? You stormed off. She wanted to talk to you some more, try to explain more why she did what she did. And you just turned your back on her and pouted like a bloody five-year-old!"
"What, I shoulda just stood there and listen to her give more reasons why she doesn't want to be my girlfriend?"
"You hurt her!" Katie stomped over to him, teeth bared. For a second he thought she'd haul off and belt him.
Katie's face reddened as she continued to rage. "Here she was, explaining how some uppity bastard back in France broke her heart, and what did you do? You up and walked off. Do you think it was easy for her to do that? Mireet likes you. She told us so."
"When did you talk to her?"
"Early this morning. Me, Ang and Ginny went out to do some skating and that's when we saw Mireet. She told us what happened after the Yule Ball. And she was crying her bloody eyes out! She hated having to tell you she didn't want to be with you. She wanted you to understand. But when you just walked off . . . you can't imagine how horrible it made her feel. She cried herself to sleep, all because you acted like the most insensitive arse in the world!"
He stood frozen. A dark mass grew over his heart and spread through his chest. Images assaulted his mind. Images of Mireet crying. Crying because of him.
I never ... I didn't think ...
O'Bannon averted his eyes from Katie's fiery glare. He cared for Mireet so much. The thought that he did anything to hurt her, especially when he'd told her he would never do that, made his stomach twist.
His jaw quivered. He pressed his back against the wall and stared at the stone floor. "I really messed things up, didn't I?"
"That's an understatement."
He sighed and looked up at Katie. "Do you think I can fix things between me and Mireet?"
"Yes." Katie's face hardened. "So long as you get down on your knees and beg for her forgiveness. I think that's the least you can do considering how you acted."
O'Bannon frowned. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I know I'm right."
He sucked down a deep breath. "I think I better go find Mireet."
Katie said nothing, just nodded.
Without a word, he pushed himself off the wall and headed down the corridor.
"Jimmy."
He turned around to face Katie.
"If she does forgive you, maybe me and Ang and Ginny can chat with her, get her to reconsider her decision. I'm not promising anything, but we can at least try. We . . . well, we've always thought you two would make a great couple."
For the first time today, O'Bannon smiled. "Thanks, Katie."
She nodded. "You're welcome. Now go apologize to Mireet."
XXXXX
O'Bannon headed down to the Beauxbatons carriage, where he encountered a couple of French witches taking pictures of the Hogwarts grounds with one of those boxy old-fashioned cameras so common to the Wizarding World.
"Hi. Um, could one of you do me a favor and see if you can find Mireet Miradeaux for me?"
A brunette of medium-build agreed to do this, even though she looked annoyed by the request.
A few minutes later, Mireet emerged from the huge pumpkin-shaped carriage. She froze when she saw him.
"Um, hey, Mireet. Can I talk to you? Please?"
She continued staring at him in silence. Panic swelled within him. He fully expected her to go back inside and slam the door behind her.
"Oui," she muttered.
He winced as she pounded down the steps and strode toward him. She walked past him without a word and kept walking. O'Bannon had to take longer than normal strides to keep up.
They didn't stop until they reached a small clump of trees, the carriage and lake visible in the distance. Mireet turned to him, arms folded, unsmiling.
He took a deep breath. "Mireet, I'm so sorry about last night. I know . . . I know that couldn't have been easy. I know you were upset and . . . well, I guess I should have been a little more understanding. It's just . . . I really like you and . . . well, I know I said I'd never hurt you like that Marc-Andre fu . . . um, guy did. But I did just that, and I wish I could take it back. I just . . . I just hope you don't hate me."
"I spent all last night and this morning wondering if you hated me."
He took a step back in shock. "Mireet, I could never hate you."
"That did not seem the case last night when you left."
O'Bannon could see her eyes glistening. He swallowed back the lump forming in his throat. "Mireet, please forgive me. If you want, I'll get down on my knees and beg for your forgiveness, if that's what it takes."
Silence hung between them for several long seconds. O'Bannon's lips tightened. He started lowering himself to the ground.
"No," Mireet finally spoke. "You do not have to beg. I forgive you, Jimmy."
He straightened up, an invisible weight flying off his shoulders. He closed his eyes and lifted his head to the sky. Thank you, God.
"I just want you to understand and respect my decision. I do wish we could . . . I wish things could be different with us."
"I understand," he muttered, wondering if Mireet even heard him.
"I do want us to be friends. Please, Jimmy?"
