Harry sat alone on his bed. He had been trying for a quarter of an hour to contact his godfather. Harry finally laid the mirror aside. He wanted to talk to his Godfather, desperately, but Sirius hadn't shown up in the mirror. Harry's head felt like it might explode.
After all this time, he'd finally learned why Snape treated him so poorly. The Potions Professor's own guilt over Harry's parents deaths. He wanted to lash out, to destroy something, to vent his frustrations, but everything had been taken away from him. His broom was locked in Umbridge's office. He had been kicked off the Quidditch team anyway, so he wouldn't be playing for the House cup this Saturday. And the DA had been found out. Umbridge had even stationed guards at the Room of Requirement to make sure no one used it.
Harry was still breathing hard. He felt himself shaking with anger at the greasy potions professor. For so long, Harry had thought Snape a foul loathsome person. The truth was far more disturbing. Harry knew now the Snape was filled with self hatred. And that he, Harry was a daily reminder of everything Snape had lost.
Harry couldn't imagine holding that tightly to any hate for that long. Harry even tried imagining holding onto his hatred of Malfoy for that long, especially knowing that one day he'd most likely not ever see the little rat again.
But Snape, he thrived on it. Harry wondered what would happen if the bat like professor ever let go of his hate. Would he cease to exist? Or was Snape hoping his self loathing would eventually destroy him?
"Sirius?" Harry again called into the mirror. He waited a few moments before repeating the summons. Still nothing. Harry ran his hands through his hair, making it wilder than normal.
"Merlin, I need to talk to you Sirius." Harry said to himself, staring at the mirror.
"He probably left it somewhere or something." Harry said, flopping back onto his pillow. He decided to try again later. It was very late and he was exhausted. Perhaps Sirius would answer him in the morning.
Sirius would be the only one to help Harry gain any perspective on what he'd learned. His friends would of course sympathize, but they wouldn't be able to advise him on what he should do. They would try, of course, only meaning to help, but they could never truly understand.
"Sirius will help. It's what he does." Harry thought. "He's probably met a nice lady and is busy." Harry shuddered at the thought of Sirius with a female companion.
Harry's eyes felt heavy and he yawned hard. Tomorrow he would be able to speak to his godfather. Everything would be alright when he talked to Sirius.
He felt like he was floating. He was staring at a dark cavernous room, with a giant fountain in the middle. He could see a golden wizard, holding his wand high above his head, clear water falling out of it into a giant pool. Surrounding the wizard were other creatures, A Centaur, a House elf, and a beautiful looking witch all stared in awe up at the golden wizard. The water that surrounded them glittered brightly.
He was moving quickly down a corridor, and then through a blue door. He was in the Hallway he'd seen in his other dreams, dark and damp, lit by two torches.
The door was there, waiting as always. He felt his heart beat quicken as he reached out and took a hold of the handle. The door opened into a small round room, with many doors. He moved forward, and took a door to his left.
He found himself in a room that glittered like the night sky. Thousands upon thousands of little balls of faint blue light shined all around him.
"Get it for me."
"AHH!" Harry sat up quickly, his hand going to his forehead. His scar burned. Harry calmed his breathing.
"It's there." Harry said to himself. He knew he'd just seen the room where the prophecy was kept. Voldemort must have it. He must have found a way to get it. Harry got up again and went to his trunk where the two way mirror was stashed. He put up the privacy charms on his bed and began calling for Sirius.
For an hour Harry tried. Each time he called he was met with silence, and his own reflection.
"Come on Sirius. Where are you?" Harry asked, frustration in his voice. "I need your help."
"I thought your Occlumency was supposed to block out visions." Daphne said at breakfast the next morning. Harry had told his friends of the dream and his inability to speak with his godfather.
"If I could actually do Occlumency, maybe it would. And besides, I had far to much on my mind last night." Harry snapped. Daphne looked hurt for a moment. Harry gave a small apology. He was in a very foul mood this morning. He felt bad about it, but he couldn't help it.
