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Aurora Areli
THE NIGHT BEFORE THE Quidditch World Cup was set to take place, I had a very rough night's sleep. For one thing, Ginny's small room got very warm with three people and a cat sleeping in it, especially with the ample amount of knitted blankets Mrs Weasley provided us. For another, I had some rather terrifying dreams that I just couldn't seem to forget.
They started off normally enough, with flashes of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Atticus and Cedric laughing outside or in the Great Hall, but then they would change to the four of them being chased by dragons, or floating underwater, illuminated by pale, weak light, or even being consumed by vines and then pulled into dark, dense leaves, no matter how hard I tried to save them. The dreams would always end in horrible laughter and a flash of green light, and then I would wake up crying.
This morning was no different.
I sat up quickly, covering my mouth with my hands to muffle my whimpers and heavy breathing. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, trying to rid myself of the haunting sound of whoever was laughing. After a few moments of deep breaths, I opened my eyes to see that it was still dark out. When I looked over at Ginny's alarm clock, it read three forty-seven am.
Wonderful.
Knowing that I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep (not that I wanted to, anyway), I decided to get up and take a shower before anyone else was awake. So, being very careful not to wake Hermione or Ginny, I grabbed a change of clothes and crept out of the room as quietly as I could, down the narrow hallway, and to the bathroom.
Upon seeing my reflection in the mirror above the sink, I cringed. I looked like a mess. My hair was stringy and tangled, my eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and my skin was red and splotchy from crying. To top it all off, I was still covered in a thin layer of sweat.
The warm water from the shower definitely helped calm me down, and after changing into a pair of jeans and one of Atticus' old jumpers that I stole, I exited the bathroom only to almost run into Mrs Weasley.
"I'm sorry!" I squeaked, startled.
Mrs Weasley only laughed. "Not to worry dear, happens all the time in a house full of rowdy boys and Ginny. Speaking of whom, I've just been to wake her and Hermione, I was wondering why you weren't in bed."
"Oh, I um — I just woke up earlier I guess," I said, "and I figured it would be a good idea to take a shower before everyone else was fighting for it."
"That was a good idea," Mrs Weasley said, before glancing down at her watch. "Oh, I really need to start on breakfast. Would you be a dear and wake the boys for me?"
"Sure," I nodded.
"Oh, thank you, Rory." Mrs Weasley smiled and patted my cheek before bustling back down towards the kitchen.
