WILD MAGIC
by Firewings
A wild screech echoed across the moonlit valley. A few small creatures glanced up, frozen, then scurried away, their minds full of panic, to find a place to hide. The screech they had heard was of a hawk, and the small animals of the valley were its prey.
The bird's eyes narrowed and chose a target. It plummeted towards the earth at a frightening speed.
Hermione Granger awoke to find that it was still very dark out.
"What time is it?," she mumbled, with a yawn. She reached over to her dresser table and grabbed her time sphere. It was black, and looked just like a Magic 8 ball, but when she gave it a good shake, instead of a fortune showing up, glowing blue numbers appeared: 1:15.
She heard a soft mew felt Crookshanks stir beside her.
"You're right," Hermione groaned, petting the cat. "I should get back to sleep." She set the time sphere back on her dresser, and closed her eyes.
"Hello? Earth to Hermione? What's it like where you are?" Hermione turned to see Harry Potter sitting next to her at breakfast.
"Huh?"
Harry turned to their friend, Ron Weasley. "I think she's come back to us." Ron laughed. Then he said what Harry was thinking.
"What's with you, Hermione? Didn't you get enough sleep last night?"
"No. I woke up in the middle of the night because of some weird dream."
"Really? What's it about?"
"Pretty creepy, actually. Something about a bird."
"Attention! Attention! Ah, thank you." Headmaster Dumbledore had stood up to make an announcement. "Professor Trelawney has returned from her trip and will be able to teach Divination again"
"Oh joy," Ron muttered. "Couldn't wait to get back to Divination."
"Yeah," Harry sighed. "What fun."
Sybil Trelawny was one of the most eccentric people Harry, Ron, and Hermione had met. It wasn't exactly a good eccentric, though. Contrary to her belief, except for two real ones, her "predictions" were either ones that anyone could've guessed if they'd thought about it, or just what she thought she knew.
"Looks like Lavender and Pavarti are happy, though," Ron said. Lavendar Brown and Pavarti Patil were possibly Professor Trelawny's biggest fans. They hung on her every word and completely bought into every one of her predictions.
Hermione sniffed. "I don't get what they see in her. It's all just--"
"Down, Hermione," Harry said, smiling. "No need to get all worked up. I mean, you're not even in the class."
"I know, but--"
"Anyway," Ron cut in, "We'd better get going. Wouldn't want to be late, would we?"
"Oh, no," Hermione said in mock horror. "That would be terrible!"
"It would for me," Harry said. "I'm trying to get as little attention from her as I can. Every time she sees me--"
"You'd think she'd've learned from last year that you aren't going to die," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.
The hawk soared over a small mountain, its sharp vision eyes watching everything around, seeing every detail. A rustle in the bushes? The hawk saw it from a mile away. It circled, then flew on. It was just the wind.
"You guys never told me how last night's Transfiguration lesson was," Hermione said at breakfast. "I was so looking forward to hearing how exciting it was."
"Oh, it was," Harry said sarcastically.
"Very exciting," Ron agreed. "We got to listen to Professor Trelawney go on and on about her wonderful vacation in Asia."
"Not to mention all the other wizards she met who had the 'Inner Eye'," Harry said. "'It was such an enlightening experience, being together with those I share the bond with.'" he quoted.
Hermione laughed. "Gosh, sounds like I missed quite a lot."
"Oh, and Professor says she misses you loads," Ron told her.
"Yeah, I bet. Did she only talk of her vacation the whole time?"
"No," Harry shook his head. "She started us a bit with dreams."
"Oh, that'd actually be helpful for me. I've been having those weird dreams again."
"About the bird?"
"Yeah. It's a hawk."
"What was it doing?"
"I dunno. Just flying, mostly."
"You know, Trelawney says that the hawk, in dreams, is a symbol of (ahem) 'sharpness and the discovery of your inner talents'."
