Chapter 2
Dreaming Reality
He was walking past houses on Privet Drive. It was dimly lighted. The only light was coming from the stars in the sky and the big round red moon, hanging low in the night sky. There was fog; the whole atmosphere strangely reminded him of Trelawney's classroom, it had the same air of mystery. He heard strange noises behind him. He turned around with his hand already on his wand. What he saw in front of him was a total shock. A big, black, shaggy dog was trotting towards him. He could not believe what he was seeing. It must have been his godfather. Or was it? He could also hear the rattle of a chain the dog was dragging. When it passed straight through a mail box Harry's heart sank. It wasn't Sirius after all.
The spectre was coming closer and closer to him, this scared him a bit, but he was no longer afraid of dying, he would have actually welcomed it. This way he could have rejoined with so many people he cared for. The dog seemed to come straight to him, he actually increased his speed, breaking into an dash. However, to Harry's surprise, the dog just passed him and kept going. Harry now turned again to see where the spectre was going. In front of the next house was now a cloaked dark figure. At first he thought it was a Dementor, but when she called the dog, he realized it was a girl's voice.
She was speaking now with the dog in plain English, but he wasn't able to understand what she was saying. He was no longer human. He felt himself slither closer and closer to the girl, until he was finally close enough to hit. He lifted his head and with the speed of light struck. His long, sharp, fangs bit deep into the smooth flesh.
A loud noise woke him from sleep. Gauzily, he opened his eyes, but the light was really bright so he closed them again. When he turned to the clock, he noticed that it was already ten o'clock. Aunt Marge should have left by then. He got up from the bed and placed his glasses on his nose, then went to the window to see what was causing so much racket.
There were new neighbours moving in the house near his. Well, he should go and check what was going on, so, as quickly as he could, he got dressed up and scrambled down the stairs and out the door. On the house porch, all the Dursley family was present, surveying what was going on. To his great distress, Aunt Marge was still here with Ripper.
Following their example, Harry stared at the new neighbours as they were unpacking. They were a lovely family of four, parents and two daughters and a pet, either a cat, or a small dog judging by the size of the cage. One of the girls, a blond-red head looked more like her father, while the other girl. Who looked slightly older and more like her mother. She had raven hair with strands that looked blue. Unlike her sister, who was wearing something typically girlish, she was more of the anti-fashion type. She had large baggy jeans and a loose t-shirt, with her hair up in a loose, practical bun.
Busy staring at the neighbours, Harry forgot to check if the Dursleys had noticed him, so when Uncle Vernon shouted at him to stop staring and go and see if the neighbors needed any help, he tried to vanish as fast as he could. In his haste, he accidentally stepped on the dog's tail.
A fatal mistake, as he already knew from experience. Without a second thought, Harry went into a mad dash through the front lawn, and jumped the fence in a heartbeat. The dog was right on his track, in an instant he was going to catch him. He jumped the neighbour's fence and was about to climb in their tree, when he tripped on something and fell. From the corner of his eye he saw the black haired girl drop her box and shout at the dog.
'STOP'
The animal stopped dead in his tracks. Harry could not believe his eyes. Ripper would not have responded that well to Aunt Marge's commands, not to mention the fact that he attached everything that moved or breathed.
The girl kneeled in front of the dog and gave a light slap.
'Bad dog, why did you chase him?" she stood up, still looking the dog straight in the eyes with a very cross look on her face. The dog gave a small whimper, when she repeated the words 'bad dog' he crawled to her feet and turned on his back, exposing his belly. The girl gave a soft sigh and kneeled again near the dog, this time rubbing his belly.
'You're not a bad dog, are you?' she cooed.
The whole scene left Harry speechless; it was just too strange. The girl stood up again and turned towards him.
'Are you ok?' she asked him with a hint of humour, holding out her hand to help him up.
'Me...I...um...' he could not articulate a single word for anything in the world.
'Do you feel alright? Are you hurt?' she asked him again, this time her voice sounding worried.
'Um...yes... I'm alright' he felt himself go red.
'What happened? Cat got your tongue?' she was definitely set on humiliating him. Before he could articulate a single word, not that it would have been any time soon, he admitted to himself, the screams of Aunt Marge hit their ears with incredible force.
'WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DOG YOU...YOU...' she couldn't even finish her sentence with all the spume that was forming at her mouth; Harry and the girl were already wet from all the spiting.
