Title: Awake In A Dream
Pairings: None
Rating: R
Warnings: Post-OotP. Other Stuff.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all the original Harry Potter characters and settings. Everything not owned by her is mine.
Summary: Sirius keeps whispering in his ear, but he's dead. Isn't he?
Key: "…" - Talking; '…' - Thinking

I got the idea for this story, from one written by Eladriewen. There will be themes similar to those of her story, but this is my own.
One shot.

Part One - Confusion

Harry Potter woke up with a groan. He'd had another nightmare. He'd been forced to watch his godfather sail through the veil in the death chamber, again. He'd been forced to feel his heart shatter within his chest as Lupin told him his godfather was never returning, again. He had woken up in tears with his sheets twisted about him and his pillows tossed carelessly on the floor. He was living with Lupin for the summer. On the full moon, he was to go to the Weasley's but that wasn't till his birthday.

Harry had stopped eating, forcing it all back up if Lupin made him. He never wrote back to his friends, he was flat out rude or ignored everyone and he locked himself in his rooms for days at a time, only leaving it if he needed to. He hated the world, he hated himself and most of all, he hated his godfather for leaving him.

He sighed and leaned back. He had noticed a few strange things in the three weeks he'd lived with Lupin. At random times he could've sworn he'd heard Sirius whispering in his ear. He seemed to be telling him to wake up, and to hold on. But that couldn't be right, he was awake. He usually ignored the voice of his godfather.

Lupin knocked on his door and entered the room, causing Harry to scowl darkly at him. Lupin sighed, "Harry, you need to get over this. He's not coming back. Now, get out of bed, we're going to Diagon Alley."

"No. I'm not leaving this room," Harry stood up and stalked towards his former Professor, "It's your damn fault he's gone. It's you bloody fault I'm depressed. It's all your bloody fault!" he snarled. He slammed the door in Lupin's face, having effectively backed him out of the room.

Harry sat down, and froze.

"Harry, please, Merlin, wake up Harry. I miss you kiddo. Please, please wake up," Sirius's voice whispered into his ear.

Part Two - Am I Insane?

It had been two days since he'd slammed the door on his new guardians face, and since then, he'd been constantly hearing his godfather whispering in his ear. He had to talk to someone about it. He sighed, stood, and dressed. He walked to the door and opened it. Peering down the hall, he saw nothing unusual, and then he listened. He could hear Lupin in the kitchen, puttering around. He cautiously walked down the hall and to the kitchen. He was quite happy that this was more or less a little cabin, and there was only this one floor. He stood in the kitchen doorway and watched Lupin. He was only making a meal for one person, since Harry still refused to eat, and seemed to be carrying a lot more weight on his shoulders.

"I need to talk to you," Harry spoke. Lupin obviously hadn't been expecting it, for he dropped his plate and the frying pan in his other hand.

"Harry?!" Lupin gasped.

"Unless someone else is living here, yes, that's me," snorted Harry, "I need to talk to you, now."

"Right. Talk. Uhm...Just a second," muttered Lupin.

Harry watched in a twisted sort of amusement as the werewolf rushed around, getting his breakfast, then heading to the living room. Harry followed him and sat down on the chair beside the couch. As soon as Lupin finished eating, Harry explained about his hearing Sirius. He also explained that every now and then he'd hear some other voices, sounding like doctors or something. The entire time he spoke, he stared at the floor, therefore missing when Lupin's eyes flashed red for a second.

"It's just your imagination, Harry. You've been through a rough time. It'll go away," he smiled.

Harry frowned, "Do you think I'm going insane?"

Lupin laughed, it sounded cold, unlike the laughter he was used to from the werewolf. It reminded him of Voldemort. Lupin stopped, "Of course not. I thought I was hearing your parents after they died, it's perfectly normal," he smiled, then shooed him off.

As Harry went back to his room, he noticed his scar was sore from being near Lupin, and suddenly he had an idea. 'It doesn't hurt in dreams, does it?' he thought. So, he pinched himself. He blinked, and pinched himself again. Nothing. This was a dream. Harry looked to his window, and suddenly decided to go to the death chamber again, uncaring of how he came to the conclusion to do so.

Part Three - Back to The Chamber

The full moon was up tonight. It was his birthday. It was also the only night he could escape. Carefully opening his window he mounted his broom and slowly flew out the window. He paused for a moment before shooting towards the sky. He ignored the usual feeling of pleasure he got from flying, and he ignored the stars above him. He raced through the clouds towards the ministry building, only glancing down to make sure he was going in the right direction. For an hour he flew straight out, never pausing or wavering from his course. He knew his answers would be in the chamber. He knew everything he needed to know would be there.

