Dreams of the Four

A.N at bottom

Part 2: chapters 4 and 5

Chapter 4

She walked quickly down the road, completely intent on her destination. She knew she had to hurry or all would be for naught. She could feel the air growing cooler and she pulled her cloak tighter around herself after checking that her bag was secure at her waist.

She looked up and stopped on the road as a sound hit her ears from the distance, it sounded like horse’s hooves. She moved to the side of the road as the sounds grew closer. She could see dust rising in the distance and hear the sounds of men calling to one another from house back as they rode forward. She watched as they rode over the hill, progressing ever closer to her position, she had no way of knowing whether they were noble men who wouldn’t hurt her or bandits, who would attack her.

As they drew almost abreast with her, she reached her hand into her bag, prepared to defend herself if the need should arise. The first one spotted her standing at the side of the road and pulled his horse to a stop, the other five men followed after him. They called down to her and made a few disgusting comments about her and then surrounded her. They rode their horses in a circle and spoke to each other, each boasting about who was deserving of her more.

"Yur a pretty little thing, aren’t ya." The closest one peered down at her. She simply pulled her cloak tighter around herself, hiding her body and bag from view. They laughed at her attempts to hide herself and one man reached out to grab her when...

"Leave her be!" A seventh man rode over the hill, the sun shining off silver blond hair. She looked up at her saviour and was shocked and disappointed to see he wore the same colours as the men surrounding her. The six men grumbled a bit and backed off. The nearest one leered at her before turning his horse. Then the seventh man rode over and dismounted. He motioned the other six to leave and then turned to face her. It was then she whipped out her wand and prepared to protect herself. He simply laughed at her; "You expect to hold be off with a useless piece of wood?!"

Her hand was shaking and she was thoroughly frightened now. "Stay away, or I will attack you." Her voice was steady but her knees were weak.

He grinned at her before replying; "I have no intention of hurting you, I just wanted to see that my men had not hurt you in anyway. Besides, do you really expect to hold a man of my size off with a simply twig." She shook with anger now, that simple twig was a very powerful wand. "Where are you going fair lady, you seem to be going in my direction, may I offer you a ride?"

"No thank you sir, I am fine on my own. You may continue on your way with your men." With that she turned and marched determinedly away. He cursed under his breath and mounted his horse to catch up to her. When he reached her, he reached down and swung her up in front of him. She froze in shock and then turned and tried to hit him but he held her arms at her sides as he prodded the horse forward into a canter.

"I could not let an unaccompanied lady travel this road alone. I will take you to the village where you will be safe." She just turned and glared at him, she was concentrating to hard on making sure the bottles and vials in her bag remained intact. In no time, they reached the village and she slide from the horses back and set off to the edge of the village as if leaving for the country road again. He swore once more and followed her but stopped when he saw her stop outside a hut near the edge of the village. She called something out and he watched as a small woman with fire red hair ran from the hut, clutching a piece of wood in her hands. The two women spoke and she quickly moved into the hut.

His men came galloping up behind him and he sent them away with a wave of his hand before dismounting. Taking the reins, he led his horse slowly toward the hut, trying to determine what was happening when the smaller red head ran out the door and towards him. She stopped short when she saw him; she was panting and was obviously in a hurry.

"Where are you running off to in such a hurry maid?" She ignored him and dashed away toward the center of the village. He dropped his horse’s reins and moved quickly toward the door and peered in. There he saw her kneeled next to a pallet on the floor dribbling a green fluid into a young boy’s mouth. She looked up in surprise as he entered.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked with an impatient, irritated voice before returning to her task.

"Finding out why an unknown woman is here in my village and what she is giving my serfs." He looked down in disgust at the filth that covered the floor and wrinkled his nose at the smell.

"Your village, your serfs!" She called out with surprise, "Its nice to know how well you treat those who keep you feed and clothed lord." She put her emphases on the last word.

He was silent at her last words and looked at her with an offended look on his face. He stormed over to her and pulled her to her feet causing the vial she held to drop and shatter at her feet. Without thinking, she grabbed her wand and pointed, causing the vial to reappear in her hand, unbroken and filled with the spilled medicine. He didn’t react, but looked at her with a puzzling expression.

"My lady, I found what you nee..." The small red head burst into the hut with a pot of something. She gasped when she saw the raised wand and....

"Hermione, your gonna be late for class!" A voice told her in her ear as someone shook her violently. She opened her eyes to find the face of Lavender Brown right in front of hers. "Hermione, move! Lets go!" Lavender dashed out of the room and Hermione scrambled out of bed. Lavender had left a piece of toast for her on the nightstand and she shoved it in her mouth as she pulled her robes on.She was thankful she had put everything into her bag last night and ran from the room, still chewing her toast. She reached Defense against the Dark arts just after the bell rang.

