Chapter 1
She stood silently in the clearing. Her long brown hair ruffled in the wind. She looked around and could see nothing but shapes of trees, dark grass and a moonlit sky. She could sense the cool night air spiraling its way around her as she felt damp dew covered grass under her bare feet. Her hands touched soft cloth causing her to look down at herself. She was startled to see the deep blue gown with silver embroidery on the sleeves and neckline with silver laces running from her waist to her throat. Wrapped around her hips was a belt like garment made of the same blue material with silver edging. It's ends met in the middle and trailed down to the hem of her gown.
She heard cloth rustling. She was startled to see a man in black robes edged with green stride confidently from the trees towards her. His silvery blond hair shone in the moonlight. His gray eyes sparkled silver as he moved steadily closer. He reached to take her hands in his. His mouth opened as of to speak when someone burst forth from the trees and moved quickly toward them. He wore similar black robes but with red edging. She could see his hair, black as night, tousled around his face. He looked into her eyes before stopping in front of her. The two men stared at each other with such hatred and disgust that...
Hermione awoke with alarm. She sat up quickly to feel her clothing. Hermione was expecting to feel soft, wool-like fabric but finding instead the soft cotton of her camisole and boxer shorts she normally slept in. She reached through the curtains surrounding her four poster bed to grab the wand, which she used to light the lamp above her pillow, from her night table. It cast a soft pool of light on her bed. She reached again through the curtains for ink, a quill and her dream journal. Ever since she had started having odd dreams in her fifth year she had decided to record them to help her find their meaning.
Hermione quickly wrote out her dream as she paused for a brief moment. Transfixed in a thought, her hand moved to the small pendent hanging from a delicate silver chain. She had found it in a Muggle antique shop while shopping with her mother the previous summer. It had been tucked away into a corner. As soon as she seen pendant, Hermione rushed to her mother for the 10 pounds to pay for it. From that day on, the pendant has never been anywhere but around her neck.
Crookshanks woke up and padded over to her. He settled himself into her lap as she bent over and cuddled him close. He purred at her attention. She looked down into his wide yellow eyes as thoughts and worries ran through her head. Then she spoke softly to him.
"What am I going to do? The dreams are getting more vivid and more troublesome every night. Before I couldn't recognize the two men but now I know they are Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. I can't continue this. I have to find a way to make them stop." She sighed in despair, "But how do you stop your dreams?"
* * * * *
Hermione sat listlessly in potions the next afternoon while Snape explained the day's lesson.
"Today you will be making a truth potion. Can anyone tell me how many truth potions exist today?" He sneered at the Gryffindors, who remained silent. His eyes stopped on Seamus Finnigan. "Finnigan, how many truth potions exist?" snarled Snape.
Seamus gulped and guessed, "Three Professor..."
"No Finnigan, there are eight, all outlawed by the ministry except in very extreme circumstances. Five points from Gryffindor. Today you will make the weakest one known. It has the power to cause the person it is given to too give three truthful answers to any question asked." He pointed his wand at the board causing instructions and ingredients to fill the space with silvery writing.
While the others copied the potion quickly, Hermione drew random shapes and spirals on the parchment in front of her. Her mind was on other things. It wasn't until Ron poked her in the side that she realized what was going on and she rushed to copy the potion down.
"When your potions are finished, I will pair you up to test them out on each other. Beware, if the potion is prepared incorrectly, you will cause the person to speak nothing but lies until I can find where you messed up and fix it. Also, this potion could be poisonous if the instructions are not followed exactly." He smirked at Neville, who gulped and shrank down slightly.
Hermione settled herself at a worktable with Harry and Ron and for the next hour. The students worked quietly preparing their truth potion. During this time, Snape prowled around the room making snide remarks about the Gryffindors work and praising the Slytherins. Hermione drifted back to her dream while crushing dried Veritas leaves. It was only when Ron poked her again that she snapped out of it.
"Hermione, what's the matter with you today? That's twice you've lost all attention." He looked at her with slightly worried eyes.
