Chapter Eighteen: A Scream During Breakfast

Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own anything. Well what I made up I do, but the Harry Potter stuff belong to JK Rowling. You can tell the difference from her stuff and mine.

A/N: I'm sorry for the wait. Please see the bottom.

"So you okayed this with Professor McGonagall?" Reagan asked the next morning, as they left the entrance hall. Trevor glanced sideways at her. "Well, she knows we're going to be going outside today. She doesn't know about the Sammy and Moussey part."

Reagan smiled. "And my mum does?"

"Well, when I first talked to McGonagall about it, she said I would need permission from your mum, so I wrote her a letter, and asked her for permission, but I left the Sammy and Moussey part out too. Lupin and your brothers know though."

"Oh well. I still think this exciting without Mum and McGonagall knowing," Reagan replied. "What are we doing anyway?"

"You'll see," Trevor replied. "Do you have your invisibility cloak?" Reagan nodded and pated her bag, having received Trevor's early morning owl with a few more instructions.

"Good."

"Josie almost killed me though," Reagan said. "First I wouldn't show her or tell her about your note yesterday, and then I get an owl at five in the morning and disappear before lunch. I think she's going to spend the rest of the day finding the best hex for me. And Cal as usual doesn't care or know whats going on. He's so completely in love with Josie that he's completely blind of everything else that goes on around him."

Trevor shrugged. "It happens. At least you won't have to worry about him being mad at you."

"True," Reagan replied. "Where are we going?"

"To the Quidditch pitch," Trevor replied.

"The Quidditch pitch," Reagan repeated. "Thats your big secret?"

"Well, no," he said. "But thats were I told McGonagall were we would be. Thats why we needed your invisibility cloak."

"What are we going to sneak off somewhere?" Reagan asked, somewhat sarcastically.

"Well..."

"Trevor!" Reagan exclaimed. "Where are we going?"

"The Forbidden Forest."

"Seriously," Reagan replied. "Where are we really going?"

"The Forbidden Forest," Trevor repeated. "Its really the only place Sammy and Moussey could run without getting to trouble. Besides, we're going to be animals. What would hurt us if we're animals?"

"Werewolves," Reagan replied.

"There are no werewolves in the forest at all, especially in broad daylight," Trevor replied. "Honestly, Reagan, are you that afraid to go into the forest?"

"No," Reagan replied. "I'm just a bit worried about what would happen if something happened to us in there."

"Professor Lupin knows we're going in there," Trevor replied. "He can come and find us. Or James can, if it is a matter of human safety."

"All right," Reagan said. "I guess its all right."

"Well its defiantly not all right," Trevor said. "I mean, we are breaking a major school rule."

"And Professor Lupin was okay with this?" Reagan asked. "I know he is sometimes willing to bend the rules, but this is basically shattering one."

"He was hesitant," Trevor admitted. "But I persuaded him that is we were in trouble, all he had to say was that he was going to accompany us into the forest because we wanted to learn more about the possum berries we had been studying and we didn't wait for him."

"Thats a bit of a stretch," Reagan replied. "I don't even know what a possum berry is."

"Its a berry that is not really a berry. Its a fairy, and the hardest fairy to transfigure."

"Oh, so sort of an extra credit study."

"Basically."

They walked in silence for the next few moments, until the reached the edge of the Quidditch pitch. Trevor pulled two school brooms out from behind one the the stands and handed one to her.

"Here, take this," he said and she took it, wondering what was going on. "We're going to fly up there when I say so, and fly around a bit, then come back down." Trevor pulled his wand out and said, "Appearum miragius!"

"Huh?" Reagan asked.

"Sshh!" Trevor said and mounted the broom he was holding. He fly up to the middle of the pitch, and she followed, still a bit confused."

"Trevor what is going on?" she asked.

"I'll explain in a moment," he replied and cried, "Begium!"

Reagan stared at him in bewilderment.

"Fly around with me, pretend like we're been doing this for a couple hours."

