(A/N Harry Potter, and other assorted characters, do not belong to me, they belong to J.K. Rowling. The only things in this story that do belong to me are the plot and characters not seen in Rowling's books. Now, go do something constructive, like forking over your kid's overdue allowence!( ^_^)

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

Chapter 10

Ravens & Dream Catchers

Harry settled back on his bed and let thoughts drift through his mind while he waited for sleep to come. His life had finally begun to settle into a routine during the past few weeks and he was learning some interesting, and useful, things in his classes.

He had spent the past two weeks overseeing the tryouts for the open spots on the Gryffindor House quidditch team, then practicing with the new team. He smiled as he thought about them and looked over in Ron's direction, even though it was too dark to see anything.

Ron was finally a member of the house team and Harry couldn't be happier about it! Ron had been in love with the game since long before Harry had ever met him. Harry felt it was only fitting that Ron now had the opportunity to play for the Gryffindor team. Harry, and the other returning players, had selected Ron as one of the two beaters the team needed to recruit. Their old beaters, Fred and George Weasley, had graduated the previous spring.

Harry chuckled quietly to himself when he thought about their other new beater, Savana. The quidditch field was a good place for that firery temprament. He thought that Savana could rid herself of some of her demons there. Beside that, she had some experience with the game. Savana had been a beater for her house team at her previous school.

The team looked good this year, so, Harry was excited about their first match, which would be against Ravenclaw, tomorrow morning.

Professor Dumbledore, and the powers that be, had decided to change the quidditch schedules this year. The season would begin earlier in the school year and the matches would be played in a different order than they had been in the past.

Harry suspected that they had engineered the new schedule in order to guarentee that the Gryffindor-Slytherin match was the final game of the season. This game was, traditionally, the biggest game of the year, due to the rivalries involved, and having it scheduled as the last match of the season would certainly add to the suspense of the entire contest.

Harry began to feel overcome with a warm, comfortable, sleepy, sensation. He smiled, then rolled over and fell into a deep sleep.

...`~*~`...

Harry jerked into full awakness. His heart was hammering so hard and fast that it felt like it would burst out of his rib cage at any moment. He was completely drenched with sweat, gasping for breath and filled with an overwhelming sense of dread. He stared into the surrounding darkness, as he tried to recall the dream which had caused him to wake in his current state.

He recalled being in a clearing of some sort. He hadn't gotten a clear view because it was night and the only sources of light were the stars and the half moon in the sky. He further recalled the robed and hooded figures of two men, they looked like Death Eaters. Then, one of the robed figures had turned into a large, black bird, which screamed and flew away amid colorful, brightly strobing lights. Harry was not able to recall anything further, even though he tried to do so for quite awhile, and he eventually drifted off into a troubled sleep.

Harry awoke the following morning feeling groggy and deeply troubled. He needed to talk to Professor Dumbledore about the dream, but, he wouldn't have the chance to do so until after their quidditch match today.

Harry pulled on his quidditch robes and made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, where he joined the rest of the Gryffindor House team. They were all psyched up for the first match of the season, but, Harry felt off for some reason. The most likely cause was his dream from the night before. He simply couldn't shake the oppressive feelings the entire experience had left him with.

Hermione had noticed that Harry was preoccupied with something that troubled him. She went over to see if she could help to ease his mind, so he could concentrate on the all important, upcoming match. She asked Harry what was on his mind and he told her about the dream.

"It seemed so real!" He quietly explained to her. He didn't want others to overhear him. "I felt as though I was there, like last summer..." Harry trailed off as he realised he hadn't contacted Hermione about that, only Sirius and Ron.

Harry was determined to make a go of it, so, he did what he could to prepare himself for the game. That included putting the dream from his mind until it could be more effectively dealt with, later. Telling Hermione about the whole thing had been quite helpfull, though. He told her as much and thanked her for listening. Then he headed down to the locker rooms to prepare for the game.

...`~*~`...

The day was crisp and clear and the majority of the school appeared to be seated in the stands surrounding the Quidditch Pitch.

The players strode to the middle of the field, where the opposing teams respectfully stood, facing each other. The Gryffindor players were dressed in red, the Ravenclaw players, in blue. Madam Hooch, the referee, briefly explained the rules and her expectations for the players' behavior, then she called the captain of each team out and told them to shake hands.

