The Quidditch season was put on hold for the upcoming Christmas Break.

I had been dreading the break more and more as it came closer. Everyone would be going home to see their families and friends and I didn't know how to contact mine. I had been living out months. My dreams never lasted this long. And it wasn't as if I was dreaming. I had no lost time and, if I took away the magic, how was it really different than real life?

But how could it not be a dream?

Maybe it was one of those dreams where I needed to die. Once I died, I would wake up back in my own world. But the thought made me hesitant. I didn't want to die. So did I really want to leave?

Angelina managed to find replacements for the team to Fred, George, and Harry's pleasure and disappointment. Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper were the two new beaters, even though Angelina had admitted they weren't exactly on the brilliant side, they were pretty good compared to the other idiots who had showed up. Her words, not mine. And to Harry's surprise, Ginny Weasley had taken his spot as seeker. Angelina complimented on how good Ginny had been at tryouts and Harry shot her a dirty look. Angelina assured him that she was nothing like him.

D.A. lessons started back up and people started to forget about the Quidditch nightmare. Slowly. I still heard Angelina mumbling to herself about Goyle's foul when I passed her in the hall on my way to the library two weeks later. Shutting the dormitory door behind me, I descended down the staircase ten minutes before the D.A. lesson. I could hear their voices drifting through the staircase softly, hushed but inflicted.

"What?" Ron said. "Like a spy for the Ministry?"

"No," Harry said. "She's expressed her dislike for Umbridge many times, Hermione! Umbridge made her take that detention with me. She even found the Room of Requirement for us! Why would she be spying?"

My blood ran cold and my legs seemed to lock. I stopped on the staircase, five steps from the bottom.

"I never said that," Hermione said. "I'm just putting the thought out there. It's not like I'm the only one who's noticed."

This wasn't good.

"No," Harry said again, but this time I didn't like the tone of his voice. I heard footsteps behind me and jumped. A first-year saw me and hesitated. I ushered her forward, bringing a finger sharply to my lips. The girl turned over her shoulder to look at me once more before stepping into the common room. The trio grew silent until the portrait door shut behind her.

"Like a few weeks ago," Hermione continued quickly. "She was confusing me with all this talk about Umbridge's ban. . . . Harry, it's almost like she knew beforehand. Did you notice that when you told us she didn't seem surprised?"

"Maybe she was still thinking of that embarrassing goal I let in," Ron chuckled stupidly.

"First it was Umbridge's speech and I thought, well, anyone who was actually listening to her could deduce that," she said. "But there have been other things also."

"Like . . ."

"Lavenders rabbit," Hermione said. "I still remember it, the first day of term. The password to our bathroom is Binky, the name of her dead bunny. Stop laughing Ronald, it's rude."

"So?" A part of my heart lifted at the fact Harry sounded unconvinced.

"She knew it before any of us had even mentioned it around her. And then she says something about the rabbit. Lavender doesn't talk in her sleep, like Andy said. I would be the one to know."

"A lucky guess?" Ron said.

"I don't think so," said Hermione.

What was I going to do? I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe.

"Well, just because she knew the name of Lavender's rabbit doesn't mean she's out to destroy Hogwarts, Hermione," Harry said.

"I know," she admitted, "I'm just . . . I don't understand it."

"What? Hermione doesn't understand something?" Ron chuckled again and there was a loud thud of something hitting skin.

"It was just a joke," Ron groaned. "Now I know what Malfoy went through. Geez, Hermione, where did you learn to punch like that?"

"We're going to be late," Harry said hastily. I heard the rustling of clothes as they stood.

"I'm not saying we do anything about it now, " Hermione said. "But I want you to just watch. See if you notice what I'm noticing."

"I have noticed, Hermione," Harry said, "but I don't think Andy's anything like the things we are learning to defend ourselves against in the D.A."

"I told you, Harry, I don't either," Hermione said. "But Andy knows something she's not telling us, and we all know it. You just can't get past the blue eyes."

At first I thought Harry was going to retaliate. The tension in the air around them was almost tangible; I could picture the scene, but every fiber in my body told me not to look around the corner. A part of me wanted to just jump out and prove them wrong. But how that would have been possible and still result in being labeled as normal? I couldn't think of any situation that didn't involve me ending up sounding as loony as Loony Lovegood.

"Right," Harry said. I couldn't take it anymore and I leaned forward to take a peek. Their backs were to me, all heading for the portrait hole. "Let's go. We are going to be late."