"I'm ok, just a little tired, that's all." She put aside her crushed leaves to add her unicorn hair to the cauldron. She stirred it and watched the potion go from a bright yellow to a silvery blue colour. Just then Snape chose that exact moment to walk by their table.
"Blue Granger! Why is your potion blue, it's supposed to be green." The Slytherins all looked in her direction and she noticed Malfoy grinning at her supposed mistake.
"I haven't added the last ingredient yet Professor." She showed him the crushed leaves.
"Why not Granger? Even Longbottom has managed to finish his potion. You're supposed to be the best student." He smirked down at her and she quickly added the crushed leaves. The potion foamed up and then settled to a glassy green colour. Snape frowned and moved away from their tale to the front of the classroom.
"By now, your potions should be complete. Fill a glass vial with it and then clean up your workstations. When you are finished, I will put you into pairs to test your potions." Hermione followed Harry and Ron to an empty basin to clean their equipment. She rinsed her things and drifted back to her dream.
"I wonder what it means? Where did it come from? And why was I even dreaming about Harry and Draco Malfoy? They seemed to be fighting for my attention but why...?" Hermione quizzically thought.
This time it was Harry who snapped her back to reality. "Hermione, come on, Snape's pairing people up now." She looked at Harry for a few seconds before his words sunk in, "Oh...."She collected her things and followed Harry back to their table.
"Now I will pair you up.... Potter, Finnigan...Weasley, Longbottom...Granger… Malfoy...". Hermione looked up in Draco's direction in surprise as Snape finished pairing everyone else up. She took the vial over to Draco's table. "After you take your partners potion, I will ask each of you three questions. This will test to see if you actually mixed the ingredients right." He looked in Neville's direction, who sunk down behind his table a little.
Malfoy smirked at Hermione, "So Granger, what's it like being wrong for once?" She was about to answer when Snape approached their table.
"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger. Let me see how well your potions work. You're first Mr. Malfoy." Draco took the small vial and handed it to Hermione, who drank it down quickly. It tasted oddly pleasant and it filled her with comforting warmth. Snape turned to her and said, "Alright Miss Granger. What is you full name?"
The question caused her mind to blank out everything except her name. "Hermione Granger..."
Snape wrote something down and continued, "Your age?"
"Seventeen..."
He again marked his parchment, "Your Hogwarts House?"
"Gryffindor..." Suddenly the warm feeling was gone and her mind was again filled with her dream.
"Very good Mr. Malfoy. Now it's your turn Miss Granger." She gave her vial to Draco, who swallowed the potion in on gulp. She watched his face go blank. Snape asked his three questions, which Draco answered. Snape frowned when he realized she had done it perfectly and walked away without saying a word.
She collected her things and left the classroom to find Ron and Harry waiting for her in the hall. They made their way silently up to the tower to drop off their books before dinner. Hermione was sitting at the edge of her bed, deep in thought, when Harry and Ron came looking for her.
"Hermione! What's wrong with you today?" Ron said with a note of frustration in his voice.
"You can tell us Hermione, we are your best friends after all." Harry said as he sat down beside her. His look of concern reminded her of the dream for some reason, even though he had been angry in it.
"It's nothing," she said as she stood up, "I'm just tired, I didn't sleep very well last night" Or any other night for that matter. Ron looked unconvinced and if Harry was, he didn't show it. Which was odd since Harry's thought and emotions usually were all over his face. "Come on, I'm hungry, let's go." She moved quickly from the dorm and down to the portrait.
* * * * *
Hermione sat alone that evening in the library, a large number of books piled high in front of her. The table around her was littered with spare bits of parchment, a broken quill tip, an empty inkbottle, a half- full inkbottle, and various other bits and pieces of litter from her bag. Also, at her side was a small blue book.
She shoved another large tome away from herself and stretched. She had been sitting in the same spot for almost four hours now and was getting a little tired. Mme Pince would be closing the library soon and Hermione was the only student remaining. She rose from the chair, glaring at the useless pile of books she had already collected on dreams and went to the shelves for another.
