Posted: 4-5-06

In Your Dreams
Chapter Five: Trials and Potion Schemes

"Get up, Harry! The next meal you miss won't be because I forgot to wake you – Hermione would chew me out big time!" The hanging curtains around his bed were ripped open, letting in light to jar him out of his sleep. Harry groaned and flipped over to his other side with his eyes still closed, back now to the window. He didn't want to get up, much less go eat food and go to classes; he'd just had a dream of the battle with Voldemort in the Ministry and Sirius falling –

"– Up." Harry's eyes opened at the demanding yet entirely whiney tone of Ron's voice. His freckled face was looming in front of his with a worried expression. Wordlessly, Harry sat up and waved him off, indicating he was up. After Ron left to go wait with Hermione, Harry pushed his glasses roughly onto his face and mechanically pulled on his clothes, refusing to think of the dream. He'd had several over the summer, so it was nothing new.

Harry joined his two friends at the bottom of the stairs to the dormitory, both of whom were quieted when he appeared. They'd both figured out he was having nightmares over the summer, and had tried to confront him. He'd simply explained they were nightmares of the Department of Mysteries, and they left it alone, eventually just getting used to his momentary withdrawal after a dream. He refused to mention the prophesy to them, because it would only cause them to worry more.

Hermione gave him a bright smile and held out a rolled parchment to him, which he took, giving her a questioning look.

"It's the sign up sheet for the Quidditch trials tomorrow." She explained as they headed down to the Great Hall. "Today's Friday, Harry."

Friday. He'd almost forgotten he'd planned the trials to take place that weekend. He needed to speak with the other Quidditch captains also, to plan a practice schedule and games, according to McGonagall. Their official meeting was planned for the next week, after all the trials took place.

Taking a seat near the middle of the table, the trio started in on the newly-appeared toast and porridge. Harry ate automatically, focused intently on the bowl in front of him so he wouldn't start dwelling on that morning's dream. Ron and Hermione bantered back and forth for his sake before falling quiet.

A dark crystal had appeared next to his bowl, minute and harmless-looking except for the dark black wisps of smoke coming off its surface, to form a dissipating two-inch length column off the top. Hermione gasped, breaking into his thoughts of maybe touching it, just to see if it was real, if the smoke was –

"Don't touch it, Harry," Hermione said, alarmed. He made to give her a look before noticing his hand was poised over the table, close to the crystal, as if following his thoughts.

"Hermione, do you really think Voldemort would just send something like this to kill me, in Hogwarts, in plain sight of Dumbledore?" he asked. Not looking at the crystal, his thoughts were cleared and he knew he wouldn't touch it without knowing what or where it came from, but he knew it was not from Voldemort. Then again, if Voldemort had done something like this, sending a gift to Avada Kedavra him the instant he touched it; it's not as if Dumbledore could have done much sitting at the Head Table. The dead can't be revived.

Poof! Harry looked back down to the crystal at the sound and saw Ron touching it – or at least, his hand was there, touching the letter in its place, a rather dumb look on his face as he stared at it.

"Ron! I can't believe you!" Hermione forced out in shock, Harry privately congratulating her for not shrieking in anger, which she was barely containing.

"I.. erm… oops?" was all he had to offer in defense.

"Oh, give it here." Harry took the letter from under his hand and unfolded it, quickly scanning the message inside.

"It's from Professor Raenyr," Harry said, causing the other two sitting with him to sigh in relief. "He wants me to meet him in his office tonight about extra lessons."

"Hah, so it's alright!" Ron shakily grinned, waving his toast around.

"Actually, he says I was right not to touch it, and you'd probably be dead." Harry frowned at Ron.

"Oh.. well.." Ron trailed off, looking slightly ill, and set down his food. "Right then." Hermione shook her head while Harry turned to look up at the Head Table. Professor Raenyr wasn't at the table; only Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Vector and Sinistra.

