Title: To Live Forever
Author: Wyld Rose
Rating: R, overall (It has probably seemed PG-13 I guess...but just wait! hehe)
Disclaimer: I only claim the plot and a few miscellaneous made-up characters. JK Rowling owns the rest!
A/N: This chapter does not contain any Draco/Ginny interaction...in fact, Draco isn’t even in it at all! Don’t worry, there is plenty more to come to make up for it hehe.
Chapter 4: Obscured Vision
Harry woke with a panicked gasp. His hair was messier than ever and cold sweat clung to his skin. The lightning scar on his forehead burned painfully, causing him to wince out loud. Vibrant green eyes searched for his glasses, and he looked over to Ron’s bed to find him all blurry, apparently sitting upright.
"Ron?"
"’Oy," Ron groaned as he ran a hand through his tousled red hair, "Harry, I had a bloody horrible dream."
"Me too," Harry glanced outside as he slipped on his glasses, "What was yours?"
"I dreamed that—," Ron broke off his explanation, remembering his talk with Hermione several weeks before. Just...let’s wait for a while until something else happens. He didn’t agree with her, all her talk about not letting him know that the three of them had the same dream. He knew she was trying to think it through logically and has probably been relieved all this time that no other strange dreams were shared. Just then, they heard a knock at the door. Harry stood and went to the door, but listened before he opened it for some hint of who it could be. It’s still early, no one should be up at this hour.
"Harry, Ron," Hermione’s whispering voice was heard on the other side, and Harry opened the door slowly.
"What’s wrong ‘Mione?" Ron asked concertedly, moving swiftly to the door. Hermione beckoned them to come down to the common room with her, and they obliged with worried expressions.
"I had a dream that I was running outside, terrified, I heard this echoing laugh all around me," Hermione’s voice was a breathy whisper as she tried hard to keep her voice down, "I tripped, fell, and I felt a terrible pressure on me that wouldn’t let me get up. It was so hot, and I looked behind me to see Hogwarts in flames! I felt so alone, also, like there was no one around for miles. The fire was reflected in the lake, such a sickly reflection...I began to crawl, gripping at the ground," she was breathing heavily, her voice shaking from the memory of the dreadful dream. Ron pulled her close and cradled her protectively.
"Shh...it’s okay, you don’t have to explain anymore. I dreamt it too...,"Ron tried his best to sound soothing, and it seemed to work. Hermione buried her face in his shoulder and sighed deeply. Harry sat quietly and watched, allowing them to have a moment together before he interjected.
"So did I," Harry spoke finally and shifted his gaze to the floor.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione began desperately, "Don’t you fret any, it’s just a coincidence!"
"That’s what you said last time we all had the same dream!" Ron added, frustrated.
Harry blinked at them, his brows meeting as he sank into deep thought. Ron had just admitted that they had the same dream as him several weeks ago, no wonder he and Hermione were acting so bizarre about it. Tonight, they all had the same dream again. What did this all mean? There seemed to be only one difference between his dream and the dream Hermione described. His thoughts were scattered as he cleared his throat, realizing that Ron and Hermione were having a little spat.
"But, still! You shouldn’t have said that!"
"Hermione, you’re not his mum, you can’t go around sheltering him from harm like that." Ron folded his arms as Hermione sat up angrily.
"Stop acting so jealous," Hermione realized she shouldn’t have said that after the words had already left her mouth. Ron went into an animated rage.
"Why would I be jealous!? I’m just saying that you worry about him too much!" Ron blurted out loudly, waving his arms as he stood up.
Harry rolled his eyes and leaned over, propping his chin in his hands and resting his elbows on his knees.
"Shhh!! You will wake everyone up with your mindless yelling!" Hermione snapped, standing to face Ron.
"Both of you, please be quiet," Harry’s voice invaded their argument just when it was about to escalate. He was annoyed and wasn’t ashamed to show it in the tone of his voice. Ron and Hermione sat back down, muttering half-hearted apologies.