"Nice to see you this morning Hermione." Remus Lupin said with a smile. He had returned to teach once more to help defend the school since it was rumoured Voldemort was amassing an army and that his target was the school. "I was just saying that we will be studying the origin of curses, dark potions and how each were constructed. Please open your books to page 724 and we will begin our discussion with information you all possess on this topic."

Hermione began to think back to her dream and the class discussion fell into the background. Why was Ginny Weasley in my dream now? It was the first time someone other than herself and Harry and Draco had appeared in her dreams. She began to jot down on her parchment, all the different people, smells, scenes, and situations from her dream. She stilled her quill and pondered while fiddling with the pendent around her neck. Now there are four distinct people in my dreams. I wonder if she was a one time only thing, or will she appear again?

She closed her eyes and drifted back to the dream, the sounds filled her mind and the scene took focus. "Ginny" had just run in as she had used magic to fix the vial of potion. "Draco" didn’t appear shocked or surprised but intrigued. She tried to make the dream progress after the point she had woken up and slowly it began to. She watched as if in a pensieve as the scene started up again in her mind.

She turned in shock at the sound of the young girl’s voice. She lowered her wand and looked at him with fear in her eyes. He watched her with interest for a moment before speaking.

"I never dreamed that one of my kind lived and existed right on my lands and so near my home. I also would never have dreamed that he or she was keeping my peasants alive through all the disease that seems to invade this land." She looked at him with a shocked expression before remembering the vial in her hand and turning back to the child asleep on the pallet...

"Ms. Granger, Hermione?" She snapped out of the daydream to find Professor Lupin looking at her with an amused expression. "I’m glad you could join us Hermione. Now as I was saying, I have been given the headmasters permission to start a special Defense against the Dark arts class for my most advanced students. It would be made up of students I choose from all four houses and would only have up to 12 people in it. I will discuss my choices with the headmaster and you will be notified if you have been given the opportunity to join. You may refuse if you wish, of course."

Then the bell rang and the students scrambled to collect their things and rush to their next classes. Hermione sorted her books slowly and placed them in her bag. Ron waited next to the desk for her but Harry had bolted out the door immediately after the bell. He watched her with a worried and puzzled expression and a couple of times tried to say something to her but stopped.

"Hermione, may I have a word with you before you leave?" Lupin said as he arranged the books on his desk.

"Ok professor," Ron gave her one last look and left the classroom while she made her way to the desk. "What did you want to see me about?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the essay you wrote for my class last week. It clearly is nowhere near your normal standard of work. Is anything wrong Hermione?" He searched her eyes from across the desk and waited for her reply.

"Hermione worried her pendent as she tried to think up an answer. When she didn’t reply, he sighed and she looked down at her lap ashamed.

"That’s a beautiful pendent you have their Hermione, may I see it." She looked up in surprise.

"But, professor, it’s silver!" She exclaimed and he nodded his acknowledgement. She handed it over reluctantly, unsure of what would happen and she watched as he pulled a dragon hide glove on before taking it. He examined it for a minute before returning it to her.

"There are ways, as you can see, for me to handle silver Hermione. It’s a very nice pendent, how long have you had it?"

"Not long professor.... I really should be getting to class." He looked at her suspiciously but let her go.

"Hermione, if you ever need anyone to talk to, I’m always here for you ok." She nodded and ran out of the room. He sighed and sat back down as his other students trickled in and said quietly to himself, "I hope you know what you are involved in Hermione."

* * * * *

Harry sat silently brooding in an armchair by the fire that night in the Gryffindor common room. Ron was at a nearby table discussing quidditch strategy with Seamus and Ginny, both who played for the team. Ron had been made both keeper and captain in the last year and was very determined that Gryffindor would win again this year. Finally he got frustrated at Harry’s grunt from the chair at his every suggestion and stalked over to the chair to tell Harry off.

"Harry, common on, your supposed to be helping me tonight. Now stop your stupid sulking over what ever is bothering you and get over here." Harry just snarled a response and Ron swore at him, calling him a few unpleasant names before returning to the table.

Why did I kiss her, now she’s avoiding me. I’m such a stupid...Harry’s thought were interrupted by a quiet voice.

"Uh, Harry, could I talk to you for a moment?" A quiet voice asked. He looked up and saw Hermione watching him with anxious eyes.

"I guess..." Hermione walked away and he got up and followed her to her dorm, which was blissfully empty at the moment. "What did you wan to talk about? If it’s about the other night, I’m sorry, I had no right to do that."

"No Harry, its not about the other night, its about my dreams. I had another one last night and it was odd." She stopped to collect herself, "Harry, I know who the people in my dream are. I have known since the beginning of the year. I just didn’t want to tell you."

"Well, who are they then?" Harry asked, slightly impatiently.

