The week went by and every morning Draco asked the dreamer if she had finished with the list. Each morning, she shook her head and waited for him to say something. It was strange to her that he never did. Rhyann expected him to badger her and try to threaten her into doing what his father wanted. She was more suspicious that he was doing nothing of the kind.
A full week went by and she had not even looked at the list. The owls with the morning post filled the Great Hall and a particularly snobby eagle owl delivered Draco a sealed envelope. The Malfoy family crest was pressed into the wax and he seemed almost hesitant to open it up at the table. Making sure no eyes were upon him, he then cracked open the seal and pulled out the letter inside. His face hardened as he silently read it.
Rhyann did not ask him any questions about the letter as he held it there. She could feel it when his gray eyes darted over to her. His father rarely wrote himself unless it was important news. Narcissa sent letters often with her packages to her son and rattled on about gossip and whatnot. She knew that this note was about her and it was not something pleasant.
"You haven't done anything on the list, have you?" Draco leaned over and whispered discordantly into her ear.
Rhyann looked unfazed. "No. I told you I haven't."
He frowned slightly and motioned to the letter in his hand. "Father is getting impatient. He expects these things done right away. Why haven't you done it?"
She shrugged lightly and took a swig of orange juice. "I just haven't gotten around to it yet."
"Rhyann." Draco growled her name a little too loudly. Other faces at their end of the Slytherin table turned in their direction. She remained seated, eating her breakfast, as if nothing unusual were going on. His look told them to mind their own business. He lowered his voice but it was nonetheless harsh. "You know what will happen if you don't do as my father says. Are you trying to provoke him? He is not a man who makes idle threats."
"I never thought he was." Rhyann replied simply. She put down her fork and turned her head to look at her boyfriend. "What did he say?"
"He says he wants the list done tonight or there will be consequences." Draco crumpled up the parchment in one hand. "Don't make him do anything, Rhyann. Do what he wants."
"I'm not going to jump at his beck and call, Draco. You know I don't like to be used. If I decide to do it, I'll do it when I'm ready." Her insides tightened up. She could not eat any more breakfast even if she wanted to now. There was that flutter of fear and panic but she suppressed it. She had to trust that her family could take care of themselves.
"That's not the way it works and you know it!" The Head Boy snapped back.
"Write to your precious daddy then. Tell him what I said to you. You may be willing to do whatever he says whenever he commands it, but I'm not." Rhyann hissed and stood up from the bench. Her legs felt a bit weak but she had promised herself that she would do this next time Lucius sent her a list. Her expression did not show it, but it was more difficult to do than she had thought. "I'm going to take a bathroom break before History class. I will meet you there."
Draco did not try to stop her as she walked off. She had almost thought that he would. She was sure they had caused enough of a scene at their table though. Eyes from not only Slytherin but other tables were upon her as well. Rhyann refused to look back and kept going at a swift pace to the nearest girls' bathroom. She sat in one of the stalls with her head held in her hands.
A minute before the bell, she finally managed to compose herself and make it to history class in time, looking as if she were not bothered by anything that happened at all. Draco, on the other hand, was not doing such a good job. Rhyann didn't know why it bothered him so much. Certainly he could not care what might happen to her family. He was unusually quiet the rest of the day and gave her just a nod when she told him she was going to study after the evening meal.
She arranged for Millicent and Drucinda to bring Blaise Zabini along with two fifth years, Rutiger Dross and Alexandria Rance to the library a little bit before it was time for the meeting. The dreamer would meet them there and explain to them their secret. She had checked out their sleeping minds during the week and found that they would join along with keep the secret. She had actually found she had much in common with Zabini when exploring his mind. He had known more betrayal than even her.
First, she would have to meet with Potter and have their first lesson in dreaming. Rhyann found he was waiting there for her in the room of requirement and sprang up from his chair to greet her as she came in. "Heya!"
"Hi Harry." She smiled and closed the door behind her. She took her usual chair beside his. "I have three more Slytherins to bring in tonight. So I will go to the library to get them after we're done our lesson."
"Oh, that's great." He grinned back and took his seat again. "I'm sorry I couldn't think of any that might be good candidates. I hope that the group could be of some help in your decision."
"They were of help." A few people had suggested Dross and Rance, but generally, not many of the students from other Houses would even give Slytherins a chance. None voiced anything about Zabini. That had been her own choice. He sometimes would hang out with Draco, so she bet that would cause a bit of tension when she brought him in. She had found out that he did not like her boyfriend though and that would work even better for them.
"So," Harry wiggled further into the cushioned chair. "I guess we should get started." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes.
Leaning back, she curled up her legs in the chair. Rhyann had decided to just entertain him with useless things in the dream. He would not know the difference between minor changing of scenery in his own dream and having the talent to do it in other people's dreams. "Alright. Just relax and let yourself drift off to sleep. Do you have any problems falling asleep? I know this is different than last year when you weren't getting much."
"I'm pretty good at falling to sleep. Not as good as Ron. He can sleep standing up if he's tired enough!" Harry chuckled and then returned his face to a serious one.
She smiled, not doubting the truth about Weasley, and then closed her own eyes. "It's easy enough. Just clear your mind and concentrate on your breathing. If I fall asleep and you can't, just poke me. No use me getting a nap if you can't."
"Okay." Harry laughed lightly again and turned his head a little more to watch her calmly breathing. After a few minutes, he closed his green eyes and let his breath even out. It took him a while longer, but finally he fell asleep with a soft snore.
Rhyann had been waiting for him to fall asleep and start dreaming. Once she saw his bright energy there, she swooped down inside his sleeping mind. It was the easiest she had ever had it. It was as though he were welcoming her. She knew that she would have access to any part she wished to at the moment. He would never know it. Yet she went into his dream and found him on the school's quidditch pitch dressed in his team's uniform.
