3 – The Poster of Myron Wagtail

"Dreams are illustrations...from the book your soul is writing about you."
― Marsha Norman, The Fortune Teller

...

"Here."

Haley found herself with a new pair of fingerless quidditch gloves. Technically the gloves weren't new, seeing as they used to belong to her brother Simon but…

"Why are you giving me your old quidditch gloves?" Haley asked Simon, while they were waiting in front of the barrier that lead to platform 9 ¾. Their parents were somewhere on the platform, busily talking to some of their old friends from school.

"Yesterday you said that someone at school was bullying you," her brother stated.

"Yes," Haley said, drawing out the e. Where was he going with this?

"Do you remember, when I told you about that mean boy from our rival team who always kicked me off my broomstick for fun?"

Haley scowled at the reminder. "Yes," she said lowly, "How could I forget that little brat that always harassed my baby brother?"

"I'm not your ba– well anyway, when I told you what did you do?"

"You mean when you came to me crying your little eyes out?"

"Haley!" Simon shouted angrily. He even stomped his foot on the ground.

"Fine. I'll be nice," she relented.

"So?" Simon urged, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Well since you're a helpless child and everything, I hexed your quidditch gloves for you. It was so cool! They gave off electric shocks and stuff."

"Exactly," Simon said, nodding eagerly. He was trying to tell her something. But Haley was at a loss. She inspected the gloves closely.

"But didn't you say the spell had worn off?" She asked.

"Well, I did say that…"

"But?"

"Maybe it wasn't the whole truth?" Simon said, sounding like he was asking a question.

"You lied?" Haley asked in astonishment.

"Well, mum was going to take them away, once she found out about the electric shocks… What was I supposed to do?" He retorted defiantly.

Haley blinked at her brother in wonder. Then she started to laugh heartily.

"Merlin, Simon," she gasped, "I didn't know you had it in you. I'm impressed. Does dad know?"

Simon glanced over his shoulder where their parents were standing, still engaged in their conversation.

"It was actually his idea," he admitted quietly.

Haley laughed again. Her family was the best entertainment. Once she had calmed down from her laughing fit she stored the gloves safely inside her bag.

"Thank you, Simon. I'm going to miss you!" She exclaimed, as she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"I can't breeeaaathe!" Her brother wailed.

"I don't caaaare," Haley sang, echoing his tone. After another moment she finally released him.

"Love you, baby bro," she said, as she gave him a loud smack on the cheek.

"Haley!" Simon protested. Haley ruffled his hair fondly.

"What's taking them so long?" She wondered, looking around for their parents. Where had they gone now? She couldn't see them anymore.

Simon turned around to look for them as well. "Oooh, it's your boyfriend," her brother said in a mocking tone.

Haley hit him on the shoulder. "He's not my boyfriend," she hissed, as soon as she'd spotted the Longbottoms who were making their way over to the two siblings.

"Well, not anymore," Haley mumbled, glancing over at Neville Longbottom sheepishly.

She had always had a crush on the boy with the sandy blond hair and the round face. There was always a kind smile on his face and he had a really strong sense of justice. Haley found that extremely attractive. His eyes were an intense shade of blue. Sky blue. When the sun shone brightly. He was like the sun, always putting a smile onto her face.

He caught her gaze and waved at her, smiling widely. Haley felt herself blushing. She removed the hair tie from her high ponytail and let her auburn locks flow over her shoulders freely. They were framing her face in a nice, curly way. In her mind she thanked her mum for braiding her hair the night before. It also had the added effect of shielding her face from too observant eyes.

"Haley, hi!" Neville greeted her, pulling her into an embrace, "How are you?"

"I'm – great! Thank you! I -"

He was pulling away and his face was surprisingly close to hers. She remembered what it felt like to kiss him.

Simon snorted.

Haley took a step back. She had to remind herself that she was over him.

"Shut up," she hissed at her brother, elbowing him lightly.

"Hi Simon!" Neville greeted her brother and raising his hand. Simon high-fived him.

"Neville! Your grandma already went ahead to the platform. We should hurry or you won't have enough time to say bye," said Mrs Longbottom, who had just arrived next to them together with Neville's dad, "Hello Haley, dear, did you have good holidays? And is that you, Simon? The last time I saw you you were barely as tall as our dining table."

"Well, I-" Simon started to answer but Mrs Longbottom interrupted him.

"In case you're looking for your parents, they were right behind us but it seems they were held up by one of your dad's former quidditch colleagues. Well... I'm sure they'll be here soon. Come now, Neville, your grandma..." She trailed of, glancing over toward the barrier that lead to platform 9 ¾.

"I guess it's time," Neville said, "See you on the other side."

