The Sunrise of My Heart
Chapter Twenty: Bad Dreams
As the days ticked by, and May bloomed upon us with blossoms and warm weather, I slept less and less peacefully. Each night, I was having nightmares, haunted by visions that I couldn't escape. After about a week of little to no sleep, I was starting to feel as alive as a zombie. And I felt about as cheerful as one, too.
"Miss Carson, are you listening?"
"No, Professor McGonagall, I'm not. I'm using all of my concentration on staying awake right now."
Her eyebrows went up and her lips drew into a thin line. Normally, I'd have been regretting my words and open ignorance of her, but at the moment, I was tired, I was worn out from all the nightmares, and I was in a bad mood from it so I didn't care.
"Well perhaps you'd like to relearn the lesson in detention tonight, then?"
"Why not? It's not like I'll be sleeping then. Because I don't sleep anymore. Do you know what that's like? Going a week without sleeping because every time you close your eyes, all you see are terrible images that make you want to scream until your throat bleeds and your heart bursts? Let me just say, it really freaking sucks."
There was a thick silence in the air, and everyone was staring at me in surprise. I'd never spoken so openly about whatever was ailing me before. I was usually chipper to everyone unless I was telling them to shove off. I never went so far as to explain what was wrong with me. Ah, well. They'd get over it.
"Look, I'm gonna go to Madame Pomfrey and see if she has a sleeping potion that will help me to sleep. If you really want me to, I'll come to detention either tonight or tomorrow night. But if I don't get some sleep soon, I'm gonna explode."
She said nothing, so I left, going to the hospital wing and hoping Madame Pomfrey had something that could help me sleep.
"Madame Pomfrey? Do you have a sleeping potion that would completely knock me out and keep me from dreaming? I haven't slept in a long time."
I don't actually know what she said to me because I dozed off a bit. I awoke with a gasp only seconds later, having seen another terrible image that forced me awake.
"This should do it. Take only one spoonfull before you go to sleep, no matter how much you think you need more." She handed me a black bottle full of a foul smelling, amber colored liquid and sent me on my way. I shuffled to my common room and bed, plopping down on it tiredly. Grimacing, I swallowed a spoonful and curled up under the covers, hoping for a peaceful sleep. Yeah, I really thought I would actually get a good rest with the potion's help. How silly of me to be so naive.
♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
There's a man standing in front of a house. He looks frightened but determined. From inside the house, a woman frantically calls to him, begging him to come in. Behind her stands a young girl, silently looking out the window and staring down at the man. The girl does not understand why the man and woman are so frightened. All she knows is that she wants the man back inside where it's safe.
As the girl watches, something moves in the shadows a few yards down the street. The man sees it and moves towards it, his hand tightly gripping a wand. From the shadows emerges a large creature, half wolf, half man. The man, seeing this evil creature, hesitates.
"Daddy!" The girl has opened the window and is leaning out, calling for the man.
"Stay inside," the man tells her, only half turning to face her, never once fully turning away from the gruesome creature in front of him. From the creature comes a low sound, like a mix between a laugh and a growl.
The girl, frightened for her father, runs from the window and downstairs. She throws open the door and runs into the front yard. Before she can get much further, she is grabbed from behind by the woman. She starts to drag the girl back inside, but before they can move, the wolf-man creature lunges, flying at the man with a snarl of hatred. The girl screams as, right before her eyes, her father is massacred.
The scene changes. A girl, around seventeen, is sitting underneath a tree with her friends. There is a large black lake beside them and a beautiful castle some distance in front of them. They are all laughing, enjoying the warm summer weather and each others company. One of the boys, the one with long dark hair and gray eyes, leans over and kisses the girl. There are cat-calls and wolf whistles from the others, all of which are ignored by the kissing couple. Everyone there is simply happy, and a feeling of peace emanates from all of the friends.
Again, the scene changes. There is a young woman, probably in her early twenties, leaning against a handsome young man around the same age. His arms are wrapped around her, and they are both smiling, looking happy and content to simply be in each others arms. The man is wearing a nice tuxedo and the woman is wearing a simple but beautiful white dress. Near them their closest friends are standing, toasting to the two. But their happiness is interrupted. They are suddenly surrounded by men and women wearing dark cloaks and dark smiles.
Without warning, they attack, their wand tips lighting brightly with their spells. The friends fight back, but they are out numbered. The woman, seeing a curse aimed for the man, shoves him aside and hits the attacker with a curse, but she does not see the evil woman sneak up behind her. Before anyone can do anything, a knife slices across her chest, and dark red blood stains the front of her dress. She falls down with the people in black cloaks, all of whom have either been killed or fled. The fallen will not rise again. But neither will the woman. The man holds her body and screams at the sky, his heart breaking with the absence of her life.
♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
I sat up with a gasp, breathing hard. Looking around, I realized it must be late because Pansy was curled up in her bed, sleeping soundly. I envied her lack of troubled sleep. Glancing at the potion sitting on my bedside table, I decided not to take it again. It had made me sleep alright, but it had also made it so that I couldn't wake myself up to stop the dreams. I had no idea why I was having them, I just knew I wanted them to stop.
