He was back at Hogwarts Castle. A dark corridor lit only by torches was his position. He walked forward, looking through the windows showing only shadows outside. He got distracted by a dark figure in one of them. He walked closer, and the figure broke the glass entering the castle. Harry fell backwards feeling his cheek ache, as if someone had just slapped him. For a moment he saw a black owl hooting madly around him; the next, the bird was gone. A sound caught his attention at the end of the corridor. A flash of green light filled the end completely. Harry stared at it for a few seconds, then it started to run on his direction quite rapidly. It was filling the whole corridor while it kept on moving. Harry tried to stand up but couldn't. His legs didn't seem to work any more. He crawled back on the floor, but didn't move much more than an inch or two. The light was on top of him. He started to feel his scar burning, this was definitely not good. Then without any warning…

"Harry, wake up dear" Mrs. Weasley shook him awake. He had spent the night laying his head on the edge of the bed. He turned his head to her. She was still not moving or giving any signs she was going to be alright.

He knew what he saw had been a dream, however, the pain on his forehead wasn't. He touched his scar with his hand, but removed it quickly afraid Mrs. Weasley might ask about it. This was not an easy thing to describe. The scar normally hurt every time Voldemort was close, and it served as a warning. Mrs. Weasley convinced him of coming down for breakfast. He left the room along with her who closed the door behind them.

"We'll wait for you at the kitchen, dear" said Mrs. Weasley returning to the first floor. Harry went to the now empty top room, and put his shoes on. He walked downstairs feeling bad. He didn't feel hungry at all, but he knew Mrs. Weasley would not hear him saying he wasn't going to eat. Harry knew she liked having everyone well fed. She pushed six or eight sandwiches inside each of the Weasleys at every meal.

After they all finished eating the eggs, sausage, bacon, bread and milk in large quantities, they all started to leave the table. Mr. Weasley headed for work telling Mrs. Weasley to send an owl if there were any changes; Percy didn't speak to nobody. He took a pile of parchment, and followed his father, after all, he too worked for the Ministry.

"Why don't you go de-gnome the garden children? I'll catch up once I finish with the dishes" said Mrs. Weasley who waved her wand making the dishes clean up. Harry hadn't stopped thinking about the new warning. He planned on telling Ron, but was still thinking about it. He was going to be really frightened of the idea of Voldemort near his house. "Harry, can I have a word?" Mrs. Weasley called after him. He stopped on his way out, saying "I'll be right out" to Ron. Then, faced a concerned Mrs. Weasley. "You don't need to worry about anything, the house has been Shielded just as Tatum's had. They came early to do it, after Arthur told them you were here."

"You didn't need to tell me this. I figured that might happen. I'm alright" said Harry looking grave and seriously wondered who were they. Everybody seemed to be very careful on not saying who was helping who, only Ron had told Harry something somewhat concrete: It wasn't the Ministry who was protecting him. He thought immediately of Dumbledore. He was probably the one behind this stuff. Last term, when he was lying in the hospital wing, Dumbledore had asked Mrs. Weasley if he could count on them and they had totally agreed.

Harry sure didn't like all the extra measures they had to take for him, but also thought this way he wouldn't put any of the Weasleys in danger, if trouble was coming his way. At this point, he felt some sort of a menace.

"Are you sure about that? You slept on the floor last night. I don't think you are as 'alright' as you might think" she said to Harry lowering her sight. Harry was looking at the kitchen floor.

"When I was at her house, I had a nightmare."

"Oh, dear" she said reaching a chair from the kitchen table. She patted Harry's arm.

"She stayed with me all night. She even slept on a sofa by my bed."

"She is a really great girl. Arthur and I try to help her every time she needs something. She has become a distant part of this family." Without even noticing, her lip began to tremble. The conversation was over. Harry joined the rest at the garden, leaving a disturbed Mrs. Weasley still sitting by the kitchen table, but didn't have a chance to talk to Ron alone. They all were extremely busy making the gnomes dizzy in the air, so they wouldn't find their way back to the garden so easily. Harry threw a good five or six. Fred told him they must have being trapped inside when the house was sealed, no new ones could have entered.

Everybody kept telling Harry about how the house had been secured. Maybe they were all thinking he was terrified or something. He wasn't. He was of course upset about it all, but who wouldn't? He kept saying this inside his head. Among everything, Harry managed to have a nice time looking at Ron who was bitten by a gnome which absolutely refused to leave a bush; and George who found himself knocked out by a rock he confused with a flying gnome - Ginny had thrown it and she apologized a hundred times afterwards. She had been distracted watching Harry from the corner of her eye, thinking he couldn't see her, but he had.

