Chapter 12

Hermione blinked hard. She couldn't believe where she was, Dumbledore's office. As she stood in awe just inside the doorway to the magnificent room she blinked her eyes to affirm what she saw. There were no signs of what happened the night Hogwarts had been attacked.

"No," she whispered, "Hogwarts was destroyed, this office is gone."

"Quite right Miss Granger," Dumbledore said from behind her startling her.

"Professor Dumbledore!" she cried in a mixture of shock and confusion, "But…you're…I thought…I mean I know…"

"You're rambling dear," he said gently.

"You're dead!" she cried.

"Yes, dear I am," he said sadly, "but in your dreams I'm very much alive."

"A sudden realization struck her. "You've managed to enter my dream state!"

"Yes," he said as he walked to his desk and gestured her to take a seat. When she sat down he continued. "Several years ago, I started communicating with you briefly through your dreams."

"But what about my dreams that took place before you died?" Hermione asked.

Dumbledore smiled. "I knew you would ask me about that. Dreams are connected to things that have transpired or would occur in the future. They are like secret messages. Dreams, good or bad are sent for a reason. Before I died, Harry," Dumbledore paused and look at her. Hermione's face-hardened at the mention of the name.

"When he was younger, he had nightmares," continued Dumbledore. "They were sent by his parents. I believed they were the ones who sent you the dream in question. Lily and James wouldn't give me a direct answer about the origin of those dreams. They said something about me giving them cryptic answers so they did the same. All in good fun I suppose," he finished smiling.

Hermione nodded but didn't return the smile. "Professor, please tell me what's happening," she asked somberly.

Dumbledore's smile faded. "It's about Harry."

Hermione's face was filled with hatred. "I hate him! He killed my parents! He killed my best friend!"

"I know," he nodded sadly, "I saw Miss Scott when she crossed over, I spoke with her. She wants me to pass a message, she doesn't want you to stop living."

"And my parents?"

"They're fine. They want you to know that they love you and that they'll be watching over you."

Hermione nodded as tears ran down her face.

"You remember the dreams where you followed Fawkes into the city?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes." Hermione replied.

"You must find the scroll. If you do, you will be given the power to bring back all those you have lost."

"Really?" Hermione asked suddenly hopeful. "How?"

"You must look to the scroll to answer that. I can only guide you. You will need to find Harry."

"Why? I don't want to find him! I want to kill him!" she cried angrily.

"You need him to help you."

"No."

"Believe me, Miss Granger, you will need Harry's help," he coaxed gently.

"Why does he need to be a part of this?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Because he is at the center of all that is happening," seeing her confused face Dumbledore continued. "Time is a very delicate thing. One instant, one second can change the course of history forever."

"So, you're saying that something Harry did in the past, it triggered all the events that have happened so far?" Hermione said quietly.

"Yes."

"I won't do it for him! I won't do it for Harry's sake!" Hermione said adamantly.

"Then do it for the sake of the innocent people who have lost their lives." Dumbledore instructed gently.

Hermione looked down and closed her eyes. Images of the deaths she had witnessed and the funerals she attended flashed in her mind in rapid succession. She opened her eyes and wiped away the tears.

"I'll do it," she whispered, barely audible.

"Good, now the scroll is for the second part of your journey but you need the key to complete the first part."

"Key? First part? I still don't understand! Those were part of my dreams before but I don't understand what is the key?" she asked frustrated.

"The first part, is finding Harry, convince him to help you. The key is…" Dumbledore trailed off, everything began to fade.

"What? I can't hear you?" Hermione screamed frantically.

"Love…" she faintly heard Dumbledore call.

"Professor Dumbledore!" she screamed frantically.

"He promised you…symbol…of love…they protect you…" Dumbledore called once more. And she heard no more.

"Hermione! Wake up!" Fred shouted, shaking her awake. He and Andrew had run from the living room to find Hermione thrashing in her bed.

"No!" she screamed as she sat up.

"It was all a dream," Fred said gently as he pulled her into a hug.

"No. No it wasn't!" Hermione screamed fighting to pull away from Fred.

"Hermione, we've been through this," Fred said gently holding her tightly trying to calm her down.

