Book Stores and Divination

Chapter 3: Book Stores and Divination

Hermione's eyes snapped open. She was lying flat on her back in bed, looking up towards the canopied top which was lightened by the rays of the sun coming in through her window. That dream had felt... He had said something about the dreamcatcher. She sat up in bed, running a hand down her face. Why was she dreaming of her Potions professor? For two nights in a row now she had dreamt of him, and both dreams had been so strange.

There were elements that were very dreamlike; obviously the images of witches and wizards from Muggle movies were part of her imagination and dreams. She wasn't experiencing nightmares anymore, but she was very confused at this new element. Why had her subconscious placed Severus Snape among those images? She wondered if there was someone she could talk to who would know about dreams. What did it mean that she had all of a sudden started having strange dreams about one person? The dreamcatcher obviously had something to do with it, just like dream Snape had said. Why would the dreamcatcher cause her to dream about Snape? Just how much power over her dreams did this object have?

She remembered Harry and Ron had to study their own dreams for Divination one year. She scowled. There was no way she was approaching Trelawney for help with her dreams. No doubt the Divination professor would say she was headed for imminent doom. She chewed on her lower lip as she considered her options.

Lavender! Lavender and Parvati had always been really into Divination. She could see if Lavender had some books on dreams or dream interpretation. Lavender and Hermione had struck a rather tentative friendship in the past few months. Neither girl was interested in Ron anymore, and it seemed as if everyone who had taken part in the final battle shared a certain bond. She could ask Lavender today at breakfast, she thought as she got out of bed to prepare for the day.

'Hi, Lavender,' Hermione said as she slid onto the bench next to the other witch.

'Hi.'

'Listen, I have a favor to ask. Can I borrow some of your Divination books?'

Lavender's eyebrows rose.

'You want to borrow some of my Divination textbooks? Everyone knows how much you hate Divination, Hermione. I was there when you threw the crystal ball, remember?'

'I know, I know, it's just... I need to read about dream interpretation. You have books about that, right?'

Lavender's eyes clouded over. 'Is this about... Well, are you still having nightmares about the final battle?' she asked, lowering her voice.

'No, it's not like that. I've just had a few really... Unique dreams, and I want to know if they mean anything.'

Lavender narrowed her eyes as she regarded the other girl.

'Unique how?'

'I'd rather not say. They are personal.'

Lavender smirked and Hermione realized what the other girl was thinking.

'Not like that! Just not something I want to go into, okay?'

'Whatever you say, Hermione,' she teased, still smirking.

'It's just... Have you ever learned anything about sharing your dreams with someone else?'

'Dreamsharing? Sure, we talked about it my fifth year, but I don't have any books about it'

'Is it possible?'

'Well, in theory it is, although there haven't been many cases of it, and it's almost impossible to prove.'

'How would you go about it? Is there a spell or a potion?'

'No, it's not like that. It's more to do with a connection. See, dreamsharing only ever happened between two people who shared a deep and intimate connection.'

What kind of connection?'

'Well, a husband and wife, or siblings. It's common among twins. Parvati said that she and Padma used to do it when they were really young. If one was having a nightmare, the other could sense it and go into her dream and help her feel better.'

'So she could enter her dreams, like with Legilimency?'

'No, they would both have to be asleep for it to work.'

'But they would have to share a connection. It wouldn't happen at random.'

'No, I don't think so. Dreamsharing is really rare; you just don't share your dreams with anyone.'

'Could someone use Legilimency to enter someone else's dream?'

'No. People have tried but most of the time, you need to maintain eye contact to achieve Legilimency. Even if you can achieve legilimency without eye contact, when someone isn't awake, their thoughts are scattered. There would be nothing for the Legilimens to link onto.'

Hermione nodded. That made sense.

'Okay, I get what you are saying. It's probably just a weird coincidence.'

'Did you think you were sharing your dreams with someone?' Lavender inquired.

'I dreamt of the same person two nights in a row, and the dreams felt real. I just thought I would check.'

Lavender shrugged.

'Sometimes dreams do feel real. It's probably nothing.'

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Severus dropped his chin down and looked up through the curtains of his lank hair. He frequently used this method to watch the student tables without being noticed. He was watching the Gryffindor table when Miss Granger sat down next to her friends and started chatting. It was impossible, from this far away, to see if she really had those unusual eyes and long eyelashes he had noticed in his dream. He felt like he needed some confirmation that this really was just something that came from his imagination. Those little details about her eyes and appearance were no doubt added by his own imagination. Probably in a bid to make the girl more interesting, not that he had spent any time in the past thinking of her eyes. Nor of any other details of her appearance, for that matter.

She was talking animatedly with Lavender Brown, both girl's heads bent low as they conversed. He hadn't known that those two were friends. Perhaps, deprived of the other two-thirds of the annoying trio, she had been forced to make new friends.

He allowed himself a small smirk as he thought back to the beginning of the year when both Potter and Weasley turned down the invitation to return to Hogwarts. Both boys had been given special acceptance into the Auror Training Academy, due to their work during the final battle, but most of Severus' colleagues had hoped that they would have taken the option to attend school and sit their NEWTs, regardless of the ministry's special treatment.

Miss Granger stood from the bench and left her table. Severus didn't know what classes she had this day; he didn't have seventh year Potions so would have to wait until tomorrow to see if her eyes matched the ones in his dream.

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Severus woke slowly, blinking a few times as he stretched in bed. He would never admit it out loud but he had very much enjoyed his dream last night. The Hermione Granger of his dreams was likely much different that the know-it-all of his classroom. He had dreamt that he had gone through countless books with her, discussing every subject they came across.

When he was younger and had thought he might one day marry and lead a normal life, he had imagined spending time with a woman in that way, leisurely looking through the selection in the bookstore and talking comfortably with someone whom he could share his opinions and thoughts with. The dreamcatcher had finally given him a genuinely enjoyable dream, even if it had come in the unexpected form of Hermione Granger.

He blinked again, looking around his bedroom. Something was wrong.

He realized what felt different to him. It was too bright in here. He grabbed for the pocket watch he kept on his nightstand. He was late!

He had overslept. He would have to hurry if he was to make it to class on time. As it was, he would be skipping breakfast this morning. He hurriedly got out of bed and headed towards his bathroom.

He would need to wash the dream out of his head before he was faced with the real Miss Granger in class today.

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Hermione smiled to herself as she watched Professor Snape finish his lecture on healing pastes. She had such a wonderful dream last night, and she felt fresh and well-rested. Dream Severus, which was how she thought of him in her head, was so different from the Professor Snape from class. In her dream, he had talked to her like an equal. They had gone through a number of books, and he had patiently explained some of his theories and ideas about each different subject they had discussed.

Hermione hadn't wanted to wake from it. She automatically stood as the rest of the class did to go gather the needed supplies for today's potion. She had already done the reading and knew that it was a fairly easy potion to create.

Snape tended to leave the 'return' students alone for the most part. They all sat together near the back of the class and did their work quietly. So Hermione was surprised when he swung by her work table and peered into her cauldron. She had been grinding up a small cutting of saffron to make a powder when he stalked up to her.

'Miss Granger, be sure you do not grind that up too finely. Saffron is an expensive ingredient and cannot be wasted.'

'Yes, sir.' She wanted to yell at him. She knew what she was doing, and her saffron was turning out to be the perfect grade needed for the paste.

He looked up from her cauldron and stared into her eyes for a minute before scowling at her and walking away. What did I do to make him scowl like that? He kept to the front of the classroom and terrorized the seventh years for the rest of the time, only glancing over to scowl at her once more before class came to an end.

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A/N: Please Review.