Dreaming of You

Dreaming of You

Fairy tales…fables written to manipulate little girls into believing that somewhere out there is a knight in shining armor especially for them. A Prince Charming who would travel to the depths of hell to save them from the evil dragon; who would rather die than see them dead. But where is my knight now? Gone. He left me with my dragon. I am still in the depths of hell. And I am so far gone…I am already dead. They say love conquers all and good triumphs over evil. I once believed in the magic that was love. I was a gullible little girl once, waiting for my knight in shining armor. I found my knight…and he left me…dreaming of him…

            ‘I’ll be back for you…’

The tower I once called home…is now my prison. It is no longer warm, and welcoming, but cold, forbidding, and shrouded in an eerie mist. The fireplace is bare; flames no longer dance cheerily on pine logs. The tattered scarlet curtains hang listlessly from bars on the ceiling. The many couches and winged-armchairs litter the common room; covered in dust and soot, some with broken legs, other with the upholstery ripped to shreds. Silence lurks in the empty hallways, and stair cases. It pounds mercilessly on my ears…only an echo saves me from this torment…keeps me sane. His voice…it still drifts through the corridors, whispering his last words…making promises he’ll never be able to keep. It haunts my prison…and I follow…believing it’s my knight at last, back to rescue me. But I’m only chasing a figment of hope…a foolish schoolgirl hope…filled with unrealistic optimism. Many a time I have thought myself crazy…perhaps I am. Maybe it’s just my imagination…keeping me alive…from ending it all. But I’ll always be stuck here…I can’t escape…I trapped myself in my own childish box to escape reality…truth…and now there’s nothing to penetrate it…I’m imprisoned in my own creation.

            ‘I’ll always be there for you…’

Frost clouded the many translucent windows of a towering stony castle. An uninterrupted field of evergreen treetops rose from a shielding mist. A thin layer of ice covered a steely blue lake. Twin goalposts towered above an emerald stadium. Only the faint twitter of an unseen early bird and the hushed whispers of remorseful departing could be heard in the otherwise silent scenery.

“Why must you go?” Two robe-clad figures stood in the middle of the grassy field. “Does our love mean nothing to you?” Tears stained the porcelain face of a flame-haired beauty. Her robes marked with the crest of a griffin hung slovenly about her shoulders. She looked into the eyes of a boy no older than seventeen; eyes that held the wisdom it took ages to obtain. Those eyes had seen things most don’t see in an entire existence. Raven hair that no comb could tame crowned his head, and peeking out from under his bangs, was a lightening-shaped scar, the trademark of his youth. He wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek with his thumb.

“I have to go…this may be my last chance.” She gave a cry of anguish before collapsing against his chest, dampening his shirt with her tears. He slung his duffle bag to the ground, and wrapped his arms around her.

“How do you know that? How do you know you won’t get yourself killed?” she clutched at his robes. “How do I know if I’ll ever see you again? This could be my last time seeing you alive!”

He tilted her chin up with his forefinger so he could see her face. “I’ll be back for you…I’ll always come back for you.”

“LIAR!” An already cracked window shattered into a thousand pieces in a blast of freezing air. “You never came back! You never will!” Renewed tears burn my eyes in remembrance of what happened so long ago. “Why did you leave me here?” My yells fall on deaf ears, and I collapse on the cold stone floor. “Why didn’t you stay?”

“One to King’s Cross,” the boy with the unruly hair, said to a little goblin sitting behind a glass-encased desk.

“That’ll be eleven sickles,” he said in a gruff voice. “Thank you,” he placed the money into the cash register, and exchanged it with a crisp ticket. “Your train leaves in” –a piercing whistle interrupted him- “five minutes exactly.”

“Thank you,” he turned away from the desk, examining the ticket with his jaw clenched.

“So this is it?” He looked up to find chocolate brown eyes staring intently at him.

“What do you mean?” he pocketed the ticket, and re-slung the strap of his duffel bag over his shoulder.

“Is this the last time we ever see each other again? You’re going to run off to war, and leave me here…not knowing what to expect,” her eyes turned glassy in a new onslaught of tears she thought she had drained herself of.

“I’ve told you,” he lowered his voice. “Nothing can keep us apart. Nothing. We-we’re like Romeo and Juliet…we’re unstoppable.”

She furrowed her brow, wiping her eyes irritably, “Romeo and Juliet killed themselves.”

“Right! But it was because they loved each other so much one couldn’t live with out the other…I can’t live with out you,” he took her small hands in his own.

A single tear rolled down her cheek. “Then why are you going? I can’t live with out you…and when you’re gone…my whole body aches…because I need you.”

He kissed the tear away, “I will always be there for you. Nothing can ever change that.”

“All aboard! Hog’s Head leaving for King’s Cross!” A man with a black toothbrush mustache called, leaning from the platform.

“But now I have to go,” he placed one last kiss on her forehead, and disappeared with the haunting whistle of the train. “Wait for me, Ginny…”

Tears ran down her cheeks; a chilling breeze made her shiver, and she folded her arms across her chest. “Come back to me, Harry.”

“You never came back…” I sit curled up on the ground, head hanging, knees hugged to my chest. 

‘I’m sorry that took so long.’ Why must he torment me so? Will it never end?

“I waited but you never came.”

‘Yes, but you’ll never believe the tale I have as an excuse.’ I really must be crazed…I’d never had a conversation with my echo. It was as far-off and misty as had been so many times before.

“Ginny?!” Something was different. “Ginny, where are you?” The sound of door slamming open drifted up the hallway. I raised my head, too tired to follow. Perhaps my madness was taking on new levels. The portrait to the tower slammed open. “Ginny…” There was no illusion in the figure standing in the doorway. He was solid. He was real.

I had no strength to stand from the ground. “You never came back…”

There couldn’t have been a more relieve expression on his face, “I’m sorry that took so long.”

“I waited –for God knows how long- and now you come back?”

“Yes,” he walked over, and pulled me by the hands into stand position. “And you’ll never believe the tale I have to tell,” a somewhat sheepish grin crossed his face, and he traced a finger down my cheek.

My lips curved into a smile, “Harry!” I threw my arms around his neck, and…he shook me rather…unromantically.

“Ginny!”

“Harry!”

“Ginny!”

“Ha-“

“Ginny! You hopeless git! Let go of me!” Ginny’s eyes fluttered open.

“What the-“she had her roommate ‘round the neck in a bear-tight hug. She released her arms.

“Hurry up! You’re going to be late for class!” She picked her book bag up from the floor. She opened the door, but turned around before exiting; a mischievous grin playing across her face. “I’m going to tell Harry you were dreaming about him! Again!”