Belladonna

Just a Dream

Belladonna 36

Just a Dream

24 November 1994

Time was out. The first task was upon them and Ana was a nervous wreck, her friends seem to think it was just excitement, and she couldn't tell them otherwise. She'd never felt quite so alone.

The whole school was seated around a set of stands similar to those of a Quidditch arena, but the playing field was vastly different. Instead of grass, it was a rocky terrain. Instead of three goal posts at either end, there was a gated entry. And instead of catching the golden snitch, the champions had to retrieve a golden egg from a nesting dragon. If this was the first task, Ana dreaded to think what the other two would be.

It was a small comfort that Ana's mind was too pre-occupied by a conversation she had with Sev earlier that day to pay much attention to the action of the first task.

"Dreams are just dreams, right?" Ana asked hurriedly as she entered Sev's office. Without waiting for a response or even really giving him time to process her question, Ana pushed on.

"All of Trelawney's rubbish about dream oracles is just that, right? Rubbish? Because a few weeks ago I dreamed that Harry's name was emitted from the goblet and that in his first task he had to wrestle a giant! Now, I thought it was nothing, just a dream brought on by stress, because, yeah, I'll admit it, I may be slightly stressed."

She began to pace the width of his office as she wrung her hands.

"And it was followed by this really weird dream of Crouch that I can't even remember, but I remember the feeling and it was weird. And trust me, I do not want to be dreaming about some old man with haunted eyes like his.

"Anyways, back to Harry. I had a dream in which his name came from the goblet and then IT DID! Mad, right?! Now I know he's not wrestling a giant, it's a dragon and Merlin! I hope it's not a two-headed dragon like the one I had in my dream last night! This dragon was particularly disturbing as its heads were at opposite ends of the body!

"But, still, this all has to be stress induced, right? I was simply worried that something might happen to Harry because let's face it, something always happens to Harry. And I... oh! Pro—Professor Dumbledore, uh—hi. I'm sorry, but have...have you been there the whole time?"

Ana felt a jittery sort of embarrassment upon discovering that Dumbledore bore witness to her frenzied rant, but that paled in comparison to what happened next.

Sev closed the distance between him and Ana in three quick strides and took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. His lip curled in disappointment.

"You're eyes are dilated. You've been experimenting without taking proper precautions."

"What! No!" Ana pulled out of his grasp.

"Don't. Lie. To. Me."

"I'm not! I'm not experimenting. I'm stewing aconite and eucalyptus."

Sev gave her a look.

"Not in the same pot! Don't insult me for an idiot!"