He landed and walked into the phone booth, picked up the phone and quickly tapped in the number. "Welcome to the ministry of Magic, please state your name and business."

"Seamus Finnegan, visiting the Department Of Mysteries," Harry spoke, praying this would work.

"Thank you. Visitor, please attach the badge tot he front of your robes," spoke the famine voice, as the booth began to decent to the underground.

Harry stepped out of the booth, and quickly went to the lift, pressing the button that'd lead him to his destination. He pondered the situation he was in. Apparently he was dreaming, which would explain the fact Sirius seemed to be telling him to wake up, but he couldn't understand how that came to be. If he was asleep, or whatever, what happened? Why was he here? He frowned, and looked up just as the lift's doors opened again. He stepped out and quickly walked to the Death Chamber, ignoring everything around him. He stepped into the room, and frowned. He could hear Sirius perfectly now. Was that tears he could hear? It can't be. Sirius never cries. But as he listened he knew it to be true, and for no reason at all, he also knew it was for him, because of him, those tears were falling. That realization made Harry's heart wrench, guilt flooding it and overflowing into his blood stream. With trembling legs he went to the Veil. Just as he moved to step in, a voice stopped him. A voice he shouldn't be hearing.

"Harry! no! Stop!" cried Lupin.

Harry spun around, "What are you doing here?!"

"Stopping you, of course, why?" Lupin looked confused.

"You're a bloody werewolf! It's the full moon!" snapped Harry. Suddenly, a thought stuck him. Whenever he'd been around Lupin this summer, his scar had hurt. Lupin never, ever touched him, when he used to give him hugs whenever he was upset. Harry narrowed his eyes and things began to click into place in his mind. His face screwed up into a dark sneer and he snarled out, "Stop trying to mess with my head, Riddle."

Lupin froze for a second, then chuckled as his body shimmered away.

Part Four - The Battle

Voldemort stood before Harry, glaring hatefully at the young man before him, "Very good, Potter. I never thought you'd figure it out. Mind you, residing in your own mind, was quite interesting."

Harry clung to that last sentence like a lifeline. Residing in your own mind. He looked at Voldemort and saw him pulling out his wand. Without anyone saying anything, or really knowing how, Harry knew Voldemort could kill him here. Harry dived as the killing curse came hurtling towards him. He frowned. He needed to do something, anything. Voldemort was in his mind, keeping him here, and could kill him here. 'Wait a second, if he can kill me here, that means I could probably kill him here, as well," he thought. He grinned, just for a second, before realizing he didn't have his wand. Before he could give up, he thought of one other thing. As he rolled away from another curse, he wondered if he could change what they were seeing. It was his mind after all. Concentrating, he pictured ice beneath Voldemort, and grinned happily as the dark lord slipped and fell. Before Voldemort could get up the ice shot up and wrapped around him, holding him there. Harry created a sword, and stepped up to Voldemort.

"This is the end, you know. I'll kill you, then I'll wake up, and that's it. All we'll have to deal with is your loyal followers," Harry stated, calmly.

Voldemort looked up at him, and sneered, "They'll kill you."

"Maybe, but, at least you won't be around," Harry replied. He raised the sword above his head and brought it down in one swift movement. Voldemort's head rolled across the floor, and his lifeless body seemed to sag into nothing. He soul seemed to float up for a second, then move to attack Harry. Without blinking, Harry swung the sword again, and it was gone. He sighed deeply, and dropped the sword, then turned to Veil. He took the last few steps, and fell through the Veil.

Part Five - Awake, again.

Harry gasped and snapped his eyes open. As fast as he'd opened his eyes, he closed them again, briefly wondering why the hell anyone would leave him in direct sunlight. Without opening his eyes, he tried to move his hands, only to find them encased in someone else's. Cautiously he opened his eyes and glanced around. The sight the greeted him filled him with happiness and sadness, all at once. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black sat on either side of his bed, holding one of his hands, each. They were both asleep, and by the looks of it, they'd never left this room. Harry smiled a little, happy someone was actually there for him.

"Moony? Padfoot?" he said, wincing as the sound seemed to be torn from his throat. 'Got to remember to whisper,' he thought, chuckling to himself.

At the sound of their nicknames being spoken, both men jerked awake and sat up straight. They looked at each other in confusion, wondering what it was that had woken them up. Harry laughed softly at the confused looks on both his godfather's faces. At the soft sound both men snapped their heads around, causing Harry to wince -'whiplash'- and they stared.

"H-Harry?" whispered Sirius, seemingly unable to believe his godson was awake.

Harry smiled a little, "Hello Paddy," he whispered.

"HARRY!" Sirius cried out, jumping onto his godson and hugging him for all he was worth.

