Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Green Flame ❯ What Dreams May Come ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

“There is way too much bloody light in this dormitory in the morning.” Ron mumbled as he got himself dressed. We were running late. Again.

“You wouldn’t think so if you got up early enough to make it to breakfast on time.” I yelled back at him from the bathroom. I heard only more mumbling and assumed it a sound of agreement. I finished brushing my teeth and as I slipped my glasses back on I got a better look of myself in the mirror. What was Hermione going on about yesterday? Something about Morgan and I looking alike? She’s losing it more than I am these days. I thought as I examined my appearance. Black hair, green eyes, light skin, these were only subtle alikeness’s. Lot’s of people had these features! No need to throw a tizzy over it.

“Oi! You done goggling at yourself? We’re going to be late!” I jumped while Ron snickered at my self appraisal.

“And whose fault is that?” I countered back, shaking my hair out of my eyes as I grabbed up my bag.

“It’s the sun’s fault for coming up so damn quick.” I rolled my eyes as we descended the stairs to the common room.



-Break-



“I’m so nervous.” I said over the morning Prophet. Hermione had yet another book on the table as she sipped her juice.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about, Morgan. Professor Straybourn is a wonderful teacher. You’ll see.”

“I’m not worried about him being a good teacher. Consider my disastrous first day with Professor Snape, if you would be so kind.” She flinched as she remembered. “Not exactly a comforting history to base my nervousness on, eh?”

“Perhaps Professor Snape isn’t the best candidate to use in this example.” She slipped her nose back into her book then. Nothing seemed to keep her distracted for long. This girl, I’ll tell you.

“Perhaps” I sniffed back. “But what do you suppose is taking the boys so long?” This piece of info did in fact bring Hermione out of her book, a little frown appearing on her lips. She looked at her watch, her frown deepening.

“They’ll be late. I’m sure it’s Ron’s fault some how. He’s always five minutes behind on everything.” She tsked and shook her head. “If we don’t skedaddle soon, we’ll be late ourselves. Best not fall into another one of those ‘disastrous first impressions’.” She snickered as she finished her juice.

We got up then and slung our bags over our shoulders and headed for the door.

“So we’ve seen the dungeons and the green houses. Where does Professor Straybourn hold his class at?” I asked as we walked briskly through the corridors.

“He’s up on the seventh floor. Actually, he has the whole floor to himself.” My draw dropped. Was this not a huge school? Surely one whole floor was way more than enough room for one teacher.

“I know.” Hermione continued as she took in my expression. “He’s made himself an entire Defense wing. He’s got multiple class rooms for each year that are specifically geared towards their own syllabus. He’s thorough.”

“I’ll say.” I mumbled as we reached the entrance to the seventh floor gallery. The paintings in this area of the school were different. Most of them depicted powerful battles of magic between ‘light’ and ‘dark’. I shuddered as I passed one such picture whose fighters lay in heaping piles of bloody pieces. “Thorough.” I mumbled as I pushed myself forward.

We got to the classroom just as Professor Straybourn was closing the door. I looked up sheepishly as he tsked at our late arrival. I followed Hermione to seat in the back and was surprised to see Harry and Ron had already made it to class.

“Nice of you to grace us with your presence.” Harry whispered as we took our seats behind them.

“Says the boy who skipped breakfast.” I hissed back at him. He was about to protest but Hermione ‘Shh’d” us. I looked up as Straybourn took his spot at the front of the class.

“First impressions are lasting impressions.” He said with a smirk in my direction. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I sunk low in my seat. That’s it, I’m doomed. I gave Hermione a withering look. She, at least, had the good grace to blush herself.

“I’m sorry, Professor.” I said in a clear voice. To my surprise, however, he laughed and waved at me with a dismissing hand.

“Don’t worry yourself into a fit, Morgan. We don’t concern ourselves too seriously with things like tardiness. Try not to let it happen again though alright?”

I blinked. Did that just happen?

