Ch 7: Another Nightmare
By the time Harry reached the top of the stairs, he could barely contain his yawns. He told his friends goodnight and they returned downstairs. Entering his room, Harry took off his shoes and flopped on the bed.
An hour later, Dumbledore and the others had just about finished planning the new teaching schedule for Harry when they heard the first scream. Molly was the first to react and ran quickly up the stairs, followed by everyone else. When they entered the room, they noticed that Harry was thrashing wildly upon the bed.
Molly ran to his side and lifted under his shoulders, as if to cradle him. She stiffened and groaned as Harry screamed, "No!!! Not Molly!!!!" As soon as her hands touched his back, Molly shared a part of Harry's nightmare. She saw her own death at tas envisioned by Harry.
On Harry's other side, Ron paused as he grabbed Harry's elbow to try and shake him awake. He, too, saw the green stream of light aimed at him by Voldemort. "NOOO! NOT RON TOO!!!" screamed Harry. Then he began screaming out the other names of his friends he saw die on that battlefield. When he mentioned the name of someone present in the room, they paled as they too, shared the vision of their death with Harry.
Dumbledore moved up and gently pulled both Ron and Molly away from Harry. Stepping close, Hermione noticed how Harry's scar burned a bright red. Placing her hand on his forehead, she paused in horror as she saw herself die by the Cruciatus Curse but with a tremendous burst of will, forced herself to snap back to reality. "He's burning up!" she exclaimed and ran to get a damp rag. Harry seemed to calm down a little bit, though he was still muttering furiously. Everyone seemed to snap out of their shock at sharing the visions of their deaths they had been sharing with Harry. When she returned, she laid the damp rag on top of his scar and started brushing his hair back. Harry immediately calmed down and stopped muttering. Soon, only deep breaths could be heard as he slowly settled down into a deeper sleep.
Albus looked quickly at Molly, shook his head softly at her, and then said, "That was quick thinking, Hermione. It seems to have broken his fever. Well done." Hermione looked pleased, but somewhat embarrassed. She didn't seem to notice that she continued to brush Harry's tousled hair. Dumbledore quickly motioned everyone out of the room. Ron left with a funny look on his face and Molly glanced with concern at Dumbledore. Hermione and Harry remained oblivious to them all.
"If you don't mind, Hermione, would you continue watching Harry for a little while? We have some things to finish downstairs," asked Dumbledore.
"Sure, that's fine," she muttered absentmindedly.
Outside the door to the room, Molly grabbed Dumbledore's arm. "Did you notice how he calmed down when she felt his scar and started brushing his hair?"
"Yes. As I said before, I believe both Ron and Hermione have a vital role to play in helping Harry. Hermione's role may be even more important than I had originally thought. But whatever happens, they must discover it and deal with it themselves."
"I wonder if Ron suspects something. Do you want me to speak to him?" asked Molly worriedly.
"No, he is a crucial part of this as well. Whatever happens, those three must deal with it on their own. We cannot take the risk of interfering. Do not worry, Molly. Those three have good hearts and they truly love one another. Things will work out for the best. Trust in them to work it out for themselves."
When they returned to the kitchen, Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I will talk to Harry about the vision we all saw, but I would appreciate it if none of you let him know that you were actually able to see part of his nightmare. I think he would feel hurt and embarrassed that you had to share part of his pain. You will be able to tell him eventually, but I do not think now is the appropriate time. Could you tell Hermione later for me Molly?"
"But how were we able to see it at all, Professor?" asked a still pale Ron.
"Well, this is what I will tell Harry. We all know that Voldemort and Harry have shared a strange link through his scar. I believe that when Voldemort initially cursed Harry, he not only transferred some of his own powers, but he also sparked, or quickened certain powers within Harry. Whether those powers would have stayed dormant or emerged later on their own I do not know. But I believe several of the powers that we can see emerging in Harry are types of strong mental powers such as empathy and telepathy. We know that Harry sometimes had visions of Voldemort as well as an ability to sense some of his feelings. Now Harry has been communicating some of his feelings and visions to the rest of us. Of course he did not do that consciously, but he might be able to gain that type of control. I do not know for sure. But I will discuss it with him. For now, he needs some rest. Tell Harry when he wakes up that I will be by later this afternoon to speak with him."
