New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

Plans: Challenge one of the tournament tonight at the Hogwarts where I am a student with MoSh. It looks like I'll be working with Draco, though, since we're in the same house. MoSh will be working with Harry and Hermione since they're all in Gryffindor. This sucks.

Tour of the Castle
I am in a bedroom at Hogwarts and I'm not lucid. I really need to RC every time I'm in a bedroom that isn't my own... So I leave the bedroom and enter an office of some kind, there is a big ornate wooden desk, there isn't much in the room, it looks like it isn't in use right now. I look around for a bit, not sure what I'm supposed to be doing in there. I was still pondering that when there was a knock at the door, I open the door to reveal Professor McGonagall waiting at the door. I let her inside, she says she has come to help me get acquainted with the castle. So now I follow McGonagall down the hall. I notice there are two exits from the living area / office, one of them leads to the main hallway while the other leads directly to a classroom, it's the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. I follow McGonagall to the main hallway and then we go around the school, meeting an assortment of people. Filched greeted me with a grunt and a glare until I say he has an adorable kitty, after which I pick up a surprised Mrs. Norris and then give her cause to purr, and she purrs very loud indeed! I comment to Filch that I love anything feline, I am a hopeless cat lover. Mrs. Norris clearly likes me, so Filch soon calms down. He had been a bit upset when I had first scooped Mrs. Norris into my arms. McGonagall says we need to keep going, so I set Mrs. Norris down and follow McGonagall. We are seeing where all of the classrooms are, meeting all of the teachers and others that work there, for the most part I get a friendly welcome.

There are a couple people there who seem less than thrilled to see me. And those are actually people I have already met, I am sure of that. Somewhere along this tour I have become lucid, so I am now aware I am dreaming. Snape greets me with a grunt and a dirty look, I know he wanted to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I am figuring he voted me in only because, when choosing between Umbridge and me, I am the obvious choice. Lucius is in the halls, I wonder how much time Lucius is at Hogwarts. As McGonagall is introducing me to people, she is saying the role they play at Hogwarts. It turns out the heads of the houses aren't the same as in the book. In fact, McGonagall introduces Arthur Weasley as the head of Gryffindor, I say I thought that was McGonagall. McGonagall says no, seems surprised, then says there would be far too much room for bias if the heads of the houses were also teachers. She says Snape would never flunk anyone in his house. She says Arthur Weasley is head of Gryffindor, Xenophilius Lovegood is head of Ravenclaw, I have never heard the name of the person who is head of Hufflepuff, and Lucius Malfoy is the head of Slytherin.

Speaking of Lucius Malfoy, McGonagall meet up with him in one of the halls. He doesn't seem too happy to see me, but at least he is making an effort to hide that. He McGonagall has something she needs to attend to, and she needs me to wait. Right there with Lucius? Don't take too long... So there I am in the hallway with Lucius, and it seems a bit awkward, so I just wait there silently while Lucius is giving me a strange look. While I am standing there thinking the situation rather sucks, someone even worse comes along. Dolores Umbridge comes along down the hall. She is still not pleased to see me, but it seems she is currently more angry a Lucius for some reason. She walks right over to Lucius and says she should curse him into next week for that trick. She says it took her hours to find the proper counter-curse to get rid of that obscenity from her forehead. I remember the word BITCH being tattooed on her face, I look to see if it is really gone. Lucius is also looking, he says it's good she cleared up that label... the word BITCH didn't properly describe Umbridge. I look and now the words UGLY BITCH are displayed on her forehead, glowing and changing color constantly. I say Lucius is right on this one, Umbridge's forehead looks much better now, then I turn away quickly because I think I might start laughing. McGonagall comes out of the room where she had gone, she looks at Umbridge and gasps. She is staring, all she can say is, "Dolores! Your face! It's..." I interrupt McGonagall and say her face sure does look a lot better. McGonagall is about to say something else when Umbridge takes a look at me, gives a huff, then says I shouldn't get too comfortable since I won't be at the school for long. She leaves in a huff. McGonagall makes no further attempt to stop her, but she does want to know who put it there. I say I didn't do it, but I think it was Q. Q has a sense of humor and would no doubt find that amusing. From the closed door of a women's restroom a bit farther up the hall comes, "Lucius Malfoy!!!" There are a few other sounds, then Umbridge comes out of the bathroom and storms over to Lucius. I notice that, unfortunately, her forehead is now clear of writing. Damn. She got rid of it. She points at her forehead and tells Lucius that she has countered how curse. As I am watching, however, the words DUMB UGLY BITCH appear on her forehead in neon pink. I snort a bit of laughter, turning it into a cough, though it still gets Umbridge's attention. She heads off in a huff again.

