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Author's Mumbling: Hullo folks! So here's the next chapter. For the rest of the story until the Epilogue, we will now only be seeing the perspectives of the characters in the Dream Universe. I also would like to point out beforehand that certain events happen outside of canon time, and this chapter takes place towards the end of FIFTH YEAR, around May, just so we're clear. Remember that this is almost completely AU, so it is or may not be completely compliant with OoTP, HBP and DH. I hope you enjoy it. Also, stay safe, wherever you are, be blessed, and remember to tell someone you love 'em, because...well...just appreciate one another. Okay, read and review. :)
nauze18, Aww, that's so sweet! Thank you. Also, don't be so coy. You're an encourager, and that's...er...encouraging! The Monitor Universe folk are very different from canon, even more so than how those in the Dream Universe might be.
Insincere Disclaimer:
If it wasn't clear from the start, allow me to state that it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am the undisputed owner of Harry Potter and all related products. I am also the owner of Warner Bros and the entire film franchise. Any complaints and blame can be sent via European swallow to J.K. Rowling, who is licensed to pretend she owns everything I mentioned above. And because I am the owner of all things Harry Potter, I write stories about them in FanFiction websites. Clever, eh?
Chapter 1: Lucid Dreaming
The sixth and final match for the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup began towards the end of May, on a fine, sunny weekend. Despite circumstances throughout their fifth year, both Harry and Draco retained their positions as Seekers for their respective house teams. No small feat given the volume of suspicion pinned on Draco for nefarious deeds or activities, none of which were successfully proven, whilst Umbridge certainly did her best to get Harry banned from Quidditch altogether for any reason she could think of.
Though that was the least of Harry's concerns when it came to the pink-clad toad of a woman.
High above the stadium, he was hovering near the center of the pitch on his Firebolt, eyes closed. Centering himself, he slowly reopened his eyes, and allowed the dull roar of the crowds bring him back to the match. It was Slytherin against Gryffindor, once more, and both teams were at each other's throats for the cup. It was neck-and-neck, with Slytherin currently leading with one twenty to eighty. Ron was doing a spectacular job defending the hoops, though the snakes managed to get such a volume of goals through their signature method: blatant fouling.
It made Harry want to sigh with a Sonorus cast on himself.
Madam Hooch did her best, but the woman couldn't catch everything all the time, and those missed fouls was what took Slytherin forward.
"POTTER!" shouted Angelina far below, and Harry saw the bludger sailing straight for him. With a quick spin, the bludger sailed through the air where he had been just a moment ago, and spiralled back down towards the pitch, he joined a distracted Katie and snatched the Quaffle from the lead Slytherin Chaser's hands, who could only blink owlishly at his opponent before he realized he ought to give chase. Harry grinned and led his pursuers right towards a bludger that George and Fred helpfully knocked in his direction.
When Harry ducked under the bludger at the last moment, it was too late for the two Chasers following behind him, and when they both turned into each other, they were struck by the steel ball, and had a spectacular crash on the field below. Unopposed towards Slytherin's hoops, Harry passed the ball to Katie, who narrowly missed catching it and then passed it up to Alicia, and narrowed the distance between the teams by ten points.
"Potter makes an excellent show of teamwork with his fellow Chasers," announced Lee Jordan proudly, "Spinnet with ten points for Gryffindor, and the team is one step closer to narrowing the score with Slytherin. Scully takes the lead. Bell loses the quaffle to Scully-oh THAT HAS GOT TO BE A FOUL! SCULLY JUST KICKED BELL'S BROOM! BAD SHOW!"
Harry's head had whipped around at Lee's outraged cry, along with many others, in time to see Katie's broom spinning wildly around a few times before the girl managed to regain control. She shook her head and started moving forward, though she was visibly rattled and disoriented by the attack. Madam Hooch had seen it too, and blew her whistle, calling a foul and Katie was allowed a free score at the hoops. To Harry's surprise, not only were the lions booing the Slytherin team, but some members of House Slytherin showed their disapproval towards their own players with thumbs aiming down or shaking their heads.
"You okay?" asked Angelina, drawing near to the younger witch.
"Y-yeah," said Katie, giving her friend a weak smile.
Ever since her exposure to the cursed object, Katie wasn't quite the same upbeat girl she used to be. She was rather subdued, pale, and quiet, of late, sometimes jumping at the slightest movement near her. He'd asked her twice about it, but she either wouldn't admit to remembering anything, or she'd suppressed the memories out of sheer terror. Taking the quaffle, Katie threw the ball, and missed by a mile. Abner Malcolm, the Slytherin Keeper smirked and then threw his head back and roared with laughter.
"Sorry," said Katie as she lowered her head.
Harry and the other Chasers only looked on in worry as she took herself out of the game and Ginny flew in to replace her.
"And the game is back on," Lee smoothly carried on the announcements, "King Weasley makes a nice save, denying Scully from a score. Ginny has the quaffle, and narrowly dodges a hard bludger by Goyle, Malfoy tries to copy Potter's earlier success working together with the Chasers, but the Weasley Twins break the teamwork, great performance! HARRY'S SPOTTED THE SNITCH! HE'S GOING IN. MALFOY'S TRYING TO CATCH UP BUT HE'S TOO FAR AWAY-YES! HARRY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE HOUSE CUP! THIS IS LEE JORDAN SIGNING OFF. WHAT A GREAT END TO THE TERM FOR GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry had spotted the shining gold just under Scully's broom, and he'd gone in pursuit. Thinking that Harry was out for his blood for what he'd done to Katie, the Slytherin Chaser tried to outrun a Firebolt, and narrowly avoided wrapping himself around the Gryffindor hoops' poles. The snitch tried to shift and fly straight up, but Harry had adjusted himself and caught the little winged ball which essentially flew right up into his waiting palm. With a grin, he presented the ball to Madam Hooch, who verified the catch, and the scoreboard mirrored it instantly. The stands were filled with the deafening roar of the crowds. House Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were firmly behind Gryffindor and joined in on the celebrations.
