What Does This Feeling Mean

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Five - The Dream and the Power Within

During the night, I had a very vivid dream. I opened my eyes to see a young boy, with jet black hair, walking in front of me through an opening of trees and bush. I was following him for some reason and was excited about the journey. Soon the trees opened to reveal a small clearing, darkened by a sun that couldn't shine through. Nervousness over came me.

"Where are we? What's going on?" I asked in a voice that was not my own.

The young boy had now stood in the middle of this clearing and turned to face me. His young demeanor had changed to a scowl that seemed to age him. Now paralyzed with fear, I tripped to run away, but a sudden flash of light stopped me. I strained to open my eyes as a rush of pain consumed my head. Gasping for breath, I began to cry. A dark laugh soon rang in my ears, followed by the laugh, I assumed, of the boy I was following. My eyes were useless, and I struggled to move. Another flash of light snapped me into such excruciating pain that I begged for death. What is happening to me? I suddenly made out a voice in the distance that I recognized. I let out a cry with what little strength I had left. I felt my body go limp and crash hard on the ground. Riddled in agony, I heard the voice become clearer. "Cassie!" I screamed before everything went black.

I shot up in a cold sweat and struggled to catch my breath. I held my head, fighting the emotions that swirled in my mind. Finally, I came back to my own. What was that? Why did this happen? Why did I scream for Cassie?

I now, more than ever, needed her. Granny Cassie was the only person in my family who could read me, and I her. As much as it would have pleased me to see what my parents were thinking throughout my life, I couldn't. I figured they were always resisting, but Cassie never did. Weird how she married in to the Vablatsky bloodline, and after two generations, I would turn out to be the most like her. Now, without her, I didn't have anyone to help me understand visions like this.

Accepting that my answer would have to wait, I got up and began to get ready for the first day of school. I showered, got dressed in my robes and gloves, and left my hair down. I walked to the great hall and sat with my fellow Ravenclaws for breakfast. A fine group they were. All aspiring professors, scholars, and world travelers lined this table. One thing I could say, was that Ravenclaws liked to debate on anything. A few heated discussions would break out from the Dark Lord, all the way to whether the stuff they put on their bread was jam or jelly. I argued jelly, and it was turning out to be quite a morning. I left breakfast a little early to get to my classroom. In a matter of minutes, my first class of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs would be arriving.

A few students started making their way into the classroom, and made small talk to each other mainly about my hair. Hermione, Ron, and Harry said they almost didn't recognize me when they first walked in. Hermione ended up dragging Ron to his seat because 'all he wanted to do was touch it'.

"Good morning everyone," I started as the last person took their seat. "I don't like titles, especially since I am also in your year, so everyone can call me Jewel. Alike with you, I will address all of you only by your first names.

"Since I will only be with you guys for a few months, I will only talk about what I will cover in this class. I'm sure most of you see the art of Divination as mere fortune telling. How all of life's mysteries can be solved by a flip of a card, or more recently, the grounds of tea left on the bottom of your cup.

"Yes omens, or signs, will be expanded in the later part of this class, but in order to really see the signs life may give you, you must first become aware," I looked around the classroom to see some confused students, which wasn't too alarming. "How does a wizard become powerful? Does he flip cards to see what he should do? Does he say the spell a little louder? Of course not. The only thing that can make a witch or wizard achieve their greatest potential, is their own power within themselves. Nobody is perfect, but a person who fights his or her own demons, or at least tries to understand them, can overcome much more than one who does not. Let's try a little trick us 'mind readers' know about, please get out your wands," I said. Everyone fumbled around and soon wands were raised and ready. "Now focusing only on your wands, recite Ambitio Penitus."

The class swished and flicked their wands, repeating the words. A few students got a small crackle of white out of their wands, but everyone had displayed some kind of reaction.

"That's good. Now we'll try it again. I want everyone to close their eyes, and think about where they would love to be right this second. I want you to picture your life just the way you would want it to be. Think of anything that would make you the happiest person in the world right now."

Soon my dreaming class wore smiles on each of their faces. When I felt everyone in quiet serenity, I continued.

"Now, remember what you were thinking, open your eyes, and try the spell again."

Everyone opened their eyes, still smiling and swished the spell again. This time however it was different. Everyones wands soon lit up with small streams of bright colors that popped and crackled as they floated down to disappear on the desks. People were laughing and looking around at the colorful displays. When the spell stopped, everyone remained excited and couldn't wait to do it again.

"That spell simply means power inside. Your first attempt was as expected. Who's mind and heart would be truly focused in the first class of your first day back to school? Only by letting your mind see what your heart wanted, did your power increase.

"Every one of you have been taught that magic is the essence of nature. That it lives and breathes, grows and weakens just like we do. We however, as human beings, have the power of emotion. It is powerful enough to rule over our lives, and magic knows this. Anger and hatred can turn a spell into a curse, while love and happiness can create life. The ones who can see the rainbow after they've lived through the storm are the strongest of all. Finding your balance in life is where true power comes from.

"Magic isn't perfect, and neither are we. My life is full of insecurities, maybe more so than most. I fight everyday with my problems, but I try to address them, learn from them, and even accept them. I know everything happens for a reason, and will turn out the way it is supposed to. You need these challenges in life, because they make you stop and evaluate what your heart may be telling you. Address your obstacles, focus on what's important, and one day you may be able to do this."

I took my breath, cleared my mind of everything but the calm moment, and spoke the words. A huge, glittering display of every color imaginable cascaded in a massive arch above the entire class room. Small diamonds of twinkling color rained from the light show, and slowly vanished on the way to the top of everyone's heads. I snapped my wand back and the rest of the spectrum gently fell to nothing.

The class stood up cheering in wonderment and excitement of when they would be able to do what I did. Now I understood why that trick was used in classrooms. You could tell someone to better themselves until you were blue in the face, but show them a little of what they can do if they did, and suddenly, they're all ears.

"Now in the next two days, I will be reading each person individually in this little room beside me. There, we will find out what is holding each of you back, if anything, and then you will follow chapters one through five. The reading, plus these chapters, will teach you what you need to know to start becoming the person you know you can be."

With that, my first class was over, and as I suspected, the sound of popping and splashes of colors were imminent in the hallway outside my classroom. When everything finally died down, I took a seat behind my desk.

What I wouldn't give to have normal problems like everyone else. To be able to deal with things at face value, instead of living them through visions that can sometimes prove more painful or confusing. As much as I love using my abilities to help anyone who needs it, as funny as it sounds, I sometimes wish that I didn't know anything.

With the second set of students now coming in, I knew it was going to be a long day. I did look forward to seeing my last class though. I was going to be able see a person who has refused to leave my mind. Draco.


TBC...