I'm standing alone in the dark and in a heavy fog. A voice calls out to me, beckoning me to follow. I reach out to grasp a hand, but when I touch it there is nothing there, just a shadow that disappears as if it were smoke. I see a light ahead of me, barely piercing the fog. I move towards it slowly, the ground unsteady under my feet. The light is coming from a cave, descending deep into the earth. The voice that calls to me is there and so I follow the path down, into the pitch black abyss. I had to walk with my hand against the wall, as the floor was uneven and the darkness was overwhelming. Slowly I made my descent, the voice crying out to me more and more frantically as the time passed. 

I woke suddenly, as my head submerged under the water of the bath. I shot up, coughing up a little water and gasping for breath. It took me a moment to remember where I was and why. I had been relaxing in the bath after my run, letting the heat of the water soak into me. I had laid my head back to fully enjoy the relaxation and somewhere along the line I must have fallen asleep. I'm glad nobody else was here to witness such an embarrassing event, but at the same time if someone else had been here I probably wouldn't have fallen asleep in the first place.

The dream I had weighed heavily on me as I finished my bath, dressed and then went to sit by the fireplace in the lounge. It was, in a way, more vivid than any other dreams that I've had, even my recurring dream. Maybe I remember more of it because I woke in the middle of it. I remember learning about dreams in school a few years ago or so. Everybody will have several dreams per night, but we only remember a dream if we wake in the middle of it. Of course, I seem to recall my teacher saying that dreams don't start until you've been asleep for a few hours.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Draco's voice cut through my internal reflections.

"What?" I said, focusing now on my surroundings. I hadn't even noticed him sit in the adjacent chair 

"You seemed to be miles away. I just thought you might want someone to talk to. In case, you know, something is bothering you?"

"Not really. Just thinking about a dream I had. And since when do you care if something is bothering me?" 

"I know I was a bit of a prat that first week, and I never did thank you for saving me from the troll. There was just never a right time to either apologise or say thank you. Between Crabe and Goyle always following me around, and you spending time with your friends…"

"You don't need to apologize. I'd've probably done the same thing if I were in your shoes."

"So you're not mad about it?"

"Why would I be? It's all worked out well for me. I hear people talk. I've been dubbed 'the Slytherin princess' after the stunt with the snakes, and if it weren't for you I never would have the title of troll slayer."

"I thought the troll lived?"

"Minor details." I waved my hand dismissively, which caused us both to laugh. "So, where is everyone?"

"Outside. The storm passed and other than a little wet, it's really nice. I just came back to grab my flying gloves. So about this dream you had, anything you want to share?"

I told him about my dream. He sat there listening attentively until I finished. I never noticed how charming he is. I don't think he'd ever be my type, but I can see what a lot of the girls see in him now.

"With that much detail it sounds like a prophetic dream. Check out the book Dream Reading. It's kind of a supplement to the first year divination books."

"What do you know about divination? We can't even start learning that yet." My inflection and expression were pure inquisitiveness.

Draco chuckled a bit. "My mum insisted I read it. 'Dreams can be very powerful insights to both the present and the future.' she said. I've never got any use out of the book, I can never remember enough about my dreams. Well, if you'll excuse me, if I don't get to the pitch they'll start without me."

"Thank you, Draco."

"Any time."

__________________________________

A pair of arms draped around me and a chin rested on my shoulder. "Whatcha readin'?" Susan asked before giving me a peck on the cheek.

"A book." I replied as I turned the page and continued reading.

"Well, duh. You're no fun, you know that." Susan released me and plopped down in the adjacent chair to mine.

"It's called Dream Reading. Draco thought it might help piece some things together."

"Draco, as in Malfoy? Since when are you two on advice giving terms?"

"Since about two hours ago. The common room was empty, save for me, and he saw that I was deep in thought about something. He asked what it was. He even apologized for what happened our first week, and thanked me for saving him from the troll."

"Took him long enough."

"Yeah, but I understand why. Showing weakness in Slytherin can make you a pariah, and I think that was the first time the two of us have ever been alone together."

"Makes sense, I guess. That's one thing I like about Hufflepuff, there isn't as much need for political maneuvering."

"Maybe, but it's still there. At least in Slytherin you can expect it. It's like that saying, 'You can always trust a dishonest person to act dishonestly.' I bet when it happens in Hufflepuff it comes as a bit of a shock."

"That's a good point. And I've never heard that saying before."

"Must be a muggle thing then."

"Prob'ly. So what was this dream about? It's not your recurring dream, is it?"

"No. Although this book is helping me to decipher that as well." I spent the next five minutes explaining the dream and another five going over possible meanings for what it all meant. The fog and the darkness indicate either difficulty or being unsure of what choice to make, the cave indicates a journey or challenging task, and the voice calling to me is most likely my goal itself or a person close to me. So the most likely two meanings of the dream are, that a challenging task awaits me, or I am unsure of where I should travel. There are a few other possibilities, but each one seems more and more unlikely. My favorite of these is a warning that someone I care about will be moving far away.

"It's a shame we have to wait till our third year to take divination. I bet Professor Trelawney would help if you were in her class."

"Yeah, but I doubt I'll take divination. There are so many possible meanings to things, and no way to know for certain if a dream actually means something or if it's just a dream. I'd like to have more certainty to what I'm learning."

"Like care of magical creatures?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure about that one."

"I thought you'd be into it. You always seem interested in what we learn in DADA, not to mention your little side project."

"Yeah, but there's a big difference between learning about animals and having to take care of them. Plenty of wizards take muggle studies, but how many of them want to live in the muggle world?"

"I see your point."

By now it was time for lunch, so Susan and I walked hand in hand to the Great Hall and then after getting our food, took it outside to eat by the lake. After we ate we went back to the library to meet Hermione to discuss our next step in getting past 'Cerberus'. Unfortunately, all of our ideas were met with dead ends. We discussed trying to tunnel in through the room underneath, but none of us were sure that would even work, and none of us thought we could do it without getting caught. Our next idea was to find some sort of blueprints of Hogwarts to see if there are any other ways into whatever is being guarded, but if any books do exist they would be in the restricted section. Being out of any other ideas, we decided to wait and see what Flourish and Blotts would be able to acquire and send my way.