A/N: These characters and places are the property of J.K Rowling and all of her people. The song "whisper" belongs to Evanescence. I belong to neither group of people, so they are not mine. This story is inspired by "Whisper" and hopefully follows the song. I think it does, but that's me and I wrote it. I had no help, so all mistakes are my own.
*****
Don't turn away
Don't give into the pain
Don't try to hide
Though they're screaming your name
Don't close your eyes
God knows what lies behind them
Don't turn out the light
Never sleep, never die
"Whisper" – Evanescence
*****
Harry looked about the darkness. It enveloped him, holding him in its embrace. The darkness was thick, warm, like cough syrup that coats your throat and soothes you as it slides down. Warm arms wrapped around him, holding him aloft in the endless abyss around him. "I will be here for you," a soft voice whispered in his ear. Harry turned to see Sirius looking down at him, a sad smile on his handsome face. A soft breeze tousled Sirius' hair accompanied by soft whispering as, before Harry's eyes, his godfather's face started to thin out, shadows appearing in his eyes. Light's flashed around Harry and he glanced around, watching the fight in the Department of Mysteries.
Harry's brow furrowed in confusion as he picked out his companions. Neville was in a corner, crouched down beside the stone tiers leading into the center of the circle, his nose bleeding and eyes wide as he watched Lupin square off against Lucius Malfoy in a duel. The whispering grew louder, almost enough to hear what was being spoken as Harry turned to see Tonks laying on the floor, her face deathly still in the light of the curses and hexes that were flung from all corners. Above them all, Dumbledore stood, awe-inspiring in his power as he dealt out spells to the Death Eaters below.
Harry looked back to Sirius, his eyes widening in horror as his now aged godfather laughed at someone behind the boy. Harry turned in time to see a beam of light shoot from Bellatrix Lestrange's wand. The curse hit him in the chest like the freezing rush of a ghostly hand, then passed through him and hit Sirius. As before, Sirius' eyes slowly widened in shock and fear as he fell backwards through the veil behind him. The whispering rose to an ear-splitting shriek, still unintelligible to Harry, though one word could be heard in the cacophony of sound.
"Harry!"
He turned in time to see Neville crawling from his hiding spot, his face a mask of horror.
Dumbledore had stopped throwing curses and was trying to find a way down.
Ginny was staring, her mouth moving as she screamed, Luna and Hermione lying still on the ground beside her as Ron pointed and laughed.
Lupin was running forward, a panicked desperation on the werewolf's face as he tried to reach his best friend's son.
Harry felt a tug on his arms, felt the cool caress of the veil on his face. His green eyes widened with terror, begging without words for Dumbledore, Ginny, Lupin to help him, save him, pull him out of this nightmare.
"Harry!" he heard Lupin cry out as he followed Sirius through the veil.
This darkness was cold, deep and bone-chilling and so hopelessly complete. Voices whispered about him, calling to him, screaming at him.
"How could you!"
"What have I done?"
"Why don't you care?"
Harry whimpered, throwing up his arms to hide his face from his attackers. "I'm sorry," he whispered through a throat tight with tears. "I'm so sorry."
"You should be," a cold, high voice said. The whispering stopped for a moment. Then a horrible screaming and wailing began.
Harry dropped his arms. He stared around him for a moment, frozen in shock.
He was on the Hogwarts grounds. The sun was shining, but it was hard to tell for the shadows of dragons and giants that blocked the light. The once jewel-green grass was soaked with the blood of the dead and dying as bodies littered the battleground. People in black robes fought everywhere, some hiding behind white masks, others bearing the crest of a school house upon their breast, and above the once proud structure of the now crumbling castle was the hideous image of the Dark Mark.
Harry's eyes were wide, his body trembling as he knelt in a sea of the dead. People he recognized from classes and in the halls lay strewn about as if some child had thrown a tantrum. As he looked about him, his mind going numb, he spotted the figure of Remus Lupin lying on the floor, his golden eyes gazing blankly at the bright blue sky as blood trickled slowly from his slack mouth. Beside him lay Hermione, her eyes blissfully closed, her torso twisted at an unnatural angle.
Harry closed his eyes, digging the heels of his hands into them to will away the image. "No no no no no," he muttered like a mantra. Behind his closed eyes, Hermione's eyes snapped open and Lupin turned his head.
"Why, Harry? We loved you," Lupin whispered.
"Kill him faster, Harry. If you think you can," Hermione echoed.
Harry ripped his hands away, opening his eyes to stare at the bodies. Neither one had moved.
"Harry," a voice spoke softly from behind him.
Harry turned on his knees to see a redheaded woman crawling towards him, her white robes caked in the blood of the fallen. Harry turned to help her but froze as she raised glittering green eyes to his.
"You cannot save them, Harry," his mother whispered.
"Why are you even hear?" Lupin said.
"You shouldn't have come," Hermione said, their voices echoing in his head. Harry turned sharply to look at Hermione and Lupin. They were turned, their bright eyes watching him as they had in his vision.
"I n-need to fight Vol-Voldemort," Harry choked, turning his gaze back and forth between the three.
"You cannot win," Lily said.
"He is too powerful," Lupin said.
"Why must we die?" Hermione said.
"B-but, the prophecy," Harry whispered.
"Spoken by a fraud."
"You're hurting us, Harry."
"You're just a silly boy."
He turned between the three, the noises of the battle ringing in his ears, yet he could still hear their accusations perfectly. "What should I do?" he cried, wrapping his arms around himself.
"Come to me, Harry," Lily whispered.
"Go to her, Harry," Lupin echoed.
"Yes, go to her, Harry," Hermione said.
"Yes, Harry." Harry turned as the high, cold voice spoke again. Voldemort stood behind him, his blood-red eyes cold as he pointed his wand at Harry. "Go to her. Go to your mudblood mother. It's not as if anyone here wants you."
"Come to me," Lily repeated.
"Stay away from us," Lupin said.
"We don't want you here," Hermione said.
Harry whimpered, searching the grounds for someone, anyone who could help him. "You killed them, Harry," Voldemort said. "Just as you killed your father and godfather."
An image of Sirius falling through the veil ran through Harry's head. Suddenly, he realized what this was. "No!" Harry shouted, rising to his feet. "This is not true! Get out of my head!"
"Come to me, my baby," Lily said.
"Leave us," Lupin said.
"You're not one of us," Hermione said.
Harry turned to Voldemort. "I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work. My friends care about me. Now get out of my head!"
There was a collective silence, then a loud wail pierced the day and forced Harry to cover his ears. A bright fire erupted from the red of his mother's hair and ignited the field so that all was burning but himself and Voldemort. "You cannot defeat me, Harry," Voldemort hissed, reaching out a hand to him, his fingertips not far from the teen's face "Remember this vision, for you will see it again. And next time it won't be a dream." The fingers caressed Harry's cheek forcing him to cry out in agony.
Harry snapped his eyes open and sat up, his breathing labored as his eyes searched frantically about the dark and blurry space he was in. A hoot of to his right made him turn. Hedwig was watching him from her cage, her golden eyes intent on her master's face. Harry realized he was in his room back at Privet Drive. He had stepped off the train from Hogwarts only that afternoon. He sighed in relief, rubbing his aching scar as he realized it was all just a dream. Hermione was with her parents, Remus was with the Order, and his mother… well, she was wherever she was supposed to be with Sirius and his father. Everyone was okay. But Harry couldn't help it when the dark part of his mind wondered, for how long?