Something to Ponder

By Saxifrage

Chapter Three: Wake Up

Disclaimed:(Sorry I haven't gotten one of these up before) Harry Potter is not mine! As always, I wish he was!

A/N:I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long while! But here's the chapter, all written and posted. Now, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far!

Anoron: Thanks for all your compliments! Always good to know that what I'm writing works for the audience. As for that door… it's to come in a later chapter. And I couldn't have an invisible girl without spunk, could I?

Selenes Song: Thanks for the loofa! They're always appreciated! And just because you have the "privalage" to read it before most everyone else, doesn't mean you can brag! Not that there's anything really to brag about… Thanks for reviewing!

Demon Dea: I'm glad you're enjoying this so far! I hope to keep you amused and interested.

Thanks guys! You get loofas for your efforts! I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter!

Aaralyn walked along the hallway, ignoring the captivating do-dads around her. She stepped into the next room and stepped over limp bodies while she walked down the stone stairs. There was a large arc in the middle of the room, and a black veil fluttered around it in an invisible wind.

Suddenly a big black dog jumped in front of her with a soft bark. He wagged his tail once, and licked her hand as she stretched it out to scratch the dog's head. "Hello, Padfoot," Aaralyn whispered, and followed him down the rest of the stairs. As soon as Padfoot noticed that she was standing next to him in front of the arc, he gave her a look of farewell and bounded through in a seemingly mournful way.

A single tear slid down her face as the dog disappeared, and when she wiped it away, a tall man suddenly appeared behind her. She turned and looked into his clear blue eyes and gave soft smile of dim recollection as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Then, he too stepped through the veil.

The previously still bodies around her stirred, and the corpses stood up and faced the doorway. Aaralyn, too, looked up and a horrible feeling of foreboding took place in heart. The corpses bowed as a white hand immerged from the deep shadows, and a shrill voice reached her ears.

"Welcome, child. I'm glad to have finally met you. I've been looking for you for a long time." It hissed at her. "It's time to wake up from your dream, and face the truth. I will meet you at the end of it all." Unknowingly, Aaralyn shuddered at the creature's voice. "Wake up…"

Aaralyn jerked awake and a scream left her throat before she could stop it. Cold sweat dripped from her face and she shuddered. Aaralyn looked around at the still dark room, and wondered why no one had woken from the scream.

Then Aaralyn thought back to her nightmare, still sharply written in her mind, like an actual event. It was very strange; she felt like she knew everyone in the dream, and no one at all, and the emotions from the dream remained, including a horrible feeling that she had been found and would be hunted down like a fox being hunted by hounds.

Something was coming.

Thirty minutes later, Aaralyn was dressed and down in the Great Hall eating an extremely early breakfast. By her watch, it was about five-forty-five. She wasn't really hungry, but she wanted to do something to get her mind off her dreams, the good one, and the bad one. They had both presented her with unnerving feelings.

Suddenly a heavy bag landed next to her. She looked up to its owner and met Ron's eyes. He smiled at her encouragingly, but she remained silent. He sat down with a shrug and said "Good morning," Aaralyn blinked.

"You're Aaralyn, right? The girl Hermione introduced to me and Harry last night?" Ron asked as he roughly shoved bacon, eggs, sausage, and anything else he could grab onto his plate.

"Um, yeah," Aaralyn frowned. The dream was real? "You remember that?"

"Umm, hmmm." Ron answered with a full mouth. He swallowed. "Why'd you miss dinner anyways?"

"Uh, just, you know, stuff." Aaralyn stuttered. "It's not like anyone noticed anyways." She muttered quietly. If that "dream" was real, what about her nightmare?

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, confused. "Weren't your friends worried?"

She just shrugged, not wanting to confide something so dearly in someone she just met. She had done that with Padfoot, and he had abandoned her, hadn't he?

Ron stared at her, as if he was reading her morbid thoughts through her cheerful eyes. Quickly, Aaralyn changed the subject. "Why are you up so early? You don't seem like a morning person."

Ron shook his head. "Normally I'm not, but today's different."

