Witches and Goblin Kings

She was having another nightmare. Even as she stood watching the man bleed to death, she acknowledged that she was dreaming again. The time she and Harry had watched Professor Snape being bitten by Nagini had been a frequent nightmare of hers.

Another, living, Professor Snape walked up besides her, looking down at his own body.

'Professor Snape?'

'Miss Granger, why are you here?'

'I'm having a nightmare, sir.'

The man next to her pinched the bridge of his nose.

'Sir, Professor, this is my nightmare, not yours.'

'No, Miss Granger, this is my nightmare. I am not sure why you have become a part of it, but it's most definitely mine.'

She turned away from his body on the floor to look at the living Snape standing next to her.

'No, sir, I am quite sure this is mine. I even remember going to sleep this night. I have had this nightmare before. I recognize it.'

'Miss Granger, that body on the ground is my own. This was my experience, which I am re-living in my nightmares.'

'Sir, did you think that Harry was alone in that tunnel? I was there too, watching what Voldemort did to you.'

'Miss Granger, why would you be dreaming about me? It makes no sense.'

'It's because of the guilt I feel.'

Snape scowled at her. 'Explain.'

'Sir, ever since we found out you had lived, I have felt so much guilt. I should have double-checked your body... given you some dittany. I should have done something. But I didn't. Harry said you were dead, and I just took his word for it and followed him out.

Once we found out you had lived, I started to have this nightmare.'

The live Snape started to pace within the small room. 'Why would you dream that I am dead? If this is indeed your nightmare, and the guilt of my living has caused it, shouldn't I be alive?'

'No, sir. in my dream about your death, it always ends up like this, with you lying lifeless on the ground.'

'Insufferable girl! You were in my Potions class today. I am clearly not dead!'

'Bloody hell, Professor, don't you get it?! That's the reason it's a nightmare!' She flung her arms up in frustration.

He raised his eyes and gestured for her to continue.

'Sir, the reason this is a nightmare and not just a memory for me is because, in my nightmare, you always die.'

He continued pacing as he muttered to himself.

'Damn it, I not only add Hermione to my dreams, but now the dream Hermione cares about whether or not I live or die.'

'Don't talk about me as if I'm not here! I can hear you... Hey, you called me Hermione.'

'This is my dream, I can call you whatever I want. I do not know why I am having a dream about arguing with you, but I hope it does not become a reoccurring one.'

Severus was standing in the corner of the bedroom of the Shrieking Shack. He watched as Nagini bit him, causing the blood to start spurting from his neck. Severus sighed; it was the same dream. In just a moment it would start all over and continue in this cycle until he woke.

Before the cycle could begin again, someone Apparated into the Shack. He couldn't tell who it was from the corner of the room, but it appeared to be a woman. In all of his dreams, this had never happened before; he was always alone. She stood silently, staring down at his dying body. He approached her and stood by her side. It was Granger! Why was she in his dream?

Severus was in Muggle London heading towards the Leaky Cauldron. He pushed the door open, expecting to enter the familiar, dimly-lit pub. Rather than revealing the well-known establishment, complete with Tom the Bartender, the door opened to a large well-lit room with a checker-board tiled floor. Within the large room were four people whom Severus had never seen before. He drew his wand in alarm and cautiously entered the room. There was one wizard near the far corner in vibrant blue robes who appeared to be a rather poor imitation of Dumbledore, a witch with green skin wearing clothes not unlike Snape's teaching robes flew around the room on a broom, a blond wizard with a ridiculous haircut turned into an owl and back into a wizard over and over again and a witch wearing a saccharine sweet smile and a large pink dress spun in slow circles in the middle of the room. Nobody seemed to have noticed Severus, and he decided he preferred it this way. Had he entered one of the permanent wards at St. Mungo's?

As he stood surveying the room, Miss Granger walked into the room and stood beside him.

'You reminded me of her, the first time I saw you.' she said, pointing to the green-skinned witch flying in circles above their heads.

'Miss Granger, why are you here?'

'Why are you here, Professor?'

'Professor, you are in my dream again.'

'No, I refuse to argue with you once again about this. Just go.'

'Professor, do you know who these people are?'

He turned to face her, feeling confused.

