Ash,
This is going to sound stupid, but I need to tell someone.
I woke up from this weird dream and my scar hurt. Last time that happened it was because Voldemort was at Hogwarts. But I don't reckon he can be anywhere near me now, can he? Do you know if curse scars sometimes hurt years afterward?
I'm writing to Sirius about it, too. Hopefully it's nothing bad.
Harry
P.S. Ron's parents have asked if you wanted to come with us to the Quidditch World Cup with us on Monday. They said you're welcome to stay at the Burrow for the rest of the summer.
I rushed to find some paper and a pen to respond. If I wasn't the only one having strange dreams, something was wrong.
I wrote kind of sloppily, but if I was able to read it, I figured Harry could, too.
Dear Harry,
I'm going to try to find out about your scar. Chiron, my guardian, should have some books on magical healing. But I'm going to need more info from you, too. Could you tell me about your dream maybe?
I've been having a lot of strange dreams, too, and it's making me nervous. Hopefully I can find some answers.
Sincerely, Ash
P.S. I would LOVE to come with you to the World Cup! I'm flying to Britain next week. I was going to stay with Grandma'am, but I can just pick up Jab and Floo over if that's okay with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
I sent it off with Hedwig, who'd waited for me to finish the letter. I usually waited for Annabeth to arrive, because she absolutely adored the owls my friends sent (and strange exotic birds Sirius sent). But this was uber-important, so she'd have to wait for the next one.
I walked out of the Apollo cabin and headed for the archery range. My shot was pretty much perfect, but I didn't really have anything else to do.
Dan was already leading archery class when I got there. He had only three students, and one of them was Luke. I realized I'd never seen him shoot before. I watched him for a few minutes.
It was easy to tell that archery wasn't one of his strengths. His stance was off, and when he drew back an arrow to shoot, he didn't really stop to aim properly.
Dan was busy trying to "help" one of the other archers, a daughter of Aphrodite, so he wasn't paying attention. The other archer was doing pretty well on his own, so it came down to me to help Luke. I walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention (I'd learned from experience that not making my presence known around people on the archery range could be dangerous.
Luke turned around and grinned when he saw me.
"Just who I needed," he said. "Your brother's a bit... uh, busy."
I glanced over at Dan, who was turning up the charm by giving the Aphrodite girl a dazzling smile.
"Bleh," I said, pretending to gag. "It's disgusting enough seeing it happen with strangers, but when it's your own brother, it's, like, ten times weirder."
Luke snickered. I liked it when he laughed at something I said, and the two of us could definitely have used some laughter after everything that had happened, so I decided to take it a step further.
"Hey, Dan?" I shouted at my brother.
"Yeah?" He replied, looking slightly annoyed.
"You think you could take that somewhere else? We're supposed to be channeling our inner Apollo, not our inner Cupid."
The other archer, a kid from the Ares cabin, snorted just as he let loose an arrow. It fell a few yards short of the target. He scowled at me, like it was all my fault that he found my comment funny.
Dan and the Aphrodite girl's faces turned red. The girl fumbled with her arrows and pretended to ignore Dan as she shot. Dan glared indignantly at me, and when he passed me to grab more arrows, he flipped my ponytail so my hair fell in my face.
I gave Luke a triumphant grin, and he laughed some more.
"You look like you have really weird bangs," he said.
I posed like I was on the cover of Vogue. "You know I could rock this look."
Luke laughed so hard he dropped his arrows, which made me laugh loudly. The Ares kid was startled by Luke spilling his arrows, causing him to let loose an arrow that almost nailed Dan in the arm.
We apologized profusely, but Dan kicked us off the archery range anyway.
I decided to head to the Big House and ask Chiron about the dream I had and ask him about Harry's scar. I only had a week before my flight to England, so I had to make them count.
Chiron was in wheelchair mode, hanging out on the wraparound porch with Mr. D. I greeted both of them and asked for answers about the dreams and the scar.
"Huh." Mr. D. took a long sip of his Diet Coke. "It's all about go down."
"What?" I asked.
Chiron gave Mr. D. a stern look before turning to me. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Ash."
"Harry and I have both been having weird dreams!" I said. "And he woke up with his scar hurting. He said that only happens when You-Know-Who is around!"
"Ash, I assure you, there is nothing you need to worry about," Chiron said.