Realization dawned on Aaralyn. "They're going to announce Quidditch Team Captains, aren't they?" she asked slyly. Ron's ears went pink, and he nodded, flabbergasted. Aaralyn suppressed a delighted giggle. "Did you want to be Captain?" Once again, he nodded. "Well, if you're as good as I've heard, then you will be." She smiled at Ron.

"You really think so?" Ron asked, awed by the sincerity in her voice. "What have you heard that's so great about me?"

"That you're even better than that Wood guy we had as keeper before." Aaralyn said. She didn't really ever go to Quidditch games (who did she have to go with?), but Quidditch was the guy's number one gossip topic, and she over heard a lot of gossip. Ron beamed at her comment.

Then his face fell. "I'm sure everyone would rather have Harry as Captain. Him being the hero and all."

Aaralyn scowled, suddenly moody. "Why should he get all the glory because of something that happened that he couldn't control? He's not a hero, he's just lucky. Talent should come first in sports, not celebrities."

"But Harry's an awesome Seeker!" Ron exclaimed, halfway caught between defending his best mate, and agreeing with her.

"Whatever," Aaralyn muttered. "I guess I wouldn't know since I haven't been to a game in ages." She shrugged, trying to lighten her mood, and cleared her throat. "Anyways, do you think they've posted the Captains yet?" She looked at her watch again; it was almost six, now.

"Yeah, maybe," Ron said excitedly. "Wanna come with me and check?"

Aaralyn blinked, and a slow smiled crawled onto her face. "Of course!" she squealed. Ron shoveled the rest of his food into his mouth and grabbed her wrist. Once more, Aaralyn found herself being pulled along by her arm, an act she found she could get used too.

They ran to the Transfiguration class room and almost bumped into Professor McGonagall. "Er, hi." Ron said pathetically. "Are the Captain positions posted yet?"

McGonagall pressed her lips into a thin line. "Mr. Weasley, no running in the halls. I will post the results in five minutes time. Can I expect you to behave yourself until then?" She asked harshly.

"We're sorry, Professor." Aaralyn said. "Ron and I were just really anxious to see who would be leading the Gryffindor team this year. We didn't mean to run into you."

At Aaralyn's words, McGonagall softened and she spoke as if she was talking to an eight year old girl. "Are you a first year, dear? What's your name?" Aaralyn had to stop herself from growling at the teacher; it was quite a difficult task.

"Sixth year." She said. "My name is Aaralyn Fox."

McGonagall blinked in surprise. She paused. "Oh," McGonagall said, and walked quickly into her office as if to hide her embarrassment. Ron remained quiet as if he was trying to figure something out.

A few minutes later, she rejoined them in the hallway with a sheet of parchment in her hand. "Here it is." She told them as she muttered a spell to stick it to her door.

Ron didn't waste another second and jumped to the door as McGonagall moved out of the way. Aaralyn could hear him murmuring, "Slytherin, damn, it's Malfoy… Ravenclaw, I don't know who that is… Hufflepuff, who cares," as he slowly ran his finger down the page. When he finally got to "Gryffindor," his ears went bright red. Ron straitened his back and squared his shoulders and turned to her with a bright smile. "Me," he whispered.

"No surprise," Aaralyn shot back, and was rewarded with a charming smile.

"I'm going to go tell everyone! I'll see you later!" Ron yelled and ran away. For a minute, Aaralyn watched him go. She could barely believe that so many good things were happening to her. And Ron had chosen to share this special moment with her. Before she could stop herself, Aaralyn had jumped up and down a bit before merrily skipping off, complete unmasking her happy mood to the world.

Friday's first class of the day, History of Magic, went by as usual; Aaralyn used the time to catch up on her sleep as did everyone else (Except Hermione who was as completely devoted to her notes as the rest of the class was devoted to snoring). The only thing strange that happened was at the beginning of class. Aaralyn hadn't been noticed by her new friends because she had sat in the back thanks to an old habit, but instead of rushing past her name as he usually did, Professor Binns paused as if studying it and then quickly finished the rest of the list.