For a moment, while still in the air, Harry was smothered by a bunch of redheads. The twins shouting and cheering, his best mate Ron playfully punching him in the shoulder, and Ginny's voice drowned out by the din of the crowds. Angelina gave a firm nod of approval, but also slapped him on the back approvingly. Harry smiled and murmured replies everywhere, but his attention was devoted solely to a short girl with dark golden hair who trudged towards the locker rooms with slumped shoulders.
~ O ~
When Harry entered the main locker room where the Gryffindor players gathered before a game or after their showers, he found Katie leaning tiredly against the wall, resting on a bench. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed cut off from the world.
"Katie?" Harry called, and the girl's eyes shot open.
"How'd it go?" asked Katie with a small smile.
"Didn't you hear Lee letting the whole world know?" Harry smirked. "We won."
"Thanks to you."
"It was a team effort," insisted Harry, "if not for the twins…"
"Come off it, Harry. Gryffindor owes you for this victory." Katie had a firm look in her eyes that brooked no argument on the subject.
"Are you okay?" asked Harry, changing the subject.
At this, Katie sighed and looked away. "I've… had better days," she admitted, "I don't think I'm going to stay on with the team next term."
"What? No, you can't-"
"Why not?" she demanded hotly, and glared up at Harry, "Angelina and Alicia could see it, everyone could bloody see it. I can't fly my broom like I used to…my hands are always shaking…I can barely hold the quaffle when I get it…I should have let Ginny go in right from the start. Face it, Harry, my days playing Quidditch are over."
She pursed her lips as the rest of the team entered, joking and chattering noisily with each other, still riding on a high from their victory. When Angelina saw Harry's conflicted expression, and Katie's subdued but stormy face, the group quieted at a quick gesture of her hand, and the two oldest Chasers and Ginny joined Katie at the bench, whilst Fred, George and Ron led Harry to the boys' shower room to quietly inquire what was going on.
~ O ~
Katie had avoided Harry for the rest of the night in the Gryffindor Common Room whilst the party was in full swing. Hermione seemed to have developed a taste for rule-breaking ever since she helped Harry and Ron start the Defence Association Club. Harry had initially thought of going with Dumbledore's Army, but shortly after concluded it would be a bad idea, mostly because it would implicate the headmaster in a technically illegal activity. Besides, the Ministry of Magic, in particular the minister himself, Cornelius Fudge, seemed to think Dumbledore wanted to take over the Ministry.
It would be bad form to, in any way, affirm such silly notions.
So when George magically enlarged a mixing table to make some moonshine, to the cheers of the other lions, Hermione's voice cut through the celebrations like a blasting hex, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS?!"
The crowd quietened and looked uncertainly at the bushy-haired girl who stormed up towards the Weasley Twins, who were graduating alongside Alicia and Angelina, but they all looked terrified now. Swiping the unlabelled bottle from Fred's hand, Hermione held it under her nose and sniffed, then screwed up her face with distaste, "You'll be lucky to make it to Madam Pomfrey before the night is through if you took this much alcohol in one pull."
"Well…" George started.
"...you see…" Fred joined, to a swift glare from Hermione which shut both of them up. Harry began to approach his best friend, along with Ron, but the girl swung her hand back and all but slapped the bottle against Ron's chest, who grasped it out of instinct.
Hermione produced her purse and stuck her hand in. It swallowed up most of her arm, proving to Harry that it was clearly enchanted to hold far more than it looks, and she pulled out a large bottle of Ogden's firewhiskey, planting it on the mixing table, followed by another, then another, until twelve full bottles were sitting proudly on the table. "If you're going to drink alcohol, at least get a reliable and branded stock." said the girl primly.
"Bloody hell, Hermione…" said Ron, staring in awe. The rest of the group broke into laughter and cheering once more and the party resumed. Hermione winked at Ron and helped the twins to fill glasses and cups with drinks.
Ron leaned over to Harry, "I think we've created a monster."
Harry just gave Ron a wry grin, and returned to watching the Gryffindors have a good time. His attention was devoted to looking for Katie however, but the elusive blonde was seemingly nowhere in sight. He thought he'd seen her a few times, but she was always behind someone larger, and being as short as she was, it was easy for her to find larger people to hide behind. That seemed to be the case anyway, as he never could get a clear look, and he was repeatedly approached by various housemates congratulating him on winning the Quidditch Cup once again.
"Hello Harry," came a light, lilting voice, and Harry turned around to look down at one Luna Lovegood, who was looking placidly back at him, still wearing the roaring lion headdress, "you seem more preoccupied than normal. Do you feel a buzzing between the ears?"
"What? Uh…no. No, I don't feel that," said Harry, wondering what creature Luna would suggest as the cause behind his latest predicaments.
"Not surprising," said Luna blandly, and she gently thrust a cup into his hands, "this should cause some buzzing, though."
"Luna, how'd you get in here?" asked Harry, refraining from drinking the firewhiskey for the moment.
"I followed you in, of course," replied the girl, "I suppose wearing the team's colours helped me blend in easily. Also, I'm not the only outsider here tonight."
She turned pointedly to the right and Harry noticed with a start that Hannah Abbott and Padma Patil were sharing drinks with Parvati and Lavender.
"All we need now is someone from Slytherin here and we'll have a full set," remarked Harry dryly.
Luna smiled at that and glanced towards the fireplace, and Harry could only goggle at the fact that he'd somehow missed the pair of Slytherin students milling with several seventh years. "Well, that's uh...that's…"
Luna giggled and patted him on the arm gently, "You made this possible, Harry."
"How so?" asked Harry, though he had the feeling he knew the answer.
"Your DA classes," said Luna with a bland smile.
