Nightmares {TAG: anyone! :)}

Miranda swept down the castle steps in the cool dawn air, the litter of kittens swarming around her feet. The mother cat prowled dignified behind them all. Miranda stretched her arms to the sky to stretch, yawning as she made her way across the lawn. The kittens had been keeping her and Lucy (the mother cat) up all night long. And the few minutes she had managed to doze had been plagued with nightmares. The darkness of the last one still echoed in the back of her mind. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, her bare feet brushing through the smooth grass. She was used to the nightmares. They had plagued her for years.
But since being at Hogwarts, she had discovered the perfect cure. Stripping off her cloak and robes left her in a thin, deep blue shift. She waded into the lake, the cool water sending goosebumps up her legs. With a deep breath, she submerged herself completely in the the icy water. The cold shocked out all traces of the nightmare. Her dainty smile graced her lips as her head broke the water's surface. She floated on the water for a few minutes before the high-pitched mewing of her worried kittens reached her ears. With a sigh, she began to swim back towards the shore.

Belle actually couldn't remember the last time she had gotten up this early. But, she had some papers to grade, and she had to get them done before this afternoon. By the time she was finally done with it all, she was regretting not having done it last night. Procrastination still creeped up on her from time to time. It looked like she wasn't going to get back to sleep anytime soon though, so she wrapped a cloak around her shoulders and decided to take a walk. The school grounds did look nice early in the morning, before all the hustle and bustle of students and classes and Quidditch players being whisked away to the Hospital Wing. But as she passed by the lake, she thought she saw something, or someone, swimming in it. Thinking it was one of the students skinny-dipping, she headed over. But to her surprise, it was Miranda. And it looked like her kittens were anxiously waiting for her to get back to shore. Hoping that the blonde wouldn't think her intrusion too weird, Belle waved in her direction. "Getting a bit of exercise?" she asked as she bent down to scratch one of the kitten's ears.

Miranda watched a familiar figure approach the lake. Belle. it looked like. She waved briefly as she clambered out of the water, her drenched shift hanging heavily on her shoulders.
She smiled up at her fellow professor. "Every morning," She said cheerfully. "It's the perfect way to start the day!"
She bent forward and began wringing out her blonde hair. A couple of the kittens bounded forward and began to rub up against her legs. Arty, however, seemed perfectly content with Belle's affections.
"And what brings you out here in the wee hours of the morning? No one's usually out here for a couple of hours yet."

"I keep telling myself I should exercise," Belle said, laughing a little. "But my willpower is so terrible, I can never get around to it." She wondered how Miranda wasn't freezing. The lake could be pretty cold at times. Then again, that didn't necessarily stop people from swimming in it. It could be pretty pleasant when the weather was warm. She gave a little shrug. "I needed to grade some papers and I figured it was no use trying to go back to sleep. Remind me not to put that off again. I'm betting at staying up late than getting up early." She laughed again.

Miranda laughed with Belle. "My day always seems to feel off if I don't get my morning swim in. Which is funny since I didn't start that until I came to Hogwarts..."
She shivered slightly and bent down to rifle through her cloak. Pulling her wand from an inner pocket, she stood. She waved her wand in a circle over her head. It was a simple spell, it merely pulled the water from her clothing into a small orb at the tip of her wand. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the water back into the lake.
Pulling her robes back on she said, "Ah yes....students aren't the only ones skilled at procrastination."
She grinned broadly and spread her cloak out on the grass. Lucy, the large cat, pranced over and promptly curled up on it. She shook her head.
"I've always been an early riser. It used to drive my parents mad!" She lowered herself to the ground and stretced out next to the cat. She conjured a small ball of twine and loosed it in the kittens' direction.
"So, is Miss Moonblood well?"

"Well, better late than never," Belle said, smiling at her friend. She did look refreshed and ready for the day. Maybe Belle would try swimming out here sometime, see if it made her feel any better. Like any other person, there were some days when she just didn't feel like getting out of bed. Maybe adding a swim into her routine would perk her up a bit. "Last I heard of her, yes," Belle replied. "I guess bed-rest is what she needs right now, although a visit from Jim probably didn't hurt either. I think she's crazy about that boy." She gave a little laugh. "It's kind of cute, in a way."

Miranda stretched her legs out in front of her, and glanced up at Belle. "That's good to hear. Especially after everything that girl's gone through. Children, teenagers....they shouldn't have to see the darkness yet. They fear it of course. But they shouldn't have to know what's in it." She stared out over the water for a moment. Eventually she sighed contentedly, "Ah...young love. So innocent, so pure. so complete. Hopefully Mr. Eliton won't make it difficult for them."

