Last time: "It was so…calm there. There were no real pressures—except those of training. No one expected you to be anything that you weren't, and you didn't have to put on a show for anyone. They were all so…accepting, even of things that normal wizards and Muggles alike would not think were appropriate."

Harry suddenly came back to himself and blushed, aware that he may have just revealed more than he'd wanted to. Snape merely raised an eyebrow.

"The rest you can probably guess," Harry continued. "I stayed there and trained, mostly under Eldwyn and Llyrithen, and a few others. I never felt pushed past my limits, though I met them many times over, and the things I learned…it was so wonderful. I miss the Vale a lot, and I wish I could visit again. Maybe I will, someday."

Snape sat back in his chair, amazed at what he had just heard. He would not have believed it if he had not seen examples of the boy's power himself. This certainly did explain a lot of things.

"So…you spent your last two years at this…vale?" Snape asked, still a bit dazed. Harry nodded, and sighed.

Harry looked at the clock that was on the wall, and jumped suddenly.

"Sir, I—I have to go. I'm late for a le—a meeting. I have to meet with one of the other teachers, and I'm already ten minutes late. I'm sorry—I have to go!

He jumped to his feet and raced out the door, leaving a very bemused Severus Snape behind.

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Harry ran down the hallway, breathing hard. He couldn't believe what he had just done. How could he have betrayed the secrets of the Vale like that!

But some shameful part of him was secretly glad that it was all off his chest. He'd been bottled up for far too long. Now, though, he had to go find someone—fid anyone to talk to. He didn't want to talk to Adara, because she might become angry, and tell Eldwyn what he had done—

His frantic train of thought ground to a halt when he ran smack into Dumbledore.

"Sir! I'm sorry!" he gasped, regaining his balance quickly and mentally berating himself for not paying attention. He should have sensed Dumbledore from twenty paces away! "I—I wasn't thinking, and I was just – distracted, and I—I apologize—"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Quite all right, Harry. In fact, I was just coming to find you. It seems you have some visitors, who would very much like to see you. They've been waiting for quite some time now, and I don't believe it would be wise to keep them from you any longer. Come, this way."

Harry followed the headmaster, bewildered. Who could come to see him?

They turned down a small corridor and into a brightly lit room filled with several chairs, tables, and couches. Harry looked up in time to see a blur of red and tan before he was enveloped in a rather wet hug.

"Harry!" the person sobbed. "Oh, Harry! We were so worried – where were you – oh, dear Merlin, thank you—"

Harry looked down to find that it was Ms. Weasley who had him in a crushing grip. He immediately softened and returned her embrace. He hadn't thought to owl the Weasleys upon his return, but Ron obviously had. He glanced around to see Fred, George, Percy, Bill, and Charlie all looking at him with smiles on their faces, and Mr. Weasley was even a bit misty-eyed. They each in turn came up to pat him on the shoulder, and finally Ms. Weasley released him. Harry unobtrusively took in gasps of air while she turned to her family.

"He's back! He's really back!"

Harry whirled around to see the door open, and Ron and Ginny came in. His face fell slightly when he saw Ginny, who had tears in her eyes. He'd almost completely forgotten about her when he returned. He'd barely spoken two words to her since he'd been back, and he'd been so caught up in his training and his deception that he'd forgotten to talk to her.

Quietly he walked over to Ginny and embraced her. With a small sob she flung her arms around him, and Ron patted her on the back while looking oddly at Harry.

When Ginny had composed herself, Harry went around to embrace each member of the family. Fred and George grinned at him, and slapped him on the back. Percy held him stiffly but sincerely. Bill and Charlie both clapped him on the shoulder again, and Mr. Weasley pulled him into a giant bearhug.

"I'm sorry that I didn't see you sooner," Harry said sadly when everyone was done. "I just had a lot going on…..I had to—to readjust. I—I missed you all a lot, I really did. I'm glad I'm back."

