Dear readers!

Thanks a lot for your reviews! All your comments are greatly appreciated! It's my first fic in this fandom, and I feel as if I were moving in complete darkness, groping my way. Moreover, English is not my first language - I suppose you have already deduced this. ;)

And I'd like to reply to LadyRavena's remark about the details. You see, this episode will be rather short… As a matter of fact it is a prologue to the series I have in mind, so I don't plan to incorporate all the explanations and facts into this story, though the basic description will follow in Chapter 3.

And now on with the narration…Oh, and I hope you won't be surprised at the change of the style. ;)

Note: I am truly sorry for using so many signs to indicate different aspects of perception, but I am forced to add more of them. Bold is for the dream-reality, which is being created by the Dark Lord. /Italic between two slashes/ means Snape's private thoughts and reactions to Voldemort's 'counter-charms' during the duel.

xxx

It never ceased to amaze him how a dream-reality felt. So vivid, so responsive… so hard to predict. Well, the latter was not the case at the moment – trust the Dark Lord to choose the most sensitive spot…

Snape let himself dissolve and disappear – no name, just a fleeting feeling; no person, just a spark of will; no personality, just a principle, influencing this Universe.

/A duel on fairy-tales? Accepted./

xxx

Once upon a time in a dark, gloomy city there lived a small and very lonely boy named Harry. His parents had been killed by unknown monsters when he was still a toddler, therefore the City Council considered it the best to pass him over to his mother's relatives, who, of course, were not particularly happy with such a nuisance as a nasty and silly boy.

However Harry was neither nasty, nor silly. On the contrary, he was a nice child... /Uhm… more or less… Yes, a nice child. Don't jump, Potter, look in a mirror! You see?../ But very few people got close enough to notice it. And that was also a reason why nobody had noticed how and when he learned... to draw. And so, by the way, the city did not look so gloomy to Harry. In the morning the bright sun gilded tower spikes and metal fencings, scattered cheerful spots of light through stained-glass windows and warmed up old stones, which could tell many fascinating stories; and at night bright stars exchanged playful winks with lanterns...

Harry enjoyed wandering the streets with his album…

…but he was very lonely, nevertheless, because nobody loved the boy, and he had no friend…

…except for a small black kitten that lived in the attic. /No! Nobody offended that creature. And nobody hit it, either / The kitten's name was Coal; it followed Harry everywhere and slept by his side.

Meanwhile, the relatives were getting really tired of the boy, so they looked for any possible way to get rid of him. And as it was especially dangerous in the city at night, they used any pretext to send Harry out of the house into darkness...

But Harry always carried a small lantern. And he was not afraid of darkness because Coal always accompanied him.

One day (one evening, to be precise) the boy was sent to a workshop, situated very far from home, to collect his uncle's watch. The streets were dark and daunting - they seemed to be like a multi-headed monster's gullets, ready to swallow Harry.

However the boy and his kitten loved the old city and were not afraid to lose their way.

Suddenly Harry realized they had come to an absolutely unfamiliar place. Certainly, he felt…

…slightly ill at ease, but at the same time the boy got curious – everything looked strange and unusual. Moreover, soon he found out that he wasn't touching the ground, as if walking up some invisible hill, higher and higher on.

From the height the city seemed still gloomier and less friendly than usual.

But just above Harry's head – as if within the reach! – there was a velvet curtain of the night sky, embroidered with silver stars, shining warmly.

Harry could not see the path he was treading, and all of a sudden he felt about to fall down…

… but Coal mewed vigorously and ran forward, his fluffy tail high and proud.

# Harry couldn't help smiling and ran after his kitten. #

/Good for you, Potter. High time to cooperate./

They went deeper and deeper into darkness…

…until the invisible road brought them to a star.

#"It's impossible," Harry thought, at a loss. "Stars are planets… And in the space there is no air, only vacuum, and now I'll suffocate!.." #

But nothing terrible happened, he breathed easily and freely, and in front of him a big sphere rocked, shining gently. Having hesitated for a minute, the boy stepped onto a blue surface and immediately heard a soft silvery voice, "Welcome, Harry! I have been waiting for you."

