The Grey

Chapter 11: Back

A/N: This is the penultimate chapter. Look for the final chapter next week. This fic wouldn't be what it is without the lovely and talented BirdieMing. Thanks to msmerlin for her work on the earlier chapters. And as usual, brownlark42 was a huge part of the alpha process and getting me to start writing this fic again.

And you, dear reader, thank you for reading and reviewing. Each comment is lovlier than the last. If you loved this (or hated it) let me know about it in a review! Find the aesthetic for this story on my Tumblr: crochetawayhpff or my Facebook Shan Crochetaway.

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Dreams in the dusk,

Only dreams closing the day

And with the day's close going back

To the grey things, the dark things,

The far, deep things of dreamland.

-Carl Sandburg

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August 2022

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Hermione was quite sure dream-walking nightly was going to kill her. She was barely getting three hours of sleep each night at this rate. The Grey was getting worse each successive night, and Hermione was worried that they would lose more people before she could figure out a solution.

"Perhaps we should start sending people across," Sirius suggested one evening.

"I thought of that," Hermione sighed heavily as she sank onto the bed next to him. He began rubbing her shoulders and Hermione groaned her appreciation. "I'm worried we'd start a panic if people just began to disappear. And what if Dumbledore and Grindelwald find out about it?"

Sirius didn't respond, but Hermione was sure he was frowning. "What happens if we don't figure something out?"

Hermione sighed again. "I'm going to summon the Unseelie King this weekend."

"When were you going to tell me?" Sirius asked. Hermione knew he wasn't truly upset by the faint amusement in his voice.

"I'm telling you now. I don't see any other solution for it, but I've never summoned anyone before—"

"Except me," Sirius interrupted.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Except you. So I want to talk to Maggie Harris again before I do anything. I'm hoping to see her tomorrow."

"Maybe you shouldn't dream-walk with me tonight, then?" Sirius suggested. "Get some needed sleep."

"I've called into work for the next few weeks," Hermione said. "I didn't want to tell you, but I brought the Grimoire home and, well... I'm not going back to work until I have a solution or..." She swallowed heavily. "I've failed," she whispered.

"You won't fail," Sirius said sternly. "You're the brightest witch I've ever met. You couldn't fail if you tried."

Hermione smiled weakly at his attempt to encourage her, but she wasn't convinced.

"Let's go to bed," Sirius suggested. Hermione nodded and took her Dream-Walking Inducement. She ignored Sirius' scowl and cuddled with him as she waited for sleep to take her. As usual, it was quick.

The Grey was clearly shrinking. Hermione and Sirius always seemed to appear at the same spot when they dream-walked: seemingly in the center of the Grey. That night, they could see the edges of the Grey. The Void and Beyond the Veil flickered rapidly, reality-bending in odd ways that hurt Hermione's eyes.