Stormshadow13: Me too. But usually a batty Dumbledore spells out trouble.

Reader-anonymous-writer: Thanks, we apreciate it.

Rose Haven (Tsyilna Llyria): I like surprising you. And Tom's scent was the reason I did it.

Love, Keta.

Chapter 14: When Sound is Gone

Harry's POV

I brush the hair out of my face as I attempt to concentrate on my studies. The words on the page in front of me seem to blur together into a black creature intent on devouring my mind and reducing it to mush. I groan and slam my head against the table, attracting the attention of the also studying Luna. "What's wrong?" she asks, never looking up from her Transfiguration notes.

"I can't do this..."

"Why not?"

"Need coffee..."

"I thought you were weaning yourself off of coffee."

"I was. Then I drank some again."

"Harry!" She sight and pushes her cup at me. "Here, you can have mine."

"Oh! Thank you!"

"Your welcome, now take a break. Read a book... The new volume of (1) D. Gray-Man is in my bag."

"Seriously! Yay!" I scramble for the manga novel and lean back in my seat with my feet up on the table in order to read. A smile works its way up on my face as I read about Allen's new adventure...

"Harry." Luna's voice rouses me from my reading, and I raise and eyebrow in question. "I'm finished. Do you need help with yours?"

"No. I think I've got it all down." I finish the last page with remorse at the sorrowful ending and push it back to her. "Have you read it yet?"

"No."

"Then I won't tell you why I'm mad at Hoshino yet."

"You better not!" I laugh and run out of the room before she can wrangle me into telling her anyway.

I sigh and lean up against the corridor wall, not ready to go to the Gryffindor common room yet. "Tom..." I murmur. "I miss you already." My hand moves the hair out of my eyes for the umpteenth time today and I begin to contemplate cutting it. "Nah... that'd be more troublesome."

The portrait swings open to reveal my once friends that give me fake cordial looks. "The Headmaster said that he wanted to see you."

"Great. When?"

"Now."

As I walk up the guarded spiral staircase to my enemy's office, fear wells up inside my soul. 'What could he want with me? Does he know of me and Tom?' I shake my head to clear my thoughts. 'There's no way for him to know that. I'm still safe.' However instead of those thoughts chasing away the fear, it rises higher and higher, choking me from my core.

"Harry, my boy!"

"Hello, Professor. Did you want something of me?"

"Yes, yes. I would like you to come to training lessons from now on."

"Why?"

"So you can defend yourself against Voldemort of course." As he speaks, I can feel him trying to get into my mind and I stiffen.

"No."

"What?" His eyes widen in surprise.

"If I am to defeat him, I will do it on my own terms, not yours."

"Harry James Potter! You will come to your lessons!"

"No! Now I'd like to go to bed."

"Then you leave me with no choice." That was the last thing I got to hear before everything went black.

(1) Yes, I went there. If you don't watch D. Gray-Man, you should. Thank you and have a good day.