𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄 | draco malfoy [5]

𝐗𝐈𝐗. THE DEADLY DREAM

CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE DEADLY DREAM

§ § §

I was back in the dark hallway again. The same one I've been seeing in my dreams and in my visions. Only this time, it was different. I wasn't myself, and Voldemort wasn't there.

I was lower to the ground, and moving smoothly and quickly. I looked at the black tiled wall and my reflection shown back at me. I was a snake. A familiar snake, at that.

Voldemort may be after something, Sirius' voice rang in my head. Something he didn't have last time.

I arrived at the door at the end of the hallway, which opened to the other room from my vision. The one with the glass foggy orbs. 

There was a wizard further ahead in the room, the only light coming from his wand. I heard my name being whispered as the man slowly turned to face me.

It was Arthur Weasley.

I wanted to yell, but I couldn't. Instead, the snake that I was in lunged at Mr. Weasley and attacked him repeatedly until he was bleeding all over.

My eyes shot open and I sat up. My shirt was covered in sweat and my heart was beating a million miles an hour. I had been sleeping in the common room with Draco, who was on the other couch.

"Draco," I pushed him with shaking hands, my voice wavering. He sat up, confused, and rubbing his eyes.

He saw the fear in my eyes and stood quickly. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"We- we have to get to Dumbledore," I said, my voice shaking. He nodded and woke up Eli, who had also been sleeping on one of the couches with us.

Eli didn't even ask, he just held on tightly to one of my arms, Draco on the other, as we made our way to Dumbledore's office, Eli producing light with his wand.

When we got there, we say Ron and Professor McGonagall helping Harry, who was in the exact same state as me. Sweating and scared.

"Did you- did you dream it too?" Harry stuttered, and I nodded, unable to speak.

"That confirms it, then," Ron whispered. "It's not just some bad dream Harry had. Not if you both had it." He was frightened. So was I.

We waited in Professor Dumbledore's office as Fred, George, and Ginny were all called down. Draco, Eli, and Professor McGonagall stood to one side of the room, the Weasleys at the other. Harry and I were in the middle.

I shared a look with Harry, both of us thinking the same thing.

The whole time we'd been in here, Dumbledore had his back to us. He wouldn't even look at us.

"In the dream, were either of you standing next to the victim?" The headmaster asked with his back to us. "Or looking down at the scene?"

"Neither," Harry and I say at the same time. I guess he had been the snake, too.

"It was like I was..." Harry trailed off.

"Professor, would you please just tell us what's happening?" I asked impatiently.

Dumbledore cut me off, turning to one of the portraits hanging on the wall in his office. "Arthur's on guard duty tonight. Make sure he's found by the right people." The wizard in the portrait walked out of view.

"Sir-" Harry tried.

"Phineas!" Dumbledore turned to another portrait. "You must go to your portrait at Grimmauld Place. Tell them that Arthur Weasley is gravely injured and his children will be arriving there soon by portkey."

Harry and I were breathing heavily, getting angrier by the second.

"They got him, Albus," The other portrait had returned, "It was close, but they think he'll make it. Once more the Dark Lord failed to acquire it."

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was still looking anywhere but Harry and I.

Something went through me, and I tilted my head, as did Harry, before we looked back at him and yelled,

"Look at us!" Everything went quiet and Dumbledore finally looked at us. I had never been so angry before.

"What's happening to us?" Harry asked.

"Why are we having these dreams?" I asked, my chest rising and falling with the deep breaths I took.

Before Dumbledore could answer, someone else walked into the office. It was Snape.

"You wished to see me, headmaster?" Snape asked, breaking the tense silence.

"Severus," Dumbledore turned to him. "I'm afraid we can't wait, not even 'til the morning. Otherwise, we'll all be vulnerable."

And with that, Draco and Eli were ushered back to the Slytherin common room, the Weasley's to the Gryffindor to pack their belongings, and Snape seized Harry and I's arms, dragging us to his office in the dungeons.

He sat Harry and I in chairs as he searched through his supplies, looking for certain things. He explained what he could to us.

"It appears there is a connection between the Dark Lord and both of your minds," He began. "Whether he is yet aware of this connection is, for the moment, unclear. Pray he remains ignorant."

"You mean, if he knows about it, then..." Harry trailed off.

"He'll be able to read our minds?" I finished. It all made sense. The only reason Voldemort knew where I was in those visions was because he had been able to read my mind and see. "Because I think he's done that."

"He hasn't done it yet," Snape denied. "But he'll be able to read it, control it, unhinge it."

"But, sir, I've had these visions. Ones Harry hasn't had. Voldemort's spoken directly to me in them, it was like he was really there-" I tried.

"He has planted these into your mind in hope to persuade you." Snape looked pointedly at me. "Don't let him."

I opened my mouth, but closed it again.

"In the past," Snape continued, "it was often the Dark Lord's pleasure to invade the minds of his victims, creating visions designed to torture them into madness. Only after extracting the last exquisite ounce of agony, only when he had them literally begging for death would he finally kill them. Used properly, the power of Occlumency will help shield you from access or influence. In these lessons, I will attempt to penetrate your minds, you will attempt to resist. Prepare yourselves."

He took a step back and raised his wand at Harry and I and exclaimed, "Legilimens!"

I saw flashes of Harry's memories first. They were recent ones- flying from the Dursely's to Grimmauld Place before term started, seeing Sirius at the table, Hermione hugging him, the dementor attack, a dummy from D.A. practices, Dudley, Harry and I laughing, the door  to the room in the dreams, and a vision of Voldemort at the train station.

"Concentrate, Potters!" I heard Snape tell us before the memories switched to mine.

They were also fairly recent ones. They flashed between my silvery snake patronus, hugging Lupin, hugging Draco at the Ministry, getting thrown back by Nigel's stunning spell, the glowing orb on the shelf from my visions, Eli winking at me from the Professor's table, walking with Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the halls, and Voldemort with the rip in my Quidditch uniform.

We went at this for a few more hours into the early morning.

It didn't go very well.