'I did not do anything to your freaking dog. It tried to kill someone, and I stopped it. Is that a crime?' Harry could not believe his ears. She was either incredibly bold, or extremely stupid, to talk like that in front of Aunt Marge.
'WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY DOG? MY BABY COME HERE, COME TO MUMMY.' The dog did not stir from the girl's feet, which infuriated Aunt Marge even more.
'Nothing, lady, and don't spit on me. Just take your dog and get of my lawn." The girl said coldly.
What happened next was a disaster. Uncle Vernon joined in the quarrel. So did the girl's parents, even other neighbours came to see the show. Harry sneaked from the crowd and tried to get as far away as he could. When he had about two houses between him and the others he heard someone call after him.
'Hey!' Harry turned to see the girl following him. He stopped and waited for her.
'Er, thanks for saving me from that beast' he said, cursing himself in his mind for not having anything else to say.
'No prob, you're lucky I was there. By the way what's your name?' but Harry wasn't really listening to her anymore; he was just looking into those unnatural ink-like blue eyes that seemed to swallow him up.
'My name's Spica, but friends call me Spice. So yours is?' she asked again.
Still mesmerized by her eyes, he answered her in a dreamy way 'Harry, but my friends call me Harry.'
'Right. Funny. Be like that.' she just turned around and headed back to her house.
Why did he have to be such a dunderhead around pretty girls? 'Hey wait, look, I'm sorry' he tried in vain to call her back, she pretended she did not hear him.
Why wasn't Hermione around to tell him how to act and what to say? For Merlin's sake, what was wrong with girls? One minute everything was cool, the other they were close to slapping him.
With these thoughts in mind he kept wondering aimlessly all day. There was no way he could go home now. Home; only Dumbledore could think of Privet Drive as his home. For nobody in that house did his mother's blood matter. But it did mattered to Dumbledore and Voldemort.
How was it possible that the spell still worked, when Voldemort could touch him with no problem? Was the spell actually working? Harry was able to feel Voldemort's feelings more and more and; the only reason why he wasn't plagued with nightmares about dark revels was because the ones with Sirius were so prevalent, though last night's dream hadn't been one of those. It was a strange mix of both; maybe it was just a bad dream.
He was walking past houses on Privet Drive. It was dimly lighted. The only light was coming from the stars in the sky and the big round red moon, hanging low in the night sky. There was fog; the whole atmosphere strangely reminded him of Trelawney's classroom, it had the same air of mystery. He heard strange noises behind him. He turned around with his hand already on his wand. What he saw in front of him was a total shock. A big, black, shaggy dog was trotting towards him. He could not believe what he was seeing. It must have been his godfather. Or was it? He could also hear the rattle of a chain the dog was dragging. When it passed straight through a mail box Harry's heart sank. It wasn't Sirius after all.
The spectre was coming closer and closer to him, this scared him a bit, but he was no longer afraid of dying, he would have actually welcomed it. This way he could have rejoined with so many people he cared for. The dog seemed to come straight to him, he actually increased his speed, breaking into an dash. However, to Harry's surprise, the dog just passed him and kept going. Harry now turned again to see where the spectre was going. In front of the next house was now a cloaked dark figure. At first he thought it was a Dementor, but when she called the dog, he realized it was a girl's voice.
She was speaking now with the dog in plain English, but he wasn't able to understand what she was saying. He was no longer human. He felt himself slither closer and closer to the girl, until he was finally close enough to hit. He lifted his head and with the speed of light struck. His long, sharp, fangs bit deep into the smooth flesh.
A loud noise woke him from sleep. Gauzily, he opened his eyes, but the light was really bright so he closed them again. When he turned to the clock, he noticed that it was already ten o'clock. Aunt Marge should have left by then. He got up from the bed and placed his glasses on his nose, then went to the window to see what was causing so much racket.
There were new neighbours moving in the house near his. Well, he should go and check what was going on, so, as quickly as he could, he got dressed up and scrambled down the stairs and out the door. On the house porch, all the Dursley family was present, surveying what was going on. To his great distress, Aunt Marge was still here with Ripper.
Following their example, Harry stared at the new neighbours as they were unpacking. They were a lovely family of four, parents and two daughters and a pet, either a cat, or a small dog judging by the size of the cage. One of the girls, a blond-red head looked more like her father, while the other girl. Who looked slightly older and more like her mother. She had raven hair with strands that looked blue. Unlike her sister, who was wearing something typically girlish, she was more of the anti-fashion type. She had large baggy jeans and a loose t-shirt, with her hair up in a loose, practical bun.