Hermione snorted. "Well, she sure made a clear point last year that I had none of those.
Anyway, I feel like there's something about this dream.... like it's trying to tell me something, you know?"
Ron and Harry shrugged.
"Maybe we'll find something out in Divination that'll help you," Harry said.
"Like what?" Ron said. "Another meaningful symbol?"
"Oh, and, by the way," Harry smiled. "Guess which symbol I had"
"Oh no, not that ridiculous Grim!"
"Yup."
"You never actually dreamed about--" Hermione wondered.
"Only about Sirius in his dog form."
"Anyway," Ron said, "We should get going now. Harry and I'll try to think of something."
"Thanks," Hermione sighed. I need all the help I can get with this."
"That's a first," Ron muttered.
"I heard that."
Hermione glanced at her time sphere and laid back in bed. She'd had a different dream that night. She wasn't even sure what it meant. Something about a girl....
"Maybe you're just getting a break from all those creepy bird dreams," Harry suggested. "It probably doesn't mean anything."
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Just one of those dreams you have every night."
"I don't know..." Hermione said. She'd told Harry and Ron about her latest dream during breakfast. "This one also seemed kind of weird."
"I had a dream about a kid who jumped off a cliff once," Ron said, not seeming to have heard.
"What happened to him?" Harry wondered.
"I don't know. I woke up just as he was falling."
"Must've been a short dream," Hermione said.
Megan Wilder sat in the shade of an oak tree, just staring up at the high branches of the trees that seemed to entwine into each other to the onlooker, such as her, below. Through the branches, she could see the sky was turning a darker shade of blue. Soon, stars would be appearing. Maybe the moon, too.
She thought about the dreams she'd been having lately. Some were about a girl, but she didn't know who. They all meant the same thing, though: there was something she had to find.... but what? Megan wasn't even sure which way she was supposed to go; she just followed her inner instincts and clues from the dreams.
-I had another hawk dream,- Hermione's note read, -but then I had another dream about the girl.-
Harry turned the note over and wrote on the other side. -Sounds weird. Maybe the girl dreams actually mean something.-
-Yeah, but what?- Ron joined in.
-I don't know- Hermione wrote back. -Not for sure, anyway. But what I think is that all the dreams are connected somehow.-
-How do you mean?- Harry wondered.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger, may I ask what is so interesting back there that is keeping you three from the subject at hand?" Professor McGonnagal stood before them.
"We were... um..." Ron stammered. Hermione turned pink.
"Passing notes? Hmm?" The three friends nodded. "Really, I thought you were beyond that sort of thing. And Miss Granger, I never expected something like this from you."
Professor McGonnagal collected the notes and put them in her briefcase.
Megan's eyes opened to the still dark field. She could feel it was nearly dawn. The sun would be peeking up over the horizon soon. In the meantime, she was surrounded by shadows.
She recalled the dream; There was a building that looked like a castle or something....
This is getting weird, Hermione thought, yawning. There's something strange and familiar about these dreams, but I still can't figure out what. What do they mean?
The hawk flew on over the sunlit water. It saw some fellow hawks and let out an echoing call. The other birds got out of the way; they knew this hawk meant business....
Megan walked through a dark forest. This one was pretty creepy; she couldn't shake the feeling like something was always watching her-- something big and hairy that would surely see her as a snack.
She squared her shoulders and continued. She could feel she was getting very close now....
Hermione's eyes flew open and she sat up. She glanced at her time sphere: 4:47. She stumbled out of bed, got dressed, and hurried into the Gryffindor common room. She carefully pushed the door to the boys' dorm just a bit and set Crookshanks down. The cat knew exactly what to do.
"Argh! What? Crookshanks!" That was Harry's muffled cry of annoyance.
"What's going on?" Ron had woken up. The two boys saw Hermione's face peeking through the door and stumbled out of their beds.
"What gives, Hermione?" Harry asked, coming into the common room.
