The Heirs of Dreams

Chapter Two

Dumbledore leaned against the back of his chair, listening to the epic tale Lara Birk had brought to him. Severus was gazing out of the window, looking for anyone suspicious who could be searching for her. Surely they would be wondering where she was by now, or perhaps they, like her, didn't think she'd be the one to take to the spell.

"Then I started thinking about everything that comes along with this," Lara said as she reached the end of her tale. "I just can't be responsible for so many horrible things."

"Well, you certainly are correct...you have gotten yourself into quite a mess," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Can you help me?" Lara pleaded. She squeezed her hands together, begging them to stop shaking.

"I may be able to, but you must answer a few questions of mine," Dumbledore began. "For one...this other child, the one he fears. When will it be born?"

"The end of summer some time...July or August," Zora replied.

"How can you be sure?"

"We're not sure...he's following the prophecy."

"But why go through so much trouble unless he has concrete proof?"

"He's not one to take too many chances. If someone told him a black dog would kill him, he would have every black dog he could find killed immediately. He found out someone is being born who will destroy him, he's going to do everything he can to try and stop it."

"As harsh as it sounds, why not simply kill the child?"

"He's vain as well. Where is the glory in killing a child? But an excuse for a line of descendants of his pure blood...now there's something of legends."

"And you gave yourself freely to this spell?"

"If I didn't...I would be dead now. You do not live under his wing without the possibility of being crushed when you disobey."

"You said the girl who is pregnant with the boy has already come forward...what it her name?"

"Why do you need to know that?" Lara asked as she eyed the professor. It was one thing to ask for help, it was another to endanger the lives of others. No matter how badly she wanted this to end...she didn't want anyone to get hurt either.

"I need to know for my own purposes...for the child's future, for the well being of everyone, I need to know who the boy is to be."

"Her name...is Narcissa," Lara said with a deep sigh.

"Malfoy's wife?" Severus interjected for the first time since entering the office.

"Yes...I don't know what the boy's name will be, but his mother is Narcissa Malfoy."

"Why am I not surprised?" Severus said with a scoff.

"Malfoy," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "And can you explain this spell being cast on them to me? How does it work? Is there anyway we can prevent it?"

"The only way to break the spells on the children is by death..." Lara said quietly.

"Death...death...death...death," echoed through Zora's mind as she slowly began to drift back to consciousness.

She looked to the plain white ceiling and blinked her eyes several times. This was not the first time or the last time Zora would dream about her mother, but that didn't make it any easier to witness.

She threw her legs over her beds and eased herself onto the floor, careful to balance her as she stood. Her legs no longer hurt when she walked and were a great deal less stiff and easier to manage as well. She strolled down the long row of empty beds to the sealed wall at the end of the wing. She placed her hand on the cool surface and felt nothing but cold death beneath her fingertips. She removed her hand quickly from the wall and began to ease back to her bed.

She climbed into bed and gazed out of the window. The horizon was turning a bright shade of blue as the sun began to approach. It must have been close to five in the morning. Zora smiled as she thought this was the time she usually stopped reading and began preparing for her lessons; never sleeping through the night if she slept at all. She missed the feeling of being capable of staying awake for full weeks without even feeling tired. Then she remembered how great if felt to actually be able to sleep, the feeling of a bed and pillow beneath you, the warmth of a blanket over you...all feelings she could now experience each night. All comforts she could take with the hell of her dreams.

"Awake already?" Severus asked as he approached her bed.

"Eight hours is all I need, I went to bed early last night," she replied, not breaking her gaze at the rising sun.

"That's good," he replied although there was no smile in his voice.

"I dreamt about my mother again last night," Zora said as he sat in the chair next to her bed.

"Oh? What did you see?" Severus asked casually.

"Her telling the story to Dumbledore," Zora replied as she watched the sky begin to turn pink as the sun became more brilliant. "Do you remember it?"

"Of course I do, I was there wasn't I?" he said coldly.

"Yes, you were. You weren't surprised it was Narcissa?"

"Not at all, they were always close to the Dark Lord," Severus replied.

"What about my mother? Was she close to him?"

"Not really...more obedient than friendly. She'd do just about anything for him," Severus said.

"Was...was she weak?" Zora asked as if it pained her to say it.

"No...for her to go through everything she did, I'd say she was quite strong, perhaps a tad too 'act first, think later', but still strong."

"I want to see her portrait before I leave," Zora said.

"I can't do that...we never quite know where it is," Severus replied quietly.

"What do you mean you don't know where it is?" Zora asked with a twinge of annoyance in her voice, but still not breaking her gaze with the sun.

"It moves...it's a living painting. It goes where no one will see it, it doesn't like to be looked upon, but once you see it...it haunts you. It can be in two places at once, or no where at all."