"Maybe we could talk to Professor Yonn about this," Harry suggested, wary from a fitful sleep, "He was talking to us about that demon that can get into your head when you were asleep. Do you remember?"
"Incubus, and it wasn’t in your head, they sat on your chest and suffocated you in your sleep," Hermione corrected him, "They did that to drain you of energy."
"Do you think this might have anything to do with the death of that Hufflepuff kid a while back?" Ron though aloud, Harry and Hermione considered this for a moment, yet neither chose to comment. Assuming that it was a stupid question, Ron stuffed his hands in the pockets of his nightclothes, muttering.
"What about Dumbledore? He might be able to help," said Ron irritably, evidently Harry wasn’t the only one wary from lack of sleep.
"Let’s try to meet with both of them. Tomorrow I’ll talk to Professor Yonn after class if you two can get in touch with Dumbledore. We’ll all try to plan on a meeting as soon as possible, say, tomorrow evening?" Harry said, hoping they would agree so he could get back to sleep.
"That sounds like a good plan to me," Hermione responded, yawning. Just then, the portrait opened and an indistinguishable red-head slipped through.
"Ginny?" Ron squinted, eyebrow raised as if to say: What the bloody hell are you doing awake and out of your dorm at this time of night?
"Ron," Ginny responded rather defiantly as she went up to her dorm, closing the door quietly behind. Ron scowled and started to follow her, but Harry caught his arm.
"We’ll figure it out in the morning."
"Right...," Ron scratched the back of his head, puzzled.
At last the trio retired to their respective dormitories, and Ginny sighed with relief that Ron didn’t pursue the skeptical situation further. She placed the poem she retrieved from the forbidden room carefully in the chest at the foot of her four poster, and promptly went to sleep.
~*~*~*~*~
The following day, Harry was determined to discover the meaning behind the shared dream. He approached Professor Yonn at the end of a very interesting Defence Against the Dark Arts session, and began to explain what was going on.
"The only difference between their dreams and mine, was that I saw the flaming Hogwarts surrounded by these cloaked figures. Perhaps they did dream that too and just conveniently left it out, but nevertheless, they were not Dementors." Harry was sure of that. He remembered all too well the overwhelming sense of hopelessness and despair associated with the presence of the Dementors, and these cloaked figures were not nearly as foreboding. Frightening, sure, but they just weren’t the same. Professor Yonn began to pace as Harry explained the dreams.
"You say that there were cloaked figures surrounding Hogwarts while it burned," Yonn repeated Harry as if analyzing the dream, "Did you recognize any chanting or spell casting going on? I’m not exactly the best at interpreting dreams, but this is most interesting. I’m sure there is someone here who can help..." Yonn absently toyed with the Celtic cloak brooch he wore, obviously a habit of his while in deep thought.
"I heard chanting," Harry responded, his voice wavering from the memory, "Grotesque chanting, not pleasant at all..."
"Tell me, did your scar react to the dream at all?" Professor Yonn asked, peering at Harry’s forehead as if trying to see the lightning scar through his tousled black hair. Harry hesitated for a moment, green eyes focusing on the floor.
"Yes, just as it did before when I would have the visions about Lord Voldemort," Harry uttered as if the memory pained him. Professor Yonn tried not to show his discomfort at the mention of Lord Voldemort’s name.
"Have you discussed this with Professor Dumbledore?"
"Ron and Hermione should be at this moment."
"Good," Professor Yonn looked up to see the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students filing into their seats, "Mr. Potter, I need to begin this class, but I promise I will try to be as of much assistance as I can. Go to Dumbledore and let him know that I am aware of the situation and I think I have an idea about what is happening."
"All right, thank you Professor," Harry nodded and began to exit the classroom. He didn’t make it halfway to the door when he heard a painful gasp from one of the students as he passed. Harry looked over to see an unfamiliar seventh year Ravenclaw holding his head as if suffering an intense migraine. The Ravenclaw slowly looked up to Harry, his sleek white hair slightly disheveled and entwined in his slender fingers as he pressed his palms against his temples. Harry blinked and felt like running out, but something held him there in the presence of this pained Ravenclaw. He started to lean down and ask him if he were all right when the Ravenclaw’s eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.