'He's probably getting ready for Defense class.' Harry thought as he followed Hermione and Ron to that very classroom.

They were relatively early, but a few Slytherins were also sitting around, waiting for class to start. Harry sank down into a desk, watching the door to the Defense office open, and Professor Raenyr glide out, dressed in his usual dark robe and hood. His eyes were lowered to the floor and he made it to his desk before showing any indication of knowing there were students in the room. He nodded to Harry as he waited for everyone to find their seats.

"Today we will be discussing dueling," Raenyr announced once everyone had settled. "I understand there was a dueling club your second year. Care to tell me what the etiquette is?"

Harry didn't really need a reminder of the dueling club from second year, when everyone had found out he could speak Parseltongue and thought he was Slytherin's heir. Well, he'd also used the knowledge in the duel with Voldemort fourth year – Harry's hand rose along with Hermione's ever-alert hand.

"Granger?"

"Dueling etiquette requires the opponents to bow to each other in respect, and on a count of three, cast spells at one another." She answered dutifully.

"Five points to Gryffindor." Professor Raenyr seemed to pause, thinking carefully of his next question. "Have any of you dueled?" Almost every hand rose, the students giving each other is-he-really-asking-us-this looks.

"– Outside of the club."

All of the hands lowered except Harry's, his stomach getting a funny upside-down feeling as he wondered where Raenyr would be going with this.

"Indeed," Raenyr's eyes caught his. "Harry Potter, what duel?"

Hermione was watching Harry with worried eyes, alternately studying him and Raenyr as he answered, "Fourth year, against Voldemort." Gasps, as usual, went around the room. The Slytherins were paying closer attention to what was being said now, and some looking affronted at hearing the Dark Lord's name spoken aloud.

Harry was seeing a repeat of the duel in the graveyard in his mind, the surrounding Death Eaters laughing as Voldemort forced him to bow.

"Voldemort." Raenyr repeated, standing in front of Harry's desk with his hands clasped behind his back. "His followers were there, I assume?" The question came - he should have known there would be further questioning.

"Yes," Harry answered in one word, looking towards the Slytherins, thinking 'their parents.'

"Again I will assume they tried to interfere, or at least some of them did and he refused to let them. Another part of etiquette – no interferences. You may have a Second, one to replace you, should you not be able to continue for any reason, but no one else may step in." Raenyr addressed to the class. "Voldemort is rather big on proper appearances."

The gasps a few students let out at the name didn't go entirely unnoticed by Harry, but he was intently watching the professor, vaguely wondering if he was really assuming all of these facts, or if it weren't something more.

"His followers, however, will pay little mind to niceties. They can curse you during the during the bow, during the count – at any moment during the duel, and it's fair to assume they will not relent, they won't play by the rules, and they pay no mind to what curse they're throwing at you; they want you down and out of the fight." The professor explained; slowly, walking back and forth in front of the class, glancing at one or two students as he did so.

The class continued on like this, the professor telling them certain dueling rules and piecing it with how they were followed or broken in real duels from history until it Defense was over and they had to pack up.

"Next time we will be discussing useful spells." Raenyr called over the din. Harry nodded to him while heading out, thinking perhaps he'd been right; Defense would teach him valuable things.

.:.DM.:.

In Potions class, Professor Snape wasted no time in giving them a long lecture about a sleeping potion, called the Verbena Potion.

Draco's extracurricular research in the library was now completely focused on his dreams, utilizing potions as cures in particular. It seemed to be the right course – already, he had found a rather lengthy section on dreams and sleep in a book, Most Potente Potions. He suspected, after skimming its pages, the massive book should be in the Restricted Section because of the nature of some of the advanced potions it gave instructions to make. The tome was familiar in the sense that he was sure he'd seen a copy in the family library at the manor. At any rate, he planned taking a closer look at the text after classes.

But perhaps he would not have to search much longer.

