A Cursed Mate...



People in white and black cloaks, streams of violet, green, blue and red were surrounding them in a clear dark midnight sky. The noise was deafening, the smoke chocking, the people screaming and the most evident and clear scream was of a doe eyed girl shrieking in pain somewhere far beyond the horizon which was completely blinded with streams of light. It was a war scene…people in white and black were divided as if there was an invisible line between them and were fighting. Their wands moving fast to attack as well as in defense. Screams of curses and hexes filled the atmosphere around. There he was in the middle of the battle, Shaun. He looked around and saw his friends at the side of the white and few at the side of the black…it all looked dramatic…and then again a clear shrieking voice was heard. He turned and looked here and there to make out where the scream was coming from. And then he saw her…it was she who was screaming and crying out for help, for she was helpless. Her wand blasted off her hand and she was crying in pain that was caused by the Seizure curse. He ran towards here but was suddenly thrown back by a spell. He looked up and saw a black hooded guy standing over her and with his wand out pointing towards him.
“oh…are you her love?” asked a high pitched cold voice and Shaun looked at the hooded person not able to recognize the voice. Suddenly everything changed it looked like the war was just a background and it was just him, the hooded person and the girl at his feet lying there. They were the only ones present.
“she is my friend, don’t dare touch her,” threatened Shaun getting up with his wand out threatening him. She was lying there near that black hooded person’s feet, whimpering.
“get up kid, get up,” shouted Shaun, “you are brave, fight back, kid. Fight back,” he said uselessly. He saw that she was wandless. “She is not a coward. She will fight back. She will never give in and die,” he thought. And as though the black hooded person knew what Shaun was thinking he said, “oh so she won’t give in, huh?” he mocked with the same cold voice, “lets see” he looked down at the whimpering body at his feet and screamed “IMPERIO” straight at her back. She stopped whimpering and stayed still. She turned, still at the man’s foot she stared back at him with her eyes as if hypnotized.
Shaun screamed at the same time, “NO”

Harry and Ron who were in the next two rooms came out quickly hearing a scream.
“Merlin’s beard what’s wrong?” whispered Ron as they made their way to Shaun’s room. Harry opened the door and entered followed by Ron who wrinkled his nose at the smell of the bleach. They were stunned by the view. Pillows fallen around the bed, the bed cover crumpled and above it was Shaun sleeping and panting and murmuring something in his sleep. His white buttoned down shirt stuck to his body and his face full of sweat.


“NO, don’t do that,” he screamed and the cold voice gave out a laugh. “Now she is under my control my boy”
“leave her right now,” demanded Shaun and flexed his wand with a curse but was back fired.
“now, now lets see if your pretty friend over here can give in or no,” he said and waved his hand towards the dazed girl at his feet.
“now, my pretty why don’t you get up,” he said softly and she did what he was told.
“very, very good, honey,” he said in a sweetly sick voice.

Shaun shivered. “what’s wrong with him?” asked Ron
“nightmare,” said Harry and he looked back at Shaun who was sweating profusely…


“you know young lady, who is this man, standing in front of you?” he asked her and she shook her head.
“Kid, its...its me, Shaun. Your friend. Snap out kid. You are under an impervious curse. Please phase out,” he pleaded, “you know me, kid, please…” he pleaded uselessly. He didn’t want to think that it was impossible to come out of the curse if the person who conjured it was so strong with it.
“no I don’t know you,” a soft but a robotic voice filled the atmosphere, “I know only him,” she said turning to the hooded man.
“No, no, you don’t know, him. You are under a curse,” cried Shaun
“see, my friend, this young lady refuses to know you. And surprisingly she knows me. I love surprises,” he said in voice full of amusement.
“young lady, I really like you. Will you be there for me always?” he asked and the girl under the curse nodded her head
“Noooo…”
“that is really very sweet…may I kiss you young lady?” his voice changed again into ice cold and the girl nodded and leaned forward. Instead of him kissing her, he made her kiss him under the effect of the curse.

“No…you…you…horrifying…monster… SEIZURA!” screamed Shaun but the hooded man shielded himself with her, “NO…” she fell down the Imperius Curse phased out of her. He ran towards her, “kid, kid I am sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he gasped as he saw his friend twitching and there was high pitched laughter in background. He turned and looked at other man standing there, who took advantage of Shaun’s friend. Shaun glared at him and sent another curse but that was back fired. Shaun was put into a strong cruisatus curse and he screamed…

Harry and Ron flinched back. Ron quickly muttered MUFFLITO so that others in the neighborhood won’t get disturbed. Harry shook Shaun but he didn’t wake up. He was too much into the dream.

