Harry Potter and the Divided Four

By Tvillinger

Chapter Three -- A Dream is Just a Dream

"The heat if the day… I drifted off for just a moment…"

Professor Trelawney

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

"Harry!"

Harry turned, walking out of Gringotts to see two people rushing towards him. An idiotic grin instantly burned its way across his face.

"Harry, where've you been all summer? Didn't want to talk to us?"

"You won't believe what's been going on-"

"Hermione, Ron, please. One at a time. You're going to blow out my ears, yelling like that," Harry playfully scolded, smiling so wide it felt like his face was going to split. Hermione let out a sobbing sort of laugh and clung to Harry's shoulders in a tight hug. Behind her, Ron was rolling his eyes, grinning.

Sniffing, Hermione drew back and wiped her eyes. "You've been a bloody idiot this summer," she was saying through her tears. "Trying to avoid us and all. We're your friends Harry, and we need you as much as you need us."

"She's just a little hyped up, that's all," Ron explained. "Ginny's the same way, so's our mum. Figure it has something to do with being a witch."

Hermione straightened up and sniffed once more, throwing a glare at Ron. "Come on, we're all heading to the Cauldron."

"Did you just get here?" Harry asked, leaning over to lift one of Hermione's trunks and carry it along. Ron and Hermione nodded. "I've been here for about a week, since my uncle dropped me off somewhere in London."

"He just left you?" Hermione's eyes went wide. "That's-that's-"

"Anything happen? I mean, with You-Know-Who and all?"

Harry shrugged. "No. Someone from the Ministry found me after about an hour and brought me here. I've been staying at the Leaky Cauldron. Room thirteen, not too far from where I was two years ago."

"Well, that's a relief," Hermione said. "Who knows what could've happened, out by yourself in London. Not everything dangerous has to do with You-Know-oh, this is ridiculous. Can we just say Voldemort?"

Ron flinched but Harry nodded. "You guys think its so easy, just to say that name," Ron replied tensely. "The rest of us pure-bloods were born thinking that name had something to do with every bad thing that ever happened. It's like saying the devil's name. No one knows he's real name, but if they did, I'm sure no one would want to use it."

"Superstition," Hermione muttered.

"How's this: you don't have to say Voldemort," and Ron flinched again, "but me and Hermione can."

"It's not much better," Ron sulked but agreed.

"The train's coming tomorrow; are you guys getting a room at the Cauldron?" Harry asked, changing the subject effortlessly. Hermione nodded.

"Yea, but my family already has reservations," Ron announced. "Best room: Room 1. It's big enough for all of us. If you guys want to stay there too…"

"Reservations?" Harry echoed. "Your whole family's coming? Is something going on?"

"Um…" Ron looked alarmed and Hermione flushed. "Have you…read the paper lately?"

Harry shook his head. "I've been too busy. There's been some Quidditch practices and games going on, and went there wasn't I was trying to just be a part of the wizarding world. I heard about Fred and George's joke shop. The stories about their special items are hilarious!"

Ron pressed the question. "You haven't been keeping up with anything?"

"No, not really. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Harry," Hermione began gently. "Sirius…Sirius was caught."

"What!"

"Right at the start of the summer. He was found in an old shack, not too far from Hogsmeade."

"Percy had something to do with it," Ron put in angrily. "The stupid git didn't know what he was doing; all he thought about was how famous he'd be, capturing the famous Sirius Black."

"But Percy didn't know anything," Hermione added in a rush. "You can't blame him-"

"How's Sirius? Where is he? They didn't," and Harry gulped, "do the Kiss on him, did they?"

Ron shook his head. "Naw, but it wasn't because they felt like being nice. That's another thing: all the dementors are gone. Straight up and vanished from Azkaban. Nobody knows where they went."

"But we do," Hermione stated firmly. "I found at when I went to visit Ron. I tried to tell you about it, so did everyone. But all our owls came back unanswered. My parents were nearly hysteric when they found out about Voldemort."

"Didn't you get Hedwig?" Harry asked. "I sent her to you at the beginning of summer…"

"Fred and George told us. Percy used Hedwig to track you down. Sirius should've noticed something wrong right away. That's the problem with owl tracking spells: they're really obvious. But he didn't and so the Ministry caught him." Ron sounded more tired than angry. "But I thought Percy was good enough to give you back your owl after using her."

"Percy's as upset as anyone," Hermione whispered softly. "You should've seen him when he came back. Mr. Weasley and talked with him and Percy was just destroyed over it. Nearly quit his job but the Minister wouldn't let him. I think he'd scared to see you."

Harry shuddered. "So, where's Sirius right now?" he asked hoarsely.

