You're all gone cause they can't find you
You're lost cause they don't know the way
They blame themselves they blame each other
They're angry
They're sorry
They're worried
You don't care

The shovels scrape somewhere up there
They just want to know if you're OK
Morse code tapped with hammers
You hear it
You know it
Ignore it
You're on your way

The curse raced across the Great Hall, straight at the black haired young man. He brought up a shield and watched in dismay as the curse simply slipped through as if his shield wasn't even there. A split-second later he found himself lying on the floor idly looking up at the clouds as they passed.

"Come on Harry," Tonks chided, "I know you can do better than this. We've only got a week before term starts and then I won't be able to spend as much time with you anymore. We need to make the most of it so get your head straight."

Harry brushed off his jeans. "I'm trying," he grumbled.

"You curse me this time. Something simple, like Expelliarmus." Harry nodded in reply and waited for Tonks to give him the signal.

"Expelliarmus!" he shouted.

Tonks waited for the spell to hit her but merely felt a tingle. She gave a quizzical look. His spells seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. That last spell had been nearly squib worthy.

"Are you even trying?"

"I am!" Harry urged, "I don't know what's wrong."

At the back of the hall Hermione sat with a book in her hands, a look of contemplation on her face. She and Ron had been watching Tonks duel with Harry for weeks and things seemed to be getting worse everyday. For some reason Harry's magic seemed to be disappearing. She glanced over at Ron and saw a small grin.

"What do you know?" she whispered.

"I've got an idea." Before she could question him more, he was already halfway across the room. Harry looked somewhat nervous as Ron approached him, almost as if he knew where this was going.

"I am trying Ron. I don't know what the problem is."

"I do," Ron replied, suddenly pointing his wand at Harry's feet. "Incendio!"

"Aguamenti!" Harry shouted without thinking.

A huge jet of water shot from Harry's wand, putting out the fire and flooding the Great Hall. By the time Harry cancelled the spell, the water was up to their ankles. Hermione's mouth frowned in concentration as she took in the scene, still confused as to what had just happened.

"How long mate?" Ron asked in a conversational tone.

Harry let out a frustrated sigh, clearly disappointed. "Since the end of last year." Hermione's head shot up at that. The end of last year, when Dumbledore was murdered, or supposedly murdered, by Snape, how very interesting.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I was embarrassed," Harry replied sheepishly, "and I didn't want it to get out." Ron gripped his shoulders supportively. "I'm afraid Ron. Why can't I ever be normal?"

"Look at me," Ron chided, "Do I look normal? A freckled redhead who loves a Quidditch team that never wins. And then there's Hermione."

"A nosy, know-it-all bookworm," Hermione put in helpfully as she came over to stand next to Ron.

"I'm sure there's a reason for this," Tonks said, "You'll just have to practice putting less power into your spells. Why don't you try levitating that table over there?" She vanished the water and pointed to a table off to Harry's left.

"Wingardium Leviosa." This time Harry tried to get the spell to work without putting as much power into it. The table lifted about an inch and then dropped again.

"Try again," Tonks commanded in a tone that reminded Harry he was not allowed to ever give up.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry shouted, putting much more force behind the spell.

The results were amazing. The table shot to the ceiling and broke apart as it hit one of the supports. Everything else in the room, including Hermione, Ron and Tonks, lifted about a foot and then fell. Hermione grabbed her mouth as her stomach gave a lurch.

"Well that was…interesting," Tonks stammered shakily.

DSz

"I think I got it!" Rowena exclaimed happily.

Flitwick watched the feather hover above his head. "I've never seen a levitation spell cause something to spin that way."

Rowena giggled. "I think it's funny."

The feather spun in lazy circles as Rowena directed it around the room. After a few minutes she got bored with the feather and decided to levitate something else as well. Flitwick merely watched in silence as a few books floated into the air, spinning the same way as the feather. He wanted to tell her how difficult it is to levitate more than one item at once, especially doing them one at a time but he worried that if he did then she wouldn't be able to do it anymore.

An angry hissing noise was heard as a spinning Mrs. Norris floated over the Professor's head. His eyes widened in surprise as he did a quick double take. Rowena laughed loudly as the books and the cat began to circle the still spinning feather like some kind of strange solar system.

"Mrs. Norris!" Filch exclaimed, quickly stomping into the room and plucking his cat out of the air.

"O my!" Flitwick exclaimed as a very unhappy Filch, holding a thoroughly peeved off Mrs. Norris, did a cartwheel across the ceiling. "Perhaps we should move on. It seems you have a good grasp of Wingardium Leviosa."

Rowena merely smiled, her eyes twinkling behind her half moon glasses. "I don't think I've ever felt so alive. Magic is the best thing in the world."

DSz

Snape pulled himself onto his bed, his nerves still tingling painfully from the effects of the Cruciatus curse. His mind seemed to have turned to jello because he couldn't remember where he had left the calming potion. He swiped a shaky hand over his bedside table and found it to be empty. A groan escaped him.

"Here sir."

A voice seemed to come from nowhere and a mysterious vial was at his lips. He closed them automatically, not so far gone that he would blindly drink an unknown potion from some stranger. A sigh of frustration was heard and the vial removed.

"Professor Snape, it's Draco."

What is Draco doing here? He should be at school, Severus thought wearily. He opened his mouth to question his Godson and suddenly the vial was back and the mysterious potion flowed easily down his throat. The taste was unmistakable and he sighed in relief as his nerves finally began to still.

"Tha…you." The words wouldn't come right, his mind just too groggy to form anything coherent.

"No problem sir," Draco replied quietly, his brow creasing worriedly.

In the pale candlelight he could make out the dark mark on Snape's forearm. It writhed and pulsed causing Draco to shudder involuntarily. He rolled up the sleeve on his robes and looked at his own pale skin. A memory suddenly flashed in his mind. He was in the common room with Pansy and they'd just played a prank on Goyle. A smile lit the young Slytherin's face as more memories surfaced. Quidditch games, Hogsmeade weekends, fights with the Gryffindors, lessons…

Draco's throat suddenly felt tight and scratchy. He put those thoughts out of his mind and continued to watch over his Godfather. The night came and the small room became dark. He shivered as the last candle burned to the wick, but made no effort to light another.