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Chapter 15

Dreams

Disclaimer: ::Insert usual disclaimer here. I'm tired of saying I don't own Harry Potter and co.::

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  Harry looked slightly uncomfortable with everybody looking at him expectantly. Shifting a little bit he briefly closed his eyes before speaking.

  "That morning I woke up feeling strange." His eyes landed on Ron and Hermione. "You two were asleep, so I decided that that was as good as time as any to work on the charms Professor Dumbledore and Aeryn was helping me learn. When we were almost finished I got that feeling when Dementors are around. Professor Dumbledore went off to see what was happening."

  "It was about that time," Draco interjected, "that I noticed the coldness in the dungeons and ran into Professors McGonagall and Steele. They sent me to Professor Dumbledore's office."

  "Before he got there," Harry went on to say, "a Dementor showed up in Dumbledore's office and moved into his private quarters where Aeryn and I were practicing."

  "Why there?" Blaise asked all of a sudden.

  "She's his great-great-granddaughter," Marty answered. "She's his family, and she stays in his quarters whenever she comes to visit."

  Harry nodded. "Anyway, the Dementor came in and we did the Patronus charm."

  Hermione's eyes were bright. "Aeryn did as well? What was hers?"

  "A unicorn."

  She gave a contented sigh, but Harry could see she was trying to figure out something in her head and Hermione wasn't about to let anybody know what it was until she was ready.

  "Once the Dementor was gone, a couple of minutes passed before we heard Draco at the gargoyle in front of Professor Dumbledore's office. When we got up there, Aeryn was coming out with Marty and that's when it happened." Harry stopped, not sure how to continue.

  "What happened?" Ron asked.

  "The shaking," Draco finally said. "Like Hogwarts was going to come crashing down. As that happened it went dark."

  Harry nodded. "The next thing I knew was Aeryn was trying to wake me up."

  "Yeah," Draco said. "I'm going to ask her why you and not me."

  "Because I'm better looking," he shot back.

  The blond sneered at him playfully. "I'll believe that the day the sun explodes."

  "Stop that!" Marty's voice pulled them from their word battle. Both found she was pointing at their friends who were once again stunned. "You're getting off track, so I'll finish."

  "Marty, don't." Aeryn's voice came to them as she walked into the room. "You will tell them too much."

  "Why can't we know?" Ron said as he stood. His face had hardened.

  The blond woman's face saddened. "Because if you were ever taken they would torture you for that knowledge. Voldemort has never played fair and would torture you until you told him exactly what he wanted. It would be the fate worse than death, a half-life."

  Everyone but Harry flinched at the name. He looked over at his friends. "Lets just say that we were in a room that not many people know about. We had no knowledge of the time here in the rest of the castle."

  Draco nodded. "With the help of a couple of people we learned some things that will help to fight against You-Know-Who," he simply said.

  "Say his name, Draco," Harry reminded him. "Voldemort."

  "Stop that, Harry," Seamus said.

  Aeryn looked at them all and raised one eyebrow. "And that is how Voldemort rose to power the first time," she said in the hardest voice any of them had heard. "Fear is an awesome weapon, and he has wielded it extremely well."

  Only Harry met her eyes at this. She gave him a nod and turned back to the door. "Granddad wants us all to be in his office in thirty minutes."

  "Thanks, Aeryn."

  The door shut with a soft click behind her, leaving the others in an uneasy silence.

  "Why did she say that?" Neville finally asked. "And like that?"

  "Because of what she has seen in this war," Harry said in a grave voice. "If we had been older when Voldemort had disappeared, we would probably react in the same way when the subject comes up. It is only because we have been protected here at Hogwarts that we can think like that. If we were to go out in the middle of the fighting, I suspect our thoughts would be just like hers." He looked over at Draco and saw a guilty look on his face when the grey eyes rose to meet his own green ones. Flashing a reassuring grin at him, Harry rose. "Well, we'd better see what Professor Dumbledore has in store for us."

******

  Dumbledore looked up as soon as everyone was seated. "I'll get right down to business," he stated as he stood from behind his desk. "I want to ask if any of you have been able to pick up any strange dreams since you've been back."

  Harry shifted in his chair before he looked at the others. "You mean like the ones I have about Voldemort?"

  The headmaster nodded. "Yes. Anything of that sort will help now that we have lost our main spy."

  "Main spy?" Marty looked confused.

  "Good, he didn't go back," Aeryn murmured.

  Harry gave her a swift look, but she was looking at the floor in front of her feet. "Should we just rely on my dreams from now on? I have had a couple, but they didn't make any sense at all." His eyebrows scrunched together for a couple of seconds before he continued. "The first he was talking to Nagini."

  "Nagini?" Marty asked.

  "His snake," Harry answered. "I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I can speak Parseltongue. Their conversation made no sense, since they were talking about a woman Voldemort knew twenty years ago."

  Dumbledore sat back in thought when Harry paused. "They may have been talking about one of his followers. There were a few women that had been considered part of his inner circle. Lestrange was the only woman that was still alive when Voldemort fell sixteen years ago, as the others were either killed or died under other circumstances."