He sighed to himself. He wanted to be morethan friends, and he doubted that feeling would go away any time soon.
But if his only two choices were just being friends with Mireet or having her hate him . . . well, he knew he couldn't bear to live with the latter.
Remember what Katie said. Maybe she and Angelina and Ginny can convince her to reconsider.
Given Mireet's words, he didn't hold out much hope for that.
"Yeah. Yeah, sure."
Mireet smiled. Not the beaming smile she'd worn through much of the Yule Ball, but a smile nonetheless.
"Merci, Jimmy." She walked up to him and kissed both his cheeks.
They hugged. O'Bannon closed his eyes, relishing the feel of her body in his arms, wondering if he could ever fully accept Mireet Miradeaux as just a friend.
The world around him vanished.
O'Bannon blinked. The twins' bedroom slowly came into focus. Groaning, he pushed himself up on his elbows and checked the clock. It was a little past ten. Just two hours sleep.
He rubbed his eyes. No sense in trying to nap any more. His patrol would start in less than an hour.
He hauled himself off the cot and shuffled down the hall to the bathroom to take a whiz. All the while he thought about the dream he just had. All the dreams about Mireet he'd had since arriving at the Burrow. What the hell was going on in his head? Was his unconscious mind trying to tell him something? If so, what? He'd never been much into dream interpretation.
Or maybe you're just dreaming this because ... well, jus tbecause. Like people can really decide what they dream.
He exited the bathroom and stopped in the middle of the hallway. He thought about the last dream, about storming off after Mireet's rejection. Yeah. Not your finest moment there, Jimmy Boy.
Remind you of something else?
He groaned and started back to the twins' room.
"Jimmy."
He looked over his shoulder to find Ginny coming down the hallway toward him.
"Hey, Gin."
She canted her head. "You all right?"
"Huh? Oh yeah. Just woke up."
"Oh. Um, Jimmy. Can I talk to you?"
He shrugged. "Sure. What's up?"
Ginny bit her lower lip. "Well, it's about you and Rosa."
"Uh-huh?" His neck muscles tightened.
"Look, I've got to become very good friends with her over the past couple of weeks, and this whole disagreement over Snape's Pest Elimination Potion, well, it's just really gotten to her. I think she thinks you hate her."
"I don't . . ." He stopped and closed his eyes. Sighing, he leaned against the wall. A feeling of deja'vu overwhelmed him. "I don't believe it."
"Don't believe what?"
He held his breath for a moment. "It's just . . . Man, this is gonna sound weird. See, I had this dream just now. Me and Mireet at the Yule Ball. When she told me she didn't want to get serious with me, and you and Katie and Angelina all got pissed at me. God, it's like . . . it's like history's kinda repeating itself. Back then I acted like a jerk and hurt Mireet. Now I act like a jerk and hurt Rosa. And it was almost for the exact same reason. With Mireet I totally expected her to say that she loved me and wanted to be my girlfriend. With Rosa I totally expected her to go along with me and not support Snape's plan. But when they did the exact opposite . . . well, I guess I didn't handle it well, did I?"
"You really need to ask?"
O'Bannon frowned. "Am I really that big an asshole, Ginny?"
"No, though the exception would be those two incidents you mentioned."
He grunted and cast his eyes to the floor.
"Look . . ." Ginny gently touched his arm. "I've been through this sort of thing loads of times with Ron. My Second Year he didn't speak to Hermione for months when he thought Crookshanks killed Scabbers. And, of course, you remember him getting all hacked off at Harry when he got entered in the Tri-Wizard Tournament."
"Yeah, I remember that."
"Point is, as bad as all that was, Ron eventually made up with them. I just feel having a friendship end because of stuff like that is stupid when you consider everything they've been through."
O'Bannon nodded. He thought back to this morning, how he purposefully ignored Rosa and how she stormed out of the kitchen. She'd always been such a strong person that he couldn't conceive of her getting so upset by someone giving her the cold shoulder.
But it wasn't just someone who did that. He was one of her best friends in the world. They had comforted each other during break-ups, defended each other when confronted by elitist purebloods like Merak Mather. And during the battle in Ovenderburg and the Longathian Tunnel incident, there had never been a doubt that he had her back, and vice versa. Rosa had become more than a best friend to him. She'd become the sister he never had.
And he'd just hurt his sister.