“Sure?” I offered, quite unsure at the moment.

“No problem, and welcome to the class.” He said warmly as I began to relax and smiled back. “Alright guys, so last class we covered in theory the importance of distraction spells. Now it’s prudent to understand the differences in situations that could turn greatly in your favor from one of these spells, and also which ones could render it useless.”

And we were off. It became apparent pretty quick just how awesome of a teacher that Professor Straybourn was. We covered basic spell performance, deciphering the proper situations and even had a practical portion where members of our class ‘acted’ out circumstances that could be appropriate and inappropriate for use of the distraction spell.

It was also obvious how much respect radiated not just from Harry, but from Straybourn as well. He was constantly calling on Harry’s raised hand and agreeing with a lot of his suggestions. Even more, he encouraged Harry to broaden his line of thought and in turn pressed the rest of us to see what Harry had already deduced.

During the first half of the practical, Professor Straybourn quickly called on Harry to be the first to cast the distraction spell. I could tell immediately that this was a subject that Harry excelled. A look of pride came over his face as he confidently casted a near perfect distraction spell towards the advancing teacher. By the time Straybourn became aware again of what was going on, Harry had him magically confined and hanging upside down.

“Brilliant, Harry. Simply marvelous, now get me down.” Harry smirked at the class while he flicked his wand and all at once Professor Straybourn was on his feet with a wild smile on his face. Harry looked towards me and winked. I felt my cheeks grow hot as I smiled shyly back at him.



-After class-



“So what did you think of the class, Morgan?” I asked as we filed out of Professor Straybourn’s class. She was smiling and shaking her head.

“I have to admit it, he was amazing.” She laughed softly seeming surprised at her own deduction.

“I think we have a new member added to our ‘Awed Club’, Harry.” Ron joked as he clapped her on her back.

“Oh yeah? I’m pretty good at fashion spells, I could make us shirts!” She offered, going along with Ron. Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes.

“Oh sure, we’ll just wear them to class every week shall we? Perhaps we’d be the laughing stock of the school. ‘Gryffindor for Straybourn!’ Give me a break.” Everyone laughed as we continued back to the common room.

As we got to the picture of the Fat Lady my stomach grumbled and I remembered missing breakfast this morning. I looked up at Ron and realized he had the same thoughts.

“Hey girls, I think Ron and I need to grab a quick bite. Well meet you back here in a few.”

“Maybe next time you could wake up in time to eat breakfast with the rest of us.” Morgan quipped as she aimed a smirk my way. My stomach fluttered and I had the odd thought that it wasn’t caused from my empty stomach.

“I’ll try and remember that when the alarm goes off tomorrow.”

“Yeah, we’ll see.” She stuck her tongue out and disappeared with Hermione through the portrait hole.

Ron and I made our way to the Great Hall just in time to see trays of snacks and pitchers of pumpkin juice appearing evenly down the tables.

“Are you ever going to tell me what really happened on the Astronomy Tower the other night?” Ron asked as we sat down near one of the trays. I considered my words before I spoke. The truth was, I didn’t really know myself. One minute I was finishing my scroll of homework and the next I was heading in for a kiss, only failing at doing so thanks to Filch and his annoying cat.

“I’d have thought you knew by now, what with everyone else seeming to know my business around here.” I said with a slight edge. Who needs privacy?

“Come on, mate. It’s just us.” He said then quickly looked around to make sure his sentiments were true. “What’s the real deal?” He urged.

“I dunno what happened. Everything went so fast really. I showed her the Astronomy Tower and started finishing my charts. It was going fine… and then I felt her looking at me. I don’t know what came over me, Ron. I felt the strongest desire to kiss her and just as I started leaning in to it, Filch showed up.” I confessed in a huff.

“So what’s the problem? You’re acting like some horrible crime happened.” He smirked.