Students began hovering over the spectacle and Professor Yonn moved swiftly to intercept them, lifting the Ravenclaw partially in his arms.
"Harry, Go get Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey! Tell them that Mr. Tatheryn Graylarch is unconscious!" Professor Yonn called out, laying Tatheryn flat on his back and propping his feet up on a chair.
The moment Harry left the hall, he ran into Professor Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione, who were obviously on their way to Professor Yonn’s classroom.
"Professor Dumbledore! Something’s happened, he just yelled and passed out," Harry rambled as Dumbledore moved swiftly passed him, nodding. Ron and Hermione huddled together and approached Harry apprehensively, watching as Dumbledore took out his wand and muttered an incantation that brought Tatheryn out of unconsciousness.
"As soon as we told Dumbledore, he got up and told us to follow him to Professor Yonn’s class that instant. He seemed very concerned about our dreams," Hermione explained to Harry in a whisper.
"Yeah, I’ve never seen him move so fast. You wouldn’t think that he was a thousand years old after watching him run like that," Ron added, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
Hermione shook her head, "He isn’t a thousand years old, you exaggerate too much."
"You three, can you see to it that Mr. Graylarch makes it to Madame Pomfrey?" Dumbledore said to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They all nodded and moved to help Tatheryn up.
When they finally made it to the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey quickly grabbed Tatheryn and made him lay down in a bed, shoving medicine in his mouth. He coughed and sputtered for a bit, finding the elixir rather vile.
When the trio were sure Tatheryn was all right, they went back down to Professor Yonn’s classroom, talking all the while about what could have happened to him. Dumbledore was waiting outside; the door to Yonn’s classroom was closed indicating that class was in progress.
"He had a premonition," Dumbledore explained, moving to them.
"A what?" asked Ron.
"A premonition, a sleepless dream, a vision," Dumbledore responded with a wave of his hand, "The moment his aura came in contact with Harry’s aura." Hermione was skeptical, primarily because she found the whole subject of divination (and surely premonitions were part of divination) to be ridiculous. She was sure not to express her uncertainty to Dumbledore, however.
"Is that typical behavior for him? Premonitions and stuff?" asked Ron, trying to sound learned.
"He is exceptional with the subject of Divination, perhaps even more so than Professor Trelawny. But please don’t tell her that I said that," Dumbledore chuckled heartily.
Harry ran a hand through his untidy black hair, "Was my aura that bad that it made him pass out?"
"Not exactly. The premonition was so strong that it drained his energy. There must be pain associated with his premonition—sometimes those experiencing a premonition will have physical reactions," Dumbledore glanced at Harry over the rim of his half-moon spectacles, "And, the premonition was obviously about you, Harry."
Harry figured as much. He looked over to Ron and Hermione, who were staring at him with a mixture of astonishment and repressed sympathy. After an extensive moment of silence, Harry shifted his gaze back to Dumbledore.
"Death Eaters," Harry said, plaintively. Hermione and Ron blinked, looking at one another. Dumbledore simply stroked his beard and gazed somewhere off in the distance as if waiting for Harry to continue.
"There were Death Eaters surrounding Hogwarts in my dream. When Hogwarts was on fire," Harry swallowed hard as if the memory was painful, "The Dark Mark was above Hogwarts, glimmering maliciously."
"I see," said Dumbledore, nodding slowly, "I want the three of you to enjoy yourselves at the Halloween Festival this evening. Leave the worrying to me for now. I’ll let you know when I discover anything in connection with the dreams and the premonition. Let me know if anything unusual happens."
Ron thought idly about how his sister returned late last night, but was freaked out enough for the time being, so he decided to wait until later to tell Dumbledore.
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Draco and Ginny belong to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, Warner Bros and various other corporations. They are being used here without permission and/or affiliation with the above. None of the authors listed here make any profit from these stories.