▬▬ sixteen; the mysterious woman.
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IF SOMEONE HAD PREPARED LAUREN FOR HOW EXHAUSTING FOURTH YEAR WOULD BE FOR HER SOUL, SHE'D SIGNED OUT IMMEDIATELY. Even if she would consider herself a strong and stubborn person, keeping on waking up in the morning knowing that her problems would get worse really felt like walking right into a wall. Her social skills had crumbled to ashes just as fast as paper thrown into a fire, she mostly spends her free hours staring at something while her conscious tried to escape the mess in her head.

"Please tell me what's going on inside your head, for once!" Groaned Harry as he'd watched his friend stare into the flames for an hour now. She didn't even notice him standing just beside her, and she didn't notice when Ronald and Hermione joked about her being a statue and she didn't notice them leaving the room. "Earth to Lauren!?"

She jumped slightly and turned to look at him from across the room, "what?"

"You'll get blind if you keep staring into the fire," he said.

"Sorry," she mumbled and stood up walking over to sit down by the table next to him. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to study. So I'd be really happy if you distract me with whatever is bothering you." She sighed and seemed to be debating inside her head whatever she should speak or not, so he tried to ease her tensed soul by saying, "you can talk to me about everything you can't talk to Hermione about. I mean the dreams, Voldemort, the tournament must be stressing you out, and I suppose you're thinking a lot about Draco?"

She dramatically tilted her head to rest in the palm of her hand. "We talked, after the ball. He joined me up in the new Astronomy Tower."

"If I'm gonna understand anything you need to explain the two of you from the beginning. When did your secret friendship begin?"

"It was the second year I think. Ron said something about Hermione and they began fighting and running around, and you ran after them and I didn't see you so I got lost and ended up sitting on a bench just waiting around in an empty hall. At first, I didn't notice that the sounds came from beside me. but when I listened carefully I heard a boy crying. When I walked past the corner I saw him leaning against the wall, he seemed so sad and lonely. . . I kinda' understood how he felt, so I tried to comfort him.

"He was really cold at first, and I'm not sure how things evolved but a year later we met somewhere quiet and empty of people every night before bedtime. We mostly talked. And he would just watch me draw for hours. And we'd play this weird game, who could make the weirdest spells. I always won because he never paid attention in class."

Harry smiled as he watched how Lauren seemed so happy thinking about the boy, he noticed that glimpse in her eyes that Hermione sometimes got while looking at Ron.

"He really understood me and cheered me up whenever I was down. And he always apologized after he'd been mean during the day, but I said it was fine because we had to keep the play up so no one would suspect anything. And he mentioned one time that he didn't want to be mean to you, Harry. He was just forced to hate on you because his family did."

"I like to think he's jealous of me," joked Harry earning a giggle from Lauren. "What happened in the old Astronomy Tower, before I got there?"

She shrugged, "He was stressed out. He told me later his father advised him to stay away from me and the mess I was in, but Draco didn't want to leave me in the dark but neither disappoint his father."

"But you're friends now?"

Lauren thought for a second, "I suppose. But the other night he looked into my eyes, for so long without saying anything, and when I asked why he just said he was staring at me because I was beautiful. And I think, I think I look at him differently now. I mean I used to see us as best friends because I didn't dare to believe it could ever be anything—but lately. . . I think—I hope that we could be something more."

Harry beamed, "I hope so too. But what did you say about his father?"

"Oh, yes. Apparently Lucius doesn't want Draco to be around me because I was involved in a mess. I guess he means the drama around you and this tournament—"

"Lucius is a Death Eater, or he was, but I think he'll always be loyal to Voldemort. Lauren, come on! Don't you see it as well?" Harry stood up harshly and started pace around the room. "These dreams and you made the books fly—"

"That wasn't me!"

"There's only one way to find out if that's true."

Lauren looked at Harry in confusion and rather horror, his eyes were wide and he seemed greedy for answers. Actually, it made her rather scared. And on top of that, he was tired. No, he was exhausted. This tournament was really emptying his body from energy.