"Well, what am I supposed to tell Harry?" I asked.
Chiron sighed. "It's possible his scar is hurting because the failed Killing Curse gave him a connection to Voldemort."
"A connection?"
"It enables him to sense Voldemort's activity."
"What's he up to? You-Know-Who, I mean."
"Aisling, I assure you, there is nothing you need to concern yourself with."
"Dark forces are stirring," I said. "I can feel it. You can, too. I know you can."
Chiron said nothing.
"You've never kept anything from me before," I told him. "Never."
"Well, I suppose you're not as important as you thought," said Mr. D.
"Guess not," I muttered, storming off.
The next day Hedwig was back with another letter. Annabeth, who'd been telling me about the Athena cabin's basic plans for the upcoming capture-the-flag game, was delighted to see the snowy owl and rushed to find a treat to give her.
"Hedwig, you've got to be faster than Hermes," I said, impressed that she'd delivered my letter and returned with one from Harry so fast. Hedwig ruffled her feathers proudly in response.
I read Harry's letter.
Ash,
The dream was about this old man who saw Voldemort in an old house. Wormtail was there, and they were talking about trying to take me for some ritual. Then Voldemort killed the old man.
What do mean, weird dreams? What do you dream about?
Can't wait to see you.
Harry
My blood went cold as I realized Harry and I had had the exact same dream.
I'd grabbed a piece of paper to reply when what looked like a flying tennis ball came zooming into the Apollo cabin and crashed into the wall beside me. I glanced at Hedwig, whom I could've sworn had an expression like, Oh, not this again. I rushed over to the new arrival to discover it was Pigwidgeon, Ron's new pet owl. I didn't get as many letters from Ron, which was understandable since Pig was so tiny and Ron and I lived so far apart.
Hi, Ash,
Harry told me you'll be coming next week. I've told Dad, and he sent an owl to your grandma asking when we can pick you up. He's arranged to pick you up a few days after you arrive so you can recover from jet lag (that's what you called it, right? Dad said he thinks it's called jaywalking, but that can't be right, can it?).
Anyway, see you soon,
Ron
I was deeply amused by the fact that Mr. Weasley thought jaywalking was what recovering from a long flight and a time change was called. I wondered what he thought actual jaywalking was called.
Annabeth came back in with Hedwig's treat and was even more excited to find Pigwidgeon fluttering around the Apollo cabin. She insisted Pig was her favorite. It made sense. He was tiny, adorable, and quick. She was tiny, adorable and quick.
As Annabeth fed Hedwig and Pigwidgeon owl snacks, I wrote to Harry and Ron.
Dear Harry,
Okay, this is going to sound extremely creepy, but I think we had the same dream: the old guy, the old house, and You-Know-Who talking to Wormtail. I don't know about your dream, but I also saw a snake and Voldemort was talking about milking her, which just sounds wrong.
Anyway, I looked through Chiron's books. There's a section about curse scars, but nothing that'll help you. I asked Chiron about your scar, and he said You-Know-Who might be getting more powerful. He says you dreamed about You-Know-Who because you have some sort of connection to him. He wouldn't say much more about it, that you should ask Dumbledore about it, because he's your average info-withholding adult who can't tell kids about anything because apparently we're not ready for it. So, yeah, we have that going for us.
Has Sirius replied? Maybe he's found something I haven't.
Sincerely,
Ash
I gave the letter to Hedwig and sent her off before finishing my letter to Ron.
Hey, Ron!
So excited, can't wait! And you were right, it is called jet lag. Jaywalking is when you cross the street somewhere besides a crosswalk or without a walking signal.
Sincerely,
Ash
I sent Pig out the window, much to Annabeth's disappointment, and led her out of the Apollo cabin.
"When will they be back?" Annabeth asked me.
"I think Hedwig should be back very soon," I told her. "Harry and I are talking about important stuff, so he responds pretty quickly. Pig, on the other hand, might not be back for a while. Maybe one more time before I leave for school."
Annabeth frowned. "I don't want you to leave."
I sighed. "I know, AB."
"Can we go practice archery?"
I smiled, remembering what had happened yesterday at the archery range. "We can try."
"Can we get Luke to come with us?"
I didn't think that was a good idea after yesterday. "Nah, he's probably busy with his cabin. Let's make it a girls-only activity."
