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After
By Senator of Sorcery

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Category: Alternate Universe, Asylum Challenge (2013-3), Asylum Challenge (2013-3)
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, All, Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Lily Potter, Luna Lovegood, Minerva McGonagall, Other, Ron Weasley
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Romance
Warnings: Dark Fiction, Death, Disturbing Imagery, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 105
Summary: *** Winner of Best Overall, Best Drama and the People’s Choice Award in the Asylum Challenge ***
*Nominated for 2014 April/May and November/December DSTA for Best Romance and Best Drama* *Nominated for 2016 January/February DSTA for Best Drama and Best Completed*

Ginny's plans for the weekend were just perfect: a day out in Hogsmeade with her girlfriends. Spend the morning window shopping and wishing, then lunch at the Three Broomsticks, and then to the local theater for a production of the Scottish Play (Macbeth).


Unfortunately, the bad luck of the Scottish Play strikes before it even starts. The village is invaded by Death Eaters, Dementors, and a man she had hoped to never see again in her life.


And in the middle of the battle, Ginny sees something she'd never thought she'd see. Voldemort and one of her greatest friends dueling; Harry Potter and Voldemort fighting so fiercely, she lost focus on her own battle. Harry Potter, crying out, falling, and hitting the ground. Dead.

And then, someone she never expected to help her saves her from Voldemort’s wrath.
Hitcount: Story Total: 167860; Chapter Total: 6596





Author's Notes:
have fun with this Warning: One of the nightmare's contains child abuse




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Chapter Eight

Nightmares and Fears


Just as the heat of the flames reached the tipping point, I felt the pain wane. I looked down, and the flames seemed to be receding. In fact, moments later, the fire had been extinguished.

“What?” I said, looking around in confusion. The ropes binding me to the post disintegrated, as did the post itself. I stumbled forward, falling to my knees. The pile of wood vanished, and all around me, the jeering faces of the Muggle men faded. I now knelt in a grassy courtyard by a fountain at dusk. I stood shakily, examining my arms and legs. There was not a trace of a burn on my body, and I was back in my Muggle clothes. I let out a shaky laugh.

“Don’t move!”

I groaned. Someone grabbed my arm, and tugged me away from the fountain, towards a manor house looming out of the fog. I glanced over at my captor, and let out a gasp.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

“The Dark Lord has discovered your treachery,” she hissed in my ear. “He is most displeased with you.”

I couldn’t help but gulp in fear. “What did I do?” I asked in a small voice. Bellatrix gave me a sideways glance and laughed at me.

“You have betrayed the Dark Lord! You are having traitorous thoughts, and you have agreed to use your skills to bring back one of the Dark Lord’s worst enemies!”

I let out a sigh. Great, I could guess as to whose nightmare this was. Thanks, Lucius, I thought bitterly.

“The Dark Lord has found you invaluable in the past,” Bellatrix said as she pushed open the front door, “but your value has faded, especially given recent events.”

“How do I face this nightmare?” I said aloud. I half-hoped that by saying that, I might get some help. All that happened was Bellatrix giving me a funny look. “Never mind,” I muttered. “Carry on.”

Bellatrix let out a growl, and tugged me through the large posh entrance hall to a smaller, but certainly grander, room past it.

“My Lord,” she called. “I have brought the traitor!”

“Good,” hissed a low, unnatural voice. I stiffened. Lord Voldemort sat in a high-back armchair by the fire, staring at me with hatred in his eyes.

“Bring him to me,” Voldemort said. Bellatrix hauled me forward and flung me to the ground at Voldemort’s feet. He leaned forward and touched my cheek with one long, cold finger.

“I cannot say I regret your change of allegiance, Lucius,” Voldemort said silkily. “I would have found it extremely useful had you decided to revive another of my Horcruxes.”

I frowned. Malfoy revived a Horcrux?

“Alas, I must punish those who disobey me,” Voldemort sighed. “Bring in Narcissa and the boy.”

I looked over my shoulder to see Mrs. Malfoy and Draco being hauled in by two burly men in masks. They were both gagged, and their hands were tied in front of them.

“You may have committed the sin, Lucius, but it is your wife and son that will pay for it,” Voldemort said. The two burly men both jabbed their wands into their victim and cried aloud, “Crucio!”