"I'm sure Sirius is fine, love." Daphne said softly. She rubbed his shoulder trying her best to ease his tension.
"I don't know what to do." Harry said, frustrated.
"You could speak to McGonagall." Hermione said. Harry looked up and smiled. He was up and out of the Great Hall in seconds, leaving his friends to stare after him with concern. Harry ran all the way to the Transfiguration Professor's office.
"Professor?" He called as he burst in the door. He found her at her desk, going over students essays.
"Mister Potter? What is the matter?" She asked, looking worried.
"I had a vision last night. I think Voldemort has the prophecy." Harry panted.
"How do you know about it?" The professor asked, shocked at Harry's knowledge. She seemed to sink a bit however as she stared at the youth.
"Never mind. You always seem to learn of things you're not supposed to know. As for you vision, I assure you that it is quite safe. There are guards and no alarms have been raised."
"But I saw it, Professor."
"Mister Potter." Professor McGonagall said quickly. "I beg you to not get involved. It is safe. Now, off with you."
Harry deflated. He nodded sadly. Harry was positive that Voldemort had the prophecy now. He obviously had gotten past the Order's guards. Why would he be unable to slip past a few guards, unless there were alarms or something as well. But wouldn't Voldemort know that sort of thing.
Harry wished more than ever that he could talk to Sirius, but it was nearly time for class. He would have to skip lunch and try and contact his Godfather. Sirius would listen to him. Sirius would be able to help him.
Harry never talked to Sirius. He tried over the next few days to reach his Godfather, but Sirius never responded. Fearful that something had happened, Harry wrote a letter to Remus asking to be told if something had happened to his Godfather. Harry read the Daily prophet for news of Sirius' capture.
Harry had decided no to go watch the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Instead he roamed the castle, deep in thought. As Harry was lamenting his situation wandering the seventh floor, he heard something that caused him to jump.
A scream of pain.
Harry followed the howls of pain which were suddenly cut off. Harry waited in the middle of the corridor for any more screams, but none came. Harry was sure they had come from this hallway, but there was no one there.
And then it happened. Draco Malfoy emerged from the Room of Requirement. He was followed by Theodore Nott, who was wearing an expression of supreme delight.
"That was fun." He said to Draco, who nodded approvingly.
"We warned Harper what would happen if he continued associating with that filthy Hufflepuff mudblood."
"Maybe this time he'll wise up." Nott said.
"I hope not. I do enjoy this sort of thing."
"But you still want to get Blaise." Nott looked at Draco who seemed to darken.
"Zabini, Greengrass and Davis. All of them." Draco said darkly. "But more than anything, I want Potter."
"Still angry over that article?." Pansy Parkinson said, stepping into the corridor. "Do I need to help take your mind off of it again." she smiled as she slid next to him, slipping her arms around his neck. Draco pushed her aside, ignoring the hurt look on her face.
"It's long past time Potter learned who his betters are" Draco stared hard at the dark haired girl. He turned to Nott. "Tell me you wouldn't love a bit of payback for that article."
"I want to see Potter beg before me." Nott grinned evilly back at the pointed faced boy. Draco nodded back in agreement.
"Draco?" Came a voice that Harry couldn't see. He'd hidden behind a suit of armor as soon as he'd spotted Malfoy, and so far they were unaware of him. Harry was still cursing himself for not having his Invisibility cloak.
"Ah yes. I suppose we should clean up our mess." Draco smiled. Out of the way. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
A moment later, Draco was guiding a floating body out of the room. He'd sent Crabbe and Goyle ahead to make sure the way was clear for them back to their house. Harry was stunned.
Draco Malfoy was the one torturing the Slytherins. It made sense after all, and Harry was unsurprised, but now he had witnessed it. But what proof did he have? The victim was unconscious, and likely Obliviated. Harry could at least tell Daphne. Maybe she could get proof of Draco's actions.
When they had gone, Harry ran the opposite way, looking for his girlfriend.