Dumbledore and McGonagall stepped to the fireplace and returned to Hogwarts. Molly left the kitchen and went upstairs to chat with Hermione. The remaining adults talked softly among themselves and Ron went outside by himself, found his broom, and flew in aimless circles in the backyard deep in thought.
After a brief chat with Hermione, Molly returned to Harry's room with several of Hermione's books and then left them alone. When she returned several hours later, Harry was still sound asleep on his bed. Hermione was sitting in a chair next to him, an open book on her lap, and her head tilted slightly to one side as she, too, slept. Not wanting to disturb them, she turned to leave when she heard Harry stirring. Hermione woke instantly, leaned over to check on Harry and sent her book sliding out of her lap with a crash to the floor. Startled, Harry looked around quickly as his right hand reached for his wand. Hermione reached out and grabbed his wrist, whispering softly, "It's OK, Harry. It's just me. I'm sorry, I dropped my book. It's OK." Harry visibly relaxed and then spoke.
"Uhh, what are you doing in my room Hermione?" he asked, looking at her.
"Ohhh…" her face colored slightly. "It was my-uhh-turn to watch you. You were having a nightmare earlier and…"
"Ohh, uhh-thanks." It was Harry's turn to blush now. "I'm really sorry. I didn't really mean to be a problem and…"
"Oh, it wasn't a problem at all. Don't worry about it. Umm, did you sleep alright?"
"Yeah, I feel a lot better. Thanks."
Feeling it was now safe to come in, Molly made some extra noise at the door before entering. "Good to see you up and refreshed Harry. Would you like some lunch?"
"Yeah, I'm starving! Thanks Molly."
"Well, I'll have some sandwiches ready downstairs in a few minutes. You can have some too, Hermione. And Professor Dumbledore wanted to visit with you later today. I'll let him know you're awake, OK?"
"Sure. Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." Molly returned downstairs and left the two teens to freshen up a bit after their naps. She spoke briefly to Dumbledore through the fireplace and began fixing sandwiches. Harry and Hermione came bounding down the stairs a few minutes later. As they sat down at the table, she went outside to call Ron in for lunch. He landed, put his broom away, and walked towards the back door. "Everything all right, Ron? You look kind of thoughtful."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just been thinking about stuff is all. Did you say food? I'm famished."
Deciding to ignore the brushoff and change of topic, Molly simply followed Ron back into the kitchen where Harry and Hermione were already eating.
"Hey Ron, how's it going?" they both asked between bites.
"Fine," he replied as he piled several sandwiches on his plate.
"Listen, I'm supposed to visit with Dumbledore later, but there is something I want to talk to both of you about later, OK?" whispered Harry.
"What is it Harry?" asked Ron.
"I'll tell you later," replied Harry mysteriously, glancing at Mrs. Weasley's back as she made more sandwiches. She turned and joined them and they chatted of other things as they finished their lunch. After lunch, Harry went and found Hedwig and sent off a message, but refused to explain his actions to either Hermione or Ron. Ron convinced him to go take a lap or two in the garden on their broomsticks, and Harry quickly agreed. Hermione returned to her room to read, but occasionally glanced out the window to watch her friends enjoying their broomsticks.
Later that evening, before dinner, Dumbledore returned through the fireplace in the kitchen and spoke with Molly for a few minutes. She then went back outside and called to both Ron and Harry, who were still busy chasing each other on their broomsticks. "Harry, Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you."
"Fine, I'll be right down." Harry and Ron both descended, and walked back to the house. "Why don't we go to the study, where we can talk by ourselves?" suggested Dumbledore.