XXX

"Okay," Harry said. The room had filled up fast; everyone was in a hurry to practice at the last meeting we were going to have for a while, since Christmas was coming up. "I thought this time we'd should just go over the things we've done so far because there's really no point starting something new right before a three-week break – "

"We're not going to do anything new?" Zacharias Smith said in a drifting whisper. "If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come –"

"We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you," Fred said loudly and several people sniggered.

"We can practice in pairs," said Harry. "We'll start out with the Impediment Jinx, just for a few minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again."

There were hushed whispers as we all divided obediently. I partnered up with Neville, as usual, and soon the room was full of intermittent cries of "Impedimenta!" People froze for a minute or so, during which their partner would stare aimlessly at other groups. I hit Neville first and then waited for him to take aim at me. His first shot missed and hit Padma Patil as her partner was raising her wand. She yelped when Padma froze before she had even said anything.

But after what had happened back in the common room, I couldn't concentrate on anything around me. None of them knew I had listened to their conversation, though I did notice the reoccurring glances that kept coming from Hermione. But it wasn't like they were acting any different towards me. In fact, if I hadn't been listening beforehand, I wasn't sure if even I would have been able to tell. Hermione still talked to me in her proper, formal chatter, like she did with everyone else. Ron even tapped me on the shoulder to ask if I had any suggestions on getting under her guard again while she was frozen under the jinx. It was only Harry who I was worried about. I hadn't spoken to him yet.

I managed to hit Neville three more times until he finally hit me. It was like my limbs had suddenly turned to stone. I stood frozen for a few minutes, unable to move anything but my eyes. My gaze wandered around the room while Neville waited for me to 'defrost'. There wasn't anything wrong with being jinxed, though I never did like the uncomfortable feeling of letting someone hit you when you knew it was coming. And I was also disappointed when I couldn't laugh as Zacharias jinxed himself after Fred had sent a spell that caused his wand to backfire.

I was just starting to get the feeling back into my limbs when Harry began laying out cushions. The room wasn't big enough for everyone to practice Stunning at the same time, so Harry spilt the pairs into two groups and while one worked, the other observed. I fell back onto the jumble of pillows when it was Neville's turn to Stun me.

The sensation wasn't a good one. It was as if someone had taken a metal object to your chest. My entire body constricted, and then everything was black. I tired to get my revenge later, but for some reason I couldn't knock Neville out for more than a few moments. As I watched everyone around me, certain people remained out for minutes at a time. I was doing so poorly even Harry noticed, attempting to give me tips and techniques. I nodded, keeping my head down and not making eye contact. Harry tried to console me, saying I would master it eventually. But it still made me angry I couldn't perform a simple Stunning spell.

At the end of the hour, Harry blew his whistle again.

"You're getting really good," he said. It was true, all of us were getting better. Even Neville had stopped hitting so many stray objects.

"When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff – maybe even Patronuses."

There was a murmur of excitement as everyone departed, wishing each other a Merry Christmas. Soon there were only a few people left. Harry was across the room, heading towards the full-length mirror that one Ravenclaw student was standing in front of. Alone.

What was the point of me even trying?

After what I had heard, there was no way I stood a chance anymore. I tried not to drag my feet as I followed Ron and Hermione through the large doors. I didn't glance back, afraid at what I would see.

The hallway was silent as we made way back to the common room. That's where we waited, by the always-roaring fire. The portrait door opened about twenty minutes later. Ron still had no idea why Hermione had dragged him out of the Room of Requirement without Harry and he was still trying to figure it out. I knew the whole Cho thing wouldn't last, but I still felt strange as Harry sank into the empty seat next to me on the couch. Deep down, I knew that whatever I was feeling for Harry wasn't going to change anything, including his own feelings for the stunning Ravenclaw girl.

"What kept you?" Ron said.

Harry didn't answer.

Hermione turned to stare at him openly. "Are you alright, Harry?" Her eyes flickered in my direction again. It was really starting to get on my nerves. She turned back to stare at Harry, who had begun to squirm underneath her gaze. Hermione knew exactly what was wrong with him. But I didn't want to hear it from Harry. It was almost like she was unintentionally shoving it in my face.

And no matter how much I didn't want it to, it hurt.

Harry only shrugged, keeping eyes on the floor.

I spoke in place of Hermione: "Is it Cho?"

Hermione suddenly went tense and Harry gave me a surprised look. Ron gave a strangled sound that had a small resemblance to a snicker.

"What?" I said. "Down in Hogsmeade you yourself, Hermione, said that Cho had something for Harry. And then when she lingered behind after the meeting, I could only put the two together."

