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

Chapter Twenty Three

"Are we allowed to practice up here?" she asked, and Harry couldn't help but smile. Typical of Hermione to worry about breaking the rules, even in the midst of all this chaos. 

"I'm sure it's fine. Now, I want you to move your hand like this." He showed her a motion, and after a few attempts she managed to mimic him with confidence. "Good, good," he told her, and she beamed. "This is a shield charm, it will block against a lot of standard magic. The word is 'Protego' - give it a try." 

"Protego," said Hermione, doing the motion, and a weak glimmer of light sprung up in front of her. "Did I do that!" she cried, causing Seamus and Parvati to look over. Parvati's eyebrows shot up, and Seamus gave her a little round of applause. 

Harry nodded. "Looks like the wand's not a bad match. Try it again," he said encouragingly. "This time with more gusto." 

"I don't want to wake up Draco," she said, flicking her eyes over at Malfoy's sleeping form. 

"Ah who cares," said Seamus a little louder than was perhaps necessary. "Give him a scare, it'll be funny." 

But Malfoy didn't wake up, no matter what noise they or their magic made. After a few minutes Seamus and Parvati came and joined them, thinking of other spells Hermione could learn. She picked up a great deal in the fifteen or so minutes they were practicing, but Harry wasn't surprised, and he even felt a little better about agreeing to let her stick with them.  

The bus vaulted forwards again, and in the blink of an eye the windows outside were filled with neon lights and the sound of honking horns filtering through the glass, loud enough to make Harry jump. He could also make out a couple of thumping bass lines as he darted over and looked outside, taking in the bustling streets, even though it was around eleven at night. There were brightly coloured bars, pizza vendors offering dozens of toppings, cinemas showing the latest blockbusters and an illuminated fountain that some people looked dangerously close to falling in.  

"I'm guessing we're in London," he said as Seamus and Parvati darted back to where they'd been sitting to hurriedly pull their coats back on and grab their belongings. 

Hermione gaped down at the pavement in awe as she snatched up her bag and Harry strode over to Malfoy, who was apparently still sleeping fretfully, twitching on top of the covers. 

There was a sharp knock at the door, and everybody froze where they stood. "Hello? Mr Ward sir?" came the voice of Stan Shunpike. "We're at Leicester Square. Can I help with your luggage?" 

"Ward?" said Seamus. 

Harry shrugged. "The name on Malfoy's i.d.?"  

And then Stan tried the door. 

"Oi!" he called, rattling the handle. "Why's 'is locked? What choo doin'!" 

Harry was about to unlock it, when he looked down at Malfoy. The spell he'd used on his hair was obviously fading, and was almost half streaked with white blond again, making him resemble a badger or a skunk. As dim as Stan was, he was bound to notice that. 

"Er, just a minute!" Harry called, before turning and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Malfoy wake up," he hissed, giving him a light shake. 

He was obviously in the grip of some dream though, sweat was beading on his forehead, dampening his two-tone hair as well as the pillow. His face was screwed up and his breathing shallow and fast. "Malfoy," Harry tried again. He didn't know the spell he'd used on his hair and Stan was going to bang the door down any second. "Malfoy," he tried again, giving him another shake. "Malfoy - Draco!" 

Malfoy shot up, limbs flailing and right fist swinging right at Harry's face. Years of dodging fast flying balls on the Quidditch pitch snapped Harry's head back just in time, and he snatched Malfoy's wrist to stop him going any further.