A Trapped Doll and a Day with Friends
Hazel entered her room with a smile. She felt the trap trigger while she was out in the battle mage fields. She picked up her books and looked around her room. When she saw that everything looked normal, she took out her Tan wand and waved it before her in an intricate pattern.
An odd portal opened. It was black on one side and white on the other—the two colors moving about each other in a small, tight circle in the middle. It was a portal to a dimension considered dead. There were many reasons for a dimension to be considered dead, and this one was so because of the odd way magic balanced itself here. Most magics were made inert because of the balance, and thusly most witches and wizards were rendered powerless when they entered.
But who could deny fate, thought, and the mind? All that was in abundance here and, because of the balance, were much stronger.
Hazel entered and she felt a rush of power that always felt like a breath of fresh air to her. She came to the agreed-upon spot and waited.
"Forgive me for not materializing. I am currently in an intense fight and I am not sure if I will be able to control myself well."
Gaelia sounded calm, but Hazel could feel the waves of power now emanating from the dark well they had carefully chosen.
"I understand, but you are okay?"
"I will be soon. We have already come to an agreement, but we were always powerful and this curse is difficult to overcome."
Hazel nodded. "I think I will be able to recreate a body for you, better than a golem, until we see if your body is viable."
"I will take the golem. My body is viable, but it is under a different hex. It may never be accessible again."
"We will see. Call me if you need me."
"Thank you, Hazel. I never had a friend that truly cared for me and did not see me as a monster."
"Then it is an honor to be your first of many friends."
Hazel slept well that night, and she had plans to meet the others on the dreamscape. She ate something quick with Leo and then looked to him for a moment. "I am going to the dreamscape to meet my brother and others from En. Would you like to come? You can do some divination and traveler practice." His eyes grew wide and she knew his answer.
Hazel and Leo entered her dreamscape with a small popping sound. The space had grown significantly, and Hazel added alarms because of the Emotion Doll. Hazel gave him a tour and he became lost in her traveler library. She warned him about studying things he was not ready for, but he merely settled in deeper and began reading all he could. She shook her head and began studying "Alchemical Principles and Equivalent Exchange Fallacies."
They weren't alone on the dreamscape for long, and Evervine suddenly burst forth with dramatic flourish. She came to a halt with a huge smile on her face. Her legs were stone, her torso and pelvis were the clearer black glass, and her arms were a soft, supple wood. She spoke an incantation and her body began to change back.
"Still not as good as your mother, but I can hold it much longer and soon I won't have to say the incantation aloud or use my wand."
"You feel ready for the qualifiers?"
"I am. I heard only six signed up for the transfiguration category. I am pretty much guaranteed a spot." She frowned. "The Sentinel and duel categories are a different thing altogether."
Before Hazel could respond, Fred and George came bursting onto the dreamscape in a full-blown argument. George paused and kissed Hazel and then resumed. Evervine's eyebrows went up and Hazel frowned.
Soon everyone was there: Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Marcel. They were all in the midst of different conversations, studying or working on techniques, but the calm was about to be shattered.
Ron was currently vibrating with indignation, holding a half-eaten Sugar Quill as if it were a weapon. "I'm telling you, Marcel, it's about the anticipation! You open a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and it's a gamble. It's life! You might get roast beef, or you might get earwax. That's character-building!"
Marcel looked at Ron with the pained expression of a master artist watching someone paint a masterpiece with a brick. "Ron, that's not 'character-building,' that's a digestive hazard. At Celestial Delights, they believe in intent. If I buy a Solar Flare Truffle, I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and taste the spice of a thousand cinnamon fields. I don't want to wonder if my snack is going to taste like a dirty sock."
George leaned back, tossing a Fainting Fancy into the air and catching it. "He's got a point, Ron. Marcel's 'Aether-Glass' has a certain... professional finish. Though, Marcel, could your Phase-Fudge be modified? Say, it tastes like delicious fudge for ten seconds, and then—poof—it turns into a mouthful of invisible bubbles that make the eater start floating toward the ceiling?"
Marcel actually stopped to consider it. "The buoyancy charm would have to be anchored to the sugar's malleability core... it's possible. But why would you want to ruin a perfectly good fudge?"
"For the glory of the prank, my friend!" George grinned, though his eyes went serious a second later. "Speaking of floating... how's the 'High House' drama? We heard the Ambrose boy landed his silver toys in your front yard. If he's anything like the Malfoys, he's probably got more hair gel than sense."
Marcel smiled. "Ask Hazel. He only wanted to talk to her. He wants her to transfer to his school."
Fred purred. "Really? Does Georgy have competition, Hazel?"
Hazel, Evervine, and Hermione rolled their eyes as one. Evervine looked to Marcel. "You are such a gossip."
He shrugged as he bit into a chocoberry slush worm. "I didn't lie, and George did ask." He looked to George. "You did ask."
George became serious. "Will you be alright? I mean, you have so much going on."
Harry looked to his sister, concern clearly in his face. Hazel pursed her lips. "We all have a lot going on, if truth be told. It is true that he said that, but it is just his father speaking. The true problem is him wanting to change the tournament trials. I don't think it matters, but many feel it will undermine us."
Evervine looked up. "Of course it would undermine our position. Star Academy is, undisputedly, the best school of Magical Practices in the dimension. Of course we should host."
Hazel rolled her eyes. "That is just your competitiveness speaking." She looked to the Hogwarts students. "How is Dumbledore? I keep seeing him deathly ill."
They all looked to each other with frowns, then Fred shrugged. "He is a bit secluded these days, but I think he's okay."
George lowered his voice, the whimsical atmosphere of the Dreamscape shifting into something grittier. "Now that you mention it, Dad says the Order is worried. Voldemort is staying quiet, which is never good. He's looking for something—a record, a prophecy, something in the Ministry. And Umbridge... she's making it impossible to breathe. She's banned any group larger than three from meeting. We're basically running a rebel cell in the Room of Requirement just to learn how to cast a proper Stupefy."
Hazel looked to Harry. "We practiced that first and second year."
He nodded. "But it's not me who is practicing. There is no teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Yes there is. You." Ron pursed his lips and Hermione nodded in agreement.
Harry looked to his sister. "I can't bring everyone here, Hazel. You have your things to do and we have ours."
George looked at Hazel with a sly smile. "It sounds like you're dealing with the same things we are, just with better robes. This Relocation Petition? It's not about safety. It's about the Council wanting you in a place where they can watch your every move. They want their 'Master of Fate' in a cage, Hazel. Don't let them seal away the key."