Chapter 268: Journey Through the Collective Unconscious Sea and Harry's Little Goblin
That night, Harry was once again awakened by nightmares.
Nightmares jolted Harry awake yet again. A weight shifting on his mattress sent him bolt upright, wand pressed to an intruder's chest before he could think.
"I don't think I've offended you," came a gentle youthful voice.
"Aiden?" Harry said, grabbing the glasses from his bedside table.
Blinking into focus, Harry saw them all: a small crowd flanking Aiden. Lupin, Moody, Kingsley, Dedalus from that awkward handshake, Hestia Jones...
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked curiously.
"Put away your wand, kid. You'll poke someone's eye out," Moody said, delivering his first line.
A witch with a pale, heart-shaped face and violet spiked hair ran over and shook Harry's hand.
"Hello, I'm Nymphadora Tonks," she said, introducing herself warmly.
"Ahem," Lupin coughed, interrupting the moment.
"Come on, kid, we need to pack your luggage," Moody said, reaching out and pulling Harry toward the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Tonks used less-than-stellar spells to help Harry pack.
Moody asked Harry for a glass of water, and Harry picked up Petunia's cup and handed it over.
"You know, ever since that incident, it keeps getting stuck," Moody said, popping out his magical eye and dropping it in the cup to wash.
A group of wizards ransacked Harry's house, with only Lupin leaving a note for the Dursley family explaining that Harry had been taken away.
Soon Harry's luggage was packed, and the group came outside.
"How are we going to leave here?" Harry asked.
"Of course, through the dream channels," Aiden said, winking at Harry.
Having become a Dream Weaver, Aiden had the ability to bring others into the collective unconscious sea.
To maximise avoidance of Ministry tracking, Dumbledore decided after discussing with Aiden to take Harry for a tour.
It was also to let him get acquainted with the good friends behind him in advance.
"Ready?" Aiden asked, glancing at everyone.
"Maybe you need to give Nymphadora some preparation time," Moody joked.
"Don't call me Nymphadora!" Tonks said as her hair changed colour.
"Go!" Aiden said as his staff materialised in his hand, tapping lightly on the ground.
Silver-white rings of light began spreading from where his staff touched the ground.
Enveloping all ten people, the wizards then felt a falling sensation and tumbled down.
After falling through the air for a while, they felt themselves crash to the ground.
Several people looked up and found themselves in a grey, hazy world.
"Where's Aiden?" Harry asked, looking around the group and noticing one person missing.
"Where do you think you're standing right now?" A clear, youthful voice rang out.
They looked up to see a massive dragon head floating above them, heterochromatic dragon eyes revealing playfulness.
"Merlin's beard," Lupin exclaimed.
Finally, Harry and his group discovered they were standing on a grey-white giant dragon.
There were many bubbles floating around them. Focusing on them seemed to reveal images within.
"Don't get too absorbed watching them. You'll fall into other people's dreams. Even if these ordinary people have no magical power, the combined force of minds is not something ordinary wizards can withstand."
Aiden's voice startled the group, and they quickly closed their eyes.
"I'll fly lower so you can see the full view of this place."
With Aiden's voice, the wizards felt a pushing sensation and then dove downward.
"Alright."
Aiden's voice came again, and everyone reluctantly opened their eyes.
Below them was a boundless ocean of silver-white fluid.
Surrounded by oddly shaped islands, with bubbles rising from the peaks of mountains on the islands.
Countless bubbles piled up in the sky, seemingly forming a cloud layer that obscured the sunlight.
"What is this place?" Harry murmured in wonder.
"The collective unconscious sea, a cluster of biological consciousness, Akasha, Alaya, the Misty Illusion. Since ancient times, wizards and ordinary people have had all sorts of names for this place," Aiden explained.
"Look at your back, Harry," Aiden said mischievously.
Harry turned around, and everyone also looked toward his back.
"Ah!" Harry cried out in alarm.
On his back, an ugly baby was clinging tightly to him, and the baby seemed to have many wounds on its body.
The baby's face was exactly Voldemort's.
"What's on his back?" Lupin asked with a frown.
From their perspective, Harry's back was completely empty, but from Harry and Aiden's reactions, this was clearly not the case.
"I've heard Dumbledore say that this region requires walking a certain distance on the mental path before one can enter. And our mental path can at most allow us to examine ourselves; we can't see others' situations," Moody shared his speculation.
"Yes, Professor Moody is right. Truly worthy of being a well-informed veteran Auror," Aiden said, nodding in praise.
"I'm no longer a professor, and you're truly worthy of being a student praised by Dumbledore," Moody replied seriously.
The two engaged in mutual compliments while Harry beside them was already vigorously trying to shake off the Voldemort on his back.
"Aiden, what's going on!" Harry said after shaking for a while and finding no effect, turning to seek help.
"You should have encountered his secret of immortality. Fifteen years ago, he used your mother as a sacrifice and shared part of himself with you," Aiden explained.
"So I'm his..." Harry was about to speak but was interrupted by Aiden.
"So, I instructed Sirius before the summer holidays to teach you Occlumency. Any progress?"
Aiden turned his head back to watch ahead, controlling his body's direction.
"...Didn't learn... probably Sirius was too busy..." Harry said, evading the topic.
Clearly, this father and son pair had completely ignored his words.
"Now you know why you keep dreaming about him during your holidays. Study Occlumency properly," Aiden emphasised again.
"Okay," Harry said, obediently lowering his head.
"Alright, hold on tight. We're about to surface," Aiden reminded the people on his back.
Then they all pressed themselves against Aiden's scales. With the sensation of upward thrust and airflow, Aiden brought them to Grimmauld Place in London.
"By the way, how do you travel from there to here? Does the sea of consciousness connect the entire world?" Lupin suddenly asked with interest.
"No, but it can at least connect to any place where living beings exist. It won't appear when you're bathing, Senior Tonks," Aiden said, narrowing his eyes without turning back.
"Just as Professor Snape said, everyone present has no secrets in front of you," Tonks complained with embarrassment.