"Miss Carson, are you listening?"
"No, Professor McGonagall, I'm not. I'm using all of my concentration on staying awake right now."
Her eyebrows went up and her lips drew into a thin line. Normally, I'd have been regretting my words and open ignorance of her, but at the moment, I was tired, I was worn out from all the nightmares, and I was in a bad mood from it so I didn't care.
"Well perhaps you'd like to relearn the lesson in detention tonight, then?"
"Why not? It's not like I'll be sleeping then. Because I don't sleep anymore. Do you know what that's like? Going a week without sleeping because every time you close your eyes, all you see are terrible images that make you want to scream until your throat bleeds and your heart bursts? Let me just say, it really freaking sucks."
There was a thick silence in the air, and everyone was staring at me in surprise. I'd never spoken so openly about whatever was ailing me before. I was usually chipper to everyone unless I was telling them to shove off. I never went so far as to explain what was wrong with me. Ah, well. They'd get over it.
"Look, I'm gonna go to Madame Pomfrey and see if she has a sleeping potion that will help me to sleep. If you really want me to, I'll come to detention either tonight or tomorrow night. But if I don't get some sleep soon, I'm gonna explode."
She said nothing, so I left, going to the hospital wing and hoping Madame Pomfrey had something that could help me sleep.
"Madame Pomfrey? Do you have a sleeping potion that would completely knock me out and keep me from dreaming? I haven't slept in a long time."
I don't actually know what she said to me because I dozed off a bit. I awoke with a gasp only seconds later, having seen another terrible image that forced me awake.
"This should do it. Take only one spoonfull before you go to sleep, no matter how much you think you need more." She handed me a black bottle full of a foul smelling, amber colored liquid and sent me on my way. I shuffled to my common room and bed, plopping down on it tiredly. Grimacing, I swallowed a spoonful and curled up under the covers, hoping for a peaceful sleep. Yeah, I really thought I would actually get a good rest with the potion's help. How silly of me to be so naive.
♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
There's a man standing in front of a house. He looks frightened but determined. From inside the house, a woman frantically calls to him, begging him to come in. Behind her stands a young girl, silently looking out the window and staring down at the man. The girl does not understand why the man and woman are so frightened. All she knows is that she wants the man back inside where it's safe.
As the girl watches, something moves in the shadows a few yards down the street. The man sees it and moves towards it, his hand tightly gripping a wand. From the shadows emerges a large creature, half wolf, half man. The man, seeing this evil creature, hesitates.
"Daddy!" The girl has opened the window and is leaning out, calling for the man.
"Stay inside," the man tells her, only half turning to face her, never once fully turning away from the gruesome creature in front of him. From the creature comes a low sound, like a mix between a laugh and a growl.
The girl, frightened for her father, runs from the window and downstairs. She throws open the door and runs into the front yard. Before she can get much further, she is grabbed from behind by the woman. She starts to drag the girl back inside, but before they can move, the wolf-man creature lunges, flying at the man with a snarl of hatred. The girl screams as, right before her eyes, her father is massacred.
The scene changes. A girl, around seventeen, is sitting underneath a tree with her friends. There is a large black lake beside them and a beautiful castle some distance in front of them. They are all laughing, enjoying the warm summer weather and each others company. One of the boys, the one with long dark hair and gray eyes, leans over and kisses the girl. There are cat-calls and wolf whistles from the others, all of which are ignored by the kissing couple. Everyone there is simply happy, and a feeling of peace emanates from all of the friends.
Again, the scene changes. There is a young woman, probably in her early twenties, leaning against a handsome young man around the same age. His arms are wrapped around her, and they are both smiling, looking happy and content to simply be in each others arms. The man is wearing a nice tuxedo and the woman is wearing a simple but beautiful white dress. Near them their closest friends are standing, toasting to the two. But their happiness is interrupted. They are suddenly surrounded by men and women wearing dark cloaks and dark smiles.
Without warning, they attack, their wand tips lighting brightly with their spells. The friends fight back, but they are out numbered. The woman, seeing a curse aimed for the man, shoves him aside and hits the attacker with a curse, but she does not see the evil woman sneak up behind her. Before anyone can do anything, a knife slices across her chest, and dark red blood stains the front of her dress. She falls down with the people in black cloaks, all of whom have either been killed or fled. The fallen will not rise again. But neither will the woman. The man holds her body and screams at the sky, his heart breaking with the absence of her life.
♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
I sat up with a gasp, breathing hard. Looking around, I realized it must be late because Pansy was curled up in her bed, sleeping soundly. I envied her lack of troubled sleep. Glancing at the potion sitting on my bedside table, I decided not to take it again. It had made me sleep alright, but it had also made it so that I couldn't wake myself up to stop the dreams. I had no idea why I was having them, I just knew I wanted them to stop.