The Staff of Dreams

Lia stifled a yawn as the students filed out of her classroom, all talking excitedly about the Halloween feast that was happening later that night. It had been three or four weeks since the break in at the castle but Professor McGonagall had been relentless about security so night patrols continued. Glancing at her watch, Lia yawned again, thankful that her last class for the day was over and she could finally take a nap. Swishing her wand toward the classroom door, she locked it from where she sat, too tired to trudge down the stairs to her office. Putting her feet up on the desktop and leaning back in her chair, Lia tipped her pointed hat down over her eyes and sighed contentedly, prepared for a nice, long rest.

“Wake up sleepy-head!” Malicia called as she bounded into the room. Lia groaned audibly and glared at her friend from under the brim of her hat. “Come on, we’ve got a feast tonight!” she said, picking up spare pieces of parchment and tossing them at her so they bounced off the brim.

“I’m too tired, go away.” Lia growled, waving her wand to stop the paper-onslaught.

“I did watch duty last night too and I’m not tired!” Malicia whined, going over and poking her friend incessantly on her back. They often acted childishly when together, but what was the harm of being young at heart?

“Well you didn’t teach two nights of astronomy before having to do a night of watch either, did you?” she snapped. There was a hint of a smile in her voice. It was hard for Lia to stay mad at anyone, least of all Malicia.

Grabbing the point of Lia’s hat, Malicia pulled it off her head, making her friend’s hair stand in all directions, “C’mon Lia! You know you don’t want to miss the Halloween feast, it was always your favorite part of the year outside of quidditch!”

Lia glared at her friend a few seconds more before smiling and shaking her head. “I’m going to need coffee, aren’t I?” she sighed regretfully as she pulled herself out of the chair.

“You’re going to need so much!” Malicia grinned, tossing Lia’s hat back to her. “After the feast a bunch of us are getting together and hanging out in one of the empty classrooms that I decorated and you have to come. It just won’t be the same if you don’t.” Malicia pouted and batted her eyelashes and while she doubted it would really do much to convince her friend, she at least thought it was funny.

Lia’s head fell back, feigning remorse, “You’re killing me here!” she said, stumbling from behind the desk while Malicia opened the door and started to lead them down to the Great Hall. “Do you hate me so much that you aren’t going to let me get any sleep?” she demanded.

“You’re such a whiner, but yes.” Malicia called over her shoulder as they wove through the students who were on their way down the main staircase or hurrying back to their common rooms. “Cass, Teddy, Hermione and Neville are coming to our little gathering; so is Ron because Hermione pestered him into it plus Harry said he’s bringing Ginny! On top of that, George is on patrol tonight so he’ll be popping in for a few minutes too. It’ll be fun to have everyone together for something that isn’t all foreboding and evil! Come on, this doom and gloom stuff may be what brought us together but it doesn’t have to stay that way.”

Reluctantly Lia agreed. It had been too long since they had all spent time together as friends without having the end of the world weighing on their shoulders. “Okay, you’re right, that does sound like fun. But can’t I get a nap before the party starts?” Lia begged. “I’m so tired!”

“Suck it up; you’re more fun when you’re slap-happy tired anyway once you get past this whiny, grumbling phase that is.” Malicia smirked. “Besides, I didn’t sleep after watch so I could set up for our little after party, so there.”

Lia rolled her eyes and sat at the instructor’s table in the Great Hall while a magnificent meal magically appeared before them just as it did every year at the Halloween Feast. While the teachers chatted together, McGonagall looked over at Lia with a raised brow, “I’m surprised you aren’t resting, Lia.” She said casually. “I know you’ve had some long nights this week and it must be adding up.”

Lia smacked Malicia’s arm, “See? Minerva wanted me to sleep!”

Malicia stuck her tongue out at Lia and grinned at McGonagall. “She’ll be fine, she’s not nearly as tired as she pretends to be.”

Minerva smiled and shook her head, “Some things never change.” She laughed as Lia threw a roll at Malicia’s head.

“Joke’s on you, I’m going to eat that.” Malicia picked up the roll and added it to her plate.

After the feast the students dragged their feet to their dormitories, all overly stuffed and ready for a good night’s rest. Malicia and Lia led their friends and fellow staff members to the fifth floor where Harry, Ginny, Ron, and George had started without them, bringing some homemade cakes, some spice wine, and enough pumpkin juice and butterbeer for all. The group of friends played wizard’s chess and exploding snap into the early hours of the morning, all of them thoroughly enjoying their time together not spent worrying about the possible evil lurking up ahead.

Lia pulled some muggle board games from her office and almost immediately got into an argument with Ron over why the characters in Clue didn’t move on their own accord. George randomly scanned the hallways of Hogwarts for intruders when he felt the need, but his patrols did not seem to take him more than a few minutes. It took a few butterbeers for Harry to admit that he’d lent George the Marauder’s Map, a parchment that showed every room in the school and who was where on the grounds at all times so that he could spend most of his time with their friends instead of patrolling the school corridors.

