Echoes of Emotion (Sebastian Sallow x OC)

Chapter 10 - Library Venture

Another nightmare.
Of course.

As the world swirled around me, I clenched my jaw.
Anger began to build inside me, too tired to deal with Isidora's games.
"Who are you going to show me this time?" I yelled at the sky, not knowing where to direct myself.
"Are we sticking to friends? Or maybe you want to delve down the path of family?" I continued, trying to prepare myself in whatever way for what was coming.
"I'm not going to help you!"

"Why not?" my head whipped round as I recognised the voice behind me, given how it was the last thing I'd expected to hear.
Sure enough, stood behind me, was Poppy.
She held a sad expression as she gazed up at me.

"What are you-" I started, but I was distracted as I noticed our surroundings.
I looked around to see that we were outside.
We were standing outside a tent, which looked a lot like a poacher's tent.
And there were animals not too far away.

"My parents are helping my Gran and I save these animals" Poppy explained, catching my confused expression.
I was going to question this, but she continued.
"They left their poacher camp. They want to do good, make amends by saving the animals instead of harming them"
She seemed happy, her eyes lighting up in delight as she gestured at the animals.
"And it's all thanks to you!" she cried.
This caught me off-guard.

"What do you mean?" I asked, which seemed to calm her down a bit.
"Well - you're the one who made this happen. Or rather, you could make this happen" she explained.
"How?" I hesitated, forgetting about the dream for a moment as I became distracted by her bubbly nature.
"Take the repository below Hogwarts. With that power, you can do whatever you want. You could do so much good, Em." Poppy smiled encouragingly.
I was about to protest, but there was a sudden call from inside the tent.
"Oh - that's Gran. I'll see you later!" she called as she ran towards the tent, leaving me to dwell on what she said.

I looked at the floor, completely dumbfounded.
This was different from the other dreams.
Was Isidora trying to guilt me by speaking to me as my friends now?
Seemed like a low blow.

"Still hesitating?"
I looked up to see Isidora standing near the tent, slowly making her way towards me.
Thankfully, the surprise had worn off, so now I could actually get some answers, rather than stand around looking shell shocked.
"There's no hesitation. I told you. I'm not helping you." I snapped, glaring at her.
She seemed amused at this, letting a small smile creep onto her face.
"Is that so? Why did you go to Percevil then?" she questioned.
"To understand why you're here. And now that I know, I'm going to put you back where you belong" I threatened.
"Yes I did hear about that. How he put his power into the House Relics. But I just see that as an opportunity" she seemed almost enthusiastic as she spoke.
"An opportunity for what exactly?" I asked through gritted teeth, annoyed by how oblivious she was being.
"With Percivil's power, we could do so much more. Think about all you could do for not only your friends, but the wizarding world! We have a gift, Emerald. It is selfish to keep it to ourselves." she tried to grab my hands, to try and persuade me, but I quickly pulled them away.

"You may have taken away the pain of your father, Isidora, but you still did something far worse. You took away his emotions. You speak of the good, but you fail to see the consequences of these short-sighted fantasies."
She didn't seem pleased with this as her face dropped and she stepped away.
"You sound just like him" she spat, looking away as she thought on what to do next.
Eventually, her slight smile from before tugged at her lips once again.
"No matter. You will come around eventually" she commented, clearly taunting me.
But I was willing to bite if it meant answers.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I questioned, to which she looked at me once again.
"As secrets come to light, and you discover the pain that accompanies power, you will know who is truly faithful, as well as deceitful." she spoke as though she were telling me a riddle, which it honestly felt like.
I was about to follow up, when the world began to swirl again, until I was surrounded by nothing but darkness.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As usual, after waking up from those dreams, I had no hope of falling back asleep.
Thankfully, it wasn't the dead of night this time, so I could easily get ready for the day and walk around the castle without it being too questionable.