THE TWO WITNESSES | RON WEASLEY [BOOK TWO]

1. A NIGHTMARE

Gene awoke with a strained gasp and she sat up in bed, panting for breath. Stella meowed at the sudden disturbance, burrowing her head back under the covers in defiance.

She glanced around her room, finding she was safe and far from whatever she had seen in her nightmare. A wave of relief washed over her, replacing the icy fire that had swept at her, the burst of poisonous green light. It burnt, even in her sleep. It scalded her, bringing her to consciousness with a jolt. It happened so often that Gene thought that it might have gotten easier to deal with over the years.

Some nights she would wake up in a pool of her own vomit, the stench and feeling of pure, abject horror sticking to her skin for days after that. No matter how hard she washed and scrubbed at her skin, it would stay with her. Gene often wondered if that was how she was going to live the rest of her life. Always searching for the good in things rather than it finding her for once.

But maybe not, she thought now, as her gaze travelled to her window, sheer curtains parted to reveal a cobalt blue sky that the civil twilight gave London. It was, she had to admit, beautiful. It gave Gene a notion of peace that even sleep couldn't. Then, she could hear Aurelia rummaging about in the room over, pacing the corridors as she muttered under her breath.

Gene smiled at this now, her heart rate finally slowing at the presence of her aunt, her mind put at ease as she let her legs hang over the edge of her bed, watching the shadow pass by her door every few minutes. Aurelia had been in quite a state for the past few weeks. With the newfound discovery of Gene's father, there had been a few changes in the Fiordalis household.

For starters, they had done some redecorating. After two or three trips to their neglected attic, they had made it out with lots of pictures and trinkets and frames, and probably leaving traces of asbestos while they did. The flat was soon given a new sense of life to it, one they had been lacking before. Gene imagined it was thanks to her mother.

Of course, there were plenty of Sirius, along with the Potters and Professor Lupin. Many contained Peter Pettigrew too, or Wormtail as she had heard him being referred to as in her dreadful nightmare. They had opted to fold the images over, removing him from the pictures entirely and it seemed to bring the light back to the home each time they did.

Gene had also made it her mission to leave traces of lavender around the house, remembering the story of Ophelia's Amortentia. That would have explained the bouquets of lavender sprigs dotted around the flat, the lavender scented perfume Gene always wore, with traces of bergamot and jasmine. Although, Aurelia might have argued that it was slightly over the top.

Next, came the refurbishment of the spare room. This had been left entirely up to Gene, because Aurelia hadn't the slightest of clue of what a 14 year old boy liked, so Gene had taken it upon herself to redecorate, ready for Harry.It was a fairly big room, at the very end of the corridor, though it happened to have the best view of the Big Ben in their entire flat. She reckoned that he might have liked that, considering how he had been stuck in a cupboard all his life.

The walls had been painted a simple white, as Aurelia said it would have been easier for him to decorate the walls on his own. Aurelia had bought a double bed along with some red bed linens and sheets, a homage to his house. In the corner sat a desk with a chair, as well as other necessities, such as a wardrobe and a bedside table. They had even gone as far as buying him clothes, storing them in the wardrobe in preparation. Truth be told, Gene wasn't the only one who had been looking forward to Harry's stay.

Except, there was only one tiny problem. A very minor problem. They hadn't exactly asked about their plans to have Harry stay with them for the holidays next summer. Aurelia had meant to send an owl or two to Dumbledore in July, truly, but she had gotten a little in over her head preparing the room. As the beginning of a new school term dawned on them however, the urgency of the situation was soon highlighted to them both.