"It's close," she told them as she picked up her cat, her voice full of anxiety. "It's really close. I can feel it."
"What's close?" Ron wondered. "What are you talking about?"
"My dreams!" Hermione said, impatiently. "The girl... no, the bird... I don't know, but it's really close!"
"Calm down, calm down!" Harry said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "No need to get all bent out of shape. Tell us about your latest dreams."
"The girl is going somewhere, I know that's for sure."
"Do you think she's dangerous?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said. "I don't think so."
"Good, 'cuz I don't think I could stand any more danger." Ron commented.
"Danger usually finds us no matter what," Harry smiled.
"You guys, we've got to do something!" Hermione was getting agitated.
"All right, all right, don't flip," Harry put a hand on her shoulder again. "First we have to figure out what all this dream stuff means."
"That's the problem," Hermione sighed. "I don't know how to figure it out. It just doesn't make any sense."
"Let's sit down first," Ron suggested. "And you tell us about all your dreams again, from the beginning. That way we can try to piece them together, like a puzzle."
The three friends sat down in one of the large sofas and Hermione began....
"...and the last thing I could tell was that she was really close to what she was looking for. The forest looked really familiar. I'm not sure what it was about it...."
"You say it was really creepy in there, right?" Ron said.
"Yeah. You feel you're always being watched or something. Like something's going to jump out at you any minute."
"You know, that does sound familiar," Harry commented.
"I felt like I'd been there before, you know?" Hermione said, getting a sort of faraway look.
"You mean like de ja vu?" Ron asked.
"Big time," Hermione nodded.
"What kind of trees were there?" Harry wondered.
"Mostly like tall pines or something. I'm not sure..."
Ron was staring out the window, absently. "Hold on," he said. He pointed out the window. Hermione and Harry turned to see what he was looking at. It was the Forbidden Forest. "You mean like those trees?"
Click.
"Of course!" Harry exclaimed. "It's the Forbidden Forest you must've seen!"
"You're right!" Hermione exclaimed. "That's where she must be."
"Who?"
"The girl! The one in my dreams!"
"Well, what're we going to do?" Ron wondered.
"I don't know," Hermione said, with a sigh. "We're not allowed in the Forest."
"We're also not allowed to go into the Chamber of Secrets or help an Azkaban runaway or--"
"I get it, I get it," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.
"Where do you think we're supposed to be going?" Harry wondered as they made their way through the forest. They'd passed Hagrid's hut just a minute ago, quietly, so they wouldn't wake him.
"I'm not sure," Hermione replied, not moving her eyes from where they were-- straight in front of her.
Just then a small shadow passed over their heads. The three friends looked up.
"Just some bird," Ron shrugged. But Hermione gasped when she saw it.
"It's the hawk from my dreams!" Hermione whispered.
"You sure?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I'm positive!"
The hawk was staring straight at her. Then, it wasn't there anymore. Instead, a young girl sat on the tree branch. She had dark coffee brown hair and sort of yellowish eyes. She looked maybe a year or two younger than Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"That's her!" Hermione exclaimed. "That's the girl from my dreams!"
"Your dreams?" the girl said, climbing down from the tree. "I had dreams about you!"
"What? Wait, what's your name, anyway?" Hermione wondered.
"My name's Megan Wilder. Who're you?"
"Hermione Granger. These are my friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."
"The one and only Harry Potter," Ron added. "You probably know all about him, though."
Megan shook her head. "Is he a movie star or something? I don't really watch movies, though, so I wouldn't really know that."
"You don't know who Harry Potter is?!" Ron was incredulous. "But everyone knows who he is!"
"Every witch and wizard," Hermione added.
"Woah, wait a minute." Megan looked confused. "Witches? Wizards? I've never seen any of those."
"But you've got to be a witch," Hermione argued. "Muggles don't have magical powers; that's ridiculous!"
"What's a Muggle?"
"It's a non-magical person," Harry explained.