Her next class was Divination, to which she had to run to get there on time. Despite Trelawney's attitude towards the subject, Aaralyn actually enjoyed it. Well, she could ease up on the fumes a whole bunch, drop all the performance crap she does, and maybe actually stick to the things that work, Aaralyn thought, but other than that, it's pretty cool.

Over the years, Aaralyn had started to get extra Divination books that were accurate and compare them to what Trelawney said, and soon Aaralyn had learned how to detect truth from superstition and down right fibs. She also knew that it didn't take talent to use divination's most commonly used skills, just luck.

When Aaralyn opened the trap door to the room, she was the first one there, as always. She walked to the back of the room once more and cheerfully sat at a round table with some plushy chairs surrounding it. Aaralyn sank into her favorite seat and took out her wand to perform an air clearing spell. Immediately, the fumes disappeared and she was breathing in pure air with grateful sighs.

Five minutes later, more people oozed into the room, some as cheerful as Aaralyn was that day, others practically dragging their bodies on the floor. Harry and Ron, the last to arrive, were some of the less enthused students. But when they started for Aaralyn's own table with wide smiles on their faces, Aaralyn was once more surprised. Even after learning that it wasn't a dream, she could barely get over the giddy feeling.

"Hey," Ron said and chose the chair on her right. Harry slumped into the seat on Ron's left.

"I don't think it's fair to make us sit through History and then make us go to Divination, too." Harry complained to Ron, only glancing slightly at Aaralyn.

Ron sniffed. "Is it just me, or is it easier to breathe over here?" questioned Ron.

"I did a spell," Aaralyn said simply. "The fumes give me headaches."

Before the boys could respond, Trelawney emerged from the shadows. "Welcome," greeted the Seer in a misty voice. "Today I thought it'd be wise if we all started to record dream journals. Also, my crystal ball has informed me that we should start studying tarot cards as it will be a main subject on your finals."

Ron interrupted her with a yawn. "Maybe we can use sleeping in class as an excuse for research on dreams." He told Harry and Aaralyn, not even bothering to keep his voice low. Harry snickered while Aaralyn just smiled and shook her head, trying to contain her happiness.

Trelawney shot them a glare before continuing. "I would like one of you from each table to come up here and retrieve a deck of cards. Pick the one that you feel you are drawn to the most. Today I only have the basic beginner decks, but later you might be able to perform accurately with other decks which are much more complicated." Trelawney beamed at her students as if this as a grand prize to win.

She dismissed them to collect their decks, and Aaralyn was forced by Harry and Ron's lack of movement to get their deck. Aaralyn looked the cards over before choosing the Universal Waite Tarot deck and sat back down at her table.

"Turn to chapter ten to read about how to read the tarot cards, and how to perform a reading. After class, pick up a journal, and the homework will be to record at least one dream this week. You may begin."

Immediately, a low buzz entered the room as every student began to talk. Aaralyn quickly scanned through how to read tarot cards and began practicing on Ron. Mostly, the two boys just ignored her and Aaralyn wondered if it was because they were once more oblivious to her, or because they were wrapped up in their own world, one completely made up of Quidditch.

Ron went first; he divided the cards lazily, not even looking, and leaned back against his chair. The first card she turned over was the "Two of Wands", next was the "Emperor", and third was the "Three of Wands". Combining all the possible meanings together, Aaralyn believed that they were referring to Ron becoming the Team Captain.

"It says," Aaralyn started quietly, and Ron looked up at her, stopping his conversation. "That you are daring to do what you want in taking up authority and leadership." Ron smiled triumphantly at Harry.

"Ha!" He yelled, making the two girls at the next table to jump. "Did I tell you I made Team Captain?"

"Yeah," Harry smiled and rolled his eyes, "A 'few' times. But when did divination begin to get accurate on recent occasions instead of only rarely?"

"Just luck," Aaralyn said truthfully, shrugged and moved on to Harry's reading.

He, unlike Ron, concentrated on something extremely purposeful in his life while he divided the deck. Then Harry absently wondered why Ron wasn't ever serious or very… conscious of his surroundings. Maybe if Ron was, he would have realized that Harry was still mourning and would perhaps tread a little more carefully around the subject of his remorse. He shook his head of his thoughts and turned back to Ron to continue their conversation.

