See chapter 1 for warnings and disclaimers. Happy reading.


After only a couple hours of studying his charms text Harry set it aside. He was tired after the long day of scrubbing the windows and his arms ached a bit. He climbed into bed and immediately dropped off to sleep, landing in the vivid clarity of a Riddle dream.

Even before he became fully awake Harry could tell that something was wrong. The air was heavy, filled with tension and fear. He appeared to be in the front entrance of Tom's manor and the man himself was pacing back and forth as he stared worriedly at the front door.

Just then the door opened admitting a teenaged Rabastan and a strange man. Harry glanced at the man curiously. He was tall with a strong build and an unusual scar that bisected his face making him look sinister.

Tom had rushed forward to grab his son by the shoulders. "Are you okay?" He demanded. He tilted the youth's face to better exam the shallow scrapes.

"I'm fine." The teen insisted, irritation in his voice. He jerked back wincing at the pain the motion caused in his shoulder.

Tom's worried expression deepened. "You're still injured. Rudo will be here momentarily."

"St Mungo's already checked me out. Its just sore". Rabastan muttered flushing in embarrassment. "Stop babying me already."

Harry watched in amazement as neither man reacted to the insolence. Had Vernon been there the boy would have been knocked to the ground in a second.

"I'll be more comfortable once Rudo has checked you out." Tom told him in as calm a voice as he could manage. "Why don't you head up and get cleaned up." He suggested.

He waited until his son was out of earshot before turning to the other man. "What happened." He demanded his voice hardening.

The strange man shrugged. "I was coming out of Knockturn when I spotted your kid outside the Quidditch store with Mulciber's youngest and the Travers boy. I didn't see anyone with him so I thought I would hang around."

"Thank you Antonin. My son knows very well he isn't allowed in Diagon Alley."

Antonin shrugged. "He's a teenager. And they were fine for a while, admiring the broom and goofing off."

Tom turned to lead him into his office. "Who attacked them?" He asked in a hard voice.

"Those Prewitt bastard twins." He answered as he took a seat. "They ignored the younger two at first and were getting in Travers face. Before I could make my way over wands were pulled out."

Tom poured them both a drink before downing his in one gulp.

"Your boy's smart." Antonin continued as he sipped at the amber liquid. "Beamed Fabian on the side of the head, threw his aim off. Probably saved his friend's life. Spell hit the wall behind them instead, threw up a bunch of shrapnel. That's where the boys got hurt."

"That was it?" Tom asked surprised.

Antonin shrugged. "Bones was in the Alley. She's fair minded for a ministry broad. Started telling the Prewitts off for hurting innocents."

"Bet they didn't like that." Tom smirked.

"Tried to blame me as by that time I was standing in front of the boys. Tried to arrest me for disturbing the peace." He snorted. "They're going to regret that." He shifted a bit in his seat. "I would have brought him straight back here but Bones herded the lot of them to Mungos. Kid was quick on his feet coming up with a believable identity."

Tom thanked the man again, escorting him out and heading straight for his son's room. Entering he watched as Rudo examined his fourteen year old son. "Is he okay?" He demanded.

"He's fine Tom. That shoulder will be sore a day or two but that's all." He looked between the two taking in the angry expressions. "Um I'll check up on him tomorrow." He swiftly packed up his stuff.

Tom waited until the door has shut before addressing his son. "What is that look for?"

"Because I know you." Rabastan burst out. "You're going to use this harmless little incident to lock me up and never let me go anywhere."

"Harmless?" The man gaped. "You would have been killed if Antonin hadn't shown up. You ended up in St. Mungo's! It certainly wasn't harmless." He gave the kid a stern look. "Against my better instincts I allowed you to go to Muggle London without bodyguards as long as you were with a group of friends and you kept your portkeys on you at all times."

"Which I did." The teen mumbled, squirming under his father's look.

"And even though you are only fourteen you were allowed to go to any of the magical alleys in Paris or Italy. All you had to do was stay out of Diagon Alley. So yes you are grounded for two weeks and yes you will be a little more restricted in your movements this summer. You did break my trust."

