Of Shadow And Sky

Sleep is Bad and Art Imitates Life

A/N: Bold italicized will be dreams and visions. Thanks so much guys for reading this. It's been a bit since I've written so this may not be my best. On with the show (disclaimer is in Ch1).

He was yelling but the words were unintelligible. As always she could never make out any features but his eyes, and they seemed to sear into her memory. The panic, the fear she saw in them were nothing compared to the agony and sorrow. She reached out to him through the haze and smoke, but her arm was that of a ten year old child, and he was soon left behind as the scene changed.

Now there were screams of pain. Fire crackled and smoke choked her. Dark figures writhed as the flames bit their skin, killing them slowly. Tears poured down her face as she struggled to get to them, but she was tied down. She was back in the monsters' lair forced to watch as those people roasted to death. A sudden pain in her shoulder rousing her from sleep.

She'd fallen out of bed. Maybe it was a good thing that she slept on the floor at the Hermes cabin. Thalia, Hermione, and Ginny were all around her, worried. Wonderful, she rubbed her shoulder where she hit the floor, now they're going to ask questions. And true to form, Hermione started asking rapid fire.

"Are you okay? Do you need something for the pain? Do you want to talk about it? I can get Mrs. Weasley."

"I just woke up, 'Mione," she grumbled. "One question at a time, and are you related to a Will Solace?"

"Um...no? I don't think so."

Thalia held back a snort. "Nightmare, Alex? Connor and Travis told me you've been having some bad ones lately."

Tattle-tales, Alex sighed to herself. "Just one. It's the same every night and it didn't start until after we put Kronos back where he belongs."

Thalia sat back on her heels, frowning. Ginny and Hermione looked confused, which didn't surprise her. She'd finished the sentence in Greek. When it was clear that neither she nor Thalia would supply anymore information, Ginny went to shower, and Hermione wandered to the kitchen for some coffee. Thalia turned to Alex.

"Spill."

"It's nothing, Thalia. Seriously."

"Nothing my left foot. You were screaming and crying. You also kicked me in the stomach before you fell out of bed. So tell me what you saw."

Alex blushed when Thalia said she'd kicked her. "It's always the same, Thalia. I see a boy whose only feature I can make out are his eyes. He yells for me and I reach out to him, but I'm being taken away. Then it changes to a scene with fire and people being roasted alive while I'm back in that dungeon-thing being forced to watch."

Thalia frowned as Alex pulled her knees to her chest. It wasn't the best description of her dream, but she didn't want to elaborate any further than that. Her mind refused to delve too far into it, and she felt like she was going to vomit. Thalia must have noticed because she pulled out a bottle of water from her trunk.

"Drink it slowly. I'm gonna get dressed and get something to eat."

"Um...Thanks, Thalia."

She smiled. "Contrary to what those two idiots might tell you, I don't bite."

After getting dressed herself, Alex wandered out of the room and down the stairs. The house didn't get any less gloomy overnight. The walls were still a depressed black and green, and the carpets looked like oversized moths had eaten them. Cobwebs hung from pretty much everywhere, and she was sure that the heads - which Ginny had told her once belonged to house elves - watched her every move. What got her curious, however, were the random curtains hanging on an interior wall. It sounded like someone was sleeping just behind them.

"Just be quiet," a voice said from behind her. "You don't want to wake anything."

She squeaked and spun around, forcing herself to grab her wand as opposed to grabbing for the dagger hidden on her thigh. The man she saw made her think of an older Nico, but with longer hair. His dark eyes were fractured, and he seemed to be restless.

"Nice reflexes," he chuckled. "I'm Sirius Black. You must be one of the transfers?"

"Don't sneak up on me! Why do people keep doing that," Alex whined. "Yes. My name is Alex."

He laughed outright at her complaint. "Get used to it, Alex. It's going to happen quite a bit at Hogwarts."

"Then somebody is going to get hexed," she answered tartly. "I don't like it when people sneak up on me."

"Do you usually squeak?"

"Shut up."

He reminded her of her bunkmates in the Hermes cabin, and that wasn't good. On any normal day she ended up chasing one of them around camp because of some godsforsaken prank. Behind him she heard Thalia talking to Ron, Harry, Percy, and Nico - it sounded like they were talking about Quidditch, which Lou had said was a sport played on brooms.

"You've never been to a Quidditch match?" Ron stared in disbelief at them as Alex followed Sirius into the kitchen.

"I'm not a fan of flying," Percy said blandly.

"Falling seems like it would hurt," Nico shook his head. "I refuse to consider flying."

Thalia blushed and refused to meet anybody's eyes, which caused Percy and Nico to laugh.

"Thalia is afraid of heights," Nico gasped.

"Shut up!"

Alex blushed and held back a giggle.

"What about you, Alex? Are you interested in Quidditch?"

"Well, it seems like it could be fun. I never really thought about it, to be honest," which was true. She'd never thought about it until that moment.

All in all, it was a good morning. Well, until a loud crash echoed from the entrance hallway and woke...something up. Whatever woke up, it was loud and obnoxious, so naturally she, Percy, Thalia, and Nico ran out to go see what was causing the ruckus. Suffice to say Alex discovered what was behind the curtains. A painting of a woman who looked like she was in the throes of a very painful death was screaming at everyone.

"FILTH! MUDBLOODS AND FILTH IN MY HOUSE!"

"Lovely woman," Alex said flatly.

"Alex, that's a painting."

"Of a woman who seems to have an anger problem."

"SHUT UP YOU OLD HAG!" Sirius yelled as he ran out of the kitchen and seized the curtains, trying to close them. When he finally did, he turned to them. "Well, kids, meet my mother."