Being Different

FOUR - Potions

“(…)clearly Mrs Parker can only tell us what we already know”

- Severus Snape

As soon as the dream started, I wished that I had never closed my eyes to go to sleep. I was sitting on the lid of a closed toilet, the thin walls of the stall seeming to close in on me. Crabbe and Goyle had locked me in here just before the first Quidditch match of the season and I hadn’t managed to get out since. I was so frightened of being almost all alone in this part of the school that I panicked and forgot all useful spells I knew, to break the charm they had placed on the door. By the time I managed to calm down and break free it was already dark, probably past curfew as well. I just quickly wanted to wash the tears of my red and puffy face, but just as I splashed a hand full of icy water into it, the terrible whispering voice returned.

                  “Let me kill you…let me eat you… let me rip you... let me kill you!” it whispered, just like that time when Mr Norris got petrified.

I could feel the goose bumps rise on my skin even as I was asleep and desperately tried to shake myself out of the dream.

The voice came closer and just behind me the sound of a large rope being dragged over the clean white tiles grew louder and louder.

                  “Kill…kill!” it whispered close to my right ear and a shiver ran down my spine like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cubes into the back of my uniform.

Don’t look up! Don’t look up! I mentally tried to take control of my body, but as always I failed. My twelve year-old me slowly looked up from the white sink, heart threatening to jump out of my mouth at any second. Although I have had this dream over and over and over again during the holidays I still got a little heart attack every time the nightmare went to an end. I stared into the mirror in front of me and the last thing I spotted was a giant, dragon-like creature and it’s big yellow eyes.

 Luckily I don’t scream when I wake up from my nightmares, otherwise I’m sure my roommates would hate me even more. I sat up in bed rubbing my eyes with a silent sigh. Luckily Dumbledore cancelled all the exams last year allowing me to proceed to becoming a third year and this time I really wanted to try hard and get good marks. 

So in the end there might be one good side to the nightmares, they always seem to wake me up early. I dressed myself quickly and exited the Slytherin dungeon, before some random first year can insult me again. Before going to breakfast in the great hall I took a detour to house points hourglasses. I know it is only the second morning of school, but that’s why I think it is so interesting to see which house managed to gather the most points in one day. Ravenclaw was leading with thirty points and Slytherin only five points behind. Hufflepuff had ten points and with a slightly amused grin I saw that Gryffindor had minus fife. Well I guess Snape has been letting out his fury on the Gryffindor students again.

In the great hall I met Hermione, already sitting at the Gryffindor table, a bunch of books in front of her. By now I didn’t even question it anymore, only Hermione can make it look as if exams where around the corner when it was really only the second day.

                  “Morning” I greeted, sitting down opposite from her.

                  “You’re up early” she stated not looking up from the notes she was making on a piece of parchment.

I nodded while taking a bite of a crunchy breakfast toast. I had missed the calming smell of breakfast in the great hall and for some reason, I was feeling pretty optimistic about today, despite the horrible wake-up.