“That’s just it! I shouldn’t have done that. I could have ruined any future friendship with her. What if I had succeeded? What would she have thought of me? That I lure girls up to a romantic evening on the Astronomy Tower just to have my way with them? That’s not me, but I would have looked like that guy had I actually kissed her!” I hissed under my breath, looking back and forth as a group of fourth years passed us.

“You’re a tad thick aren’t you?” He was chuckling at me but I only looked on in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” I demanded getting angry.

“Haven’t you noticed the way she looks at you?” I blinked. Huh? Surely he was mistaken. Surely he meant the way I look at her. “You really are blind. Harry, even the most unobservant git could notice the way that girl looks at you.”

“Lies.” I said dismissively as I shook my head.

“Don’t believe me? Ask her for yourself. Trust me, you didn’t do anything that could push her away.” He reassured me. I wanted to believe him too.

“I dunno, Ron.”

“Well do you like the girl?” He asked. I just sat there. Do I? I didn’t know what to say. “What if Dean or Seamus started talking to her? How would you feel then?” All I saw was red.

“No!” I yelled as I pounded my fist into the table.

“Oi, calm down! It’s not actually happening. Hypothetical, Harry, remember?” He grinned, seeming pleased with his train of thought, but all I wanted to do was punch him. How could he suggest such a thing? Dean and Seamus, really? Pfft!

What was wrong with me? I hardly know the girl and all I could think about was how I couldn’t let anyone else have her. Get a hold of yourself, you git!

“There’s something wrong with me. It makes no sense to me. How can I feel so strongly for someone I hardly know?” I hung my head. Feelings are so tiresome to deduce.

“You like her.”

“It would appear that way.” He rolled his eyes and snickered.

“Well now that we’ve got that out of the way, pass me a muffin, mate. I’m bloody starving.” I rolled my eyes and threw it at his face. Damn bottomless pit!



-Break-

I laid my head back on the soft cushion of the couch. My head had been hurting me all morning but this was suddenly unbearable.

“You’ve looked a little out of this morning, Morgan. Are you feeling alright?” Hermione’s voice came softly from my right. I felt the couch dip a little as sat beside me.

“I’ll be alright; my head is just hurting right now.” I kept my eyes closed, willing my temples to stop throbbing.

“Do you want me to charm it away?” She asked. I peeked at her warily through half closed eyes.

“I dunno, Hermione. Even experienced witches have a hard time getting medi-charms just right.” I said doubtfully.

“Oh come on, I’ve been doing them for Harry and Ron since fourth year.” My head throbbed once, daring me to say yes. It didn’t take long for me to cave.

“Alright, fine, but be careful please! The last thing I need is to have tentacles coming out from my ears or something awful like that.” I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Cranio-reliefuri” She muttered and all at once my head stopped throbbing. Oh, thank God!

“Boy, you sure come in handy, Hermione. Thank you so much.” I released a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding.

“I’m glad you think so.” She said wryly. “What do you suppose caused this headache from hell?” She asked. I had to think a moment. Could I tell her the truth? I wasn’t sure, I felt so embarrassed about it myself. I could almost hear her laughter now.

“You might think I’m crazy.” I said in a soft voice.

“I’m sure you’re wrong. Tell me what the matter is?” She sat up straighter, ready to listen attentively.

“I don’t know really. I’ve been having weird dreams since I got here. They’re like flashbacks except I don’t remember them ever being real. It’s been the same thing the last three nights. I see my mother and my father in our house, but it’s not the one in California.”

“You mean it’s the house you lived in here in Europe?” She asked.

“Yes. Except that I was too little to remember it. We moved when I was just a baby. I’ve only ever seen it in pictures, but I could tell it was the same house in my dream. They were standing at the back door towards our yard. There was a large fire and surrounding it were people. There were lots of people, people I’ve never seen before. They were wearing dark green cloaks and some of them had their faces covered with their hoods. They were chanting something. I don’t think it was in English, but, Hermione, it was so real. I can close my eyes right now and see it perfectly.” I frowned; I wasn’t sure how to word the rest of this. I looked up at her then, worried about what to say.

