Title: Dreaming of Sound

Rating: T (may go up)

Author: Macaday me a nut

Disclaimer: I own nothing of this story apart from the plot and the recreation of this universe.

Summary: AU Hogwarts is closing. But is it the Hogwarts you know? The students are leaving, but are they the students you know? Their names are the same, but their pasts are different. Welcome to the life and trials of Harry Potter, orphan and musician, friend and leader. Presently living at Hogwarts, Musical school for orphans, but not for much longer.

Warning: There will be some slash in later chapters. Do not worry, it won't be graphic, or go on for too long. It shouldn't play that large a part anyway. I will warn you in the A/N at the top of the chapter though. I'm sorry if you don't like it. But that is your bad, not mine.

Harry's world was ending. No, it was being torn to pieces, slowly, before his eyes. His heart had just imploded; the pressure of his chest to great. 'What are we going to do?' he thought to himself, looking upon the devastated and shocked faces of his peers as they listened to the news. The news that he himself had tried to deny.

"There is nothing we can do. Hogwarts, Musical School for Orphans is closing. Now that our sponsor has, sadly, passed on we don't have the funding to be able to keep you here. You have a few days before we have to start selling the school equipment. You will be told what you can keep and what must be sold."

Dumbledore was dead. That was the worst of it. Old man Dumbledore had been a multimillionaire with a soft spot for orphans. He had built schools across the country, all for orphans and the deprived. He used to visit once every month, to bring the students presents and check that everything was alright. Harry used to love these visits. Dumbledore had brought him his own electric guitar (with amps), microphone set and keyboard. All across separate visits of course. But he had, and Harry cherished them. Now that Dumbledore was gone, Harry thought them even more special. Nearly all of the more talented students at Hogwarts had received their own instrument. All of Harry's closest friends had received at least one present from Dumbledore….when he had been alive.

"I'm sorry." Said the Headmaster, Gary McQueen. McQueen was nearing his 60's and suffering for it. He was a short balding man, with a terrible temper and desperate lack of musical skill. Hardly any of the students liked him, and those that did nobody else liked anyway.

'Sure you are old man' Harry thought bitterly. McQueen had never liked Harry, and that was putting it nicely. Even though Harry had brilliant grades and never tried to get into trouble, trouble always seemed to find him. He had seen the blunt end of a ruler far too many times.

The entire hall was silent as McQueen left the stage placed at the front. After a minute of quiet the hall suddenly exploded with the sound of urgent mutterings. One of Harry's friends, Ron Weasley, lent across the table and prodded him on the shoulder. Ron was from a family of 9 before 'The Accident'. Both his parents and 3 older brothers had been killed when their car had swerved over the edge of a cliff. Now he only had a younger sister, and two twin brothers. They didn't like talking about it, and nobody asked. His brothers, Fred and George work at the nearest bar, selling the drinks. All of his family had red-orangey hair, and the personality traits that came along with it. Freckles marred nearly every inch of his pale skin. Harry attempted to drag his jaw off of the floor and listen in.

"I heard that Dumbledore had left all of his fortune to his nephew, Snape. Guess he thought that he would keep paying for the schools. But he obviously didn't. Annoying little snot-ball of a prat that he is." Ron murmured, his ears going red in anger.

Harry had to agree with him. Severus Snape was an annoying, egotistical, self centered, horrid little snit. Not that he was little. He was actually quite tall, but he was little in mind, or so it was of the opinion. Being 30, he was a fully grown man, but that didn't stop him from being a total prat. The political power that came along with being Dumbledore's nephew had corrupted him. His mind was as greasy as his long black locks. Harry had only met him once, but after seeing those black eyes, like endless tunnels to hell, his opinion was already set in stone. He did not like the man, not at all.

"Bad move on Dumbledore's part." Ginny noted, the only female in the group and Ron's younger, and only, sister. Ginny was much like her brothers in temperament, but was more controlled when it came to expressing it. Her hair was a deeper red, Harry likened it to the colour of tomato soup after you swirl the cream through it. With a mixture of oranges and reds her hair set fire in the sunlight streaming through the clouded window. Her skin was the same pale white as her brothers, with a gentle sprinkling of freckles across her nose. Looking like a porcelain doll, her personality came as quite a shock. With the ability to prank you until you were near crying (with laughter or humiliation) her looks were the epitome of deceiving.

Looking around the hall one more time, Harry let his head fall into his hands. It was suddenly so heavy. His feelings numbed by the grief, he was unable to think and gave up trying to listen to the conversation going on around him. Folding his arms and resting his head on them he lent against the wooden table.

"Harry, are you alright?" questioned Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Dean was tall, dark skinned with a smile that could charm the shirt of most girls. His love of art and drawing also helped him get the ladies, while Seamus was a cocky, Irish man with a sense of humor the size of his ego. And that was pretty damn big. The two were always together, two parts of one whole.

"You are looking a little paler then usual." Commented Draco Malfoy. The tall, slim, aristocratic looking boy had white-blond hair and his unblemished skin was paler then most giving him an angelic look. With broad shoulders and a slim waist he was the fantasy of most girls at Hogwarts. Too bad for them. He hadn't dated anyone since ha had been at Hogwarts, although many liked to say that he had been with them. Rumours were always traveling around. His blond eyebrows were nearly always raised in a sarcastic gesture that took years to perfect, his thin, pale lips smiling broadly when with friends but reverted to a scowl when in an unknown situation and around unknown people, or when worried. He was scowling now.

"Like, you can talk." Harry muttered into the gap between his face and elbow. He had been having an excellent time studying the grains in the wood of the table. Attempting to reboot his mind he sluggishly raised his head to look at his surrounding friends.

"I'll be fine, you guys. Just a little tired." This statement was accompanied by a lazy bob of the head. Resting his head back down he prepared himself to once again ignore his friends and the thoughts inside his head for studying the table top.

"Okay, that's it mister. You are going to bed even if I have to drag you there myself." Ginny proclaimed, standing up and moving to take Harry's arm. "Help me, will you boys." Draco grabbed his other arm. With the two working together they were able to drag him out of the hall, leaving the excited chatter behind. The others followed behind.

Questions, unanswered, ran through their minds as they made the journey to their dorms. One after the other the question crawled into their heads; what were they going to do?

Thank you for reading. Please Review! It would be greatly appreciated.

Macaday me a nut (and your one too!)