"We're glad you're back too, Harry," Ms. Weasley said in a choked sort of voice before breaking out in tears again.

Harry sighed and patted her on the back, and waited out the flood.

Finally, all the tears and hugs were over with, and Harry had to tell them all the fabrication of the wizard in the mountains, seeing as they wouldn't accept the "Oh, so sorry, I can't tell you" act. They all seemed to buy the story of the wizard, however, and were soon satisfied.

They all left around ten that night, after much storytelling and catching up on the past few years. Harry sighed and went back up to the dorm. He unlocked the shielding spell that he had put around his bed, and pulled open the curtains.

On his pillow rested a scrap of paper, with handwriting on it that he recognized as Adara's. He picked it up and began to read.

Harry – I'm sorry I couldn't tell you in person. But a terrible plague has hit the Vale. It saps magic from both the healer and the victim, and it has struck down many of our people. We don't know who sent it, or if it's just some shift in the balance of the forces of this earth, but we are trying to find out. I am at the Vale now, trying to help all I can. Stay there Harry, and don't try to contact me, as I will have my hands full. Don't worry about me – I can handle this. Just stay there and continue on with everything as usual. I have told the Headmaster that there was a death in my family and that I had to take a week or so off to try and help out. I should be back within a month. Don't fret, little one – I will be back soon. Try to stay calm and go about everything as normal. I will see you in a while.

--Adara

Harry sat down hard on his bed, numb with shock. How could this have happened? According to his teachers, a plague like this hadn't hit the Vale for many centuries. It could have devastating effects on the people. He had to contact someone there! Maybe he could convince Eldwyn or Llyrithen to let him come help.

He scrambled out of bed and retrieved his teleson-bowl from under the bed. He conjured up a bit of water to make a clear, smooth surface with, and sat down to concentrate.

He threw his mind out, letting his power spread. He focused on the Vale and soon found himself peering into what appeared to be a window to the Vale. He roved around for a few moments before he located Eldwyn.

:Eldwyn: he cried out, mind-to-mind. The elf looked up from the book he had been searching through, startled.

:Harry! What are you doing? You don't need to be here - :

:I want to know what's going on: Harry replied quickly. :Adara just left me a note – but has anyone I know been stricken? What's going on? Is there a cure:

:Slow down: Eldwyn told him. :So far this thing has no cure. It saps magic. We don't know what it is or how to fix it. We're just doing our best to try and keep people from dying. But somehow it spreads through magic – Harry, you need to break contact. And fast. This—thing—could maybe jump to you and your school through this connection. We're not sure if it even is a disease, but it moves quickly. Harry, you must go. Please—stay safe. I must go.:

Abruptly the connection was broken, and Harry sat back with a feeling of dread. This could very easily be a magical sending from some evil out there, which even the elves did not know about. But Harry did know one thing. He was not about to sit back and wait for news. As long as he didn't make direct contact with anyone, he should be fine.

He settled back into a trance and sat back to observe the Vale.

People were rushing around everywhere, careful never to bump into one another. Elves carried trays of herbs and magical medicines here and there, people were delivering messages and supplies, and people were being carted off to the Healer's Collegium, to Harry's dismay. His spirit-form followed them there, and he swooped inside to observe the chaos.

Harry's blood ran cold at the sight before him. Everywhere, people lay sick or dying. All of the afflicted were pale, much paler than was normal. Their eyes were also no longer green, but a clouded shade of blue that signified great internal struggle, both physically and magically.

Harry closed his spiritual 'eyes' and reopened them a second later to view the scene with Mage-Sight. Everywhere there was a thick black fog, which settled over the sick people and slowly crept inside them. It invaded their systems and sucked the magic and the life out of them. It worked very slowly, almost too slowly to see, but it was lethal nevertheless.

Harry drifted about the Vale for a while longer, before giving up and returning to himself. When he awoke from his trance, he saw that it was nearly five in the morning. He sighed and got up, ready to face the new day with a heavy heart.