According to Snape, the Verbena Potion was almost identical to Dreamless Draught, though weaker, and in that effect, not as addictive – the reason for Draco's resistance in using the draught in the first place. The Verbena aided its drinker in sleep, then blocked possible nightmares or dreams. Draco promised himself to devote a bit of research to this Verbena Potion before the next potions class when they'd brew it; if it was what he was looking for, he'd have to manage a way to take some of it.

"Miss Li, please desist your poor attempt at imperceptibility; whatever you wish to say to Deling can wait until after class." Professor Snape reprimanded one of the Ravenclaws, stopping his slow pacing in front of Draco. Draco easily looked up at his Head of House as if he hadn't just been trying to determine a way to steal a vial or two of the dreamless potion – he'd managed to keep up with his notes during the scheming so it wasn't overly difficult. As he looked up, he caught a glimpse of Potter's – 'Yes, Potter not Harry,' he thought – or at least what he thought were Potter's notes. The parchment in front of the boy next to him contained a few bullet notes of Snape's key points on ingredients, but missed the majority of Snape's lecture in favor of an ink blotch created by the idle tapping of his quill tip, with a rather vacant expression on his face. 'Merlin,' Draco thought, writing out a small note when Snape continued pacing, and pushing it to Potter under the table – doing a better job at not being noticed than the Ravenclaw girl on the other side of the room.

Potter glanced down, feeling him push the paper into his hand on the bench. Opening the crinkled folds to read, he gave Draco a bewildered look and shrugged his shoulders slightly, still tapping his quill.

Draco moved his eyes quickly back to Professor Snape, burning with indignation that he'd wasted the ink to bother asking if Potter even knew how to take notes. If Granger was good for anything, she could at least teach Potter how to take proper notes.

The rest of the lecture went smoothly and, while packing away his things, Draco noticed much more writing on Potter's parchment (even if he was studiously not looking at Potter), bringing a smirk to his lips. He'd listened after all.

Giving wide birth to Blaise and Pansy's worktable, he wove his way over to Granger and Millicent. He waited patiently for a minute before looking directly at the Gryffindor girl who was still putting her things away, rather slowly, "Granger, do you mind? I think you have somewhere to be."

She flushed and finished packing at lightning speed, mumbled a goodbye to Millicent and rushed off. Checking that no one else was within earshot, he told Millie to go ahead to the Commons and dinner, since he was heading to the library.

"Are you really studying Defense then like Blaise says?" She asked, looking at him with narrowed eyes as she put her inkwell away safely inside her school bag.

"Yes, I'm studying Defense. I'm just telling you I'll be at the library so you can tell Blaise not to turn the Commons upside down trying to find me." Draco answered smoothly.

"And you couldn't tell him this yourself?"

Draco gave her an ill look, "Pansy's over there." It was a simple explanation, but all that was necessary. Waving Millie off, Draco made his way to the library and had Most Potente Potions out and flipped open to the dream section within minutes. The Verbena Potion was, Draco smirked, explained as well as Snape's lecture. He looked over the list of ingredients and instructions, trying to decide how to lift some of the brew next class. Since there was no alternate potion to make like Lady Tears Poison, Professor Snape would be walking around, checking cauldrons. Then there was the fact that he'd have Potter right there…

At that moment, a student breezed past him, turning a few of the pages in their haste. He turned his head to glare at the person responsible and his eyes narrowed at whom he saw it was: Granger, heading for the Restricted Section. All his time in the library, he'd never gone without seeing Granger there, half a dozen or so tables in front of his. He'd never gone close enough to her table to see what exactly she was researching, but he could hazard a guess at Shadow Shifters.

This though, was reason enough for concern on his part. While he never went near her table, she never ventured near his either. Suddenly, she was trying to eavesdrop on his conversations and coming within two feet of his table, probably trying to see what he was researching.

Scowling to himself, he looked back down to the text and his hand stayed in its poise to turn the pages back to his original place. The open page was introducing a section on Incante Apothecose. The name sounded familiar to Draco and after reading the intro, it clicked; similar to runic potions which required runology symbols, Incante Apothecose were ancient potions involving incantations used as a catalyst.

