ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅʀᴀᴛᴛᴇᴅ ʟɪʟᴀ ʜᴏʟᴍᴇꜱ || ᴅʀᴀᴄᴏ ᴍᴀʟꜰᴏʏ x ᴏᴄ || ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ 1-3

symphony

I woke suddenly, the soft sound of a violin startling me from my dream a few rooms away. I rose slowly, realizing I was on the floor. Not the floor of our flat in Crete, nor of my own bedroom back home. Instead it was of the carpeted corridor of Hogwarts, down the hall from the Charms and music rooms. How had I gotten here? Was this a dream?

I felt cold, which was an indicator that something was unusual. Usually, I did not feel anything in dreams.

I got up silently, gazing around at the portraits surrounding me. Most of their muses were asleep, those that were awake did not seem to know I was there. I paid them no mind, walking instead toward the sound of the violin. By the lack of light, I knew it was night time. Who would be up so late and playing so openly?

I peered through the small window in the door to see the silhouette of a girl, draped in moonlight. Her back was to the door, as if her symphony was dedicated to the stars outside the wide window she faced. The melody she played was beautiful, hypnotic almost, albeit a little sad. I leaned closer to see her features, only for the door to creak open and for me to stumble through.

She stopped playing abruptly, turning to face me. I was just regaining my composure, trying not to look suspicious. But again, something was wrong. When I encountered other people in dreams, they never reacted to my presence. She shouldn't have known I was there.

"You know, students ought not to be out past curfew," she said to me, and for the first time I noticed the golden Prefect badge on her robes. In the darkness, I couldn't tell quite what color they were.

"Prefects ought to be doing hall duty," I countered, quirking an eyebrow. She pursed her lip at this, finally putting down her violin.

"I don't have time to practice during the day," she said flatly. "I've got to find some time to do it. I reckon that's why Dippet offered me the position anyway. He knows I need my playing time."

I furrowed my brow. "Dippet?"

"Our Headmaster?" She said with an eye roll. "Honestly, you'd think you don't even go here. What House are you in anyway?"

"Gryffindor," I said truthfully. At this, she moved closer to me, into the light, so I could see the blue of her robes and the striking features of her face. Her skin was smooth and pale like a dolls, nose turned upward and eyes a deep green. She looked vaguely familiar, as if I'd seen her many times in passing. The structure of her face was soft, and she was tall. Her hair was straight and dark, flowing past her shoulders and down to her waist.

"Gryffindor?" She snorted. "Clearly Patricia isn't intimidating you lot enough."

She scrutinized me, squinting her emerald eyes at my figure. "I don't believe I've seen you before."

"I'm a second year," I explained. I was telling the truth, although I had the feeling that we came from realities with different truths. A thought suddenly struck me. "What year is it?"

She stared for just a second before she leaned back, replying. "1942."

I could feel myself starting to fade away. Back to my reality, at least — 1992. What was I doing in 1942? I looked down at my hands and feet, starting to feel dizzy. I could see the floor through my bare arms, as though I were just an apparition. The girl looked alarmed, suddenly running toward me. With the movement, the flash of a red gem at her throat caught my eye.

The pendant.

"What's happening to you?!" She asked, though her words started to fade in and out, as though a bubble were forming between us.

"Your necklace," I only said in response, showing her the one I wore tucked beneath my shirt. They were identical. Her eyes widened as she looked between her own necklace and mine. Before she could speak, I was gone.

I woke for real in my bed in the flat, feeling my chest heave from the experience. I suddenly felt nauseous, and grudgingly ran to the bathroom. Don't throw up, I thought. I liked to consider myself pretty fearless of the morbid and dangerous, but I could not handle throwing up. Myself, or watching anyone else.

I sat beside the toilet for a long time, holding it down. What felt like hours went by before I could breathe normally again, but when I got back to my room it had hardly been twenty minutes. I took a slow sip of water to calm my nerves. Waking from the dream had been more unpleasant than anything I'd ever experienced.

Was it a dream? Could you talk to people in dreams? In such great detail? I never had before. When I dreamt, I was never quite as aware of what was happening. I never felt the temperature. Who was the girl with the violin, and why had I been sent back to meet her?

Maybe it was something to ask Dumbledore. For good measure, I put the necklace in a drawer. It hadn't been on my neck when I fell asleep, only sitting on my bedside table. I was wary to fall asleep again, but thankfully when I did it was silent and dreamless.

a/n: short chapter for suspense :p. also thank you all so much for your support <33!