Forgotten One: Love

Chapter 7: Nightmares and Groceries

At some point, I drifted into unconsciousness. The dreams were the same as always. The murders and the war. My friends and my family. Dead. As always, the dream showed me my worst fears. The others being murdered and/or tortured. Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, their kids, Teddy, the survivors. Yet, a new face joined them this time. Draco. As his face appeared behind my lids, followed by a flash of green light, I felt the tears spring into my eyes. As his body fell to my feet, I knelt down, cradling his limp frame in my arms. Just then, a shout. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" A flash of green, and my eyelids flew open. The early morning sunlight filtered through the window, making my eyes sting even more. I felt the tears dripping down my cheeks, puddling on my pillow. It was hard to breathe through the stuffy nose my crying had caused.

I headed to the bathroom, sluggishly. Crying, combined with a lack of sleep, could not have had the best effect on my appearance. It only took a glance in the bathroom mirror to prove my assumption correct. I blew my nose, trying to get it to where I could breathe again.

I sighed, went back to my room to gather my clothes for the day and headed back into the bathroom to take a shower. I took a quick shower, attempting to wash away any signs of the previous night.

I got out of the shower and ran a comb through my wet ringlets. I braided them in a quick braid down my back. I threw on my top, a rather loose-fitting t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Supposedly, I wasn't scheduled for today, but Alastair would probably call me in again. Then again, maybe not. After last night's skirmish, maybe he would try to avoid seeing me until he needed to.

There was nothing I could do for the dark shadows under my eyes. I didn't own any makeup. I didn't find it necessary. Now, it might be wise to invest in some. Especially if this was going to be a recurring nightmare. Maybe Hermione or Ginny would be able to help me figure out what I needed.

After one last glance in the mirror, I headed toward my kitchen to fix myself breakfast. I made a quick cup of tea, and grabbed some of my homemade breakfast biscuits that I had baked earlier in the week. I powered up my laptop, checked my email, and set about cleaning my house.

I wasn't exactly a neat freak, but I didn't like having a messy house. I swept, washed the dishes, and put them away. By then, I was nearly out of things to do in my small house, so took inventory of what I needed from the store, grabbed my purse and wallet. I slung my purse over my shoulder, and headed out.

The grocery store was a relaxing place for me. It was so ordinary, so relaxing. After over seven years of chaos, it was incredibly relaxing to at least pretend to be normal, even if only for a few minutes.

I was checking out when my cell phone started ringing in my purse. I sighed, digging through my purse to find it. By the time it was in my hand, it had gone to voicemail. I finished checking out, and headed out to the car park. I put the groceries in the boot of my car, and sat in the cabin. I played back the voicemail. Draco's voice filled the. cabin.

"Viv? Where are you? I told you I would see you today, but you weren't home. Did I do something? I'm sorry if I did something, Vivian. Please forgive me. I won't bother you again. I'm so sorry." I rolled my eyes, chuckling at Draco's message. The idiot thought it was his fault that I wasn't home.

I called him back as I started the car. The idiot didn't pick up his phone, so I left a message. "Chill, Draco. I just went to the grocery store. I'll be back in a few." I smiled to myself as I started the car. I turned on the radio, for the first time in a long time. The soft gospel music filled the cab. I sighed as I let the tunes relax me, recognizing some of the older, more familiar ones. I hummed to myself, letting the music carry me away back to my childhood, before life was this complicated. Back when my biggest concern was where my next meal was going to come from. Back when I used to sit in the back of the church, listening to the preacher's sermon and singing to the songs with the choir.

As I drove back home, I let my brain fly away with the music. I had the road memorized. No need to focus.

Suddenly, the peace was shattered by my phone ringing. I glanced at it, but didn't pick it up. That was one driving skill that was engraved into me. No texting and driving. After the gruesome commercials that the instructors had shown me, I would not even touch my phone, not while driving.