(A/N: I hope that you enjoyed the first chapter. Standard warnings apply, I don't own the franchise and I never will. I have no idea how long this is going to be, but I have quite a bit stored up for it in my head, how much of that is actually going to translate into text remains unclear. Anyway, on with the show!)

A Cold Sleep

Part 2

The sound of snapping twigs and the crunching of frozen leaves roused him to a state of partial awareness. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, he didn't know how long it had been, it was still dark, but he couldn't feel his hands or feet, the rest of him almost seemed like it was on fire. Wearily he opened his eyes, managing only a sliver of vision that showed him two dark shapes; whether human or not he couldn't be sure, he didn't even know if he was really awake. And then one of the shapes crouched in front of him and he saw a familiar pair of dark eyes. A whispered word settled something like a warm blanket around him.

"He's alive, hypothermic, possibly frostbitten. We need to get him out of here before the Ministry finds him," the deep but soothing voice of his former Potion's Master was something that he never expected to hear again. By time he had returned for his 5th year Severus Snape had been fired and all traces of him had vanished. The rumor mill at school had concluded that he had gone to live somewhere far away, where he would never have to deal with them again.

"Then we best be off. His magic is muddled enough, they won't be able to get a clear picture of where he's gone," said another voice, one that Harry was sure he recognized, but his hazy mind could not put a name to it. He felt himself lifted into a pair of strong arms and he squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that if they were planning a quick escape it was likely going to make him sick, not that there was anything in his stomach to come up if it did.

"You're safe Potter," Harry dimly heard a third voice say and he recognized it as well, though this time he was able to put a name to it, Lucius Malfoy, what on earth was he doing here? Surely all of this was just his brain conjuring a dream for him to experience as he died. It was a strange dream, but then he did not have very many comforting things to think about to begin with, so he would accept whatever his mind generated.

For a long time he drifted, he wasn't quite sure if he was asleep, or if he had been given a potion, or if it was a product of the cold, but he didn't exactly want to wake up. He heard voices faintly, felt the odd touch of a hand against his forehead or cheeks, the soft grasp of fingers around his hand. There was always a presence near him, he knew it wasn't always the same one, he thought that there were six or maybe seven people that came and went from his side. It was funny how easy it was to sense others when he could do nothing else.

When he finally returned from the strange world between waking and dreaming, he realized that he was in a rather large bed, much bigger than the one he had at Hogwarts. Light was streaming in through tall windows and the first thing that he really noticed was that he was comfortably warm, if achingly hungry. He turned his head to the presence at his bedside and blinked in shock, warm amber eyes stared back at him and he was certain that he had died. Remus Lupin was supposed to have been killed sometime during his 5th year, along with his godfather Sirius Black.

"Remus?" Harry asked, not daring to believe, but reaching out toward the man regardless.

"Yes Harry, it's me, I'm glad to see you awake. I am sorry that we have been forced apart for so long," Remus said, gently taking Harry's extended hand and grasping it between both of his own. He knew that the monitoring charm would summon the rest of the members of the household to his bedside before long, he wanted to do more than just say sorry, but he didn't know what to do.

"You, you had to do it, didn't you? Pretend to die? Dumbledore, he's…not right," Harry said though his voice was shaky and uncertain, tears glistened in his eyes. Remus moved to sit on the edge of the bed and drew Harry into a hug, holding him close and letting him cry.

"I did, we both did. There's so much to explain, I don't know where to start. The others will be here soon, they'll help me. But you're right Harry, something is very wrong with Dumbledore," Remus said softly and stroked his hand up and down Harry's back, the prominence of his bones was unsettling, but he did his best not to let that show.

"The others? I remember Severus and Lucius, there was someone else, they found me, I thought I was dead," Harry said softly and clutched at the material of Remus' shirt, it was much nicer than anything he'd ever worn while Harry had known him. Remus hugged the younger man close and sighed, he didn't know just how close to death he had come.

"Everything will make sense eventually Harry, I am just glad that they were able to find you. Your Patronus has gotten very powerful, it was able to lead them to you even though you were unconscious," Remus said and gently stroked the messy nest of black hair that rested under his chin. He watched the door to the room open and noted that he had been right; each of the six other occupants of the Manor had heard the signal and had arrived to see how Harry was doing.

(A/N: Yes, I know they are short, but I hope that doing short chapters will help me to keep this story flowing a bit more readily. Let me know how you like it and I hope to see you soon.)