The Dream Trilogy Book One: To Dwell On Dreams (A Harry Potter FanFiction)

Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Three

They'd been on the bus long enough for the rest of them to find beds to perch on; Seamus and Parvati on one, Harry and Hermione on another. Parvati kept eyeing up Hermione, but when the other girl looked round she'd suddenly smile and nod, but Harry felt like something was maybe amiss. 

Other than the obvious. 

Hermione had been a little sheepish in their victory, but Seamus and Parvati seemed smug, like they'd been allowed to come on a grand adventure. Harry wasn't sure if he'd made the right decision or not, but he felt they were going to be near impossible to dissuade now, short of tying them down they were officially part of the expedition.  

"Are you cross?" asked Hermione in hushed tones. They were a few beds away from the others, but they still might have been able to hear them over the bouncing bus sounds and thrum of the engine.  

Harry took a moment to realise she'd spoken, he was so wound up in his thoughts. "Cross?" he repeated. "No, no, not cross at all, I meant it, I'm incredibly touched you guys want to help." He rubbed where his scar should have been on his forehead. "I'm just worried, I don't think anyone, including me, can fully comprehend what's coming. This could get really hairy." 

Hermione was pale and she swallowed. "I'm not going to lie," she said after a moment's consideration. "I am scared. I've never even snuck out of the house before, and now I don't even know where we're going, on a magic bus of all things." She rolled her eyes and gave a little nervous laugh. "But I couldn't have just gone home, left you to face this by yourself." 

Harry felt a pang of guilt. "But you don't know me?" he said, wondering where this faith in him was coming from. 

Hermione bit her lip. "You've been more of a friend to me in the past few hours than I've ever had in my whole life." 

Harry was tired. He was worried. He was scared. And those words made tears spring to the back of his eyes faster than he could blink. "I'll always be your friend," he said. 

She smiled, sadly. "What about the other you, if we succeed, if we get you home?" 

Harry hadn't even considered that. "One step at a time," he said. He glanced at Seamus and Parvati. Parvati was whispering to him non-stop and Seamus looked to be imitating Malfoy and struggling to keep his eyes open. "Besides, the other me can't be that different, you'll just have to explain it to him." 

Harry doubted they'd be able to keep his true identity a secret for much longer, it was bound to come out at some point. Maybe if they could just make it until after they had saved his sister and defeated the Death Eaters, that would be nice. 

"Hey," he said, changing topics. "There's something I want you to have, just for now." He pulled out Sarah's wand, and showed it to her.  

"I can't take that," said Hermione, obviously already knowing who it belonged to.  

Harry shrugged and still held it out. "I'm not saying you keep it. You can look after it for her, until we get her back. In the meantime it'll just be sitting in my pocket, you might as well see if you can do anything with it?" 

Hermione bit her lip and looked at the small stick intently. It could only have been eight or so inches, and it was made of a dark wood with a smooth finish. She reached for it tentatively, and plucked it from Harry's palm, letting it balance between her fingers. 

"If you're sure?" she said. 

"Positive," he assured her as she inspected it closer. "Besides, this way I can teach you a couple of spells that might come in handy."