Part 2 : Who Must Be Named, Paragraph 1 - 19 : Songer’s Dreams

During a few days, the four friends were able to enjoy a bit of quietness. Little did they know it would not last. One fine day at this period, Eleanor went down to Ravenclaw's Common Room to find Edward Songer, sitting there alone at a table, with absolutely nothing in front of him. He was most certainly not waiting, and it was much more likely that he was deep in thought, focusing on something worrying, since his face displayed the expression of someone preoccupied. Eleanor's first assumption was that Edward was still troubled by the suspicion that he was a dark wizard in the making. She then also hypothesised that he could be wondering if he was on some dangerous path. On the one hand she wanted to leave Edward think through his problems alone, on the other hand she felt an urge to talk to Edward. She went to the other side of the table where he was sitting, and she sat herself opposite Edward. The latter noticed the move, raised his eyes, looked at Eleanor and reacted in a dull voice :

Ah, you are here. What's up ?

Eleanor smiled at him, and replied :

I was about to ask you more or less the same

Edward spent a few seconds deciding whether he should or not let somebody in on his hassle. He opted to be upfront about it, and told Eleanor that he was having some dreams that were probably about events actually taking place, since in those dreams, people would always have a very consistent course of action, very precisely defined and distinctive features, and would always look exactly the same. In addition, he could remember without any problem all the details of these dreams. His latest such dream was in two parts, and about a man and a woman. The first part was taking place in what was obviously their home. The woman had her wand raised in her hand, was repeatedly uttering the name of a spell to affix a parchment onto the wall, but the parchment would stop its flight mid-air. The witch kept trying, but the result would always be the same. The man, seeing what was happening, looked surprised and worried, while the woman looked at a loss. In the second part, the man and the woman were in a white-walled room with a wizard that had to be a physician, for he told the woman, in a gentle voice :

You are losing your abilities to use your powers. It's rare, but it can happen. I can't help you though, because no one has ever come up with an acceptable cure to this kind of sickness. There are ways to try and fight this condition, but they are far too risky for a reputable man of the art to propose them. What we can do is a psychological cure to cope with the feeling of loss that this disease entails. We can recommend specialists who will explain to you how Muggles solve problems without magic, so that you can remain independent, and maintain a better morale

Edward had a sad look. He said the last image he had of this dream was the man and the woman holding hands in this white room, and the woman crying. Eleanor paused, then intended to conclude the conversation gently :

I think it was the right decision to share this story with someone. I know it's easier to tell than to achieve, but the fact you can have these sad dreams should not make you afraid of going to bed

Edward added, much to Eleanor's surprise :

You remember, the spell in Flitwick's class that relied on dark magic ?

Eleanor answered :

Yes, of course. But we are now fairly sure that it had nothing to do with who you actually are. I mean, these accusations that you could have had in your hands the book were ludicrous

Edward disregarded Eleanor's kind reassurance, for he was eager to go on :

I saw this spell in one of those dreams

Eleanor was taken aback, but she almost instantly came up with a line of thought that might help Edward :

Aren't some of these dreams happy, positive ?

Edward replied :

Yes, sometimes

Eleanor finally summarised her conclusions :

Focus on those. These dreams bring you knowledge. Just like any piece of knowledge, you have to sort it into good and bad. With growing experience, you will do better and better

Edward started taking in and pondering what Eleanor had said. At long last - it is not easy for a teenage boy to acknowledge a teenage girl is right - he said :

Sure…Err, thanks. Good night

He stood up, pivoted on his heels, and went straight to the boys' dormitories.