Swallowing Stormclouds

Chapter 5

When I regain consciousness I am no longer staring at the bleak grey clouds, slipping between my fingertips as I hurtle towards the ground, instead I am sitting in a warm infirmary bed. Dry and in one piece. I open one eye slightly and see around me an array of Gyrffindors, Harry stands to my right, staring at down at me as if I was broken beyond repair. to my left stands Fred, his cloths still damp from the rain, a look of worry plastered across his pale face. I open my eyes properly then, guilty for the worry I had caused

"Aria, for God's sake, I I... I was so worried." Harry stutters out, I smile weakly and intake a sharp breathe as he thows his arms around me, I wasn't in pain, just shocked. He gives me one long squeeze before he releases me. I didn't realise we were that close for him to worry like that. Fred takes a step forward as if to hug me too but hesitates and instead takes a step back.

"Fred carried you back, screaming like a right banshee." Ron interjects, elbowing his elder brother. Turning red in the face Fred sends an evil look towards his younger sibling.

"You just fainted out of nowhere, I was so shocked I didn't know what to do, I caught you before you hit the ground... but bloody hell I was scared." Fred visibly shudders, clearly haunted by the memory of catching me limply in his arms.

"Why didn't George help you?" Ginny interjects, a clear look of annoyance plastered on her face aimed towards her useless older brother.

"I had to catch that other one." George spits. I look at him confused, tilting my head to the side.

He motions his head backwards, peering over the sea of gingers I see him. My heart drops to my stomach as his name echoes in my mind. Draco. Why does that sound so familiar? I ask myself over and over again. I know it, I know I do. He stirs in his slumber, but his eyes remain shut.

Potter follows me gaze, he turns back to me and frowns. "Did he say or do anything to you?" a very apparent note of anger in his tone. I shake my head and my now dry waves of ocean black hair pools around me.

Without so much as a warning Snape billows in, his robes fluttering in the wind he creates, followed by McGonagall and Dumbledore. We all exchange sullen looks before Snape stands at Draco's bed.

"Up, now." The poor blonde stirs once more and his eyelids flutter open, it takes a moment for him to register where he is as he takes in his surroundings. He sits up in his bed. The crinkly sound of the bedsheets echoing throughout the room. Once sitting he looks directly at me and we both visibly cringe as another surge of pain washes over us. The professors all exchange dark looks before turning back to us.

"Out." Snape says sternly. Everyone starts to protest.

"Out!" he says a few hundred decibels louder. Too intimidated to argue the group all begin to shuffle out one by one.

"Even me?" Harry inquires, directing his question at Dumbledore.

"Especially you." Snape interferes. Dumbledore mouths a go with a reassuring smile. Harry sends a dark look Snape's way and trudges towards the exit.

"Come" Dumbledore beckons Draco to come towards the trio of adults as they make their way towards my bed. Sluggishly, Draco complies, I sit up and sit crossed legged in the bed, The crinkly sheets rough against my skin. Draco also perches himself on the bed. The closeness of him intensifies the feeling of aching in my heart and it takes all my effort not to push him away.

"You two were put under a very ancient curse." Dumbledore puts out matter of factly. Me and Draco visibly swallow and look to each other, no words forming. "You two knew each other... know each other, a very long time ago in fact." He speaks slowly, understanding that this is a lot to take in. "You two grew up around each other, I know you don't remember it and even if you tried you won't be able to. The curse you were put under means your memories are still intact, but there are gaps, a feeling of missing something if you will. Have you two noticed that when you think about your early childhood there always seems to be gaps? Glaringly obvious gaps that do not make sense?" we both nod, still not able to find our voices.

"Yes, well, that is due to what I can only assume you closely knit upbringing, the more time you spent together the more gaps you'll find in your memory." It was all starting to make sense, all my life when I reflected on my childhood there would be these foggy patches, thing's I couldn't quite remember, I could never articulate it before, I asked my mother and all she ever said was that I was a forgetful child. "the memory curse can distort memories but not replace them, a lot of your early childhood will seem muddled. The reason why this curse is not used anymore is because of the side effects, it leaves the two feeling immense bouts of pain and loss should they come back into contact with each other which is the case here." Dumbledore looks us both over and suddenly my mouth feels very dry. Whoever put this curse on us knew that we would figure it out when we couldn't even look at each other without feeling pain.

"I can only assume the reason as to why you two were subject to this particular curse is because whoever cast the spell anticipated the reunion of the two of you." As if reading my mind McGonagall hands me a glass of water and I gulp greedily. "As you two go to school together, it'll be an extreme in convince if every time you see each other you were to feel the loss of a loved ones death within you, for that reason we are going to counter the curse, but be warned, when we do the sudden rush of full memories will... it will be a lot. Are you prepared?"

I turn to look into Draco's eyes, for once he doesn't look angry, he looks scared, but we both nod to each other, turning to Dumbledore we nod to him too, ready to regain our memories.