Harry mused to himself that it was probably true, and he'd achieved an unexpected dream that he had from when he was younger: Unifying the four Houses under a common goal. Ron was most reluctant about the idea of allowing Slytherins into the unofficial club, but Hermione saw the value of Harry's goal, and pointed it out in a way that Ron could value and understand, especially when Harry suggested bringing Draco into the club first.
After all, there was wisdom in keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.
Hermione, with help from Luna and Ginny, had charmed what became known as the DA Challenge Coins, with a creative array of features, amongst them emergency portkeys, severe clauses against betraying Harry or the DA, and a means to summon members. The betrayal clauses were a mixture of true punishments and some implied ones, such as becoming a squib. Hermione claimed that there might be something that could take away a person's magic, such as the Goblet of Fire, and in fact that was what inspired the idea of suggesting that betrayal would result in the loss of magic.
This also helped weed out those who would be serious about learning to master their magic and spellwork, and who thought it was just a bit of fun. There was fun, but it was also deadly serious. And they needed to be creative to avoid detection by Dolores Umbridge and her cohorts of Inquisitors. This was where Harry thought it would be good to have Slytherins in the club, as their cunning and guile proved a most invaluable asset to the budding organisation.
Draco had been a harder sell than anticipated, given the years of animosity that had built up between him and Harry, and he'd been most suspicious, not to mention leery of any offer from a Gryffindor, but he had caved, more out of curiosity than true willingness, and Hermione had perhaps, forgotten to mention some specific clauses about membership until he was through the door, by which time, it was quite too late. Ron would never admit it aloud, but Harry suspected his best mate was actually impressed by the volume of expletives that Draco seemed familiar with and willing to use when he realized he'd been backed into a corner against his will.
Nevertheless, the somewhat unwilling alliance had borne fruit quite quickly. Draco sullenly put feelers out and lured in several Slytherins, including his personal bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle. Most were surprised, but seeing Draco, Crabbe and Goyle being a part of it had them convinced to give the Defence Association a try. While the Room of Requirement seemed an excellent venue for meeting, it was Blaise Zabini of Slytherin who pointed out that moving classes every now and then, even if to some less secure zones, would be prudent to keep the Inquisitors tripping up and failing to nail down the existence of the club for certain.
Harry and his friends began to help teach the members how to defend themselves. Although rumours did get out about the existence of the DA, Umbridge had been unable to prove their whereabouts or existence for certain, though not for lack of trying, but the Slytherin members were a definite boon, and Draco worked as a double agent, joining the ranks of the Inquisitorial squad, and he became the inside track for Harry. After some months, Ron finally admitted to Harry that this was an amazing strategy. They stayed ten steps ahead of the squad at all times, and if it came down to it, they could portkey out.
Harry often wondered if Dumbledore and the other professors made note of the portkey activities within the school. But if they did, they certainly didn't mention it, though they had often given Harry knowing looks, and even on occasion, a wink.
Though he wondered about the trump card he held should the club have been discovered. It was shortly after Christmas Break, when they returned to school, that Hermione and Luna found that by all rights and intents per the rules of magic, Harry was legally an adult, thanks to his forced participation in the Triwizard Tournament last term, which could only be participated by wizards and witches of age. Magic disregarded the fact that Harry was fourteen at the time, and he was considered of age as of now. More so since he won the tournament.
Winning the tournament was a bittersweet memory for Harry. It had been a harrowing close call, but his actions saw Cedric and himself making it back to the school in one piece. The Hufflepuff was technically a co-champion, since they'd both grasped the magical prize at the exact same time. Harry hadn't really cared for the prize money, but at Cedric's insistence, they'd split the winnings. That night was horrific, and he knew, if not for the older boy's actions, Harry likely would have died when Voldemort returned to power.
Together, they helped each other escape the dark wizard's clutches, and made a narrow escape, reusing the trophy to return to the school. Cedric had provided pensieve memories along with Harry to prove that Voldemort had returned. But that resulted in the Ministry doing their best to suppress word of this, to the chagrin of the triwizard champions, including Fleur and Viktor, both of whom believed the Hogwarts champions without question.
"You're thinking about that night, last year," said Luna, bringing Harry back to the present.
He had to marvel at how the girl sometimes seemed to be a mind-reader, and he gave a tired grin, "Yeah…kind of hard not to, given the follow up since then."
Umbridge had been sent to suppress the news and Harry as much as possible, but he did his best to keep his head down, whilst watching everything around him. Mad-Eye Moody had instilled enough instincts in him to keep his wits about him at all times. But that was the least of their concerns. Dumbledore had tried to alert the Ministry, firmly backing Cedric and Harry, but it had resulted in near disaster.
Harry and his doltish cousin, Dudley, had been attacked by Dementors, whilst Cedric and his family were set upon by imperiused wizards and witches. Dumbledore in the meantime, had been beset by an unbelievable amount of all manner of dark creatures in his very own stronghold, at Hogwarts itself. The few professors who remained in the castle during that summer were reminded of the immense power possessed by the venerable wizard even in his waning years. Umbridge had immediately attempted to get Harry expelled and his wand snapped due to his use of magic in the presence of a Muggle, completely ignoring the fact that Dudley, as his cousin living under the same roof as himself, was more than aware of magic already, and further ignoring the fact that he had to defend himself.
Drawing on Cedric's actions a few months prior, Harry demanded to have his memory shared with all via pensieve, and he further offered to testify under Veritaserum. Dumbledore eventually called the entire farce into question, providing his own accounts and the testimonies of the professors who assisted him against the werewolves, vampires, dementors and so on that had chosen to attack Hogwarts en masse on the same day that the Hogwarts champions had been.
While Dumbledore had started asking hard, pointed questions that gradually forced Umbridge to shut down the entire session, citing more pressing matters to deal with than one adolescent whose use of magic in public might have risked exposing the wizarding world to the Muggles, the woman decided to try her luck in controlling the masses at the school itself.
