Night Terrors by Karaley Dargen
–What have I done? Why is this just about what I’ve done?†she replies, her voice genuinely indignant. –I thought you of all people might be on my side here.â€
–On your side?†I ask. –Why are there sides to be on? Why are these people in cages, Martha?â€
–Oh, don’t pretend like you don’t know,†she says, her voice much harsher than before. –I know you’ve been snooping around; I just didn’t think you’d make it here.â€
I genuinely don’t have a clue what she means, but letting her see just how little I have figured out just doesn’t feel like a very good idea. –But why them?†I ask instead.
–Because they’re the ones holding me back.†She’s almost yelling now, and I can see that her nails are digging deep into the palms of her hands.
–How are they--â€
–Charms,†she screams, pointing at Morgan.
–He-- what?†I’m baffled. What is she saying -- Morgan’s charms?
–Oh, like you haven’t noticed.†She turns fully to him, and the visible magic flickering around Morgan’s cage intensifies. –Flitwick just loves him, with his perfect wand movement and intonation,†she hisses.
After a second of extreme confusion, I realise that she’s talking about school.
–And her!†Martha exclaims, spinning around to face Alexandra. –Everybody knows that she’s with someone from the Runes Archive. Of course she can always answer all the questions, and always has an opinion, and of course Professor Babbling just fucking adores her.â€
A chill runs over my back, and I feel a very strong urge to look over my shoulder, but I know I can’t take my eyes off Martha.
–And he!†She’s taken two steps back and is pointing at Ed now, who is just standing rigidly in his cage and staring back at her. –He-- he--â€
–Martha,†I interrupt. –Is all this about NEWTs?†There’s a pause as she clearly struggles to turn away from Ed and face me. –It’s just school, Martha. There are so many more important things than--â€
–It’s not just school!†she says and runs a hand through her hair, leaving it looking quite deranged. –This is what determines our future, don’t you see? You don’t get enough NEWTs, you don’t get the job you want, you don’t meet the right people, your family leaves you, your friends leave you, and then you sit in a miserable place on your own, working a miserable job that just about pays for the miserable food you eat to continue your miserable life!â€
I know I can’t argue this away for her, but the unfairness of the situation Martha has created makes it hard for me not to scream at her. –But what do they have to do with it?†I ask, doing my best to keep my voice level. –Their marks don’t have anything to do with yours.â€
–Don’t be so naïve, Tonks. The teachers prefer them, so they get better marks, and everyone else drops off in comparison. They get more attention, so they learn better, and it just keeps getting worse for the rest of us. They only do better because of an unfair advantage -- knowing the right people, having a free schedule to study, being in the right House... And then, we can’t help but worry about this, and can’t focus on studying, and the gap keeps growing. In the end the expectations directed at everyone fulfil themselves, and they’ll get great results for their NEWTs, but we won’t, because the professors and examiners expect us to do badly.â€
–You’re a Hufflepuff!†I finally burst out. –We're supposed to be just and strive for fairness and not put yourself before others like that!â€
–But that’s exactly what I’m doing!†she says, opening her arms. –I’m creating a fairer situation for everyone else in these classes. If three people have to give up some freedoms so that thirty people can achieve what they’re capable of achieving, isn’t that fair?â€
–Give up some freedoms? Martha, you’ve locked them up in here. You’ve imprisoned them in a nightmare. You could have talked to the teachers, or Sprout, or even Dumbledore if you felt like the professors were playing favourites and ignoring other students. How can you even think that what you’ve done is fair?†Instinctively, I reach for my wand, preparing for the worst. But for the first time since I’ve come to this place, I realise that I don’t have it with me.
–It’s such a shame,†Martha says. The calmness in her voice is terrifying. She looks so normal, as if we've just had a chat in the common room. –I was really hoping you might understand.â€
At last, I give in to the urge and throw a glance over my shoulder. The beast in the lake has reached the bank now and is waiting only a couple of yards behind us. I didn’t realise before just how large it is. The black, writhing tentacles tower high above the trees and stretch across the shore, curling around cliffs and tree trunks easily.
–See, this is why I like it so much here.†Martha raises her chin, and the creature in the lake tenses. –This is my world. I can do anything here.â€
–You can do anything in the real world as well,†I say quickly. –You’re clever, and talented, and dedicated, and other people don’t have to--â€
Her laugh is cackling and alien. –Open your eyes, Tonks. This world is just as real. Everything that happens here has consequences.â€
Before I know what’s happening, the tentacles are crawling across the ground in front of me, stretching for my limbs. I start running again. I don’t want to leave Morgan, Alex, and Ed alone with Martha, but I have to figure out a plan before I can do anything to help them -- and that means I have to get away from here.
I only manage to cross a couple of yards before I see the wooden wall stretching all around us. I wonder if I could levitate over it, or even make it disappear. This is a dream, after all, and Martha must have created it somehow. I have no idea how I’d even go about doing it though, and there’s no denying this one thing -- Martha has far more practise here than I do.
There is an almighty crash as the trees that were in the way of the sweeping tentacles break and tumble down. A thought flashes across my mind. Everything that happens here has consequences. What happens if you die in a dream? Somewhere beyond the wall, I can hear that terrible, inhuman scream again.
I have nowhere to run, and even if I had, Ed and the other two are helpless in their cages. I really can’t leave them there with Martha and that monster. Clenching my fists, I spin around and sprint towards the new clearing.