Ginny regaled them with tales of her adventures in Quidditch training and then updated them on the lives of their kids and how the years had gone for her and Harry. Hermione had been so pleased to see muggle games from her childhood that she and Lia had gotten locked into a conversation so intense about Monopoly that the others hadn’t bothered to try and interrupt them. George and Ron were quick to play games of Exploding Snap so they could avoid being roped into the ridiculous muggle games that didn’t make any sense to them. Ron had even explained that Hermione had tried to introduce them to their kids, who actually had enjoyed the games, but Ron had failed to understand the concept or the point of most of them and had conveniently found yard work to do instead.

Partway into the night, Hannah Abbott had shown up to surprise Neville who was more than proud to have his wife joining them. He’d brought with him small plants that he’d been working on breeding with Hagrid that they could sell like household pets. The small fuzzy blackish green plants had three leaves at their base and a large bulb at the top. Periodically they would shift colors and release from the top of the bulb bubbles of the same color that would float around the room and light up. They proved to be quite the excellent party favor and each person attending promised to buy one to take home with them. Cassian had taken two because he’d thought they’d be hilarious to put in his lab at St. Mungo’s. He promised to update the name of it to the Rave Cave then had to spend the next twenty minutes explaining to those unfamiliar what a rave was in muggle terms.

Cassian worked the room after that, excited to be with all of his old friends again while catching up with each and every person in the place. He’d kept up with Lia over the years, but the others, particularly the old Gryffindors, had been a sight for sore eyes. Theodore sipped his spiced wine, rarely engaging in conversation and adding only hints of smiles or smirks to the stories that were told. Soon after the excitement died down and the supply of butterbeer ran short, the group gathered around a magical fire that George had summoned to dance around and sing made up tribal songs and exchanged stories from the old days.

Neville told stories about his son Frank and just how much like him he had been when he was a child. Somehow their shortcomings they’d suffered through in their youth seemed more humorous now than they had at the time. Harry kept them gripped to the edge of their seats with tales from the Aurors office with the occasional participation from Ron. Hermione rolled her eyes and would jump in every so often to object that some of their tales were short of impossible and began listing the reasons why.

Malicia shared the story of how it came that she started to work with Luna, who she added in couldn’t come to the party tonight because of a prior engagement with Newt, as well as several harrowing tales of adventure and hilarity she’d been on over the years. It was a night to be remembered, to say the very least.

Shortly after the clock struck three in the morning, Malicia was falling prey to a mixture of exhaustion and a little too much butterbeer so she decided to take her leave. When the others started to pack up to go she’d insisted they stay. She said this was precisely why she hadn’t had the party in her office, just in case she gave into sleepiness before they were ready to part ways. They all agreed this shouldn’t be the last gathering of old friends they had anytime soon.

Waving goodbye and still chatting with her friends on the way out the door, Malicia covered her mouth in a yawn as she finally made it out of the once empty classroom and started through the corridors that would lead her to the Grand Staircase and up to the sixth floor where she could return to her office. Her stomach was turning over and over, very likely from the bad combination of too much food, too much drink and not enough sleep to balance it out.

Overall, Malicia thought the discomfort had been more than worth it considering how successful the little gathering of old friends had been. She’d forgotten over the years how nice it was to talk to someone other than her little magical ledger that would write down her musings while she was out exploring the wilderness.

Blindly stumbling into her office, she closed the door behind her, neglected to lock it and then hurried into her living quarters. Using her wand to swing the door closed and locked, she dropped it on the floor and immediately fell asleep, her legs still hanging off the side of the bed.

Malicia blinked her eyes open slowly. How long had she slept? Probably not long by the feel of her aching head. Her stomach was still turning and she tried once again to observe her surroundings and blinked her eyes. Or at least she thought she had blinked them open. Darkness still met her all around. Fear immediately gripped her chest. Was she back in that awful forest? Would terrible bug like creatures come at her at any moment? Cautiously moving a foot forward, she could feel nothing out of the ordinary beneath her. Sliding one foot at a time, she continued without assault through the darkness. Once more it didn’t feel like she was sleeping, but she knew better than to think that now. She had likely passed out in her room in an awkward position again and was one step further along the path for the Staff of Dreams than before.

Or maybe this dream had nothing to do with the staff at all. She’d had lucid dreams before, usually after drinking some strange brew given to her by some wizards in other countries, but still she knew it was a possibility. Plus, she’d had an awful lot of butterbeer at their little party. Ron and George were quite the pushers when it came to drinking!