Per Dumbledore's advice and guidance, Harry had been careful not to provoke the woman, and instead, employed a vigilant watch, and kept whatever he knew to himself. Indeed, Umbridge often tried to provoke a response from Harry, as far as he could tell. She spoke falsehoods at every opportunity, or treated everyone like they were little children. It certainly grated on his and Ron's patience on more than one occasion. He and his fellow fifth years wondered how in Merlin's name they hoped to do well in their O.W.L. tests with the way the woman taught the DADA class.
So everyone showed no small amount of gratefulness for the Defence Association club. The numbers had seemingly swelled to the point that the only people not in it, with the exception of Draco, were the members of the Inquisitorial Squad. But those were just the good times.
"I owe you big time, Luna," said Harry as he brought his mind back to the present for a while. "That little bit you and Hermione found out about me being a legal adult by magic is going to be a big help."
"Friends help each other," replied Luna distractedly. "After all, before we met, I only had Ginny who I could call a friend. And you should drink that."
She'd gestured to the cup in his hand, and he smiled, slowly, almost reluctantly bringing it to his lips. Luna's smile grew as he drew in a sip and just that little bit kicked in like a bludger to the face. "And George wanted to make something potentially stronger than this?" he rasped.
"Yes," said Luna, "I was rather disappointed that Hermione brought proper firewhiskey. I was hoping to write an article about teenagers, moonshine, and how they draw nargles in more quickly than a forest of mistletoes."
There was the Luna he knew, Harry just smiled and nodded, "I don't know, Luna…you might still get the chance, those twelve bottles might not be enough."
"Oh, it is," said Luna with a nod to herself, "I saw Hermione put two crates into her purse. But perhaps I can convince her to let Fred and George try making some moonshine anyway. That's a nice name, isn't it? Moonshine? I rather like it. Excuse me."
She immediately made a beeline for Hermione, then paused, looked around, saw Ron talking to Dean and Seamus, smiled, and headed over to him instead.
Harry grinned and shook his head, silently wishing Ron luck, because he definitely caught the interests of a certain little blonde Ravenclaw.
This brought to memory another blonde who had been on Harry's mind for some time now, and it started much further back, just a few months after the start of term. Harry, Ron and Hermione had just been coming back from Hogsmeade when they saw Katie and Leanne ahead of them. The two were arguing, and Katie was stumbling, seemingly dazed and slightly disoriented. Then, to everyone's horror, she started screaming, the cursed Opal Necklace slipping out of her grasp. Harry recognized it from when he first saw it, in Borgin & Burke's before his second year, when he'd accidentally flooed into the shop.
The girl had been floating up nearly six feet in the air, Leanne frantically trying to pull her friend back down by the legs, with Ron rushing in to help. Hermione tried to be more practical and cautious, using her wand to try summoning the girl back to the ground, but she suddenly crashed hard, and was so still that they'd thought her dead. Hagrid and Flitwick were the first to reach the scene, and Harry, remembering that the necklace had a warning label that said it had killed nineteen muggles before, narrowly saved Ron and Leanne from joining Katie. The hole in Katie's glove was what exposed her to a limited extent of the curse, and even that had a fairly extreme effect on her.
They hadn't seen Katie for six months after that.
Ginny had been brought in to be a replacement Chaser, and suspicions fell on all sorts of people, but no one could be identified or pinpointed as responsible. Some even thought it was Draco, but Hermione and, much to most people's surprise, Ron, had vehemently defended the Slytherin, and he was eventually free of suspicion. Of course, this defence was only within the DA itself, and Hemione reminded the members that, as Draco was under the same oaths and clauses as the others, if he had betrayed anyone in the club, everyone would know.
Outside the club though, as agreed upon by all the Slytherins, the Golden Trio and Draco continued to carry out their enmity with one another, to further allay suspicions that Draco was in cahoots with them. Blaise had complimented Harry, saying he had a fairly Slytherin mind when it came down to it.
Katie had been released from St. Mungo's with just enough time for her to train up and join the Quidditch team for their final match of the term, but as everyone soon saw to their dismay, she'd clearly lost her edge in the game. Harry personally thought she just needed more time to recover. After all, she'd only just come back to school after a six month coma, that could take a lot out of anyone.
Taking a look around the room as he brought his mind to the present once more, he sighed as he still couldn't see any sign of Katie. He was worried for the girl, as he remembered how powerless he and all the others felt as they saw her suffering in front of them, and the horrific ear-piercing screams as the curse took its toll on her.
"HARRY!" cried Ron, "Come and see this!"
Smiling, Harry walked over to join his friends.
~ O ~
The party went on for quite a while before a lull even began to show. The alcohol and Hermione's supply certainly helped to keep things going. But it eventually quietened when it reached past midnight, and Harry stood at the table, looking at the few remaining bottles that had any liquor left. He was still on his first cup, and he'd barely touched the thing after his obligatory sip in front of Luna. The stuff was horrible, and it was a wonder that Ron could drink so much before finally succumbing.
He'd been laughing, joking, and singing - horribly off-key - with Seamus, Dean, and the twins, before abruptly leaning back on the sofa, and passing right out. Now, Luna was resting her head on his shoulder, a contented smile on her face, as she held his hand. If Hermione had any thoughts on that scene, she certainly kept it to herself. Lavender had had a scathing remark to say, but a sharp look from Harry kept her from finishing any thoughts aloud.
Now, those few who were sober enough to still walk, were assisting the far more drunken friends into the dormitories.
Dobby popped into view, looked around the scene, and exclaimed, "Dobby is luckiest elf ever!"
He then vanished and things started cleaning up by themselves magically.
"I mush shay," said George, arm-in-arm with Fred, "Thish wash the besh party by…far…"
He hiccuped and Fred nodded his head, "Yesh, we need…Hermione wash the besh…"
Grinning, Harry walked up to the two of them, "You two would be lucky if you made it upstairs by yourselves. Come on."
