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

Chapter Thirty One

Chapter Thirty One

The quintaped wasn't actually as tricky as Harry feared it would be. It's five legs were thick as tree trunks and very strong, but it also made it quite slow and after being blasted by several stunning spells it decided it would rather crawl off and have a nap than eat the little humans with the nasty sticks. 

It wasn't until they were well past the spider webs and cocooned dead nifflers that Harry was able to catch Hermione by the arm and form a decent sentence. "That was fantastic what you did back there, with the water." 

Hermione nodded underneath her mess of tangled, mucky hair. "Thanks," she said. "I forgot I had it, my hands were shaking so much I wasn't sure I could throw it." 

"You got him well good!" called out Parvati from behind them, followed by a relieved sort of giggle. 

"Yeah Hermione," added Seamus. "You rock I swear, that was great what you did back there." Hermione smiled back at them then turned back to face where they were walking. Malfoy was up ahead again, meticulously scanning the path ahead for their next obstacle. Harry leant into Hermione and hoped the other three wouldn't hear. 

"How are you doing?" he asked. "Are you okay?" She looked up at him, her face a greenish white colour, speckled with human blood, vampire remains and mud from the Black Forest floor. 

"Actually," she said brightly, "I'm doing pretty good. I'm very pleased I was able to help with the vampire, I feel a bit useless not knowing much magic, but that was really good. Hopefully there be some more things like that I can do." She nodded to herself, and Harry had to marvel at her enthusiasm. "How about you?" 

Harry had to look away from her. She was coping incredibly with this, should he be honest? "I'm...not so great," he admitted. "I did something like this when I was eleven. You, me and Ron actually. Ron and I almost died." 

"Like this?" she said, eyebrow raised. 

He indicated the tunnel with his hand. "We had to get through a bunch of things and then You-Know-Who was sort of waiting for me at the end." 

"Eleven?" repeated Hermione. He nodded. "My god, you've probably got some kind of post traumatic stress going on, I bet this is freaking you right out?" 

Harry sighed. "Amongst other things." Hermione frowned in concentration and he studied her. 

"Are you thinking," he said, voicing his own reluctant thoughts. "That this is another sign I was meant to be here, in this reality, because I've done it before?" She looked sideways at him. 

"Maybe?" she said.  

He shook his head as they clambered over some rubble that had collected by the side of the tunnel; probably the quintaped doing some redecorating. "It crossed my mind too, but it just sounds so farfetched." 

Hermione laughed. "Do you know what's farfetched? My plan for this evening was to start re-reading Pride and Prejudice for the fourth time. Instead I'm in Germany, fighting monsters with a bunch of wizards. The universe works in very strange ways." 

"How did you end up in Germany fighting monsters?" asked Malfoy. Harry hadn't realised when they'd climbed the rocks how much closer he'd got. 

Hermione shook back her mucky hair, unfazed. "Harry needed my help." 

"But," said Malfoy, "how do you even know each other? Didn't you just meet tonight?" 

Harry looked at Hermione as they jumped down the last few rocks. "I...saw a news report," he said, going along with the story she had told his mother earlier.