He perused through a few before finding an interesting one: The Partagé Rêves Potion's origins and incantation were French and the ingredients were easy enough to come by – Snape's personal storage but Draco could get in there effortlessly. Scanning the brief description, he scoffed and flipped back the pages. He wanted to rid himself of his dreams, not enter Potter's disturbed ones.

The next day found a rather large, eager group of Gryffindors down at the Quidditch pitch, all chattering about. Harry stood with Ron and Hermione at the pitch's entrance staring at the crowd. He'd had no idea there would be so many people wanting positions on the team.

"Harry, how are you going to organize this?" Hermione asked as they continued towards the crowd.

"One position at a time, I guess." Harry answered. Raising his voice, he addressed the group as Hermione got a seat and Ron joined the pack in front of him. "Alright, everyone. I'm assuming you're all here for Gryffindor's team trials. If not, please leave or sit in the stands! And I request that anyone not a member of Gryffindor, leave!" He waited as a few people broke away from the assembled students to go to the stands or the pitch entrance. When they were far enough away, he continued.

"Let's start off with Chasers, then."

After an initial lap around the pitch, he sent up each potential to throw five shots. Harry looked up in the stands where Hermione was busy keeping notes (even without him asking her to). Katie did really well on shots and passing. He knew she'd be on the team still, which left the other two positions. Dean Thomas also did well, but so did Ginny and Seamus. Harry grimaced inwardly, knowing he could only choose two of them.

Calling them over, he dismissed everyone but the four and started setting up the beater trials when the shouting started. Harry looked to the entrance of the pitch, thinking a fight had broken out between a few of the students he'd just dismissed; Two of the girls hadn't appeared all that complacent as he'd announced his decision, at any rate. Everyone had stopped to exclaim angrily over, as Harry found out, the new arrivals to the field: the Slytherins. What looked like half the House had shown up at the entrance.

"What are they doing here?" Harry heard Ron shout from where the group of potential keepers was in the crowd. "Stupid snakes – oi, Ferretface! Get out of here!"

Standing up at Ron's second yell, Harry spotted Malfoy's blond head at the front of the group, paused where they were. 'What's he doing here?' Harry saw that the group closest to Malfoy was composed of members on Slytherin team and all had broomsticks. Meeting Malfoy's steady gaze, Harry moved through the group of Gryffindors towards the Slytherins. Malfoy crossed the ground to meet him halfway; both Gryffindor's and Slytherin's other students stayed put, glaring at the opposing crowd.

"Malfoy, we're in the middle of trials," He said, waving his hand towards his housemates and the sky. "What are you doing here?" The blond nodded his acknowledgement.

"They are here wanting to interrupt your trials. I am here, because you are here." He paused, smirking at Harry's look of confusion, continuing before Harry could say a word. "I wanted to talk to you while you were here so I didn't have to look all over the bloody castle for you. The others didn't really want to pass up the opportunity to rag on Gryffindors by waiting outside the pitch for me."

Harry looked at him quizzically, knowing Malfoy could have ordered them to stay out and they would have. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Malfoy tilted back his head, "I'm supposed to tell you the captain meeting is set for Wednesday, after dinner. You don't have anything then, such as Remedial Potions, correct?" Draco pursed his lips after the jab; he'd almost said he'd hoped Potter was free then, but that would be suspicious.

"No, Malfoy. I'm not in Remedial Potions anymore, anyway." Harry rolled his eyes. "Where?"

"Fourth classroom, third floor."

"Alright, I'll be there," Harry looked over Malfoy's shoulder to the other Slytherins, who were now jeering at his housemates. "Could you get them out of here before something happens?"

"Did you just ask me to do something? I didn't hear a 'please,'" Malfoy said silkily, "Sure, Potter." He turned and started back towards his team. "We're waiting outside the pitch. We've also got trials today."