Narcissa let out a scream of agony, and fell to the floor in a heap. Draco dropped to his knees with a gasp, his face twisted with pain. I clapped a hand to my mouth in horror.

“Let them go!” I said. “They didn’t do anything!”

Voldemort laughed coldly. “Do you think I care? You must be punished, and this is your punishment. You will watch your wife and son be tortured until their minds break!”

I turned back to Narcissa, writhing on the floor, and Draco, who had just let out a scream of pain. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t just let them die, I may not like them, but they were human beings just like me!

“Do whatever you want to me,” I burst out. “Kill me, torture me, just let them go!”

Voldemort waved a hand to the two burly men, and they lifted their wands. “You are willing to die to save them?” he asked.

“They’re real people,” I said. “They don’t deserve to die for something they didn’t do.”

Neither do you, said a low voice in my head. I pushed it aside. This was only a dream. It couldn’t hurt me. The past two nightmare’s had proven that.

Voldemort narrowed his red eyes at me. I gulped.

He raised his wand. I closed my eyes.

“Avada Kedavra!”

I peeked through my lashes, and watched, as if in slow motion, as the curse flashed from the end of his wand to fly through the air towards me. I watched it light up the air around me, and then, it was gone, along with the rest of the room and the people. I pushed myself to my feet, and inhaled slowly. I let out my breath, and looked around. I stood in a white expanse.

“Very intriguing,” called the voice from before. I automatically reached for my wand, before I remembered that ‘the voice’ had taken it.

“What’s intriguing?” I asked.

“Your reactions to those three nightmares. You faced the wolf, and let it bite you. You burned at the stake and did not take the offensive against those Muggles, even though they wished to kill you, but you did make empty threats. You were willing to die to save two people you hate. This is curious.”

“I did what my gut told me to do,” I said. “Was I supposed to do something else? Kill the werewolf? Seriously curse those Muggles? They didn’t know better, I’d say. They were confused and very medieval about it. I didn’t actually die, so what’s the point? And as for the wolf, it couldn’t control itself, could it? My mother always said that werewolves are real people who just can’t control their bad side.”

“And you put your life on the line to protect Narcissa and Draco Malfoy,” the voice added. “That is what interests me most.”

“Why?” I said.

“You hate them, do you not?”

“Draco, maybe,” I said. “As for Mrs. Malfoy, it’s more like I really don’t like her.”

“And you were willing to die to save them. This shows great selflessness.”

“It was the right thing,” I said.

“Modest, as well, aren’t you?” the voice let out a chuckle. “We shall see if you can keep your cool in your next trial.”

“What is this for, anyway?” I called. “Why am I doing this?”

“To test you,” the voice called, and it sounded farther away. “If you are to revive your love, you must be pure of heart. I have always said that the best way to see into a woman’s heart is too put her under duress. This next nightmare will be more difficult still. Enjoy.”

“Whose is it?” I yelled. “Tell me!”

The voice laughed, and then I was standing in a dank room, wearing Muggle boys’ pajamas.

I looked down at my body, and it looked to me like I was smaller. I felt shorter, at least.

“Al, move out of the way, you’re blocking the TV.”

I turned around to face a plump man sitting with his feet up on a low table.

“Did you hear me, boy?” the man growled. “You’re in the way!”

I stepped to my left, confused. Then it dawned on me. This had to be either Alasdair’s or Dumbledore’s nightmare, if that man was calling me ‘Al.’ I looked around, scanning my surroundings. I was in a Muggle living room, a very dirty room, and judging by the clock on the wall, it was late at night.

“Why aren’t you in bed, anyway?” the man growled as his eyes flicked to me. I shrugged.

“Your momma’s gonna be back soon,” he muttered. “If you’re awake when she gets back, she won’t be happy. You wanna please your momma, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Where is she?”

He gave me a funny look. “She’s at work, you numbskull! Someone’s gotta pay for you, and the cable.”

“Why don’t you work?” I said, feeling suddenly angry. The man turned to me, brow furrowed.

“Say again?” he said in a low voice.

“I said why don’t you work?” I repeated.

The man rose out of the chair, and started towards me. I backed away, afraid of the murderous look on his face.