"Since the dementors left, Azkaban's been off limits so all the dark wizards ans witches held there have been brought back to Britain. All the Aurors have been called up and the Ministry's conjured up a quick jail near Edinburgh. Sirius is in one of the more guarded cells. The spells and charms placed on them are so thick, rumor is you can almost see the magic working."

Ron and Hermione waited while Harry digested this fact. The threesome had paused in the middle of Diagon Alley, making people swerve around them. Harry shuddered again and started walking. "It's getting late," he informed them tightly. "Let's get back to the Leaky Cauldron."

"Harry-"

"Please," and his eyes were so dazed that Hermione quieted. Ron was hushed and they made their way to the to the Cauldron. All the way, people would stop and shake Ron's hand, congratulating the family on the capture of Sirius Black and the more recent family promotions.

"I didn't know your dad got promoted," Harry said after the fifth or sixth witch/wizard came by.

Ron blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not something we're exactly proud of."

The rest of the way, Harry stayed quiet and Ron did his best to turn away any wizard/witch that came by. When they got to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry immediately handed Hermione back her bags, making some comment on how he had to get to his own room.

"So how do you like being famous?" Hermione commented bitterly.

Ron nearly stumbled. "W-what?"

"All those times you got mad because Harry was getting all the attention. How do you feel, being in the spotlight."

"Hey, it's not like I asked for it!" Ron shot out, defensively.

"Neither did Harry." And she turned away.

"Blimey…" Ron shook his head. "Is it just me, or is it just me?"

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"Harry! How are you, dear? Getting enough to eat?"

Harry tried not to wince. "Yes, Mrs. Weasley."

"Good, good. Fred? George! Get down here and clean up this mess! Ron's already told you about…I see he has. Poor dear, not to worry. Arthur won't let anything happen to…you know. Ginny! Are you all packed? Get down here and say hello to Harry! I swear, I never thought these rooms were so big. Miniature houses, they are. And enough places for all the kids to hide." She started humming to herself, switching her attention back and forth between unloading her seemingly endless trunk and letting out a holler for one or more of her kids.

But she was right; the best room at the Leaky Cauldron was more a house than anything else. The manager, Tom, had let Harry in on a little secret: the room was magicked to enlarge or increase its size, according to whoever was lucky enough to stay the night. His words were confirmed when Harry lugged his stuff up the stairs into the room with a large, white 1 on the door. An extra bedroom had appeared almost instantly to fit Harry's needs.

"You must be exhausted, and all this news is bad for you," Molly chided when she saw his condition during the brief intervals of her time spent yelling at the twins. "Why don't you got to your room, take a nap or just rest? The Express is coming tomorrow, so we'll have to be up early." She looked at her family clock, clicking her tongue. "Percy should be coming home. He's been at work all day!"

Percy. Percy. Percy. The name rang in his head, sounding like a dull thud.

Not that he cared. All that mattered now was getting Sirius out of jail. Any way possible. Not even revenge against Percy…well, that could wait.

'The invisibility cloak? Get off it Harry; Hit Wizards probably have all sorts of protection against that kind of stuff. How about if I sneaked in, acting like I wanted to see Fudge, than grab Sirius and threaten to kill him? They'll believe me 'cause they'll think I want revenge or something…'

Harry groaned. 'More likely, they'll stupefy me, thinking Sirius had me under some sort of weird mind game. Or they'll just let me kill him. One less thing for them to do.'

'Thinking about going against trained wizards, Harry?' a snide voice in the back of his mind commented dryly. 'What chance do you really have against people like Mad-Eye Moody? You couldn't even tell a real wizard from an imposter!'

'You're not helping,' Harry shot back before he realized that he was having conversations with himself. After he briefly wondered if that classified him as insane, he let his brain shut down and thought about the exact time until the Hogwarts Express came.

Sixteen hours, thirty-seven minutes, twenty-something seconds…

Sixteen hours, thirty-three minutes, fifty-something seconds…

Sixteen hours, twenty minutes, fifteen seconds…

"Don't make me fight you, Salazar. We were friends, remember?"

"All I remember is Godric, flying his banner high over the school, dirtying the school by allowing mudbloods to enter in. All I remember are the three of you, teaming up against me even before the school's construction began."

"Relashio!"

"Bastard," Helga hissed.

"I'd call you a fool for trusting a dead man."

"Jeez, Harry, get some Dreamless Sleep potion," a familiar voice stopped his dream. "Some of us like to sleep at night."

"Augh!"

Harry opened his eyes for a second, then nearly jumped out of bed at the sight of vivid red hair, the color too remindful of the dream.

Ron's face went blank in surprise, then he was shaking Harry roughly. "Come on, wake up! It's just a dream, Harry. Snap out of it!"