"Sounds good," replied Harry. "I think I remember where it is." They walked back out into the main hall and entered one of the far doors near the front of the house.
"Ahh. Looks like Molly has been doing some redecorating. This is much better," observed Dumbledore. Harry agreed. The red and gold carpeting and the overstuffed chairs seemed much more inviting than the previous furniture. The heavy bookcases remained daunting, however, covered with dark spined books with odd looking covers.
"I'll have to look those over later with Hermione," thought Harry, "and see if there is anything that might be useful. In fact, I probably should have been doing that instead of flying on the broom." Sighing, Harry thought once again about the enormity of the task he had taken on.
"Come, take a seat Harry. There are a few things I wish to discuss with you," encouraged Dumbledore. He waited for Harry to be seated before continuing. "First of all, I want to commend you on your recent decisions. I think you are pursuing the correct path, though it will not be an easy one. I want you to know that you have my complete support and confidence." He then went on to repeat what he had told the others earlier about his theories of Voldemort awakening some of Harry's mental powers.
"So now I'm sharing my nightmares with you? Did I do that to anyone else?" Dumbledore paused momentarily and Harry answered his own question. "I did, didn't I? I can tell by your hesitation. You were going to try and hide it from me, weren't you? Why are you still hiding things from me? Don't you trust me? I thought we had moved beyond that?" He looked at Dumbledore accusingly.
"Yes, Harry. I was trying to protect you. I am sorry. I meant no harm. I simply asked the others not to bring it up. Feel free to discuss it with them if you wish. Perhaps it is best that way. But your perception and intuition is improving. That is encouraging," finished Dumbledore.
"Yeah. And now that I can project nightmares, maybe I can scare Voldemort to death," countered Harry bitterly.
"Do not be so dismissive. Every power, every talent, has a tremendous potential for good, if used properly. Surely you see this having taken advantage of the Weasley's joke items? You may have a single great talent that might be overwhelming to Voldemort. Or you might have a number of talents, that used together can defeat him. I do not know. But we should seek to exploit every advantage we can."
"Yes, of course. You're right. Can you really help me develop these mental talents?" continued Harry.
"Well, I can offer you some guidance and advice, and point you to a few books that may help, but much of it you will need to learn on your own, through practice."
"OK, when do we start?" asked Harry eagerly.
"Tomorrow. But first there is another thing I would like to discuss with you. I want to speak with you for a moment about the nature of magic. You are aware, no doubt, that not all magic requires a wand?"
"Well, yes. There were a few incidents before I came to Hogwarts." Harry remembered when he removed the glass on the snake and put Dudley in the snake pit. He grinned. "But I didn't really do any of them on purpose. They just happened."
"Yes. It is sometimes possible to cast spells without a wand. But there's more to it than that. Take potions for example. Not all potions require a spell to be cast on them for them to work. Some work because of the interaction of their various components. And some of those components seem to have no power whatsoever until they interact with other items. In your study of magical beasts, you have no doubt noticed a variety of talents they exhibit, yet they do not actually cast spells. Rather they use innate abilities and magical powers. You may have noticed in your Divination class," Dumbledore smiled, "that when it functions properly it is often aided by some sort of an item, but rarely a wand. Magic can be worked through a variety of ways, but for most wizards it is easiest through a wand. Magic, in essence, is the channeling and focusing of energy, changing it from one form to another in order to accomplish the desired goal. In some ways, it is not so different from what some Muggles are able to do with what they call science or technology. They can achieve some of the same ends that we can, but through very different methods." Dumbledore paused thoughtfully before continuing.
"Most of the magic we think of now is created through the use of wands. However, it remains possible to work magic without a wand, though it is fairly rare these days. Almost everyone has had an experience or two with it, usually when in a highly emotional state or under extreme duress. But it is usually unpredictable and uncertain, unlike spells cast with wands which are much more reliable and certain in their effects. But the ability to control that type of spontaneous magic is very rare these days. And there are few witches and wizards who have ever been able to do more than a few spells. It takes a lot of practice and mental control to do it. I believe it might be worthwhile to teach you the fundamentals, should you wish Harry."