She followed him around the pitch, and even tried a few Feints, but the school broom was not her Nimbus 4000. After a good fifteen minutes of flying around Trevor pulled out his wand and shouted, "Enoughsium!" Reagan followed him back down to the grass, still confused.

"Its called a Mirage Charm," he explained. "Anyone who comes out here will see us flying around up there. See?" He pointed to where they had just been, and sure enough an image of them was flying around. "If McGonagall comes out here then she'll just see us flying around, just like I told her we were going to be."

"A Mirage Charm?" Reagan asked. "Is that something you learn in a higher Charm level?"

"Not exactly," Trevor replied, his cheeks turning a bit pink. "See in the Slytherin common room, there is a huge bookshelf filled with books. Its one of those Slytherin secrets to success."

"Slytherin has a bookcase with books full of spells?"

"And potions and enchantments and all other kinds of stuff," Trevor continued. "Its mostly for students who want to get something, you know the ambition of a Slytherin, they'll do anything to get what they want."

"Even extra reading?" Reagan asked. "Sounds a bit Ravenclaw-ish to me."

"I little," he replied. "But you'd be surprised at the sort of stuff in there. Some of it is interesting and useful, like this one. But some of the other stuff... lets just say, I'm glad that you have to get permission from a Prefect to read one."

"So you gave yourself permission."

"Yup," he grinned. "Doesn't Gryffindor have some sort of secret like that?"

"Probably," Reagan replied. "I just don't know it."

"Fair enough," he said. "Come on, we'd better get going. Pull out your cloak."

"This isn't going to fit over both of us," she said, pulling it out of her bag.

"Just throw it over our heads and I'll explain."

"Okay," Reagan replied and threw it over their heads. Their bodies disappeared, well except for their feet and ankles. With Trevor's height and Reagan standing next to him, it pulled the cloak up a couple inches.

"Now what?" she asked.

"You have no patience," he replied. "Now we're going to transform. On the count of three. The cloak will still be covering us, so no one can see us change, and then we can walk together, as animals to the woods, underneath the cloak the entire time. No one will see us."

"You're mad," she stated.

"For some things," he replied. He looked at her, and smiled, and she felt her knees begin to weaken. "Are you ready for some fun?"

"Defiantly," she replied. "I'm just not convinced that this is going to work."

His eyes twinkled and he moved a step closer to her, which eliminated any space between them. "I'll make a believer out of you yet, Reagan Potter," he said and kissed her softly on the lips. Reagan closed her eyes at the sensation, remembering how it felt to kiss him, and wondered why they didn't do this more often.

"Happy birthday, Reagan," he said as he broke apart.

"Thats what all this is about?" she asked. "My birthday isn't for another few days."

"It was the best time to do it," he admitted. "Besides, this isn't even your birthday present. This is your birthday outing."

"Most people go to Hogsmeade," she said.

"Most people can't change into an animal at will," he replied. "Besides, we're not even there yet. We still have to change and walk slowly into the woods. And we'll go to Hogsmeade next weekend."

"When do I get my birthday present?" she asked.

"Patience, Reagan," he replied. "On your birthday, of course!"

"Oh, how silly of me," she said. "On my birthday, when most people do their birthday stuff, not four days before."

"Are you ready to go yet?" he asked.

"I was ready before we flew around."

"Well then," he said, kissing her forehead. "On three! One... two... three!"

And Reagan concentrated on her Animagus self, and immediately felt the grass beneath all four of her feet.

She blinked her eyes a few times and saw a big brown chocolate lab sitting in front of her, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

~Ready?~ he asked.

~We're walking slowly to the edge of the forest and then loosing the cloak?~ she asked to clarify.

~Correct,~ he replied. ~We'll hide it if you'd like.~

~Yes, I would like that.~

~Then shall we?~

The walked slowly to the edge of the forest and shed the cloak, tucking it under an unearthed tree root.

~How fast do you think you can run?~ Trevor asked.