#" Who are you?" Harry asked.#

"I am a Star. No, not a planet, just a Star. In the days of yore everyone had his or her Star, but then people ceased to believe that we exist, they confused us with those stars, which are there in the space... Do you want me to be your Star, Harry?"

#"Impossible," Harry thought. "A Star – for me?.. Impossible…"#

"I hear what you think. If I had not been your Star, you would not have found the road here. Look, Coal also knows that I am yours," the Star laughed quietly because the kitten was purring contentedly.

#Harry laughed, too, and bent down to pat Coal with one hand and the Star with the other.#

"Now you should return home, Harry, it's your bed-time. But if you ever feel blue or lonely, just glance up and you'll see me. I'll always be here for you."

#"Thank you!" Harry breathed out, though no word of thanks seemed able to express his gratitude. "Thank you!"

"You are welcome. Good night!"

The Star sent a blue light beam to the ground far beneath them; the beam solidified, and Harry slid down, as if from the ice hill. When the boy looked around, he saw the watch workshop just in front of him.

#Harry came in, took the watch from the master and ran home. #

And the Star floated above his head, accompanying the boy to the very wicket-gate.

BUT when Harry tried to open the house door, he found it locked. And no one opened, although he knocked, and knocked, and knocked.

Harry had no time to get really frightened or upset because Coal touched his knee with its paw and mewed, reminding him that the boy was not alone.

#"Well, I always wished to leave them," Harry thought. "And now I will!" He put the watch on a porch, placed Coal inside his jacket and started out.#

He wandered and wandered until he found himself in a kingdom, where all people were unfriendly and moody. And they definitely didn't like strangers.

/Fine. Let's get to the core./ Nevertheless, Harry managed to talk with a passer-by, who explained that spiteful tswergs, which are related to trolls remotely, had stolen a magic Tapestry of Dreams, that's why the people there could have nightmares only; no wonder, they were in low spirits. And the Star whispered to Harry, "You can help this people, if you wish."

#"How?" the boy asked eagerly.#

"You will draw good dreams, and I'll make them alive."

#Harry agreed with no doubt. He trusted his Star's words completely.#

The boy was directed to the king's palace. The king was wise enough not to throw a chance away with his own hands, so he showed to Harry, where the wondrous Tapestry had hung before.

#"I'll try to find it," Harry promised. "But now I'll try to create a Painting of Dreams for you."

The young painter mixed the inks, the Star added a drop of its light to them, and Harry began to draw on a wall. In three days he called the king.

"Where are dreams?" the king asked impatiently. "The canvas is as black as a moonless and starless night. "

"Let's wait till twilight, your majesty," Harry answered.

The king agreed, and as soon as it started to darken, thin silvery lines appeared on the canvas; the blackness gradually gave way to bright yet tender colors, and then dreams started to descend from the canvas and to take off for a window... Harry and the king waited all the night long, and by the morning the dreams came back and merged with the canvas again. The king called for his Minister and asked, whether he has dreams that night. And the Minister joyfully confirmed he had the most wonderful dream in his life. The king laughed with pleasure and asked Harry what reward the boy would like to get.

#Harry replied that no reward was necessary. "Besides, I am still to find the Tapestry."#

/Potter-r-r-rh!.../ "You shouldn't go to the tswergs'," the king frowned. "It's dangerous; they are worse than trolls."

#"But I promised you I would try," Harry objected. "How can I find the tswergs?"

/Stupid child…/ "If your decision is firm, you 'll be shown to the wool ball workshop, where they will give you a wool ball that will lead you to your destination."

The owner of the workshop also tried to persuade Harry not to go to the tswergs'.

#But the boy was adamant.#

Eventually the owner sighed and gave a ball of silky black threads to Harry.

#Saying goodbye, Harry couldn't restrain his curiosity and asked, "What about all those magic wool balls in fairy-tales? Are they from your workshop?"#

"Not all of them, but for the most part they are," the owner confirmed. "To make such a thread is not easy, true masters are few."

#Harry thanked the owner, thrown the ball onto the ground and followed its lead.#

By the evening he came to a huge black rock. The ball hit the rock and vanished, and Harry saw pale contours of a gate appear on the wrinkled stone surface. He knocked twice, and the gate opened, screaking.