Could she be having a nightmare about a nightmare that she’d had? She laughed, just because of how ludicrous that sounded to begin with. Or at least she thought she’d laughed. Why hadn’t the sound echoed through the darkness? Even in the dream before this one she’d been able to hear the sound of her voice. Shaking it off as nothing at all, Malicia touched over her face but her fingers felt strangely numbed.

This gave her the chills. At least no nasty groping hands covered in hair and pus were grabbing at her after she tried it this time. But there was something equally unsettling about not being able to properly feel her own face. Nonchalantly, Malicia reached to touch the fading scar on her arm that she’d received consequence of the last dream. It was still there, even if she could barely feel it beneath her fingertips. Making fists with both hands, Malicia tried to work out the tingling feeling to no avail.

Deciding that standing around vulnerable in the darkness wasn’t going to get her anywhere, she started walking forward. The ground was flat beneath her feet and easy to maneuver across, unlike the last time where she felt as though she’d been in the worst terrain imaginable for the world to have gone black. The air became thicker and harder to breathe with every step she took. With how thick it’d become she expected to feel the humidity around her but still she felt nothing.

As she walked, the darkness felt more like a haze. She could see the outlines of things in the distance, but nothing clearly. She stopped suddenly when the outlines changed in front of her, like someone had stepped past her. Clenching her fists so she could defend herself if necessary, Malicia wondered who else would be in the dream with her. Or worse, what else could be in the dream with her. Why she assumed it was a person was something she guessed was instinct.

Much to her surprise, no attack came, no fleshy hands, no dirty claws.

Turning in place, Malicia realized something that frightened her almost as much as the idea of monsters: she was completely and utterly alone.

Lia was the last to leave the room after saying goodnight to her friends. Cassian and Theodore made fun of her for being so tired earlier in their festivities, but now her eyes were sparkling with lack of sleep and adrenaline. They passed Cassian’s office and said goodnight, when they approached Lia’s, she kept walking. “Not ready for bed then?” Theodore asked with a raised brow.

Lia shrugged, “It’ll take me forever to get to sleep now; I think I’m going to go lay on the grass under the stars tonight.”

“You’ll fall asleep outside, then.” Teddy pointed out.

Lia smiled fondly at the thought, “Oh, that’s okay, the stars are my oldest friends Teddy, they’re the best nighttime companions.

“Do you want company?” he asked. “I don’t mind walking you down there.”

Lia laughed, “I’m pretty sure I can make it to the front doors on my own.” She smirked, Teddy’s face flushed momentarily. They got to his office and Lia patted his arm, “Goodnight Teddy, I’ll see you in the morning…or maybe afternoon…well, sometime this weekend I’m sure.” She said before making her way down the stairs.

She wasn’t sure why, but Lia knew that she had to be on the grounds that night, at that exact moment. If she could apparate inside of Hogwarts she would have gone down that way to be faster. Running down the stairs, Lia giggled to herself occasionally, looking back over that night, over the years, letting her mind wander aimlessly as she jumped over trick stairs and occasionally slid down banisters. As she neared the entrance hall, her momentum caught up with her and she tripped over the last few steps, rolling down the remainder of the stairs and landing sitting on her bottom with her feet spread before her. “I think I dropped my hat.” She giggled to herself as she crawled her way back to a standing position. She looked at her feet very carefully, then her arms and torso, as if making sure all of her miscellaneous parts were accounted for before heading to the doors again.

Lia made her way around the castle, looking up at the stars as she walked almost drunkenly toward the lake. Briefly she considered why she felt so peculiar knowing that all she had to drink was butterbeer which had no alcohol, but trying to figure that out took too much focus and her mind quickly drifted as she neared the lake and saw the moon glistening off the still waters. “It’s so beautiful.” She said as she stumbled towards the waterline, kicking her shoes off as she got nearer. “I’ve always loved this lake.” Her feet connected with the cold water and somewhere in her mind she knew that she should stop her shenanigans and return to her office, but something pulled her farther into the water.

She splashed around and let the water creep over her body, wetting her clothes as she got deeper and deeper. Finding an algae covered rock with her foot, she slipped and fell into the water completely and struggled in her billowing robes to reach the surface for a breath of air, but somehow she had gotten turned around and rather than the light of the moon becoming brighter, the cold, murky darkness enveloped her as she made her way deeper and deeper into the waters.

Fear gripped Lia as her lungs began to burn, begging to release the oxygen she had pent up and slowly, small bubbles came from her lips. Her arms grew tired of fighting with the water; her body went limp and her mouth opened to try once more to get a taste of air, but only cold water filled her lungs. Thoughts of regret echoed in her mind as the faces of her friends and family flashed before her eyes. She knew that she couldn’t make it to the surface and there was no one to call for help. Taking her time, Lia came to terms with her death.