Busy staring at the neighbours, Harry forgot to check if the Dursleys had noticed him, so when Uncle Vernon shouted at him to stop staring and go and see if the neighbors needed any help, he tried to vanish as fast as he could. In his haste, he accidentally stepped on the dog's tail.
A fatal mistake, as he already knew from experience. Without a second thought, Harry went into a mad dash through the front lawn, and jumped the fence in a heartbeat. The dog was right on his track, in an instant he was going to catch him. He jumped the neighbour's fence and was about to climb in their tree, when he tripped on something and fell. From the corner of his eye he saw the black haired girl drop her box and shout at the dog.
'STOP'
The animal stopped dead in his tracks. Harry could not believe his eyes. Ripper would not have responded that well to Aunt Marge's commands, not to mention the fact that he attached everything that moved or breathed.
The girl kneeled in front of the dog and gave a light slap.
'Bad dog, why did you chase him?" she stood up, still looking the dog straight in the eyes with a very cross look on her face. The dog gave a small whimper, when she repeated the words 'bad dog' he crawled to her feet and turned on his back, exposing his belly. The girl gave a soft sigh and kneeled again near the dog, this time rubbing his belly.
'You're not a bad dog, are you?' she cooed.
The whole scene left Harry speechless; it was just too strange. The girl stood up again and turned towards him.
'Are you ok?' she asked him with a hint of humour, holding out her hand to help him up.
'Me...I...um...' he could not articulate a single word for anything in the world.
'Do you feel alright? Are you hurt?' she asked him again, this time her voice sounding worried.
'Um...yes... I'm alright' he felt himself go red.
'What happened? Cat got your tongue?' she was definitely set on humiliating him. Before he could articulate a single word, not that it would have been any time soon, he admitted to himself, the screams of Aunt Marge hit their ears with incredible force.
'WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DOG YOU...YOU...' she couldn't even finish her sentence with all the spume that was forming at her mouth; Harry and the girl were already wet from all the spiting.
'I did not do anything to your freaking dog. It tried to kill someone, and I stopped it. Is that a crime?' Harry could not believe his ears. She was either incredibly bold, or extremely stupid, to talk like that in front of Aunt Marge.
'WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY DOG? MY BABY COME HERE, COME TO MUMMY.' The dog did not stir from the girl's feet, which infuriated Aunt Marge even more.
'Nothing, lady, and don't spit on me. Just take your dog and get of my lawn." The girl said coldly.
What happened next was a disaster. Uncle Vernon joined in the quarrel. So did the girl's parents, even other neighbours came to see the show. Harry sneaked from the crowd and tried to get as far away as he could. When he had about two houses between him and the others he heard someone call after him.
'Hey!' Harry turned to see the girl following him. He stopped and waited for her.
'Er, thanks for saving me from that beast' he said, cursing himself in his mind for not having anything else to say.
'No prob, you're lucky I was there. By the way what's your name?' but Harry wasn't really listening to her anymore; he was just looking into those unnatural ink-like blue eyes that seemed to swallow him up.
'My name's Spica, but friends call me Spice. So yours is?' she asked again.
Still mesmerized by her eyes, he answered her in a dreamy way 'Harry, but my friends call me Harry.'
'Right. Funny. Be like that.' she just turned around and headed back to her house.
Why did he have to be such a dunderhead around pretty girls? 'Hey wait, look, I'm sorry' he tried in vain to call her back, she pretended she did not hear him.
Why wasn't Hermione around to tell him how to act and what to say? For Merlin's sake, what was wrong with girls? One minute everything was cool, the other they were close to slapping him.
With these thoughts in mind he kept wondering aimlessly all day. There was no way he could go home now. Home; only Dumbledore could think of Privet Drive as his home. For nobody in that house did his mother's blood matter. But it did mattered to Dumbledore and Voldemort.
How was it possible that the spell still worked, when Voldemort could touch him with no problem? Was the spell actually working? Harry was able to feel Voldemort's feelings more and more and; the only reason why he wasn't plagued with nightmares about dark revels was because the ones with Sirius were so prevalent, though last night's dream hadn't been one of those. It was a strange mix of both; maybe it was just a bad dream.
