That night, I lay in the bed thinking of Ron and what he had to be thinking. I imagined him imagining me. I slipped into one of my rare happy dreams of Ron and I married, happy, and safe. Sometimes I wish I could stay lost in my dreams foreverbut my dreams always turn into the night with Voldemort, so they turn out to be horrible. My dreams were always so realistic! When I woke up from one of my nightmares in the middle of the night, I reached over and turned on the light.

Ginny was sitting up and staring at me. It freaked me out a little so I said, "Uh, Gin? You okay?"

"If you're going to leave, leave now. Ron went to sleep in his own bed and I don't know how many more chances you are going to get."

I nodded. I didn't know if she knew the conversation that had happened between me and Ron but I took the opportunity she gave me. When I arrived home, I looked around at the flat. It was so lonely that at first I thought I had made a horrible mistake in leaving. Then I remember Ron and I realize that I should be happy with what I have.

I was about to try and go back to sleep with the hopes of getting a job tomorrow when I noticed that a tattered book was lying on the desk with one of the pages dog-eared from someone marking the spot. I read the title, Dreams: You or Them? Huh? Where did this come from?

Of course, me being the bookworm, I naturally didn't start from where the page was marked, but at the beginning. Three hours later, I was finished with all 356 pages of text. When I was done, I was immediately suspicious as to how the book got here and how I didn't come across this information before. I had done so much research over the years trying to figure out a way to break the spell. According to the book, dreams can actually be controlled and manipulated and even joined with other people's dreams. It just takes a lot of discipline not to let your mind wander so far that it never comes back (basically go insane). Problem was, I haven't used this complicated or any useful magic in a long time. I started to think of all the possibilities that I could have with this newfound dream control. Was it possible that Ron and I could see each other in our dreams and him not get hurt? Does Voldemort know about this?

Of course, I thought of the worst case scenario where Ron got killed and Harry along with him and I was the cause of the entire thing. The thought nearly made me throw the book away but the longing I had for Ron was undeniable. Talking to him was the spark and I needed fuel to keep my fire going. I decided to get something to eat to take my mind off it a little.

It was 5:00 in the morning and I knew of a great bakery that opened early and had some delicious pastries. I walked, carrying my book under my arm and my wand (which I had to dig for to find) under my shirt. I decided I was going to make a plan as to how this was going to work. Walking through the front of the shop, I looked in and saw that there was already a man eating a bagel at a table near a window. I was surprised but didn't think it was anything to cause panic over. I ordered my food and sat down at the opposite side of the shop near the back, near the gigantic brick ovens. I started to read the book at the marked page spot again when I heard a voice say, "Hermione Granger, you haven't changed one bit." I gave myself whiplash looking up to see Professor Lupin staring at me with a slight grin on his face. My face however, must have been a mixture of pure panic and surprise because he immediately put his hands up in defense and said, "I'm here to help! I gave you that book you're reading there. Can I sit and talk with you?"

"… you what?!"

"I gave you that book. You see, while you've been hiding here in the muggle world all these years, everyone thought you were off your rocker. I couldn't believe it so I went searching for you. Enough money and energy, anything anyone in the muggle world can be found." He was smiling like he was proud. I was disgusted. How much did he know?

Is he Lupin really? How did he find you here? Does Ron know where I live? Do Ron and Lupin talk to each other?

"Hermione? You still with me?"

Concentrate! "Oh! Sorry Professor, I didn't mean to daydream, I was just so into the taste of this pastry here that my mind went completely blank. Sorry."

"Silly girl. You know you were never very good at lying." He chuckled. It was merry and light which immediately put me at ease. Voldemort does not chuckle merrily.

"Professor Lupin, what exactly are you doing here and what do you want with me and my dreams?"

"As I said before, I came to help you. I can see that you're suffering pretty badly and I know exactly what it is like to go through something painful without anyone there to help you."

I trusted him completely at this point. Of course he knows how it is! "Now Hermione please don't get upset. Ginny has told me the entire story and was wondering if I could do anything to help."

"Ginny told you?! I am going to kill her!"

"Come on, smart witch I'm glad she did. You know that book you're holding there? Excellent piece of information don't you think? You know all those times when instead of becoming a werewolf that wanted to kill and hunt, I became a tame one and just curled up and went to sleep? Well? Don't you think that I wanted to dream about something? Control my imagination?"

"My imagination does not need to be controlled," I spat. "I didn't imagine anything!"

"I apologize for the wording, Hermione. I believe you, completely and I believe this book can help!"

I had a lot of different questions that I wanted to ask him, but ended up with, "How can this book help me? I've read it and all it tells me is about dream control. I don't see how this can help my situation."

"I'm going to be frank here Hermione. You will get a little uncomfortable but it needs to be done. Dream control is a form of magic that acts like… oh let me see… like Harry's magic worked for him when Voldemort killed his parents and he was left with nothing but a scar. Too simple for Voldemort to catch and it is such a powerful form of magic."

"What does it involve? I mean, controlling my dreams? How does it help me?" I was getting impatient. Yes he was giving me answers but he wasn't answering any of my questions!

"Patience, Hermione. You and Ron will be able to see each other in your dreams and be together. We can also help strengthen your bond between Ron, Harry, Ginny, and the entire Order and make us stronger!"

"Why me? If you need to strengthen the order then why do you need me to do it? Get someone else!"

"Well here's where it gets delicate. This cannot be done with anyone's knowledge that they are going to have their dreams invaded by someone else. Ron won't know what's going on, he won't even think of anything out of the normal happened because it's in his dreams. In order for someone to join another's dreams the host cannot be aware that anything is out of the ordinary. They will block the entry, and in some cases, go searching for the host and the two people will never find each other."

This is unbelievable! Except that I was still extremely confused. "So I have to visit everyone in their dreams? That's it?"

"Well… yes. Pretty much. I know you're confused Hermione but I have been thinking and thinking of how to destroy Voldemort once and for all without any killing, sacrifices, or deaths on our side. You might be the key to this."

"I still don't understand how this has anything to do with Ron and me."

"Hermione, I think it has everything to do with you and Ron."

I blushed. Of course I knew what he was implying but I refused to let that vision enter my brain or I might get lost in a rather steamy daydream. Professor Lupin smiled. "You want to try then? The training will be long and hard, but it will work, I promise you."

I just looked at him. Of course I wanted to. I was just simply scared out of my mind. "Great!" he said, "I'll meet you here tomorrow morning at 6:00. Five is just a little too early for me I think."

I sat and stared at his retreating figure and couldn't help but feel some hope rise in the back of my mind.

Oh Hermione, you couldn't keep your desires suppressed could you? You're going to get a lot of people in trouble, or worse!