Continuing toward the shapes outlined in the distance, Malicia felt her limbs starting to ache like she’d been running a marathon. Why was that? She’d barely walked a few feet; there was no reason for her to be so sore. Her heart was even racing, practically pounding out of her chest from how hard it was beating. Gripping her chest, she found that the feeling in her fingers had finally faded entirely. She could no longer sense where her hands were or what she was touching. Walking became suddenly infinitely harder than it was before. Her feet weren’t even tingling with the awkward numb feeling she’d sometimes get when she sat in one spot for too long.

Rushing forward, sloppily, she was filled with a sudden sense of urgency. She couldn’t hear her footsteps and she was sure she should be able to. Her senses were fading. The pieces of the puzzle finally snapped together to paint a clear picture in her mind.

The room she was in wasn’t dark, her vision was being destroyed, her hearing was gone, the tingling in her fingers had been the loss of her sense of feeling and now at long last she was losing the ability to breathe. What she’d mistaken for thick air had been her airways shrinking up and closing off to the air around her. Whether it was the elements of her surroundings causing her problems or her senses that had been muted, she didn’t care.

All she knew was that she needed to get to her goal before she ran entirely out of air, which seemed to be happening relatively quickly. The ache in her chest became fully fledged pain and it was taking every bit of her resolve not to break down into a panic. When one was faced with being unable to control their own body, panic was often the end result. Malicia knew she didn’t have time for that.

Blinking her eyes closed and holding them tight she tried to clear her thoughts so she could think. What had gotten her out of the last dream? She’d embraced the acceptance of fear and the door in the side of the tree had opened to allow her to wake up and be freed of the dream in success.

After a few minutes Lia’s eyes shot open as the realization that she was still alive came to her. Not only was she still alive, she was breathing! Water was flowing in and out of her lungs like air as she floated aimlessly in the water, sinking deeper and deeper into the lake. A logical voice in her head told her to get out now, while she still could, but nervous energy still flooded her veins and the realization that her eyes were adjusting to the darkness and she was beginning to be able to see through the gloomy water gave her the thrill of adventure. Tossing her conscience aside, Lia began moving through the water, pulling off her cloak to move better, diving deeper and deeper, anxious to see how big the lake really was.

An intense silence surrounded her as she made her way through the water, a lack of noise that she had never experienced before. She knew that sound was just a form of waves and that she should hear at least some things in the water, but it was as if her ears were shielded from receiving the waves. Her eyes could cut through the cloudy water and she could see farther and clearer than she could above ground. She knew that something was drawing her, pulling her forward, giving her these distinct gifts, but she had no idea what magic could do such a thing.

While she pondered, Lia sank to the floor of the lake, floating a few feet above a forest of seaweed that guarded the lake floor. As she moved effortlessly through the water, a wave pushed her down into the weeds. Looking around frantically, Lia saw a large group of mer-people above her. Most swam by without looking at her, a few looked in her direction but confusion was evident on their faces, as if they knew they should see something, but had been unable to. Looking through the floating leaves around her, Lia saw nesting grindylows, unperturbed by her presence.

Lia was just at the point where she was sure no one could see her when she heard a cry for help from behind her. Flipping onto her back she saw a man caught in the weeds along the floor of the lake only a few feet behind her. The grindylows that had been ignorant of an invader’s presence only moments before turned sharply to the sound, their fangs and claws prepared to protect their homes. The flock of mer-people looked through her to the man, now aware of his presence, and pulled their weapons to capture the invader.

The creatures swam around Lia and charged the now drowning man. Apparently, at his outcry, whatever magic that had been protecting him in the water was shattered and he was choking on the water in his lungs. Lia wanted to turn back and help the man, but something told her to continue forward. She watched as the mer-people pulled the grindylows off the man and began pulling him to the surface, now certain that he was no threat to their home. Shuddering at the fate of the man who now floated above her, Lia turned and continued forward.

Instead of being able to think clearly, she saw in her mind’s eye a vision from her past. It had been the last time she saw Nico and when she had decided to travel the world and throw caution to the wind. He had been unsupportive of her dream. He’d wanted a wife and a mother for his future children to settle down with so he could set roots into a political career, not an explorer who went on dangerous missions and was only around for a portion of the year.

Malicia snapped her eyes open and shivered, coughing and gagging on the lack of oxygen, but not hearing the sound of it. She had to concentrate and focus on her end result. The dream was trying to fill her with regret. Or perhaps the lack of oxygen to her system was forcing her life to flash before her eyes. Did she really regret not making things work with Nico so much that it was the first thing that had popped into her mind?

What had she discovered before the regret had taken over? A door. She had found a door in the side of a beautiful tree and when she’d faced her fear, it had opened and set her free. Squinting through the darkness at the shapes and outlines that were still apparent to her, Malicia searched for a door. Instinct was assuring her that the way out would once again be as simple as a door.