"No!" she shouted fiercely forcing Fred to pull back in shock. "It was Dumbledore! He was visiting me in my dreams!"

"Those who are dead never truly leave us." Andrew said quietly, nodding in understanding.

"Exactly," Hermione exclaimed.

"Wait what?" Fred asked putting his hands up in confusion.

Hermione opened her mouth to reply but Andrew interrupted.

"Sometimes, those who have crossed over are able to gain strength to send the living messages in the form of dreams. It's a way for the dead," he paused and swallowed, he was not comfortable with the word, "to send messages to their loved ones. They could be anything from goodbyes to warnings. The more strength they have the more clear and descriptive the dreams can be. At some point they can even put themselves in the dream and speak directly."

"Yes, and that's what just happened, Dumbledore has been sending me dreams all these years. The was the first time he was able to speak to me directly."

"Well, spit it out what did he say?" Fred asked anxiously.

"He has a way to fix all everything," she mumbled.

"What?" Andrew asked.

"Something about a scroll," she said shaking her head as she tried to remember, "It will help us bring back those we have lost."

Both men stared at her in shock with wide eyes.

"This isn't some kind of sick joke is it?!" Andrew yelled angrily as a fresh wave of tears ran down his face.

"No!" Hermione shook her head earnestly as she began to cry too. "This isn't a joke! I want her back as much as you do! I want my parents back! I want my friends back, Andrew! Why would I make this up?!"

"Whoa, both of you calm down!" Fred exclaimed standing in between the two. "Are you sure, Herm?"

"Yes, of course I'm sure!" she answered irritably.

"Then, what do we need to do?" Fred asked quietly.

"Okay I think this is it." Hermione said, looking at the cave in front of them.

"How do you know? How do we know the scroll exists?" Andrew asked quietly.

"Remember when Dumbledore died?" she asked looking him in the face. "Remember what held him up? He sent a scroll away with Fawkes, a bird that hasn't been seen since then. In my dream, he was trying to reach our apartment but an old man intercepted. Fawkes never made it because he was taken to this cave."

"What makes you think the scroll is still here?" Fred questioned.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Faith," she whispered.

Without another word she entered the cave and took out her wand.

"Lumos." she whispered.

"No use fighting with her." Fred said tiredly.

They followed after Hermione and lit their wands.

"This place looks like it hasn't been used in years." Andrew commented dryly.

"Well, it has been four years, I'm not surprised." Hermione supplied from ahead.

"How does she do that?" Andrew asked turning to Fred.

"You talk too loud." Hermione answered. "Guys come look at this."

Fred and Andrew walked further and bumped into Hermione. She crouched down to get a closer look.

"What does this look like to you?" she asked already knowing the answer herself.

The other two crouched down next to her and looked at something that looked oddly like a pile of…

"Bones." Fred and Andrew whispered simultaneously.

"And what is it a skeleton of?" Hermione asked again as if she were addressing children.

"A bird, a large bird," Fred said quietly.

"Exactly," Hermione said.

"How does a phoenix die?" Andrew asked, spooked by the remains.

"Never mind that look at, look at this!" Fred said getting up to look across the cave.

As the other two came up behind him, he brushed aside some cobwebs to reveal the ancient scroll.

"It's still here." Hermione whispered, awed at the sight of it.

"Let's get it and go," Andrew suggested," this place is creepy."

"Agreed. We'll look at it back at home," Fred agreed picking it up. He headed out of the cave followed by Andrew and Hermione.

"Let me see," Hermione said as she looked at the scroll through a magnifying glass, which was laid out on the kitchen table. Andrew and Fred looked on with unconcealed excitement.

"Great, so figure it out and let's get our loved ones back." Andrew said excitedly. For the first time in those past few days he actually had something to look forward to.

"Unfortunately, it's not going to be that simple. This could take me months or even a year to decipher," she said in frustration. "Even then, it would take more time to actually do whatever its telling us." she said sadly.

She looked up and saw their saddened eyes. Clenching her jaw she gave them a questioning look. They looked at each other and then back down at her. Fred answered for the both of them.

"Let's get to work."