“You’d better watch your mouth, kid!” he growled. “Or do you like getting beat up?”

I shook my head quickly, backing farther away. I bumped into the wall.

“You’re lucky your momma likes you,” he growled, “or Ida thrown you outta here the minute I married your momma!”

“You’re just a mean old man!” I yelled suddenly. “My momma wouldn’t chose you over me!”

I felt internally confused. Why was I baiting this man, after he had just threatened to beat me?

Apparently, the man was startled as well, but that didn’t stop him from drawing his lips back in a sneer. Or seizing me by the collar and lifting me into the air.

“You idiot boy!” he growled. “I thought you’d have learnt your lesson!”

“Let me go!” I said, and I kicked him as hard as I could in the chest. He dropped me with a wheezy gasp and I hit the floor in a heap. I scrambled up and tried to dart away from him, but he grabbed me by the arm and twisted me around. I didn’t see his fist coming.

He hit me right in the nose. I dropped to my bottom and clutched my face, as warm blood oozed from my nostrils.

“Why’d you do dat?” I said in a nasal voice.

“You’d better learn quick boy,” the man snapped, grabbing me again.

“Let go!” I yelled. He plunged his fist into my stomach. I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me, and struggled to breath. The man’s hand closed around my throat.

“I oughta kill you now and be rid of you,” he snarled, squeezing his fingers. “You’re a freak, kid!”

“Let go,” I wheezed. “I’ll tell the police!”

The man let go of my throat, and grabbed my ankle. He hoisted me into the air, and I dangled above the ground. I tried kicking him, but he held me out reach.

“Lemme go!” I hollered. The man laughed.

“You’re more trouble than you’re worth!” he said. “All those private lessons you get from that nutter down the street? They cost too much! It’s messing with my beer money!”

“Let me down! Go drown yourself in your beer!”

The man tightened his grip on my leg, and then he flung me away from him. I collided with the chair he’d vacated, and fell to the floor. I groaned and sat up groggily. The man grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet. He drew back his fist; I ducked. The man let out a snarl of frustration and pushed me to the ground. I tried to stand, but he kicked me in the ribs.

“Get away from me!” I screamed, holding my hands out in front of me. A flash of gold light burst from my hands and the man flew backwards, hitting the opposite wall hard. I pushed myself to my feet, and stumbled away from him, towards a door. I pushed the door open, and staggered out into the street. It was snowing. My feet stung with the cold, and I wrapped my arms around myself, looking around. The door behind me burst open, and the man ran out, roaring. He grabbed me by the shoulders lifted me into the air.

“Leave me alone!” I said, trying to kick him. But my legs weren’t long enough. He laughed.

“You’re done kid!” he yelled. “I’ve had enough of you!”

I opened my mouth and screamed as loud as I could. The man clapped a hand over my mouth, and I bit him, hard enough that I tasted blood. He yelled, and dropped me. I scrambled away, holding my left arm close to my chest. There was a throbbing pain in the back of my head, my feet were tingling, my arm felt like it was on fire, and my nose ached. I glanced over my shoulder; the man was chasing me. I noticed a house across the street with the lights on. I darted through the snow towards it, praying that whoever was there would help.

“Come back here!” the man yelled. I ran across the street, and tripped over the curb. I hauled myself to my feet, and ran on, the man groping through the air for me. I stumbled up the steps to the front door and banged on the door.

“You’re a goner, Al!” yelled the man, and he grabbed me by the throat just as the door opened. I struggled to inhale, as black spots appeared in my vision. Through my lack of oxygen haze, I saw the person pull a wand from the pocket of her robe, and cast a spell at the man. His fingers jerked away from my throat, and I fell against the railing of the person’s front porch. I heard shouts above me, and I blearily noted my rescuer pulling me off the ground, and away from the cold and the man into her house. Then, the house vanished, as did my rescuer, and the feeling of being very hurt and very small, and I stood in a fenced in backyard, facing a fair-haired boy who looked as livid as the man who had just beat me up.

“I thought you were my friend,” the boy said. “I thought you agreed with me!”

“I do?” I suggested, raising an eyebrow.

“He disrespected me!” the boy burst out, pointing to another, younger blonde boy standing beside me. “He needs to be taught a lesson!”