Night fell once again, and Tatum had not awoken. Mrs. Weasley kept checking her room but nothing had changed. Harry was loosing his hope along with all the rest. Mr. Weasley and Percy came home from work looking exhausted. Harry remembered Tatum telling him they were all up to their necks in work at the moment, so he didn't get near the couple who flopped over a couch without eating anything. Harry barely even touched his own dinner. Nobody spoke during, either.

After dinner, Mr. Weasley called Harry from the living room. Everybody else was heading up to bed. Mrs. Weasley kissed Harry on the front, and gave Mr. Weasley a kiss on the cheek. Everybody said good night and disappeared into the shadowy upper floors.

"Harry, I…I think it would be good if we have a chat about the accident at Tatum's" said Mr. Weasley inviting Harry to the couch in front of his.

"Why?" said Harry wondering what did they have to talk about. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear bad news, especially now he had bad news of his own prepared.

"Tatum was assigned for a job, and I don't want you to blame yourself for anything, okay?"

"I know. She was supposed to take care of me for the weekend, which she did. It was just an accident! I mean you don't need to fire her…" Harry started rising his voice to Mr. Weasley without meaning to.

"Calm down, Harry. I'm not blaming anything on her either. But the bottom line is she was hired for…a little more than just…take care of you."

"What do you mean?"

"She volunteered for Shielding Job. I tried to stop her, but she is really stubborn!"

"I don't understand. What was she going to do? Trade her life for mine?" asked Harry guessing nervously, hoping this was overreacting. Things couldn't be so bad out there, could they?

"I'm afraid so." Harry could not believe his ears. Dumbledore had actually hired someone to sacrifice for him. Instead of feeling important, he felt small. He felt he wasn't worth the risk of another person's life.

"She's not going to be alright, is she?" said Harry feeling his last drain of hope. He felt cold. He dram everyone he cared for dead, and it was horribly coming true. He didn't dare to think who might be next. Harry barely knew Tatum, but she had become a friend as well. If this pained him so much, how would he feel if somebody else got hurt? He could not bare the idea of his friends in danger. He felt unshielded. He thought he wouldn't be able to move on without Ron or Hermione.

"We don't know, but I reported the case to the Ministry…and they're transferring her tomorrow to St. Mungo's hospital in London. There they'll try to help her as much as they can, but…"

"But I got hurt by the harpies as well, and I'm alright!" claimed Harry. He knew only critical cases were sent to the wizards Hospital. St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries hold those who had lost their minds or had dangerous injuries. Harry had started to think people who went there did not come back; he could remember the Longbottoms, Neville's parents, who had lost their minds. Dumbledore had trusted this to Harry and he had kept his word on not telling anybody, not even Ron or Hermione.

"Yes but… she was extremely wounded. The poison didn't kill her because of the antidote, but…" he kept saying "buts" trying to ease the news. Harry knew this wasn't working. He didn't say anything else for a long while. "She may not be the same. It was too much Venom."

"What's going to happen to her?"

"She will loose her mind." Harry remembered Neville's parents yet again, sitting in a ward unable to recognize their son. "Or maybe she'll just…"

"Wake up?" Both Harry and Mr. Weasley turned their heads immediately to see Tatum standing by the foot of the stairs. Mr. Weasley started mouthing noiselessly. Harry got up and ran towards her. She gave him a big hug, and Harry knew she was back. Mr. Weasley hugged her too, and then laughed.

"I'll tell the rest" he said excitedly, starting to walk upstairs, but Tatum grabbed him by the arm.

"Come now, Arthur. I think they can wait till morning. They're probably all asleep." Mr. Weasley stopped and climbed down the two steps he had jumped in celebration. Harry didn't find this weird in him. He had known Mr. Weasley for a while now, and he was known for his enthusiasm about almost everything.

"You're probably right. Let's go to bed then" said Mr. Weasley waving an arm inviting them to their rooms apparently.

"We'll catch up. I need a word with Harry if you don't mind, Arthur."

"Sure. Good night then" he pat Tatum on the shoulder and walked upstairs. Tatum led Harry back to the living room, where a poor fire was still burning. They didn't sit, only closed in to the fire.

