Little Memories

The couple had crept back to their room late that night, after just snogging for an hour or so. It seemed neither were in the mood for doing anything more than that, since they were breaking so many rules as it was. Charlotte had no trouble falling asleep that night, since she very rarely had trouble falling asleep at all. Her dorm room was quiet and she was alone, so she had no disturbances whatsoever. She was glad she didn’t have to go to classes the next day, because she wanted to sleep in and catch up on her sleep.

The remnants of a roaring fire crackled and popped within the fireplace in the room. The room was dark and damp, as always in the Slytherin Dungeons, and the blonde woman lay tucked under the dark sheets, warm in her bed. Her curls spilled around her like a halo and her face was completely relaxed as she slept. The room was still and calm, but there was a tinge of something darker lurking in the room. It was a foreboding sort of feeling that hung around the room before it swept over the girl in the bed, gripping her tightly. Her brow furrowed as she stirred slightly, obviously disturbed by something that was haunting her dreams. Her eyes shot open with a sharp, small gasp and her expression immediately crumbled into tears.

She threw the covers back and quickly left the room, her bare feet padding quietly along the polished stone floors. Charlotte made her way down the corridor, wiping the tears that continuously dripped down her cheeks. She flew through the Common Room, hoping no one would see her in her nightgown, sobbing into her hands. Her pale feet quickly and quietly made their way to the boy’s dormitories, silently entering the room and closing the door behind her. Swallowing hard, she walked over to Draco’s bed, seeing him curled up under the covers and sleeping soundly. She hated to disturb him, since she knew he had barely gotten sleep the year before, but she knew she needed him.

Charlotte slipped into the bed with him, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling her head under his chin. He stirred slightly, his eyes groggily peeking over the bed beside him, seeing a mass of blonde curls beneath his chin and immediately knew who it was. He could feel little droplets of moisture on his neck and feel her thin frame shuddering in his arms. He immediately sobered up and pulled her closer to him, wondering what had disturbed her so much.

“What’s wrong, love,” he asked in a whisper. Charlotte merely shook her head, continuing to cry against his skin. He pulled away slightly to cup her face in his hands, causing her to open her eyes and look up at him. Her bottom lip quivered slightly and she quickly shoved it between her teeth. “What’s wrong?” He asked again, wanting to know why she was in his dorm and crying uncontrollably.

“I can’t tell you,” she whispered in a quivering voice, tears dripping down her face and onto his pillow. He lifted a hand to her cheek and brushed her tears away with his fingertips. “I had a dream,” she said simply, hoping that would be an explanation enough for him. She swallowed hard as realization dawned on his features.

“A vision,” he said softly and she merely nodded in reply, her face crumbling against as she pulled closer to him, sobbing wracking her frame. Draco merely shushed her quietly and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He didn’t know what else to do, since he was sure she wasn’t going to tell him the contents of her dream, nor was she going to stop crying anytime soon to tell him. He could see Gregory stirring in the other bed, turning over and peeking open an eye to look at Draco and Charlotte.

“What’s going on?” He asked in a groggy voice. Draco merely shook his head as he looked over Charlotte’s shoulder to her brother.

“Don’t worry about it,” he murmured, “just go back to sleep.” Gregory pulled a face and pulled the blankets back up around his neck, his eyes slipping shut as he turned over with his back to the two. Draco merely looked over at him for a moment before glancing down to Charlotte. He kissed the top of her head, hoping she would tell him at least something. He listened to her cry until he unwillingly fell back asleep.

When he woke up, he’d expected Charlotte’s head to be resting on his chest, but his bed was empty, as was the room. He let out a heavy sigh and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. A groan escaped his lips at how complicated things had gotten within the past twenty-four hours. He had his love back as his girlfriend, yes, but whatever she had seen in that vision last night was bothering him to no end. He hoped he’d get at least a little bit of what it was about out of her, but knew he had a better chance of skipping school the rest of the year. Draco quickly dressed and made his way to the Great Hall, since the Common Room had been completely empty as well.

He entered the Great Hall and noticed that Charlotte was sitting alone at the table, her long, blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun that was so unlike her. Her eyes looked tired, as if the blemish-free girl had aged a few years over night. Those bright blue eyes of her, that looked so clouded over with thought, pulled up from her empty plate and over to Draco as he stood dormant at the end of the Slytherin table. She swallowed hard and looked away as Draco began to walk over to her, taking a seat beside her. Her eyes remained thoughtful and hard, staring ahead blankly.

