Chloe Cullen 4 - A Harry Potter and Twilight Crossover

Chapter 12: New Life

I haven't had any dreams as of late, but I actually have one this time. I'm in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom back at school. On the chalkboard, Professor Moody has written the words "Unforgivable Curses," and I'm sitting beside Hermione. Professor Moody is discussing the Imperious curse. He's saying words, but for some reason, I can't hear them. I guess it's just one of those weird things that happens in dreams that you can't explain with anything logical. After a few seconds, he erases Imperious curse and, as soon as he writes "Cruciatus Curse" in its place, I get a sharp pain my head.

The pain is so bad and so sudden that I don't hold back the scream. The scream is loud and powerful. What kind of dream is this? I've never had one this vivid. What's weirder is this pain is so bad it seems to be influencing the real me and not just dream me. I clutch my forehead, trying for any method to relieve the pain, but nothing works. It feels like I accidentally touched a pot that has just come out of the oven at the hottest temperature, only I can't let go. The pain quickly spreads south to my neck and chest. I scream again, the pain intensifies because it's in more areas of my body. I try to get up, but I end up writhing in my seat. My heart - already beating faster than normal - speeds up again, and it majorly affects my breathing.

The pain spreads south yet again to the rest of my torso, and I scream again. Calling this 'pain' is no longer accurate. 'Fire' would be a more accurate term. As the fire spreads, it gets more intense, and even when it spreads to the tips of my toes, it gets even more intense. The scene changes, and now it's pitch black, but the pain is still intensifying. I scream again involuntarily. I'm trying to wake up, but I can't! Am I dead? I know meningitis can be deadly. Death can't be this painful. At this point, I'd even welcome death with open arms. The fire is getting hotter still and blazing throughout my body, and my heart is beating at a rate that is in no way healthy.

I'm not sure how long this goes on. What I do know is that the fire doesn't extinguish, and no amount of screaming will give the illusion of the pain dulling. I'd like for the fire to do something different. Is this really a dream after all? I don't know. As if on command, I can feel the pain start to lessen. It's just a little bit, but it's doing something. Then, voices start to break through into my subconscious. "It's almost over Rose," I can hear grandpa say. "It's only been a day," I hear mom say. She starts to say something more when more of the fire starts to move. It's heading toward my chest. I wish it would go faster! At least I can move my fingers now.

It feels like forever by the time the fire in my arms has moved. The fire in the rest of my body slowly follows suit.Once all the fire is in my heart, the pain intensifies even more. Is that even possible! My heart rate speeds up as well, trying to combat the fire. I can tell it's a futile effort. I try to wake up again, but it doesn't work. All the fire is in my heart, and my heart is beating faster than helicopter blades. I feel as though something sharp has been plunged in my chest, and I scream even louder. The fire gets hotter and my heart beats faster still, and it actually forces me to arch upward and then lay back on my bed. The fire gets smaller but more concentrated. My heart races still in a futile attempt to extinguish the fire. The fire, having done its job, gets smaller and smaller and my heart beats faster and faster until both cease to exist. Finally, I'm able to wake up.

I wake up with a shaky breath, but if feels different this time. Unnecessary. And it isn't like any other breath I have taken before. I can taste things. I look around to see what it might be and I notice that everything around me is extraordinarily clear. I stare into the lights above my bed and even though the lights are blinding, it doesn't hurt my eyes. I can see, clear as day, the different parts inside of the light bulbs. I feel different. Better. Stronger. I haven't felt this way ever, even before I got sick. I can hear more. I hear... rap music? Rap music isn't my favorite type of music, so it takes me a minute to recognize the voice. Rap God by Eminem. The sound is accompanied by something else. An engine. It fades away into the distance. Then, I hear a very clear voice next to me.