Remus was shocked, he'd never expected Harry to wake up so suddenly. Last night had been the full moon, which had forced him to leave his adoptive godson's bedside for the first time since he'd been placed there. Now, he was awake, and smiling. Suddenly, he tore Sirius away from Harry and hugged him, refusing to let go anytime soon.

Harry had to laugh. It was hilarious. He clung to Moony like a lifeline, and gasped as the werewolf hugged him with all his might.

"I thought we'd lost you!" Remus whispered to Harry.

Harry pulled back, and looked at both his godfathers. He pushed himself into a sitting position, with a little too much help from Moony. He patted the bed on either side of him, inviting the two men to sit with him. He smiled as they immediately took his hands. He glanced at them both and sighed, knowing he had to ask, "What happened to me? Last thing I remember was being at the ministry, and," Harry choked, "Sirius falling through the Veil," he took a deep breath, then noticed a glance of water. He took a sip from it, and explained everything he 'remembered'. He explained how he thought Sirius had died, and how Remus had taken him in. He explained not answering anyone, not speaking to anyone and not eating. Then he told them of how he'd noticed that his scar hurt around Remus, and that he kept hearing Sirius, "You kept asking me to wake up, and telling me to hold on. I heard you crying before I woke up," he smiled sadly at his godfather. He continued on, explaining how he figured out it was Voldemort messing with his head, and the fight after. He sighed a little, "I think he's dead. According to the logic I had, he should be. He said he could kill me, so it made sense that I could kill him in there as well. So I did. Then I walked into the Veil, and woke up."

Sirius was the first to move. He pulled Harry to him and hugged him tight. He glared at Remus when he demanded he hug Harry as well, causing Harry to laugh. Harry very carefully wiggled out of his godfather's embrace, and moved over to Remus for more hugs, "You know, the one thing I missed was the hugs. I always get hugs from you two," Harry whispered.

Remus smiled down at Harry, "Well, you'll be getting a whole lot more now."

Harry nodded. He moved and sat on Remus' lap, looking at Sirius, "What happened?"

"Well, we came to the Ministry, and found you and your friends dueling death eaters," as he spoke, he moved closer to his godson, so he could hold his hands, "It was getting pretty messy. After Neville dropped the prophecy, Wormtail attacked you. He hit you with a curse that sent you flying through the room," tears gathered in Sirius' eyes, slipping down his cheeks, "He hit you with another spell, and for a moment, you stopped breathing. I swear, I'd never been more terrified in my life. After that, everyone just seemed to snap. In a matter of seconds the death eaters were stunned and bound, including Wormtail. When we got to you, Hermione was already casting spells on you. It seems she had been studying healing charms. She got you breathing again, but we couldn't wake you up. W-we...were told you wouldn't wake up, but we didn't give up. We've lived here for the past three weeks, and I kept asking you to wake up," he smiled softly, "You did."

Remus suddenly cleared his throat, "I'm going to get a healer and contact a few people. I'm sure everyone would like to see you again Harry," with that he leaned over and kissed Harry on the forehead, like a father would a son.

Part Six - Home Sweet Home

It had been a week since Harry had woken up. During that week, Harry discovered his godfather was a free man, and he was allowed to live with him. He asked Remus to live with them as well, simply because he balanced out the equation. It had been confirmed that Voldemort was indeed dead, which had sent the Wizarding World into celebration, and St. Mungo's into a state of panic. Hundreds upon hundreds of owls had been sent to one Harry Potter, Man-Who-Defeated-Voldemort. It seemed everyone wanted him to know that they were proud of him, and thank him for saving their world, again. After the third day he threatened to kill someone if they didn't stop the owls, which they did, quite happily. The other death eaters had been captured and sent to Azkaban, which was now guarded by dragons, since Dumbledore finally convinced Fudge to destroy the Dementors. The entire inner circle had been executed, and a few of the more deadly death eaters followed in their fait. Severus Snape had been awarded an Order Of Merlin, First Class for his efforts against the dark lord, which amused Harry to no end, knowing his potions master now had to deal with the same fame Harry dealt with. Harry was scheduled to receive an award all his own sometime in a near future.

But right now, Harry was home. With his family. The Weasley's were visiting, along with Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger. Everybody was celebrating the defeat of Voldemort and the fact Harry was awake. Dumbledore himself showed up to congratulate Harry, and to give him a set of socks.

As the day closed in, and the skies darkened, everyone began retracing their steps and heading back home. By 11pm, everyone was home, leaving the three men to themselves. Harry was curled up with his 'parents' on the couch, slowly drifting off to sleep. Just before he slipped into the peaceful darkness, one in which he knew he'd awaken from, he whispered, "And they lived happily ever after."

The End.