—

"What the hell happened?!" Shouted Hermione as she entered the hospital wing, seeing Lauren with a package of ice attached to her swollen eye and Harry sitting with a guilty face in the bed beside her.

"Did you punch her?!" Exclaimed Ron.

"No!" Answered both Lauren and Harry.

The poor girl with a black eye removed the ice and sighed, giving Harry a frustrated glare, "Harry thought it'd be good if we tested whatever I can lift books with my mind or not."

"That doesn't explain the black eye," said Hermione.

"When he realized I couldn't control the book he thought that maybe I had to be stressed for it to be triggered. So he threw the bloody book in my face!"

"I'm sorry!" Said Harry and raised his hands in the air, "I really thought it'd work."

Hermione slapped him harshly on the head before hugging her friend who so many times laid in this hospital wing. Lauren shifted in her bed and looked up at Harry, "but seriously. Before the books, what were you on about? That thing with Lucius."

He looked at them all while explaining, "I am somehow connected to Voldemort because I can see what he sees. And since you can see what I see that Voldemort sees—you must be connected to him as well. . . Somehow."

"What are you talking about?" Frowned Hermione. "What does she see?"

"You weren't supposed to tell them!" Shouted Lauren.

"We're having the same dream. It's about Pettigrew, Voldemort, and Crouch's son."

"Lauren, are you having that kind of nightmares? I knew you didn't sleep well, but I never thought it'd be because of this!" Exclaimed Hermione. "You should've told me."

"I didn't want to worry anyone. And we all need to focus on Harry and getting him ready for this tournament. I'm talking to Dumbledore about it anyways."

"What does he say about it? What does it mean?"

"It means that Voldemort is coming back."

—

"You're fine now. I think it's your lack of sleep that made you tired so why don't you try to sleep tonight and I'll let you leave tomorrow morning," said Madam Pomfrey and laid down the medical journal on the table beside the girl that was very used to be in this situation.

"Are you sure I can't sleep in my own bed?" She asked because this hall gave her goosebumps ever since Lord Voldemort's ghost paid her a visit, and Lauren knew that he was certainly going to show up again if she slept in here all alone once again.

But the matron shook her head, "you stay here, Miss. Use the bell if you need anything." And then, Lauren was lying in the small and uncomfortable hospital bed just listening to the sound of her breathing bouncing from wall to wall.

She sighed and sank deeper into the pillow. There was no idea of closing her eyes, falling asleep would be the last thing she was going to do. She just wanted to disappear, at least for a while. Get away from the long hours of explaining to her friends why she'd fallen for the boy who bullies them constantly, get away from the horrible dreams that keep hunting her, get away from her parents, get away from herself.

She didn't even jump when the cold filled the room, only goosebumps on her forearms showed how uncomfortable she really was. The lights went out one by one and the shadows slowly gathered in the corner to form the silhouette of a man. It traveled by the walls until it reached the doors, and by just looking at them they went shut.

"Is the truth clearing up for you, Lauren?"

She cringed at the sound of his voice. She hated how he walked in like he was the biggest and smartest one alive—but he was a fool.

"Isn't the end getting closer? The day is not tomorrow and not the day after that, but it's closer than ever." His shadow went from the doors to beside her bed within a second, and it made her body sit up and press closer to the wall behind her back. "I can't harm you, not yet. Not like this. But when I become human again, and incapable of dying, I shall warn you—you've caused me more pain than you are aware of."

"I've never met you!" She spat. "How could I possibly have hurt you?"

The raspy voice chuckled, "you are brave. Just like your mother," a weird sadness lingered in his voice as he spoke. But she couldn't think about anything but how he was there. And why. "The time will come, and I side you will have to pick, Lauren. I wonder which. . . The one who offers you a life that lasts forever in a perfect world. Or the one who's weakness is love."

"Why are you here? Why do I mean so much to you?"

"You don't mean anything. But you are everything to someone I once held dearly."

▬▬ author's note ▬▬

I'll say this a bit early (whatever) happy new year! I'll write the 'thank you 2019' note somewhere else but I wish y'all happiness for 2020. And one of my goals is to update more often and write exciting and interesting chapters.

[last updated; 30/4/20]
Stay tuned, thank you!