He vanished through the barrier, followed by his parents and Haley tried not to watch him go. She sighed. Simon patted her shoulder in support. Why was he that tall? The top of his head already reached her chin!

"Didn't you say you were over him?" He asked.

"I am," Haley insisted. She had asked Neville out before the Yule Ball last year and they had been dating ever since. Everything had been great for the first two or three months but then…

One day Neville had told her, he didn't feel ready to be in a committed relationship just then. He'd said that he cherished their friendship too much to ruin it over a romantic relationship. And if they still wanted to they would have enough time to try again later.

It had come completely out of the blue. And to say it bluntly, Haley had been crushed. But she had accepted it. And she had gotten over it. It was okay when other people were around but being alone with Neville? Being so close to him? That was hard.

But she could do it. It helped that the boys at Hogwarts weren't afraid to show her that there were definitely a lot of them interested in being her boyfriend. She knew what her shiny long hair and her sparkling, green eyes did to them. She looked like her mum after all!

It helped. But it wasn't always enough.

"Quick now," her mum shooed, she had appeared next to them, with their dad in tow, "I don't want you to miss the train!" Haley tried not to roll her eyes in annoyance. It wasn't like she was the one who hadn't be able to stop bragging about her glorious quidditch days.

"That's right! I'm not calling your godfather again so that he can give you a ride in his motorcycle! That seat is reserved for me!" Her dad chimed in.

"Got it," Haley mumbled, chuckling softly. Riding in Sirius' motorcycle was awesome! Maybe she should delay her departure on purpose. She could fake an injury or something.

"Haley Potter! Don't you dare even think of it!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Haley mumbled, as she, too vanished through the barrier. It was a shame how well her dad knew her. She had been learning from the best after all. He had been the one to teach her all the tricks.

…

The train ride was uneventful. Haley caught up with her friends Hermione and Ron, ate her own weight in Bertie Bott's Beans and tried not to let Hermione's worrying about the OWLs affect her too much. It was a beautiful day really. Not too cold and the sun was shining. Haley had almost forgotten about the reason why she had been this reluctant to return to Hogwarts in the first place.

Almost. She had been about to exit the train when somebody came up behind her and pushed her right out of the train. She landed on the platform on her hands and knees, getting bruises all over them.

"HEY!" She angrily yelled at the person that had pushed her.

"It's not my fault you can't even exit a train like a proper human being," drawled Draco Malfoy, as he nimbly hopped off the train.

"You pushed me, you slimy little-" Haley started to say, sitting up slowly.

"Leave her alone!" Neville screamed, interrupting her.

"What are you going to do about it?" Malfoy asked condescendingly, "Throw a geranium at me?"

Malfoy left the scene, but Haley could still hear him cackling along with his cronies.

Haley sighed. She hated feeling so weak. Why couldn't she have thrown a hex at him? Or at least insult him properly? She had fought back in the beginning of course but at some point… she'd kind of given up. It was all too much. And why was the git always picking on her in the first place?

"Are you okay?" Neville asked, holding out his hand to her. Haley took his hand and let him help her up.

"Yeah," she breathed looking at her hand, that Neville was still holding, inspecting it for injuries.

"Does it hurt?" He asked.

"It's fine," Haley said, pulling her hand from his grasp. She wasn't going to make this harder than it had to be. "Where are Ron and Hermione?" She asked, looking for them in the crowd.

"There you are," Hermione said, as she was running toward them, "We were looking for you. Ron already found us a carriage. Did you fall down?" She added, after she'd noticed the scratches on her hands.

"Malfoy," was all she offered but it was enough for Hermione to understand what had happened.

"Slimy bastard," Hermione hissed, "Come on, let's get you to the castle."

Hermione put an arm around her and with Neville in tow they made their way toward the carriages where Ron was already waiting.

…

Before Haley went to bed that night, she made sure to put her mum's clasp in her hair. And she squeezed her hand into one of her brother's gloves for good measure. It was a tight fit but luckily her hands were fairly small. She would be able to explore the dream corridor tonight! Haley was almost too excited to fall asleep. She took a deep calming breath and closed her eyes.

ooo

I'm in my room back at home, playing a game of chess with Simon on my bed. I capture his queen with one of my four knights.

"Check," I say with a grin. Simon is rubbish at chess.

My brother captures my king with a chocolate frog.

"Checkmate," he says triumphantly. Wow, I've never been defeated by a chocolate frog. Well, he said 'checkmate', so I guess I've lost.

Simon gets up from my bed and dances happily through my room. Is this the first time he's won against me? As I follow him with my eyes, I notice something strange on my door. Instead of my normal door handle there is the left half of an owl on my door. It's the door to the dream corridor! I must be dreaming! I quickly walk toward the door and open it.

Just like yesterday night, the corridor is there. Like it's been waiting for me all along.