Rab swallowed against the hurt that graced his father's face. "You're not going to wallop me?" He asked quietly.

Tom couldn't help smiling at the hesitant question. "No, I'm going to consider your injuries the physical part of the punishment…..this time." He tapped the kid on the forehead. "But know this, you are on very thin ice right now." He gave his son a critical look. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Rabastan rapidly shook his head. "Not yet."

Tom nodded as he wrapped his arms around his son's lanky form. "You have no idea how scared I was. I never want to feel like that again." They stayed like that for several minutes before the teen climbed into bed. Tom tucked in him despite the half hearted protests and handed over a vial of dreamless sleep.

Harry jerked awake, envy and anger clawing at him from the remnants of the dream. He jumped out of bed, unable to stay still a moment longer. He barely noticed the clock that read one am as he left the room. He had to get out, had to get some fresh air. He didn't care that the shirt he had on was one of the worst of the lot with large tears causing it to hang open in the back. Who was he going to impress? There was no one in his life who cared enough.

He slipped down the stairs, half tempted to stomp on them and wake his uncle, if only to have someone to fight with. He resisted, leaving by the back door and breaking into a run.

He didn't know how long he'd run as he went up and down the different streets and back again. There hadn't been a soul in sight nor any lights on in any of the houses he'd passed. He had a brief thought about his order watcher before dismissing it, half hoping whoever was attempting to follow him keeled over.

He finally stopped as he passed the park for the umpteenth time. Walking over he sank down onto the one swing his cousin hadn't broken.

He didn't want to think about why he was so angry but the images kept flashing in front of his eyes. Rabastan being comforted, being fussed over, healed. He'd been given potions to help him sleep. And he hadn't done anything to deserve any of it but defied his father and gotten hurt for it.

What made this mythical teenager so much more important than Harry? He had saved the stone and ended up in the hospital wing for three days. He had helped kill a professor. No one had hugged him and told him it was okay and he wasn't evil. Nope, he was sent back to the Dursleys like it was a normal summer.

He had fought the Basilisk in second year and had come a hairs breath from death. They hadn't even sent him to the hospital wing that time. There certainly wasn't any dreamless sleep to keep the snake away during the night.

No one had cared that he relived his parents' death through the dementors. Not even his parents' supposed best friend. It was just, 'here's some chocolate now we need you to save Sirius and Buckbeak.'

He hastily wiped his eyes. He didn't want to think about the tournament but he had to admit to himself that he had almost had that elusive attention that he wanted so badly. Sirius had been been there but he'd let Dumbledore run him off. And now here he was alone, so alone. Cut off from everyone and having to watch everything he could of had through a dream.

He kicked at a clod of dirt, forcing the weakness away as his anger returned. He was strong, independent. He didn't need mollycoddling. He probably wouldn't know how to deal with it if he did receive it. But it was like a lance to the heart to have his own lack thrown in his face like that, to have to watch and yearn for something he could never have.

He was cold and stiff when he finally made his way home and fell into bed. He resisted sleep for a bit longer, not knowing if he could take anymore. But his internal drama and the late hour had worn him out. His eyes closed against his will.

Tom was once again in his office, slumped in his chair. Harry could see broken glass and torn papers littering the room. His anger deflating he looked around for answers.

His eyes widened as there was a knock on the door and a younger version of his potions professor came in. "Can I talk to you about something?"

Harry could see that Tom thought about refusing before sighing and waving to a chair. "I'm assuming this is about Potter's wife again." He said capturing Harry's compete attention.

The pale man flushed. "In a way. You remember that I came to you several months ago after I ran into her and we resolved our differences."

Tom nodded. "Her parents had just been killed in an auto accident and she was suspicious that more was going on."

Snape nodded. "We've kept in touch and she's more convinced than ever that the accident was caused by magic. Dumbledore has been pressuring her, questioning her loyalty and Potter won't listen to her."