~I don't know,~ Reagan replied. ~I've never thought about it.~

~Do you think you can catch me?~

~Probably,~ Reagan replied and leapt after Trevor as he turned and ran into the woods. She chased after him, running through the woods with ease, her white fur blowing back from her face. They ran deeper and deeper into the forest, the sunlight growing scarce and the trees getting denser.

Panting they stopped sometime later, and drank water from a stream running through the forest.

~Is this water safe to drink?~ Reagan asked.

~Should be,~ Trevor replied. ~There isn't anything in the forest that would make it unsafe.~

~Trevor, are you sure?~ Reagan asked. ~I've heard so many stories about things in the forest that-~

~Exactly, they were stories Reagan,~ Trevor said. ~I asked Professor Lupin and he said that during the day nothing can hurt us, because we can see where we're going better than we can at night. And the water is safe, he drinks it when he's a werewolf.~

~I feel bad because I haven't had a chance to go with him on a full moon,~ Reagan said. ~I told him I would once I mastered my transformation. James still comes up each month to go with him.~

~I'm sure its fine,~ Trevor replied.

~Most times I'm too tired with Quidditch practice and school work,~ Reagan said. ~I don't know how my father or James did it when they were in school.~

~They didn't have a magical connection that effected them,~ Trevor said. ~Do you think maybe that could have something to do with it?~

~It could,~ Reagan replied. ~Its also all these creepy things that keep happening and these dreams I keep having. I think worrying and wondering about them is beginning to wear on me.~

~That makes sense,~ Trevor said. ~I'm sure your uncle understands.~

~I hope so,~ she replied. ~This was fun, Trevor. Thank you.~

Trevor stood up and barked at her. ~Our afternoon isn't over yet.~

~Oh?~ she said and stood up. He shook his head and took off again yelling ~You can't catch me!~ Reagan smiled to herself before taking off after him.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Weeks passed by and Reagan found herself sitting in the Gryffindor common room with Josie and Cal gazing dreamily out the window, wishing that Quidditch wasn't over. After the Cup there was no need to practice, and it was a bit weird being back in the common room in the evenings.

"Reagan what did you get for number three on the Potions worksheet?" Josie asked, biting her lip in frustration.

"What is the question?" Reagan asked.

"Sea salt, cedar powder, armadillo bile and daisy roots are all mixed to form the preliminary part of what potion and for how long does this need to simmer before adding the remaining ingredients?" Josie read from the parchment. "I put that it is the first part of a Restorative Draft, and that it needs to simmer for three days during the new moon."

"Sounds right to me," Reagan said.

"Well, is that what you put?" Josie asked.

"I haven't done it yet," Reagan replied. Cal looked up at her and Josie dropped her quill.

"You haven't what?!" Josie exclaimed. "Reagan its due tomorrow!"

"I know," Reagan said lazily. "I just haven't gotten around to it yet."

"Are you feeling okay?" Cal asked.

"Of course I am," Reagan replied and glanced out the window again. "Some time."

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Josie asked. "You seem a bit, off."

Reagan smiled. "I'm fine honestly. I've just been preoccupied."

"With what?" Josie asked.

"Nothing," Reagan replied and opened her bag. She pulled her worksheet out and found a quill."

"So there isn't anything on your mind?" Josie asked.

"No one is one my mind, thank you very much," Reagan said. "And I'd appreciate it if we dropped this conversation."

"I never asked if you thinking about someone," Josie said to her smiling.

"And I never said I was," Reagan replied, dipping her quill into her ink.

"If you say so," Josie replied and coughed loudly, making a noise that sounded like "Trevor!"

"Are you all right?" Cal asked patting Josie's back, smirking at her.

"I'm fine, honest, something seems to be stuck in my throat," Josie replied. "I'm better now, thank you Cal."

"You'd better be careful," Cal said. "I've heard that bullshit is a bit contagious."

"Will you two stop?" Reagan asked.