"How is that possible?"

"A lot of things are possible in the wizarding world."

"But not likely," Zora smiled faintly as the sun began to form into a full circle over the horizon.

"What are you doing? Staring contest with the view?" Severus asked with his usual exasperated tone that Zora was quite accustomed to and more than happy to ignore.

"If the sun makes my powers go haywire...then it means I still have them. I'm trying to see if I still have them."

"It's too soon to tell."

"Then when is it the time? It's been a month since I woke up and still nothing!"

"I know...I know this is hard for you," Severus said and Zora caught his tone as forced gentleness.

"Bullshit!" she said as she finally tore her eyes from the sunlight, spots of blue and green in her vision and at last fed up with his sarcastic tones. "You don't know anything about what I'm going through right now! None of you know!"

"If you dare speak to any of the Weasleys like that...they'll throw you out without a second thought," Severus said calmly.

"Well, maybe they'll know what stupid things not to say...maybe they'll be sensitive and compassionate, unlike some people I know who can't stop using their classroom tone with me."

"Don't confuse compassion with pity, because that's what you're going to get - pity," Severus said as he shifted slightly in his chair.

"No...that's all I get from you and everyone else. I see it in your eyes, all of you. You pity me for losing it...you feel sorry for me because I can barely walk. I'm sick of it."

"Obviously you're feeling more like yourself if you can argue about the stupidest things...feeling well enough to take a journey I hope?" he added as he stood from the chair and walked out of the Infirmary.

"Gladly, I'll leave this afternoon!" she shouted at him as the door closed.

**

Harry lie in his bed, staring out the window. It had been nearly an hour and Hedwig still hadn't returned. Of course, it did take at least an hour to fly to the Burrow...and at least an hour back...not to mention the time to read and write a reply. Harry wished Ron could learn to use the telephone properly, and then communication wouldn't take this long.

It had to be tonight, he couldn't take this house anymore. If only Uncle Vernon had agreed to let him leave...to go straight with the Weasleys at the station. He would never have to see their faces again. The idea of him leaving, flying away of course, looking back on Number 4 Privet Drive and knowing it was the last time brought an immediate smile to his face.

However, Harry was still stuck in this God awful room. The walls were completely bare, and barely anything was lain out for his use other than the essentials. Everything else was piled into his closet as usual; only now it stayed completely packed away as it was on his first day back. Harry had never bothered to unpack his things at all this year; he was expecting to be leaving any day, but for some reason Mrs. Weasley was having trouble letting Ron allow Harry to visit. Why?

Harry turned his head from his window and looked to the door. His Firebolt stood propped in its usual corner so that when the door was opened it was completely hidden from view. Only Harry stayed in the room with the door closed so only Harry was the one who could look at it. Harry let out a sigh as if it were painful to look at now. He wished he were back at Hogwarts...with friends and people who mattered, back flying that broomstick and feeling the cold wind in his hair.

Harry felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier until he felt himself gliding on that broomstick. He was no longer on the Hogwarts pitch, but he was somewhere else. The stadium seats towered high over him. The green field was cleaner and much better kept than the one at Hogwarts. The grass squished silently under his boots as he walked along side Oliver Wood.

"Good catch that was at last game, Harry," Wood was saying as they walked to the center of the pitch.

"Thanks, Wood," Harry smiled, pleased with himself, as he mounted his broom. "Then again, Krum wasn't there was he?"

"Oh, don't worry about that...or at least for a few more matches that is," Wood replied.

TAP TAP TAP

Harry shot up in his bed, startled by the sudden interruption. He fixed his glasses back on his face and eyed his window. Hedwig's brilliant white wings were fluttering just outside the glass, a black night sky painted behind her. Harry peered at his wristwatch as he placed his feet on the floor and went to open the window. It was close to ten o'clock now.

He flew open the window and let Hedwig flutter inside the room. As Harry was pushing the window closed again, a hand flew under it and pushed it back up. Harry stumbled back, caught off guard by the intrusion. He wondered quickly were his wand was and looked to his night table. He scrambled to his feet and dove for the wand, pointing it immediately to his window.

The arm became visible and gave Harry a little wave before an entire head entered the room. Harry let out a laugh and lowered his wand when he saw the flaming red hair of his best friend.

"And what exactly were you planning on doing with that?" Ron smiled.

"Take off one of your ears I think...I hadn't thought it that much through," Harry smiled as he went over the help Ron into the room.

Ron stumbled slightly, creating a few thumps on the hard wooden floor.

"Shh!" Harry warned him. It was ten o'clock; Uncle Vernon was just below the room watching the evening news.

"Are you ready?" Ron asked, looking around the room, searching for something.