"Okay." Annabeth cheerfully took my hand and skipped the whole way to the archery range.
Ash,
I dreamed about the snake, too. It really is creepy, especially the milking part, I reckon. I hope this whole dreaming-about-the-same-thing issue isn't going to keep happening.
How would I have a connection to Voldemort? Does Chiron know that? I've tried not to write to Dumbledore because it doesn't seem important enough. Do you think I should write to him about this or wait until we go back to Hogwarts?
Sirius did reply, but all he said was to try not to worry about it. Typical adult response, right?
Harry
I wrote back,
Dear Harry,
I hope the dream stuff stops, too. It's super freaky.
Chiron said it's possible the Killing Curse You-Know-Who used on you gave some sort of connection. He said (and these are his exact words) that it enables you to sense You-Know-Who's activity. I tried to get more out of him today, but no success. I think he's hoping I'll run out of time to ask him. And it's working. I'm leaving tomorrow.
Maybe we'll be able to work on it together when I get there. See you in a few days!
Sincerely,
Ash
P.S. Have you heard from Hermione? I haven't gotten anything from her in the past week or so.
I sent Hedwig off and went back to packing my bags. I was almost finished, and I'd already sent my trunk ahead. It would be waiting for me at my Grandma'am's manor, where I'd be staying until Mr. Weasley picked me up.
"Knock, knock."
I looked up. Luke was standing in the doorway with Annabeth peeking out behind him.
"Hi," I said.
"You're supposed to say 'Who's there?' " Annabeth said.
"Oh, yeah. Who's there?"
"Annabeth and Luke."
"Annabeth and Luke who?"
"Annabeth and Luke who don't want you to leave," Luke said. Annabeth nodded.
I smiled and walked over to hug them both. "Sorry, but I have to. I have to go to school or I'll be, like, exiled from the wizard community or something."
I actually had no idea what happened to the kids who'd dropped out or gotten expelled. It was different in the Wizarding World than the Muggle world. I'd have to ask Hermione. She would know.
"You'll IM as much as you can, right?" Luke said.
"Duh," I replied.
"And come back for Christmas."
"Again, duh."
"And you'll send lots of owls, too?" Annabeth said hopefully.
I wondered if it was a good idea to agree to that. Annabeth would probably pamper the birds so much that they wouldn't want to come back.
"I shouldn't need to, since I'm going to Iris-Message you, like, every day, but I know you like them, so I'll send a few."
"You're the best, Ash." Annabeth beamed.
The dinner horn sounded, and we had to go eat at different tables. I looked around at the twenty-or-so campers eating at the dining pavilion, wondering how it had been so easy to leave last year.
I arrived at the Leaky Cauldron after taking the Knight Bus again. It wasn't any better the second time around, but hey, what are you going to do?
Grandma'am, surprisingly, was waiting for me, dressed in robes the color of emeralds. She wore a matching boa and an expression of impatience.
"You're late," she said.
"My flight was delayed," I said. "Someone tried to get a python through security and it didn't work. Then the snake got loose and they shut everything down until they found it."
"Muggles." Grandma'am shook her head. "How incompetent. I didn't pay for your flight for it to get delayed. Now, come."
"Um, is Jab doing well?"
"The Jarvey?"
"Yeah."
"Say 'yes,' not 'yeah.' I didn't raise you to speak like an uncultured chimney sweep."
I wanted to say, 'lady, you didn't raise me at all,' but I kept my tongue in check and said instead, "Yes, Grandmother. So, how is my Jarvey?"
"He's fine," Grandma'am said. "I had Cagney take care of him."
"Who's Cagney?"
Grandma'am blinked in surprise. "Why, that's right. You don't know my staff. Cagney is the head gardener's nephew. He's about your age, I think. Good with animals."
I breathed in relief. Thank the gods, Jab was alive. I was excited to see him again.
When we arrived at the manor, I stared in shock. I realized I'd never seen it before. Grandma'am had always traveled to the US to see me. She usually stayed at a classy hotel and take me out to lunch. This was a whole new thing.
"Close your mouth, Aisling," Grandma'am snapped. "You'll catch flies."
I shut my mouth.