Blinking a few times in a poor attempt to clear her vision, Malicia thought she saw what might have been the shape of a door in the distance and started running for it. Running, of course, had been a huge mistake on her part. Her lungs constricted and begged for oxygen, forcing her to gag and her mouth to uncomfortably fill with saliva.

Still, she didn’t stop and continued running until her legs would no longer carry her. That didn’t take long, considering she couldn’t properly feel her feet. Eventually she tripped and fell face first on the ground. She assumed it hurt, but couldn’t honestly feel the pain that it caused. When she scrambled back to her feet, the door seemed just as far away as it had been before she’d started running. That was impossible! How could it still be so far away when she’d run so far and had gotten so close? Another trick of the dream she was sure.

Then her numbed feet collided again beneath her and this time sent her flying forward, rolling hard several feet against the flat ground. This time it was much harder to get up, and why should she bother? So she could see that the door had moved further away again? Eyes forced close in preparation of getting off the ground, Malicia saw the regret again in her mind’s eye.

The last time she’d said goodbye to Lia they’d been talking about meeting up over the fall in her hometown and they had been starting to talk about a wizarding endeavor they’d make together. Life had gotten in the way of course, and while she’d tried to send the occasional owl to her friend, overall she’d lost contact with her entirely. And Cassian, she hadn’t even said goodbye to him. Perhaps because she thought it would be too hard to say goodbye to another best friend after how things had gone with Lia. She had thought it would be easier that way, but had never considered that it wouldn’t have been easier on Cassian.

All along the floor of the lake, holes, caverns, and canyons floated past as Lia made her way farther and farther into the waters, but as she came to the middle of the lake, one cavern looked particularly out of place. It was perfectly round and just big enough for a person to fit through. Taking a deep breath, Lia readied herself for what might face her inside and swam into the opening.

Lia found that the entrance led to a tunnel that was carved into the side of the lake. Rather than be in total darkness, as she assumed she would be, a small light came from the end of the tunnel, pulling her forward. She found the cavern oddly devoid of life. There were no fish, no plants, no algae as she made her way farther and farther in and it caused a tingling of worry in the back of her mind. The tunnel grew smaller and smaller until she was having to claw at the sides to pull herself forward, but she could see the light only a few feet in front of her. Expelling all the air, or in this case, water, from her lungs Lia forced herself through and fell head-first into a circular room.

The source of the light was a small orb floating in the center of the room, and by it Lia could see the smooth, stone walls of the cave where she was deposited. Looking around she realized that not only was there no water in the room, but her hair and clothes were completely dry. The water from the tunnel seemed to be held at bay buy a barrier of some kind, and though there should be limited oxygen in a space this small, Lia found that she could breathe easily.

There was no writing of any kind along the walls, no pictures, and no way out. Whatever Lia was supposed to do here, she found no clues to guide her forward. Without any obvious signs, Lia found her mind beginning to wander as she once more circled the round room. Wanting to know whether or not this experience was real or a dream, Lia let her hand wander along the smooth, stone wall, almost expecting her hand to go through it. At her touch, water trickled off the wall where her fingers were and pooled in the center of the room in the shape of an ornate key.

Unconsciously, Lia touched the wooden key that hung at her chest and knew that they were connected. She reached out to try to grab the key on the ground, but it turned into a pool of water as soon as her skin touched it. After trying futilely to grab in several times, Lia pulled her wand out and conjured a flask. She laid the flask next to the key and it flowed through the top without prompting.

Lying still on the ground, Malicia opened her eyes, assuming they were filled with tears. Again, the girl couldn’t tell, thanks to the numbness of the dream. Her head was swimming, that she could feel. The grip on her chest was tightening and she was starting to feel sick. Even coughing offered her no relief. She didn’t think she could run any further. No matter how hard she’d tried, the door had evaded her. Clearly she hadn’t taken the proper approach this time.

Before she could further contemplate what horrible stage would follow the loss of oxygen, Malicia saw in the darkness next to her, the door she’d been pursuing. When she’d given up hope of reaching it, it had made its way to her. Was that a trick of the dreams? Did she have to abandon hope or pride in order to reach her goal? Struggling to her knees, Malicia reached for the door and where she assumed a handle would be to open it. Just like the dream before it, the door had no handle.

Using the door to aid her, she slowly got to her feet and stumbled. The stinging pain in her knees and scraped up hands from repeated falls was getting to her. She took this as a good sign, considering she hadn’t been able to feel a thing before, not even pain!

“I’m gonna break the damn thing down.” Malicia panted between poor attempts to breathe. Her head was swimming, lungs were aching with the lack of oxygen, but she felt renewed at the fact that she’d at least gotten to the door. When she got out of this dream, well, if she got out of this dream, she’d have to ask someone about physical combat. Because of the nature of her career she was in decent shape, but clearly not in good enough shape to handle the things that she’d encountered within her dreams.