"I saw you in my room yesterday" Tatum said sitting on the floor. Harry sat next to her, glad she sounded perfectly sane.

"How? You were supposed to be unconscious" Harry gave a laugh.

"I wasn't completely. I could hear you, but I couldn't move."

"I just wanted to be there for you. Like you did for me at your house."

"And I really appreciate it. Harry, I wanted to make very clear this was not your fault. You know it, don't you?" she said pausing in silence between her sentences.

"What are you talking about?" Harry lied quickly. He had indeed held himself responsible for what happened.

"I told you I could hear you talking. I know last night you said you're sorry. But the thing is… you don't have anything to be sorry about."

"Yes, I have. I crossed the stupid line" confessed Harry.

"I know you did, but it wasn't your intention to cause trouble, was it? I heard your voice yesterday when you came to see me. You sounded almost guilty, but you aren't!"

"No, probably not, but I still disobeyed and did exactly what you warned me about before going up. It's just I saw the Snitch so close and I thought stretching a bit I would reach it…"

"Wait, wait, hold on. The Snitch was outside the yard?" asked Tatum, a strange change in her voice. Harry was shaken by the suddenness.

"Yes, only a feet away, which is why I thought…"

"The Snitch was bewitched to stay inside the limits. It couldn't have gotten out just like that. Are you sure?" Tatum emphasized.

"It did" replied Harry looking serious. Tatum didn't seem to believe the Snitch had flown out of bounds. "You don't believe me?"

"I do… of course I do, Harry. It's just not possible. Something must have tampered with it!"

"Also, once I reached it, it vanished from between my fingers" Harry explained, trying to help put it all together and understand what happened.

"An illusion? How did…Who did…"

"What's the problem?"

"Nothing. I have to go back to my house this instant." She got up the floor and took some Floo powder. She seemed to know exactly where it was. Harry deducted since she was a good friend to the family, she had come over enough to know some stuff.

"I'll go with you!"

"No, you stay here" she replied looking seriously into Harry's eyes. "I'll be back before you know it!" said Tatum throwing the glittering powder onto the flames which turned emerald green.

"Can you get my wand? I forgot to bring it with me…" added Harry. By the tone in Tatum's voice, something was wrong and he wanted to have his wand at the ready.

"Where is your wand?" asked Tatum in alarm, turning her back to the flames.

"I don't know. I think I must have left it in the room I stayed in."

"You lost it before the Quidditch game?" she questioned him.

"Yes, when the harpies attacked I didn't have it on me" Harry answered calmly. Tatum seemed even more alarmed after his answer. He didn't understand. Everybody could have made the same mistake.

"Tell Arthur I'll be back tomorrow morning!" finished Tatum before stepping onto the fire saying Salem house and disappearing from view. Then it came to Harry's mind: someone could have used his wand to frame him. This wouldn't be the first time either. A year ago he had been accused of sending the Dark Mark into the sky - the signal Voldemort used to gather his followers. He hadn't done it, but it had been done with his wand. He was thinking who might have used his wand, when Percy came down the stairs.

"What are you doing up?" he asked disapprovingly at Harry.

"I was with Tatum."

"She is awake? Oh, I knew it."

"You knew what?"

"She would be alright. I saw this happening you know. I have learned to dominate my abilities within. We must all be alert for any kind of problem…" Percy went on and on. Harry thought it was weird Percy hadn't started to talk about his excellent job at the Ministry, in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, but he was grateful he hadn't anyway. Harry wanted to meditate on what had happened during the pretend-Quidditch game, so he decided to cut in Percy's speech.

"Can you extinguish the fire?"

"I certainly can." said Percy pompously. He pulled his wand from inside his pajamas, saying towards the fire Nox inflamare. The fireplace was off now.

"We should go to bed now." Harry said to Percy, pulling him by the arm gently.

"I don't think I need to rest as much as you do. I can be prepared at any time. At the Ministry…" Harry gave a huge sigh that stood for Oh here it goes!

"I'm sure you do have to be rested for your important duties at work. As a matter of fact, if you are sleepy…who will get the job done around there?" Harry thought if he inflated Percy's ego enough, he would surely accept going to bed. So he did. He kept talking all the way up, but Harry was concentrating on "Where is my wand now?"

Once he reached his room, he could hear Percy still babbling about his vital job at the Ministry, apparently thinking Harry was still paying attention to him. Harry, on the other hand, wanted to hear Ron's opinion on the wand thing. He opened the bedroom door and walked towards Ron's bed. Everybody was deeply asleep, he could hear snores coming from everywhere in the room. He saw Ron being the source of a particularly loud one, and decided he would discuss everything that had happened with him in the morning. Harry laid down, falling asleep quite soon.

