Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 4: The Reoccuring Dream

Albus nodded wearily. His best friend was aware of the strange dreams he had almost every night that always left him waking up in a sweat and out of breath. Sometimes it was so bad that he'd wake up in tears.

"Do you think we should tell someone about it?" Scorpius asked, sitting down in front of him. He was clearly worried, which made Albus feel bad. He hated the guilty feeling he got when people worried about him.

Albus knew the dreams weren't normal. He'd been having the same repeating dream for the past three years. Now he was in his fourth year, and the dream still kept haunting him. At first, he thought it was nothing important and something he didn't need to fret about. It was too much to handle any longer.

"I don't know, Scorpius. Should I at least owl my parents first?"

Scorpius shrugged. "You could do that. And you could also quit being a wimp and tell McGonagall about it. It's not normal to have to same repetitive dream for fours years straight, Albus."

Albus slumped his shoulders. He knew Scorpius was right. The truth was, he was afraid of what people would tell him if he told them about his dream. They'd undoubtably tell him that something was terribly wrong. Either that or he's insane.

Scorpius began to dress himself in his school robes. He'd gotten even taller than he was when he began first year. Compared to Albus, he seemed like a skyscraper. Poor Albus only grew a few inches during the past few years. Thankfully Holly and him were the same exact height, so that made him feel a bit better.

Anyways, Albus and his friends were already a month into their fourth year. Times flies when you're at Hogwarts. Lots of things had changed since first year. Of course appearances changed, like height an bodies, but also hormones have affected Albus tremendously.

Ever since the end of first year, he'd began to fall head over heals for his best friend, Holly Longbottom.

She seemed to have gotten more beautiful since he first met her. Holly used to be very thin and had a young face. Now, her body was slightly curved and her face was taking the form of a young woman. Her bright, mysterious eyes never changed though. Albus found her breathtaking.

The thing he admired most about her was how crazy she was. In a good way, of course. Her whimsical ways never changed either, and she still made Albus laugh until his sides hurt. He hoped she'd never lose her free-spirited personality.

Whenever boys flirted with Holly, or even glanced her way, Albus instantly felt angry. Holly was only getting prettier and prettier, and that meant boys would be all over her. He hated the idea of her dating someone. Luckily this hasn't happened yet, but Albus had a feeling that would change this year.

He pushed his thoughts about Holly to the back of his mind. His nightmares were one of his main concerns. What if they got worse? Or Albus's worst fear, came to life somehow? He shook his head to get rid of the thought.

Once he was dressed, him and Scorpius made their way down to the common room to meet up with Rose and Holly. The girls were there, waiting for them to join them to walk to breakfast. Albus couldn't help but smile when his eyes met Holly's. She left her hair down today, and it fell in long waves down her back. Unlike Rose, who always wore a touch of makeup, Holly never wore it. She didn't believe makeup was necessary when she was just going to school.

Albus agreed with her. Very much.

The four best friends walked side by side towards the Great Hall. Albus knew this place by heart now. This school felt like a part of him now. He navigated through it like it was nothing.

They sat down at their usual spot at the end of the table. Scorpius sat by Rose, and Holly sat by Albus. Holly always started their conversation off by asking "How did you guys sleep?" Albus would always say "Good," but really, he wasn't. Today, he couldn't hide how shaken up he was.

"Albus, you're pale again. What happened?" Holly asked.

Albus tensed up. "Uh, it's...nothing." He glanced at Scorpius, who glared at him because of his terrible lie, before he stared at his plate.

"Albus Potter, don't you dare lie to me. Tell me, please." Holly sighed, and was glaring at him now. Her startlingly pale grayish-blue eyes made her glare intense.

"Uh," was all Albus could say. He didn't dare meet any of his friends' eyes.

"Albus had another nightmare last night," Scorpius spoke suddenly. Albus snapped his head upwards and stared at Scorpius, who was smirking. He felt Rose and Holly's eyes on him.

"Again?" Rose replied. How did she know? Albus didn't tell anybody about his nightmares except Scorpius, who found out only because he's his roommate.

"You know?" Albus asked her.

Rose chuckled. "You didn't think Holly and I didn't know? We've known ever since Scorpius told us during first year."

Albus froze. Of course he did, Albus thought. Scorpius could never keep his mouth shut.

"Albus, why did you try and hide it from us for so long?" Holly asked, turning towards Albus. She looked hurt, which made Albus immediately feel guilty. Honestly, he didn't know exactly why he hid it from his friends in the first place.

Albus sighed. "I don't know. I mean, I guess I just didn't want you guys to worry about me." That part was true. His friends had enough to worry about with school and all.

Rose shook her head. "That still doesn't mean you should hide it. You've been experiencing these dreams since first year, and we're in fourth year now. That's not normal to have such a repetitive dream, don't you think?"

"I know that, Rose. I'm just worried about what someone would say if I did tell them." The truth spilled out of Albus like he was simply exhaling. He was tired of holding it all in.

"Still, Albus, it's the right thing to do to tell someone. You should write your parents first. Didn't Uncle Harry tell us that he experienced strange dreams too when he was in Hogwarts?" Rose said, then took a sip of her juice.

"Yeah, but that was because Lord Voldemort was still alive and the two of them had some sort of link between them." Albus winced when he mentioned Voldemort's name. His father taught him to not be afraid of the name, but he couldn't help it. He'd learned about the Dark Lord in class, and it gave him chills to think about what he did to Albus's father.

"It could possibly be an inherited thing. I mean, your father had repetitive nightmares. Maybe he passed down that sort of thing to you?" Holly suggested.

Albus didn't know what to think. All he could think about was what the nightmares could possibly be telling him. He always thought about them as some sort of sign, but didn't know what. If it was a sign, it could be telling him something bad was going to happen. He had a feeling it was bad because nothing about his nightmare made him think of anything good.

"I'll write my dad and ask him about it." Albus muttered. Holly put a comforting hand on his, which made his hand tingle.

"Let's go to class, guys." Scorpius said, and led the way as the group of friends followed the crowd of students out the door. Albus sighed, dreading the day already.

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So there's chapter 4! Hope you liked it! Remember to vote and comment please! 😝