Disclamer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of it's charactors J.K. Rowling ( who is amazing) does. The Goddess Minerva owns all intelligence and God owns me.... so this isn't really mine... kinda... even the title isn't mine... It's my sister's... who wants me off the computer....

Dreams and Reality

NOVEMBER 1, 1993

Harry had a thousand things running through his head. What did Snape do to Lupin's potion? Was Snape making him sick? Where was Black? Why didn't he stay? Was he scared of Dumbledore, like Voldemort? Or was he scared away by sheer number?

The dormitory door opened and Harry jumped.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Ron asked from the doorway.

" Yeah, you just scared me"

Ron walked over and sat on the edge of Harry's bed.

" Harry," he said hesitently," Harry, I understrand your worried, and that you're scared of Black, but you know you'll be fine. I mean, Dumbledore will protect you."

He sounded like he was trying to comcince himself more than Harry.

"It'll be fine, Ron," Harry replied.

"Okay," Ron said, relived, " I'm going to bed, night, Harry. Have Sirius Black-free dreams."

"'Night," Harry yawned. Then he turned over and fell asleep.

------------------- DREAM ------------------

Harry was sitting in a highchair (which confused him as he was sure this was a memory,but the Dursleys never put him in highchairs) and playing with the remains of his oatmeal. He was in a beautiful kitchen that was clean but also cozy. At this point Harry relixed that he was remembering his parents' house and prayed in the back of his head that he stayed asleep for a little longer.

There were footsteps in the othe rroom and then a man walked into the kitchen. In the distance a door closed. The man was tall with elegant black hair that fell in his pale gray eyes. He had a handsome strong featured face and when he saw him, Harry felt joy rise inside of himself. Do I know him? Harry thought.

"Hi Harry!" He said in a voice so familiar to Harry that he wanted to shout for joy. Why though? Harry thought, Who ishe?

The strange, yet farmiliar man walked over to Harry's high chair, pulled a chair from the table right in frount of it, and then sat down in frount of Harry. Harry noticed that the man's pale grey eyes were full of more humor and life than any he had seen, including Dumbledore's. The same strange feeling of recognization struck Harry again. He knew those eyes.

" Wellllllllll, kiddo, guess what!" the man said, smiling joyfully. "Lily and James are out today so, I get to come over!" The man's eyes had lit with joy when he had said Harry's parents' names and it was easy to see that he absolutly loved them. " What do you want to do? Really, I'm so bored I could do anything! Fly on the motorbike, play with stuffed animals, tease the cat, hide-and-go-seek, burn down the house, really anything.......Just.....don't.........tell...... Lily....."

----------------- REALITY------------------

BEEP! BEEP!

Harry woke up with a start. Stupid alarm clock! he thought. That had been the best dream Harry had ever had and he wouldn't have minded if it had lasted forever.

The dream rose so many questions. Harry knew it was a memory, he didn't know how but he did. Who was that guy? Was he related to me? Where was he now? The last question he wasn't sure he wanted answered. He was sure that the man was dead. This saddened him more than he could say but the alternitive was worse. That would be that he just didn't care about Harry. As these thought swirled around his head. Harry made up his mind that he would find that man, even if all he found was a grave stone.

Harry got up and dressed without talking to anyone and then he headed silently to the common room. Fred and George were talking in excited whispers to their best friend, Lee Jordan at the far corner table and Herminoe was throwing them suspicous looks from her chair in front of the fire. Harry walked up to her.

"I need some help," Harry told her.

"With what?" Hermione asked.

"I'll tell you when we get to the library." Harry replied.

Hermione gave Harry an odd look but didn't question him. They started to move toward the portrat hole when Ron saw them and decided to follow.

"Hey guys, what are you doing?" he asked.

"We're going to the library but I don't know why." Hermione answered.

"What?" Ron asked confused.

"Just come!" Harry said impatiantly.

"Okay, okay, we're coming, Harry." Hermione said exasperatedly.

They followed him down to the library. There were only six tables empty and the library was filled with students.

"They probably, don't want to be in the rest of the castel alone." Hermione said sadly.

" Why?" Harry asked.

"Because of Sirius Black." Hermione said.

Harry was momentarily stunned. He had been so caught up in the mystery man that he had completly forgotten about Black.

"Oh, yeah," He said. He sat down at a small table in a sucluded corner of the library. He turned to Hermione, " How do you find someone who's name you don't know?"

Hermione seemed thrown off by the question. " Who do you want to find?"

Harry Hesitated. How should I tell her this so that she'll take me seriously? " Well... Okay you guys have to listen to me. I had this dream but it was different from a normal dream and it was kind of a, ......well I think it was a memory." he paused to take in their looks of confusion. " There was this man in my dream and I have no idea who he is but I am absoultly sure I couldn't have dreamed him up and I need to find him."

"Wait, who is he?" Hermione asked.

"I think he was my parents' friend," Harry responded, "and I know what he looks like."

"Was there anything that might have gotten him in a book or newspaper?"

"He had to have been mentioned around the time my parent's died because he's probably dead."

"Why do you think that?" Ron asked.

"Well, wouldn't I have been raised by him and not the Dursleys if he was still alive?" Harry said omitting his earlier doubt. "He definitely wouldn't just abandon me."

Herminone walked over to the stack of old newspapers and started to shuffle through them. Ron and Harry followed suit.

" We have to find some newspapers dated around October 31, 1981." She told them.

---------------------- --------------------- --------------------- ---------------------

Sirius stared longingly at the castle through the trees. He was on the edge of the Forrbiden Forest, hidden by its shadowing depth. So close, Sirius thought, Why didn't the fat lady just let him in! He had been so mad when the fat lady hadn't let him in that he had lost control, He felt bad now but desperation cupled with the fact that it was Halloween had robbed him momentaraly of his senses.

He crept slowly back into the depths of the forest, thinking of Lily, James, Peter, and Remus; Thinking of everything that had gone wrong....