Perhaps I was just on edge, or more likely that form of words made me think of the man from the last nightmare, and that made me react. Next thing I knew I had drawn my wand and we were dueling.

This isn’t so bad, I thought, dodging a curse from my opponent.

I had spoken too soon.

A little girl ran from the house behind me, towards us. The younger boy, who had joined in immediately, yelled “No, Arianna! Stay back!”

I cast a Stunning spell at the fair-haired livid boy, who ducked, and a jet of green light burst from the tip of his wand. It flew past my left shoulder and hit a tree behind me. I glanced at it, the leaves had turned from green to brown, and were falling off the tree. I looked back to the boy in horror. Who was this boy?

“You swore you would help me!” the boy yelled. “You swore Albus!”

“Yeah, well, all bets are off now,” I snapped. “Impedimenta!”

“Crucio!” the boy yelled. A jet of red light burst from his wand, and hit the younger boy square in the chest. He dropped to his knees with a scream, and the boy in front of me laughed.

I glared at him, angrier than ever. I sent a blasting hex at his feet, and the force of my hex sent him flying backward. The younger boy beside me stopped screaming, and lay on the ground, panting. The boy pushed himself up, and sent a jet of green light towards me. I ducked, it sailed past me and his the side of the house. The little girl that had left the house ran up to the younger boy, yelling at the top of her lungs, “Abber! Abber!”

“Get back inside,” ‘Abber’ wheezed, pushing himself up. “Go!”

“No!” she said, pulling on his arm. “Me help!”

“Get inside,” I told the little girl. “You’ll be safer inside the house.”

“Nowhere is safe from him,” ‘Abber’ growled. “This is your fault, Albus!”

“What did I do?” I said. ‘Abber’ opened his mouth to retort when the older boy rose to his feet, and cast a curse that sent me flying. ‘Abber’ sent a hex towards him; I stood, and jumped back in the fray.

While we were dueling, I didn’t pay attention to anything else. My focus was on my opponent, and on keeping ‘Abber’ and myself alive. I didn’t notice that the little girl, Arianna, had joined us.

“You’ll all pay!” roared my opponent; I jumped aside, dodging a jet of black light. Behind me, I heard a little gasp. I turned, and caught the little girl as she fell to the ground. I dropped to my knees as her weight hit me.

‘Abber’ turned around, and our battle was forgotten.

“Arianna!” he gasped, falling to his knees beside us.

“A- Abber,” she wheezed. “My- tummy… hurt.”

I looked down at her abdomen, and stifled a gag. The curse had ripped her stomach apart. Dark red liquid gushed from the wound, spilling over the grass and my knees.

“You- you’ll be okay,” ‘Abber’ said, his voice cracking. “Al- Albus will fix you. Right?”

“I- I don’t-” I stammered. “I can’t-”

“Fix her!” Abber burst out.

“I can’t!” I said. “I don’t’ know how!”

“Where did you get all those medals and awards from, then? You know how to fix her!”

“I don’t!” I said. “I don’t know what to do, I swear!”

“Your word is worth nothing anymore, Albus,” said my opponent. I whipped around, pointing my wand to him. He raised his hands up, dropping his own. “Aberforth, you’re wrong. There is no counter-curse to what I used. I should know, I created the spell.”

“Then create a reversal!” Aberforth yelled. The boy smirked.

“Typical buffoon, you think I can just whip up a remedy out of nowhere?” he let out a humorless laugh. “Besides, the girl was already damaged, was she not? She’s out of the way now, isn’t she?”

I lowered Arianna to the ground, and stood up slowly. I looked him straight in the eye, my hands clenched into fists.

“I have been bitten by a werewolf, burned at the stake, nearly died to save two people I hate from dying, and been beaten to a pulp by a total stranger,” I growled. “If I’m supposed to do some heroic act of magic and save that girl, then I will, even if it means putting my life on the line. But I will not tolerate some pansy-ass boy calling that little girl, or anyone worthless. I’m going to give you ten seconds to get out of my sight, or I’ll use every ounce of my magic to make sure you live out the rest of your life as a hideous half-human thing!”

The boy backed away from me, eyes wide with fear. I raised my wand, and said, “One.”

