Dreams of Magic (Harry Potter)

Twelve: Context

"Mister Malfoy, see me after class," Professor Quirrell's voice sounded so close, it was as if he were speaking directly into his ear. Draco looked up from his desk to see the man standing halfway across the room. They made direct eye contact, and Quirrell simply raised an eyebrow and turned away from him. Even amid the almost deafening noise of his peers practicing various charms or chatting, there was no mistake that Draco had heard the professor speak directly to him over it all.

Once class was over, Draco waited until everyone had trickled out of the room. He sent Crabbe on his way (Goyle was in a different class) and waved Addy a talk to you later wave, as she was hovering in the doorway and looking his way. Once the sound of her footsteps were lost down the hallway, Draco gathered his books and approached Quirrell's desk.

"You asked to see me, professor?" He said, hoping to get this over with quickly.

"Yes, my dear boy." Quirrell stood up. Quicker than a flash, he pulled out his wand and muttered a few inaudible words. Before Draco could even react, the wand was pointed at his chest, a bright light shone in his face, his eyes shut, and his mind went blissfully blank.

"Now, listen to me." Sounding as if he were speaking underwater, Professor Quirrell's voice was invading his mind. "There is a ring which has been placed in your bag. You will find the right time to give it to Adaline Hemmingway when no one is watching. You are to tell her that the ring will keep her safe from harm, and you are to tell her that this is a heartwarming gift from you and nothing more. This will be done in a timely fashion. Understood?" Still unsure whether this was a dream, Draco nodded, his eyes still closed. Somehow, though he didn't know what was happening, it all happened fast, and the information seemed to weave its way into his brain. He understood his instructions perfectly, as if he had thought them up himself. As far as he was concerned, perhaps he had thought them up- what was real and what was not was very unclear at the moment.

"Very well," The voice came again. "Now, go back to your dormitory and hide the ring until you give it to the girl." Draco's mind went dark, and for a moment everything was silent. A blinding light shone in his eyes moments later, and Draco blinked against the harsh sunlight beaming through a large window on the upper walls of the corridor. He realized that he was now standing outside of his Defense classroom, bag open in his hands. Peering inside, Draco saw a small box sitting on top of his textbooks. It was open, and he saw the glint of a dark blue ring. He didn't quite remember how he (or the ring) had gotten there, but he did know he was going to head back to the Slytherin dorms; he had important things to do.

***

Draco bolted upright in his bed.

What an odd dream, He thought to himself, rubbing his eyes harshly.

It felt almost real. The image of Quirrell's face was still plastered in his mind, and he lightly slapped his cheeks as if to clear his brain. The dream had disconcerted him, and for a moment, he looked around to ensure he was still in his Hogwarts dorm room. Ben was snoring above him and Qyrinus had an arm and a leg hanging over the edge of the bed across from him, so he knew he was home.

But still, even with that assertion, the dream continued to plague Draco. He laid awake for an hour before falling into a fitful sleep, spending the rest of the night fighting off semi-waking nightmares. He began imagining giant, dark creatures lurking in the shadowy corners of the room. His platinum hair now seemed to shine like a beacon in the dark, urging imaginary evils to find and kill him. He fell in and out of consciousness, not quite sure what was real and what wasn't, fighting off these dream-demons that wouldn't leave him be.

Draco awoke the next morning exhausted, both mentally and physically. His spirit felt trodden upon and he was oddly unhappy. Most of the previous nights' dreams had melted into one unforgiving, vague nightmare in his head, but the one thing he remembered clearly was the dream about Addy and the Dark Arts teacher. Of course, it was just a dream... but Draco couldn't quite forget the fact that the ring in his backpack looked exactly like the ring he'd given to Addy just a few days earlier.