Apprehension struck her and she hesitated. If she smashed into the door it was going to hurt later. But there were no other options. So without another thought, Malicia ran shoulder first into the door. Crash! She hit it so hard that her shoulder smashed into it and bounced her backwards, throwing her onto her back. Dizzy from falling, Malicia immediately returned to her feet.

Instead of taking it at a running start this time, she hurried to the door and started to push and pull on the corners. Her limited vision was dimming and her grip became sloppier with time as things continued on. She had very little time left before she was forced to give into the terrifying grip that was clutching at her. The more she thought about it, the more she felt death’s cold fingers around her throat, urging her to go quicker.

Gripping at the frame of the large door near where Malicia assumed it would open, she slammed her shoulder repeatedly into the frame. It wasn’t hurting now, but she was sure it would be bruised and scraped up later. That didn’t matter, not now. Having a big ugly bruised shoulder would be better than being dead in a dream. The scratch from the first dream seemed to prove to her that they were as real as the life she lived each day teaching at Hogwarts.

As soon as the key was in the flask, the orb of light flashed and the room went dark. Lia felt water beginning to pool at her feet as the barrier that had held the lake back was broken. Frantically, Lia shoved the flask into the hidden pocket of her dress and searched for the opening, the only way out of the small room. Taking a deep breath, she tried to climb back into the tunnel only to be expelled by the force of the water flowing in. The water was at shoulder height now and rising quickly. Lia took one last breath and dove underwater to look for the tunnel. By the time she found it, the cavern must have been full because the current was gone. Clawing her way forward, Lia climbed through the tunnel, her clothes weighing her down as she tried to reach the surface as soon as she could.

Breaking through the tunnel to the lake floor, Lia’s lungs were burning from holding her air for so long. As she dug her way through the forest of weeds, grindylows began pulling at her clothes, trying to drag her down. Desperate to escape, Lia pulled out her wand and pointed it at the creatures, sending a jet of boiling water at them. By the time she was released, her head was pounding from the lack of fresh air. With all the strength she could muster she kicked and swam, forcing her way up to the surface, but now the weight of the water sat heavily on her bones, making them ache, and the exhaustion she’d felt before the party was back, draining the energy from her burning limbs.

Slowly, the air leaked out of her lips due to her effort and she was sure that if she hadn’t been deep in the bowels of the lake, tears would be falling from her eyes for every bubble of air that she lost. She could see a hint of the rising sun as it peaked over the castle grounds and it was still so far away. Unable to move her arms anymore, Lia released a sigh, certain that there would be no magic to save her now as water flooded into her mouth and lungs. As she lost consciousness she felt something strong encircle her waist, thinking that this time the giant squid might have been too late.

Grunting and shouting several obscene curse words at the door as it refused to give, Malicia slid down against it. Coughing and gagging and seeing bright lights and stars in her vision, she knew it was at last the end. Her lungs weren’t taking any air in any longer and she was going to die. She had no strength left in her limbs, no hope that she would get the door open.

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the door with a solid thunk. This was it, this was the end. She was dying. There were so many things she hadn’t gotten to do, so many things she hadn’t gotten to say. She’d never fallen in love, or explored the rain forest. She’d never solved the mystery of her parents’ deaths or set Lia up with someone. When had she given up on those things?

“Malicia!” At first she thought it was simply a hallucination, a trick of the lack of oxygen playing with her mind so she didn’t pay attention to the pain it caused. But then she heard her name again, from a voice she recognized. Lia was calling her! Lia was yelling to her. Malicia leaned away from the door and looked around but she saw nothing, not even the door. Her vision had at last failed her.

“Malicia!” This time, Cassian was calling to her and urging her on. She heard her name being called over and over, by Harry, by Minerva, Ron, Luna, almost every one of her friends she’d made over the years and mostly in the last month.

She’d try one last time, to run into the door and get it to open. She’d try one more time to get to the friends calling her from the other side. If not for her own selfish needs, she’d try it just so their encouragement wouldn’t be in vain.

Malicia got to her feet, eyes still closed, concentrated on where she recalled the door being and took off at a run. Instead of feeling her shoulder smashing into the door as it had before, she felt it swing open and fell through the other side.

Gasping awake, Malicia immediately stood up and then fell right onto her floor. Lying on her back she stared at the ceiling and coughed for air. Her lungs were stinging and aching just as badly as they had been when she was in the dream. As she rolled over her shoulder gave beneath her and she fell flat on her face and grimaced. Just as she had predicted, her shoulder was throbbing in misery from having been repeatedly bashed into a door. Her hands were scuffed up and her fingernails bloodied from prying so hard at it.

“Malicia! Malicia, open up! Are you okay? Please answer me! Malicia!” Cassian’s voice was coming from the other side of the door as he banged against it.