He turned tail, and ran, vaulting over the fence. I turned back to the little girl on the ground, and dropped to my knees.

“What am I supposed to do?” I said, looking down at her. She gave me a weak smile.

“Pretty lights,” the little girl said, pointing up. Her face was deathly pale. “See Mama.”

“Mama’s dead,” Aberforth said; his voice broke. The little girl just smiled, and closed her eyes.

“How do I save you?” I said through gritted teeth.

“You can’t,” she said, but it wasn’t her voice, it was the voice from before. “Little Arianna died, and her brother could do nothing to help her. That is his worst nightmare. You have done well, Ginerva Weasley.”

“I haven’t done anything!” I cried. “Why can’t I save her?”

“Because the owner of this worst nightmare could not save her when this really happened. She died, and he and his brother never spoke again. Can you guess whose nightmare this is?”

“Professor Dumbledore’s,” I said. “They were calling me ‘Albus.’”

“Yes,” the voice moved, now coming from a spot above me. I glanced up, then back at the little girl bleeding out on the ground and Aberforth wiping away tears. “Albus Dumbledore’s worst nightmare.”

“Then that last one was Alasdair’s,” I said.

“Yes again. He dreams frequently of his step-father beating him. It was a common occurrence.”

“Did he ever get away?” I asked, rising to my feet.

“Yes; he ran away shortly after the scene you went through, and found his father. This boy here, in fact.”

As she said those last words, the image of Aberforth and Arianna faded, and I was once again standing in Stonehenge.

“Can you tell me who the first three nightmares belonged to?” the voice called.

“The third one was Lucius Malfoy’s,” I said. “That’s obvious.”

“But the first and second?”

“Well, one is Hermione’s and the other is Draco’s,” I said.

“But which is which?”

I bit my lip, thinking. “The first one was Draco’s, and the second was Hermione’s?”

“Very good. What led you to that conclusion?”

“Um, it was a guess?”

The voice laughed. “A lucky guess, then.”

I cracked a smile, “That and I didn’t think Draco would have nightmares about being killed by Muggles.”

“Can you tell me the root fear of each nightmare?”

I frowned. “Uh, the root fear of Albus’ nightmare was the fear of losing his sister?”

“Close, it was the fear of losing a loved one. And Alasdair’s?”

“Fear of his step-father,” I said, more sure.

“Yes. What about Lucius?”

“Fear of losing a loved one again,” I said.

“Correct. And his son’s?”

“It was a fear of becoming a werewolf?” I guessed.

“There were actually multiple fears at work there. One of them was a fear of losing his humanity, although the werewolf might not be the best representation of that. There were two others, can you identify them?”

“A fear of…” I trailed off, thinking. In Draco’s nightmare, I had been alone in a dark forest in the middle of the night. I had been chased by the wolf and I ran into a snake. And then the wolf bit me. Not to mention the weird pit that had appeared in the path. “Fear of man-eating plants?” I said.

“No, although there was a fear near there. What was it?”

“The snake?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s right. Draco Malfoy is afraid of snakes. Now, what is the third root fear there?”

“I thought you were supposed to be testing my virtue or something,” I said. “Not my smarts.”

The voice laughed again. “We are discussing psychology, Ginerva. And when you are in my realm, we will discuss psychology. What is the third root fear?”

“Um, fear of creepy woods,” I guessed.

“Alas, that is not all. But, I will tell you. The third root fear of Draco Malfoy’s worst nightmare is a fear of the dark.”

“Malfoy’s afraid of the dark?” I said.

“Yes. Now, what is the root fear of Hermione’s nightmare?”

“Why’s Malfoy afraid of the dark?” I asked.

“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to tell you that. Your friend’s root fear?”

“Um, being burned at the stake?”

“No.”

“Fear of being exposed as a witch?”

“Close. It is a fear of being rejected by her hometown because she is a witch. Especially by that old man you saw.”

“Who was he?” I asked.

“He is her town’s vicar. He is also her grandfather.”

“Wow,” I said. “Imagine that.”

“Now, for the worst nightmare of your mystery person. I will go ahead and tell you whose it is.”

Stonehenge faded around me, and I stood in a dark unkempt courtyard, surrounded by gravestones.

“This is the nightmare of Harry Potter.”
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