Maneuvering himself between the twins, he supported, half-carried them up the stairs, and noticed Katie helping the similarly inebriated pair of Angelina and Alicia. Both Harry and Katie were shorter than their drunken friends and were struggling with their loads. Katie gave Harry a small smile, and said a quick "Good night." before turning to the girls dormitories and disappearing into the rooms. With a sigh, Harry continued on his trek up to the boys rooms and helped the twins to their beds before he headed to his own.
"That was fun, wasn't it?" asked Hermione just as Harry landed on his bed, and he jumped halfway up at his friend's voice.
"Hermione, what are you doing here?" asked Harry, wide-eyed.
"Talking to you," came the simple reply, "isn't it obvious?"
Harry rolled his eyes, but bit back his snarky retort, and instead said, "It was a lot of fun. Did you have a lot to drink?"
Dumb question, really, looking at how flushed and unsteady the girl seemed, barely propping herself up on Ron's bed, "Definitely more than I would say is socially acceptable…the hangover is going to be an absolute nightmare. Good thing I made a whole lot of sobering potions for everyone."
Harry grinned, "Only you would think so far ahead, and for everybody too."
"Of course," said Hermione, "it's good to have a little fun, kick back, and forget all the responsibilities for a while."
Recalling Ron's query several months back, when Hermione first declared excitement about breaking the rules, Harry quoted his friend, "Who are you, and what have you done to Hermione?"
The girl burst out in giggles, then she closed her eyes, and slowly slid down on her side, falling asleep almost immediately on the bed. With another sigh, Harry rolled her away from the side of the bed and covered her with the blanket. "Good night, Hermione."
Finally, he fell back onto his bed, and closed his eyes, thinking about golden snitches, golden butterbeer, and Chasers with dark golden hair.
~ O ~
"Well, it certainly took you long enough," said a gruff man's voice.
Harry opened his eyes and found himself lying on something soft, but it wasn't his bed, and the oddly coloured sky clued him in to the fact that he was most certainly not in his bedroom anymore. It looked like dawn blended with dusk somehow, and he could hear the sounds of an ocean lapping against the shore nearby.
"Well, come on, get up already, young man, I don't have all night," said the voice again, urging him to sit up and look around.
To his right stood a tall broad-shouldered man roughly in his forties or early fifties, with long dark brown, greying hair, a beard, and a curious fashion style. He wore a pale brown tunic with a light undershirt, the belt cinched around his waist, dark brown trousers underneath and dark boots. Hanging on his left thigh was a sword, and slipped into the belt on the right hip was what looked like a broad steel wand.
Now that he was up, he began to notice more of the scenery around him. It was a peaceful, beautiful landscape. There were trees of all kinds and flowers in an infinite array of colours spread out along a path near him, that led to what looked like a meadow, behind him was a cove that led out into the ocean proper. The waters lapped noisily against fine white sand. A short swim away, near the center of the cove, was a tiny, round island with rocks and palm trees. A rooster stood at the top of the rocks, head twisting left and right in a watchful manner.
"Where am I? And who are you?" asked Harry as he stood up warily. He wasn't wearing what he had on as he laid down to sleep. Instead, he wore a skin-tight black t-shirt with matching long trousers, socks and soft shoes. The material felt stretchy and flexible, like he could move in any way without hindrance.
The tall man gave a small smile, hands clasped behind his back. "All valid questions, young Master Potter." he replied. "To answer your questions, you're in my realm, a land of impossibilities, dreams and imaginations. Of ideas, concepts, and even perhaps, desires."
He made a gesture, beckoning Harry, and started on the path that Harry had seen earlier, only, the man took two steps forward and suddenly vanished, appearing in the far distance in the meadow. Harry ran along the path, desiring to catch up quickly to the man, and just like that, he was running next to him. Shocked by the sudden travel, Harry lost his footing and fell down, disappearing into the tall grass and sunflowers.
When he got back to his feet, the man was smirking at him, standing still, with a curious rodent-like creature perched on his shoulder. Harry suddenly realized he felt something soft and fluffy on his head. Reaching up with both hands, he grasped soft downy fur and lifted it off. At first he thought it was just a little plump brown rabbit, but then he noticed the oddly shaped horn protruding from the center of its brow. The horn could best be described as crumpled.
Harry blinked owlishly at the creature in his hands, its cute little nose twitching non-stop. He had to tell Luna about this. And he noticed movement to his right.
Glancing up, he saw none other than Luna herself, skipping through the meadow, heading straight for him. "Hello Harry," said Luna, "I didn't expect to see you here. Oh, you met Hopper!"
The small sized girl reached out her hands to take the little animal off of him, and Harry allowed her to, still a little stunned at what he had just seen, what he was still seeing. "L-Luna...is that a…?"
"What do you think it is, Harry?" asked Luna in a distracted manner as she nestled it in her arms. It seemed very content to let her do this.
"Is that an actual crumple-horned snorkack?!"
Luna just smiled enigmaticly at Harry, and stroked the creature's fur gently. Then she turned to look at the still unnamed man, and curtseyed gracefully, "My lord," she said respectfully, "may I visit the Sanctuary?"
After a moment, the man smiled and nodded, "You may, Lady of the Moon. As always, the Sanctuary is open to you and your cares."
She smiled happily, and nodded at Harry, then started skipping away, the snorkack comfortably in her arms. A moment later, she blinked out of sight.
"Where'd she go?!" demanded Harry. He had the distinct sensation that that was really Luna and not a dream or imagined version of her.
"To the Sanctuary," said the man simply, and as Harry's mouth opened, a follow-up question obvious, he interrupted, "a place that lives up to its name. In my realm, it is a refuge. In time, you will learn, there are a great many dangers here, along with the beauty and light. It's not heaven by any means, and yes, I am the protector of this land, but even I have my limits."