I follow McGonagall through the rest of the tour of the castle, though nothing more worth noting takes place. I am thinking it would be sooooo easy to get lost in there that it isn't even funny. I wonder how the students manage to find their classes at all. I guess it is something they get used to, but it seems the setup would lead to a lot of tardy first years, at least for a while. The tour ends back where we started, back in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. McGonagall says again that everyone, or most everyone, is glad to have me aboard. So don't pay any attention to Umbridge, she is all talk and there really is nothing she can do now that I have been voted in by a majority of the board members at Hogwarts. Speaking of Umbridge, she storms into the room and demands to know where Lucius Malfoy is, I see her forehead now sports only one word, and that is FUCKTARD. Q must have heard Tigress use that word. McGonagall says that is really immature, but she seems to be snickering a bit, too. I wonder what it will say next... I was fortunately able to wait until McGonagall left the room before I woke up.

Concert Shirt Swap
I am in a large room, it is an auditorium, and there are people coming into the room and taking seats, it looks like there is going to be a concert going on soon. I am thinking I somehow got in without a ticket, and I am hoping I don't get caught... because the ticket price is outrageously expensive, there's no way I could afford one. I am trying to remember who is playing, is it even worth that kind of money? Well, no matter, I got in free, so I'm happy. It turns out that they are even giving out free t-shirts, one of the employees gives me one, so I look at the shirt, and it displays the names of the bands to be playing. There are a couple opening acts I don't recognize, but the headlining groups are Metallica and Disturbed, awesome! I take my shirt off right there in front of everyone, not really being concerned about the people who are around me to see. I put on my shirt but then I realize I have a big hole in it! That really pissed me off, so I switched back to my own shirt. I look around and I see that some people have laid their shirts around, I figure I will make a swap. Bit when I try, someone calls me on it, I say I thought it was mine... Sorry. The music starts, it's Metallica playing, I am hoping I haven't missed Disturbed. Of course now the place is darker, so I am able to swap my shirt with another. Then I make my way towards the front of the crowd to get closer to the band. It's Metallica, but I don't recognize the songs.

A River Runs Through It
There is a river running through our yard, across the driveway, blocks the driveway. The water is rancid. Oil in it. Can't get out, worried about dogs... what if they drink this crap??? They can't reach. Not an issue. What if it erodes and grows wider? We need a bridge. Mom talking to my brother, John about the bridge. I follow the river to see where it comes from, can it be diverted? Somehow I become lucid... that's John! I don't want to lose him again... I hug him, I don't want to let him go, he wants to know what brought that on...

I am in my own bedroom, I get up off the bed and go out into the living room. I haven't been sleeping, I have been lying in there relaxing, but now I think it is time to get doing something. I go outside to get a bit of fresh air, but there is something weird about the yard. It takes me a bit to recognize what is wrong with the yard, but I finally see that there is a river running through it! I see my mother out there talking to someone, I go over to see what is going on, because I know there isn't supposed to be a river in the yard. The river flows across the driveway, so it is impossible to get our cars out of the driveway. I find it is my brother John that my mom is talking to, I also get a closer look at the water. The water is disgusting. There is a lot of oil and crap in the water, and it also smells bad. My mother is talking to John about leaving the river there and building a bridge... but why would she want to keep the river stench going through the yard?! I follow the river to the west to see if I can find out where the river is coming from and maybe it can be diverted. Somewhere as I'm following the river I become lucid, though I can't identify exactly where.

