freckles || {Sirius Black} #Wattys2018

Six | The Dark Horses

The nightmares went in the same order as the deaths.

First it was Rosemary's father, Quentin. Rosemary picked up a few finer details in the dreams than she had in the horror and instinctual reactions of the awake-world; the stubble on her father's chin, the ephemeral light in his eyes dying out, the crook of his smile going slack as he slowly followed the laws of gravity and fell to the ground, a glass shard protruding out of his chest.

Then it was Patricia, the adoring mother of the Peterson family. The final blast of power emitting from her wand, the green ball of light flying towards her, a face of shocked recognition, and the fear in her eyes as she slumped to the ground.

Next it was sweet, sweet Linnea, who had never done one thing wrong in her life. The fire in her eyes dying out, her final spell barely casting, the killing curse assailing her chest, the painfully loud thump of her body onto the cold, hard ground.

Finally, it was the young, innocent Olive, terrified and brave all at once. The burst of speed as she ran to Linnea, the stroking of her small, frail hand touching Linnea's soft locks for just a moment, the final heave of her body to the floor, the hyperventilating of Ivy as her younger sister left the world.

The ending to the nightmares was always the terrifying man, dressed in all-black, approaching Rosemary and shouting, "Crucio!"

In the same moment that the Hogwarts Express screeched to a halt, a girl woke from her horrific dreams, screaming out in fear.

Rosemary had been leaning on Lily in her rest, so when she suddenly jerked her head up from Lily's lap, a swore emitted from the green-eyed girl.

"Ro...?" Lily drifted off, her eyes scanning over Rosemary, catching the trembling of her hands and the tears in her eyes.

Rosemary suddenly shook her head and balled her hands into fists, closing her eyes to try to force the tears away.

Lily's mouth curls into a frown, before she places a hand over Rosemary's.

"Ro, I know everything seems to be crashing down around you right now." Rosemary lifts her head as Lily begins to speak, her voice measured and soothing. "You never deserved any of this. None of you ever deserved any of this. But no matter what, we're here. And during this awful time, we will make sure you won't go under the waves."

Rosemary resisted the urge to cry at her friend's words. All she wanted to do was be in her dorm and never emerge. Rosemary's entire being was focused on making it through dinner without breaking down.

"Thank...you." Rosemary was able to choke out, as Marlene and Alice leaned closer, sympathy in their eyes.

And the girls all stood, and Rosemary held her hands together, as if it was the only thing holding her together. Marlene exits the compartment first, her eyes shooting daggers at any spectator, frightening them away. The rest of the girls then exit, and surround themselves around Rosemary.

The group exits the train, and begin to make their way to the carriages.

At first, Rosemary thought she was imagining things. Perhaps black spots were dancing in her eyes from grief. Maybe she was hallucinating.

But, as she grew closer to the carts, a sudden realization struck her heart, and all of her breath was forced from her lungs.

There were horses drawing the carriages, but not real horses. No, these were terrifyingly undead-looking, ebony skeletons where flesh should have been. Wings sprouted from their backs, just as ghastly as the rest of the body.

"Do... Do you see that?" Rosemary muttered, stopping dead in her tracks in the dark night. Snow began to fall from the dim sky.

Alice looked in the direction her traumatized friend was, and, after a brief moment, shook her head. "See what, Ro?" She asked softly.

"D-drawing the carriages. Dark horses, except... they aren't exactly horses." Rosemary paused, taking them in. They seemed attracted to her, noticing the attention they received. One tossed its head and swished its tail of bones.

"I don't see anything." Lily whispered gingerly. "You're tired, and you've been through a lot recently..." The girl trailed off.

"Am I going crazy?" Rosemary muttered to herself, before Marlene placed a hand in her shoulder in support.

"You went through traumatic events," Marlene began, and the deaths rushed back to Rosemary. "It's normal for you to be going through this kind of thing."

Rosemary nodded, though she didn't believe it. Tears rushed to her eyes, for what seemed like the millionth time in the last few days.

"Go ahead." The girl told her friends. "I... I need a moment."

The other girls nodded and moved towards the nearest carriage, leaving Rosemary all alone.

Breathing heavily, she took a hesitant step towards the beasts, who were now all looking at her.  Her breath clouded in the chilly air.

When she was within an arm's length, she reached out a trembling arm, reaching towards the nearest creature. As soon as she made contact, the animal (if it could be called that) softened, sniffing at her. They shared the appearance of loneliness. Both the girl and the creature were with those of their own kind, but also seemed completely lost. The dark horse nudged her hand, and Rosemary could feel the smallest of sad grins curling along her lips.

And then, with speed, Rosemary darted away and into the carriage.

They arrived at Hogwarts, and attended the feast that evening. Everyone in Rosemary's house seemed to tell her how sorry they were, and most kids from the other houses did as well. A large amount of the Gryffindors were mourning Olive and Linnea, as they had known the two girls. She didn't care for the attention, and it just sickened her. Rosemary couldn't even stomach a piece of bread.

By the time she reached her dorm, she felt like she was going to vomit again, and she couldn't do much more than lay in her bed miserably.