Just as she was going to answer, she felt the same sting in her back that she’d felt after the last dream. It was like a hot knife was being pressed against her skin. Grimacing, wincing and cursing between coughing and gagging, she gripped at the floor and waited for it to pass. If she’d been that miserable in the dream, what could Lia have gone through? With her heart pounding in her ears she decided she couldn’t keep her secret any longer. She had to tell Lia what she was up against so she could at least prepare for what would come next. If Malicia had it her way, she wouldn’t have involved anyone but there had been no choices in the matter.

“Malicia, that’s it! I’m coming in!”

“Just hold on a second, okay?” Malicia said between coughs. The sound from the other side of the door stopped. Apparently Cassian had not been expecting her to respond. What he had been expecting or why he was there was a mystery to her.

“Are you okay? What’s going on in there?”

“Two seconds, okay?” Malicia laid flat on the floor while she waited for the throbbing in her back to cease. Slowly sitting up once she sure the pain had subsided she stopped to catch her breath. Something told her it would take awhile to fully recover.

“Fine, as long as you’re okay.” Cassian still sounded apprehensive.

“I’m fine, just… give me a moment.” Malicia slowly pushed to her feet and tested her balance. She was okay and getting better by the second. Peeking into her mirror she noted the purplish bruise growing on her shoulder and cursed under her breath. She had done more cursing that night than she had in years.

Finding her cloak, she threw it over her shoulders and tied it tightly so that it would cover both the blood she was sure was on her back and the bruise on her shoulder. Coughing again against the back of her hand, she went to the door, unlocked it, and opened it wide.

“What?” Cassian was pale and looked both exhausted and concerned. He stared at her open mouthed in awe for a moment, then turned around to make sure he wasn’t losing his mind. Swiping his hand through his hair, then over his mouth he cleared his throat.

“Excuse me? You’re in there practically hacking up a lung and you wonder why I’m here? I could hear you all the way in the hall!”

“Well, that explains a lot.” Malicia pursed her lips and then started into her office, stumbling tiredly along.

“What was that? Are you sick? Come on, let’s go to Madame Pomfrey.” Cassian followed her as she hurried through the office. “Malicia, stop!” He shouted, stomping his foot against the ground in frustration.

“We have to find Lia.” She turned around, hoping to convey her concern through just a look. Cassian sighed and closed his eyes tightly, pinching the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb.

“Why? Why do we have to find Lia? She’s probably sleeping in her office.”

“She’s not, something’s wrong.” Malicia knew she couldn’t tell Cassian what was going on with the Staff of Dreams. The more people who knew, the more would be in danger. It wasn’t written anywhere that this was truth, but Malicia’s gut was telling her not to reveal the secret to him.

“I don’t care.” Cassian laughed in disbelief. “What is wrong with you? First you leave the party looking pale and then you’re gagging and coughing so loud that it sounds like someone’s torturing you. You can’t expect me to let that go, right?”

“Look, you just have to trust me.” Malicia approached Cassian cautiously, hands in front of her in a defensive gesture.

“Trust you? I haven’t seen you in years, Malicia, right now I just want the truth. And then I’ll trust you.” Malicia winced from the way Cassian had spoken to her. He’d clearly grown out of his awkward shell quite a bit from his years in school when he had barely been able to ask her a simple question without apologizing.

“I know, but right now I can’t. Right now I need to find Lia and if you want me to see Poppy I will but she’s not going to think it’s funny that you woke her up when I’m okay.” Malicia started out of the office again without him. She didn’t have time to waste. Something was tugging at her and telling her she needed to find Lia.

“Lia is in her room, she left awhile ago! She was exhausted and not for anything, complaining that you wouldn’t let her sleep.” Cassian trailed behind Malicia. Even if she didn’t tell him what was going on, he wasn’t going to let her go wherever she was headed alone. “Do you have a fever? Are you delusional? You know, I do the doctor thing now…”

“I swear Cass, if you don’t stop harping on me I am going to hex you!” Malicia hurried up, holding her cloak at her sides and taking the stairs at a run, being careful of the false steps just in case. “And I know some really creative curses you wouldn’t be able to imagine up.”

“If she’s not in her room, where do you propose she is?” Cassian shouted from the top of the staircase before following after her with a heavy sigh. Malicia stopped while she waited for the staircases to shift so she could get further downstairs.

“The lake.” She wasn’t sure how she knew where she’d find her friend, but somehow, she knew.

Theodore tried to sleep, but couldn’t get the strange image of Lia out of his mind. Something about her eyes when they said goodnight had bothered him and he was angry with himself for letting her walk down to the grounds alone. Letting a string of curses flow freely from his tongue, he got out of bed and pulled his cloak over his shoulders and stormed down the stairs. It had been a few hours since they had parted, but Teddy was certain he could find her on the grounds. She only had one or two favorite spots to watch the stars that weren’t in the forest and they weren’t too far from the entrance to the castle.

