DISCLAIMER:
This is the first chapter of Arc 2. If you have not completed Arc 1: Immaterial Bonds, please do so before you begin reading Arc 2.
Arc Two: Delusional Reverie
Chapter One: Remembrance
Dreams are incredible things. They can make your heart flutter in pure bliss or can be your darkest agony. They can be influenced by your deepest wishes and your worst fears. Some say they have the power to control their dreams but nobody can truly say that dreams bend to their will. Dreams will always influence us. There is no escaping them. You cannot run from your own mind.
If only we knew that sooner.
*****
The Christmas break passed by in a blur. Right as it began, it had already finished and students were once again returning back to Hogwarts. With the events of the previous year long behind them, everything can finally progress as planned. That, too, included my new life at the school. I couldn't be happier with my life. My time at the Ministry was over, I could be where I wanted to be and I got to spend every day with the man who made living so worth it.
A light tap on my shoulder broke me out of my daze whilst I sat down at one of the desks in the Potions classroom. The very first class of the term and I'm already out of focus! I've really lost my game. The worst part is that Severus was not about to let me off easily no matter if we were together now.
"Daydreaming already, are we?" Severus asked smugly. He knew he had caught me in a moment of weakness.
Lightheartedly, I chuckled. "Course not. I was merely thinking very deeply! Got to have my brain in gear and all that."
He scoffed and continued his pre-class activities. There was no fooling a man like that. And yet, he seemingly played along.
"And what exactly were you thinking about?"
"I- that is to say- I was thinking about-" I stumbled on my words pathetically. He was always great at catching me out in the best and worst ways.
"I know you were daydreaming." he asserted.
"Can you blame me?" I protested. "Everything's changed. Something weird and fantastical can happen at any moment and be entirely new to me." I stood up from my chair and went to Severus's side. "Especially you."
Severus eyed me briefly, unknowing of what to say. Having a partner, someone to care about, was a new experience for us both. Moments of vulnerability from emotion and expression felt foreign. It was difficult to not think of these feelings as a sign of frailty.
"I know this is all new to us... and believe me, I'm terrified too, but everything's going to be fine. Besides, how can anything be worse than the last term? I doubt I'll have two near-death experiences in one academic year." I reassured him as I pulled him into a short embrace.
"I may only wish that you are correct." was all he replied with when we separated. Oh Severus, boldness in such a fashion isn't your style, is it?
*****
Once the class began, all the students were rapt with attention. No less could be expected from Slytherin house with the greatest respect for their house leader. All eyes laid heavily on Snape as he began to instruct the class as to the methods of creating a Calming Draught. They seemed to pay little mind to my presence.
"Today, you shall be making a Calming Draught. Who can tell me the properties of this potion?" Snape asked and multiple eager Slytherins raised their hands. Snape pointed at a young girl at the front.
"A Calming Draught is, as suggested by the name, used to calm someone down after they've experienced a kind of shock or emotional outburst, Sir."
I gave a small approving thumbs-up that went unnoticed by everyone. Was I that invisible to Slytherins when Snape was there?
"Good. Ten points to Slytherin." he said proudly as several students hi-fived each other under the desks. "Now, a Calming Draught can go wrong if you add too much Peppermint Oil. I request that you diligently do your measuring lest you want to give the drinker worse things to worry about than before. You may begin."
Each of the students lept from their seats and began to gather the ingredients for their potion. They looked like little elves with how they scurried around from place to place. It was sweet in a weird sort of way. For the time being, everything was going as planned. Even the students who struggled with potions were steaming well along without any major errors. I did my duty to go around, answer questions and help with techniques much to the appreciation of many.
"Whoa!" the young girl from earlier yelled as she fell with a thud. Whatever she had been carrying smashed to the floor with her. Several other students gasped while some laughed. All were staring at her. I rushed to her side and helped her to her feet as Snape cleaned the damage with his wand.
"Are you okay? What happened?" I asked the girl who was trying not to cry. I gave a glare to the onlookers who pretended they had been focusing on their potions all along.
"I don't know, I just-" She was shaking badly. It was just a stumble. Why was she acting so much in distress?
"Breathe." Snape recommended and she gradually became steady.
"I'm sorry, Sir. I got really lightheaded all of a sudden. Maybe I blacked out for a moment, I'm not sure." she confessed, holding her hand to her head.
I felt a slight weakness that Snape immediately noticed. We let the girl continue with her potion after checking she was able to and he brought me away from the students.
He began to speak to me in a hushed whisper. "Are you quite alright?" he asked with worry.
"It's what she said. It reminded me of... you know..." I wrapped my arms around my frame. Every part of me was filled with anxiety.
"The Hound?" Snape prompted gently.
"Yeah... I thought for a moment it was back but it can't possibly be. I killed it. Nobody should be having dreams anymore." I grabbed the charm of the necklace Snape had gifted me. I wore it everywhere. It reminded me of the courage it took to get to where we are now. "I'm terrified if there's something more to this."
"She was likely feeling a bit faint. It is unlikely to be anything connected to the Hound." Snape reassured me. I wished to have had more than verbal comfort but it would be inappropriate in front of everyone.
I thanked him and we went back to watching the students. Somehow, none of them had blown anything up while unsupervised.
*****
My time to help with Snape came to a close as the bell chimed for the end of class. He had to continue to teach the next class but I had some free time to myself. Admittedly, I missed him but I knew I would see him again soon so I tried to not let it bother me.
To take my mind off things, I decided to go for a stroll through the castle. It was roughly the afternoon so many students were hanging in the corridors. Oftentimes, a pair would be running and would go to a slower jog when they saw me. Good to know I had some sort of authority here.