He felt knives and pins searing through him as he was in the air arching. He fell down with a thud on the ground. He could barely open his eyes to see what was happening and then another Crutiatus Curse was called but this time it didn’t hit him but his friend. She screamed and fell the same way as he did. There was a shriek of laughter ringing in the atmosphere around and it faded away. Shaun got up and dragged himself to his friend’s body which was breathing slightly, “wake up kid, wake up. You are brave. You have promised you will never leave me”
“you made the promise, so wake up!” he said bending over her and lifting her head and placing in his lap. His eyes were soaked with tears of pain and hurt. He looked at the girl’s face. Her eyes closed, her face scarred and her robes tattered by the fight.
“wake up, kid, please…don’t leave us…please…listen to me and wake up,” he shook her slightly his tears streaming down his face.


Shaun muttered something that Harry and Ron couldn’t make out. He clutched his pillow as if he was holding someone in his hands. His face now had tears along with sweat buried in the pillow.
“wake up, kid,” he muttered once again and sobbed. Harry and Ron looked at each other.


The girl in his dreams fell limp in his hands. He sensed that. He panicked and he shook her hard. She didn’t move. She was there in his lap limp and dead. A new stream of tears rolled down his eyes, tears of pain and loss. He lost the most important person in his life once again this month.

He panted Harry saw that and shook him up but he didn’t wake up. Ron couldn’t find any other method but to roll him over his back and slap him hard on his face. The slap stung Shaun’s face, he felt the real physical pain which was missing when he was having a night mare. It was all a mental and emotional pain. This pain was sinking in and he got up with a start, panting.

“Shaun!” cried Harry as he helped him up to sit. Ron summoned the jug of water at the desk and handed Shaun some water.
“what happened?” asked Harry. Shaun looked at his friends unable to decide what to tell them.
“I know it is a nightmare. I can make out it was a horrible one and the one which repeats,” said Harry and Shaun looked at Harry, “how does he know that?” he thought
“I…I am sorry. I woke you guys up,” he said draining the goblet.
“well I am surprised Ron that Earth didn’t had to fall apart and sky didn’t had to split and my screaming was enough for you to enter my bleach stinking room,” said Shaun with a hollow tired laugh trying to change the topic. Ron snorted and Harry said, “don’t change the topic Shaun. We know you have been going through this almost every other night. What is it about?” demanded Harry
Shaun sighed and gave in.
“I am cursed Harry,” he said.
“Cursed?” said Ron incredulously.
“yes cursed. I told you once didn’t I that even we had a war back in our land” and Harry nodded
“it was then that I was cursed. It was towards the end of the war when I was hit by the curse”
“what is that?” asked Ron
“it is a dark curse. The person who gets hit by it cannot sleep ever, not at least without troubled repetitive nightmares. The nightmare is usually about a person who is very important to you in your life. Every victim has a different nightmare depending on the people around him and his worst fears involving them,” he said and sighed.
“who was in your dream?” asked Ron curious.
“my…my friend…my best friend…she was really important to me…” he sighed
“where is she?” asked Harry
“I don’t know”
“you have never gone to look for her?” asked Ron as he remembered Sara and the way she struggled to find her friend. Shaun looked away from them. Harry realized it was a question whose answer they wouldn’t get.
“is there a way to…like a counter curse or something,” asked Harry and Shaun shook his head in denial.
“no, I have met all the healers I could. And all of them say it is an invented curse and only the person who must have invented it might know. I couldn’t go after the person who hit me with that curse because I don’t know him. He was hooded when he hit me with it and I fainted instantly. After the war I woke up having the same nightmare. I didn’t realize it then. But after the war at nights when I used to wake up with this dream again and again my mum concluded that I was cursed. Even after coming here I showed to many healers but they couldn’t help me. I don’t care about it now. The frequency has reduced but the intensity of the nightmare has increased. It looks a lot more dramatic than realistic. It is a lot more painful. I thought with time it will wear off, but it is increasing in intensity” he said looking at his friend’s shocked face. They had never heard of any such curse before and it was having an affect on them as the SCEPTUMSEMPRA had on them the first time they witnessed it.
“I don’t care if I have to see this nightmare my entire life, but for once I want to see her and believe that she is fine and safe where ever she is,” his voice sad and low and turning away from his friends yet again.
Harry and Ron looked at each other. They didn’t know what to do. Shaun who still was wearing his watch sighed as the hands of his watch showed 6:00 in the morning.
“I think this is yet another beginning of a day without a sound sleep,” said Shaun and looked around to see his friends. They were feeling bad for him. He gave a small smile and said, “I think its time I get ready,” and he got up. Harry got up and allowed him to go out of his room. Before going out he tried to lighten his friends mood up a bit by saying, “Ron, mate sorry, I think you will have to bear with the bleach stink for another week,” and Ron just nodded as if he understood and continued to look grim. Shaun hunched his shoulders and left for a bath thinking why he told his friends about his problems and bother them.

have a nice day...:-)