Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. Yeah, I borrowed them. So what?!?

Chapter 1

Harry woke with a sudden start. He was covered in beads of sweat and breathing very heavily. His scar was aching. He looked around his room. It was still dark, although he could see the faint orange of the sun beginning to rise off in the distance. He reached for his glasses and put them on. "That dream was just too real," he thought to himself.

He decided to get up and get a glass of water. Sirius was sitting by the fireplace, staring at the glow of the coals of the fire from the night before.

"Sirius," Harry started, "you wouldn't believe the dream I just had!"

"You look like you've just seen a ghost, son. Sit here, then, and tell me about it."

Harry, too, stared at the coals and tried to collect his thoughts. "Ron, Hermoine, Ginny, Luna, Neville and I rode thestrals to the Ministry of Magic to save you. Voldemort had planted 'visions' of you being tortured in my head so I would go rescue you." Harry did not have to explain his 'visions' to Sirius. Sirius understood very well the connection between Harry and Voldemort.

"Except, you were not being tortured as my dreams were telling me. There was a prophecy in the Department of Mysteries with my name on it. The minute I touched it, the Death Eaters circled my friends and me. The prophecy had something to do with Voldemort and me and the Death Eaters wanted to take it to Voldemort. It was horrible. My friends were all getting hurt all because of me." Harry paused. The fight with Voldemort had been his, although Hermoine and Ron had there from the beginning, but he couldn't bear the thought of bringing all of his friends to suffer unimaginable horrors at the hands of the Death Eaters.

"Then Moody, Professor Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley and you came in. There was more fighting. If it hadn't been for me…" he broke off. The tears were coming to his eyes now. The dream was much too real.

Sirius interrupted, "Harry, it was just a dream."

"Yes, I know, but it was horrible. One of the Death Eaters pushed you through a black veil in the department of mysteries. You didn't come out the other side. Professor Lupin wouldn't let me get you from the other side." Harry shuddered at the thought of losing Sirius again. It was only a few months ago that he was finally able to be free of the Dursleys and be with his godfather. It took Dumbledore much persuasion and, as most suspected, a little magic, to have the guards of Azkaban called off Sirius.

"Harry," Sirius broke into Harry's thoughts, "I'm alright. I'm not going anywhere and I don't plan on it." Sirius got up and looked out the window. The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon in the distance. "It's Saturday, and we need to get to Diagon Alley to get your books for school. Would you like to stay the night there and get the train on Sunday?"

Sirius and Harry moved into this small house not far from the Weasleys. Sirius thought it was a good idea to leave Grimmauld Place. He hated the place anyway, and he wanted Harry to finally have a place he could call his home.

This summer flew by like no other Harry could remember. Instead of being tortured by the Dursleys, he was where he wanted to be. He was about to protest going back to school, but he loved Hogwart's, as well. He hadn't seen Hermoine all summer. She was off with her parents on their Muggle summer vacation. He had received an owl sometime in July that said something to the effect of, "Having a great time, and I can't wait to see you in the fall." Now that Harry was with Sirius, and close to Ron, she wasn't as worried about him as she had been every year before.

"That sounds good," said Harry, "but I think I'd like to go back to bed for a little while, if that's alright."

"Sounds good to me."