He turned so he was fully facing Harry, "Young Master Potter, my name is Quinn Gordon Jones." He extended a hand to the teenager.
Grasping the offered hand, Harry replied, "Harry Potter, though I suppose you already knew that. Could you just call me Harry, please?"
"Very well," said Quinn, "As you probably already know, your movement is radically different here. Through simple desire to be somewhere, you can arrive there near-instantaneously. Come along, there's something I need you to see. I'll go slow, so you can keep up."
He was gone in a blink and Harry looked around, spotting him at the edge of the meadow. He concentrated on the man, and at first, nothing happened, and only when he felt the desire to be next to him did he immediately appear. A moment after, the man was gone again, and in the distance, near a mountain, he saw him. He was there once more, and as soon as he reached him, he was off to the next jump. He also realized that the man was making greater jumps each time, and after a while, he looked little more than a dot each time.
Harry began to wish he could just sense the man's presence and jump to him. To his surprise, at the next jump, he immediately looked to the right, and he just knew that Quinn was over there. He blinked into view next to him, and the man smiled down at Harry, "Very good, Harry," he said, "I was rather hoping you'd pick up on that ability quickly. I'm pleased to say you didn't disappoint. I'm going to go right where I want us to be, try and see if you can find me."
He vanished, and Harry immediately spun to look backwards, and he could feel a faint sense. Wherever Quinn had gone, it was very, very, far away. He concentrated and focused on his desire to be right where the man was. Something seemed to hold him back. It felt like a faint sense of touch. Clawed greying hands reaching out, wanting to pull him into the ground, wanting to smother him.
He suddenly found, to his panic, that he really couldn't breathe, and there were real greying hands clawing at him, grasping him, pulling him down, and the soft ground was giving way and covering him. He cried out, and then remembered the Sanctuary. It was a safe refuge. He had no desire stronger than to be in that place that instant.
And he was.
Panting and gasping for breath, he heard a low moaning sound in the distance, echoing through the air, and heaved a sigh of relief. He was in the Sanctuary, and he knew it. He felt safe, and at peace, though oddly cut off from something else. It felt like a missing limb, only he had all his legs and arms, but it still felt strange. Then he realized with sudden clarity what it was. Drawing his wand, he tried to cast, "Orchideus!"
Nothing happened.
"Lumos!"
Still nothing.
"Incendio!"
He couldn't feel or cast magic in here.
"Hello Harry."
He jumped and turned to see Luna, now holding what he thought was a hamster at first, but hamsters didn't have horns, dragon wings, or a spiked scaly tail, and shiny black eyes.
"Luna..." said Harry, "...you're really here, aren't you?"
The girl hummed a non-committal response and reached up with a hand, caressing his cheek, her thumb wiping at something and when she pulled her hand back, he saw blood on her thumb. His blood.
"Do watch where you go, Harry," said Luna, "there are dangers in the World of Dreams."
"Yeah..." agreed Harry, "...so I've learnt."
The girl smiled encouragingly at him, then patted him on the shoulder, "Best you carry on, now, it's not very polite to keep the Lord of Dreams waiting."
"Quinn?"
"Yes, that's what he likes to call himself sometimes. But I suspect he has a lot more names than he shares with us. I'm not sure that Quinn Gordon Jones is even his real name...names have power, you know. Also, he strikes me more as a Zeus, or perhaps Jupiter."
Luna looked up from her musings and her eyes widened, "You need to go now, Harry. We can talk later if you want. Go."
"All right," said Harry and he started to try to work out where the man was, when he paused and looked at the girl. He pointed at the hamster-like creature in her hands, "I saw that on his shoulder earlier. What is it?"
Luna smiled dreamily, and stroked the creature's fur, "A bat-winged hobnoblin. But the Lord of Dreams insists that they are just dragon hamsters, or hamgons, for short. Rather silly, I think, because it's definitely a bat-winged hobnoblin. Hamgons are more temperamental."
Harry sort of regretted asking. He could feel Quinn's presence more strongly from here, and in a blink, he disappeared. The moment he left the sanctuary, he could feel magic again, and he felt such immense relief. He never wanted to feel that again, even if the Sanctuary seemingly offered a safe refuge, the feeling of being cut off from magic was a highly unpleasant experience. The journey to Quinn was also unlike all the other times when he blinked to a spot. Instead, it felt like being pulled through a tunnel, with an odd sensation of freezing and burning all at once, and losing his equilibrium completely.
A heavy hand caught hold of him as he stumbled to his destination, "Careful, Harry. What happened to you? You took longer than expected to arrive."
The man looked Harry over with concern, noticing the light cuts and injuries on him.
"Something tried to grab me and kill me," answered Harry truthfully, "grey hands were…"
"Grey!?" demanded Quinn, "The hands of the dead? Pulling you into the ground?"
"Yeah," said Harry, "what were they?"
"Everything I stand against." said Quinn. "Harry, what is the opposite of dreams?"
That seemed like a simple enough question, "Nightmares?" ventured Harry.
"In the simplest, most direct terms, I suppose that would suffice." nodded Quinn, "But the reality is much, much more complicated than that."
Harry looked at the man thoughtfully, but he waited for Quinn to explain more, "The World of Dreams, as your young friend has told you, is in fact, its own reality. At times, most often when one sleeps, or even daydreams, they can briefly traverse here. Most people cannot perceive the world in its fullest, with the exception of Miss Lovegood, and now, you."
"Why only us?" asked Harry.
"In the case of young Miss Lovegood, you could say it was her destiny, her fate...her dream." Quinn looked at Harry with a small smile, "She was gifted with a level of perception beyond the norm of most people her age. As for you...well, that's a special circumstance. But before I get to that, it's best I told you a little bit of the problems faced by us, by my world."
