Chapter 7 - Dreams
Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common room still going over what had happened in their defense against the dark arts class.
"Blimey, that was mad what happened," said Ron finding a seat next to the common room fire,"how can someone just walk away from something like that?"
"More importantly, what was that thing he was so afraid of?" asked Hermione sitting next to Ron. Harry sat in a chair across from them. "It looked bigger and meaner than a mountain troll," remarked Ron.
"Whatever it was, it seems fair that he would be afraid of it," said Harry.
The fire crackled in the background.
"Why do you think Dumbledore would hire someone like that? I mean, he was an odd fellow, wasn't he," asked Ron.
"He was … if not for his strange attire … I would have mistaken him for Professor Snape," said Hermione.
"Yeah, except he actually uses his face for facial expressions," remarked Ron. Harry and Hermione laughed.
"And why an assistant for a professor? I mean have you ever known any professor at Hogwarts to have an assistant?" added Harry.
"No, but it's not like the defense against the dark arts has ever been a stable position. We've had a new teacher every year since we've been here," remarked Hermione. They sat in an unsettling silence for a moment with nothing more than the crackly fire place for warm company.
"If one thing's for sure, this year is definitely going to be a strange one," said Harry breaking the silence.
"When has it not been mate?" declared Ron.
"Fair," said Harry. This year already started out with a murder and no one seems to know who killed Cedric Dickory, or why. All Harry could remember was a hooded figure stabbing him to death and then disappearing behind a strange orange light. He never saw their face, but he would not be surprised if Lord Voldemort was behind. No one seemed to believe him, even Dumbledore suggested not talking about it since there wasn't enough evidence. Even stranger for the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry, but then again it did have its mysteries. On top of that, it didn't help that he had weird dreams since the incident, haunting him from time to time.
The trio seemed to have more questions than answers, so they ended their inquiries and went off to bed. In the boys dormitory, Harry found a letter from Dumbledore, requesting that he go see him first thing in the morning.
That night, he had a dream not surprisingly about the newest addition to the school. Harry found himself in a dark corridor of Hogwarts for some reason searching for Mr. Laufeyson. He saw the orange flash of the large word stamped on his back. He turned around and scanned the corridor, but Mr. Laufeyson didn't seem to know that he was there. Harry wanted to say something but couldn't. Someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind. It was Mr. Laufeyson, pulling a strange vail off Harry. "Not many people can sneak up on me," he said sinisterly. Harry whipped his head around to his original direction to find that the assistant had disappeared. "Do you enjoy it?" said a strange voice bouncing off the walls of his mind, "Do you enjoy hurting people?" Harry covered his ears not knowing who he was hearing. When he returned to the sinister Laufeyson, the dream had shifted so that they were no longer inside the castle, but outside near the edge of the forbidden forest staring up at a full moon. "I … I don't enjoy it … I don't …" said Mr. Laufeyson in a completely different tone of voice. He sounded as if he was on the verge of cracking up, staring up at the full moon, answering the voice and only the voice.
The next morning, Harry arrived at Dumbledore's magnificent office, unsure if he should tell him of his dream. The lights from inside always dazzled him after arriving from the dark corridor.
"Ah, Harry, you got my message. Come in." said Dumbledore pondering next to Fawkes.
"How are you?" he asked.
"Fine, Sir." said Harry.
"Enjoying your classes?" asked Dumbledore kindly.
"Yes, Sir." Dumbledore peered over his glasses with a gleam in his eyes.
"Even this year's defense against the dark arts class?" he probed. Harry thought for a moment, remembering the incident with the boggart.
"It is fine sir, but I must admit it has been … rather odd," said Harry.
"Hmm, odd indeed. But enough chit chat. You must be wondering why I summoned you here tonight." said Dumbledore. He walked over to a strange device on his desk. It didn't look magical, in fact it appeared out of place in Dumbledore's office. It looked like a shinny, plastic, red ball with knobs and other buttons on the side, and a square cut out hole on the other side of it.
"The answer lies here." continued Dumbledore, placing a hand on the device.
"What is it, Sir?" asked Harry.
"This Harry, is a very special device … it acts very similar to a pensieve, only you can't add memories or tamper with them for that matter," said Dumbledore.
"Why do you have that Sir? Would a pensieve not be better?" asked Harry.
"Yes it would … only, this device is reserved for one person and one person only." said Dumbledore.
"Voldemort?" questioned Harry. Dumbledore smiled.
"No … not this time. You see, no one here at this school has any past recollection of this person. Which is why a special precaution has been taken," he said tapping the top of the device. Harry did not understand. "You met him yesterday. I believe he caused quite a mess in your defense against the dark arts class," said Dumbledore turning on the device. It projected a moving memory in front of them. Loki could be seen walking down a polished stairway in the muggle world. Dumbledore paused the device, freezing the image of him in place. He was sporting a long, black coat with a green and silver scarf and a long cane. Harry would have mistaken him for a relative of the Malfoy's if not for his dark black hair.
"Mr. Laufeyson, Sir? Why?" asked Harry.
"Because I wish to collect him," answered Dumbledore which confused Harry even more.
"But you already have him as a teacher?" he asked.
"Technically, he is on loan to us, but I would like to make his occupation … a bit more permanent, but to do that, he must prove himself capable … and the choice to stay here must be his and his alone. Once again, I must ask too much of you Harry," said Dumbledore.
"You want me to get to know him better, Sir?" asked Harry.
"Yes … without causing too much trouble," said Dumbledore.