The older man settled back in his chair allowing Harry to see the stress and worry lining the man's face for the first time. "And you think she's ready to listen to my story."

Snape looked undecided. "I don't think it was enough to get her to leave Potter, not with her child on the way. But something else has happened that might push her over the edge." He continued when Tom motioned him to go on. "Slughorn is retiring and at Lucius's suggestion I went for an interview with Dumbledore." His voice had quietened at the end as Tom's face darkened.

"Of all the harebrained ideas…" The man swore. "Why would you let that blond idiot talk you into something like that."

"It made sense at the time. With my occlumency shields and my potions mastery I am a prime candidate to be able to spy for our side." He tried to explain.

"It's not worth it. You'll just get yourself killed." Tom's voice cracked and he took a deep breath to regain his composure. "Please tell me you didn't get the job."

Snape was looking at him oddly. "The interview didn't actually take place. Dumbledore had another interview before mine and I made the mistake of trying to listen in." He jumped when the man slammed his hand on the desk.

"You haven't even got the job and you're already putting yourself in danger." He gritted out.

The younger man quickly shook his head. "It worked out. What I did overhead was worth getting caught for." He hurried on seeing that the man looked intrigued. "Dumbledore was interviewing a seer and she made a prophecy. I only heard half of it but it told of a child born at the end of the seventh month who can defeat the dark lord." He was leaning forward excitedly now. "Dumbledore is the real dark lord and Lily's child is due at the end of July."

Harry sank down into the spare seat in shock as Tom looked thoughtful. "Dumbledore will never let it happen. He'll kill the child before it's drawn its first breath."

"Or he'll twist it in his usual style. Get Lily's child to kill 'Voldemort' and have him die in the process or kill him afterward." Snape pointed out. "He's already begun to drop hints to Potter about how important his son will be, how powerful. Lily's terrified and she has no one to trust. She could use a father figure in her life."

Tom flinched at the word but before Snape could question him the door burst open. Harry turned to see his godfather rush in.

"Is it true?" He demanded, anger and desperation warring on his face.

Tom sighed. "We don't know Sirius. We haven't heard from him and our searches aren't revealing anything."

Snape looked between the two of them in confusion. "Who are you looking for?"

Sirius turned to sneer at him. "Stay out of it Snivileous."

Tom gave him a sharp look. "What have I told you about using that name." He ignored the face the Black heir made as he answered the other man. "There have been rumors that Regulus has been killed but we have been unable to confirm them."

Snape looked startled. "How is that possible?"

Sirius gave a sarcastic laugh. "That's a good question." He stared hard at Tom. "I thought you considered him a son. How could you let this happen?"

Tom rubbed his hands over his face. "He's eighteen Sirius and just graduated. He's been spending the time celebrating with friends. He was entitled to some freedom."

Snape stopped the other man before he could lash out again. "You have no right to blame him. If you had chosen a side and not flip flopped back and forth you might have had a better relationship with Regulus and have an idea of what he was up to."

Sirius snarled at him. "Not to worry, I have picked my side. As far as I'm concerned Regulus would be safe if it wasn't for him." He pointed at the distraught man. "As far as I'm concerned James is the only family I have left."

"You're giving Dumbledore exactly what he wants. Maybe he targeted your brother for exactly this purpose." Snape threw back as Sirius stormed from the room. He turned to look at Tom. "Is there anything I can do?"

Tom wearily shook his head. "There's nothing left to be done. Everyone's on alert. He might just be touring the world like he talked about but he hasn't checked in. And now with these rumors I fear that Regulus might actually be dead."

"What about the family tapestry?" Snape asked. "Doesn't it record everything?"

"Walburga has closed herself inside the house which leads me to think that the death date was recorded. But then again that particular tapestry has been abused so much that it might be malfuncting."

Harry was jerked out of his dream by his uncle throwing open the door. He had only a moment to realize how late it was before the furious man was throwing him across the room.