She stood silently in the clearing. Her long brown hair ruffled in the wind. She looked around and could see nothing but shapes of trees, dark grass and a moonlit sky. She could sense the cool night air spiraling its way around her as she felt damp dew covered grass under her bare feet. Her hands touched soft cloth causing her to look down at herself. She was startled to see the deep blue gown with silver embroidery on the sleeves and neckline with silver laces running from her waist to her throat. Wrapped around her hips was a belt like garment made of the same blue material with silver edging. It's ends met in the middle and trailed down to the hem of her gown.
She heard cloth rustling. She was startled to see a man in black robes edged with green stride confidently from the trees towards her. His silvery blond hair shone in the moonlight. His gray eyes sparkled silver as he moved steadily closer. He reached to take her hands in his. His mouth opened as of to speak when someone burst forth from the trees and moved quickly toward them. He wore similar black robes but with red edging. She could see his hair, black as night, tousled around his face. He looked into her eyes before stopping in front of her. The two men stared at each other with such hatred and disgust that...
Hermione awoke with alarm. She sat up quickly to feel her clothing. Hermione was expecting to feel soft, wool-like fabric but finding instead the soft cotton of her camisole and boxer shorts she normally slept in. She reached through the curtains surrounding her four poster bed to grab the wand, which she used to light the lamp above her pillow, from her night table. It cast a soft pool of light on her bed. She reached again through the curtains for ink, a quill and her dream journal. Ever since she had started having odd dreams in her fifth year she had decided to record them to help her find their meaning.
Hermione quickly wrote out her dream as she paused for a brief moment. Transfixed in a thought, her hand moved to the small pendent hanging from a delicate silver chain. She had found it in a Muggle antique shop while shopping with her mother the previous summer. It had been tucked away into a corner. As soon as she seen pendant, Hermione rushed to her mother for the 10 pounds to pay for it. From that day on, the pendant has never been anywhere but around her neck.
Crookshanks woke up and padded over to her. He settled himself into her lap as she bent over and cuddled him close. He purred at her attention. She looked down into his wide yellow eyes as thoughts and worries ran through her head. Then she spoke softly to him.
"What am I going to do? The dreams are getting more vivid and more troublesome every night. Before I couldn't recognize the two men but now I know they are Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. I can't continue this. I have to find a way to make them stop." She sighed in despair, "But how do you stop your dreams?"
* * * * *
Hermione sat listlessly in potions the next afternoon while Snape explained the day's lesson.
"Today you will be making a truth potion. Can anyone tell me how many truth potions exist today?" He sneered at the Gryffindors, who remained silent. His eyes stopped on Seamus Finnigan. "Finnigan, how many truth potions exist?" snarled Snape.
Seamus gulped and guessed, "Three Professor..."
"No Finnigan, there are eight, all outlawed by the ministry except in very extreme circumstances. Five points from Gryffindor. Today you will make the weakest one known. It has the power to cause the person it is given to too give three truthful answers to any question asked." He pointed his wand at the board causing instructions and ingredients to fill the space with silvery writing.
While the others copied the potion quickly, Hermione drew random shapes and spirals on the parchment in front of her. Her mind was on other things. It wasn't until Ron poked her in the side that she realized what was going on and she rushed to copy the potion down.
"When your potions are finished, I will pair you up to test them out on each other. Beware, if the potion is prepared incorrectly, you will cause the person to speak nothing but lies until I can find where you messed up and fix it. Also, this potion could be poisonous if the instructions are not followed exactly." He smirked at Neville, who gulped and shrank down slightly.
Hermione settled herself at a worktable with Harry and Ron and for the next hour. The students worked quietly preparing their truth potion. During this time, Snape prowled around the room making snide remarks about the Gryffindors work and praising the Slytherins. Hermione drifted back to her dream while crushing dried Veritas leaves. It was only when Ron poked her again that she snapped out of it.
"Hermione, what's the matter with you today? That's twice you've lost all attention." He looked at her with slightly worried eyes.