"Really? You think I could do it?"
"You have already demonstrated the potential to do so. It took an incredible amount of concentration and force of will to overcome Voldemort when both your wands were bound together in the Prior Incantatum spell. Your ability to quickly master certain spells, such as the Accio and Patronus charms indicates what you are capable of, when you focus your entire attention on something. I strongly believe that given the proper training, it is very likely you could develop some skill in this type of magic. But it will not be easy."
"I know. Nothing I will be doing from here on out will be easy. How is it different from magic created with a wand?"
"Well, for starters, if you were able to conjure a shield or cast a countercurse, you can cast it much faster than with a wand. Only by a second or two, but then that extra second can make all the difference in the world. If you're ever without your wand, it would be useful to be able to do magic without it, even if it is just to summon your wand. There have even been stories about powerful mages somehow blending the two types of magic together, enhancing the strength of their spells. But we'll start with the basics and see how it goes from there."
"Wow. OK. Is there anything else?"
"Not for now. I think you will have plenty to keep you busy for the next couple of weeks. I will see you tomorrow at ten, Harry. Try and get a good night's rest."
"Thanks Professor, I will." Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts through the fireplace, and Harry stumbled from the room, his mind awhirl with the possibilities before him. As he headed back to the kitchen he saw Hermione and Ron on the stairway. They motioned for him to be quiet, and he realized they were listening to the rising voice of Molly Weasley.
"I can't believe you two would encourage Harry to take such risks. Honestly, if there were half a brain between the two of you, you would have realized how dangerous it is for Harry outside of his home. And for you to not only encourage him, but to provide him with the means to escape…Oh, you two make me so furious! If your father were here…"
Harry turned to look at Ron and whispered, "Yeah, if your father were here, he'd probably be asking me all about the taxi and bus ride. But not in front of Molly." Ron had to shove a fist in his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Hermione tried to look stern, but a smile kept tugging at her lips. Harry continued, "The only problem is that he would have been disappointed that I didn't use Muggle fireworks or something." At this, Hermione shoved her fist into her mouth to keep from laughing. "I better go save them, before Molly gets really wound up."
Pushing through the doors, Harry froze at the image of Molly glaring up at her two twins. She looked like she was getting ready to continue, when she saw Harry and crooned in a very loving voice, "And how are you doing, Harry? Are you hungry yet? I'll have dinner ready in about half an hour," Glaring at the twins again, she muttered, "I suppose you two are expecting an invitation to dinner. I really shouldn't after the way you two have behaved recently, but there will probably be some food left over. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind. Go on. Get!" They didn't need to be told twice. Harry followed quickly and led them all back to the study rather than upstairs.
Once they were all in the study, Harry turned and apologized to the twins, "Sorry about that. I really didn't mean to drag you into this."
"Ah no worries, Harry. It's good for mum to express herself like that. It's not healthy for her to bottle up her emotions. Fred and I are very therapeutic that way," smiled George.
"But it's not often we get such a tongue lashing without knowing exactly why. I mean we suspect why, but you do owe us a few details," finished Fred.
Harry then told them about his escape and how he had put their various inventions to use. They interrupted him frequently to ask questions about how much dust he used, the length of spell effects, how convincing the image was. Glancing reluctantly at Hermione, Harry also told him about the pranks he had played on his uncle and cousin.
"Well, at least you didn't do anything to your aunt. I suppose your uncle and cousin had it coming," sniffed Hermione.
When they finished laughing, George said, "You didn't wait to see the effects? Not very scientific of you, chum. I mean after all, Fred and I risked our lives providing you with these tools of liberation, and you didn't bother to wait for the results? Are we going to have to go over the responsibilities of being a full partner again?" Fred and Ron laughed. Even Harry managed a smile.
"I know, I know. I promise I'll do better next time," chuckled Harry.