“What happened next, Morgan?” She asked softly. I started breathing heavy then. It was hard to think about because what happened went against everything that was ever considered normal.

“My mother was holding something in her arms. It was a baby, wrapped in white linens. She handed the bundle to my father and he raised it high above his arms, like an offering. He seemed to address the crowd of people only he didn’t. There was a loud voice that came from the fire, it came from everywhere. It was soft and angelic, it was beautiful. But there was something wrong with it. It wasn’t real and it told my father to surrender the baby to it. I didn’t know what it meant till he was suddenly dropping the linens from the baby and…” My breath hitched and caught in my throat. I can’t do it, it’s so awful.

“What was it, Morgan?” Hermione was leaning closer, alarm spreading across her face.

“He tossed it, the baby. He tossed the baby into the fire.” I whispered.

“He did what?!” Her hand shot out towards mine and she grasped my arm just above my elbow. “Morgan, tell me everything that happened.”

It was exhausting. After replaying the scene from my dream to Hermione once, she quickly pulled out some parchment and a quill and asked me to repeat everything all over again. It was traumatizing. I didn’t even realize I’d spent so much time trying to forget everything till it all came tumbling out. Every doubt, ever suspicion, ever horrible thought that ran through my mind, all came out and was jotted down by Hermione.

“What’s this all about? What do you think it means?” I finally asked her after she went quiet.

“I don’t know, it sounds like a ritual of some sort but I can’t think off the top of my head what it might actually mean. You say your father exchanged multiple words with this voice?” She asked for what seemed like the billionth time.

“Yes, I already said this.”

“Who do you suppose the baby was?” She asked for the first time. I chewed on my lip and looked down, not wanting to answer this. I already had a theory, and that’s where the story got insane.

“You already know, don’t you?” She asked as she saw my face.

“I don’t know.” I looked away again.

“You think it’s you.” Silence. “I thought so too.” She said more softly this time. I looked up at her then as my chin began to tremble.

“Yes.” I whispered. “I don’t know how it could be me. Surely that baby would have died. That was an awfully large fire.” But it’s the only thing that makes sense!

“Did your parents have any other children? Maybe it was someone else’s baby, from the group of people? Your parents might be the leader of this group. It makes sense right? Your dad was the only one that addressed ‘the voice’.” She was lost in thought after a moment.

“No, it’s not possible. I mean, it could be possible, but I saw the baby just before my dad threw it in the fire. It was a girl, and she had dark hair like me.”

“All babies have darker hair when they’re little.” She doubted.

“Not like this, Hermione. Her hair was pitch black, and I’ve seen pictures of me when I was that small, I look just like the baby from my dream. It had to be me.”

“I don’t know, Morgan, but we’ll get to the bottom of this. I have a really good connection in the library. I’ll see about getting into the restricted section. Maybe I can find something on dark magic rituals.”

“How do you know it was dark magic?” I asked skeptically.

“I don’t, but if was you, what can you remember happening after you were tossed into the fire?” That brought me up short. What did happen?

“I can’t remember. Every time I try to think about it, all I see is green, lots of green. It’s like everything suddenly goes hazy and the room is filled with this bright green light. My back hurts too. It’s a sharp stab of pain right here” I got up and showed her with my hands the place on my back that hurt.

I suddenly remembered my scar that was located exactly where my pain was radiating from. I was about to alert her to this, but then thought better of it. Hadn’t she just been telling Harry she didn’t trust me because of the things in our appearance that were alike? How would she react to know that I have a scar exactly like Harry’s on my back? She’d probably curse me halfway to London.

“I don’t know what to think, but first thing’s first. We need to find out everything we can on rituals involving fires and babies.” She started writing herself a list and packing up her bag. It was almost lunch time.

“Are you going to the library now?” I asked her.

“You think I can concentrate on Transfiguration with all this going on? I don’t think so. I’ll meet you in class.” She started to get up.

“What about lunch?”

“I’ll grab something later.” She turned towards the portrait hole.