"Blasted Peeves! When I get my hands on you, I swear..." a voice grumbled around the corner. Curiosity got the better of me and I approached with mild alert. It was Filch, mop in hand, cleaning the water that flooded from the bathroom and into the corridor. Had one of the ghosts, specifically Peeves, broken one of the toilets again?
"What happened here?" I asked against my best judgement. Filch and I had not spoken since I discovered it was him who had sold me out to Fudge.
He looked up and let out a sound of disgust. "Like you'd want to know. You've got more important things with that Professor Snape to worry about." he snorted back.
"Not really. He's teaching and I'm on break. If you tell me what happened then maybe I can help." I offered. Why am I bothering? This man almost ruined my life.
Reluctantly, he sighed when he realised that I was persistent. "Toilet's broken so there's water spilling everywhere. I reckon Peeves is behind it, that damn ghost."
I walked past him and poked my head inside the bathroom. It was the second-floor girl's bathroom. It looked much more dilapidated compared to most others. Entering properly, I could see what the problem was. One of the toilets had been filled to the brim with toilet paper that it couldn't possibly wash it away. Still, this felt strange...
"What are you doing in my bathroom?" a young voice echoed from behind me. Turning around floated a translucent girl with black hair tied in bunches and large spectacles.
"Oh, sorry. I'll be out in just a moment." I replied being oddly formal towards a ghost of all things. "Can you tell me who did this?"
The girl's posture went sullen. "Is that all you care about? Not going to ask my name first? They probably all told you already! Moaning Myrtle they call me! They're all so awful!" Suddenly, she flew away and dunked herself into the neighbouring toilet which created a large splash.
I had heard rumours about Moaning Myrtle but I hadn't realised she was quite so close to a banshee as they proclaimed. The slightest err would upset her...
"No, Myrtle, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you!" I called out. Just her head stuck up through the toilet she threw herself into.
"You already have. You can't take it back. But maybe you can do something for me." She had a strange stare on her face. I don't like where this is going.
"Anything to make it up to you." I responded. This better be worth it.
"What is it like to love? I never got to experience it while I was alive. I've heard things about you and that strange man."
That was not what I was expecting. What... is love? I never loved my father and I never had any friends to form that sort of bond with.
"I'm not sure." I responded. It was the truth. Not a single answer was coming to my mind.
"Do you not love him?" Myrtle asked rather interested.
"It's not that... It's just..." I have no idea where I'm going with this. "He's very important to me. I like him a lot but love is... Love is something really special. I don't know if what we have is quite that yet."
Myrtle pouted once more at my answer. "Nobody ever loved me either. Olive Hornby turned everyone against me." She began to cry but almost as quickly as she started, she came to a halt.
"I suppose I can tell you what happened. A boy came in and began to rip all of the paper off the rolls and stuff them down my toilet! My toilet! Eurgh! I screamed at them to stop but they didn't listen. Then, I got all in their face and it was like they didn't see me at all. I know everyone pretends to do that anyway-" she choked on her words, "-but this one was really odd. Next I knew, the bathroom was flooded and that horrible Filch was cursing his mouth off."
Filch stood at the doorway cleaning but the moment he heard his name, he walked in.
"Only because I'm the one who has to clean the mess up when some delinquent decides to make my life difficult! I tell you, if Dumbledore let me get the chains out then we wouldn't have a toe out of line. The old punishments were better." he rambled on and Myrtle, not wanting to be a part of it, threw herself back down the toilet and did not reemerge.
Filch continued to pointlessly mop at the floor. It was so waterlogged that there was barely any effect. I sighed. Despite the fact this man has done me one of the worst wrongs he possibly could, that doesn't mean I should be spiteful back. I grabbed my wand and cast a Drought Charm. Within a few seconds, the vast majority of the water had evaporated.
"You didn't have to do that." Filch snivelled as I granted him a kindness.
"Then I won't help in future if it's not what you want." I responded and went to leave.
"Wait." he said. I paused and gave him one chance to speak.
"Sorry for ratting you out to your father. Thought you were some no-good Ministry labourer here to make a mess of things. When I saw there was a chance to get rid of you, I took it." He didn't look remorseful in the slightest... but it seemed he had a change of heart in his future actions. His opinion of me had swayed. "Dumbledore said he ought to have gotten rid of me. Said if I did anything else to you, that would be it. But I don't reckon I will." He gave a toothy smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"That's very... mature of you, Filch. Thanks." With that, I took my way out and left him to his business. I don't think there would ever be a sort of peace agreement with Filch but so long as we stayed out of each other's way, that would have to be the best compromise.
*****
After such a fiasco, I needed a good rest. I returned to my room and promptly collapsed onto my bed. These walls felt so much more like I belonged than my office at the Ministry ever did. The sun was still high in the sky and its rays infiltrated my room with no mercy. It was still hard to comprehend that I could relax for the first time in my entire life. There was no Fudge breathing down my neck, no Snape harassing me, no Hound of Dreams... Everything fitted together like a beautiful puzzle.
What happened to that girl in Potions... and the student in the bathroom... They're just coincidences. She was just feeling faint and the other probably just ignored Myrtle's shenanigans. After all, it's no crime to faint and people ignored Peeves all the time. Everything is fine.
My eyes glanced over to the wooden board I used religiously last year. I had taken all of the material down and there were dozens of pinholes where I had suspended paper and notes. I had kept the pictures of the students that I had been given. They sat in individual frames on my desk looking out into the room. We never once got to speak, nor would they have known of me before their deaths, but I felt so attached to them. Memories of the funeral flooded back to me. I hope I did them justice.
I spent more time thinking about the day ahead but I quietly drifted off to sleep...
*****
Remember me?