"You lazy no good freak." Vernon shouted as he stalked toward the boy. "Sleeping while the rest of us go hungry. Where's my breakfast." He yelled, kicking out and catching the boy in the hip. "After taking you in and providing for you this is how you treat us?"

"Providing for me." Harry yelled uncovering his head enough to glare. "You haven't fed me in a week."

He was rewarded in a kick in the stomach. 'You should be grateful I don't send you to sleep in your cupboard, or better yet the shed." He stomped on the teen's hand before making his way across the room. "Get up and get to work. You need to chip all the old paint off the porch railing so you can repaint them."

Harry growled as he got up, shaking his hand in dismay. He could already feel it starting to swell.

He had been working slowly and painfully under the watchful eye of his uncle for several hours before the the whole family came out the door. "We're going out and won't be back until late. You're not allowed off this porch. If this scrapping is not done you can continue working all night!"

Harry made a face at them as they climbed in the car and sped off.

"Watcher Harry." Tonks popped up a moment later. "I didn't think he'd ever leave."

"Hey Tonks." He replied as he continued to apply pressure to the tool with his bad hand.

"Harry, quit working. You know I can have this done for you in an instant." She waited until he had complied and turned to face her.

"I have several things to discuss with you but first you can't tell me that this is just a chore. It's obvious from the way your uncle was looking at you that is a punishment." She frowned when he didn't say anything. "You know this porch doesn't look like it needs painting."

"I did it last year." He mumbled, his eyes on the ground. "I overslept this morning."

"Harry." She cried reaching out for his hand and inadvertently squeezing his injured appendage. She noticed his wince and pulled the hand up to exam it. "This is wrong and horrible and ugh….come on."

"Where are we going?" He yelped as she pulled him along to the little wooded area he had napped in a couple days ago.

She held a finger up to her lips before reaching around him. Harry barely had time to protest before he was being squeezed through a small tube.

"What the hell was that?" He wheezed out once he could get his breath back.

"Apparition." She answered shortly as she led him up a set of stairs. "Welcome to my apartment."

"This is yours?" He asked looking around the small space. It was crammed with an overlarge couch while the back of the room held a small kitchenette. Through a door he could see a closet sized room that was big enough for a bed. Every surface seemed to be buried under clothes.

Tonks blushed. "It's small but I'm not here much. And I'm a bit of a slob."

"A bit?" Harry asked grinning for the first time all day.

"Hush you." She cleared a space on the couch by grabbing an armload of clothes and tossing them on the bed. "Have a seat and I'll go get my potions kit." She returned in a few moments. "Now I want the truth. What happened this morning."

He explained slowly as she cleaned his hand, smeared some cream on, and wrapped it. His face was bright red as she continued to interrogate him about his treatment from his relatives.

"Its not that bad." He mumbled as he drank down the potions she handed him.

"Yes it is. And what's more I can't let it continue. Even if I wasn't an officer of the law you're my friend and I will not let them hurt you." Wanting an outlet for her anger she used her wand to send pile after pile of clothes into the bedroom.

He stared at her a moment as his first dream and the feelings he'd had afterward came back to him. He gave her a small smile. "You know you aren't going to be able to sleep in there tonight." He teased.

She shrugged as she flopped into the seat next to him. "I'll sleep on the couch. It's more comfortable anyway." She sighed. "I mean it Harry. I'm not going to let you go back to that situation."

"There's nothing you can do about it." He pointed out tiredly. "Dumbledore will stop you from doing anything and if you try to go to the ministry I'll probably end up with a death eater."

She sighed. "I'll think of something. I'm not going to let this continue." She nudged his shoulder. "Besides I thought you would want to go with a death eater now. What's going on with your dreams?"

He perked up as he told her about the controversy over the dark mark. She looked surprised but had a good solution to the problem. "I don't know much about the marks other than what Dumbledore told us which should tell us something. But there's no reason that Malfoy couldn't have started them and Volde….er Tom added the proteen charm to it later as a way of communicating."