"Which is why you can't be a Muggle," Hermione said. "You're an Animagus."
"A what?"
"Animagi are witches and wizards who can change into animals," Ron said.
"Oh. But I don't do magic, and I'm not a witch."
"Oh, so changing into a hawk is normal?" Ron asked, sarcastically.
"I don't change into a hawk," Megan said. "I am a hawk."
"So, it's the other way around, then." Ron said. "You change from hawk to human?"
"No," Megan looked a bit exasperated now. "I just am a hawk and I am a human."
"You're two people... er... creatures, then?" Harry wondered.
"No, I'm only one. As a hawk, I have hawk instincts and feelings. I think like a hawk. I don't have any human memories or anything like that. But as a human, I'm... well, I'm just like any other human."
"But... that's weird." Hermione said. "I mean, you're both hawk and human, and yet you're only one creature? I've never heard of a creature like you before."
"Maybe it's something fifth, sixth, or seventh years learn about," Ron shrugged.
"Anyway," Megan said, "I came here for a reason, though I'm not sure what it is. Hermione, you were in my dreams, so you must have something to do with it."
"I guess so," Hermione said. "But I don't know what it is."
"You guys, what time is it?" Ron suddenly asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said, "But it looks like the sun may be coming up soon."
"Then we'd better get out of here!" Harry said. "Or else we'll be in trouble."
"You're right!" Hermione was nervous, now. "But what about Megan?"
"I'll be fine," Megan shrugged. "I'm a survivor."
"Well, okay. I guess so," Hermione said.
"All right," Ron said. "Let's go, then. We'll come see you when we can."
"Great." Megan turned to Hermione, then. The girls stared at each other for a few seconds, knowing they shared some kind of bond, through their dreams. Then they hugged.
"We'll definetely figure this all out," Hermione promised.
"Of course we will," Megan said. "Go on, now."
Hermione nodded and followed Harry and Ron out of the forest. She looked back once, and the girl was gone.
by Firewings
A wild screech echoed across the moonlit valley. A few small creatures glanced up, frozen, then scurried away, their minds full of panic, to find a place to hide. The screech they had heard was of a hawk, and the small animals of the valley were its prey.
The bird's eyes narrowed and chose a target. It plummeted towards the earth at a frightening speed.
Hermione Granger awoke to find that it was still very dark out.
"What time is it?," she mumbled, with a yawn. She reached over to her dresser table and grabbed her time sphere. It was black, and looked just like a Magic 8 ball, but when she gave it a good shake, instead of a fortune showing up, glowing blue numbers appeared: 1:15.
She heard a soft mew felt Crookshanks stir beside her.
"You're right," Hermione groaned, petting the cat. "I should get back to sleep." She set the time sphere back on her dresser, and closed her eyes.
"Hello? Earth to Hermione? What's it like where you are?" Hermione turned to see Harry Potter sitting next to her at breakfast.
"Huh?"
Harry turned to their friend, Ron Weasley. "I think she's come back to us." Ron laughed. Then he said what Harry was thinking.
"What's with you, Hermione? Didn't you get enough sleep last night?"
"No. I woke up in the middle of the night because of some weird dream."
"Really? What's it about?"
"Pretty creepy, actually. Something about a bird."
"Attention! Attention! Ah, thank you." Headmaster Dumbledore had stood up to make an announcement. "Professor Trelawney has returned from her trip and will be able to teach Divination again"
"Oh joy," Ron muttered. "Couldn't wait to get back to Divination."
"Yeah," Harry sighed. "What fun."
Sybil Trelawny was one of the most eccentric people Harry, Ron, and Hermione had met. It wasn't exactly a good eccentric, though. Contrary to her belief, except for two real ones, her "predictions" were either ones that anyone could've guessed if they'd thought about it, or just what she thought she knew.