“Wait! What are you going to tell Harry and Ron?” I was suddenly worried. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face Harry with all this. I could tell she was sensing my hesitation.

“I’ll leave that up to you, Morgan, but keep in mind; I don’t like keeping things from them. Especially from Harry, he’s always been up front with both me and Ron. If you want to stay a part of this group, and get the best help available to you, I would consider reaching out to him at some point okay? I nodded as she turned again to leave. What a mess this has turned out to be. I’m here three days and already there’s a plot thickening.

I had to figure out a way to bring this up to Harry. Hermione was right; Harry went out on a limb for me when both Ron and Hermione doubted my sincerity. I owed it to him to tell him the truth, but how? I’d need Hermione’s help, that’s for sure. I stood up then and grabbed my bag as I headed towards the portrait hole. It was almost time for lunch. It was going to be hard to face him with all this knowledge and not say anything, but I had made my mind. After dinner I would tell him everything, and then pray that it wasn’t enough to push him away for good.

A girl could hope, right?



-Lunch-



I was staring at the chessboard, waiting for a move to hit me, when Morgan came to the table. I looked at my watch and blanched. How had the time moved that fast?! I watched as she sat down next to Ron, an odd expression on her face.

“What’s up with you?” I asked her. She looked at me then, as if she only just realized who she sat with.

“Hi, Harry, Ron. Wizarding chess I see. Who’s winning?” She asked in a distracted tone. I quirked an eyebrow at her and looked over at Ron as he watched her with scrutiny. I shrugged and decided it was better left unsaid.

“Ron always wins at chess. He’s a bloody cheat I tell you.” I said with a laugh.

“I am not!” He said indignantly and we were back to staring down the board. I made the only move I could think of in a vain attempt to block him off, only to then realize I’d left a large space open and my queen suddenly vulnerable. “Ah ha! Check!” I grumbled.

“I don’t see why you insist on playing me anymore. You beat me every damn time.” I said through gritted teeth.

“Maybe I just like seeing the frustrated look on your face when you realize for the umpteenth time that you’ll never beat me.” He snickered and I chucked a biscuit at him. I looked back to Morgan then and realized she wasn’t even paying attention. She was just absent mindedly putting food in her mouth and seemed absolutely lost in thought. I reached my hand across to the table to hers. She looked up at me in alarm and then quickly relaxed.

“Sorry, I’m just stuck in my own head right now.” She said, trying to reassure me. I didn’t believe it for a second. Something was wrong.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“No, but I will be. We’ll talk after class alright? I’m not ready to get into it right now, and anyhow it’s a long story. I’ll need Hermione’s help with it.” She said looking down at her plate, looking suddenly disinterested in her food. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

“You’re gonna leave me hanging?” I offered her a small smile. She seemed to soften a little and my heart squeezed in an uncomfortable way. It was obvious she was in pain, and I wasn’t the least bit happy about it either.

“I’m sorry… but yes. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.”

Ron looked back and forth between us during our little exchange but said nothing. When I looked up at him it was clear that he didn’t miss any of it. Something was wrong and suddenly we were both aware of our missing guest.

“Where’s Hermione?” He asked her.

“She’s in the library; she said she’ll meet us in class.” Ron looked up at me, suddenly worried. Only one thing made Hermione skip meals for the library. There was trouble brewing at Hogwarts, and something told me our new little friend was at the bottom of it all.



-Break-



It was quiet on our way back to the great hall that evening for dinner. The tension in the air was like a live wire, crackling and sizzling between the four of us, waiting to make a connection. Hermione and I were distracted during Transfiguration and Charms class and I could tell that Harry and Ron were noticing that something major was up. It was all about to come to a head and I was fearful for the out come.

“Alright you two, spill. What’s going on that has the both of you so nervous you’re practically shaking.” Harry grabbed our arms and turned us around to face him. I saw Hermione glance my way before answering.