“Morning, Charlotte,” he said softly to her, concern wringing his features as his blue-grey eyes slowly wandered her pixie-like profile.

“Morning, Draco,” she replied, finally turning her eyes back to his and letting out a soft sigh. Her eyes twinkled a bit, as if she were about to cry again at the mere sight of the one she loved. “I’m…I’m sorry about waking you last night,” she said in a soft voice, staring into his eyes. “I’ve just…the vision,” she dropped her voice low, “ I had really shook me up and I was just tired.” She placed a hand on his cheek, a risky move in showing such small affection around the ever-present Aurors. “There’s nothing for you to worry about, love.” Draco wasn’t entirely convinced at her words, since her eyes were still sparkling with tears.

“Are you sure?” He asked softly as her hand slipped from his cheek and she managed a small smile for him that was convincing enough.

“Yes, Draco,” she said firmly, the smile still lingering on her lips, “now eat your breakfast, love.” Draco merely let out a sigh and shook his head a bit, putting a bit of food onto his plate, yet he didn’t feel the least bit hungry. Charlotte had him worried. He knew she was lying about that vision or else she wouldn’t have been so emotional around him. Whatever she had seen in that vision was something she didn’t want to pass, though he knew from what she had told him that she had no choice but to let the things she saw pass. As they ate together, he could steal glances at the woman beside him and he could see that happy façade she put up from him slipping as she stared into her coffee or pushed her scrambled eggs around her plate.

“What was with you last night?” Gregory asked from across the table. Both blondes jumped slightly, not hearing him sit down and it startled them. Charlotte looked up from her plate and forced that smile yet again.

“I was tired and I’d had a nightmare. So I snuck into Draco’s bed,” she said with a small shrug. “It’s no big deal, really,” she added softly, shooting him a look before shaking her head a bit. She merely shrugged as she looked down at her breakfast, noticing that both sets of eyes were now turned to her. Slowly, she looked up from her meal and those bright eyes of hers flickered between the two of them. “What?” She asked softly, forcing a smile on her lips once more though the two could easily see that she was getting a bit peeved with them.

“I know you’re lying,” Gregory said once her eyes fell back on him. Her dainty brow furrowed slightly and she shook her head a bit at him.

“How do you know?” She asked, the smile slipping easily from her face. “You can’t read my thoughts.” Draco merely sat back a bit, sensing that they two siblings were about to get into a spat over how stubborn Charlotte was being and how prodding Gregory was being. Then again, Charlotte and Draco had just rekindled their relationship and he didn’t want to offend her. He knew better than to try to get information out of her when she clearly wasn’t having it.

“I just know when you’re hiding things, Charlotte,” he said in a low voice, looking intently at his sister and shaking his head a bit at the way she was being. Charlotte scoffed and glared over at him.

“You don’t think I hide these things with good reason?” She asked him softly. “It’s not like I can actually change what’s going to happen, Gregory. You know that.” Her eyes burned into his and he stared right back at her. “So, would you just leave it?” She asked him in a much softer voice, but she kept her eyes trained intently on him. They continued to stare at each other and Draco could feel the tension slowly easing up between the two of them. He swallowed hard and looked down at his food. If he wasn’t feeling hungry before, he certainly had no appetite now.

Just when Draco thought it was over and silence was going to fall over their part of the table, Gregory had to open his mouth and ruin it all. “Did you see what happened to mum and dad?” He asked in a low voice. Charlotte’s cutlery clattered to the brass-colored plate on the table and her hands clenched into tight fists on the surface.

“I don’t think this is the proper atmosphere to talk about these things, Gregory,” she seethed, looking up at him and appearing clearly disturbed by the question he had just asked. Gregory, however, remained nearly emotionless as he stared across the table at Charlotte.

“Did you see what happened to mum and dad?” He asked in a low, even voice as his eyes bore into her. Her jaw clenched beneath her thin skin and Draco could tell that Charlotte was about to explode at her brother.

“Yes,” she whispered, “I saw exactly what happened between mum and dad and I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it.” She shook her head a bit as she looked at him, her anger slowly evaporating into tears. “Is that an answer enough for you?” She asked in a watery voice as Gregory slowly lowered his eyes to the shiny table in front of him, obviously feeling a bit bad about how emotional his sister had gotten. Draco merely glanced between the two of them, not knowing what to say to comfort either of them. He slipped an arm around Charlotte’s waist, not caring who was watching them. She merely let out a soft sigh and rested her head on his shoulder, staring blankly ahead.