Harry sighed relieved. "That makes a lot of sense." They both had a good laugh at Malfoy getting in trouble with the older man but it reminded him of the interaction between Tom and his son the night before.

"What kind of a father is he?" Tonks asked intrigued. She was a little miffed that kid hadn't told her that Voldemort had a son but was quickly distracted.

"A good one I think." Harry mused. He blushed at her raised eyebrow. "He scolded a bit but never raised his voice and made sure his son was taken care of, made him take a dreamless sleep potion and everything. …." He trailed off at her knowing look.

"So that's why you were training for the marathon last night." She mused.

He flushed again. "Who was watching?" He asked instead of answering.

The look on her face said she knew what he was doing. "Hestia Jones. She's an okay person. Don't know how she got involved with Dumbledore."

"What's she have to say and who did she tell?"

The pink haired woman grinned. "Well I happened to see her this morning at the ministry and she was a little annoyed so she filled me in. You know the magical world isn't used to all that exercise. But brilliant person that I am I convinced her that it was your version of a cold shower and that you would be horribly embarrassed if it got spread around."

"Tonks." Harry yelped as he went bright red. She almost fell off the couch in her laughter.

He folded his arms over his chest. "Just for that you can make me something to eat." He grumbled.

Still chuckling she went to one of the small cabinets and pulled out a box of cereal before dumping it in his lap. "Help yourself. Hey I told you I don't spend a lot of time here."

He shrugged before pulling out a handful. "What do you know about the Prewitt brothers?"

She looked confused for a moment. "They were attacked by Antonin Dolohov and a group of death eaters. They managed to take almost everyone down before Dolohov eventually killed them."

Harry frowned. "Do you think Dolohov went after them for revenge?"

"That might have been part of it but Dolohov and the Prewitts have a long history of conflicts. They didn't die until late 80 so that's quite a time jump between the two incidents. Besides that's the official story. For all we know Fabian and Gideon attacked them first and they were just defending themselves. From what I remember Dolohov managed to get away but he was eventually caught the first week of November 81." She reminded him.

"What else?" He asked noticing the look on her face.

She winced. "Molly Weasley's maiden name is Prewitt. They were her brothers. Fred and George are kind of named after them."

"Great." He muttered.

"But good news I do have." She sang. She told him of finding the marriage and death certificates but not finding answered so in a tip she had checked news stories at the time.

"Now your turn. Tell me how she died in the dream and I'll tell you if it matches." She demanded.

He described the siege dream and the emotion involved.

She was stunned for a moment. "They must have really been in love. The first couple articles were really nice, good obituary. Letters of consoling for the husband for the loss of his wife and child."

"But then a series of articles popped up blaming Tom for killing his wife. There was a lot of opposition to that line of thought though, in particular one reporter who told this story about an attack on the house preventing them from getting her help. But that was it. That reporter never wrote anything else. I went forward a year and couldn't find anything about him. After his, the articles were all pro Dumbledore and the name Voldemort started popping up."

"I guess that seals the deal. Dumbledore is a first class bastard." Harry said bitterly.

"That he is." Tonks agreed quietly. "What do we do now?"

He shrugged. "Nothing yet. I'm going to keep dreaming. I still have a lot of questions and I think something big is about to happen in them." He told her about Snape's pleas for Tom to talk to Lily and the mention of a prophecy.

Tonks sucked in a breath. "Harry you remember how I told you some of the group was working on something else? They're guarding a prophecy in the Department of Mysteries. That's why Hestia was there this morning. She came from guarding you to guarding that."

Harry's eyes popped wide. "But who are they guarding it from? Me? I shouldn't know anything about it."

"Supposedly Voldemort but knowing what we do know that doesn't make a lick of sense. You're right something big is coming and not just in your dreams." She noticed the the time.

"Come on dream boy. We have enough time to get something to eat before we talk to your relatives. I might have to leave you in their house but I'm going to make damn sure they know we're watching and exactly what I can do with my wand if they hurt you again." She said her eyes turning a deep black.