“Not here. We’ll tell you later.” Harry seemed to be losing his patience with us. I could see his face flushing with anger.

“No, tell me now. If something is so wrong that it’s got the two of you on edge like this, I need to know.” My resolve was wavering. Hadn’t I just been convincing myself all afternoon that telling him was the right thing to do? He deserved the truth.

“Hermione, maybe we should tell them now.” I said softly.

“Okay but not here. We’ll tell you everything over dinner. In case you hadn’t noticed, I skipped lunch this afternoon.” She hissed as she started tugging on their sleeves to get them to move. “But you’re not going to like this.”



-Dinner-



There are moments in everyone’s life that suddenly alter the course of every action you thought you’d ever make. After hearing Morgan and Hermione recount everything about the dreams Morgan was having, I was beginning to feel as if this was one of those moments.

“What does it all mean though?” I asked Hermione who seemed to have taken over the story telling. Morgan had been unusually quiet.

“I don’t know, Harry. I cross referenced everything I could find on magical rituals involving fire and babies or just babies and I couldn’t find anything. It just seems so ridiculous.”

Morgan’s head snapped up at that point and I wondered if there was anything else to the story.

“What about magical fires and babies?” Hermione looked skeptical but there was something to it.

“No, listen; it would explain why I’m still alive if it were actually me. Maybe the fire had some sort of magical property to it that we’re over looking.” Hermione thought about it for a moment.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that before. The only magical fires I ever knew were cursed fires that never went out and were wildly out of control. I don’t think you can magic a fire to do something other than burn.” Ron offered. Something wasn’t connecting though, there was something missing from the equation.

“No, Morgan’s right. What if the fire was a product of the enchanted voice she heard? That would mean the fire had become a sort of projection. Maybe it did something. Perhaps it was the physical aspect of the voice.” Hermione mused. I still wasn’t sold.

“This is all based on whether or not her dream was even real.” I said and was greeted with silence. I looked up at her then and instantly regretted my words. Her chin was trembling and a lone tear was traveling down her cheek.

“You don’t believe me.” She whispered. It wasn’t a question, but an accusation. I reached my hand out to her.

“No, I do believe you, but dreams are so relative. It could mean there’s something going on, but maybe we shouldn’t take this for…” I dropped off at the look on her face. She pulled her hand away from mine and looked determinedly ahead of her.

“This is exactly why I didn’t want to say anything.” She said flatly and took a few deep breaths, steadying herself before continuing. “I know how crazy this sounds okay? But I’m not crazy! I’m telling you, this was more than just your average dream. It was real!” She hissed vehemently at me. “And I don’t need you or anyone else to tell me otherwise.”

She got up from the table then, grabbing her bag and heading for door.

“Wait, Morgan, I’m sorry!” I jumped up and reached out for her. She whipped around then, anger tears streaking down her face.

“I never expected anything from you, Harry. I went along with everything you guys told me. About your life prior to school, about Voldemort, about everything! I’d have thought you of all the people in this place would understand how I feel. Apparently, I was severely wrong!” She yelled over a couple of first years. I looked around, suddenly very aware of how quiet the great hall had just become. After another withering look, she turned on her heel and ran through the door.

I sat back down and looked at Ron and Hermione. They both looked like they were holding back kicks.

“Blimey, Harry. Who’d have thought you’d have competition for the most uncomfortable situations to unfold in front of the whole school?” Ron quipped. I saw Hermione elbow him in the ribs and he winced in pain.

I suddenly became very aware of just how horrible this situation had gotten. Guilt racked through me as I replayed Morgan’s words in my head over and over again. ‘I’d have thought you of all the people in this place would understand how I feel.’  It was true, I should. Hadn’t I doubted myself in situations just like this one, and hadn’t I felt just as unsure and crazy as she had?

I shook my head and I realized how horrible I’d just been to her. All she had hoped for in reaching out to me was a friend to tell her she wasn’t crazy after all, and that everything would work out fine. You really did it this time, Potter. I really had.