"They are Draco Malfoy, you and just recently, Ginny Weasley. I don’t know why I’m dreaming these dreams, or why these people are included. I wish I knew though." Hermione looked at Harry who seemed to be stunned to silence.

"Why didn’t you tell me Hermione? Did you not trust me or something?" He appeared hurt by her lack of forthcomingness.

"I was afraid of how you would react. I don’t really know why I chose not to tell you." She looked down ashamed at the quilt on her bed. His face softened and he hugged her close.

"You don’t need to be afraid Hermione, you can always tell me anything, you know that." He cuddled her close and again, for some reason she felt safe in his arms. "I want to apologize about the other night Hermione." When she would have protested, he silenced her with a motion of his hand. "I had no right to do what I did and I’m sorry."

"It’s ok Harry, I didn’t mind, it just startled me that’s all. But I’m not saying I would like you to do it again anytime soon ok." She smiled up at his face and he almost kissed her again but he restrained himself and just hugged her close.

"Ok Hermione, no more secretes if something is bothering you. Don’t bottle it up anymore." He let her go and left the room. She watched him go with an apprehensive expression on her face. Then she turned and lay down pondering what he had said to her and before long she was asleep.

* * * * *

Chapter 5

She ran frantically through the fog, the murmurs of voices filling the air around her. Her hair flowed in a tangled mess behind her as she ran, trees slowly appearing around her. She could feel her bare feet hitting the forest floor and could hear the branches tearing at her cloak.

The voices grew louder as she ran further into the trees, becoming more and more lost. Finally she burst into a small clearing which contained a single black sapling with emerald green leaves. She stopped, gasping for air and walked slowly closer to the tree. The scene suddenly shimmered and in the place of the sapling stood Harry. His robes were torn and soaked with blood. A sword hung limply from his right hand, covered from hilt to tip with blood. Green eyes dulled by pain looked down at her and suddenly filled with hate.

"You killed me my lady, how could you. I trusted you!" He hissed venomously at her.

"No....no I didn’t mean to, it wasn’t supposed to happen..." She stammered out but he silenced her with the look in his eyes. Tears ran down her cheeks and she turned and ran as the scene turned to fog again.

Running blindly, she dashed the tears from her eyes and again the voices filled the air as she ran. The fog slowly began to clear again and she found herself running through a marsh. The water and mud sucked at her feet and the reeds and grasses tore at her clothing but she ignored it all. The voices grew louder as she came up to a silvery yellow sapling with silver leaves.

She stopped, gasping for air once more and then moved slowly to the tree. Tears fell from her eyes as she collapsed in front of it and she cried freely at its roots. Then the scene shimmered and Draco Malfoy stood above her. His robes were bloody and torn and the sword he carried in his right hand was soaked in blood. He looked down at her with pity, which soon turned to contempt.

"You killed me! You lied and turned my once friend into my enemy." He looked at her with expressionless eyes as these words spilled from his mouth.

"I didn’t mean it, please you must believe me!" She cried out and grabbed the bottom of his robes. He jerked them out of her hands and the scene faded to fog. She stood up slowly, tears falling down her cheeks, staining the cloth of her robes. The voices again filled the air and she ran away from them, tormented.

She could hear a girls high-pitched screams and the laughter of many others. She ran, hoping to leave the voices behind but they followed her, growing ever louder. Finally she collapsed to the ground and covered her ears trying to block them out. The fog cleared and a scene unfolded around her.

A large mob stood in the middle of a clearing, surrounding something tall. A girls pleading screams filled the air causing the mob to laugh and jeer. They parted and she saw Ginny tied to a large stake above a pile of wood and straw. She tried to rush forward but was held back by two pairs of arms. She looked back and saw the faces of Harry and Draco beside her own.

"You caused this." They both whispered in her ears. "This is all your fault"

"No, let me save her! I can save her!" She struggled against their hold as she watched a man step forward with a torch to light the logs and straw underneath Ginny's struggling form. Her screams filled the air as the fire caught hold of her robes she struggled against the bonds holding her to the stake.

As the fire covered Ginny’s still form, she collapsed in tears against the two men at her sides. They let her drop and faded into the background, leaving her to cry on the ground at the base of the smoldering stake. Then everything disappeared and was replaced by a beautiful green meadow where two Dragons, A Unicorn, and a Phoenix stood.

Hermione woke suddenly and sat up. She frantically felt her clothes, the bed and the wall behind her. When she realized where she was, she breathed a sigh of relief. It had just been a dream, not real. It troubled her how realistic it had been this time. She crawled out of her bed and went to the window. It was still dark, only about midnight and she sat on the window ledge as she looked out over the grounds.