"When we go inside, Luther — that's the butler — he'll take your bags to your room. I'm having guests over for dinner, so if you absolutely refuse to put on something nice, you'll need to stay out of sight. You can go to the gardens or stay in your room."
As soon as we walked through the doors, she took off, probably to change for dinner or something. A man with salt-and-pepper colored hair told me to follow him. I assumed he was Luther, the butler. He waved his wand and my stuff started levitating. It followed after us as we went up the stairs.
"In here, miss," said Luther, opening a pair of double doors.
I tried not to gape like I had with Grandma'am, but it was hard. It was nicer that my dorm at Hogwarts, if that's even possible. I had a king-size four-poster bed with gold silk curtains. I couldn't even imagine how big the closet was.
Luther calmly set my luggage down on my Hogwarts trunk, which was at the foot of my bed. "Will you be taking dinner, Miss? I can have it sent up if you like."
"Uh, no thanks," I said. "I'm not very hungry. But could I have something to drink, maybe?"
"Of course, Miss. What would you like?"
"Just a Butterbeer."
"Very well, Miss."
"I'd also like to find James. Grandma'am — I mean Grandmother — told me he was taking care of my pet Jarvey."
"Yes, Miss. Your Jarvey has been kept in the old chicken coop. That's in the gardens. You will be able to find it very easily."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, Miss. I'll be going to put in your order, but if you need anything, ring that bell over there —" he pointed to a length of thick rope, which could be pulled to ring the said bell, "And one of the house-elves will arrive to assist you."
Luther headed out, which gave me a chance to explore my room. There was a desk in the corner to the right of my bed, and I wondered if I should write a letter to Harry, tell him I was here. I decided to tell him when his next letter arrived, since I didn't have an owl and I was reluctant to use one of Grandma'am's.
When my butterbeer arrived, I made quick work of it and headed out to the garden to find Jab.
Jab wasn't as excited to see me as I was to see him.
I found the old chicken coop where Luther said it would be. It looked more like a chicken palace, so I doubted Jab had been uncomfortable there. Standing next to the coop, holding Jab, was a boy with ginger hair and freckles. I almost shouted, "Ron!" at him and probably would've rushed to give him a hug if he hadn't looked up at me. He looked about as similar to Ron as Percy looked to Harry. I lived in a world of people-who-looked-like-each-other-but-not-really.
"Happy blonde," Jab said when he noticed me. "Happy Blonde" was his name for me. Sometimes he called me "Happy Blonde with glasses" or something, but there wasn't much variety.
"Hiya, Jab," I replied.
I don't know what I was expecting. I guess I thought he would jump out of Ginger Boy's arms and run to me.
Obviously, that's not what happened. He just stared at me, then turned his attention back to Ginger Boy.
"You haven't been spoiling him too much, have you?" I asked the boy almost jokingly.
"Who, me?" he replied with a crooked grin. "Never."
"Well, for a Jarvey who's been staying in a chicken coop for the past month or so, he sure looks happy." I watched jab leap out of the boy's arms and strut into his chicken coop. "I'm Aisling, by the way. My friends call me Ash."
"Cagney," Ginger replied, sticking out his hand to shake. I accepted it. "I don't really have a nickname. My uncle calls me 'Red' sometimes, on account of my hair. I'm the only one in my family with red hair."
"I know an entire family of redheads," I said.
"Yeah, the Weasleys," Cagney said. "I've seen you in classes and the great hall at Hogwarts."
"Oh, cool," I said. I don't know why I was surprised to find out he went to Hogwarts, too. "What House are you in?"
"Hufflepuff," Cagney replied.
"Ooh, lucky," I said. "Your Common Room is by the kitchens. Do you ever sneak into the kitchens for snacks?"
"Of course," Cagney replied. "I don't know a single Hufflepuff who hasn't. And the house-elves aren't bothered by it at all."
"Wait, what? There are house-elves at Hogwarts?"
"Of course. How do you think all the feasts get made?"
"I thought it was... well, you know, magic." I frowned. "Do the house-elves get good working conditions? I mean, I know they have different laws since they're not wizards, but still."
"They're happy to work," Cagney insisted. "They love nothing more than to cook and clean."
"If you say so," I said.
I watched Jab mess around in his cage, playing with the toy mouse I got for him last Christmas. He looked pretty happy.
"He's not going to want to leave," I realized.
Cagney just laughed.