Harry smiled shyly at Cho Chang, the captain and seeker of the Ravenclaw team, as he extended his hand to her. He felt a small tingle race up his spine as they shook hands. The thought that he would like to know Cho better, flitted through Harry's mind as they all mounted their brooms. He sternly told himself to focus on the game, then the whistle blew and he kicked off of the ground and into the air.

Harry immediately flew above the rest of the players, so he could search for the snitch more easily. He noticed Cho, similarly situated, nearby. He knew he would need to keep an eye on Cho, as well as watch for the snitch. Cho had proven to be a talented seeker, in the past.

The quaffle had been picked up by one of Gryffindor's chasers, Sean. As he headed toward Ravenclaw's goal, a bludger struck the end of his broom, sending him spinning like a top. The quaffle was caught by another of Gryffindor's chasers, Mackenzie, who quickly closed on the goal and shot. The Ravenclaw goalkeeper deflected the shot, but, Sean, who had recovered from the bludger hit and was near one side of the goal, deflected the quaffle back through the goal!

Ravenclaw's chasers quickly gained control of the quaffle and streaked toward the other side of the field. Harry saw Ron wind up and blast a bludger right past the nose of the Ravenclaw chaser with the quaffle. She neatly swung upside down and passed the quaffle to her teammate, who was hit in the foot by a bludger, directed his way by Savana, just before he could make his shot.

"Brilliant, you two! Keep it up!" Harry shouted his encouragement toward the beaters. Then he spotted the snitch, hovering down near the ground and underneath the Ravenclaw goalkeeper. Unfortuneately, Cho also saw it and she was closer to the snitch than Harry was at the moment.

Cho and Harry both dove toward the snitch at full speed. Harry was gaining on her, but, Cho still had a sizable lead on him. Then, Ron hit a bludger which whizzed past Cho's ear and she went into a sharp, spiral dive to avoid being hit by it. She pulled up, just before she hit the ground and then, looked around for the snitch. It had disappeared! The seekers both moved back into a search pattern, high above the pitch.

"Yee Ha!" Ron shouted as he flew past Harry.

"What are you, a cowboy?!" Savana laughed at Ron as she flew by on the other side of Harry. Ron, however, was occupied with another bludger.

The game continued in this fashion for quite awhile. The snitch had reappeared, but, so briefly that no one had a chance to get to it. Then, it reappeared for a third time. It was about one meter above the ground, in about the middle of the pitch.

Harry and Cho both saw the snitch at the same time, they dove after it. Harry had a slight lead and it looked like he would get the snitch, when a large crow flew through the edge of his vision.

Harry was momentarily distracted by the bird and a feeling of deja vu, as thoughts of last night's vision crowded in, but, he still had the snitch in his sights. Then something hit him, hard, in his ribcage and he fell to the ground like a wounded bird. Fortunately for Harry, he would never remember hitting the ground, because by then, he was unconscious.

...`~*~`...

Harry fought his way back to consciousness and found himself lying in a bed, in the hospital wing.

"Wha' happened?" He muttered as he attempted to sit up. The attempt made his head swim as the rest of his body screamed in pain, protesting any thought of movement, much less the attempt at such.

Someone, they were just a blur at this point, handed him his glasses, so, he put them on. Madam Pomfrey came into focus. She handed Harry a cup, which contained some sort of potion, and told him to drink all of it.

"It'll help with the pain and make you heal faster, dearie." She explained to him. "It'll also make you feel a bit sleepy, but, you need the rest."

"But, what happened to me?" Harry repeated, more clearly this time. Unfortunately, he was already feeling woozy from the draft Madam Pomfrey had given him.

"You were hit by a bludger and fell from your broom." She explained to him, as though he were a small child.

He would have bristled with indignance at the comment, but, he was already drifting off to sleep.

...`~*~`...

Harry felt better when he awoke this time, but, he was thirsty and hungry. He called Madam Pomfrey and asked for something to eat and to drink. He was rather surprised when Alex appeared bearing a tray of food and juice.

"Bon appetite, mon prince!" Alex said, as he presented the tray with a flourish and a bow.

Harry thought the accent sounded more Canadian than Parisian, but then, what could one expect from an American? The U.K. was closer to France, so, they spoke Parisian french; the U.S.A. was closer to Quebec, they spoke Canadian french. Actually, Harry had been impressed with the number of languages, that both Alex and Savana, spoke fluently.