"I think I'm going to pretend I did not hear that," muttered Hermione. "I'm sure that with all the extra work you are taking on this school year, you won't have any time for testing out joke products for Fred and George."
"I'm quite sure I won't," answered Harry very solemnly, with a wink towards the twins and Ron.
"Good," finished Hermione, who had closed her eyes to avoid any winks and signs from Harry she didn't want to know about.
"Here are a couple of suggestions I would make on how to improve the items I tested," continued Harry. When Hermione got up to leave, Harry asked her to stay for just a few more minutes. When Harry and the twins had finished their discussion Harry stood up and checked the door to make sure it was locked. He then cast a quick silencing charm on it and turned back to the other four who were now looking at him very curiously. He moved to the far edge of the room and began talking in a very low voice.
"You're probably wondering why I owled you two to come. Believe me, it wasn't just to let your mum have a go at you." Ron chuckled. "I have another plan, and I'm going to need your help. All of your help."
"Excellent. Is it illegal?" asked Fred.
"Wicked. Is it dangerous?" asked George.
"Yes. And probably yes," answered Harry calmly.
"Great! Count us in!" chimed the three Weasleys.
"No way! I'm not getting expelled from Hogwarts before the school year even starts!" declared Hermione.
"But Hermione, you're going to be the key to this whole plan. I really need your help," he pleaded with Hermione. "Just let me explain first. You all know how sometimes I can pick up on the feelings and visions of Voldemort?" Ron and Hermione shared a quick glance, one which Harry also saw. "Well, I've been thinking about how to do something about that. It seems especially important, now, if I'm going to start doing extra training. We don't want Voldemort rummaging through my thoughts and figuring out what we're up to, right? I've been working on Occlumency with Snape, but that hasn't been too effective…"
"But you're going to start working with Dumbledore. Won't that help?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, I'll be working with Dumbledore to improve it. But I may not get any better at it. Or it might take too long to improve to be very helpful. So I think I should try some other options as well. I was thinking about how Sirius told me he escaped from Azkaban. In his dog form, the Dementors didn't recognize him-his thoughts and feelings were no longer entirely human, they were cloaked, or guarded, or something. I don't know for sure. But they could no longer detect him. Something like that might work for me to shield my thoughts from Voldemort."
"But you can't turn into a dog, or any animal. To do that, you'd have to become an…" Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what Harry meant to do. "But Harry, you would have to stay in an animal form all the time for that to work. If you actually have an Animagus form and if you manage the transformation."
"No, I don't think so. The visions only come when I'm asleep. The pain and emotions sometimes come when I'm awake, but I don't care as much about hiding my emotions. I don't want Voldemort creeping around my mind, seeing what I've seen when I'm asleep. And I think it will work if I sleep in my animal form."
"But Harry. From what I've read, the process is very complicated and can be very dangerous. And it might not even work," protested Hermione.
"But I need to do something. Occlumency hasn't helped yet. It might not help in the future. If you have a better alternative, I'd love to hear it."
She paused, thinking quickly. "No, Harry, I don't have any other suggestions. But I still don't think it's a very good idea. It would just be very difficult to do all by yourself, with everything else you are trying to do."
Harry smiled. "But who said I was going to do it all by myself? Wouldn't it be as easy to make five Animagi as it would one?" He glanced around at his friends as they slowly gasped in wonder. "We could wait until the school year started, but then we would have to probably borrow books from the Restricted section and some of Snape's potion components. But I don't want to wait that long. If we can do it before school starts, even better. The sooner I can block out Voldemort, the better. And that's where the twins come in. They can get everything we need-books, components, whatever. But I need your help Hermione. Like you said, I'm going to be very busy with my extra lessons. That's why I need you to head our secret little project. I'm sure Ron would be willing to help, right?" Ron shook his head emphatically. "What do you say, Hermione? Will you help me?"
With all four boys looking at her eagerly, Hermione blushed. When she looked up at Harry's intense stare, she said, "Of course I'll help you Harry. You know I'll always help you." They both smiled at each other for a long moment and then started.