Harry's eyes glimmered in the firelight, sending Hermione a message that might have said I-told-you-so. But it was gone quickly.

"So – er – what did she want?" Ron said.

"She – She – er – " Harry said rather hoarsely. He cleared his throat to continue stuttering for words, but Hermione just cut it to the chase.

"Did you kiss?"

Ron sat up so fast that the chair tipped forward on two legs. I took him a moment to collect himself.

"Well?" he demanded.

Harry looked at all of us in turn before jerking his head so quickly that if I would have blinked the question would still be unanswered. Ron let out a whoop and threw his fist up into the air. I grinned reluctantly as I watched Ron do something that could have qualified as a chair dance. Hermione, though, gave Ron a look of deep disgust.

"Well," Ron said in only a way he could. "How was it?"

Harry paused as he considered how to answer the question.

"Wet," he finally said.

Ron made a noise that might have indicated jubilation or extreme disgust. It was hard to tell.

"Because she was crying," Harry said.

"Oh," Ron started to grin as he thought of his next remark. "Are you that bad at kissing?"

"Dunno," Harry looked a bit worried at the thought. "Maybe I am."

"'Course you're not," Hermione said absently.

"How do you know?" Ron said in a sharp voice and I suppressed a chuckle as he looked at her in a mix of surprise and jealousy. Though I was torn between them, spending even the smallest amount with all three of them made me forget for the shortest moments. Forget how confused I was. The family I hadn't seen in four months. The fire. All my questions that didn't involve being doubted by the Hermione, Ron, and certainly Harry.

"Because Cho spends half her time crying these days," she said. "She does it at mealtimes, in the loos, all over the place."

"You think a bit of kissing would cheer her up," Ron said, grinning.

"Ron." It was Hermione's turn to talk in a sharp voice. "You are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron said defensively. "What sort of person cries when someone's kissing them?"

"Yeah," Harry said and I caught the slight desperation in his voice, "who does?"

"Don't you understand how she's feeling at the moment?" I let Hermione do the talking. For once, I didn't want to get too involved.

"No," said Harry and Ron together

"Well, obviously, she's feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing Harry at all, and she'll be worrying about what everyone else might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. And she probably can't work out what her feelings towards Harry are anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that's all very mixed up and painful. Oh, she's afraid she's going to be thrown off the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she's been flying so badly."

"One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode," Ron said.

"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have," Hermione said nastily and I heard a chuckle slip through my lips. Thankfully Hermione didn't hear me. She looked ready to bite Ron's head off.

"She was the one who started it," Harry said. "I wouldn't – she just sort of came at me – and they next thing she's crying all over me – I didn't know what to do – "

"Don't blame you, mate," said Ron, looking alarmed at the thought.

"You just had to be nice to her," I said. "You were, weren't you?" I added as Harry shot a nervous glance at Ron.

"Well, course." But Harry blushed and sighed. "I sort of – patted her on the back a bit."

Ron laughed so hard I wouldn't have been surprised if he had fallen to the floor. Hermione bowed her head. "I suppose it could've been worse," she said

Despite everything I tried, I not able to push down the sudden emotion that swept through my body. At first, I didn't know what it was. But as I stared at Harry's solemn face, I realized it was hope.

XXX

I fell asleep immediately only to have a nightmare.

My body felt smooth, powerful, and flexible. I was gliding between shinning metal bars, across dark, cold stone. . . was flat against the floor, sliding along my stomach. . .

It was dark, yet I could see every object shimmering around me in strange, vibrant colors. . . I turned my head. . .

At first glance, the corridor was empty. . . but no. . . a man was sitting on the floor ahead, his chin dropping onto his chest, his outline gleaming in the dark. . .

I stuck out my tongue. . . I tasted the man's sent on the air. . . He was alive but dozing. . . sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor. . . .

I longed to bite the man. . . but I must master the impulse. . . I had more important things to do. . .

But the man was stirring. . . a slivery cloak fell from his legs as he jumped to his feet. I saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above me, saw a wand withdrawn from his belt. . . . I had no choice. . . . I reared high from the floor and struck once. . . .

. . . . Twice. . . .

. . . . Three times I plunged my fangs into his flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath my jaws, feeling the warm gush of blood. . . .

The man was yelling in pain. . . . then he fell silent. . . . He slumped to the floor. . . . Blood was everywhere. . . .

Blood was everywhere . . .

My head hurt terribly. . . . I was about to burst. . . .

"Andy! Andy!"

I opened my eyes.

Every inch of my body was covered in sweat. My sheets were twisted around my limps like a straitjacket. I struggled to free myself, thrashing. My forehead burned as if a white-hot iron had been pressed against it.