"What are you thinking?!" Harry demanded of himself. "I must have hit my head, harder than I thought I did." Harry mentally shook himself and thanked Alex for the tray.

Orion hopped down onto the bed and scampered up to the edge of the tray on Harry's lap, while Harry surveyed the offerings. Harry noted the chicken & vegetable soup, a pink fruit juice, scones with clotted cream and blackberry jam, and some spiced apples, as well as a package, which was about the size of a dinner plate, and wrapped in plain, brown paper.

Orion sat politely by one edge of the tray and tipped his head inquiringly, as he stared at Harry with his bright, ruby colored eyes.

"Orion, stop that begging and behave yourself!" Alex admonished the rat just as Harry handed Orion a piece of scone with jam. Orion snatched his goodie and ran to the other end of the bed, where he happily ate his treat. His blue spots glowed brightly.

"If I knew what a rat's grin looked like, I'd bet that Orion is doing that right now!" Alex exclaimed, as he watched his pet. Then he shook his head in exasperation.

"Why do the spots on Orion's back glow like that, sometimes?" Harry asked as he wiggled a piece of apple seductively in front of Orion's nose.

"As nearly as I can figure, they glow when he's happy." Alex drawled, then laughed as Orion succumbed to the temptation, which Harry had offered. The rat approached Harry stealthily, snatched the offering from his fingers, and ran back to his previous spot. Once Orion was there, he made short work of the treat. Then Orion washed his face, yawned, and padded over to Alex.

"That's it, you greedy, little, fellow! All you ever do, lately, is eat and sleep." Alex gently chided Orion, as he gently placed the rat back into his pocket.

"Maybe Orion's been taking a few lessons from Scabbers in his free time." Harry said with a smile. Then, he realised that Alex didn't know much, if anything, about Scabbers, so, he told Alex the entire story.

Once he had finished his tale, he turned his attention to the package on the tray. "What is it?" Harry asked Alex, as he inspected the package with curiosity.

"Why don't you open it and find out?" Alex said in response to the question. "It's actually from Savana, as well as from me." He added.

Harry paused and gave Alex a puzzled look. "Why is Savana sending me presents, or you, for that matter?"

"Savana sent it as an apology...for hitting you with the bludger..."Alex explained, but, Harry still looked puzzled and Alex decided he needed to go into more detail. "Savana was trying to hit Cho with the bludger, she missed and got you instead. We expected you to dodge it, but, you seemed distracted for a moment, and it hit you." Alex shrugged.

"Savana is very sorry, but, I did remind her that it's part of the game. She's also upset with herself since that move allowed Cho to capture the snitch, so, Ravenclaw won the game. C'est le guerre!"

"Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let any of the students come up to visit you yet, so, I volunteered to play delivery boy."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Please, tell Savana, it wasn't entirely her fault." He told Alex about the dream and how the crow had distracted him.

"That wasn't a crow, Harry. It was a Raven." Alex explained.

Harry didn't see what difference that would make, and said as much. So, Alex explained that some of the Alaskan Native Americans believed that the raven was a powerful spirit who was known as a trickster. Alex also suspected that Harry's dream was trying to warn him of something. Unfortunately, he didn't know much about dream interpretation, so, he suggested that Harry talk it over with Professor Dumbledore.

Harry assured Alex that he intended to do just that when he had the chance. "Now, would you please, explain what this is to me?" Harry asked as he held up the contents of the package and examined it.

The curious looking object consisted of a hoop, made of a flexible tree branch. The inside was covered with what appeared to be a circular spider web, made of a fine rawhide. There was a small hole in the center, and a feather hung from the frame. Harry suspected the feather was from a thunder bird, because it still had a faint blue glow.

"It's a dream catcher." Alex explained, while reverently taking it into his own hands.

"Something tells me this is related to my dream, and to Native Americans." Harry said with a touch of suspicion.

"Right on both counts! But, we're not trying to make fun of you, Harry, it's only meant to help you." Alex explained. "The dream catcher was created by the Ojibwe, a people who are native to northern and central Minnesota. Aurora Borealis is located in the far north-eastern portion of Minnesota. The dream catcher is hung above the head of your bed. The Ojibwe believe that good dreams find their way through this hole in the center, to be recieved by the dreamer. But, bad dreams get caught in the webbing and melt away when the morning sunlight hits them."

