⚯͛ Unfortunate - Remus Lupin ⚯͛

72.

Regulus and Cissa were dead. She could see them, clear as day, dead on the floor. They were covered in blood...their own or other people's? It was hard to tell.

They were both ashen, and their bodies were near-skeletal, as if they were corpses that had been left out for days to just rot. On both their faces there was no expression, and she looked closer...did they even have any facial features at all? It was all blurred. Where had they gone? Where were Reg's kind eyes? Where was Cissa's bright smile?

Was this Maeve's fault? Was it His?

Barty. He was there. It was as if she had just blinked and he had appeared. She could see his facial features alright, those light eyes that pierced through her, that pleasant, passive look that settled on his face to try to deceive her, that smile that reminded her of a snake about to bite...

She tried to say his name but nothing came out. She tried again. Nothing. Just emptiness. She tried to ask him to help them, help her, just to help. But he just stood there, staring.

It was just him. He was no longer her friend, that had been evident to her for a while, but she had that small part of her brain that still believed she cared for him. He had been there for her for a lot of her time growing up, why did he have to change so suddenly?

And then he kissed her, and she felt as if she couldn't breathe, as if she was being smothered, a pillow being pressed onto her face as she slept.

"This is your fault," she heard...it was his voice, "this is all your fault."

And then she rose up, as if out of her body, looking down on her and Barty. She watched as he placed a nasty hand round her throat, as he had done that night he tried to assault her. She saw him squeeze and saw her own mouth gasping for breath like a helpless fish...it was pathetic. If it were different circumstances it would be comical, almost. Why was she like that?

And then she was back in her body, unable to breathe, and even though it wasn't real and she kept trying to tell herself it wasn't real she could swear that she could feel that hand round her neck.

She was going to die.

She shut her eyes, trying to shut everything out.

She opened them and was met with those familiar red eyes. Voldemort.

She screamed.

Then she woke up, gasping, sweating, feeling sick. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to compose herself, staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes pricked with tears but she tried to blink them away. She looked to her side and her racing heart dropped to her stomach when she realised Remus wasn't there.

She jumped out of bed and rushed down the stairs, trying not to fall over in her still half-asleep manner. Despite being bare foot, she ran through the front door and outside.

And that's when she saw him.

In his pyjamas too, but with shoes on, he stood outside the house casting protective spells with his wand. He looked exhausted, the dim light of the magic highlighted the tired shading of his pallid face.

He saw her, "oh hey, you. What are you doing up?"

She sniffed, and suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to cry, "I had a bad dream."