Nightmares

Nightmares

He was in a dark, cold cell. There were two escapes - ones, a small barred window that lead to the ocean, a window so tiny it was ridiculous to even attempt to climb through. The other was the cell door, also barred, but on the other side was something evil, something so terrifying the very thought of them could reduce grown men to gibbering wrecks.

But he was determined to escape. Even the foul creatures wouldn't stop him. He transformed, slinking into the shadows, waiting. His canine ears twitched at every sound, his nose picking up every scent.

The door was opening - finally! This was the moment he'd waiting for. He crept silently through the crack, past the blind guard. He tiptoed through the dreary prison, staying as quiet as possible so he wouldn't alert the guards to his presence.

He had nearly made it to the exit, and freedom, when a pair of clammy hands grabbed his tail. He let out a yelp and tried to run, but the hands pulled him back. He transformed back into a man as terror clouded his mind, and covered his face with his hands. He heard the creature take a long, rattling breath, its disgusting, rotted hands gripping his shoulders.

Another pair of hands grabbed his arms, wrenching them away from his face. His eyes widened in fear as the foul beast lowered the hood shrouding its features in shadow to reveal an ugly, eyeless face, a vast, gaping hole resembling a mouth.

"No," he whispered as the creature lowered its face to his. "Please, no!"

* * *

Sirius woke with a start, his breathing harsh and ragged, and his body damp with sweat. His heart was beating loudly in his chest and he was shaking uncontrollably. He raised a trembling hand to his face and brushed his dark hair out of his eyes.

I could do with a haircut, he said to himself. I'll ask Molly to do it tomorrow.

But he quickly dismissed the thought. Molly had enough to do without cutting his hair. He lay down and, after a few minutes, drifted into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

She woke up to find her hands and robes covered in blood. She ran to the toilets to wash it off, but no matter how hard she scrubbed her hands stained pink. She went to her diary and wrote about the blood. Then she passed out.

When she awoke again she found herself in a large stone chamber. There was a boy standing over her, a look of distain and revulsion on his thin, pale face. He was twirling her wand in his long, thin fingers.

"Who're you?" she asked shakily.

"I'm Tom," the boy replied.

"Tom Riddle? But - but how did you get out of the diary?"

"All thinks to you," he said, grinning malevolently at her.

"Where am I?" she asked, looking around the vast room.

"The Chamber of Secrets."

"Why? How did I get here?"

"You ask too many questions. Crucio."

* * *

"Ginny, are you alright?"

Ginny woke up to find she was shaking. Her face was wet with tears and her throat hurt. Hermione was sitting beside her, looking extremely worried.

"Are you okay? You were rolling around and whimpering for at least a minute. What were you dreaming about?"

"Er." Ginny shook her head. "I don't remember."

She wasn't sure why she wasn't telling Hermione about her dream.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. You go back to bed."

* * *

He was at the lake at Hogwarts. There were hundreds of them; they were everywhere, coming at them from every side. Harry was standing, trying to fend them off. The girl, Hermione, had fallen at his side.

He wanted to get up and fight, to help Harry, but he was too terrified to move, and too exhausted. Even to keep his eyes open was taking great effort. He watched as Harry fell to his knees, his feeble, shapeless Patronus the only thing between them and the evil beasts that surrounded them.

The last thing he saw before he fainted was the Dementor lowering its hood, the Patronus fading, and his godson about to be kissed.

* * *

Sirius sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. He buried his face in his hands, breathing heavily. He stayed like that for a few minutes, then stoop up, meaning to go and get a drink of water. He had made it to the door when there was a quiet knock.

Sirius jumped slightly - nobody ever came to him after he had gone to his room. He opened the door, and found Ginny standing on the other side, pyjama-clad, with dark circles under her eyes.

"Hi Ginny, What's the matter?" Sirius said.

"I heard you talking in your sleep and I just wanted to see if you're alright."

"Oh. Well, I'm fine thanks. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I -" Sirius shrugged. He moved back to his bed and sat down. Ginny hovered nervously in the doorway.

"What's wrong, Sirius?"

"I keep having these nightmares. They're like - like flashbacks, or something, of when I was back in Azkaban, except they all end with someone getting Kissed by a Dementor."

"Oh, Sirius! That's awful!" Ginny said, stepping into the room and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Although, it's strange, because I've been having nightmares too."

"Oh?"

"About when the Chamber of Secrets was opened. You know, when I was in first year."

"What happens in the dreams?" Sirius asked, looking intently at Ginny.

"Tom - I mean You-Know-Who - he tortures me."

"How long have these dreams been going on?"

"Since the start of the summer."

"I see." Sirius fell silent.

"I think we should tell Dumbledore," he said after a few minutes.

"When's he coming?" Ginny asked.

"Tomorrow. He's called a meeting for the Order. I'll mention it to him then."

Ginny nodded. "Thank you, Sirius."

"No problem."

"Night then," she said, standing up.

"Night."

* * *

The next day Ginny saw very little of Sirius, as the Order meeting took up most of the afternoon. She didn't want the others to know about her conversation with Sirius, or about her dreams, so she waited until Hermione had fallen asleep that night before going up to Sirius' bedroom again.

"Hello, Ginny. Come in," Sirius said.

"What did Dumbledore say?"

"He thought the dreams were just our subconscious's reacting to Voldemort's return to power."

Ginny winced at the mention of Voldemort's name. "But why flashbacks? Why not new dreams?"

"Dumbledore says that as certain things in our pasts involve Voldemort or his influence, these dreams are perfectly understandable, as Voldemort has been on all our minds lately."

"Did Dumbledore mention anything that might stop the dreams?"

Sirius held up a small bottle of purple liquid.

"What's that?" Ginny asked.

"Potion for a dreamless sleep," Sirius replied, handing her the bottle. "He says it's only for a few weeks, and the dreams should have stopped by then."

"Okay," Ginny said.

"You're to take a teaspoonful of it before you go to sleep and it should last all night."

"Thanks Sirius."

"No problem."

"Goodnight then," she said, standing up.

"Night."

* * *

Over the next tow weeks, Ginny did as Sirius instructed, telling Hermione the potion was a cough tonic. She was delighted to find that, after a fortnight of using the potion, the first night she went to sleep without it she dreamt of her mother's cooking.

Ginny wondered if Sirius was having the same success, and, once again, went up to his room after Hermione fell asleep.

"Hi Ginny. Is there something wrong?"

"No no, nothing's wrong. I was just wondering if your dreams have gone."

"Oh, yes. They haven't made an appearance in a while," Sirius said.

"That's good. Let's hope they stay away," Ginny replied.

"Yes indeed. What about your dreams? Have they gone?"

"Yep. Last night I dreamt about Mum's chocolate pudding."

"Wish I'd dreamt about that," Sirius said mournfully. "My dream involved my mother beating me around the head with Kreacher."

Ginny laughed, but quickly fell silent as she heard Ron snort in the room below.

"I'd better not wake him, or he'll kill me in the morning," she whispered, and Sirius grinned.

"I'd better go," she said, glancing at her watch. "It's getting late."

"Okay," Sirius replied. "Sweet dreams."

Ginny smiled. "Thank you, Sirius."

"For what?"

"For being so nice to me."

Sirius' smile widened. "Not at all."

Ginny leant down and kissed Sirius' unshaven cheek.

"Goodnight," she said, walking towards the door.

"Night."

That night Sirius dreamt of a small girl with red hair beating his mother over the head with a house-elf.