Without helping himself, he dreamed jet again. He was lying on the floor face down. He felt tired and his face was burning. He tried to stand up, but wasn't able to. His legs hurt too. He looked around sitting on the ground, and saw a bright cloud flying over what Harry recognized as the Quidditch field. It was the green color he kept dreaming every night, the color of evil, the color marking Voldemort's crimes. Harry got a glance of his wand. It was far to his right, and he couldn't reach it. Everything else below the green light was dark. Harry was looking directly at the strange glow, when suddenly from behind him twenty feet into the air, a broomstick shot in front of it. Harry could not see the rider from here, everything he managed to take a look at was what the green light touched. Before he noticed, the owner of the broom was hit by a ray coming from the center of the light, and thrown off. The rider fell almost in front of Harry. He moved closer and found the rider had been…

"Boys, wake up!" a shout woke them all at once. The twins jumped on their beds surprised. Ron yawned and asked why he had been awoken, and Harry stared at Mrs. Weasley who was standing at the door. She looked frightened and she had a coat half over her night gown.

"What's wrong?" asked Harry in alarm, while grabbing his glasses from the bedside table, pushing them up every time they slipped to the end of his nose. Harry noticed the whole house was shaking. Now he was awake, Harry wondered how could they had all been sleeping between all this quake.

"We're being attacked!" After this words an explosion outside made the house tremble again. They all got out of bed and walked downstairs following Mrs. Weasley.

"Mom, where are we going?" asked Ginny half asleep, violently shaken by the continuous explosions outside the house.

"I don't know. Your father wants us all in the first floor, come on into the living room!"

"But what about Tatum …" started George being interrupted by his mother.

"She wasn't there!" she said leading them in front of the fireplace with her wand in her right hand. Harry had forgotten to tell Mr. Weasley about Tatum's take off. He had been so eager to talk to Ron it had completely slipped off his mind.

"Stay together, children!" shouted Mr. Weasley while the house seemed to be falling apart. Harry struggled towards him to pass the message Tatum had left for him.

"Mr. Weasley…" his voice was suffocated by another explosion near the house.

"Don't worry, Harry! We'll be alright!" Mr. Weasley tried to comfort Harry smiling uncertainly.

"It's not that! Tatum told me…" Harry was thrown to the ground by another shake of the house.

"She'll appear somewhere!" Mr. Weasley replied apparently not listening to Harry. Harry knew he had to say this fast, or he may not get another chance. Everybody was holding arms, forming a circle so they wouldn't fall down so easily as the house kept shaking furiously.

"You don't understand! She left. She's in her house!" Harry finally told him pointing at the broken flower pot by the fireplace, which Harry thought obviously had fallen to crash right down to the floor with all this tremble. Mr. Weasley stood silent for a moment and then said "That's it! We'll go to her house!" he started gathering the dust from the floor. Everybody seemed to have heard this last words because they were stepping near the chimney. Mrs. Weasley lit the fireplace back.

"You first, Harry!" yelled Mr. Weasley between loud BANGS. Harry was about to do what he was told, but a new thunder made them all fall.

"Whoever's nearer, Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. Ginny went first, then Fred and George, Percy, and against her will Mrs. Weasley herself. Harry was next, but finally at that moment, one of the explosions broke into the kitchen. They were all thrown away by the blast. Mr. Weasley was all covered in black ashes, he had tried to cover he and Ron with his body, but didn't succeed. Ron had a cut in the middle of his face, and was profusely bleeding. Harry had hit a wall and his glasses where half broken. A broken glass from his spectacles was deepening into his left cheek making him see even more blurry. He could feel his scar burning again.

"Hurry!" Mr. Weasley was yelling at him. He was carrying Ron, who also seemed to have a burned leg. Harry stood up as fast as he could and followed Mr. Weasley to the fireplace. Before entering after the other two, Harry saw something standing by the hole on the kitchen wall. It was a creature with the upper body and head of a woman, and the lower body of a serpent. As she started walking towards him very fast, Harry wanted to move, but he was frozen still. Then he felt something pulling him backwards. Mr. Weasley grabbed him by the shirt's neck and said Salem house. Harry felt once again the inequities of the Floo ride, arriving inside Tatum's living room.