Now that I'm lucid I head back to where my mom is talking to John still, but now I realize it's a dream and that as soon as I wake up John will be gone again. This realization makes me sad, I miss my brother. I decide to take advantage of the time I have with him. I run over to John and I throw my arms around him in a great big bear hug. He seems a bit surprised, but he returns the hug. I keep hugging him, I really don't want to let go. It seems almost as if, by holding on to him tightly enough, I can pull him from the dream into waking life. Of course that isn't possible, but I hold on to him tightly just the same. I am still holding him when I wake up, and of course he isn't there.

Note: There were several more dreams, but I don't remember them in extreme detail, so I am posting my fragmented memories here as one posting.

The Path Less Taken
I am at Hogwarts, but I am not lucid. I am with Draco in the same room where we were planning out ideas for getting through the first challenge, I see the map laid out on the table with the figures Draco placed still on it, they are pacing around a bit as if rather bored. Draco himself is pacing a bit, he seems agitated about something, so I ask him what is bothering him. He says he doesn't see the point of having a challenge where we can't use magic, it is supposed to be, after all, a wizard tournament… not a muggle tournament… I tell him I don't really know the reason for this challenge, but it is part of the tournament, so we have to get passed it before we can continue to the other challenges. I look at the map again, looking at the different routes through the obstacles. One obstacle is to cross over a deep ravine, or the contestants can use a nice bridge over the ravine and meet up with flying enemies there… Another obstacle takes the form of a sheer wall, there are two ways to get past, but they are both hidden… one is a way up and over, the other is a way down and under, the locations are marked on the map with a couple of Draco's markers. There is a dense forest that is specifically designed to get people lost inside it. There is once again an easy way to navigate the forest, but there are enemies set up along it. One obstacle is a rushing river that empties into a wide lake, there is a bridge, which is blocked by enemies. Parts of the course would require crossing the rapids, or crossing the lake, or there is a shortcut to be taken by riding the rapids, then taking the right fork that comes just before the lake. I am looking at the map like I would a video game layout, deciding what would be the best choice of routes to take.

While I am looking at the map and Draco seems to be talking to himself, the door to the room creaks open… both Draco and I stop to look over at it. A cute little fox comes into the room, then actually leans up against the door to push it closed behind it. The fox comes over to me and rubs around my legs until I pick him up and start petting him. Draco is staring at this, he asks me what that is all about, why is that thing in here? I tell him he had better be nice to the fox, he responds by saying he doesn't care about any dumb old fox, I can keep it as a pet for all he cares. Draco keeps talking about ways to make sure we win, but I am more distracted by the fox now, who is definitely pushy for attention. He wants to be petted, scratched, hugged, cuddled… so I am doing all of that to make the fox happy, and I am rewarded with a purr. I finally tell Draco to calm down, we will make it through the obstacle course, the first challenge will hardly prove to be a challenge at all. He asks if I have any experience without using magic, I say actually, I do, and none of the routes on the map look like something we can't handle. My suggested path is to go the hard way over the ravine, all we would need is a couple lengths of rope, then through the forest, I have an excellent sense of direction, and over the wall, he already had the locations of the hidden ways through… so face the obstacles instead of the enemies, since enemies are much easier to handle with magic. I wonder if an item such as Witchblade would count as magic… well, I'm sure they couldn’t trace the Witchblade like they could spells in use… I would have to find that out.

