Infinity Times Infinity

It was dark. 

There was screaming. Loud horrid screaming as if two people were fighting. 

Then the scene changed and you were no longer in the dark, instead, you were outside in a garden, just at the front of your house where a man faced you. He was scared, desperate, begging for you to join him, but you refused to do so. The constant refusals caused the man to grow rabid and angry. 

He threw curse after curse, hoping you’d change your mind, but you didn’t falter. With each flick of your hand, you bounced off every flash of light you both saw and couldn’t. 

Suddenly, the cries of a baby finally set the man off. You turned back to see your daughter at the door, her hands hit the door weakly as she cried for you. A mistake on your part really, as a pain shot through you – he must have hit you. 

There was more shouting and more fighting as you tried to fend for yourself and your daughter from the man. You managed to disarm him and while he looked for his wand, you scooped up the toddler, trying desperately to apparate, but not being able to do so. The curse must be stunting the apparition… the realization made your stomach drop. 

Instead, you ran upstairs and entered the first room you saw. There wasn’t much time. If you hid your child, if you could protect her, that was all that mattered. You’d fight tooth and nail to keep her safe, to keep her away from him . 

You opened the closet and carefully placed her inside with her favorite blanket and stuffed animal. Hopefully, it would distract her, just enough for her to remain quiet so he couldn’t find her. You brought your finger up to your mouth and begged for her to understand as you closed the closet doors and spelled them shut. 

The man resurfaced just as you walked away from the hiding spot, his face was bright red and fuming as it scrunched in frustration. He continued to beg for you to join as he stepped into the room. 

“Never. I’d never join you after what you did to my mother and brother.”

Wait, you don’t have a brother. This wasn’t you. 

You shot another spell, more fighting ensued, but in the end, the man won as bright green light flooded your vision. It was dark once more. 

– – – – – 

The next time you opened your eyes, you were still in the same room, but your vision was blurred. The closet doors did nothing to block your view onto the room outside. You saw everything, even if you couldn’t quite understand. Tiny hands hit the door and it opened without much fight. You crawled towards the woman slouched against the bed and gently palmed at her leg. 

But she did not move. 

You crawled onto her lap and continued to prod her so she could hold you. Still, she did not hold you, nor did she smile and kiss your head. No, she did none of those things. You crawled into her arms and lay there, the comforting warmth that should have been there gradually turned cold. 

You don’t know when you had started crying, but your throat burned raw. It grew tiring and after a while, you just stopped. That left time for you to realize that you were no longer the person from before, but the baby. 

Moments later, a man you recognized walked in, shock and panic etched all over his face as he approached the scene. He dropped down onto his knees and held both the woman and the baby in a last effort to hold what he once had and now lost. He carefully picked you up and you cried again as the man held you, saddened and pained that the person who had held you was cold and unmoving. The man’s last piece of joy and love sat crying in his arms. 

He didn’t know what to do.

You woke with a jolt but didn’t move to sit upright. The starry roof of your four-poster bed mocked you as you stared back, trying your best to regain breath.  

Nightmares like those have never happened before… at least not in succession of each other. 

You couldn’t go back to sleep after that. No matter how much you tossed and turned to find a comfortable spot in bed, you couldn’t. You pushed yourself up from bed and slid on your slippers. Maybe some fresh air could help after… after whatever that was. Ahira sleepily pooled into the spot on your bed you had previously occupied. She could still feel the remaining warmth and coiled happily in it, but she was oblivious to your absence.

Solaris’ snores echoed in your quiet dorm as you walked around, she somehow had managed to keep her sleeping mask on. That was a first for her.

The drawer slid open with a soft creak as you pulled an oversized sweater out and lazily put it on. Solaris murmured in her sleep, something about how pretty someone’s hair smelled. That was a nice contrast to whatever nightmare you had just a few minutes ago. Before leaving, you grabbed your wand holster and strapped it to your thigh, then slid your wand in. Just in case you stumbled into something you shouldn’t… this was Hogwarts after all. 

You snuck out of your dorm and out of the Slytherin common room. Luckily, no one was out patrolling the dungeon corridors this late at night. Once you cleared the dungeons, you set your walk to the courtyards. It would’ve been better if you could venture the fields closer to the forest, but the dementors were at the exits of the castle and you were not looking forward to bumping into one of those anytime soon, or at all for that matter. 

You tired quickly (after only a couple of rounds of walking aimlessly) and debated whether to go back to your dorm or to walk for a few more minutes when a familiar scent slinked closer from one of the hallways. You poked your head from around the corner and saw Fred walking with a piece of parchment in hand. His wand was dimly lit, some sort of lighting spell that wasn’t as harsh as Lumos, but helpful nonetheless. 

What was he doing out of bed? You thought to yourself. 

You watched as he looked down, then up. He must have the map… was he expecting to see someone? You watched him some more until realization hit — it was you he was looking at. You smacked your forehead as an idea popped into your mind. You took your wand out of your holster and tapped the top of your head, immediately a cold sensation dripped from head to toe. The disillusionment spell Flitwick taught your class worked just fine. Your body had camouflaged into whatever was nearest and you smiled, amazed. You turned the corner to greet him, a grin plastered onto your face. 

He was not going to expect this. 

You walked towards him carefully. Fred tipped his head down, confusion etching his face as he saw your name move towards him, but didn’t see you. He rubbed his eyes and gave out a tired yawn. 

“Melin, I think this map might’ve started to malfunction.”