As they spoke, Harry had noticed people blinking in and out of sight, he supposed these were the people that Quinn spoke of, who briefly visited the world, before going on to what would probably be normal dreams. He saw Hermione appear for a moment, looked around, but not in Quinn or Harry's direction, and then disappeared.
"So it seems like you ran into a servant of Malficetoph, called the Endless Black," said Quinn, "they are comparable to your Dementors, a few of which do exist here too. Their ability to consume souls, means they can consume dreams, even fates. What concerns me is that the Endless Black dared to enter my lands, and moreover, attack you, whilst you're under my protection. I assume you found your way to the Sanctuary?"
At Harry's nod, Quinn sighed, "I offer you my apologies, Harry. I had not anticipated such audacity this early."
"You were expecting it to happen, though?" asked Harry.
"Yes, indeed. It's part of the reason why I brought you here, to make you aware of the extent of the danger that you face now." Quinn folded his arms over his chest, and the land shifted around them. The place was dark, and shadows creeped all around. Harry felt uneasy and even afraid.
"This is the border to the lands of nightmares. I don't need to tell you that it is folly to venture here on your own."
Harry honestly didn't need to be told twice for this.
"What you need to understand is that nightmares aren't just bad dreams, Harry. In some ways, you could say that they are the source of the problems. The antithesis to living, but at the same time, they cannot be considered an entropy or death in any conventional form. They exist, serving a purpose. You could say that they are motivators by the emotion of fear. Due to your experiences in life, you have a far greater familiarity with fear and nightmares."
"Yeah," said Harry quietly, "wish I didn't."
And just like that, they were somewhere else. It was less oppressive, and more pleasant, but still not as nice as the place he'd been when he'd awakened, or the Sanctuary, which was almost like a form of paradise, though he hadn't paid close attention to his surroundings while there.
"Where are we now?" asked Harry.
"This is what I wanted to show you." Quinn pointed to a cave with a brightly lit entrance. "Understand that what you will see is not something that's actually there, but merely an understanding of what it is, and what it looks like. Go on in, I promise you, you shall not fall under attack here, now. I will keep watch until you are inside, then I will join you."
Nodding, Harry made his way towards the cave, then remembered he could just be there immediately, and so in a split second, he suddenly found himself at the entrance. The cave within was beautiful. There were crystals and gems of all kinds adorning the walls, and they all glowed with their own colours and with their own light sources. There was a pedestal of some sort in the center of the largest room within the cave. It definitely looked artificial, and floating over it was a multi-hued cylindrical crystal shard.
It spun in a lazy orbit on the pedestal, its beauty dimming everything else around it. Harry felt peace and happiness just being near to it. "What is it?" he asked, without bothering to check if Quinn was nearby.
"The Crystal of Lost Dreams. Dreams, like nightmares, are far more than just mere imagination, thoughts, desires. Dreams can and often are, the beginning of ambitions, destinies, goals and possibilities." Quinn circled the pedestal, looking at the crystal. "It's a treasure, a valuable device, and in the wrong hands, a weapon."
"How can it be used as a weapon?" asked Harry. His mind considered the beautiful sceneries he'd witnessed earlier. Dreams seemed pretty hard to weaponize.
"Harry," said Quinn, "based on everything I told you, you must realize that dreams are not limited to just good people. Voldemort certainly dreams. He dreams of conquest, of victory over everyone that stands against him, or killing you. With the crystal in his hands his dreams will become reality…"
Perfect, one more thing to worry about.
"So I need to find it first, before Voldemort does."
Quinn nodded.
"I don't suppose you can just tell me where it is?"
"Sadly, the crystal was lost before my time, Harry, I am sorry," said Quinn, "but I promise you this; I will do all I can to help you on the way. There is however, one other matter."
"What's that?"
"The other lords do not trust you."
Harry blinked at that.
"O-kay?" he said, "I think I might need a bit more than that."
"I'm not a supreme ruler over the world of dreams. There is a council of lords, and I often stand in conflict to the ideals and morals of my fellows. I believe in a more proactive stance. The others prefer deliberation and endless consideration. In the meantime, Malficetophe and his lot are ever moving, ever plotting, ever scheming. You could say we are a counterbalance to each other, dreams and nightmares. But lately, dreams have been giving way, ceding more to the nightmares than holding them in check."
He sighed, "This will reflect in your world, in subtle ways, and sometimes overtly."
"What can I do to stop this?" asked Harry.
"Find the crystal, Harry," said Quinn, "it's everyone's only chance. I strongly suspect Malficetophe has formed an alliance with Voldemort. I'm sure you've noticed you haven't been having the usual nightmares since his return."
Harry nodded slowly, realizing this was true.
"Well, I've done my best to shield you, but as I said before, the other lords do not trust you, and believe you will seize the power of the crystal for yourself. You will be tempted, Harry, and while the crystal was created for the intent of betterment of life, it can be manipulated or used for selfish and nefarious desires. Be mindful of this."
He clasped his hands behind him, and they were both transported to where Harry first woke up, the sounds of the ocean a dull roar, "There will be five tests you must take, as you begin your search for the crystal. Two will be tests of faithfulness and loyalty, one will be temptation to take the easy way out, one will test your resolve, and one will be a test of your character. There will be no set time or order for when these tests will take place. You must be ready."
He looked at the sky, and said, "The dawn approaches, you will wake soon. Remember what I've told you, Harry. I will come to you whenever I can. Remember one other thing: Do not enter the World of Dreams with your living body. The danger to you will be a hundredfold, and even I will not be able to protect you should you choose to do so."
"I don't even know how to come here when I'm asleep," said Harry, "how do you expect me to know how to physically enter this world?"
"These things you will quickly learn when next you return," said Quinn, "it will be instinctual. Harry, the alliance between Malficetophe and Voldemort is nothing short of disastrous for both our worlds. The nightmares have forgotten their true task, and Voldemort is short-sighted, but he is not incompetent by any means, and should he master the powers of the crystal, there is nothing he cannot accomplish. Good luck, my young friend. The hopes and dreams of many rests on your success."