Harry found her. She and the rest of his friends were all coming back from the Quidditch pitch.
"Harry, We won the cup!" Neville said proudly, pointing farther back, where Ron was being hoisted by others. He held the Quidditch cup high above his head.
"That's great. I just saw Draco, and some other Slytherins taking a boy named Harper out of the Room of Requirement. He was unconscious. I think they tortured him."
Daphne, Blaise and Tracey's faces hardened. "Did you see him torture the kid?" Blaise asked. Harry shook his head, but told them all he'd heard.
"If we can't catch him in the act, it's going to be hard to prove. His name carries a lot of weight." Blaise said angrily.
"How do we catch him?" Tracey asked.
"I think I have an idea." Harry grinned suddenly. "How good are you three with Disillusionment charms?"
The plan was a good one, Harry thought. Blaise would take to walking alone, or at least he would seem to be. All the while, Daphne and Tracey would be near him, disillusioned. When Draco and his cronies took Blaise, one of the girls would go to McGonagall, while the other stayed nearby to stop things in case the professor didn't make it in time.
Unfortunately, Draco and his followers didn't take the bait. Harry guessed it was for the same reason he and his friends had been barely able to do anything other than eat, sleep and attend classes. Revisions.
Harry felt as if he were buried in studies. He tried every night to speak with Sirius, who had yet to appear in the mirror, and he'd not heard from Remus. Harry's mood became increasingly darker as the week went on.
He wasn't alone either. It seemed that a lot of fifth year students were have some kind of breakdowns. Hannah Abbott ended up in the hospital for exhaustion. She had stopped sleeping in order to study. Ernie Macmillan had bought a potion from a seventh year Ravenclaw, that was supposed to boost his brain, but just gave him painful boils on his…nethers.
Hermione was the worst, however. She would snap at any one who interrupted her. She was often seen amidst a sea of books and parchments. With each passing day, hair would become bushier, as if she were forgetting to brush it. Neville was trying to avoid her to keep from being yelled at. He had been heard commenting that Hermione was more frightening than his grandmother.
Harry was still having trouble sleeping. Every night he was dreaming the same dream of floating down into a dark cavernous room, with the fountains and golden statues. He would then travel down one hallway, through the large, ornate blue door, and into the dark and damp hall, into the round room and finally into the room with millions of little blue lights.
Harry had figured out that Voldemort hadn't gotten the prophecy by the second night. Somehow he just knew that if Voldemort actually had it, Harry would stop having that dream. Every dream ended with Voldemort telling some one to get it for him. Harry figured Voldemort must be possessing someone knew every night, and maybe once in that room, he lost his control over whoever it was. It was the only explanation he could think of.
Harry and Daphne had been unable to spend anytime alone during the week leading up to exams. They saw each other, but it was always surrounded by their friends, and usually they were studying. Daphne had noticed Harry becoming surlier. She knew he wasn't sleeping, and something was weighing on him. She had also noticed that during their potions class, Snape avoided Harry. The Potions Professor, whose favorite sport was to goad Harry, was ignoring him altogether.
She wanted to ask her boyfriend about I, but she didn't want to do it in front of everyone. This was one of those things done in private. Hermione's advice at the beginning of the year had paid off in spades, as she felt she knew Harry Potter better than most. She been able to garner enough information on his childhood to know that he had been abused by his relatives. She knew he had no friends in his primary school thanks to his bully of a cousin, and that he had more bouts of accidental magic than many magical children.
The most important thing she knew about Harry was that he was embarrassed by his childhood. Daphne knew that Harry didn't speak on these things because he felt it made him look weak, or dirty. She had not talked to him of these things yet, but she wanted to assure him that not only was he not weak, but he was very special to her. Daphne found more and more she wanted to confess her real feelings for the boy. She wanted to tell him that she, Daphne Greengrass, Loved him with all her heart.
It was something she was thinking about at lunch the week following the Quidditch final. She was watching Harry as he and Neville were engaged in an animated discussion over the best jinx to use against a Blast-Ended Skrewt, when several wizards and witches entered the Hall, led by a beaming Professor Umbridge.