"What?" Josie asked innocently. "We weren't doing anything."

"Whats wrong with talking about a contagious virus?" Cal asked.

Reagan rolled her eyes and bent over her parchment. But she couldn't concentrate. It wasn't necessarily Trevor that she was thinking about, bit it was a nagging feeling like something was wrong, like she ahd forgotten to feed Vira or Eclipse, or that her answers were wrong. But everything she checked and rechecked was fine.

Her father had come home a couple days before, safe and sound just as Professor Lockhart has assured her he would. She and Darenn were quite relieved to finally see a letter in his handwriting saying he was home. It was not the homecoming Reagan had wanted for her father's return, but he was home and that was all she cared about.

Reagan sighed and filled in the answers to her Potions worksheet with ease. Two answers she had to look up to double check that she was correct, and she was. Fifteen minutes passes of actual work and Reagan jumped when an owl tapped on the window.

"Oooh, maybe its from a Slytherin who shall remain nameless!" Josie giggled.

"Oh hush," Reagan replied and opened the window. "Its not from Trevor, this isn't his owl." She took the letter from the owl and it flew off, as though it knew not to wait for a response.

"Then who is it from?" Josie asked.

"Anna McCormick," Reagan replied, tearing open the envelope.

"Anna McCormick?" Josie asked, becoming serious. "Why is she writing to you?"

"She's a friend of my father," Reagan replied. "I wrote her last Christmas, after you wrote me that letter about your dream."

"You told her?!" Josie exclaimed.

"McCormick?" Cal asked. "Our old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"His wife," Josie told him.

"I trust her," Reagan said. "Hush let me read it."

Reagan,

You must have known the shock I had when I received your letter. But it was nice to hear from you. I must let you know, that I do know about your Connection with your father. Your Aunt Hermione came to me a couple months ago needing my help and she told me about it.

As for your dream, I suspect that it was a bit of a preview of what was to happen. Sometimes dreams tell us what is to come, or they give us a very weird idea of what is to come. Now you and Miss Malfoy both a a dream about Quidditch in which Miss Malfoy fell to the ground. From what I hear of your Quidditch Cup match, this is what happened. She did not die as she did in the dream, but she did fall straight to the earth.

So don't fret about it, Reagan. Miss Malfoy was not harmed in reality and your dream was just showing you what could happen, not what was going to happen. And since its already passed in reality, there is no longer any need to worry about it.

Good job winning the Quidditch Cup though, I heard it was spectacular. I am probably a bit more biased than most former Gryffindors, being a true Gryffindor and all, but I am a Gryffindor fan all the same. My daughter might give you a run for your money, but thats not for another couple years. I think it would be very poetic if she replaced you after you left Hogwarts. I replaced your father as Seeker when he left, and it would only be appropriate for my daughter took your spot as a Chaser.

Enjoy the rest of your term. Write me again if you have any other questions, or just write me for the heck of it.

~Anna

"I was wondering when she was going to write me back," Reagan said, folding up the letter. "I wrote her ages ago."

"I still can't believe that you told her," Josie said.

"I wanted a second opinion," Reagan shrugged. "She basically just said what I had figured anyway, so what does it matter?"

"I guess it doesn't," Josie said. "At least she said that is was nothing, and it was over with."

"Its nice to know, though," Reagan said, sitting back down. "I mean, I was wondering if she ever got my letter in the first place."

"Wonder why it took her so long to write you back," Cal said. "If you wrote her at Christmas, that was five months ago."

"I guess it doesn't matter," Reagan said. "Besides, if she had told us prior to the match that Josie was indeed going to fly straight into the ground, Josie would have done everything to prevent it, thinking she was going to die, and then she wouldn't have caught the Snitch. There was no way for us to know what the dream meant until it actually happened."

"Good point," Josie said, looking at her parchment. "What did you get for number four?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning they went down to breakfast as usual. Josie was uncharacteristically easy to get out of bed, and was more awake than normal on their trip to the Great Hall. She pored Reagan and Cal juice as they watched her in bewilderment. Cal shook his head and pulled a book out his bag, and Reagan took the plate of toast as it was passed along the table.