"Looks like Lavender and Pavarti are happy, though," Ron said. Lavendar Brown and Pavarti Patil were possibly Professor Trelawny's biggest fans. They hung on her every word and completely bought into every one of her predictions.
Hermione sniffed. "I don't get what they see in her. It's all just--"
"Down, Hermione," Harry said, smiling. "No need to get all worked up. I mean, you're not even in the class."
"I know, but--"
"Anyway," Ron cut in, "We'd better get going. Wouldn't want to be late, would we?"
"Oh, no," Hermione said in mock horror. "That would be terrible!"
"It would for me," Harry said. "I'm trying to get as little attention from her as I can. Every time she sees me--"
"You'd think she'd've learned from last year that you aren't going to die," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.
The hawk soared over a small mountain, its sharp vision eyes watching everything around, seeing every detail. A rustle in the bushes? The hawk saw it from a mile away. It circled, then flew on. It was just the wind.
"You guys never told me how last night's Transfiguration lesson was," Hermione said at breakfast. "I was so looking forward to hearing how exciting it was."
"Oh, it was," Harry said sarcastically.
"Very exciting," Ron agreed. "We got to listen to Professor Trelawney go on and on about her wonderful vacation in Asia."
"Not to mention all the other wizards she met who had the 'Inner Eye'," Harry said. "'It was such an enlightening experience, being together with those I share the bond with.'" he quoted.
Hermione laughed. "Gosh, sounds like I missed quite a lot."
"Oh, and Professor says she misses you loads," Ron told her.
"Yeah, I bet. Did she only talk of her vacation the whole time?"
"No," Harry shook his head. "She started us a bit with dreams."
"Oh, that'd actually be helpful for me. I've been having those weird dreams again."
"About the bird?"
"Yeah. It's a hawk."
"What was it doing?"
"I dunno. Just flying, mostly."
"You know, Trelawney says that the hawk, in dreams, is a symbol of (ahem) 'sharpness and the discovery of your inner talents'."
Hermione snorted. "Well, she sure made a clear point last year that I had none of those.
Anyway, I feel like there's something about this dream.... like it's trying to tell me something, you know?"
Ron and Harry shrugged.
"Maybe we'll find something out in Divination that'll help you," Harry said.
"Like what?" Ron said. "Another meaningful symbol?"
"Oh, and, by the way," Harry smiled. "Guess which symbol I had"
"Oh no, not that ridiculous Grim!"
"Yup."
"You never actually dreamed about--" Hermione wondered.
"Only about Sirius in his dog form."
"Anyway," Ron said, "We should get going now. Harry and I'll try to think of something."
"Thanks," Hermione sighed. I need all the help I can get with this."
"That's a first," Ron muttered.
"I heard that."
Hermione glanced at her time sphere and laid back in bed. She'd had a different dream that night. She wasn't even sure what it meant. Something about a girl....
"Maybe you're just getting a break from all those creepy bird dreams," Harry suggested. "It probably doesn't mean anything."
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Just one of those dreams you have every night."
"I don't know..." Hermione said. She'd told Harry and Ron about her latest dream during breakfast. "This one also seemed kind of weird."
"I had a dream about a kid who jumped off a cliff once," Ron said, not seeming to have heard.
"What happened to him?" Harry wondered.
"I don't know. I woke up just as he was falling."
"Must've been a short dream," Hermione said.
Megan Wilder sat in the shade of an oak tree, just staring up at the high branches of the trees that seemed to entwine into each other to the onlooker, such as her, below. Through the branches, she could see the sky was turning a darker shade of blue. Soon, stars would be appearing. Maybe the moon, too.
She thought about the dreams she'd been having lately. Some were about a girl, but she didn't know who. They all meant the same thing, though: there was something she had to find.... but what? Megan wasn't even sure which way she was supposed to go; she just followed her inner instincts and clues from the dreams.