After about ten minutes, she decided she was hungry and pulled a cloak on her shoulders and wandered from the dorm and down to the common room. She walked out through the portrait, where a sleeping Fat Lady didn’t even make a sound. She walked slowly through the halls and made her way to the kitchen entrance. There, she tickled the pear and pulled the door open. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to find three elves playing cards at a small table to the side.

The first one that saw her yelped and jumped up knocking over the table. The other two protested and then saw her and rushed to stand.

"Is their anything you be needing miss?" The first one asked anxiously while the other two prepared to run and get what ever she wanted.

"I would like some tea and maybe some biscuits please." Hermione stated and the food and drink was rushed to her in minutes as if it had all been there for her already. She thanked them and turned to leave when one of the three elves spoke up.

"Pardon me miss, I is not meaning to speak out of place but what is that magic I feel? Is you...." He stopped and looked at her with fear when the others motioned him to be silent.

"Am I what?" She asked slightly impatiently.

"It is nothing, I is feeling things. Nothing for you to worry about." The three elves bolted away to a small door in the wall next to the stoves and disappeared.

* * * * *

Hermione sat in front of the common room fire, sipping her tea. She had a parchment in front of her, covered with tiny writing, recording her dream. She sorely missed her dream journal at this moment and was silently cursing Draco with every thought.

She read over what she had written and then rolled the parchment up, sealing it with a wax seal. She set it to the side and curled up on the sofa to think. The fire made the room warm and pleasant and she felt herself getting drowsy from it. Slowly she stood up, collecting her things. She left the teacup on a side table and went back to bed.

* * * * *

Hermione walked outside with the other Gryffindors to Hagrids hut for Magical Creatures. It was one of the few classes she still enjoyed since her dreams were causing her problems everywhere else. With the new monsters Hagrid introduced every week, she was always so occupied with every class, she never even had time to think of anything else.

She arrived outside the cabin with the other Gryffindors and the Sltytherins to find a woman standing there. At her side was 10 small crates, each one wiggling at random intervals. She motioned for the students to settle down and be quiet before speaking.

"Your regular Care of Magical Creatures professor is away on school business so I will be teaching you for today." Near the back, Hermione could hear Draco and his cronies making snide comments about this arrangement and the supposed business of Hagrids.

The woman picked up the nearest crate and held it up for everyone to see. "I have here your assignment for the day." She opened the crate and out jumped, to her shoulder, a creature that looked like a monkey crossed between a frog. "Can anyone tell me what this creature is?" She looked at all of them. "Anyone? All right, obviously you are severely lacking in your education. It is a Clabbert, a North American magical creature. It’s an arboreal living creature and it has a large pustule on its forehead, which flashes red upon approaching danger. You assignment for today is to feed and walk them." She called each person forward, by name, and handed him or her a crate.

The students spent the next hour playing around with the friendly animals and when it was finished, they reluctantly turned in their Clabberts to the substitute professor. She made sure each one was rested in its crate before she let the students go for lunch.

The students slowly walked away and Hermione used her wand to cause Draco to freeze on the spot behind all his Slytherin friends. She walked up to him and said; "I know you took it Draco, so just give it back." She then unfroze him and he appeared startled at seeing her there.

"Give what back Granger." He sneered and tried to walk around her but she stepped and blocked his way. "Get out of my way mudblood!" He snarled at her just as Harry and Ron caught up with her.

Ron grabbed Draco by the collar and lifted him up off the ground. "What did you just call her Malfoy?" He growled at him and dropped him to the ground as Hermione turned to walk away, Harry close behind her, leaving the two boys by themselves. "You’re lucky this time Malfoy." Ron turned to follow the others.

"On day, Weasley, your gonna get it and I’m gonna be watching it happen." He brushed his robes off and made his way to the castle. "And Granger, I’m gonna open that little book of yours and then everyone will know your secretes."

* * * * *

Hermione sat beside Harry and the table in the Great Hall, that mornings dream running through her head. It had been the worst of them all and she wondered if they were going to just keep getting worse. Harry poked her and she snapped to attention.

"Soup Hermione?" He held the soup tureen in front of her and waited for her answer. She took it smiling and ladled hot soup into her bowl. She ate slowly and thought over everything that had been happening so far. She took a sip of soup and grimaced, a headache was starting at her temples. She searched her bag for the bottle of headache pills she had and took two, sipping her pumpkin juice to help swallow them.

"Are you ok Hermione?" Ron asked around his sandwich, he had noticed the pills. "You don’t look so good."

"I’m fine, just a little headache, that’s all." She smiled weakly at him and pulled her potions book from her bag and stuck her nose in it, hoping Ron would stop. But instead of reading the many potions inside, she pondered over her last dream and what it might mean.

Her headache started growing worse as lunch progressed and her head was throbbing when she rose to go to charms. Suddenly the entire great hall started spinning and she felt herself falling. Then everything went black.

* * * * *