She walked up next to him. "Hello Harry. Do you know who I am?" She only asked this because sometimes people did lose focus and get confused in dreams. It was only normal for people to do so. A dreamer was more alert in the dreaming world than sometimes in the waking one though.
"I know it's you, Rhyann." Harry replied, grinning. He appeared very lucid.
She raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise and then nodded. "That's good. I guess what I wanted to teach you will be easier now. And I will be glad of it too. I am so tired about hearing about quidditch!"
The golden snitch zoomed down to flutter about her head. She gave it a swat and then Harry's hand darted out, snatching it from the air. "The tournament is all the talk of the school though. It's going to be very impressive, I'm sure."
"I'm sure it will be and I will be glad when it's over." She said tartly and then gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry. I know you're Gryffindor's captain. It's just that I hear about it all the time, day and night. You can understand how that might get irritating."
"I don't know how anyone could find quidditch irritating!" Harry joked but also gave her an understanding smile. "I do know what you mean though. So what is it that you want to teach me?"
"How to change things in your dreams. Not just the objects here, but the whole scene." Rhyann spread out her hands indicating the brightly colored field. "Since it's your dream, you should be able to do so without…"
Her world were cut off when the scarred teen grinned mischievously, holding out the hand he had snatched the snitch with. He opened it and there sat a little mouse. It squeaked and hopped down to the ground to run off. Harry swept his hand out and a large mouse hole appeared in the side of the stands. The rodent grew bigger as it approached and then disappeared inside the hole just before it was too large to fit.
"You've been practicing." The petite dreamer accused.
"Well, I didn't know it was what you were going to teach me. I just thought it something basic you could do in your dreams. I mean, I dream a lot. I might as well do something useful while I'm asleep." He gave her a sheepish smile.
"Usually it takes people a long time to learn to even change one object around because it requires learning to focus. You did well." Too well. Rhyann didn't like it. "Can you change the whole scene? Have us somewhere else other than the pitch?"
Harry looked up just his eyes as if thinking about something. Then the stadium around them faded and they were in the Great Hall. "It took longer for me to do, but it isn't hard at all now."
She was smiling but she was not feeling it. She felt no pride in what he had taught himself. "A fictional place is harder to create. Can you do that too?"
"I think I can do that." Harry closed his eyes this time. It took longer for the scene to fade and even more time for the new one to come together. It came forth in parts. A bubbling stream and a field of pastel colored candy flowers nearby. Purple trees that glistened as if they were jelly and a sky with three suns. Just behind them appeared an ornate bench. He finally opened his eyes and nodded, impressed with himself. "What do you think?"
"Impressive." She didn't like this at all. Rhyann folded her arms and smirked. "Not quite what I expected from you though. It makes me think you're hungry for some treats."
"I didn't know quite else what to do…" Harry said a little embarrassedly. "I can change it to something else, if you'd like."
Rhyann sat down on the bench, crossing on leg over the other. Using her own talents, she set this scene so it could not be changed. She gave him a nod. "Try it. Take me some place like Japan. I've always wanted to go there."
"Japan. Cherry blossoms, ancient temples, samurai. I can do that!" Harry happily agreed and closed his eyes once again. He stood there for a few minutes and then opened his eyes. Seeing that they were still where they had last been, he closed his eyes again and his brow furrowed as he concentrated harder.
The second time he opened his eyes, his lips thinned in frustration with himself. Harry looked towards a tree and tried to will it to be something else. Nothing happened. He tried a second and a third time with no success. He even tried changing a simple small flower, but nothing worked. He finally peered at Rhyann. "I can't do it this time for some reason."
"Of course you can't. I'm not letting you." The dreamer answered a bit arrogantly.
"What do you mean? It's my dream. I should have control over it." Harry uncertainly sat next to her on the bench.
"I am stronger than you." She simply stated.
"But… your magic isn't strong at all. I mean, it's not that you can't cast right or anything, but I.."
"That's okay." Rhyann told him as he started to fumble with his words. "My magic isn't strong in the waking world, but here, I have a powerful energy."
"That doesn't make sense." Harry scratched his head.
"It does make sense." She assured him. "The universe is made up of energy. We only see the physical manifestations of it when we're awake. Asleep, it's all energy. Except for the normal person whose mind can't understand energies and thus they see every day objects in their dreams instead. The waking world and the dreaming one are two different planes. My energy is attuned to the dreaming realm and not the waking one. Most people are attuned to the waking world. That's what makes me a dreamer."
"What does that make me then?"
"You are more powerful in the waking world, obviously. Yet you do have some talent in this realm as well. Yet no matter how much you practice, you'd never be as skilled as I am."
Harry looked at her questionably. "Why's that?"
"Because I am a woman and you're not." She said superiorly.
"And what does that have to do with anything?" He frowned.
"The universe is mostly made up of female energies. It is dominant. That is why women have more access to power, to secrets and magic. There is just simply more out there for us to draw upon." It was one of the first lessons she had learned on the island. The crones never made out the female gender to be the superior one, but that's the conclusion she had come to from it.
Harry sat there quietly for a moment, staring at his feet. Finally he sighed. "I guess… that makes sense. Though it seems a bit unfair."
"It's not fair or unfair. It is just as it is." Rhyann stated and felt him starting to draw in on himself. She reached out and put her hand over one of his. "I can still teach you to do things. You are very talented… for a male."
Staring first at her hand and then glancing up to see her smile, he let out a little snort. "For a male!" He relaxed a bit more and leaned back against the bench, not daring to move his hand that was covered by her smaller one. "Can you teach me to block other people from trying to control my dreams?"
"I can try." She had no intention of doing so. "Though right now, I still want to go to Japan. If you please." She removed her barriers around his dream and let him have control again.