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Severus Snape was walking along the deserted corridors of the dungeons, contemplating what the Potter boy had told him. The story was ridiculous, ludicrous even, but – why would the boy lie? If he was going to lie, he would not have made it so blatantly obvious. And if he was telling the truth—

—it could mean more than he could imagine. To think that there was a secret society, where literally everyone who grew up there was a mage who at least equaled Dumbledore's level of skill, if not surpassed it. And that was only the children. The adults – if the adults banded together, they could possibly overthrow the Dark Lord forever.

Snape was so wrapped up in his contemplations that he did not even see what he tripped over. He caught himself with a hand on the wall and a barked word, and steadied himself before turning back to see what had tripped him.

He gasped as he saw a prone figure on the ground. He rushed back and turned the person over, only to see that it was Potter. Deathly pale, he lay completely still. When Snape lifted one of his eyelids, he was shocked to see that his eyes had turned a cloudy blue, as if he were blind. And furthermore – there were pale marks and scars running all over the boy's body, as if he had been beaten and whipped many times over. There was also a strange green tattoo that seemed to circle the boy's head, Snape noticed when he pushed the boy's hair back from his face.

Snape instantly scooped the boy up in his arms and started towards the Hospital wing – and then he stopped. What if this had something to do with the Vale that he had spoken of? He couldn't risk blowing the boy's cover. And the other staff would surely notice the marks, which were evidently from training, and they couldn't possibly miss the tattoo.

Swiftly he came to a decision and changed direction , heading to his personal quarters. He opened the door with a muttered word, and strode inside to lay the boy down on his couch.

Snape ran a hand through his hair, his mind racing for any clue as to what this could be. He'd never seen anything like this. The boy was not cursed or injured, and he did not look at all out of the ordinary, except for his eyes and the deathly pale color of his skin.

He was so intent on watching the boy that he jumped when Harry began to move weakly, his eyes fluttering open.

"Sn—Snape?" he whispered, his voice hoarse. Snape bent over him, his pale face coming into his line of sight.

"I'm here – Potter, what is going on? Are you ill?"

"Y-es," the boy croaked, "but not with any illness that you can heal. I need to – stay here. Someplace quiet where I can concentrate. This is – a magical thing. It sucks out magic and – life. Quickly, before I fall in again—" he gasped suddenly, trying to sit up. "Bring me – parchment. And quill."

Snape complied, puzzled. He helped Harry sit up as he scribbled something on the paper, falling back again with a small sigh.

"Give this – Dumbledore."

"Is there anything else I can do?" asked Snape, an unusual feeling of concern filling him. He had never seen Potter in such a state.

"Pray," murmured Harry quietly, before slipping back into unconsciousness.

And after Snape scanned the note, telling Dumbledore that Harry had gone off to see his 'hermit wizard' because of an emergency, he did just that.

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For days, Harry struggled with the dark cloud inside him. It leeched slowly off of his Elven magic – but he found that his human magic was able to fight it back. And his human magic was what made him who he truly was.

He lay in a comatose state for five days, before he was finally able to open his eyes again. He saw Snape sitting at a desk a few metres away, and tried to call out. His unused voice was sore and harsh, and all he could manage was a soft croak. Snape heard him, however, and rushed to his side.

"Potter," he said quietly. "Are you awake now?"

"Yes," he whispered. "I'm – back."

And with that, he fell back onto the pillow and slipped into a deep, but natural slumber for the first time in days.

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A/N: omg I am soooooooo sorry……I had a lot of crap goin on and I couldn't write anything. I will have yall know that I have completely lost inspiration for this story. Lol but somehow I managed to spit out this lil piece of crap….noooo I haven't died but hopefully now that its summer I can start up on this again. I had exams and drs appts, and school…I could make a dozen excuses but it comes down to me being lazy. Thank you all who kept reviewing….you shoved me off my lazy ass and made me write again! Lol but anyways im off to try another chappie….