"It wasn't an easy decision for her, you know," Ginny continued. "Supporting Snape's plan. It's not as if she likes this plan. She hates it, actually. But she feels it might be the only way to stop the Chupacabra. She's not expecting you to agree with her position, just understand it. Like Mireet wanted you to understand her reasoning for not getting together with you."
O'Bannon slowly worked his jaw back and forth. "Yeah. I guess it's high time I apologized to Rosa . . . and Jared."
"I couldn't agree more."
"Thanks, Ginny." He smiled and gave her a hug. After he released her, he snorted and shook his head. "I can't believe it took a dream to help get my head out of my ass. Though, actually . . ."
"What?" Ginny cranked an eyebrow at him.
He sighed, staring at her for several seconds. "Well, it wasn't just tonight. Ever since I got here, I've had a bunch of dreams about Mireet. Actually, it's more like I'm reliving stuff that happened between us. Mainly the stuff having to do with the Yule Ball. I don't know, I thought maybe all those dreams had something to do with Fleur being around."
"Ugh!" Ginny's face scrunched, like she was about to be sick. "How can Phlegm remind you of Mireet?"
"Well, they're both French, and hot."
Ginny's scowl deepened. "Being French is the only thing Mireet and Phlegm have in common. As for their looks, if it weren't for the fact that harpy's part Veela, you men wouldn't drool over her as much as you do."
O'Bannon felt the need to disagree with Ginny, but the twisted look on her face made him think twice. Besides, he didn't need any more people pissed at him.
"Well then, I have no idea why I'm having these dreams."
Ginny's face softened. She folded her arms and stared off to the side in thought. Suddenly her eyes widened. "You know, I do remember something from Divination Class."
"Oh please." O'Bannon rolled his eyes. He'd always considered Divination a bunch of crap. So did most wizards, in fact. That attitude was only reinforced by his teacher back at Salem, Miss Vomstam. To call the woman a charlatan, well, it would be an insult to charlatans. And from what he'd heard from his British friends, the teacher at Hogwarts, Professor Trelawney, was even worse.
"Okay, look." Ginny held up her hands. "I think Divination's a load of rubbish, too. So take it for what it's worth. But last year I had one class where Professor Trelawney said that if we have multiple dreams about the same man, or in your case woman, over a short span of time, say a week or two, then those two people are fated to be together."
"Are you cereal?" he scoffed. "Did the fates take into account that I live in America and Mireet lives in France? Or did the fates ignore the fact I have a girlfriend, and that Mireet probably has a boyfriend by now?" He figured she had to be completely over that Marc-Andre asshole by now. Plus, there was no way in hell a woman like Mireet would stay single for long.
Ginny shrugged. "Look, I'm just telling you what Trelawney told us in class. You don't have to believe it if you don't want to."
He opened his mouth to reply, "I won't." But the words died on his tongue. He thought back to the dreams, remembering how strong his feelings had been toward Mireet. Even after those dreams, his heartbeat would quicken and his stomach would knot up as he thought about her body, her smile, that silky French accent, her compassion, her strength, her intelligence.
How he still wanted her after two years.
This is nuts. Ihave a girlfriend. Igotta stop pining fo ra woman who lives on a whole other continent.
Ginny grinned and patted him on the shoulder as she walked by him. She got a few feet down the hall when he turned to her.
"Yo, Ginny."
"Yes?" She turned around.
He folded his arms and gave her a wry grin. "So who do you have lots of dreams about? Oh! Let me guess. Dean Thomas, right?"
Ginny tightened her lips. Her eyes darted in several directions. She finally gave him a forced smile. "Good night, Jimmy."
With that, she proceeded into the bathroom.
O'Bannon's brow furrowed. What the hell was that about? Could there be trouble in paradise between Ginny and Dean?
He shrugged and headed toward the stairs. He had neither the skill, nor the desire, to psychoanalyze Ginny. He had more important things to do, like finding Rosa and Jared and apologizing to them.
Footsteps pounded up the stairs. O'Bannon halted at the landing. Man,someone'sinarush. He figured it must be the twins. They usually rushed up the stairs, much to Mrs. Weasley's never-ending frustration.
It came as a surprise when Remus Lupin appeared. He stared up at O'Bannon, his eyes and face radiating with urgency.
"Jimmy. Good. We need you downstairs now."
"What's wrong?"
"We've detected wards being breached at several homes across the country. It appears You-Know-Who's launched an all-out attack with the Chupacabra."
TO BE CONTINUED