"Ready?" Harry asked, perplexed.

"Read the note on Hedwig," Ron replied as he went to Harry's closet and threw open the doors. "I can't get all my stuff to fit in my entire room, how do you get it in one closet?"

Harry went to Hedwig as Ron spoke and gently removed the letter tied to her foot. He gently stroked her feathers as he read.

"Harry-

Rescue mission to commence at ten o'clock, be ready.

-Ron"

"Well," Harry smiled, "that's informative isn't it?"

Harry helped Ron gently pull all of his belongings out of the closet and throw the 'essentials' around his room into his trunk.

"Well...guess I got a little excited when mum finally said 'yes'... I should have said eleven or twelve since I sent her off at nine. I just couldn't wait," Ron smiled as he threw Harry's comb into the trunk. He took a stack of pictures from the night table and quickly went through them.

"It's ok...as long as I get out of here, I don't care what time it is," Harry smiled as he through a few dirty pajama tops into the trunk.

"This is a good one of Hermione," Ron smiled as he held up a familiar picture. Harry moved closer and recognized the picture immediately. It was his favorite too, but not of Hermione but of Ginny. The two girls were a bit younger than now, and whispering idly to each other and giggling occasionally. "Ginny too," he added quickly when his eyes trailed form his girlfriend and finally acknowledged that his sister too was in the picture.

He slid the picture to the bottom of the pile and continued to flip through the pictures.

"Have you used your camera?" Ron asked as he went to the trunk and carefully placed the stack on the top of the dirty pajama tops. Ron and Hermione had given him a camera for Christmas the previous year, this was the first time he had mentioned the gift.

"Yeah," Harry replied, "but I can't develop them here...I need to go to Diagon Alley and develop them."

"We'll make a stop some time," Ron replied as he slammed the trunk shut.

"Hold on," Harry said as he peered around the room. There were a few things he had left untouched. He looked under his bed and found an old shoe box filled with little things Ron could not imagine having any value at all.

"Do you need that?" Ron inquired as he peeped in the box.

"Not really, but I better take it," Harry replied as he opened the trunk and slipped it inside. "I don't think I'll be coming back for it."

Ron opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it and nodded his head.

"Ok, Mr. Genius," Harry began, "how are we getting out of here?"

"Oh, that's easy," Ron replied. "Tie your trunk to your broomstick, and we fly."

"And no one will see us?" Harry asked.

Ron untied a piece of rope he had tied around his waist and handed it to Harry.

"Course not, we'll go above the clouds," Ron replied as if this answer were obvious.

Harry went to his Firebolt and attached it to on of the handles on his trunk. He dragged it next to his window and gave a final glance around the room.

"You should leave a note, shouldn't you?" Ron asked as he watched Harry get close to the window.

"No," Harry decided. "I don't think they'll miss me."

Harry mounted his broomstick and carefully glided out of the window. He saw Ron's broomstick lying on the roof and handed it to him in the room. Ron mounted the broomstick and followed Harry out of the bedroom window and into the night. Harry looked back for the last time on number 4 Privet Drive and smiled to himself. After this year at Hogwarts, he was free to go where he pleased and he couldn't wait.

**

Zora stood in her dormitory room. The five beds looked cold and unwelcoming as did the rest of the damp cold dungeon. She wondered how she survived living here for an entire year as she carefully placed her belongings into her trunk. She reminded herself that she was rarely here throughout the year. Most of her time was spent in her training room with Severus and the other professors. She could hear footsteps approaching although it did not frighten her, it was probably just Severus coming to insult or yell more. He was on edge and Zora couldn't tell why...part of her didn't want to know anymore.

"I'm sorry," his stiff voice echoed from the open doorway.

"I know," she replied as she began refolding her T-shirts and placing them in the trunk.

"I didn't mean to be cross with you earlier...this situation is all very new to me, I'm still not accustomed to it."

"It's not new...it's been here a year, it's been here almost seventeen years," she replied as she calmly folded a pair of jeans and set them in the trunk.

"I'm sorry for that too...I didn't mean to be absent."

"Then what was your intention on bringing me there? To visit every Sunday? Someone came and got me out...that's all that matters, even if it wasn't you. Let's not talk about it anymore," Zora said finally as she lightly shook her head, trying to knock her bitter anger away.

"I won't have you leaving this castle angry with me," Severus said after a long pause.

"Then I'd never leave," Zora said as she final turned to look at his face. "Why didn't you just leave me?"

"Because he would've found you and-."

"No...that night...why didn't you just leave me alone in the Infirmary? Leave me at peace. It would have saved the world a lot of trouble of doing it later. Now, I'm here...weak and completely confused. Why didn't you just let me die on that bed?"