"It's them." Hermione whispered. "the examiners."
There was a hush in the hall as every head swiveled to watch the group march up to the head table. There were eight of them all together, though they all appeared to be younger than Dumbledore, the still looked to be quite elderly. They all wore deep blue robes, and looked to be having a merry discussion with Professor Umbridge.
"They don't look so bad." Neville commented. Harry agreed. For the most part, they were no more intimidating than any of their normal teachers.
"Are you kidding?" Hermione whispered. "They'll be deciding our futures. These exams are so important. How can you be so calm?" She fanned herself furiously, trying not to hyperventilate.
"Hermione." Tracey said, clutching the bushy haired witch's hand. "You have nothing to worry about. I will be gobsmacked if you get less than Outstanding on all you exams."
"She's right." Daphne grinned. Rubbing her friend's back. "If you don't calm down and relax, you're going to do poorly, because you've stressed yourself out."
Hermione to a few deep breaths, calming herself considerably.
"I know. I know." She conceded. "I just want to do well."
Harry grinned at his friend. "We all do. But you shouldn't-"
BOOM!
Every one stopped speaking and stared out of the Great Hall. A second thundering boom sounded and Argus Filch came running in. He was covered in a thick greenish slime, that smelled of rotten eggs.
"They've done it, Headmistress! You must let me use the whips now. You must let me beat those little felons!"
"Mr. Filch, what are you talking about?" Umbridge rose from her seat, looking indignant. She glanced at the guest examiners nervously.
"The Weasley boys. I don't know how, but they've…they've…" Filch was panting so hard, his jowls shook. "Best you see for yourself."
Umbridge followed Filch out of the Great Hall, followed by nearly everyone in the school. They made their way to the second floor corridor, led the whole way by a muttering Filch.
Harry could smell it before he saw it. The air was thick with the pungent odor of over cooked cabbage and bad eggs. Harry and his friends pushed their way closer to get a look at the source of the smell.
A giant swamp. It was as long as the corridor itself. Complete with murky water, moss that was climbing the walls, and thick, bubbling, muddy puddles. And there before it standing proudly, were Fred and George, smiling proudly at the throng of people.
"We thought Hogwarts needed something that really made our headmistress' feel at home." Fred beamed.
"Nothing better for a toad, than a swamp." George grinned.
"That's right, brother of mine." Fred said. "We've include Flies for her dining pleasures!"
"Step right up folks, and see the newest addition to the Weasley Wizard Wheezes line. The Portable Swamp." George waved to the swamp. "Fun at parties, or making you least favorite teacher's life even more hellish."
"Mister Filch." Umbridge said, glaring at the two redheads. She was panting heavily and shaking her little pudgy fists with rage. "I think you are right. It is long past time to show these miscreants the error of their ways. You have my permission to whip them."
"I don't think so." Fred said, still smiling brightly.
"You see, it is long past time for the two of us to leave this "institution of learning' and make our fortunes." George smiled as well.
"ACCIO BROOMS!" They said together. There was a distant crash and within seconds, Fred and George Weasley had mounted their brooms, one of which still had a length of chain attached to it, and were hovering in front of a very stunned crowd.
"Attention one and all. You can come se our new premises in Diagon Alley." Fred announced.
"Fifty percent discount for all Hogwarts students who use our products to get this toad." George added.
"Get down here this instant!" Umbridge screamed as the crowd of students erupted in loud cheers. Fred and George began buzzing the gathered throng, slapping hands and waving at the onlookers. Umbridge began screaming for the other teachers to help capture the twins, but all the other professors were "rendered deaf" by the cheering and couldn't hear their headmistress' orders.
"Remember," George said to the cheering masses. "If it isn't a Weasley, it just isn't good enough!"
Fred lit a few fireworks, tossing them into the air, and in a flash of brilliant colored sparks, the Weasley twins soared off in to Hogwarts legends