"Hermione told us about your dream. She thought it may still have been affecting you during the game. Savana and I were hoping you would appreciate the gesture, if nothing else." Alex said as he hung the dream catcher above Harry's bed. "Oh, I nearly forgot...Chia donated the feather to you. She seems to have developed a liking for you and Savana is green with envy of you because of that. Savana's known Chia almost as long as I have, but, they've never, really been comfortable with each other."

Madam Pomfrey came in with another cup of the potion that she had administered to Harry earlier. She politely told Alex that it was time for him to leave, and for Harry to get some rest. She handed the cup to Harry, who drank it and waved to Alex.

"Thankyou for the dream catcher, and thank Savana for me, too." Harry said as he sank back down into the pillows.

His eyelids were getting heavy, and he soon gave into his body's urge for sleep.

...`~*~`...

Harry awoke to another bright, sunny day, when he opened his eyes the next morning. He moved various parts of his body, testing them, to see if anything still hurt from his accident yesterday. His testing only resulted in mild twinges, so, Harry expected Madam Pomfrey to release him after breakfast. He was anxious to speak to Professor Dumbledore, as soon as it was possible. Harry was pleasently suprised when Professor Dumbledore came to him instead, while he was finishing his breakfast.

"Well, Harry, you certainly appear to be in a much healthier state than you were in yesterday, when we brought you in here." Professor Dumbledore smiled and nodded approvingly. "It's too bad Draco Malfoy was not able to recover as quickley as you appear to have done."

"Whatever happened with that whole incident?" Harry asked. He had been amazed at the lack of reprecussions with the whole thunder bird incident. Malfoy had reappeared in class, etc., a few days later, still looking a little scorched around the edges, but, nothing further was said, or done.

"I discussed the entire incident with Draco Malfoy. Let us just say, that we came to an agreement about the situation, and that it has been put to rest." Professor Dumbledore explained as he examined the dream catcher hanging above Harry's bed. "This is quite interesting. What is it?"

Harry would have liked to hear more about the entire Malfoy-thunder bird situation, but, he knew better than to pursue the issue with Professor Dumbledore. He had just indicated that the matter was closed, in his own unique way. So, Harry told Professor Dumbledore about the dream catcher, as well as, why Alex and Savana had made it, and given it to him.

Professor Dumbledore listened attentively while Harry told his story. When he had finished his narrrative, Professor Dumbledore told Harry that the vision was related to the reason he had come to see Harry.

"Alex came to see me last night." Professor Dumbledore explained. Harry looked at Professor Dumbledore with a puzzled expression on his face, and admitted he had intended to see Professor Dumbledore yesterday. "He was concerned about your vision and its meaning. I agreed with him, for several reasons...The Americans have a unique perspective on visions and seers. It is, no doubt, due to the Native American influence on their culture. Alex and I, believe you are a seer, Harry, and that your vision was a warning. That is why you were left with such a troubled feeling after the experience.

Visions do not tend to present themselves in a clear and easily understood fashion. Neither Alex, nor I, know how to interpret them, that is an art which takes many years of study to master. Alex's previous Head Master, however, is a master of the art. I have contacted him about your vision, and I will notify you when I recieve his response."

Harry nodded. He felt a bit frusterated with the whole situation. Then, another topic, which he found confusing, occured to him.

"Do you know why I'm able to communicate telepathically now? I was never able to do it before this year."

"Not all telepaths manifest their talent at birth, or in childhood, many do not discover they have the gift until they reach puberty, when it suddenly 'switches' on. That is what happened to me, and, I suspect, to you. We will need to teach you how to use, and control, both of these gifts." Professor Dumbledore explained.

Harry wasn't sure just how he felt about these 'gifts'. He found some aspects of them to be rather daunting, and others, to be downright scarey. He thanked Professor Dumbledore for his council, though, and bade him fare well.

Madam Pomfrey had come bustling in and told Harry he could go back to Gryffindor. As long as he was careful and got plenty of rest.

Harry got up with a grin, dressed, collected his belongings, and dashed out of the door as quickly as he could. He didn't want to give Madam Pomfrey a chance to change her mind.

A/N Hi I'm back. ^^ And I'm updating this story, and I'll admit that I was holding out. I had these done months ago. Ok thank you to all who reviewed. And for those of you who just poped in and read my story.....thank you, but next time leave a review, I want to know how I'm doing. OK done now. And don't forget..............REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!