MEMENTO MORI | DRACO MALFOY

THIRTEEN

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ophelia's eyes refused to adjust to the absolute darkness that enveloped her. Every which way she turned: darkness. She blindly walked, unknowing where she was or where she was headed, she just hoped she wouldn't walk off a ledge or into the pit of some kind of monster. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and she could see, but just barely. She walked through the tall blades of grass, reaching almost high enough to tickle the palms of her hands. In that moment, she didn't recognize the place, but still, something about it felt familiar. She passed several large stones. She didn't gaze at them until she reached the edge of the path, where a large headstone blocked her way.

Evan Rosier
Born 1960 — Died 1981
Loving Husband and Father

     She blinked several times as the words on the headstone began to blur and the letters began to jumble into one big mess. She rubbed her eyes fiercely, hoping to clear whatever was stopping her from seeing properly, and immediately, the words were as clear as before... Only different.

Ophelia Rosier
Born 1979 — Died 1998
Loving Daughter and Loyal Friend

     Ophelia rushed forward, brushing the dirt from the headstone while trying to shake herself from this nightmare. Her head was pounding as she looked around, finally able to see the rest of her surroundings. A small graveyard with a few dozen headstones surrounding one large statue of a grim reaper holding a large scythe. The pounding in her head became increasingly painful as her vision began to blur, and shadows began to creep in from her peripherals, returning her to complete darkness once again.

* * *

     Ophelia's eyes opened quickly, and she looked at her surroundings in panic. She could feel herself drenched in sweat as her hair stuck to her forehead. When she realized she was safe within the confines of her four-poster, her breathing relaxed, and she could see that Daphne was standing over her with a concerned glance.

     "Are you alright, O?" Her voice shook as she spoke.

     Wiping the hair from her forehead, Ophelia sat up. "Yeah, just another weird dream." She muttered, pulling her baggy shirt away from being stuck to her skin.

     "Are you sure? Your breathing was so fast, I wasn't sure what was happening. I thought maybe you were having a fit or something."

     "It was just a bad dream, Daph, don't worry, I'm fine." She forced a smile before rushing into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. Ophelia quickly turned on the tap and got into the shower, letting the hot water pour onto her pounding head. It had eased significantly from her dream, but there was still that nagging ache.

     Closing her eyes, Ophelia let the water pound heavily onto her face. It had been a week of these nightmares already, the first one occurring the night of the Yule Ball. This was the first time she'd seen her name on a headstone, however. A sense of fear rippled through her then. 1998 was only three years from now. She would be graduating from Hogwarts then. If her dream were to come true, which was unlikely, she wondered what the significance of that year could possibly be. Dwelling on her dreams was beginning to make her insane. And now, especially since the headstone she'd been trying to reach for a week in her dreams ended up being her own — or her father's. It didn't make sense.

     Classes were to be starting back up in two days, and with the lack of sleep and the uncertainty of when these dreams would cease and allow her to get a good nights sleep again worried her enough that she'd considered going to Moody for help. He'd already had somewhat of an idea as to what was going on in her mind, and there was only so much she could do to bury those dreams.