-I had another hawk dream,- Hermione's note read, -but then I had another dream about the girl.-
Harry turned the note over and wrote on the other side. -Sounds weird. Maybe the girl dreams actually mean something.-
-Yeah, but what?- Ron joined in.
-I don't know- Hermione wrote back. -Not for sure, anyway. But what I think is that all the dreams are connected somehow.-
-How do you mean?- Harry wondered.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger, may I ask what is so interesting back there that is keeping you three from the subject at hand?" Professor McGonnagal stood before them.
"We were... um..." Ron stammered. Hermione turned pink.
"Passing notes? Hmm?" The three friends nodded. "Really, I thought you were beyond that sort of thing. And Miss Granger, I never expected something like this from you."
Professor McGonnagal collected the notes and put them in her briefcase.
Megan's eyes opened to the still dark field. She could feel it was nearly dawn. The sun would be peeking up over the horizon soon. In the meantime, she was surrounded by shadows.
She recalled the dream; There was a building that looked like a castle or something....
This is getting weird, Hermione thought, yawning. There's something strange and familiar about these dreams, but I still can't figure out what. What do they mean?
The hawk flew on over the sunlit water. It saw some fellow hawks and let out an echoing call. The other birds got out of the way; they knew this hawk meant business....
Megan walked through a dark forest. This one was pretty creepy; she couldn't shake the feeling like something was always watching her-- something big and hairy that would surely see her as a snack.
She squared her shoulders and continued. She could feel she was getting very close now....
Hermione's eyes flew open and she sat up. She glanced at her time sphere: 4:47. She stumbled out of bed, got dressed, and hurried into the Gryffindor common room. She carefully pushed the door to the boys' dorm just a bit and set Crookshanks down. The cat knew exactly what to do.
"Argh! What? Crookshanks!" That was Harry's muffled cry of annoyance.
"What's going on?" Ron had woken up. The two boys saw Hermione's face peeking through the door and stumbled out of their beds.
"What gives, Hermione?" Harry asked, coming into the common room.
"It's close," she told them as she picked up her cat, her voice full of anxiety. "It's really close. I can feel it."
"What's close?" Ron wondered. "What are you talking about?"
"My dreams!" Hermione said, impatiently. "The girl... no, the bird... I don't know, but it's really close!"
"Calm down, calm down!" Harry said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "No need to get all bent out of shape. Tell us about your latest dreams."
"The girl is going somewhere, I know that's for sure."
"Do you think she's dangerous?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said. "I don't think so."
"Good, 'cuz I don't think I could stand any more danger." Ron commented.
"Danger usually finds us no matter what," Harry smiled.
"You guys, we've got to do something!" Hermione was getting agitated.
"All right, all right, don't flip," Harry put a hand on her shoulder again. "First we have to figure out what all this dream stuff means."
"That's the problem," Hermione sighed. "I don't know how to figure it out. It just doesn't make any sense."
"Let's sit down first," Ron suggested. "And you tell us about all your dreams again, from the beginning. That way we can try to piece them together, like a puzzle."
The three friends sat down in one of the large sofas and Hermione began....
"...and the last thing I could tell was that she was really close to what she was looking for. The forest looked really familiar. I'm not sure what it was about it...."
"You say it was really creepy in there, right?" Ron said.
"Yeah. You feel you're always being watched or something. Like something's going to jump out at you any minute."
"You know, that does sound familiar," Harry commented.
"I felt like I'd been there before, you know?" Hermione said, getting a sort of faraway look.
"You mean like de ja vu?" Ron asked.
"Big time," Hermione nodded.
"What kind of trees were there?" Harry wondered.
"Mostly like tall pines or something. I'm not sure..."
Ron was staring out the window, absently. "Hold on," he said. He pointed out the window. Hermione and Harry turned to see what he was looking at. It was the Forbidden Forest. "You mean like those trees?"
Click.
"Of course!" Harry exclaimed. "It's the Forbidden Forest you must've seen!"
