Destiny’s task
Dream of the Endless stood in his vast library, talking with his loyal librarian Lucienne when he felt it.
It wasn’t much at first, a simple tug at his very being. Dream closed his eyes and took several unnecessary breaths to centre himself and bring himself back to the present, reminding himself that his situation had changed greatly from when he was summoned by Roderick Burgess in 1916. He was in The Dreaming, Lucienne was in front of him, not The Corinthian and most important of all, he was now more powerful than he had been in eons due to the broken dream stone.
Dream reached deep into himself, following the steadily increasing tug until he heard his brother Destiny’s voice through the link.
“Dream, brother, I must speak with you in my Garden, immediately.”
Dream internally sighed and spoke back to his oldest brother.
“Of Course, Destiny. I will be there momentarily.”
Lucienne noticed his distress and spoke quietly.
“My Lord, is everything well?”
Dream opened his now black eyes and glanced toward Lucienne.
“Everything is well, Lucienne, though I must attend to my brother Destiny.” Dream replied.
Lucienne nodded and said calmly
“Of Corse, My Lord. Would you like me to find Mathew to accompany you to your brother’s realm?”
Dream, knowing that, for good reason, Lucienne disliked when he travelled out of The Dreaming alone, agreed with a sharp nod.
Lucienne turned and disappeared into the stacks of books while Dream began walking back to the throne room in order to prepare to leave. On his way back, he heard Mathew behind him so he ensured his shoulder was an easy perch for the raven, which Mathew took gladly.
“Hay Boss. Lucienne told me to go with you to your brother’s realm.” Mathew said as he settled himself on Dream’s offered shoulder.
“Yes Mathew. We will be traveling together to Destiny’s realm.”Dream replied to Mathew’s unasked question.
Mathew cawed and nodded before Dream entered the throne room and tossed a handful of golden sand around him and the raven.
They appeared in Destiny’s lush garden, where the ruler of the realm waited for them on a bench near a crystal clear waterfall, book in hand as usual.
Destiny turned his head in their direction when Dream and Mathew appeared and spoke in his old, yet incredibly powerful voice.
“Dream, Mathew. Sit down, I must speak to you both.”
Dream reluctantly agreed and sat at the opposite end of the wooden bench to his brother.
Mathew made himself comfortable on the back of the bench behind his original perch, for once, without saying anything.
“Hello, brother.” Dream greeted solemnly
Destiny looked up from his book and turned towards Dream.
“You are aware of the existence of wizards.” Destiny stated, already knowing the answer.
“Yes.” Dream responded. Mathew cawed once but quieted at a glance from his lord.
“Then I take it you are aware of the Wizarding War currently happening in London.”
Dream was unfortunately aware of said war and had glanced through the dreams of some prominent figures, most notably Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort and Albus Dumbledore, who he had been informed had passed into The Sunless Lands the previous June. The only other thing Dream had done was ensure his boyfriend, Hob Gadling, stayed well out of this War because, despite the fact he was immortal, Hob could still be hurt by one of the wizard’s spells and Dream knew full well that he would destroy everything in his path, including The Dreaming, to get to his beloved if Hob was injured.
Instead of replying to his brother’s question verbally, Dream just let out a hum, which calmed Mathew, who had now landed and settled in Dream’s lap in concern.
“I need you to keep a closer eye on Harry Potter and if needed, assist him in the Waking World.’ Destiny stated firmly.
Dream scoffed.
“Brother, this is urgent. I need you to do it. If the one known as Lord Voldemort becomes greater than he already is, everyone in this universe will regret it, not just the humans but us Endless and your lover as well.”
Dream took another deep breath in and pushed his fury at his brother’s audacity to mention Hob down deep into himself.
“What will happen if Lord Voldemort becomes even greater than he is at present, Destiny?” Dream asked, not expecting an answer but trying anyway.
“I cannot tell you, brother.” Destiny replied with the exact phrase Dream expected to hear from him.
Dream pursed his lips and sighed.
“And what of my duties to my creations and realm? I cannot drop everything for this task and you know that.”
“You will manage. You have done so before and you do so now with Hob Gadling.”
Much to Dream’s ire, he could not argue with Destiny’s reasoning. He had managed multiple tasks more than once before and done well at it. Plus, he could split himself into countless parts to complete tasks, he just disliked doing so but he knew that is what he must do.
“Why not send one of the others. Desire, Despair, Death and Delirium have also managed to complete multiple tasks at once. Why me?”
“I cannot send Death, ever. Despair would be too much for Harry to handle as he sits at the edge of her realm as is. Desire, as you know, is… problematic for us to handle, never mind emotional humans and much like Despair, Delirium would be too much for the humans to handle. I cannot go myself for obvious reasons. You however have the connections in Hob Gadling and Johanna Constantine, you are powerful enough to easily separate your consciousness between The Dreaming and The Waking World for an extended period of time and you are the only one, other than myself, who has the opportunity to get a close look at their internal thoughts.
Dream understood, he did but it didn’t make this any easier to accept. He also wanted to ask Destiny why he was so against sending their kindest sister but he knew he would get no answer.
“I am displeased with this task, brother.”Dream said angrily.
“I know.” Destiny replied simply.
“Boss, what is going on?” Mathew asked from where he was still in Dream’s lap. The raven’s presence was acting as a small comfort for the King of Dreams.
“I will explain when we return to The Dreaming.” Dream said, stroking one slightly shaking finger across Mathew’s wing. Mathew flapped his wings slightly before subsiding and returning to his previous position.
Dream turned to face Destiny.
“Destiny, what do you expect of me?”He asked, resigned.
“I expect you to keep watch over Harry Potter and his close friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger as well as Lord Voldemort, Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. If you see anything that could or does go wrong, I expect you to go to Harry’s location and collect him and those he trusts that are with him and bring them to a place of their choosing, a safe place of your choosing or to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
“You expect me to act as a glorified rescue service!”
“Not just that. You will have your part to play, brother.”
Dream huffed and let out a quiet hissing sound in Destiny’s direction before standing.
“If I must do this task, I will, Destiny. But know I am not happy about it in the slightest and if this goes wrong, you will hear about it from me.” Dream threatened, his hands still shaking. Mathew, who had been knocked off his lord’s lap when Dream had stood, let out a caw toward Destiny and landed on Dream’s shoulder.
Dream took his pouch of sand from his long coat and took a handful of it, preparing to return himself and Mathew to his realm.
“Dream.” Destiny called.
Unwillingly, Dream turned his head to face Destiny and raised an eyebrow in question.
“Beware the name, Dream. Give the same advice to the humans.”
Dream nodded and dropped the sand around himself and Mathew.
They returned to The Dreaming to a downpour of icy rain.