carley9 - Moon Chaser

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Luna was only just starting to recover from the last incident when she had decided to start again. She should have known that the ingredients she had acquired...the ones that weren't from her normal supplier...looked off. For some reason, they had molded slightly and had a sickly sweet smell to them. She should have known better than to get the peyote from someone claiming to be an actual Native American shaman and unable to answer the questions she had asked her previous supplier.

Luna took a deep breath and cast Finite Incantatem on her bottle-cap necklace. After looking at all of her specimens, she chose one that looked fairly green still. She reapplied the glamour before going up to her room. Unlike the majority of the DA, she still slept in her dorm room in Ravenclaw's Tower. She didn't want to tell them why, but it allowed her to do her work in peace and quiet. It also prevented the majority of unplanned surprises. During the last incident, she had tried to give Hermione some information that could help her on their quest, but instead ended up pulling her through a past life regression. In a way, she was glad that Hermione didn't notice her lingering in the background...that would have caused more questions than she could have answered.

Once in her room, Luna went to her bed and applied a Silencing Charm on it. She had learned...from her former roommates...that she had a habit of talking aloud when she was in the middle of her 'dreams.' She grabbed a small mug and cast Aguamenti to fill it up. Then she cast a warming charm on it and carefully placed the peyote in the center. Watching the dried cactus soak up the water and slowly start to seep, she pulled it out after there was a small tinge of color in the cup. She placed the peyote on a small saucer next to her bed; she would be able to get one more use out of it. Placing the mug next to the saucer, she prepared for bed. She sucked on a small peppermint to help settle her stomach; experience had taught her that this helped weaken the nauseous side-effect that the peyote could cause. After she was finished, and the peppermint had melted, she got into bed and slowly began sipping from the cup. Once she had drained it, she closed her curtains and settled in for the evening.

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Elsewhere, the people Luna was trying to send a message to were getting ready to go to sleep. Hermione had just sent Neville a note with the fake Galleon and was getting ready to sleep. Tonight was Harry's night to take the watch. She had just settled in when she heard muffled whispering. Hermione thought it was just the boys whispering to each other and was entirely unaware that it was the ether whispering to her the answers she sought. She never heard what was said.

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Luna found herself in a familiar corridor. She always pictured a neutral place in her mind before she slipped into slumber; it kept her from ending up somewhere strange and having to work hard to reach her destination. This night she decided to start out slow. She closed her eyes and pictured Professor Trelawney in her mind until she could feel movement rushing around her, and when she stopped, she knew her professor was near. She was a dream-walker, and while her physical body was in her bed, her spiritual body has hovering around Trelawney, looking for an easy way in. She concentrated on her and saw what the Muggle-born students would describe as a thought bubble appear over her head. Inside, she could make out the figures of Hermione and Headmaster Snape. She stepped into the bubble and was struck at how vividly Trelawney dreamed.

Hermione sat on Headmaster Snape's lap, feeding him cornish pasties from a picnic basket. In-between bites, she would plant kisses on his cheek and say, "One must keep the antidote on the interior, not the exterior."

After a third pasty had been consumed, he asked, "Want to see my snake?" Luna watched Hermione slide off his lap with a lecherous gleam in her eye. He unbuttoned his trousers, and a huge green and gold snake popped out. Luna merely watched as the snake turned on Snape and bit him in the neck. As Snape slid out of his chair, Neville came out of nowhere, carrying a sword, and sliced the snake's head off. Snape came out of his stupor and began crying about his snake being lopped off. Neville smiled at him as he pulled something out of the picnic basket and said, "Don't worry, I saved your rod and tackle!"

Luna decided that she had been scarred enough for one evening and pulled herself out of the dream. She shook herself and thought, Note to self: never go in one of Professor Trelawney's dreams again. She closed her eyes again and searched, or rather felt for, Hermione's essence. She had found her once before, but it had been difficult enough the first time. She opened her eyes to see where she was and was surprised to be standing outside her home. She took a deep breath and felt for her father's essence, breathing a sigh of relief when she could feel it coming from the house. Feeling a little better, she began her search again.

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While Luna searched, Hermione dreamed. She dreamed of the life she could have after the war. Being able to take her familiar to the vet without having to worry about someone wanting to kill her because she was Harry Potter's best friend; being able to visit Windsor Castle and play tourist without having to watch her back. She dreamed of being able to fall in love and never having to worry for her or her partner's safety. She dreamed of all the lovely things that she thought would happen as the ether began chanting, "She's coming... she's coming for you."

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Luna knew she had arrived when she could feel the warmth that always reminded her of her friend. She could see the spirits circling around her and slowly began banishing them. She wasn't banishing them in the traditional sense, but forcing them to move away from the sleeping girl. She could feel the passage of time and knew that Hermione would be waking soon if she didn't hurry. She could feel her strength start to waver and began chanting, "Hermione, let me in. I have a message to give you."

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Hermione could feel her dream shifting and changing. The positive feelings before gave way to a sense of urgency. She could feel some outside force trying to enter her dream, pleading with her to let it in. She could feel the edges surrounding her dream soften, and she could feel the light of the moon caress her face. She concentrated on the moon and could feel it drawing power from her; she willingly gave the energy because the moon felt like a friend, someone she hadn't seen in a long time...

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Luna knew the moment Hermione had allowed her in. The warmth of her friendship flowed over her, restoring some of her strength. She clasped the curly-haired witch's hand and said, "I have a message to give you." When Hermione nodded, she continued, "The 'dream' you were telling Neville about was a past life regression. I caused it while trying to get another message to you." She paused for a moment because she could feel something going on with her body. Someone must be trying to wake her up; she must have stayed too long! She frantically said, "The guns are being given to the Snatchers! Stay away from Malfoy Manor...!"

She felt herself forcibly yanked from Hermione's dream and back into her body. She woke up and had to lean over the side of the bed to get sick so she didn't mess her bed linens. Unfortunately for her, she got sick on Professor Trelawney's shoes. It was just before dawn, the pale light just barely filtering through the curtains. She didn't need any more light to see that the Divination professor was annoyed.

"Miss Lovegood, I was never made aware of the fact you were a dream-walker. If I had been, I would have let you know that invading other people's dreams is bad form!"

Luna just stared at her professor and said, "I didn't realize you have visions in your sleep." She tried to keep bile down as the scarf-swathed witch just stared at her. Then she continued. "Or you would know they were visions if you weren't drinking so much sherry all the time!" She could feel her stomach begin to rebel, so she cast another Aguamenti on her mug and took a few sips. "If you had been a dream-walker, you would have known that forcibly bringing someone back to their body could end up with you having puke on your shoes!"

Trelawney stood there, speechless, as the Ravenclaw got ready for the day. She would have to tell the Headmaster about this...

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Hermione woke a little later and looked around for Luna. She could have sworn she saw her there. She walked over to where the boys were eating and said, "I had the strangest dream last night..."