Potter's Girl / Butterfly Effect.

79. Unrequited Love

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE;

UNREQUITED LOVE

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

As Cassie descended into sleep, she wished mercilessly that the Dreamless Sleep potion she had dosed herself with would take effect and guard her subconscious from the hauntings of the past that had plagued her too frequently for her liking.

   She drifted off nearly an hour after the other three girls in her dormitory had, only for her to realize that the Dreamless Sleep concoction was a fraud. Well, probably it was the fact that it was she who had made it – maybe, if she had gotten Slughorn to draft the potion for her, it would have taken more effect than it did on this particular night.

   Cassie found herself back in the room she always began in, when dreaming – the Department of Mysteries, only she was not alone. Atticus and Cedric were hugging in the corner, behind the arch; Adelaide and Sirius were clinging to each other with the hope only true love provided...

   Then, Cassie turned to see the now-familiar sight of a very clearly aged-up Harry embracing an equally as aged-up Cassie. Both were not but a few years older than current-day Cassie – maybe two or three, at most – but Cassie watched as Harry practically wrapped himself around older-Cassie, seemingly unable to get enough of her.

She never knew whether or not this dream truly told the future. How could it? Three of its starring members were dead.

   Cassie squeezed her eyes shut and returned her attention to her parents, who had both sunken to the floor yet were still holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it. Cassie tilted her head to the side and watched as her father lifted a hand to wipe a tear from Adelaide's cheek.

He whispered something to her, but Cassie was either too far to hear what was said, or her dream did not want her to find out.

Cassie trailed her eyes over to Atticus and Cedric, both boys red-eyed. They gazed at each other as if seeing the other for the first time. Then, Atticus said something to Cedric, and it must have been very Atticus-like, because both boys broke into laughter. The sight almost brought a smile to Cassie's face. Almost.

   Because a moment later, there was a flash of light, and Adelaide was cradling Sirius's dead body whilst Atticus was staring blankly into Cedric's lifeless eyes. The older versions of Cassie and Harry dissipated and left Cassie alone, gazing mistily at the four figures before her. Tears pooled in her eyes.

   It was only a dream, she reminded herself. It felt foolish of her to be so worked up over something her own mind created, yet at the same time, she felt too frozen in place to force herself to wake.

She waited anxiously for the next phase of her dream to begin. The first and second scenes had just finished, so where was the third? It was always the same... Yet this time, after Sirius and Cedric died, it did not change, like usual.

Instead, Atticus looked directly to Cassie. Shock first took place on his face, then relief, then urgency. "Cassie!" he shouted, his voice echoey in the large and empty atrium. His eyes shown with grief and misery. "Cassie, please – please, I'm– I'm sorry, about everything! Please, I can't–"

   She was sucked from her dream and awoke with a start, letting out a yelp of surprise when she opened her eyes to see Hermione's face merely inches from her own.

   "Cassie?" said Hermione frantically. "Cassie! What's wrong?"

   Cassie became suddenly aware of her pajamas sticking to her chest and bedsheets damp with sweat. She lifted a hand to her heart and felt her own pulse racing beneath her touch. Her eyes looked to Hermione for help.