Belle nodded. "Yeah. Something bad like that wasn't meant to be seen by people so young," she said as she sat beside Miranda. Belle was sort of lucky in that retrospect. She hadn't had to deal with terribly bad things until she became an adult. Granted, it still hurt, but at least she was old enough to handle it well and make the best of it. "Ugh, that boy, I don't know what to do with him," Belle said as she leaned back on her hands, looking out at the lake. "I keep wondering if something happened to him that made him the way he is, but I can't fathom what it might be. Maybe it's just my habit of trying to believe the best in people, even if they are nasty."

Miranda grimaced. "Yes...something HAS to be done about him. But as professors the worst we can do is give him detention. And somehow...I don't think that will solve the problem. I just wish we could protect her." She grinned wryly. "Seeing the best in people is a beautiful gift, Belle." Her eyes clouded over for a second as her mind dipped back in the shadow.
She had once been like that, naive, seeing the good in everyone. Now she had to fight for that positive outlook in life. Now all she saw were threats surrounding everyone she cared about.
Softly, she continued, "Sometimes people just love to see others suffer no matter the cost. Sometimes, there isn't a reason for the darkness."

"You and me both," Belle said, sighing. "He always seems to find her, though. I know she said her friends were trying to help her and make sure she wasn't by herself, but I guess they can't stay with her all the time." She glanced at the sky for a moment, which was steadily getting lighter as the sun rose higher. It was frustrating to feel so helpless as a teacher, who's job was to help their students. Belle wished she could do more, but she knew that was practically an impossible hope. She gave a little smile though when Miranda said that seeing the best in people was a good thing. She was glad that somebody thought that. Most people viewed as naive more than anything else. "I guess so," she said. "It seems weird though, that that happens to people. They have no reason to be bad to other people and yet, they are."

"Yes," she sighed. "But they are what they are. All we can do is protect innocents from the darkness." Something she strove to do constantly. Her protectiveness could sometimes be construed as overbearing. "Well..." she added with a shrug. "We do the best we can right?"
"Some people just thrive off of other people's pain. Some people just fall in with the wrong crowd. It's crazy how much our friends can influence our decisions. They can make us into the people we become."
She stared out across the lake, thoughtfully.

"True. Let's just hope that it will be enough for them." Belle hoped that she was good at that, steering her students on the right path so they could be good people and lead fulfilling lives. "Our best is all we can do, I suppose." She glanced at Miranda, wondering when their conversation had turned so serious. She saw Miranda as much like herself: cheerful, helpful, kind. But it seemed like she could be brooding at times too, just like she was. Maybe they were more alike than she had originally thought. "Yeah. I guess I've seen enough of that over the years." Friends could influence others to be just like them, or sometimes, if they took the wrong path, they could influence them to be the exact opposite.

Miranda stared out across the calm waters, listening carefully to Belle's words. The waters were so soothing, a constant anchor in the dark waters the two women were stirring.
"Yeah. I guess I've seen enough of that over the years."
Miranda cocked her head and turned to look at Belle quizzically. There was something deeper behind those words than just student observation. "Who did you see turn?" She asked quietly.

Belle's first reaction at Miranda's question was a silent Damn it that ran through her head. She had said too much. "Well, nobody's supposed to know about it...well, some people do, but, we're trying to keep it on the low-down..." She sighed. She knew she wasn't going to wiggle her way out of this one. But her apprehension didn't really come from talking about "the incident", as her mother put it. She was more worried about what Miranda's reaction might be. "My cousin, went over to the Death Eaters a few years ago," she said, wrapping her arms around her knees as she looked out towards the lake. "Tobias was his name. You'd think that...it'd be impossible for such a nice boy to become...one of them. He was my best friend growing up, but...well, when the signs first came, we just thought it was a phase he was going through. By the time we decided to take action...it was too late. He left us and I haven't seen him since." She paused for a moment, feeling her heart give a familiar ache that she hadn't felt in a while. But she didn't shy away from the pain. She knew it came with talking about this subject. "My family managed to hush it up pretty well, but there are some who still know, and...sometimes they look at us funny sometimes, as if they wonder if somebody else will turn over, too. It's a little...disconcerting, at times. I guess...that's part of the reason why I became a teacher. I want to make sure that none of these kids here end up like my cousin. I know I can't stop everyone from becoming a Death Eater, but I might as well try while I'm alive and kicking."

Miranda froze, her entire body going rigid in a single second. She had asked for it. Oooh had she asked for it. She had expected a similar story. They all had them, but a family member? She had always wondered about the family of the man who had killed Tony, wondered if they were just as guilty. She rose abruptly and strode briskly to the edge of the water, one hand over her mouth the other on her hip. She like Belle, she liked her a lot. And Miranda couldn't let something like that drive a fresh wedge in her heart. It all came back to the darkness and the hatred. It infected them all in some small, or big, way. No one could escape it no one.
She turned back to Belle and whispered, "I'm sorry... I can't imagine--seeing someone you love fall away like that. It must have been terrible difficult. How long ago?"