"Right then. I'm going to need the most recent volume of The Making of an Animagi: Ten Difficult Steps, and of course I'll have to check the ingredients needed, I can't remember how difficult they are to obtain…" she continued to mutter to herself for a minute. Looking up quickly at the twins, she asked, "Are you two staying the night?"
"Of course, what did the lady have in mind?" snickered Fred.
"I-uhh-what did you say?" she thundered, her face assuming a sternness in its anger that would have done McGonagall proud.
"What my brother meant to say was if you can put together a list of items you need tonight then we would just head home tonight and start picking up things tomorrow. If not, we will spend the night and you can give us the list tomorrow. It would probably be better to give us the list in person, rather than by owl."
"Oh, alright then," mumbled Hermione and walked off, still talking to herself about the things she would need.
"Thanks for covering, George," whispered a white faced Fred, "I thought she was going to pull a McGonagall right then and there and give me a detention or something." Glancing at Ron and Harry, he whispered, "Does she get that mad that often?"
Chuckling, Ron smirked, "All the time, bro. All the time."
George laughed quietly, "You two are braver than I thought."
"Well, we better get headed to dinner. We wouldn't want anyone to think we were up to something, would we?" chuckled Harry. Everyone followed him back to the kitchen, including Hermione, who continued to mutter to herself.
Molly had calmed down by then and everyone enjoyed a good dinner. After dinner, Hermione wandered down to the study with several of her books. Harry, Ron, and the twins played a little two on two Quidditch for a little while, then all four headed back to the study. Ron and the twins took turns playing Wizard's Chess and discussing possible joke ideas for the shop while Harry browsed through the books he had inherited. He was making a small pile of books he thought might have useful curses and counter-curses to study later. Hermione looked up for a moment, walked over to Harry's pile and began resorting them.
"These are the best ones to look at of that lot," she suggested.
"Would you mind helping me sort out some other good ones off of these shelves?" asked Harry.
"I never thought I'd see the day. Harry Potter getting off his broom early to come in for a little studying," Hermione laughed.
"I know. I know. And Hermione the prefect helping four of her friends become Animagi illegally. Tsk. Tsk. Never make Head Girl that way," Harry countered and Hermione laughed again. They turned back to the bookshelves and added several more to Harry's pile.
Later that evening, Molly softly pushed open the door to the study. She glanced over at the three boys talking quietly in one corner and then to the two remaining teenagers at a large table, nearly buried behind tall stacks of thick books. "Why do they have to grow up so quickly? It's not fair that they barely have time to enjoy their youth," she thought sadly. Out loud, she announced, "Time for bed. Tomorrow will be a very busy day." Surprisingly, without a murmur of protest, the five youths followed her out of the study and went upstairs to bed.
Fifteen minutes later when she went to check on them, she was surprised to find them all asleep, and not up chatting in one of the rooms. Returning to the kitchen, she poured herself a cup of cocoa and passed the pot to the others who had returned a little earlier from various tasks for the Order. She recapped the day for them and they talked briefly about the changes that they had witnessed, especially those in Harry.
"I'm telling you Molly, he's reminding me more and more each day of his father," commented Lupin. "James joked around most of the time, but if the need arose, he could get deadly serious. I think Harry's even more intense than his father. And with good reason."
"Well, I'm glad they could have a little fun today. I doubt he'll have too many more days like today," said Molly wistfully. "They're too young to have such terrible responsibilities thrust upon them."
"But they're strong enough to handle it Molly. Mark my words. You've got good strong sons, there Molly. And that Granger girl. Like a miniature McGonagall. And sharp as a razor. But you watch. Harry is full of surprises. And strong as steel. I haven't known him as long as the rest of you, but there's much more to the boy than meets the eye. I can sense it. I think Voldemort made a terrible mistake making an enemy of that boy. And he'll soon regret it. You'll see."
-->