The Dark Promise// Theodore Nott

CH 47

Olivia had a very odd dream that night. She dreamt of Ms. Glass, the owner of Shay and Shay. It had been a very long time since she had even thought about the mystic women who owned the odd little bookshop in Diagon alley. In her dream, she was laying on a table with candles all around her. Ms. Glass was looking down at her in disgust, a small spoon in hand. "You smell like them. They are evil and wicked. All men do is cause you pain." Her hand lowered, the small spoon lingering over the edge of her watery eye. Only then did she realize she couldn't move. She tried with all her might to even move a muscle, but quickly gave up. Ms. Glass proceeded to dig out her left eye with the spoon, gently placing it on a silver platter, then did the same with her right. In her dream she didn't feel pain.

She felt oddly at peace. She was glad she was blinded. Then she felt an odd pressure being pushed into her eye sockets. What was once filled with her natural teary eyes, was now replaced by glass ones. Ms. Glass held up a heart shaped hand mirror, letting her gaze at the shiny new orbs. Her face was covered in blood, looking very similar to portrait of Ominis Sallow that was revealed to be the next Horcrux. "You can now see the truth. These eyes will set you free." The woman whispered in her ear right before she awoke, sweaty and hyperventilating.

What the hell was that about? Why did she feel so calm during that dream, only to wake up to a panic attack? She felt her face grow hot, looking around the tent. Mattheo was snoring on his cot, a copy of Heavy Metal magazine draped across his chest. She had tried to go back to sleep. The next day would be spent preparing for battle and by this time tomorrow, they would be back in the dark lord's castle, trying to vanquish him. It was futile. She would lay there for hours until the sun finally rose.

At around ten o'clock at night when the group made their departure. Their plan was to wait in an abandoned field about a mile away from the castle to wait for Malfoy's signal. The Weasley twins had perfected their distance goggles and had been testing them all afternoon. They looked more like binoculars with straps for your head. With them on, the wearer could see a great distance. They would wait to see if Malfoy would turn the light on. If it hit past midnight, they would assume the silver haired boy had failed and would proceed with caution. Olivia had prayed that wouldn't be the case. Not only for Draco, but if the dark lord knew Malfoy was trying to kill him, he would know they were coming. The element of surprise would be completely off the table.

She stood in the silent group, watching as everyone anxiously thought of what they were going to do once they had reached the castle. Everyone had their role to play. It was like they were pieces on a wizard's chess board and they all had to make their move in order to not get slaughtered. Olivia tried to think about how she was going to get to the painting. She looked at Theo, Hermione, and Neville, all doing the same thing as she did. Pacing and in deep thought. Her mind couldn't help but wonder back to the dream she had earlier. Was her subconscious trying to tell her something?

When it was time to leave, Bill had decided that everyone should apparate in throngs of ten. In case something had gone awry, someone could report back and stop the operation. The Hogwarts team was the third group to go, landing in a wide abandoned field. It felt so open out here, she wondered why Bill had chosen this spot. Sure there would be no one patrolling out this far, but if they had some sort of magical device to see far out like they did, they could easily be seen. "Relax." She heard off to her side. It was Mattheo, who seemed to not be as nervous as the rest of group. In fact, he looked downright jubilant. Was he this excited to kill his father? Or did he just enjoy the chaos of it all? "I came over here hours ago and put a jinx around the perimeter. If they even decided to look this way, they would only see a bare field." He placed his hands on his hips, feeling very proud of himself. Olivia took a deep breath, feeling a tad bit better about being out in the open like this. "You're a genius, you know." She told him with a small smile. "Oh, I know." He responded; a faint blush barely seen in the darkness appearing across his cheeks. They both looked over at Fred Weasley who had the distance goggles strapped to his head, standing at the highest point he could find.