Harry waited until the Slytherins all turned to leave with Malfoy before turning back to his own trials. Another civil conversation with the blond Slytherin. Soon enough they'd be walking to classes or studying together.

Yeah, right.

The trials continued on for the beaters, finding two younger boys, Ritchie Cootes and Jimmy Peakes as new members. Keeper was again awarded to Ron, who was followed closely in his trials by a seventh year with five out of six saves. The last position for seeker showed no Gryffindors trying out, even when Harry suggested a backup replacement for him.

As for Dean, Ginny and Seamus, Harry conferred momentarily with Hermione and announced Dean and Ginny as Chasers, and Seamus as a replacement. Ginny agreed to play Seeker in the event something happened to Harry, so it all worked out in the end.

As the Gryffindors left the pitch, they all spotted the Slytherin group lounging to one side, some leaning against the outer wall, some sitting on the ground. Malfoy stood up from his position against the wall as the Gryffindors trickled out, nodding to Harry as he passed.

Ron and Hermione fell back from the front of the Gryffindors to walk with Harry to the school. Ron's face was filled with contemplation as he was lost in though. Several times he opened his mouth to say something, but abruptly snapped it shut to scrunch up his forehead further. Finally he spoke up once they reached the Grand Staircase in the Entrance Hall.

"Harry, what's going on with you and Malfoy? Wait – don't answer that. It's just the potion fumes getting to you, making you be all whatever with Malfoy…"

.:.HPDM.:.

After dinner that evening, at which Ron was still wondering about the potion fumes Harry supposedly inhaled no matter what Harry or Hermione said, Harry promptly reported to the Defense classroom where Professor Raenyr's office was. Knocking twice, Harry opened the door upon Raenyr's deep "Enter, Mr. Potter."

Harry stepped into the Defense office and shut the door behind him, looking around while doing so. Having been used to Umbridge's abhorrent pink swaths and kitten posters, Harry was slightly taken aback to see it now. With Lupin, the office had defense books and dark creatures for the class to study, and Moody had had dark detectors all over the place. Raenyr had darkened the entire room, and the only light came from a few well-placed, dim oil lamps and a large misting dark crystal in the left corner, emanating a deep purple glow from its core. The crystal stood waist-high from the floor near a full bookshelf. Pulling his eyes away from the calming glow, he took a few more steps towards the desk Raenyr sat behind, finishing paperwork of some sort.

The light from one of the lamps caught something on the wall behind the professor and Harry trained his eyes on it more closely: it looked like writing symbols, in a weird language – covering each of the four walls in a rusty brown, Harry noticed as he turned in a circle, from floor to ceiling. Even the window wasn't spared, being covered with heavy velvet drapes also full of writing.

"Do you find it better than that woman's crude idea of decorating, Mr. Potter?"

Snapping his attention back to Professor Raenyr, Harry answered, "Yes, sir."

"Have a seat," The professor offered, waiting until Harry was seated in front of him. "You have some questions to ask me, and if they are not answered by the end of what I am about to say, feel free to voice them." He murmured. His voice took on a stronger tone as he continued without waiting for Harry to agree.

"Albus Dumbledore has expressed his wish that I give you additional Defense lessons, and I have agreed. I daresay I know what knowledge I have that he wants me to share; we'll cover more advanced spells to use in duels than in class, and I shall be completing your Occlumency training." Professor Raenyr perched his elbows on the edge of his desk, messing with a few stray papers. "Afterwards, we can safely delve into old memories, for analysis of anything pertaining to helping you fight Voldemort. During that time, we'll cover wandless spellwork."

He stopped talking, staring intently at Harry with his violet eyes, making Harry uncomfortable. Figuring the professor's silence meant he was free to ask questions now, he tentatively said, "Wandless magic? I'm only a Sixth Year; is it possible?"

The professor tilted his head, which Harry could only discern by a dip in his hood's cloth.

