Inglorious Bastards [Theodore Nott]

Chapter Fifteen

Morgan Diggory knew he was dreaming, but it felt so real to him. The blood-painted walls in Hogwarts, the giant snake lurking in the shadows, a ghost whispering a name, "Harry Potter", a bathroom with the marks of a snake, and then a girl with fiery red hair, and just as he was to see the girl's face, Morgan was shaken awake.

"Morgan!"

Gasping, Morgan shot up from the bed. He was sweating excessively, his heart beating faster than normal. He looked around the room, wishing to see the girl with fiery hair but only saw his brother, Cedric, instead, with a worried look on his face.

"Ced?" Morgan panted. "What – what's going on?" He asked.

"You were having a nightmare, Morgan." Cedric told him. "You kept thrashing around and hissing."

"Hissing?" Morgan asked, confused.

"Yeah, like a snake. Are you alright?"

Morgan closed his eyes again. He could still see the imprints of the red-haired girl when he closed his eyes. He took a breather, calming hit heart. He opened his eyes and nodded at Cedric.

"I'm fine," he said. "Go back to sleep, Ced."

Hesitant, Cedric, simply watched as Morgan laid back down. His brother's back facing him. And after squeezing his brother's shoulder as reassurance, Cedric went back to his side at the bedroom and went to bed as well. He turned off his lap, called out "goodnight" to his brother, and went back to sleep. But Morgan was not asleep, he couldn't seem to find the strength to close his eyes as all he could see were those yellow ones that belonged to a beast.

~*~

After a week at the Goldsteins, Harry was told that they were invited to the Burrow for a sleepover, and he couldn't be any happier to finally see Ron. Charity advised them to pack their things since Mr. and Mrs. Weasley insisted that all the children would stay over to have a bit of the last few days of summer fun. When going to the Weasleys, Harry expected that they would either fly or "apparate" (a word he heard from Roman and Carina which was like teleporting), but it seems that the Goldsteins enjoy the Muggle way of travel.

Tom Goldstein has enchanted the car – discreetly – and have it extended and accommodate everyone. Early in the morning, they placed their three trunks at the boot (as Maisie still has to get her Hogwarts letter), and when they got in, Harry was surprised to see that all four of them fit the back of the car even with the two cats, Lynx and Fred (Hedwig and Hester preferred to fly to the Burrow than ride the car). The drive to the Burrow was two hours long with Charity driving ("if Mr. Goldstein were to drive, we'd arrive at the Burrow by the time you four are off to Hogwarts." Charity teased). And throughout that drive, it was the first time Harry actually enjoyed a long car-ride as Carina, Roman, and Maisie made it entertaining.

They arrive at Ottery St. Catchpole before lunch, and Harry noticed that Charity was no longer driving on smooth roads but on dirty. They shook at the backseat with how rough the path was, Harry looked outside the window and saw that the surroundings were no longer trees as he saw a pigpen, a chicken coop, and what seems to be a towering house.

"Here we are!" Charity stopped the car and turned off the engine.

The moment they got out of the car, they were all greeted by the Weasleys – Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny.

"Harry!" Ron greeted him.

Before Harry to say hello, Roman tackled Ron to an embrace. Laughing. Maisie went to hug Ginny and immediately the girls were stuck by the hip. When Ginny saw him, the girl's eyes widened, and she immediately dragged Maisie into the Burrow.