'Do you know who they are?' he asked in a thoughtful voice.

'This is... When I first received my Hogwarts letter, this is what I pictured. These are all wizards and witches from Muggle movies. A movie is a picture but...'

'I know what a movie is, Miss Granger. I was raised as a Muggle. Stop being a know-it-all.'

'Oh, yes, of course. Er... The two witches are from The Wizard of Oz.'

'You pictured this room on the inside of the Leaky Cauldron?'

'My parents were directed on how to get into Diagon Alley. I saw the Leaky Cauldron as my door into the Wizarding World. I knew this wasn't how it would really be, of course, but I couldn't get this picture out of my head.'

He remembered what she had said when she first entered the room.

'I reminded you of that hag with green skin?'

'She's the antagonist in The Wizard of Oz; The Wicked Witch of the West. Look at her clothes. You came slamming into Potions, held in a dungeon no less, wearing her outfit and looking down your big nose and scowling at all of us. What was I supposed to think?'

He folded his arms and looked at the younger witch with narrowed eyes. She had not presented a flattering picture of him.

'I should deduct house points from you for disrespecting a teacher.'

'I can't believe that I not only have dreamed of you twice now, but that I actually have you deducting house points in my dreams.'

'This is my dream, and I find it perfectly acceptable to take away points from Gryffindor while asleep.'

She rolled her eyes at him. 'Whoever's dream this is, the material point is that it's just a dream. Therefore, the point deduction won't count.'

'Who is the wizard that looks like Dumbledore?' he asked, gesturing towards the far corner.

'He is from a movie about the Legend of King Arthur. He is supposed to be Merlin.'

'King Arthur?'

'Morgan La Fey's brother, Arthur. There is a Muggle Legend about his reign as King. The Muggles believe that Merlin served Arthur and that Morgana worked against Merlin to bring his reign to an end.'

Severus snorted. 'I had not heard that Muggle perversion of our history.'

She looked up at him and chuckled.

'Imagine my surprise when I learned the truth in my first year history class.'

His mouth turned up in one corner as if he wanted to smile.

'You know,' she mused, 'I wasn't too far off the mark there. My first image of Merlin does look a bit like Dumbledore.'

'So Dumbledore is Merlin and I am an old hag.'

She flashed him a sheepish smile. 'I guess so.'

'And the owl Animagus?' he said, pointing to the blond wizard who was still shifting back and forth between owl and man.

'That's the Goblin King.'

He frowned. 'The Goblins would never allow themselves to be ruled by a wizard.'

She giggled. 'This is before I ever entered Gringotts. He is from another movie, and he is depicted as the King of a Goblin City; the Muggle depiction of Goblins is much different than reality. He takes human children and keeps them for thirteen hours before turning them into Goblins. If someone wants to retrieve their child, they have to go through a long maze.'

'Preposterous.'

'Yes, well, I loved that movie as a child, and you know... he reminds me a little of Lucius Malfoy.'

Severus allowed himself a small chuckle at that one as he tried to imagine Lucius in the tight trousers, poncy shirt, and the gravity-defying haircut.

'And her?' he said, pointing to the witch in pink who continued to spin in circles.

The Gryffindor witch cocked her head to the side, biting her lip as she considered the woman in question.

'Sybill Trelawney?'

Snape let out a soft snort. 'Hardly. I would stop while you are ahead, Miss Granger.'

'You know, last night in my dream, you called me Hermione.'

He looked away from her, letting his gaze follow the green-skinned witch as she circled over-head.

'I don't understand why I keep dreaming of you.'

'Or why I keep dreaming of you... it's getting confusing. I am not sure what to think anymore.'

'Perhaps that is because this is my dream, Hermione.' His voice was pitched low as he pronounced her name, making it sound like a caress.

She stepped closer to him, tilting her head back to look into his eyes.

'If this is your dream, Severus, why does it contain images from my imagination? Do you believe that you just dreamed these characters up? Did your subconscious assign these characters to me?'

He kept his eyes on hers, noticing that she had small golden flecks in her eyes and that her lashes looked a little too long. An effect of his dream, perhaps?

'Maybe I should just get rid of the dreamcatcher.'

For one second, he saw her eyes widen in surprise, but as she opened her mouth to say something, she popped away.