Clover Hawkings and the Triwizard Tournament

3. Nightmares, Glass, and the Blast-Ended Skrewts

"Mommy!" a girl cried. "Why are you leaving me?

A hazy figure squatted down beside the girl and held her hand sadly. "Honey, it's not like that- you'll be safer here, away from harm and the Death Ea-...other who might hurt you. It's safer this way." 

"No!" the girl shouted, tugging away from her mother. "You're leaving me!" 

"No, honey, I love you- so, so much-" her mother was clearly fighting off tears. "I hate it but it's for the best-"

But the girl looked on coldly. "You're dead to me," she spat, then ran into the woods, leaving the broken figure of her mother behind. Peeking out from a tree branch, the girl looked to see where her mother was- was it safe to scamper into the house?- when, suddenly, there was a loud CRACK- then a burst of green light- 

-The girl rushes over, but as she runs her form turns hazier and hazier- 

I wake up. 

It's not real.

It's not real. 

I'm awake- I'm alive- it's not real.

A dream. Just a dream. 

I force my sleepy eyes open. Clover, it's not real- just a dream.  

I take a deep breath in. Everything will be okay. I shudder. That last time I told myself, that, things weren't okay- but then again, this nightmare hasn't haunted me like this for years. 

I thought it was gone. 

But I guess I was wrong. I glance out the window to distract myself. The day dawned bright and early, as days normally do, and the sun had just decided to poke its lazy head over Hogwarts. I've always liked the view from our window. I glance down. Scarlet sleeps under the window- she's on her back, hands folded over her chest, which in my opinion is the weirdest way to sleep. It's creepy, like a zombie king waiting to arise from the dead and kill people. (Ha! As if Scarlet could even think of violence.)  Across from her, Alura is sleeping at the wrong end of her bed. And across from her is Artemis. I look up just in time to see her drop a  glass on the floor.

Crash! 

I frowned. That didn't sound good. Reluctantly I stood up (what a pain that was) to see what was going on. 

"Hi," I whispered. As so as I said it, I felt self-conscious. What was I doing here? This wasn't any of my business. She was fully capable of being hurt without me screwing things up more.  

"Hi," she whispered back. "I appear to have broken a glass." 

"It would appear that way." 

"....Oops..." Wincing, she sets a foot on the floor- 

"Don't!" I whisper-yelped. "You'll get hurt!"

WAIT DID I JUST SAY THAT. Every instinct I have is telling me to go back to bed, fake a heart attack, and/or turn into a cat. Only one of those I think I can do without breaking social norms, I'll let you figure out which.  

She looks at me, surprised. "What? I have to clean up this mess!" 

"That's not the way to do it," I said impatiently. I stand up, and wake over to the glass, trying not to step on it but- "Oh!" I gasped as a shard drives into my foot. 

Artemis is beside herself. "Oh, no, Clover, I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry, it was so stupid of me to get water, I'm really, really, sorry- here let me get that!" 

"No," I said, wincing. I stretch out my hand, and my wand flies to it from my bedside table. "Scourgify!" The glass disappears.

Unfortunately, the glass in my foot does not.