Chapter Fifteen

The Dream Beast

At the end of the break, Courtney stood at King's Cross Station beside her parents and owl. After one last goodbye hug, she walked toward the barrier.

"Remember, every week!" Mum called.

"I will!" was Courtney's reply.

Courtney gave herself a running start, then pushed straight through the wall, into Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

"Why do I keep missing this?" Da exclaimed.

Like always, Lynne was waiting in the compartment before Courtney showed up.

"Hey," Courtney said as she sat down. "How was your break?"

"Really nice," Lynne said. "I read a new book series - well, new to me at any rate. It's about these children who find-"

The compartment door opened and Albus and Rose stepped inside.

"Hey," Courtney said again. "We're telling each other about the break."

On the way back to Hogwarts, they talked to each other comfortably. This time, Albus was the one who bought the Bertie Bott's. They listened to Lynne give an incredibly detailed description of adventures in a very different magical world governed by a talking lion. Then Albus and Rose talked about their own enormous family - the number of uncles alone was staggering, let alone the cousins - getting together for the holidays. Courtney let the others finish before telling her own fairly uneventful break story.

You follow others always, and never lead, she could remember in the back of her mind. But still, she finished up her story with a smile.

"So," she said. "You know what we should do first thing when we get back to school?"

After Vector welcomed the students back, Courtney, Lynne, and Albus went down the corridors they remembered from before.

"We would like to see more of Slytherin's past," Lynne said to the wall. The door to the Room of Knowledge appeared again, and the trio eagerly hurried inside.

The Pensieve once again swirled and glowed with memories otherwise lost to the centuries. Albus stuck his head in, followed by Lynne, and then Courtney.

You follow oth- the memory of the Sorting Hat started saying.

Oh, shut up, Courtney thought back, then instantly winced. Please shut up, she corrected.

"These two need to hide," Slytherin told Gryffindor when they started watching. He was holding the hands of a pair of ten-year-old children. One boy, and one girl. "They've been discovered as wizards and were nearly burned. They don't know the Flame-Freezing Charm, nor any other means of escaping. Had Letitia and I not been there, they would both be ash now. And I have no doubt that there are others who were not so lucky."

"I don't know many hiding places," Gryffindor admitted. "And the three I do know are all quite dangerous. Perhaps those powerful witches from the valley in the north might have an answer?"

"They're talking about Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff," Lynne muttered.

"Thank you," Albus said sarcastically.

Courtney was too horrified to process most of this. Those ancient Muggles like Daniel Holtz… they were willing to murder children too?

"Children," Gryffindor addressed. "What are you called?"

They introduced themselves as Mimosa and Klaus.

"Have either of you ever travelled with Side-Along Apparition?" When the children shook their heads, Gryffindor sighed. "Very well. This shall be your first time, then. I will Apparate with one of you; Salazar will Apparate with the other."

Slytherin released Mimosa's hand, and she took Gryffindor's. The two adult wizards each took a step, and all four vanished, unknowingly taking Courtney, Lynne, and Albus with them.

"Well," Ravenclaw said when she saw them. "The wizard swordsman Godric, and his strategist companion Salazar. And you brought a pair of children. To what do I owe the honor?"

"Muggles," Slytherin spat. "They are trying to kill us, left and right. These children barely survived, but they can no longer return to their homes, or anywhere where Muggles may find them."

"We had hoped that you or Helga may know of a safe place for them," Gryffindor concluded. "Please, do you know of any?"

"Not myself, no," Ravenclaw admitted. "But Helga is often willing to provide aid for any who need it. We can ask her."

Ravenclaw led them toward a building, where Hufflepuff stood. "Oh, hello," she said to the unexpected company of Gryffindor, Slytherin, and the children.

"Helga, we-" Gryffindor started. But he was interrupted by a large, spectral animal that came charging at full speed out of the building and into the valley.

Courtney got a glimpse of the beast. It had a pair of sharp tusks emerging from its mouth, and its full body, save its face, was covered in matted black hair. The face was mostly bright red with the sheer number of warts on its face.

Ravenclaw's eyes widened. "Just like in the dream…"

"I'm sorry?" Gryffindor asked.

"I saw that beast once, in a dream," Ravenclaw said. "Only not here. It had been… yes, that would actually be the perfect hiding place for these children."

"A prophetic dream told you exactly where to keep children safe?" Slytherin questioned skeptically. "And the main clue for this dream was… a warty hog?"

"Yes."

Slytherin shrugged. "Works for me. Lead the way, Dreamer of Things to Come."

The six wizards (or nine) crossed the wide lake in a boat propelled by magic.

"There," Ravenclaw pointed. "This was the place from my dream."

It was an open, grassy area, with a forest on one side and a small village nearby. They looked upon it.

"This place is quite large," Slytherin said approvingly. "We could probably keep every wizarding child in the country here safely."

"They won't be able to stay here forever," Ravenclaw admitted. "While they're here, we should probably make sure they all learn things like the Flame-Freezing Charm. If every wizard knows these things, they can be safe even after they leave here. Even if they return to the Muggle world."

"A magic school?" Hufflepuff summarized. "It does make an amount of sense."

"Yes, that's it exactly," Ravenclaw beamed. "With the right knowledge, there is nothing any witch or wizard cannot do."

"We can inspire whole generations to be great, without living in fear," Gryffindor added.

Slytherin crossed his arms and took on a thoughtful expression. "We have the power to change the world."

Hufflepuff nodded. "But only if all four of us work together."

The four adult wizards nodded at each other. Klaus and Mimosa smiled at their confident tones.

Courtney, Lynne, and Albus stood there, captivated by the emotional power of their words until the scene shifted.