"ANDY!"

Hermione was standing over me, looking extremely frightened. More figures surrounded my bed as I clutched my head in both hands.

"She's really ill," I heard someone say. Maybe it was Lavender, but I really didn't care at the moment. "Should we call someone?"

Through the pain I shot straight up in bed. Hermione tried to push me back down.

"You need to rest."

"No!" I shouted. There was no time to waste. "Ron's dad. . . . his dad. . . . HARRY! Oh God, Harry!"

I pushed past Hermione and ran out the door, stumbling down the staircase only to climb back up the one that lead to the boys' dormitories. Hermione was yelling my name again, but I didn't stop. I had to get to Harry.

Maybe if I would have stopped to think about what was going on, I would have realized that everything would have turned out fine if I had just stayed in tucked under the covers in my bed and faked being sick. But it was like I didn't have a reasonable mind anymore. I had woken up, dreaming about a snake – no, this was not dreaming anymore. Mr. Weasley had really been hurt.

As I passed the first year's room I collided with a dark figure. We both stumbled, grabbing onto one another for support. Hermione caught up with me as I grabbed whomever it was by the shoulders.

"Andy! What the hell is going on?" It was the first time I had heard her curse.

"God, who – Neville?" I said as the moonlight lit his red face, bright with fear.

"Harry – " he stopped, out of breath. "Harry's sick. Getting McGonagall." He pushed past me and ran into the common room.

"Andy!" Hermione shouted, but I left her there, taking two steps at a time until I reached the door on the fifth landing. The door was wide open.

Dark figures surrounded what I guessed was Harry's bed. I pushed past the tall figure I fleetingly recognized as Ron and ran to Harry's side. He didn't look any better than me. In one moment our eyes met and I knew he had seen the same thing I had.

I wondered if it – the entire Wizarding world – wasn't a dream. Even Hogwarts. Everything down to taste, touch, smell, and sight was so realistic that, as I stood over Harry's bed, I was scared out of my mind. It shouldn't be possible to have such nightmares within a dream.

"Ron, give me his robes," I said quickly. Ron picked up Harry's robes off his trunk and I shoved them into Harry's hands, pulling on his arm until he was sitting upright.

"Andy?" Ron seemed to realize who exactly was in the boy's dormitory.

"Your dad. . . ." Harry was still in a bit of a shock. "He's been attacked. . . "

"What?" said Ron.

"Ron!" Hermione came yelling into the room. She rushed past Seamus and Dean who stood by dumbly, just watching. Did they know a man was dying as we spoke?

"What is going on, Hermione?" Ron shouted back.

"I don't know – Andy had a nightmare and the next thing – "

I cut her off. "We need to get to Dumbledore, now!"

"Ron, your dad – we need to find out where he is – he's bleeding like mad – I was – it was a huge snake," Harry said, his words getting clearer. The pain in my head was subsiding too.

Not wanting to waste time, I pulled Harry to his feet and pushed past Ron, but he caught my arm and yanked me around.

"He was dreaming, Andy," Ron said, but was clearly uncertain. "he was. . . just. . . "

"No!" Harry said. "It wasn't a dream. . . I was there, I saw it. . . .I did it. . . . ."

That's when I heard Neville's voice again, coming up the steps.

"Over here, Professor. . . ."

Professor McGonagall was in her dressing gown, her glasses perched lopsidedly on the bridge of her nose. When she saw Hermione her eyes grew wide but when her eyes landed on Harry and me, I thought they were going to pop out of her head.

"Granger? Goodrich? This is the boys' – "

"We know, Professor," I said.

Harry had visibly relaxed when he saw her. One of the Order, I knew he was thinking.

"What is it, Potter?" She still eyed me curiously. I knew I had outdone myself. There wasn't anything that could get me back from this.

"It's Ron's dad," Harry said. "He's been attacked and I saw it happen. It's serious."

"What do you mean you saw it happen?" Professor McGonagall's dark eyebrows contracted.

"I don't know. . . . I was asleep and then. . . . I was there. . . ."

"You mean you dreamed this?"

"No!" Harry said, his voice rising. "There was a lot of blood, someone's got to find out where he is. . . ."

Professor McGonagall looked at him as though she was horrified at what she was seeing.

"He's not lying Professor," I said, gasping. "I tell you the truth, he's not."

She looked like she was going to ask another question but then turned towards the door so quickly I thought she was going to leave us.

"I believe you," she said. "Get dressed. We're going to see the headmaster."