Aaralyn turned over Harry's three cards and looked at them. It was the Star, the Wheel of Fortune, and Death. She gasped, and caught the attention of the two boys who had been talking around her.

Unfortunately, her gasp was not unheard by their Divination teacher. Trelawney glided over to them and, after giving Aaralyn a look over and a frown, scanned the cards.

"Ack!" She screeched and backed up. "My dear, whose fortune is this? The Death Card, oh my! It is never a good Omen!"

"Mine," Harry said glaring at the teacher in front of him.

'Oh great! Another death prediction.' Thought Aaralyn, shaking her head in disgust. Didn't her teacher ever read the books?

"Now, more than ever are you in danger! Death is at your doorstep!" Trelawney cried, clutching her throat as if to emphasize death… like she'd ever do that, Aaralyn thought sourly.

Before Aaralyn knew she had a newfound temper, she was responding hotly. "Since when does the Death Card mean death?" She heard two snickers from the front; obviously from the teacher's pets.

"Have you read the Card's name, my dear?" Trelawney asked bitterly, snikering slightly herself.

"Yes, but the question is: Have you read the Card's definition?" Aaralyn asked in the same tone. At Trelaway's lack of answer, she turned to a certain page and continued, "It says here: 'Ending, Transition, Elimination, and Inexorable Forces.' It says nothing about actual death in the Description. Oh, and in the intro to the chapter," she turned to the introduction of the chapter and pointed to a certain paragraph. "It says that the Death Card is misunderstood and rarely refers to death; it mostly points to concluding unfinished business, changing status, cutting out what isn't necessary, and being in the path of sweeping change." As the bell rang and she was gathering up her things, Aaralyn added: "Maybe you should actually read the books and chapters you assign." And she left the room.

On purpose, Aaralyn was ignoring the two boys running after her. She didn't want to include possible friends in her thoughts at the time being.

Why had she acted that way? She had just blurted her angry thoughts out loud! To a teacher! Had she changed overnight? She had never done anything so rash and rude when no one noticed her. She had acted like a Slytherin would!

So was Aaralyn's reaction on the inside, but on the outside, an impossibly hideous smirk had replaced her beautiful smile. It took a full five minutes before she was in control and worry really started to become panic. She had just insulted a teacher out loud and compared herself to a Slytherin.

Aaralyn ran away to her Common Room with tears of confusion in her eyes. She did not notice a pair of silver-grey eyes watching her. The slight boy slipped his wand back into his pocket and turned around, almost bumping into the seventh year behind him. "You slipped her that emotional potion then?" He asked in a low voice, also watching the young girl run away.

The other boy nodded and once more turned to Aaralyn's retreating figure. "It was hard to do it, especially with the orders fresh from late last night, but I got her early this morning before the Weasel showed up."

"Good job," The seventh year nodded. "And what was that I saw you pull on her just now?

"Imaginous," He laughed softly. "She won't feel the effects for a day or two with the way I preformed it, but when she does…" He laughed harshly again. "I'm going to enjoy torturing that girl…" The boy trailed off with a disgusting form of lust in his eyes. The seventh year offered the younger boy a quick and ruthless chuckle before responding.

"Prettiest Mudblood I've seen in a while; she might even give a good go on her back, don't you think? I'd like to use her like a tissue…"

"Really?" asked the younger boy, amused and slightly disgusted. "I never would have thought you'd lower yourself to that level, touching something like that bitch."

"Waste not. Shouldn't everything be used at least once before thrown away?" The seventh year replied evilly.

It was the younger boy's turn to laugh. He clapped his companion on the shoulder before the seventh year left as quietly as he had come.

Down the hall, Aaralyn was still scurrying away, massaging her temples, and muttering words that were so soft that they didn't ever reach her own ears. "Wake up…"

A/n: Thanks for reading! Please review! All review types are welcome, just please tell me what you liked and didn't like! If it's not up to your standards, I'd like to improve!

XOXO Saxifrage

PS: I'll give you a loofa if you review!