 Chapter Six "It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you are not."
I wasn't quite sure why I was surprised when I received two owls that evening. The first one came from Professor McGonagal who was telling me that Professor Umbridge wished to see me in her office the following evening. Professor McGonagal hadn't specifically said the word detention, but anytime you deliberately ignore the demands of a teacher, detention is sure to follow. The second came from Professor Dumbledore who wished to see me later that evening. He wasn't going to be back to the castle until midnight, but he said the meeting was very urgent, and it simply had to be done tonight.
I had gone up to bed with everyone else but slowly slipped out around eleven, hoping that being in the brightness of the common room would help me to stay awake. The day had been long, and as to be expected, the whole school was humming with the news of what went down in Defense Against the Darks Arts class. It upset me to see, and hear in my own way, how crazy Seamus thought Harry was. He had always been such a good friend to Harry and I couldn't believe how quickly he was to jump on the "Harry is a Loony Bin" bandwagon. I hoped that in time he would change his mind, but at the moment the chances of that happening were looking rather slim.
As I sat starring into the fire my mind wandered as to what was so urgent that Dumbledore had to see my that evening. While the scene in class had caused even more people to think that Harry was crazy, it had also returned his mind to the strange dreams he had been having. I had reached out to him while I was still in the girl's dormitory and found he was dreaming about that same black hallway and that same door. The dream had come and gone quickly, shifting eventually into a dream dealing with Harry and Sirius hanging out at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. I couldn't help but smile as I shared in the touching moment between Harry and his godfather. I felt bad that Harry had lost his parents before he even had the chance to know them, but at least he had Ron, Hermione, and me along with all the Weasleys. Maybe we weren't his biological family, but at least we could offer the same support a family can.
I continued to stare into the flames, my eyes drooping until they were completely shut. I felt my breathing slow and my body relax. I was strolling along the side of a huge cliff, a little girl trailing behind me. She looked to be only three or four, her long brown hair blowing behind her, her little dress dirty on the ends. She looked frightened and not sure that she should be following me. I could feel that I had malicious intents in mind, but I smiled reassuring at the girl. I even reached out and took her hand to make sure she didn't change her mind. In my own mind I could feel that there was something strangely familiar about the girl.
She clung to her teddy bear tighter as I helped her down the side of the cliff. The waves were crashing dangerously against the rocks but I didn't seem to care. I could feel the girl's body relax a little once we made it inside the little cave. I took her hand again and led her into the cave, into the back so that we didn't have to listen to the loud colliding of wave and rock.
"What are we doing here Tom?"
I turned around and smiled at her. "We are going to play a game."
"What kind of game?"
I knelt down so that I was at eye level with you. "You are different aren't you? I can tell, because I am different as well. I know people think you are weird, but I don't think you are weird at all."
The little girl took a step back. "I want to go back to the orphanage Tom," said the girl, her voice completely even.
"But we just got here! We can't leave yet! One game, I promise, and then we can go back to the orphanage."
The little girl stared at him and shook your head. "I know what you want to do Tom, and I don't want to play that game."
I thought to myself how mature sounding the little girl was, but of course I would be too if I could read people's minds. I was sure I would learn the magic to be able to do so.
"But I haven't told you what game we are playing."
The little girl glared at me. "Oh, I know what game you are thinking of, and the answer is no. I am going back."
I laughed at the girl. "And how will you climb the rocks by yourself?"
"I don't need to climb them," said the little girl with a smile.
"Wait!" I reached out to grab the girl but she was gone, having vanished into thin air. I screamed in frustration and punched the wall next to me.
When my fist made contact with the wall I jerked my eyes open, looking around to make sure I was in the common room and not in that dark and damp cave. I couldn't help but shake slightly as I thought back to the face of that little girl. I had seen it once before in a picture sitting on top of the fireplace at my house. I covered my face in fear. The little girl had been my mother and Voldemort knew exactly what she was.
__________________ 'Cause there's always time for second guesses, I don't wanna know
If you're gonna be the death of me, that's how I wanna go |