A Job Search
I am in a strange room, it is rather dark and a bit on the creepy side, I am sitting in a chair facing a long table at one end of the room. There are quite a few people sitting at the table, all of them have their attention focused on me, and I am finding that to be a bit awkward, I wonder why they are all looking at me. As my eyes adjust to the dim light, however, I see that I recognize several of them. Right in the middle of the group is Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series. To his right is Professor McGonagall, beside her is Professor Sprout, then a couple people I don't recognize. To Dumbledore's left I see Professor Snape, next to him is Professor Flitwick, whom I can barely see over the table. Beside Flitwick is someone who makes my stomach churn, I feel like I might puke right in front of everyone, it's Professor Umbridge… and Flitwick does not look pleased with the seating arrangements, he is scooted as close to Snape as he can get without being overly obvious. On the other side of Flitwick is Lucius Malfoy, who has a look on his face that suggests he is smelling something foul… and he is also sitting as far from Umbridge as the table will allow, and he doesn't seem to care about being overly obvious. There is a good three feet between Umbridge and Lucius, and Lucius is crammed into the last foot of space available at the end of the table. Umbridge appears completely oblivious as to the reactions of those around her, either not noticing, or choosing not to notice.

Dumbledore is the first to speak, he says we all know why we are here, but I haven't got a clue why I'm here… He says he has found a candidate for Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, referred to him by an old acquaintance. From behind Dumbledore, Q steps forward to be seen. Q pinches his nose and points at Umbridge, miming that she stinks like something rancid. Then he mimes to me that I should pinch my nose… but I can't smell Umbridge from this far away, so I'm not sure why I would do that. Dumbledore says all of them have had a chance to review my credentials, which Q has so kindly supplied, so if there are no further questions, they would have their vote now. If the majority agree, then I am their new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor. Umbridge jumps to her feet and says absolutely not, she has never heard of such a thing, Dumbledore should know very well that the ministry would assign a new instructor. Dumbledore stopped her and corrected her, that if he was unable to find a qualified candidate in the allotted time the ministry would assign a teacher, but since he had found someone in the allotted time… Umbridge huffs a few times, paces back and forth behind her chair, huffs a couple more times, then Dumbledore asks her, in a polite but firm manner, to sit down. A couple of them, Snape and McGonagall actually agree here, want to see that I can do defensive spells, the choice is finally made that I should summon a patronus since that will defend against evil energies such as dementors. So I summon my patronus after finding a wand in my pocket, and it is a beautiful white panther. Lucius wants to know why he has never heard of the 'Knight' family before, Dumbledore says I come from a distant land, but Q has given assurances that there has never been a relative of Raven Knight who was not a powerful witch or wizard, including a daughter who is being home taught. I am thinking I don't know of any relatives of Raven Knight…

They finally have a vote, everyone raises their hand to vote me in except Lucius and Umbridge. Perhapes not wanting to be siding with the likes of Umbridge, Lucius finally raises his hand to vote yes. Umbridge sternly refuses to do so, instead she sits in her seat and huffs a few more times. Dumbledore said that the decision is made, he welcomes me to the staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. More loud huffs come from Umbridge. I see Q do something, and when I see Umbridge's face next time, the word BITCH is tattooed on her forehead. I have a hard time not laughing in her face, as she says she won't stand for this, and will have me removed immediately, all the while the word BITCH is changing colors on her forehead, it is actually glowing. Lucius has spotted that now, he is openly staring at Umbridge, who finally asks him what he is looking at. Lucius says he sees nothing unusual, but he sees that the truth has come to light in a surprisingly obvious way. The word BITCH flashes blue, then green, then red… Lucius gives me a strange look, welcomes me but doesn't sound like he entirely means it, then leaves. McGonagall sees the word on Umbridge's forehead and steps back in shock… "Delores!" she says, "What is that on your forehead?!" Umbridge looks at McGonagall strangely, then summons up a mirror and sees the word for herself. She curses under her breath at Lucius, apparently thinking he had done it, then storms off, huffing all the way out. The others all give me a warm welcome, saying to come back any time in the next week, and they will set me up with a room in the castle. I realize one of the people I hadn't recognized at first is Arthur Weasley… I am surprised I didn't spot him right away…