Chapter 301: The Dream and the Black Cat
The rain was still falling steadily by the time Sean returned to Ravenclaw Tower, water droplets sliding one by one down the tall, arched windows. Soon, the only sound in the dormitory was the soft, rhythmic crackle of the hearth.
Coming in from the biting wind outside, Sean instinctively summoned a small fire salamander. It curled up contentedly by his feet, providing a welcome heat that soon took the chill from his bones.
Against his chest, the Void Rune began to pulse with a faint, ethereal luster. Sean knew it was time; he could return to the Lands Between.
The Lands Between, the World Behind the Veil, the Place Beyond the Death Veil... no matter the name, it remained one of the most profound and mysterious domains of the magical world. Its entry and exit naturally followed ancient, esoteric laws.
The Beginner's Guide to the Void Rune recorded several different methods of transit, detailing the influences of planetary alignments, lunar phases, and spiritual anchors. Ultimately, Sean had reached a simpler conclusion: it largely depended on the "charge" of the Soul Hallow. He suspected that his previous frequent use had exhausted the artifact, which explained the recent period of silence.
But now, the way was open.
Night deepened, and the thin mists of the soul realm began to rise.
At the entrance to the "Oak Tree Children's Home," a black cat—larger than a mundane feline, with fur as dense as velvet—began its journey down the dilapidated street. It leaped gracefully into the thickening fog.
Moving through kaleidoscopic clusters of mist, the black cat stopped beside a vaporous cloud surrounded by swirling, ink-colored threads.
With a soft, melodic trill, a small, red-headed witch appeared within the mist. A second later, she stepped forward hesitantly.
"Merlin's cat!" Ginny gasped, her eyes widening. "It's the Lucky Black Cat! Am I dreaming? Oh, I must be dreaming!"
Her eyes sparkled, and her fiery hair seemed to dance like living flame. She reached out, eager to pet the creature.
The black cat darted left and right, dodging her fingers. Remembering that the dream wouldn't last long, a look of very human resignation flickered in its vivid green eyes.
"Ginny," the cat said.
"Who said that?! That voice sounds so familiar..."
Ginny whirled around, looking in every direction before her gaze locked back onto the black cat perched atop a mound of mist.
"Hannah was right! Hogwarts really does have a magical black cat!" Ginny's face glowed with excitement.
"How have you been lately?" the cat asked. "Have you been feeling... muddled?"
Ginny pulled her hand back. She wondered if it was impolite to scratch the ears of a cat that could talk.
"How did you know, Mr. Cat? Is this your dream?" Ginny asked in her small, youthful voice.
The black cat felt a flicker of surprise. The Weasleys always did have a peculiar sort of intuition.
Was this his dream? Yes and no.
This was the Lands Between, but it was a corner of it that belonged to him. The Beginner's Guide explained it thus:
The souls here are either cowardly or brave; only a few wander, and only the intruder is a Traveler. The Wanderer waits, while the Traveler is awaited. The Traveler brings change, while the Wanderer is changed.
It was a vague, poetic passage, but Sean's interpretation was practical: a wizard entering the Lands Between via a Soul Hallow possessed the right to influence a small portion of that realm.
This influence manifested in many ways. Sean could see the Hollysey Orphanage because it was his anchor; he could summon wizards who did not resist him; and—most importantly—he could slowly strip away the soul-erosion caused by a certain Dark Lord.
The principle was simple: Voldemort had not been invited here.
In the realm of Dark Arts, Sean had to be beyond cautious with Voldemort. But in the Lands Between, the Dark Lord's splintered soul was little more than a helpless infant.
As the books described Voldemort's true state: ...the form of a small, naked child, curled on the ground, its skin raw and reddish as if flayed, trembling under a seat, discarded, struggling for breath.
"I feel so much lighter," Ginny confessed, looking relieved. "Was it because I was having so many nightmares? When I wake up, my robes are always covered in rooster feathers, and I've no idea how they got there."
Ginny didn't feel any urge to hide the truth from the black cat. On the contrary, she felt a burst of excitement. She had no friends to confide in regarding her strange lapses in memory, but here in the dream, it felt safe to speak.
"You'll be better soon," the cat promised.
Ginny felt a dizzying sense of happiness. She was meeting the black cat of her dreams... and it was quite a strange creature. Sometimes it looked as if it wanted to lick its own paw, only to stop itself with a twitch of its whiskers. Sometimes, when its own tail brushed against its side, it would use a paw to tuck the tail back into place as if the tail had a mind of its own.
"Mr. Cat... will I see you again?" Ginny asked softly as the dream began to fade.
"If all goes well, our paths will not cross again," the cat replied.
After all, Sean intended to deal with the Basilisk soon. Once he had a venomous fang, the diary would be no threat at all. He had a hundred ways to destroy that book without ever touching it.
"What do you mean 'if all goes well'?... What if it doesn't?" Ginny asked, her voice tinged with disappointment.
"Things rarely go well," the cat's final words echoed in her mind as the fog claimed her.
Ginny woke up feeling more curious than ever. It felt as though that furry cat had reached out a paw and given her heart a playful, lingering scratch.
"The Lucky Black Cat!"
Ginny sat bolt upright in bed with a loud shout. Her hair was a bird's nest of red tangles. Her dorm-mates stared at her in shock.
Looking at her watch—there was still some time before breakfast—she began to recount her dream with vivid detail.
When Sean arrived at the Great Hall later that morning, he saw a large group of young witches huddled together. Ginny was patiently repeating her story. When she finished, she spotted Luna Lovegood at the Ravenclaw table and hurried over.
Luna was sitting not far from Sean's group, allowing them to overhear the conversation clearly.
"...and then Mr. Cat helped me... but Luna, was it really just a dream?" Ginny's face was full of melancholy.
"Look there," Luna said, resting her chin in her hand. She didn't appear to be listening, but she suddenly reached out and plucked a single, silken black cat hair from the crown of Ginny's head. "It was real."
Harry, Ron, and the others leaned in to listen. Hannah Abbott let out a squeal, insisting she had to record this for the club archives. Even Hermione cast a suspicious, sidelong glance at Sean before scooting closer to the girls to hear more.
Sean took that as his cue to leave. He made his way up to the second floor.
Outside the girls' bathroom, Peeves the Poltergeist was marching back and forth with a solemn expression, carrying what looked like a long, spectral pike.
"Clear off, puny first-years! If you dare bully poor Myrtle, I'll gobble you up!" Peeves snarled, making a hideous face at a passing student before snatching her hat and hanging it on a high wall bracket.
"Oi! You great phantom!" the young witch shouted bravely. "I just got here! I don't even know who Myrtle is!"
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