The Light in Me: The Emergence

Chapter 9: Bad Dreams

     Rubble. Rubble littered everywhere, grains of stone and dust filing the air. Fire slowly spreading and climbing every surface, advancing like kudzu. "Run and don't you dare look back," shouted a deep male voice. Feild of vision was then cut short and everything went black, but other senses, while a little disorientated, remained acute. Bouncing and jerking were the only movements felt. The smell of smoke mixing with rosemary, a very peculiar entanglement, took over each inhale. Whilst the sound of rolling fire and yelling was loud, the resonating sound of a quick heartbeat nearly drown everything else out. "Shh, my dear, we are almost there," whispered a woman's voice softly. The heat slowly went away and was replaced by a cool night, like a soothing river after a hot summer day. The heartbeat grew quicker and drummed out an unusual melody, with the accompaniment of heavy breathing. A chilling growl was heard from close by and a painful movement followed. Now the vision is free from obstruction, but the surroundings had a hazy edge about them. "Please, leave her alone," screamed a woman. A sharp pain suddenly struck and now there was an more limited view, the haziness taking over more. Glowing blue eyes and the painful screams of the woman were the last things heard before everything went dark.

Anastasia jolted awake, her breathing labored and body drenched in a layer of sweat. She sat up and put her head between her knees, trying to catch her breath. With a slight swing of her legs, Anna stood up and made her way toward the door. She exited the room, shut it behind her, and made her way downstairs. She noted how silent the house was and aimed to keep it that way by avoiding the loud stair flats. Once on the bottom landing, she made a beeline for the kitchen to get a cool glass of water. As she was passing the clock, she read the time and frowned. It was four-thirty in the morning, and she had to be up in a few hours. Of course I had to wake up early on the day we go to Diagon Alley, she sighed as she continued on. Now in the kitchen, Anastasia fixed herself a cool glass of water and sat at the table. "Can't sleep either," a voice questioned from the sitting room entryway. The bleary eyed girl glanced over and saw George in the same state that she was. Eyes half closed, hair a mess, and a resigned look upon his freckled face. "Bad dream. How about you," she croaked out. George sluggishly made his way to the table, sat on her right side and whispered," Yeah, something like that". They both sat in silence for a minute, Anna sipping her water and George staring off into space. "What was your dream about," he asked after a while. She placed down her now empty cup, let out a shaky breath, and recounted her dream. "That sounds like a bad dream. Don't worry, Little Fox, I'm here for you and always will be," reassured George. He placed a hand atop of hers and gave it a little pat, drawing a hiss of pain from her lips. He looked down and saw her slightly burnt right hand. "How'd this happen," he inquired as he gingerly lifted it up for inspection. "I was marveling at the fire and got too close." "What have I said about playing with fire? The heat may feel nice, but it is a wildcard, and you never know when you're going to get burned," sighed George after releasing her hand. He then stood up, offered her a hand, and smiled,"C'mon, let's get this burn sorted out". Anastasia took his hand with her left one and followed him into the kitchen, curious about what he had in mind. He let go of her hand and riffled through the upper cabinets. Finally, finding what he was looking for, he placed it on the counter and busied himself filling a bowl with cool water. On the counter, he had placed a few black tea bags and a jar of honey. "How are those supposed to help me" questioned Anna as she moved closer. Her question went unanswered, and she moved next to him to get a better look at what he was doing. With the bowl now filled halfway, he placed the tea bags in and left them to soak. "The ingredients in the tea will take the sting out of your burn and the honey will help sooth it," he revealed. A comfortable silence fell over them as they watched the water darken and the water fully absorb the tea leaves. Once the tea had fully seeped into the bowl, he took the bags out and gestured for her to place her hand in. A slight stinging sensation was felt first but was slowly replaced by a soothing and cool embrace. "So, what was your dream about,"questioned Anna softly. A slow sigh escaped the ginger and he leaned against the counter; his eyes looking off into the distance. "It was sometime in the future, and I was at Hogwarts, it felt so real. Freddy and I were sitting in the Great Hall, just talking and planning pranks. Then people started coming over and joining us, so we decided to put on a show. We were joking around and having them guess which brother we were. It was all fun and games, until they kept saying 'Fred' for every answer. I felt this pain and next thing I know; we went from twins in seperate bodies to twins in one body. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't speak and had no control over anything. After a while, it felt like I wasn't even myself anymore and was slowly merging with my brother. My actions were no longer my own and neither was my voice, it was all him,"whispered George at the end. Anna did not know what to say, so she did not say anything and let her actions speak instead. She enveloped him in a half hug and cuddled into him. His arms slowly enveloped her, and he rested his head against hers, seeming to find comfort in her gesture. She gave him a small squeeze, looked up at him and stated, "You're your own person, George, and you have no reason to worry about that happening. People may notice Fred a bit more at first, but that's just from him being the louder out of the both of you. You have a voice of your own and I know that you have no problem using it," giggled Anna. "Only you control what you become, no one else should have the power to change that or take that away from you," she finished, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He held her at arm's length and inquired with a small smile, "When did you become so wise". "Maybe the tea seeped in a little too much," she responded as she took her hand out of the bowl. George chuckled and, lightly, dried her hand off with a rag, the woven material irritating her skin slightly. He then grabbed the honey and started to carefully apply it to the burn. He was right. This is soothing and it doesn't hurt as much as before, Anastasia thought to herself as he slathered the last bit on the red surface. Next, he grabbed a long dish towel and wrapped her hand in it, securing it with a knot. "There you go. Keep this on until it is almost time to leave for Diagon Alley and wash it off with cool water, this gives the honey enough time to work its magic," her brother recomended as he started to put stuff away. Anna looked down at her hand and asked, "Where did you learn how to cure burns like this". "Charlie mentioned it a while back when he was ranting about his dragons. Freddy and I do this from time to time if something backfires in our test runs," shrugged George. He turned to her and ruffled her hair, enciting a digruntled humph from the girl. "We best be heading back to bed. Goodnight, Little Fox," he smiled before dissapearing up the stairs. Her blue orbs stared at the stairs for moment, a small smile on her lips as she glanced down to see his handy work. The sting from the burn was still there, but it was more bareable than before. Not quite ready to face her dreams again, Anastasia made her way to the sitting room and sat down on one of the sofas. Even though she did not welcome the feeling the sofa's offered earlier, she gladly embraced them now and let herself become practically cocooned in the cusions. Anna snuggled deeper into the sofa and even grabbed a wool throw blanket from where it perched behind her head. She inhaled the scent of fresh laundry with a hint of honeysuckle and let out a slow exhale. These are some of the times that she loved the most, when it is quiet and there is no one around. I never would've guessed that George would have a nightmare like that or feel that way. Fearing to be outshined, drown out and replaced by your bestfriend is terrible, pondered Anastasia. A frown found a way onto her face when she realized how valid his fears were and she felt a wave of sympathy towards her brother. Most people usually lump the two of them together and figure they are exactly alike. It is hard enough competing for individuality and attention in a big family, but it would be almost impossible competing with your twin. Thoughts kept running and spinning about in her head, powering her down slowly. Next thing she knew, it was back into the fog and there was nothing she could do to fight it.