"I'm ok, just a little tired, that's all." She put aside her crushed leaves to add her unicorn hair to the cauldron. She stirred it and watched the potion go from a bright yellow to a silvery blue colour. Just then Snape chose that exact moment to walk by their table.
"Blue Granger! Why is your potion blue, it's supposed to be green." The Slytherins all looked in her direction and she noticed Malfoy grinning at her supposed mistake.
"I haven't added the last ingredient yet Professor." She showed him the crushed leaves.
"Why not Granger? Even Longbottom has managed to finish his potion. You're supposed to be the best student." He smirked down at her and she quickly added the crushed leaves. The potion foamed up and then settled to a glassy green colour. Snape frowned and moved away from their tale to the front of the classroom.
"By now, your potions should be complete. Fill a glass vial with it and then clean up your workstations. When you are finished, I will put you into pairs to test your potions." Hermione followed Harry and Ron to an empty basin to clean their equipment. She rinsed her things and drifted back to her dream.
"I wonder what it means? Where did it come from? And why was I even dreaming about Harry and Draco Malfoy? They seemed to be fighting for my attention but why...?" Hermione quizzically thought.
This time it was Harry who snapped her back to reality. "Hermione, come on, Snape's pairing people up now." She looked at Harry for a few seconds before his words sunk in, "Oh...."She collected her things and followed Harry back to their table.
"Now I will pair you up.... Potter, Finnigan...Weasley, Longbottom...Granger… Malfoy...". Hermione looked up in Draco's direction in surprise as Snape finished pairing everyone else up. She took the vial over to Draco's table. "After you take your partners potion, I will ask each of you three questions. This will test to see if you actually mixed the ingredients right." He looked in Neville's direction, who sunk down behind his table a little.
Malfoy smirked at Hermione, "So Granger, what's it like being wrong for once?" She was about to answer when Snape approached their table.
"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger. Let me see how well your potions work. You're first Mr. Malfoy." Draco took the small vial and handed it to Hermione, who drank it down quickly. It tasted oddly pleasant and it filled her with comforting warmth. Snape turned to her and said, "Alright Miss Granger. What is you full name?"
The question caused her mind to blank out everything except her name. "Hermione Granger..."
Snape wrote something down and continued, "Your age?"
"Seventeen..."
He again marked his parchment, "Your Hogwarts House?"
"Gryffindor..." Suddenly the warm feeling was gone and her mind was again filled with her dream.
"Very good Mr. Malfoy. Now it's your turn Miss Granger." She gave her vial to Draco, who swallowed the potion in on gulp. She watched his face go blank. Snape asked his three questions, which Draco answered. Snape frowned when he realized she had done it perfectly and walked away without saying a word.
She collected her things and left the classroom to find Ron and Harry waiting for her in the hall. They made their way silently up to the tower to drop off their books before dinner. Hermione was sitting at the edge of her bed, deep in thought, when Harry and Ron came looking for her.
"Hermione! What's wrong with you today?" Ron said with a note of frustration in his voice.
"You can tell us Hermione, we are your best friends after all." Harry said as he sat down beside her. His look of concern reminded her of the dream for some reason, even though he had been angry in it.
"It's nothing," she said as she stood up, "I'm just tired, I didn't sleep very well last night" Or any other night for that matter. Ron looked unconvinced and if Harry was, he didn't show it. Which was odd since Harry's thought and emotions usually were all over his face. "Come on, I'm hungry, let's go." She moved quickly from the dorm and down to the portrait.
* * * * *
Hermione sat alone that evening in the library, a large number of books piled high in front of her. The table around her was littered with spare bits of parchment, a broken quill tip, an empty inkbottle, a half- full inkbottle, and various other bits and pieces of litter from her bag. Also, at her side was a small blue book.
She shoved another large tome away from herself and stretched. She had been sitting in the same spot for almost four hours now and was getting a little tired. Mme Pince would be closing the library soon and Hermione was the only student remaining. She rose from the chair, glaring at the useless pile of books she had already collected on dreams and went to the shelves for another.