  "What would those be?" Draco had a strange glint in his eyes that Harry couldn't make out.

  "According to our spy, one of the women died in childbirth. The boy also died as well."

  Harry shook his head. "Now it makes sense. They were talking about the power the boy would have held if he had lived. It also sounded like Voldemort tried to bring him back to life, but even he didn't have enough power."

  Dumbledore looked at him. "The dead cannot be brought back to life. I know of no spell that can do it."

  Aeryn spoke up. "Rowena mentioned that the only way to bring someone back was for a person to give their own life. From what I've seen in my studies before this, it dooms both of their souls. They are linked, but the person that gives the sacrifice remains a ghost, and the person, well... they become a cross between a true human, and one that has been kissed by a dementor. A kind of zombie, I would guess."

  Draco nodded. "Salazar also said that the person brought back would be unable to do certain things. They aren't quite human anymore, so they can't rationalize like one. They would rely more on instincts alone, as well as order."

  There was a brief silence before Harry spoke up. "The second dream I had was of Voldemort talking to one of the dementors. I couldn't understand what the dementor was saying, but Voldemort was talking about a prisoner he wanted kept in Azkaban. He didn't mention them by name, but I have the feeling that it's Fudge. From what I remember, though, he got the kiss in one of the last dreams I had before Christmas." He stopped for a moment and leaned forward in his chair and looked at Aeryn. "We can find that out by shadowwalking, can't we?"

  Aeryn frowned. "We could, but since the dementors walk in the shadow world, they would know if we went there. I think that this time, they would definitely inform Voldemort of our presence. There are ways to keep someone separated from their bodies on a journey through the shadow world. Our conscience would be trapped there while our bodies would remain in a kind of stasis here. I wouldn't really recommend it, but if you absolutely wanted to go, I wouldn't hold back."

  Harry shrugged. "It would be safe if we stayed here, and probably would be best if we kept secret our return as long as possible." He turned to Dumbledore. "Do you have an idea of how many students there are that would be able to contact someone outside, like the Daily Prophet, that could give a not-quite-true report of our return? I think that would be the best way to gauge Voldemort's reaction without getting any of the other members involved."

  "Should we wait until the next meeting to reintroduce ourselves to the other members that aren't here?" Aeryn asked. "I know that several are here, but what about the others?"

  Harry nodded. "We might want to wait until we can have a story written in the Prophet." He tilted his head towards Dumbledore. "I know that you couldn't keep the story of us missing quiet for very long because of people knowing that 'Harry Potter' had disappeared. Since the school will learn about us turning up, it won't be too long before the other members know that we are back. We should wait until the next meeting to update them on what really happened. I really don't want to have to tell the story a half a dozen more times."

  The five of them laughed.

  "Did you want me to learn more about my dreams?" Harry asked when they quieted down.

  The headmaster gave him a searching look, far from the usual twinkling gaze he gave out. "That is up to you, Harry. We can find out the information, but it will take longer to get to us. I would rather you concentrate on the studies you have already begun." He leaned forward in his seat and looked steadily at the four in front of the desk. "That is the most important thing for all of you to do at this time. Continue with your studies, and we will take care of the rest."

  He sat back in a sign of dismissal.

  "Granddad?" Aeryn stayed seated as the other three rose. "Should we start testing the potion now?"

  Dumbledore was startled. "It's finished?"

  "That is what we need testing for. Besides, those who are going to use it when we need to will have to get used to walking through the shadow world, and it will take training."

  "Yes," the old man agreed. "We should get started on that." He gave a chuckle, the twinkle firmly back in his eyes. "I'm surprised Severus actually stayed with the whole thing."

  Aeryn laughed. "Why would you think that? The man is as stubborn as you. If he wasn't such a thinker, he would have been in Gryffindor."

  Harry and Draco stopped at the door at that, looking at each other.

  Dumbledore's eyes were dancing. "I'm referring to your teasing."

  "What? That harmless bit of fun?" Aeryn's eyes were twinkling as well. "He needs to loosen up. If he keeps going the way he is, he'll keel over within six months. That much seriousness isn't good for anybody." She gave a quick smile and hopped out of the chair. "That reminds me, I said that I would help tutor a couple of people for their NEWTs in potions tomorrow so I may be late for our tea. I think that Severus will be pleasantly surprised on Monday."

  Aeryn swiftly gave Dumbledore a hug and reached the door where Harry and Draco were still standing. Pulling each of them down the stairs, all three heard the soft laughter that followed them.

  "So, where'd Marty get off to?" Aeryn asked as they made their way towards their room. "I had to ask her something."

  Draco shrugged. "She said something earlier about asking Madam Pomfrey about something or other."

  Harry laughed. "Where did you pick that phrase up, hm?"

  The blond man smiled sheepishly before quickly replying, "I don't know."

  "Oooh," Aeryn started, poking Draco in the side after freeing her hand. "I think somebody's been spending time with Marty!"

  "Shut up!" Draco gave a half-hearted sneer that made the other two laugh before he pulled away from them and headed in the opposite direction.

  "Aeryn," Harry chided.