"Is today Wednesday?" Josie said, sounding worried.

"Yes," Cal replied.

"Thats what usually comes after Tuesday," Reagan replied.

"I've got the wrong books then," Josie said, looking in her bag. "I thought it was Thursday, I don't know why. I must mixed up the days."

"You have time," Reagan said. "Eat and then grab your books on the way to class."

"No, I think I'll go grab them now," Josie replied. "The halls will be packed later. Be right back." She grabbed her bag, and hurried out of the Great Hall, almost knocking over a group of first year Ravenclaws.

"If her head wasn't attached, I think she'd loose it," Cal said and turned back to his book.

"I'm not sure if having it attached has prevented that at all," Reagan replied, putting jam onto her toast.

"Good morning," Trevor said, sitting down beside Reagan.

"Hi Trevor," Reagan replied.

"Hi," Cal said from inside his book.

"Where did Josie run off to?" Trevor asked.

"She had the wrong books," Reagan replied. "She thought it was Thursday."

"She has time," Trevor said, looking at his watch. "What class do you have first?"

"Transfiguration," Cal replied, and offered him the plate of toast.

"He doesn't eat breakfast," Reagan said to Cal.

"I just come for the scenery," Trevor said, looking at Reagan. She grinned at him and took a bit of her toast. Since their time in the Forbidden Forest, she and Trevor had been a bit friendlier, and more flirtier.

"Enough," Cal said. "Can eat my breakfast without wanting to throw up?"

"What?" Reagan asked. "Its not like I don't have to deal with it from you and Josie either."

"Josie and I are-"

"Just friends," Reagan finished. "Just like Trevor and I are."

"Just good friends," Trevor said.

"Well go be friends somewhere not around my breakfast," Cal said.

"Oh read your book!" Reagan said and tossed a strawberry at him, hitting the cover of his book. "Besides, Josie needs to be careful of the stairs."

"What?" Trevor and Cal asked at the same time.

"She needs to be..." But Reagan didn't finish her sentence. She suddenly felt sick, and her stomach lurched. She turned to run to the bathroom, but doubled over, falling on the floor in pain.

"Reagan whats wrong?" Trevor asked, bending down at her side.

Her stomach lurched again, and she felt cold sweeping over her body, and she fought to stay conscious.

"Josie," she whispered.

And through out the Great Hall echoed a blood curdling scream.


AN: Wah-ah-ah-ah-ahh (evil Dracula laugh)

This is my late Christmas gift to you all, you get two chapters at once. At least you don't have to wait another four weeks for the next chapter, so my cliff didn't hurt that much.

Now I must assure you that Reagan and Trevor's time in the woods was completely PG. As I was writing that scene it did occur to me what boy dogs and girl dogs do when left alone, especially in the spring time, but there was none of that. There will be no Trevor and Reagan puppies in the fall.

The story of Anna McCormick, or rather Anna Summers as she was before she married, is chronicled in "The Heirs" and it can be found on my author page. Its still in the beginning, and being written a bit slower because this fic and the next are my babies but sometimes Anna gets into my head and I have to write on her.

Okay, so because I am a bit odd, I have a small collection of songs that would go on the "As Seen in a Dream" Soundtrack, if ever there was one. The list is: Kelly Clarkson "Missed the Train;" Hanson "I'll Be With You In Your Dreams;" Britney Spears "Only Your Shadow;" and Martina McBride "Concrete Angel."

This time I am not going to promise a time or quickness to my updates, because every time I do, it turns out longer than expected. I have few excuses for this past delay, the major one is my hubby leaving for ten months, on his way to Japan and then Iraq, to do his Marine thing. I anticipate being able to write my heart out, but I'm not making promises or predictions for a time length at all.

Okay, go onto the next chapter now, and I hope you enjoy!