There's mum's door to the right. And to the left… I walk over to the door and glance at it quickly. It looks like a bakery. There are pastries and sweets behind the glass front. A broomstick is leaning against the door and all over the glass front it says in scraggy letters:

Simon's Sweets and Scones.

Even without the writing I would've recognized my little brother's door without a second glance. I smile at his door fondly. I'm wearing his glove… I could take a look inside right now.

But first I want to see more of the corridor. There is one door that I am especially curious about. I wander along the corridor, making a game out of guessing whose door I may be passing along the way.

There is a door made of books instead of wood (I wonder who that one belongs to. Not really, just kidding. That door screams Hermione.) and another that seems to be half tree, half door. (Neville probably.) Another door looks like it is the entrance to a castle or something. I wonder how far I'll have to go until I find Draco Malfoy's door. What would it look like?

It's hard to tell how long I've been wandering around already. Has it been hours? Despite my earlier beliefs it's not just one long corridor but a whole maze with many different halls and after every turn I wonder whether I'll find my way back to my own dream door again. Maybe it's time to go back and look again more closely.

Otherwise I'd wake up before I even found Malfoy's door. I turn around and try to trace my steps back. I only took right turns, so it shouldn't be too hard to find my way back.

After a while I see something familiar. It's a brightly coloured door with a huge package next to it that's blinking wildly and has the word SURPRISE written across it. The door next to that looks almost the same but the colours are more subdued and not as flashy. Fred and George. One day – or better night – I want to find out what kind of dreams are hiding behind those two doors.

Only a few doors further ahead I can spot my own door and the roses and tendrils that surround it. Before I can reach it my eyes catch on another door.

It's the one with the two big, black doors, that looks like the entrance to a castle. I stop to inspect it more carefully. On the right door there is a heavy knocker that looks like it's a snake made of silver. The snake's eyes seem to be glistening emeralds. Is this the door I've been looking for?

But the left door doesn't fit in with the image. There is a big poster of the Weird Sisters pinned all over it and in front of it leans an acoustic guitar. Malfoy doesn't play the guitar. And he sure as hell isn't a fan of the Weird Sisters. But what if… that really is his door? I need something that belongs to Malfoy. Otherwise I'll never find out whether this really is his door or not.

"Who are you and what are you doing in front of my master's door?"

I freeze at the spot. Who said that? I look around but I can't find the owner of the voice.

"Up here," the voice says and I try not to snort, as I realise that Myron Wagtail, the lead singer of the Weird Sisters is talking to me. Well, at least the poster version of him.

Is this Malfoy's subconsciousness talking? What a weird thought. Maybe now is the moment to disguise myself somewhat. After all, I don't know how much of this Malfoy actually perceives. I imagine myself with a big, dark hood, that completely covers my face. It turns dark in front of me. There, that wasn't too hard. But now I can't see anything myself. I imagine a little window that allows me to see through the hood without other people seeing my face. Did it work? I can see fine now. I reach for the fabric in front of my face. I can still touch it. I guess it must have worked then.

"I'm a friend," I say in a low voice, "What's the key to open Draco Malfoy's dream door?"

It's a trick question. I don't expect the guard to tell me about the actual key but I might be able to confirm whether this is his door or not.

"Ha ha ha," Myron Wagtail laughs, "You don't expect me to let just anybody into my master's dreams? That's not the right tune."

Had it really been that easy? Malfoy must be more stupid than I'd given him credit for. Well, until I got a personal object from him, I can't be sure. And then there is also the tune thing.

"What do you mean, "tune"?" I ask innocently.

"Ha ha ha," the singer laughs again, "I'm not gonna tell you the right tune. Do I look stupid?"

Actually, you do. I barely refrain myself from saying that out loud. While he said "tune" I noticed his eyes straying toward the guitar briefly. Does that mean I have to play something on the guitar to get in? Interesting.

"That's too bad," I reply, feigning disappointment, "I guess I won't be able to get in after all."

Myron Wagtail nods and smiles at me sweetly. I get the impression that it's not genuine.

"Well, go along your way then," he says, waving me away.

"Good night, Myron," I say, as I turn around and make my way back to my own dream door.

I have found out enough for now. It doesn't take long to reach my door. As I reach for the door handle I try not to wonder what it means that Malfoy's dream door is this close to mine.

…

A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you a lot for reading and reviewing and favouriting this :) I had no idea how students get back to Hogwarts after winter break. Is it by train? Well, that's what I went with anyway. If you're following my other fics you probably know this already but I'll write it again here. I'm starting my thesis fairly soon so we'll see how often I get to update. I'll try not to make you wait to long and I would love to hear your thoughts on the chapter or the story in general. Also feel free to share ideas for dreams that would be fun.

Have fun and keep reading, Feather :)