“I think the map is correct—” Your voice got drowned out by the shrill scream Fred let out. You couldn’t help but chuckle, as he turned around frantically. You raised your wand and removed the spell from yourself. Slowly, you were back to normal and gave Fred a goofy smile. 

“Y/N?!” He let out a huge sigh of relief and placed a hand over his pounding heart. “What are you doing out of bed?” 

“What are you doing out of bed?” You asked back. 

He folded the parchment and stuck it in the rear pocket of his pants. “I asked you first.” 

You rolled your eyes playfully and bumped his shoulder as you began to walk away from him. The dim moonlight of the half-moon spilled through the columned arches of the castle’s walls and into the corridor. It was fairly quiet as everything stilled in the moonlight. You watched as the late November breeze blew softly through the trees in the courtyard, eventually making their way into the castle. There was an odd melody, a calming buzz, of the Hogwarts castle this late at night. It might be one of your favorite sounds.

“I couldn’t sleep,” you confessed, digging your hands into the pockets of your own sweater. You glanced up to see his reaction, however, he was still looking forward. 

Not only did the moonlight do the castle justice, but it did the same for Fred’s side profile. His typical fiery red hair glowed, but in a more subtle way; it was darker and much more calming than the sunrise’s counterpart. His nose was long and poise and perfectly balanced his jaw. His brown eyes met yours and you quickly looked away. 

“Nightmare?”

“Something like that.”

He was quiet for a moment, probably struggling to say what he wanted to. “Want to talk about it?”

You shook your head. “If I’m being honest, I kinda forgot what it was about. The walk helped me forget about it; that’s good I guess.” 

Fred gave you an unsure look but didn’t push it. 

“So why are you wandering the corridors late at night?” You teased him. After all,  you hadn’t forgotten just yet how he was searching for you. 

He seemed to freeze momentarily before scratching his neck nervously. “I was having trouble sleeping and thought I’d check the map to see if anyone else was awake — so I can prank them, you know?”

You snorted and shook your head lightly. Unbelievable, no opportunity wasted when it came to him, but you knew the reason why. You could feel it in the way his heartbeat changed the slightest bit.

“No rest for the mischievous?”

“Nope.” He flashed you a goofy grin before continuing his explanation. “Anyway, I saw you up and about and decided to check up on you. Just in case something was going on, ‘wanted to make sure you were okay.”

You grabbed his arm and pulled yourself closer to him. “Aww, Freddie-boy was worried about me.”

“Of course I was. You were walking around Hogwarts at two in the morning when there’s a mass murderer on the loose! Honestly, woman, you’re a Slytherin but have no self-preservation.”

You smacked his shoulder and giggled softly. “I would call you my knight in shining armor , but you only have half a brain cell and are as reckless as I am. Where’s George when you need him?”

Fred was the one to act offended as he slid the map out of his pocket. He examined it for a few seconds before stilling. You were just about to ask if something was wrong when you heard a faint beat of footsteps walking down a corridor. 

Someone was headed towards the two of you. 

Before you could register anything else, Fred quickly grabbed hold of your wrist and pulled you into a dark crook in the hallway. Your heartbeat quickened as you felt his hand slide into yours. Too stunned to form words, you remained quiet and watched as a professor walked down the adjacent hallway and pass where the two of you hid. 

Fred’s hand remained at the back of your head even after the ordeal had passed moments prior. Oblivious to when his other hand (the one you were previously holding) moved to your lower back, you were aware of it but didn’t question it. His breath tickled the hair from the top of your head and you could hear his heart beat much quicker than it usually did. It might just be your heightened ability, but Merlin was it loud and intoxicating. 

“I think they’re gone,” he breathed out, but you heard his voice rumble in his chest. 

“Are they?” You whispered, too afraid that your voice would give out then and there.

As Fred peaked out from the crook, you were no longer being held against his chest and breathed out a relieved sigh. 

“We got lucky — that was Professor Snape.”

“I could’ve said you kidnapped me and he would believe me,” you said, laughing as he glared at you. 

He playfully pushed you as the two of you walked out of the hiding spot. “Ugh, I forgot you’re one of Snape’s favorites.” 

“Snape doesn’t have favorites,” you reminded him, but he scoffed at your statement. 

“Right, tell that to the entirety of Slytherin — there’s Malfoy and his goons.”

“If you think those are his favorites, you’re dead wrong. He couldn’t wish for more than to be left alone by them, it’s like a bad babysitting gig.” 

The two of you tried your best to hold in your laughter, but it was futile. As the two of you giggled, you heard something and immediately stopped. “Oh no —”

“What? What is it?” he asked hurriedly.

“He’s headed back this way.”

Fred nearly choked. “Snape? He’s walking back here?”

You could tell. The smell of dried herbs and rhythmic footsteps were unmistakable. “Yes! He’s making his way back here — run!”

A faint Who goes there? echoed down the corridor, but by then the two of you were already running and gone from the scene.

Fred’s hand found yours and just like that you couldn’t feel worried at all. Not when a tall redhead pulled you along the castle’s corridor as you ran away from Snape. Not when the moonlight casts funny shadows of your bodies running, the two figures dancing on the castle’s walls, winding and chasing the other. Giggles escaped in light and airy breaths as the adrenaline kicked in and you couldn’t help but tilt your head back and let the air rush through your hair. 

With the nightmare long gone and forgotten, you lived in the present you and Fred had made for each other.