Dream Home
Ron finds himself out standing in his
field — and wondering why he's there.
Touch us gently, Time!
Let us glide adown thy stream
Gently,—as we sometimes glide
Through a quiet dream.
- Proctor, A Petition to Time
Birds chirped, and the sun shone warmly. Ron was standing alone in a grassy field, by a little white house at the end of a garden path. Nearby was a barn, and a small woodshed. It was such a peaceful, relaxing scene.
By force of habit, Ron reached for his wand, since he had no clue what this was all about.
He went about the place, carefully inspecting the barn and house inside and out. No one seemed to be home. He wandered through the nearby woods, then out into the sunny fields again.
"Where am I?" Ron asked no one in particular.
"You're safe," said Hermione's voice from somewhere. "It's just an illusion."
"Well, pardon me! I don't feel safe yet, Hermione. I don't know where I am, or how I got here, or what happened to get me here. For that matter, where are you?"
"You don't see me?"
"No!"
"Oh? That's interesting. Thanks for leaving me out of your dream, Ron! Is there a doorway nearby?"
"Yeah, several. I checked them."
"Well, open one again and see if you find me there. In fact, try the house."
Ron, still confused and wary, allowed himself to go through the garden again. He opened the back door of the house carefully, and was rewarded.
"There you are!" he exclaimed as Hermione came out to him, as pretty as ever, and hugged him.
"That's better," she laughed. "Your mind just had to be expecting me. Now it's 'Where are we' instead of 'Where am I,' which should ease your mind a bit."
"Only when I find out what's going on. I'm not even sure you're you."
"You're only seeing me as part of the illusion, but it's really us talking. I'll explain in a few minutes. Meanwhile, let's stroll." She took his arm. "So, you looked around already. Do you like it? It's an old place, but in very good condition. Lots of room inside. Very comfy-looking. I could almost settle down here; couldn't you?"
"Yeah, but if it's just an illusion, then where are we really?"
"We're safe. What's the last thing you remember?"
"Something about a canal in Essex."
"Ten points, Ron; you're actually in Essex, and the canal was the project we were working on today. You're on your way back to reality. Meanwhile, this illusion is my doing. This morning, I showed you photos of this place, and we talked a lot about it to impress it on you. You haven't been there yet, really, but now we're walking around in it in your memory, and I hope you like it. Isn't it just gorgeous? It's actually in Ottery St. Catchpole — not all that far from the Burrow. And, it's for sale!"
"Oh, yeah. I remember now. You said we should buy it. You wanted to call it Heron's Nest, after our names."
"Is the name too fluffy-bunny for you, sweetie? Did you need some manly castle name, maybe with a moat around the outside, and a few of Charlie's dragons? Or, would a comfy house with lace curtains and a nice romantic name like Heron's Nest do? Look around you! It's got a huge fireplace we can use for getting to work. A roomy barn if we want a horse or two, or maybe even cows. Plenty of space for chickens, maybe a few pigs. A certain kneazle I know can keep it free from field mice and voles. Not to mention acres and acres of playing room, once we have chil..."
"If that's what you want, Hermione, then I guess it's okay. But... do we have enough gold for this?"
"My parents are going to help us with it, until we're making more money. We can do it."
"Yeah. That's right, we were talking to your father about it. But where's this canal? What was that all about?"
"You'll know in a minute."
"There was some kind of problem with the canal. We gotta fix it... important..."
"All taken care of, dear."
"Fix... gotta... get to the root of the... prollem..."
"It's fading away, isn't it? Brace yourself. Ron; you're going back to reality. Finire incantatum!"
"WHA..." Ron awoke with a start. He was indoors, on a couch. Hermione was at his side, putting away her wand, and smiling reassuringly.
"All done, dear!" she said. "My hero! Welcome back," and she kissed him on the cheek.
"Ow! My jaw..."
"Sorry. That side will be very sensitive for a few days. Relax. We're at my parents' dentistry office in Essex. Mission accomplished, successfully."
"So, Madam Pomfrey didn't have anything to fix me?"
"Nothing to match the effectiveness of root canal surgery. I don't know why magic folk are all so scared of Muggle dentists. No wonder we always picture an old witch-hag as being toothless!"
"But... after everybody said how bad it'uld be, I didn't feel a thing!"
"Dad's local anesthetic stunned the pain, plus my humdinger of a dreaming charm stunned your nervousness, and you were off to Neverland. Once the operation was over, as soon as your eyelids started moving, I knew you were into the dream. That's when we chatted."
"So you led me down the garden path, literally! You put me under a spell, then talked me into something while I was sleeping!"
"I could do this for all my parents' patients; I should hire myself out. Maybe to a real estate company."
"Is this canal thing going to cost a lot?"
"No. The new Ministry has a medical-dental plan now, remember? We're covered, hon. Now, about that cute little house you just lovingly agreed to buy..."
Original story material is the property of the fanfic author; other material of Rowling et al. falls under the usual disclaimer.