▬▬ thirteen; the same nightmare.
⋆.｡.:* ☆:**:. 

The walls and floors were made out of the same black marble bricks, sealed together by white concrete. They were so shiny that she could see her own reflection in them as she turned her head around, but there was something different. Her hair was normally wavy and her skin just a little bit paler. There was something different in her eyes. Her hazel brown color had turned into a deep green, someone who wasn't herself wouldn't even have noticed the change.

While she was tossing and turning in her bed her conscious continued to play around inside her head. Her feet carried her through the dark hall towards a tall black door with a golden handle. She looked down at her hands, in her right one she held her wand and the other grabbed the door handle and twisted it. 

"Look what you did to your father." She couldn't make out who was talking, her body kept moving forward through the door and into an even darker hall. The roof was way higher hear, and she was surrounded by tall, tall, shelves with glowing balls in the size of a football. 

The sound of footsteps drew her attention and she almost collided with the man. His lighted wand landed in between them and she felt relieved that she recognized him as Mr. Weasley, but he didn't look at all happy to see her. His eyes were wide with horror as they were locked with hers.

His wand dropped to the floor, the spell leaving and complete darkness blocked her vision. Mr. Weasley's scream brought the light back. She stared down at his lifeless body lying by her feet. His eyes just as wide as before, but they were completely still. He didn't move. But she did, her wand moved from pointing at him back into her jeans pocket and she leaned down by his side.

That's when Lauren flew up from her bed finding herself a sweaty and panting mess. The silence and stillness in the air were so thick that if it wasn't for her sore throat, Lauren would've been sure she hadn't been screaming or crying in her sleep. 

She got to the side of her bed and stood up on wobbly legs. It crossed her mind twice whatever or not to wake up Hermione, but just like the other girls she was in a deep slumber and Lauren didn't see the need to disturb that. So she silently grabbed a sweater and disappeared in her pajamas out of the chamber and out of the common room. The girl suddenly felt stressed, panicked even. Like she was in a hurry like she had to warn Mr. Weasley. Something felt so real about her dream that she was afraid he truly was hurt, but she couldn't possibly have hurt him, right? She was sleeping, right?

The way to Dumbledore's office was so familiar now, she knew each turn and staircase in the back of her mind and had quickly arrived outside the door. She could hear voices from the inside so she knocked, and the door flew open to relieve McGonagall with wide eyes.

"Miss Diggory, what are you doing here at such an hour?" She gasped and brought the girl inside. To Lauren's surprise, the office was far from empty. Dumbledore was pacing back and forth, glaring confused at the new arrived student. All the Weasley siblings stood behind Harry Potter, who was just as sweaty and upset as herself.

"I. . . I, what is happening here?" She gulped at looked at the red-haired family, "why are you here?"

They stayed silent and looked at the Headmaster. Dumbledore walked  up to Lauren, catching her off guard as he placed his hands on her shoulders, "what have you seen?"

Her tired eyes looked at everyone in the room before she said quietly what had happened, exactly how her dream had gone down. And when she looked at Harry there was no doubt in the matter. They dreamed the same dream.

"Harry, in your dream, did you see Lauren?" Dumbledore asked, but the boy shook his head. "In the dream, were you standing next to the victim. . . or looking down at the scene?"

"Neither," Harry said. "It was like I. . . Will you please just tell me what's happening?"

The old man ignored the boy and walked over to one of the paintings on the wall and spoke to the worried-looking man, "Everard, Arthur's on guard duty tonight. Make sure he's found by the right people." So it was true, really true.

"Sir," Harry said with a pleading look. Lauren stayed silent beside Professor McGonagall. She was too shaken up to try understand what was happening.

Once again Dumbledore ignored him and walked over to another picture, "Phineas. You must go to your portrait at Grimmauld Place. Tell them that Arthur Weasley is gravely injured. . . and his children will be arriving there soon by Portkey."

The man in the painting, Everard, returned and said, "They've got him, Albus. It was close, but they think he'll make it. What's more, the Dark Lord failed to acquire it."

"What? Requite what?" Lauren now asked, but no one seemed to hear her quiet voice.

"Oh, thank goodness. Next, we need to—"

"Look at me!" Harry Potter roared, his anger and confusion echoed through the room and Lauren wouldn't be surprised if it woke up the entire wing. "What's happening to me?" Lauren felt bad for him, he was just as scared as she was. 

Professor Dumbledore had looked wide-eyed between Lauren and Harry, surprised the boy had had such a strong outburst. But before he could speak, Severus Snape entered the office. He looked nothing like someone who just woke up, he was dressed in his usual black clothes and his eyes just emotionless as always. "You wished to see me, headmaster?"

"Oh, Severus. I'm afraid we can't wait. Not even till the morning. Otherwise, we'll all be vulnerable," Dumbledore said. The Professor nodded, he grabbed onto the panting boy and shaking girl and brought them out of the office in a hurry and down the stairs. They continued through the sleeping castle and when Lauren thought they couldn't get any lower in the grounds, there came a new staircase.

Once inside a room at the bottom of a spiral staircase, the two teenagers were pushed into one chair each. Covering the walls were shelves of poisons.

"It appears there's a connection. . . between the Dark Lord's mind and your own," Snape said looking from Harry to Lauren. "Whether he is, as yet, aware of this connection is, for the moment, unclear. Pray he remains ignorant."

"You mean, if he knows about it, then. . ."

"He'll be able to read our minds?" Harry asked, finishing Lauren's question. 

"Read it, control it, unhinge it." The two friends shared a look of worry and furrowed eyebrows, gulping as Snape continued explaining. "In the past, it was often the Dark Lord's pleasure to invade the minds of his victims. . . creating visions designed to torture them into madness. Only after extracting the last exquisite ounce of agony, only when he had them literally begging for death, would he finally kill them. Used properly, the power of Occlumency will help shield you from access or influence."

In these lessons, I will attempt to penetrate your mind. You will attempt to resist." He took out his wand and leaned down by Lauren who tried to lean away from his threatening look, she knew he wasn't going to hurt her but she had never liked him and nevertheless felt safe with him so close to her. "Ladies first. Prepare yourself. Legilimens."

And just like that, her life flashed before her eyes. While she struggled to push them away, push the spell away, she was too tired to fight.

"Focus, Lauren. You need to concentrate."

But too much was going on at the same time. She saw her first Christmas and she saw her first day at school. She saw her first Christmas with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. She saw herself hugging Hermione tightly after almost getting killed by a basilisk. She saw her first night as secret friends with Draco. She saw her first kiss, which was with Seamus in the beginning of the second year.

And then she saw her brother's death. And then she saw her father hanging from the ceiling, a memory which she had never seen before.

Snape pulled away from her and lowered his wand. "Are you alright, Lauren?" Harry asked and looked at the girl with teary eyes.

She nodded her head, "fine."

▬▬ author's note ▬▬
shorter chapter today. i just wanted this scene out of the way, but now i actually like it and what it will bring forward to this story.

[ last updated; 2/07/20 ]
stay safe ! stay tuned ! thank you <3