Harry found himself in a dark and seemingly endless tunnel.

He pressed Coal closer to his chest and moved forward carefully. It was a very long tunnel, indeed, but finally the boy reached a big empty hall, lit dimly with torches. And the first thing Harry saw on the wall just opposite the entrance was a marvelous tapestry, colourful and shining like a summer dewed meadow.

#Fascinated, Harry stepped closer to it... #

…and all of a sudden the hall shook with roaring laughter.

#Harry jumped and turned around.#

The hall was full of tswergs, big and ugly. One of them grabbed a torch and set the tapestry on fire.

"Here you are, Harry," the biggest tswerg, probably a leader, rasped triumphantly. "We knew, one of you will come for the Tapestry."

#"One of us?.." Harry repeated involuntarily.#

"One of those, who speaks with these disgusting Stars," the tswerg snorted. "There are few of you, but enough to disturb us and the likes of us. But now the people will not have good dreams, and we have caught you. That's great!"

"You are wrong," Harry objected, "the people will have nice dreams, I have created the Painting, and now, after you have burned the Tapestry, all the dreams will come to dwell in the Painting, and they will be even richer and brighter, because the Painting will inherit the magic of the Tapestry."

The tswergs didn't like the idea and burst in angry cries, but their leader gestured for them to be silent and looked at Harry maliciously, "So be it, but we'll steal the Painting, too."

#"You won't," Harry said, relieved. "It is painted on a wall."

"Well," the tswerg roared, "in any case you will certainly not leave our dungeons – ever!"

They clutched Harry and dragged him to the deepest vault, where no light could be seen.

However the tswergs hadn't caught Coal, and the kitten managed to make his way to the boy. /No, no chains… Just a vault… Quite dry and not too cold… And no tools, just plain walls.../ Meanwhile… meanwhile the Star called to its kin – for help, and in several days a duo came to the kingdom, where the Tapestry had been stolen. The newcomers were a boy and a girl. They found out, where the workshop of the magic wool balls was situated and went straight there. Of course, the owner tried to persuade them not to go, but all his words were in vain. So the boy and the girl received a leading ball and a lot of sighs in addition.

The gate swung open before them, and soon they were in the same hall, where Harry had been captured.

The tswergs surrounded them instantly…

…but the leader barely had time to finish his speech as the girl inquired, "Are you sure you have taken everything in consideration, when planning this operation?"

The tswerg frowned and hissed menacingly, "If you mean, whether I have considered too talkative counted captives, you will get a chance to tell everything you want in the dungeons."

"Great," the boy nodded enthusiastically. "That's the place we really have to see."

The tswergs were somewhat puzzled, but the leader has bellowed an order, and the duo was taken downwards.

#Harry was very much upset, after he had seen the new captives; he felt immediately that they had the Stars, too, and that meant they had got there because of him! #

"Hallo, Harry," the girl greeted him at once. "My name is Hermione, and this is Ron." Before anyone had time to utter a word, she turned to the leader of the tswergs and said, "If you were more interested in books and less in your stupid games, you would know that it is impossible, to keep even two people, who have a Star, against their will, if they weave the Stars' beams together. And we are three, not just two!" Hermione and Ron seized Harry's hands and grasped each other's palms, completing a circle. Right away three bluish rays of light shot upwards from each pair of clasped hands. The rays interweaved above their heads, creating one powerful beam, which penetrated the ceiling and rushed to the sky. Before the tswergs understood, what was transpiring in the dungeon, the three ex-captives glided up – to where their three Stars floated, almost touching their sides.

#"I also didn't know that was possible!" Harry breathed out, still not quite himself after that unexpected rescue.#

"Well, neither did we," Ron admitted, smiling sheepishly. "But Hermione though that if it was feasible at all, then it had to be done in that way."

#"Thanks you!" Harry whispered.#

"You are welcome," Hermione replied, beaming. "And now let's go home and have some tea."

And the foursome, Coal included, went… well, at first they went home... to drink tea... with fruitcakes and chocolate frogs... And then… then there were many adventures, waiting ahead. And they lived long... and happily… ever after. Long and happily, I say!..