"You're right!" Hermione exclaimed. "That's where she must be."
"Who?"
"The girl! The one in my dreams!"
"Well, what're we going to do?" Ron wondered.
"I don't know," Hermione said, with a sigh. "We're not allowed in the Forest."
"We're also not allowed to go into the Chamber of Secrets or help an Azkaban runaway or--"
"I get it, I get it," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.
"Where do you think we're supposed to be going?" Harry wondered as they made their way through the forest. They'd passed Hagrid's hut just a minute ago, quietly, so they wouldn't wake him.
"I'm not sure," Hermione replied, not moving her eyes from where they were-- straight in front of her.
Just then a small shadow passed over their heads. The three friends looked up.
"Just some bird," Ron shrugged. But Hermione gasped when she saw it.
"It's the hawk from my dreams!" Hermione whispered.
"You sure?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I'm positive!"
The hawk was staring straight at her. Then, it wasn't there anymore. Instead, a young girl sat on the tree branch. She had dark coffee brown hair and sort of yellowish eyes. She looked maybe a year or two younger than Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"That's her!" Hermione exclaimed. "That's the girl from my dreams!"
"Your dreams?" the girl said, climbing down from the tree. "I had dreams about you!"
"What? Wait, what's your name, anyway?" Hermione wondered.
"My name's Megan Wilder. Who're you?"
"Hermione Granger. These are my friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."
"The one and only Harry Potter," Ron added. "You probably know all about him, though."
Megan shook her head. "Is he a movie star or something? I don't really watch movies, though, so I wouldn't really know that."
"You don't know who Harry Potter is?!" Ron was incredulous. "But everyone knows who he is!"
"Every witch and wizard," Hermione added.
"Woah, wait a minute." Megan looked confused. "Witches? Wizards? I've never seen any of those."
"But you've got to be a witch," Hermione argued. "Muggles don't have magical powers; that's ridiculous!"
"What's a Muggle?"
"It's a non-magical person," Harry explained.
"Which is why you can't be a Muggle," Hermione said. "You're an Animagus."
"A what?"
"Animagi are witches and wizards who can change into animals," Ron said.
"Oh. But I don't do magic, and I'm not a witch."
"Oh, so changing into a hawk is normal?" Ron asked, sarcastically.
"I don't change into a hawk," Megan said. "I am a hawk."
"So, it's the other way around, then." Ron said. "You change from hawk to human?"
"No," Megan looked a bit exasperated now. "I just am a hawk and I am a human."
"You're two people... er... creatures, then?" Harry wondered.
"No, I'm only one. As a hawk, I have hawk instincts and feelings. I think like a hawk. I don't have any human memories or anything like that. But as a human, I'm... well, I'm just like any other human."
"But... that's weird." Hermione said. "I mean, you're both hawk and human, and yet you're only one creature? I've never heard of a creature like you before."
"Maybe it's something fifth, sixth, or seventh years learn about," Ron shrugged.
"Anyway," Megan said, "I came here for a reason, though I'm not sure what it is. Hermione, you were in my dreams, so you must have something to do with it."
"I guess so," Hermione said. "But I don't know what it is."
"You guys, what time is it?" Ron suddenly asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said, "But it looks like the sun may be coming up soon."
"Then we'd better get out of here!" Harry said. "Or else we'll be in trouble."
"You're right!" Hermione was nervous, now. "But what about Megan?"
"I'll be fine," Megan shrugged. "I'm a survivor."
"Well, okay. I guess so," Hermione said.
"All right," Ron said. "Let's go, then. We'll come see you when we can."
"Great." Megan turned to Hermione, then. The girls stared at each other for a few seconds, knowing they shared some kind of bond, through their dreams. Then they hugged.
"We'll definetely figure this all out," Hermione promised.
"Of course we will," Megan said. "Go on, now."
Hermione nodded and followed Harry and Ron out of the forest. She looked back once, and the girl was gone.