He called out desperately in his restless sleep. His arms stretched out above him in a feeble attempt to grab at something that wasn’t there. Dry screams stopped in his throat, just short of coming out of his open mouth. Then suddenly he stopped. His arms fell slowly to his sides and his distorted face relaxed into a stupor. Finally, with a sudden jerk, he woke up in his four-poster bed in the boys' dormitory.
Thoughts swam aimlessly in his head casing him to shut his eyes for the dizziness they caused him. He was shaky and weak; his clothes drenched with cold sweat. Panting, he reached to the foot of his bed where a large wooden trunk resided. On top of it lay a medium brown book alongside an ink well and eagle-feather quill. He hurriedly scrawled down what he could remember from his nightmare.
He was disturbed by the images that swam in his head. They were all bits and pieces of his fears. All of them had seemed so real, so tangible. He could even almost recall the smell of the nightmare, or at least, what it would've smelled like had it been real. Rubbing the temples of his head he closed his eyes and tried even harder to recall more images, but they were so unrefined and hazy that he gave up- he had enough already for what he needed to remember.
He shut the book with great care for fear of smearing the ink on the pages and set it back in its respectful place on top of his trunk along with the ink well and quill. He lay back on his bed with his eyes wide open to the canopy above him. Forcefully his eyelids closed and he tried to calm down the buzzing questions and fears in his brain that chained him to his consciousness while he needed sleep. At last, some hours later, he was successful in stomping the questions out; his fears would return come tomorrow night.
~*~
He woke the next morning a bit weary and still a little shaky. Nonetheless he didn't let his roommates know about last night's episode and he went about his morning routine as usual. He showered, brushed his teeth, pulled a comb through his hair, and dressed for another day at Hogwarts.
Today wasn't going to be like all the other days. No, starting today, things were going to change for him. He was going to find away to stop his fears. They would cringe before him and run away, not daring to look back at the boy they once tortured. After today, he would be well on his way to finding the solution to his nightmares.
He started out with breakfast at his table in the Great Hall among his fellow students. They all greeted him and gave him brotherly claps on the back as he sat down. Happiness hung lightly and fluidly in the cheery bright air. Laughter rung throughout the Hall and echoed off every wall. Today was going to be a good day and he knew it.
So then, after consuming a good amount of bacon, eggs, orange juice, and sausage, he and his fellow House classmates ran off to their classes. It was Tuesday and that meant Transfiguration, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and a two hour block of study hall. That's when he'd find his answers.
The day went by much more slowly than he would've liked, but he didn't mind glancing at an hourglass every now and then; study hall will come when it comes. Transfiguration was a piece of cake and there was nothing different about that. Herbology was a bore as it had always been. The only thing needed for that class was memorization and common sense. Care of Magical Creatures was interesting at the most. All the creatures of the wizarding world were quite fascinating when it came to the 'big and scary' ones. Even more interesting were the ones that were small and seemingly harmless ones.
Finally it came. The last class of the day when everyone passed notes, finished homework, and traded the latest gossip. He laid his school bag down at a bench in the classroom and removed from it a large roll of parchment, a full ink well, and his eagle-feather quill.
Confidently, he informed the professor that he would be taking a trip to the library for a while and would be back for the end of class. Just for good measure he added in his 'perfect student' smile and face in case the professor got suspicious when he started to do this for the next few weeks and possibly for the rest of the year.
He walked calmly down the corridors quite pleased with himself. He had a plan and he intended to follow it. Soon enough he came to the Library. He intended to get to know the Library quite well; after all they were going to be good friends.
He set his supplies down on a table by the window that let in the most light so he could see what he was doing. The smell of old parchment and eroding leather filled his nostrils as he inhaled the Library air deeply. Here he would start his quest.
He approached the Librarian and politely inquired about the sort of books he would need for his research. She pointed him to section that best fit his needs and he set of too it. All the books in that section were ancient books. Some of them were actually scrolls that no one had bothered to rewrite in a leather-bound book yet. He grabbed as many books and scrolls as he could handle and went back to his table. Soon he became consumed in his research.
~*~
…although I have found that Unicorn blood can sustain human life; but to my dismay I have also discovered that it creates a half-life for the drinker and therefore, to use Unicorn blood to keep at bay the ever-impending death we all face, it is not worth it…
Not worth it?, he thought to himself. Now that's a strange thing to say once you've been granted life instead death.
"Tom, your class is about to end. You might want to head back before Professor Dumbledore gives you a detention," the Librarian said from behind a bookshelf somewhere.
He gathered his things and carefully placed all the books and scrolls back in their proper places.
Unicorn blood…, he thought, it's not much, but it's a start.
The Blood of Unicorns by On Angels Wings
Chapter Notes: I hope this is the first of many short stories!