the dreams we didn't need

prologue

Usually, Maisie revelled in chaos. She liked being surrounded by life, by people who didn't know what they were doing because merlin, neither did she, and it made her feel a little less alone, a little less unsure.

Not this time. Not when she had to avoid death every moment she moved, and every moment she didn't. She had never felt more alone, more unsure, more terrified.

But her terror was nothing compared to her determination to find her brother. Somewhere in the midst of the battle against You-Know-Who, Ashton was lost, and she had resolved to find him - or die trying.

Being a few years older than her, he'd always been the one to look after her, and now it was her turn. She would find him, bring him to safety, and they would get out of the battlezone before any harm could come to the Carter family.

She ducked to dodge a green spell headed her way and kept running, her heart beating faster than she'd ever thought possible. She leapt over rubble and bodies, forcing her mind not to wonder who they were and if she'd known them.

When she'd first joined Hogwarts only a year ago, she'd been terrified of it all, terrified she wouldn't make friends, wouldn't fit in, wouldn't be any good at magic. But Ash had made it all better. He'd helped her with her magic and offered to beat up anybody attempting to be mean to her. She couldn't have imagined life without him. Which was why she picked up her pace, running faster and faster towards the dungeons, where the Slytherin common rooms were. She knew that if he was hidden anywhere, it would be in his bed - Ash was always good at sleeping. He said if it was a sport, he'd win every prize, and Maisie had always been inclined to agree with him.

She passed the entrance to the Hufflepuff common rooms and skidded to a halt before she could think twice. It crossed her mind, after she'd stopped, that if they lost, she would never go to Hogwarts again. And Merlin knows what would happen to Buttercup.

She pushed aside the barrels and went inside, rushing to her dormitory and picking up the cat sleeping on her bed.

"Sorry, darling." She whispered to the tabby cat as she hissed at her, and then she took off, leaving behind her empty common room and all that it had been for her when she'd arrived.

Just as she reached the door of the Slytherin common rooms, she felt something hit her in the back, and she toppled over with the impact. Buttercup leapt out of her arms before she could hit the floor, and Maisie panicked. If she lay on the floor and couldn't get up, how could she find Ash? What if he was dead, what if he was about to die and there was nothing she could do to save him? What if...

***

Maisie blinked. Her eyes opened slowly, tentatively, and before they could adjust to her surroundings, she remembered her brother. She shot up in panic, ready to race off to the Slytherin common room to find Ash, but her brows furrowed together as she realised that she was not on the cold floor of the Hogwarts dungeons, but instead in her own bed at home, tucked under her patchwork quilt.

She must've been unconscious for so long that someone had come around after the battle and taken her to safety. It was a miracle she'd even survived at all, given everything going on, but she was immensely grateful. Hopefully Ash was okay, too.

As she went downstairs, she noted the absence of the creak in the staircase and smiled. Dad had always said he'd get around to fixing the loose floorboard and never had. Perhaps today had been that day. She expected to find her parents in the kitchen, where they usually were, cooking up something undoubtedly delicious while she sat with Buttercup in the warmth of the fireplace.

But it was silent. She called for her parents, Ash, even Buttercup, but nothing. She thought maybe they were still asleep, so she traipsed back upstairs and got back into bed, thinking to get some more rest before everyone else woke up.

The next thing she knew, a knocking came from the door. Mum had always told her not to answer the door unless they were expecting someone, but she thought she ought to, considering nobody else was awake. She went back downstairs, again, and opened the front door.

A man stood in the street, silhouetted by the sun hanging high in the sky. He smiled at her, and opened his mouth to speak, but Maisie slammed the door, her heart pounding. She shouldn't have opened it in the first place - what on earth was she supposed to say to a stranger? What if he was mean to her? What if he was going to take her... somewhere?

"Hello," The man said, and Maisie could almost hear the smile in his voice.

"Who are you?" She asked, her back against the door.

"A friend. Will you let me in? I promise I won't hurt you." He said, and there was something in the kindness of his words, the gentleness she could tell was not often used, that convinced her to open the door and let him in.

***

The Last Battle of Hogwarts. That's what they would call it, when it was all over. When Voldemort had been defeated, and his followers imprisoned or dead. When there was nobody left to tread the path of evil laid out by the Dark Lord.

Well, that's what they would say. But the path of evil is not something that can be laid or created, only walked and used. Voldemort was not the first person to embrace evil, and he would certainly not be the last.

And it would not be the last battle of Hogwarts. Another inevitable evil would emerge, and there would be another inevitable battle. Such things were human nature, and they were, well, inevitable.

But one thing was for certain - that no matter when the next battle of Hogwarts would be, whether it be days, months, years afterwards, Maisie Carter would not be there. She would not fight, she would not even watch.

After all, it is notoriously difficult to be present when one is dead.