The Fifth Marauder

Nightmares

Henry had walked beside Ariel their entire way up to the castle, and didn't even say anything when Ariel had pulled her hand from his. They ate dinner across from one another for the second time that week, Ariel carefully dancing around the topic of their encounter with the Marauders.

Even after dinner Henry walked Ariel to the steps of the girl's dormitories and watched to make sure she made it safely inside her respective dorm. The entire time Henry seemed completely normal, like he hadn't thought anything of their encounter in Honeyduke's, just his usual charming self. He did seem disappointed when Ariel left without giving him a kiss.

The truth was Ariel didn't know how she felt about Henry. She thought he was attractive that was for sure (I mean who didn't), with his prince-charming like looks and the personality to match an easy-going Quidditch Captain. She even figured that she had a crush on him herself but seeing Remus seemed to fish out old feelings she thought she had washed away.

And it was because of these feelings that Ariel felt perhaps it was best not to go to Hogsmeade with Henry again. 

But Remus doesn't fancy you! She shouted at herself. And it seems rather obvious that Henry does! So why don't you just go out with the cute Quidditch Captain and forget all about Moony?

But Ariel couldn't and she didn't know why. She really did like Henry, perhaps she just liked Remus more?

Soon Ariel was drifting off into an uneasy sleep, thoughts of boys, school, quidditch, and many other stressful manners danced in her head...

Ariel was racing as face as she could, her vision failing her due to the constant, unescaping darkness around her, and yet, she somehow knew she was inside the Hogwarts castle.  

Howls followed her hauntingly down the corridors of her school and she was able to hear the scratching of claws on tile floors far behind her. Fear seized her body as she attempted to turn into a cheetah and run faster but it seemed impossible, her greatest weapon had been taken from her.

And what she assumed to be a dog of some kind behind her, did not slow down.

It chased her. She didn't know why it was chasing her, she hadn't disturbed it. There was a burning pain in her cheek and Ariel touched it only to pull her hand away, bloody. It seemed three deep lashes had been left in her skin.

Somehow she had angered the dog chasing her.

Corridor after corridor she ran, not stoping for anything. She tried to tell the other students that they needed to run, but her voice seemed to be broken. Whimpers and screams of the other children echoed down the corridor. 

She needed to find somewhere to hide. But every door she dared to try was locked. She needed a distraction. But how? 

Suddenly, the very floor beneath her feet turned to fire. Thick orange flames stretched from the marble and ate at her legs. Ariel couldn't even muster a scream, only simple around in fear, tripping and falling forward.

But she didn't hit the fiery floor in front of her, instead she continued to fall, what seemed to be a dark pool awaited her at the bottom of the cavern she was falling in. She thought perhaps this was her escape from the dog chasing her but that was hardly the case.

Ariel hit the water, mouth and nose filling with liquid, just as she caught a glimpse of the animal. It was not, in fact a dog, but a large grey wolf. One that looked incredibly familiar.

She tried to swim towards what looked to be a small shore but she couldn't; something, or somethings, were dragging her deeper into the water. Millions of arms seemed to be holding her under, drowning her. She had completely forgotten about the wolf it seemed, all of her attention was now focus on escaping the grasps of these creatures.

There was a bright flash of light and the crisp snap of someone apparating. Ariel felt another arm grab her, this one unlike the others that were pulling her down, an incredibly tiny hand attached to a thin and frail arm.

There was another snap and Ariel felt herself being pulled down a tight tube, as though she was disapparating.

And when she appeared she found herself crouching on Dumbledore's office floor. Everything looked just as she remembered, having gone to the Headmaster's office multiple times during her fourth year due to constant troublemaking.

She was coughing and dripping wet, water was currently lodged up her nose. Dumbledore himself was staring down at her, silver eyes kind and comforting. Ariel was beyond confused at this point, so many things happened in so little time.

The door to Dumbledore's office swung open harshly, and there, framed by the doorway stood the wolf Ariel had seen chasing her. It's eyes narrowed dangerously and Ariel could see every knife-like tooth in its mouth when it snarled at her.

Ariel gasped but it did nothing, within second the wolf was leaping through the air directly towards her, teeth blurred and eyes flaring.

Ariel let out a horrified scream, dead fear gripping her entire body until she could do nothing but accept her fate. She looked deep into the wolves' eyes, engraving the last thing she ever saw into her head.

It's eyes, they flashed dangerously from chocolate brown to emerald green, familiar and comforting.

Those eyes belonged to Remus and Henry.

Ariel jerked awake, shooting up in her bed, drenched in cold sweat. The scream heard in her dream was still lodged in her throat. 

On shaking legs she walked over to the window, desperate from some comforting cold night air, and contemplating her dream.

She had no idea what triggered such a terrifying dream, however that would soon change after she threw open the window.

Letting the freezing air pour into the cozy dorm, Ariel leaned her arms on the window's ledge and looked down the length of Gryffindor tower and out at the landscape in front of it. She let the cold calm her racing heart until her pulse was steady. As she always did, she looked over at the black lake to admire it's beauty.

Its entire surface reflected the starless sky above, painting the water to look like ink, a single, bright, full moon reflected from the surface like a mirror.