Belle just nodded, accepting her sympathy. Despite the severity of the conversation, she felt a little happy that Miranda was feeling sympathy for her. It showed that she cared, was a good friend. "It was four years ago," she replied. "When he left, at least. Who knows when he actually decided to side with them." She paused for a moment. "I know this may sound naive, but...I feel like part of me hopes that if I ever saw him again, if I could talk to him just for a little while...maybe I could make a difference for him. I mean, he couldn't have just forgotten about how close we were, how we were practically like siblings..." Her voice trailed off. "There must be some part of him that can still be reached. I know it sounds foolish, he's probably lost to the darkness already. But I can't help but hope, you know? It's kinda weird."

Miranda sat back down next to the young woman and put a hand on her shoulder. "No...not naive. It is never naive to hope. It is hard to watch those we love descend into the darkness. I was lucky, I suppose." She grinned wryly. "Not much family to turn. If you were truly like siblings, there must be something within him that will remember that. But..." She paused, wondering if she was going to far. But she couldn't help herself. "Don't bet any lives on it... That could be more dangerous than anything."

Belle gave a little laugh. "I guess so. It's nice to hear you say that. Most people wouldn't even try to get to him, try to make him come back..." Her voice trailed off again as she sat up a little straighter. "I won't. I know where my responsibilities lie. It's...kept me afloat, happy, in a way. If I remember my job here, and the people that need me, I feel like I'm still doing some good, that I'm still fulfilling some purpose in people's lives. It makes me feel better knowing that I'm helping them and making them a little happier."

Miranda nodded stiffly. "That's why we became professors right?" She grinned . People became professors to make a difference. If you weren't willing to invest in the students, you had no business being at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had reminded her of that four years ago when he had drawn her out of hiding. "It's always good to know you are doing something to better the world."
One of the kittens crawled up onto her lap and started purring as she scratched it behind its ears.

Belle nodded with a little smile. 'Yeah, I guess so." At least, that was the reason she became a teacher. No doubt others did it for respect or to get some better connections, but she knew that most of the teachers here at Hogwarts chose their jobs because of their desire to help young people. "It does feel good to help others. People doubt it, but I can always say that it does make you feel better about yourself."

Miranda gave a wistful sigh and leaned back on her elbows. Tilting her head to the sky she said wistfully, "Sitka always jokes that if we professors would save the world if we could. But he always insists he doesn't have the patience to get a classroom full of 'hooligans' under control." She chuckled. "But he always manages to keep the Hospital Wing in order when he needs to." She smiled thinking of Sitka's uncharacteristically stern behavior when he had multiple patients to tend to.

Belle nodded again. "He certainly is a reliable man to have in the middle of a crisis," she said, thinking back to when Evaine had had her panic attack and Sitka had known exactly what to do. Belle was close to just freaking out and running around in circles. She glanced at Miranda, not sure if she was just imagining the dreamy look in the blonde's eyes. Jeez, I really need to stop reading all those romance novels or I'll start thinking everyone is a couple around here. But she couldn't help but ask as innocently as she could "Have you, known Sitka long?"

Miranda twisted her lips in thought. How long had it been?
"Let's see...I met Sitka my first year. He was a year above me. He was my first real friend at Hogwarts." She grinned self-consciously. "I've always been rather quiet. But he brought me out of my shell in a way I never expected." She laughed. "We played so many pranks in the Hufflepuff common room"
Her eyes twinkled at the memories. "We stayed close even after we both left school. I spent so much time with his family growing up, I feel as if they were mine!"

Belle smiled, glad to have changed the subject to something happier. Miranda seemed a little more cheerful now that they were talking about Sitka. "Aw, that's so sweet," she said. "I guess me and Dean are sort of the same way. We met while we were in school too, although we didn't keep in contact to well after we left. But at least he got a teaching job here and we've met up with each other again. Better late than never, right?"

Dean
Miranda froze and a forced emotionless mask coated her face. She had just re-acquainted with Dean the day before. The emotions that had surfaced from that encounter were still raw. But...her breathing quickened slightly as she realized- if Belle had known Dean, she had known her fiance, Tony. The two had been nearly inseparable in school.
"Ya," she forced out. "It's always good to meet old friends again. It's funny how so many of us just ended up back here, isn't it?"
She, for one, would have much preferred if Dean HADN'T made it back here. Too much of her past was wrapped together with that man.