The rooster on the tiny island crowed, and Harry's vision turned white.
~ O ~
He slowly opened his eyes, and found himself back on his four-poster bed. He slowly sat up, it was about seven in the morning. Hermione dozed quietly on Ron's bed. She probably wouldn't be up for a while more, he mused. It seemed like he was the only one to bother going to bed as none of the boys, not even Neville was in the room. That, or they saw Hermione and decided to sleep elsewhere, though that seemed improbable.
He got up and got ready for the day, taking a nice comfortable shower. When he was done with his daily routine, he quietly made his way down to the Gryffindor living room. The place was mostly pristine, thanks to Dobby and the other house elves. It took some convincing, and a direct meeting with Hogwarts house elves themselves, to convince Hermione to give up on, or at least, modify her ideas with S.P.E.W., since then, the tower had returned to its usual level of cleanliness.
Only the spots with people lying on them were left alone, so it had an odd look of clean against pockets of not so clean.
Luna was nowhere to be found, and Ron had the entire couch to himself, sprawled out with limbs everywhere.
"Heyyy...mate," said Ron sleepily as he looked blearily up at Harry.
"Wh-time izzit?" he asked.
"Half past seven." replied Harry, "how're you feeling?"
"Blimey...early-rissr…" Ron muttered, "...nnn...head 'urts."
"Considering how much you had to drink last night, I'm not surprised," said Harry evenly, "Hermione says she made hangover potions for everyone. Oh, I think that's it right there."
He walked around the couch to the table George had planned to make moonshine on, and retrieved a vial of sickly green fluid. He popped it open and took a sniff, then regretted it instantly. "Eugh! Yeah, that's a hangover potion all right. Here you go, mate."
"Don' 'ave t'be so chipper..." said Ron as he clumsily grabbed the vial, and slowly sat up. He stared into the void for a moment, then suddenly drank the contents of the vial in one pull.
He swore and coughed, and nearby, Lavender grumbled and pleaded for Ron to shut up. "Blimey!" he shook his head and looked suddenly more alert, "That's got to be the most horrific thing I ever tasted!"
"Maybe it's like a deterrent or something," said Harry in a musing manner, "if you want to get drunk and get a hangover, you better be prepared for self-inflicted torture to avoid the pounding headaches."
Ron nodded slowly, "Yeah, that's got to be it."
His eyes brightened up then, "I feel great now, though. Oy, what happened to you?"
Harry blinked at his friend.
"Good morning, Harry," said Luna, from the staircase leading from the girls' dormitories.
Harry reached up with a palm to touch his face, where Luna had placed her hand in the dream, and he came away with a light dabbing of blood. He thought the water stung a little and when he toweled himself dry. But he had completely failed to look at his towel or look in the mirror. "Things just got a lot more complicated…" said Harry, ignoring Luna's greeting.
"Did you take a run through the Forbidden Forest or something?" asked Ron, "you looked kind of cut up."
"Not quite..." said Harry, and he noticed Luna was making a beeline for the portrait door, holding something in her hand. "...one minute Ron, I'll get back to you. How about you help distribute the hangover vials to the others?"
"Yeah," said Ron, and he slowly got up, as Harry ran after Luna, who had already slipped out the door.
"Luna, hey Luna!" the girl was skipping rather quickly, and Harry had to break into a dash to catch up to her. He wished he could blink like he did in the World of Dreams.
Luna finally stopped and turned to look at him, "Yes Harry?"
"What's in your hand?" he asked, he had a strong suspicion, though.
"..." Luna seemed to be debating giving an answer.
"Luna...was it just a dream I had? I really need to know."
"Of course it was just a dream," said Luna, "I just happened to be in it as well."
Not wrong, but not a direct answer either. "Do you know what Quinn wanted to tell me?"
Luna shook her head. "Mostly I visit the Sanctuary and the animals in it. You can't cast or feel magic while you're in there. I don't mind it very much. It's quite peaceful."
Well that confirmed at last for Harry that Luna was really there, and it was far more than just a dream, as Luna claimed it to be.
"How long have you been visiting the World of Dreams?" he queried out of curiosity.
"Since my mother died. I rather hoped I'd see her there, after all, the Sanctuary is a lot like heaven in some ways. I thought, therefore, that my mother would be there."
"Was she?"
The girl nodded, "Sometimes, but I can't really tell if it's just my imaginations, or it was really her."
It made Harry's heart ache, as he wondered if he'd be able to see his parents too. He shoved the thought aside for the time being. "Can I see what you've got in your hand, please? I'm really curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat, you know?"
"Yes, but satisfaction brought him back." retorted Harry.
At this, Luna smiled, and she slowly raised her hand, lifting away her other palm, to reveal, "That's a hamgon."
"No," said Luna, "it's a bat-winged hobnoblin."
A thought began to form in Harry's mind, and his heart began to beat faster, even as the hamgon reared up on its hind legs to sniff the air in Harry's general direction. "Luna...d-do you...do you physically enter the World of Dreams?"
Luna didn't seem to react, but Harry saw her stiffening, and the Hamgon seemed to sense Luna's actions, and it rested its paws on her palm and nuzzled her gently. That was as much an answer to Harry as a full confession. And as far as he knew, hamgons didn't physically exist outside of the World of Dreams, until now. How would one even go about breeding a hamster with a dragon. For that matter, who would want to?
"Why do you ask?" said Luna, and Harry fixed the girl with a firm look.
"Lunaaa," he dragged the last part of her name in a warning tone, "what else did you bring with you?"
It explained why she was not with Ron, and how she appeared from the bedrooms. Probably exiting from the world there as a more conspicuous means.
"I..." a crumple-horned snorkack hopped out of the lion headdress that she'd been holding, "...Hopper!"