Harry was cold. It was the kind of cold that came with incredible exhaustion. The kind of cold that chills your bones. But be that as it may, he still did not want to close his eyes. Oh he knew he was safe. Trains were usually safe. No it was the dreams. The flashes of green light, the high-pitched laughter, that left him feeling far more unrested than staying awake did. Sometimes, he even saw faces. He didn't recognise the faces but they all had one thing in common. They were all pale, still and undoubtedly dead. He had never slept well. Not in his all his (almost) sixteen years of existence. But it had gotten considerably worse since he had left. No, he shook his head. He wasn't going to think about it. What's done is done, he thought, rather savagely.

He absentmindedly patted the large black dog that was curled up at his feet. The dog had adopted him a couple of nights ago. Following him wherever he went. At first he had been a little wary. The dog, despite the fact that he was almost thinner than Harry himself, was massive. And there was something rather unsettling about his eyes. Harry couldn't quite put his finger on what. But he had refused to let Harry out of his sight and he had gotten used to having the dog around. It was nice in a way. Comforting. The dog licked his palm and burrowed into his legs.

Harry looked outside the window, praying the countryside swiftly moving by would keep him awake. Unfortunately there was a heavy sort of fog that seemed to have descended. It had sapped the world of all colour and seemed to bring with it an oppressive sort of mood. Not that Harry had felt particularly unoppressed before the weather had decided to go haywire. It wasn't right, Harry thought to himself moodily. Yeah the rest of his life had gone to shit but it why on earth did it have to be less than four degrees in July?

While he mulled over the terrible weather, trying to take his mind off his god-awful life, he pulled out a Dairy Milk bar. Sure it had been a bit of an extravagance and he was running rather dangerously short on funds, but he hadn't been able to resist a bit of chocolate. He broke off a piece and fed it to the dog who wolfed it down with great gusto and looked at him expectantly as if asking for another.

"Sorry boy," Harry said, rubbing the dog's head. "Got to ration this."

The dog looked at him a little mournfully and lay back down. Harry had the uncomfortable feeling that he actually knew what he was saying.

Maybe it was the chocolate, or maybe it was the warmth given off by the dog's emaciated boy, or maybe it was the movement of the train, but Harry found himself, without meaning to, falling into a deep sleep.

The dream was different this time. It wasn't a vision of a dead person for one. Harry wasn't quite sure where he was but it was definitely different. What was the most different however was that he didn't feel scared at all. No if anything he felt happy.

"We've found him my lord," a smooth voice came from behind him.

Harry turned around to face a man with hair so blond it might have been white.

"Do you think that impresses me Lucius," Harry said coldly. Except his voice wasn't his at all. It was barely a voice in fact; it was more like a hiss.

"Yaxley shall collect him soon," the blond man said, though his tone was a little more uncertain now. "My lord, in a matter of hours you would have rid the world of the only threat to you."

"That boy is not a threat," Harry said harshly. He was suddenly enraged. "Nothing can threaten me."

"No of course not my lord," the blond man called Lucius stuttered. "But now there will be no hope. You have won."

Harry felt a smile spread across his face.

There was a loud growling noise, almost like the noise a dog would make. But that made no sense. Except for him and his Death Eaters there was nothing in this place that lived.

And Harry awoke suddenly to the dog growling loudly.

"What is it boy?" he asked sleepily.

The dog just continued growling and Harry suddenly felt a little foolish that for a second he actually expected an answer.

"Shh," he said rubbing the dog's head, frantically attempting to calm it down. "Please don't make a scene. I can't afford to buy another train ticket."

But the dog ignored him completely and kept growling. Harry thanked god he had decided to take a late train meaning that the number of passengers in the carriage with him were limited to the totally inebriated man in the back and the blonde woman who was listening to her iPod.

And then suddenly the dog pounced. Harry watched as he went sailing through the air and slammed into something. Only the problem was that there was nothing there. There was definitely a sound of two bodies colliding but as far as Harry could tell the dog had smashed into nothing. There was also a yell that certainly didn't come from either the inebriated man or the blonde woman, neither of whom looked up. Then the dog launched itself into the air again and this time gripped something with his teeth. Harry rubbed his eyes, wondering if sleep deprivation gave people hallucinations. Though this wasn't just hallucinations because he could definitely hear someone yelling.

"I'm going mad," he muttered to himself. "Maybe I'm still dreaming."

There was a crack and the dog flew across the carriage. Even the blonde woman with the iPod looked up at that and Harry ran over to the dog.

"What's happening," he cried, and the dog let out a bark that Harry suddenly realised was one of warning. Only years of dodging his cousin's blows allowed to Harry to duck the streak of red light that came his way.

There was a howl of frustration and all of a sudden there was a man dressed in black standing in the middle of the carriage.

The blonde woman screamed and for a second Harry was just glad that he wasn't the only one who could see the man. But then the man raised a stick-like thing he was holding in his hand and Harry felt rather less glad. But before the man in black could do anything the dog, who seemed to have shaken off whatever had happened to him, flew at the man, scratching, biting and clawing.

The blonde woman, had stopped having hysterics and did the only sensible thing a person could do in whatever situation they were in. She pulled the emergency brake. The train came to a halt and a siren began to blare.

"Come on kid," she yelled as she pressed the button to open the doors. "Security will handle this we just have to get off the train." She ran up to him grabbed his hand and tried to pull him off the train.

"No wait," Harry said, resisting. The dog was still locked in a tussle with the man in black and Harry felt his a pang in his stomach at the thought of leaving him behind.

"Come on," the woman said forcefully.

Harry took one last look at the dog whose fur seemed to have started smoking slightly and followed the woman out.

"We're pretty close to the station," she said, after they had moved as far away from their carriage as possible. "But I think we should wait for the driver. He'll probably want to ask some questions."

Harry felt panic welling up inside him.

"I'm sure you can handle it," he said, his voice coming out a little hoarse. "I just want to get on my way."

"No! Wait! Kid!" the woman shouted as Harry turned away from her.

He ignored her and began running. Everything was just too strange right now. He had a million thoughts rushing through his head none of which made any sense. He also realised that he was scared in a way that he had never been before. This all helped him run much faster.

He made it to the station and almost mechanically bought a ticket from the machine. He wasn't quite sure why but he suddenly missed the comforting presence of the dog. He also felt inexplicably guilty about leaving it there, presumably to die.

"Great Harry," he muttered to himself. "Your best friend is a dog you met two days ago."

Just as he was getting into the first train that went to London he spotted the large station clock that hung above the platform. The minute and the hour hand were on twelve and he smiled bitterly.

"Happy birthday to me," he mumbled and boarded the train.

a/n: Ahh first chapter prologue thing. I hope you like it, please tell me what you think!