–Come and get me then,†I shout, leaping over the trunk of a fallen tree. A tentacle comes crashing down at me from above, but I duck and roll under the debris just in time. Above me, the beast is trying to reach through the ridge between two tree trunks to get to me, but it is too big to fit. I am, too, but at that moment I remember something. I may not have my wand, but I have another kind of magic. I'm a Metamorphmagus, and there's no reason why I shouldn't be one in a dream as well. Still crouching down, I make myself as thin as I can, until I just fit between the fallen tree trunks. I run away from the lake and away from the monster, which is thumping on the wood angrily now. Suddenly, I hear Martha yell, –Don’t try to hide, Tonks. It doesn’t work that way!â€
In an instant, she has vanished my cover. –Where are you then?†I call back. As I cast a hurried look around, both for Martha and another place to run to, I’m struck by an idea. The cages. But I have paused too long, and before I can take another step, something squeezes around my ankle. I don’t have to look down to see what it is, or to know that any struggle will be futile. I need something more powerful than my physical strength, something... but what? Think, think, think! I’m in a dream world. I’m supposed to be able to do anything here. Martha certainly has a whole set of unexpected powers over her environment.
A second tentacle is wrapping itself around my other leg. I have to act. Something powerful. I channel all the anger, the frustration, and yes, the fear that I feel, not targeting it to a specific action, but channelling it until I can physically feel it burn within me. In the corner of my eye, I can see the tips of my hair growing scarlet. I take a deep breath and unclench my fists, and to my complete surprise, a shiver runs through the creature, and the grip that it had on my limbs slackens. It’s not retreating, but it recoils just long enough for me to push the tentacles away and run.
I know I’ve infuriated the monster in the lake now. I don’t care. Actually, I welcome it.
–You can’t hide behind those cages,†comes Martha’s voice again. –You can’t hide here, at all, Tonks.â€
–I wasn’t planning to,†I mutter through my clenched teeth, skidding to a halt just in front of Ed’s cage. A massive tentacle is raised above the few remaining trees, ready to strike. The whole beast seems to be trembling with anger. –Go on then,†I yell, not at Martha, but directly at the mass of tentacles. –Get me!â€
–NO!†Martha exclaims, but she’s too late, or not powerful enough. She's breaking.
I only have time to shout –Duck!†and jump aside myself before the thick, black arm smashes through the three cages in one heavy motion. The moment the cages are broken, the light that had been radiating around them disappears.
–Are you all right?†I call into the rubble. To my relief, three figures rise. –Go!†I order. –Quickly!â€
Morgan disappears first. There’s no fading, no flickering. He’s just gone.
–We can help you,†Alexandra says. –We can’t just go!â€
–You can.†I look around for the creature, but I can’t see it anywhere. A massive thing like that isn’t easy to miss. Where has it gone? –You have to go,†I say, turning back to Alexandra. –I’ll be right behind you.â€
–No, we’ll--†she begins, but at that moment, her outline becomes sort of fuzzy, and she goes in and out of focus. –No, no, no, no,†she mumbles. –I don't want to wake up. I need to help. I have to he--â€
And she’s gone.
–Our bodies want to wake up, Tonks,†Ed says. –We’ve been asleep for too long. I don’t think I have a lot of time left.â€
–Go already!†I call, frantically looking for a sign of Martha or her monster.
–No!†comes the furious scream again, and then there’s that ripping sound, and Martha is standing in front of us. –You’ve wrecked it!†She looks downright terrifying. –You’ve broken everything I’ve worked for! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?â€
–I’ve saved my friends,†I say, standing firmly and facing her.
–You’ve gone too far,†Martha replies darkly. –I was just going to keep you here, like them, but now I--â€
She breaks off suddenly. Her gaze seems fixed on something behind me, and her face is ashen. Against my better instincts, I turn around. At first, I only see a large cloud blowing through the sky at an unnaturally fast pace. But then I hear that terrible scream again.
–You have to wake up, Tonks,†Ed urges. –Let’s get out of here!â€
Ash starts raining down from the grey skies as if the world itself was falling apart.
–No,†Martha mutters. –No.†Her voice grows stronger and she steadies herself. –We’re finishing this here and now.†She thrusts out her hands to send a ball of scarlet lightning at me, but it fizzes out before it’s halfway there. Next to me, I can see Ed flickering in and out of this world.
–I don’t have any time left,†he says. –Wake up, Tonks! You have to wake up right now!â€
Whatever is in the sky, it is circling above us now. I don’t see it, but I don’t have to. I can sense it, and I’m sure that Martha can as well. The look on her face says enough. The creature in the lake was nothing compared to this; it was likely a figment of Martha’s imagination that she brought to life to fit into this world. That being in the sky is different. It’s... older. It belongs in this world.
–Ed?†I don’t turn to look at him. –I wanted to tell you, just in case I don’t get another chance... we won the match.â€
Wake up!
I really should. It’s my only way out of here. The grey specks of ash are still raining down around us, settling on my head and arms and shoulders. And then everything starts swirling around me. For a moment I feel like I’m falling down. I can’t see if Ed is still there, and Martha has disappeared from view again as well.
The whole world is a swirling mass of grey, and the floor has just been yanked from under my feet. I can’t catch a clear thought. Where am I?
Your cousin Sirius is dead. Ed’s gone, long gone. You’re dead. Everything is shattered. Everything is gone. This is all that’s left.
No.
No, that’s not right. I’m not dead. I’m dreaming. I’m in my bed, asleep. I have to wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake up.... You have to wake up, Tonks!