In a few short minutes Theodore was near the lake, but he hadn’t planned on spending much time searching there. The trees along the side of the lake were too dense to provide a clear view of the stars, but something caught his eye. As the sun peaked over the edge of the lake, a shadow appeared near the water’s edge: a shoe. Curious, Theodore walked to the lake and saw the shoes followed by footprints leading to the edge of the water where a dark cloak floated aimlessly in the shallow water. It had been the cloak Lia was wearing that night.

Running into the water, Theodore grabbed the cloak and found it empty. His heart stopped hammering for a moment as he realized that Lia was not lost in the waterlogged cloak, but slowly the realization dawned on him that if her shoes and cloak were sitting at the water’s edge, that she must be in the water still.

“Lia!” he called, letting his voice echo off the castle walls. “Lia!” Of course, if she had been underwater and drowned, there was no way that she could hear him, let alone answer his yells. He dragged the cloak to the shore, picked up a rock, and threw it into the water in frustration. As the rock skipped across the flat surface of the water, a giant tentacle rose to the surface, clutching a limp figure in a green dress. Cursing once more, Theodore kicked his house shoes off and dove into the water, swimming as fast as he could toward Lia’s unconscious form.

Linking one of her arms in his, he turned and pulled her back to the shore trying not to think about how pale she looked. Once they were on solid ground, Theodore flipped Lia onto her stomach and began pushing on her back and watched in fear as water poured out of her lungs. Once no more water came from her mouth he flipped her onto her back and breathed air into her lungs, following with chest compressions. After what seemed like hours, Lia began coughing and taking long, deep breaths.

“Teddy…” Lia gasped as air returned to her lungs and color to her skin.

He help Lia up and sat her against the tree near the waterline, she was so tired she was shaking. “What the hell were you doing?” He demanded angrily, though relief that she was safe was evident in his voice.

Lia shook her head, barely able to do more, “I don’t really know.” She stuttered, her teeth chattering from the cold.

Theodore picked up his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders before pulling out his wand. Hot air flowed from its tip and in a few minutes both friends were dry, but Lia was still shaking. He picked her up and saw Malicia and Cassian come rushing out of the entrance doors from the castle. “I’m not going to push you now,” he whispered as he carried her toward the castle, “but when you’re well, you’re going to give me some answers.” He said firmly as Malicia and Cassian reached them. Ignoring their questions, Theodore took Lia into the castle and to the infirmary, setting her carefully in a bed.

“This is starting to become a habit.” Madame Pomfrey grumbled as she fussed over Lia and listened to what happened. “All of you, out.” She demanded as she began pouring some Pepper-Up Potion into a goblet for Lia to drink. Reluctantly, Theodore and Cassian headed for the door, but Malicia stayed resolutely behind.

“C’mon Malicia, she needs to rest and so do you.” Cassian objected as Malicia made herself comfortable next to her friend.

“You guys go; I’ll stay with her this time.” She said, waving him off. “Besides, I can rest here just as easily as I could in my office.” Cassian looked like he was about to object but Malicia was firm, “Go Cass. I’ll see you later, I’m sure.” Knowing that he would be defeated, Cassian turned and followed Theodore out of the hospital wing.

Theodore was still standing in the hallway, looking suspiciously at the now closed door. “There’s something going on with those two and I want to know what it is.” He said, more to himself, but partly to Cassian. The two had never been particularly close friends, but if anyone could help him get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Lia and Malicia, it was the strange scientist next to him.

Cassian shook his head and sighed, “You’re right. We need to figure out what it is before either of them gets seriously hurt.”

“Lia’s already almost died twice because of whatever it is and I have no doubt that we’ve only seen the beginning of it.” Theodore said as the two began walking towards the staircase.

“Twice?” Cassian asked.

Theodore nodded, “Oh, right, you came in late.” Giving what information he remembered, Theodore recounted Lia’s episode in the woods.

“That does sound strange, even for Lia, even for the Forbidden Forest.” Cassian agreed. “I wonder if Malicia had something happen then too since these two seem connected.” Theodore looked confused so Cassian explained what he had heard from the hallway and the strange encounter he’d had with Malicia afterward.

“I was wondering why you two were rushing to the lake at this time of day. I knew there was no way that either of you could know about Lia yet, I had just barely pulled her out of the water.”

“When Malicia finally came out of her office, she knew exactly where she needed to go.” Cassian repeated, “And she knew that Lia was in some kind of danger. I mean, I knew those two were always connected, but this was a little much, even for them.” The two teachers had reached their offices on the sixth floor and stood in front of the staircase, each lost in their own recollections.

“We’ve got to get to the bottom of this.” Theodore said resolutely before turning and storming to his office.

Cassian watched Theodore walk off and shook his head, “It’s going to be a long year.”