"With the right concentration and teaching, you will learn."

"How is it that I can see you – I mean, your eyes? My friends say they cannot." Harry asked, leaning back in his chair. Hermione hadn't found anything yet, but here was his chance to find out himself.

Humming, Lain steepled his fingers, reminding Harry a lot of Professor Dumbledore's very same habit. "I had wondered if you would ask that particular question. This also connects with what happened in our first class, during my introduction."

Harry shifted in his seat as the professor went on, "You, Harry, have remnants of a dark soul in you." Off his bewildered and, if just a little, defensive expression, Raenyr waved his hand and explained. "You were possessed not six months ago by an extremely dark wizard."

'Ah.' It always came back to Voldemort. Now he could add on another quirky trait to his growing collection just because he was the Boy-Who-Lived.

"I would say under most circumstances, any other wizard would have come out of that situation insane or on the path of following that dark wizard himself. Harry," He stressed. "From what I've seen, and can see in the recesses of your mind, you have been untouched by Voldemort's darkness."

Harry didn't quite know how to feel, knowing Raenyr could look in and see those parts of his mind without any indication like when Snape had used Legilimency on him.

"You have remnants yes, but your purity wraps around it, encases it." Raenyr became more animated, gesturing with his hand as he tried to explain what he meant. "I can see it as small smudges within you, like fingerprints. This faint marking from his soul – and yes, Voldemort does have a soul, no matter how mutilated or deformed, make no mistake of that – has enabled you to See me, to See Shadow Shifters. Sound familiar?"

Fingerprints that now allowed Harry to see Shifters? It clicked from last year – "Like- like seeing death and being able to see thestrals?"

"Yes, exactly." Raenyr nodded his head encouragingly. "You can See me and my kind, but it also allows us some leverage against you also. In class, I used a Shifter ability, called Adducomemoria, to take you into my mind and show you a memory. It's much like a combination of wizarding Legilimency and Occlumency, but a reverse; I can show you select memories without a pensieve. And, of course, I can see your own memories just by looking into your mind or via pensieve. Even you have some of your own darkness in your mind, it is what allows Shadow Shifters to look into everyone; there is no purely light or dark – light does not exist without darkness and we cannot exist without both."

Professor Raenyr took a breath before saying, "When we study Occlumency and Legilimency, I'll show you memories I have of Voldemort through Adducomemoria, but until then…" He trailed off.

Harry almost slid off his seat. "You've met Voldemort?"

"Yes, we've met on a few occasions, but I shall leave that until those lessons start." Professor Raenyr dismissed it. "Albus has requested I ask you about your teaching your Defense group from last year. Are you planning on continuing this year?"

Harry paused. The truth was, he had thought about it, and he didn't really see a reason to continue teaching D.A. since Raenyr was a perfectly competent professor. Hermione insisted he leave that option open however, because of (whom else?) Voldemort.

"We started that group because the Ministry was trying to keep us from learning practical Defense," he began. "But I think having you as a Defense professor will be enough for everyone."

The Shifter tilted his head again in acknowledgement of the compliment. "Should you decide to take it up again, I would like to offer my assistance, since, according to Albus, known school clubs need at least one adult advisor. Now, since I think I have given you enough to take in, can you readily think of a period in your time table that would be convenient for lessons? I would like to meet Saturdays."

"Er – " Harry went over his time table in his head, "At noon?"

"Saturdays at noon it is. And don't worry; they shouldn't extend much over an hour. You may go now if there are no more questions pertaining to the lessons…?" Harry shook his head in the negative.

"Well then," Raenyr said. "Be ready in class, Monday."

Harry stood and moved towards the door. Raenyr's deep voice turned him back.

"Harry, please do me a favor and tell your friend Miss Granger she may stop researching Shadow Shifters in the library. She will find nothing of use and it's a terrible waste of time better spent on other things."

A/N: Feedback and reviews make the world go round.