  "Harry." She grinned impishly at him before she stopped.

  He stopped as well when she didn't let go of his arm. "What is it?"

  "I wanted to ask you something as well, Harry."

  Harry frowned at the serious look on her face.

  "Yes?"

  Aeryn sighed. "I know that you and Severus have never gotten along, but would you mind helping us with the potion?"

  He took a step back, startled. Another look at her face brought home the earnestness in which she was asking the question. "Why?"

  "Because we have to start testing it, and I would rather have someone I know I can trust wholeheartedly to help me if I have trouble coming back."

  Harry looked down the hallway for a moment. In the back of his mind he knew that dinner would be in another hour or so and they would be introduced to the rest of the school. Another glance at Aeryn told him that wasn't all she was asking.

  "There is another reason, isn't there?"

  Aeryn sighed again. "Yes, but we should discuss this later in private. I want to tell you first before I tell Draco and Marty." Her face grew sad before a small smile appeared.

  Harry returned the smile. "Are you prepared to face the gauntlet?"

  "I was about to say the same thing to you. They are your peers, you know."

  He shook his head. "I have to agree and disagree. They are, yet aren't at the same time." He laughed. "Did that make any sense at all?"

  Aeryn laughed at all. "No and yes."

  Harry started laughing as well as they finally made it to the corridor on which their rooms led off. They both stopped when they found a large, black dog sitting patiently in front of the main door.

  "Snuffles!"

  A bark answered him as he hurried inside the room and looked at Aeryn.

  "Should I go?" Aeryn asked. "Did you two want some time alone?"

  Sirius appeared. "How did you know?"

  "The meeting, remember? About an eon ago?" She gave a huge grin.

  "Oh." The black haired man looked around. "Well, I think you should stay because what I have to say concerns you as well."

  "Is something wrong, Sirius?" Harry asked.

  He shook his head. "No. I'd say the total opposite." A wide smile crossed his face and a happy glint appeared in his dark eyes. Sirius looked around the room. "This'll take a while, so we should get comfortable."

  "Harry's bed!" Aeryn yelled.

  Both men looked at her.

  "It's comfortable!" She gave them a faked innocent smile.

  Harry laughed. "So that's why I come back and my bed's messy."

  "Is there something I should know about?" Sirius asked.

  Aeryn shook her head. "I like Harry's bed because it's better for jumping than mine," she said, pointing to the next one over. A guilty look crept through her eyes. "I just didn't realize it was so obvious."

  Harry gave her a steady look before nodding his head. "Very well, we'll sit on my bed."

  She jumped up and down. "Yeah!"

  "Aeryn?"

  She stopped at Harry's question.

  "How old are you?"

  Aeryn winked. "How old are you?"

  "That it. No more sugar for you!"

  She pouted as she dove onto the bed. "You're mean...."

  "Ok, what did you want to talk about?" Harry asked as he pushed Aeryn out of the way and sat down by the pillows.

  Sirius sat stiffly on the edge and took a deep breath. "It's about my family."

******

  "Marty!" Draco walked quickly to catch up with her. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

  She smiled as she turned towards him. In her arms was a small pile of books. "Sure. We can talk as we go to the infirmary, okay?"

  He nodded. "Yes, that's fine." They turned the corner, avoiding a small cluster of Hufflepuff first years. "We do you need to go there?"

  Marty sighed. "I need to return these books. Madam Pomfrey wanted me to read them. It's too bad that they are from her private collection and not from the library. I might have been able to read them while we were still in the room."

  Draco frowned. "Don't you like being back?"

  She was silent for a couple of moments. "I sort of wish we were all back there. It just feels... weird."

  "In what way?" He eyed her for a couple of seconds. "Maybe the three of us can help."

  Marty shrugged. "I'm not sure if you can – at least, you and Harry. Aeryn, maybe she can help."

  A light clicked. "You're having trouble adjusting to your new body, aren't you?"

  A flush spread across her cheeks. "Maybe," she squeaked.

  Draco held back the chuckle that threatened to escape. He could definitely sense her plight in having aged from three to twenty four. It would cause problems if they weren't dealt with. "You should talk to Madam Pomfrey about it, then. She probably would be the best to talk about it."

  She shrugged again. "I don't know. I mean, I talked to her quite a while last night, but I don't think I'm comfortable enough to talk about *that* with her."

  He stopped and held her arm in a light grasp. "Marty, she is the best one to talk about. She can go into nurse mode, which would probably be the best way to handle this. It might be embarrassing for Aeryn to talk about, since she knows you a whole lot better than Madam Pomfrey. Besides, Aeryn would probably start joking, and I know you don't like it all that much."

  Marty smiled. "I know. But, sometimes its good to laugh. I do agree with you though, about talking with Madam Pomfrey." She gave him another smile. "Thanks, Draco."

  He sent a small grin back at her. "No problem. Now, lets hurry up and get these books back. It's about time for dinner and I'd rather get this over with, the sooner the better."

  She laughed. "You're just nervous."

  Draco gave a sheepish look. "Is it that obvious?"

  Marty laughed again before he reluctantly joined in. "I guess it is," he said, answering his own question.