"Bastard."

"I'd call you a fool for trusting a dead man."

"Harry!"

"I don't know what's wrong. He was just having a nightmare--I could hear him from the other room. He's always had nightmare, almost every night at Hogwarts, but it's never this bad!"

"He's not waking up, Arthur! He's not waking up!"

"Calm down, Molly. Bill, get the children out of here. Charlie, go see if you can find Moody or Fletcher. Well, what are you still waiting for: move!"

"Dad, I-"

"Percy, I need you to get an owl out to Dumbledore right way."

"Harry? What's going on? What's wrong with Harry!"

"Shh, Ginny, go to bed…"

"Alastor? He's over here."

"Everyone, stand back: Enverate Arma!"

It felt like someone was dragging him from a deep lake, but instead of water there was only sand. Harry willed his eyes to open again, trying to focus.

He could actually remember the conversation around him. It was true, his usual nightmares were never this bad; he never actually got trapped in one before.

Arthur Weasley let out a deep sign of relief and Molly immediately crushed Harry in her arms. "Oh, oh, oh," she repeated, over and over again, each 'oh' punctuated with a little sob.

"Thank you for coming so fast, Alastor," Arthur was saying, fervently shaking hands with the man who's face Harry could never forget, even if he knew the Moody he'd met wasn't the real one. "I wasn't thinking and just panicked."

"It happens," Moody replied gruffly, looking around the room like he was seeking the source of the night's activity. "And idea what caused it?"

Arthur shook his head. "Harry just came up to sleep with us, so he'd have some friends around. No one else heard him except my son Ron, who sleeps right next door. Molly, let up on the poor boy. You're going to suffocate him!"

"Are you alright?" Molly asked, tears in her eyes.

Harry thought of saying something like 'Yea, I'm fine. But you look like you could spend some time in a calming environment. He settled for nodding his head and saying, "Yes, I'm fine."

"What was that all about?" Moody demanded.

The dream flashed through his mind again, still vivid.

"Bastard!"

"I'd call you a fool for listening to a dead man."

"I don't remember," he lied slowly, bringing a hand to rub his scar. "It's all so bleary…and I'm really tired…"

"You need your rest!" Molly declared. "And we don't expect you to remember such horrible dreams. Back to bed, now."

Moody glared at Harry, looking like he knew exactly what Harry was thinking and didn't like none of it. His magical eye was rolling around and one of his hands shot out. "Visiting?"

Ron and Hermione were huddled uncomfortably under the invisibility cloak, blushing at being caught. Molly let out a shriek and dead-away fainted.

"That's enough of this," Arthur intoned seriously. "Everyone to bed. Now, I can't thank you enough, Alastor-"

"You've thanked me enough," Moody protested with his dry voice, already leaving. "I'd be in your debt, however, if you'd find some students willing to fill me in on the last year." His magical eyes swirled around to settle on the three; Ron and Hermione were cluttered against Harry's bed, demanding explanations. "Dumbledore's view isn't as complete as I might need. As a future reference, of course," he added, putting a damp mood on the room.

"Of course. I'm sure Harry, Ron, and Hermione wouldn't mind sending you a parchment-"

"I'd like it from their own mouths, if you don't mind," Moody cut in.

Arthur swallowed. "Of course. Good night, Alastor."

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Draco Malfoy stood before the 'wall' in Kings Cross Station, staring at it uncertainly. It wasn't like he was scared he would run into it…alright, so he was. His magic over the summer had been acting up on him, to the point where he barely trusted it anymore. Nobody else knew, either. Draco snorted. 'It's not exactly something I'd share with Father.'

Not like his father would've been around to hear about it, anyway. Voldemort was back, and the Death Eaters were being revised and cleansed of traitors and weaklings. But they weren't doing much beyond that. Lucius would sometimes let out a hint or two of the Dark Lord's plans but aside that, refused to tell Draco anything. It was frustrating.

A loud conversation behind him drew his thoughts away from his stormy summer and he saw the crowd of flaming red carpet walking towards him. "What a great way to start my school year," he muttered darkly. "Meeting up with the Weasleys before I even step onto the train."

Weasleys. That's all the news had been about, anyway. Their new fame, fortunes, and good tastes. How Molly was just the perfect wife, how intelligent her two twins were. Even interviews with each of the seven children, like having that many kids was something to be proud of.

And leading the pack, as usual, was none other than the would-be god of the wizarding world himself.

"Harry Potter," Draco sneered. "Need an escort? What are you afraid of? Oh, that's right. The Dark Lord's back." His sneer widened. "Better watch your back. It's common knowledge you're at the top of his hit list."

The crowd of Weasley's stopped and, as one entity, turned to stare at Draco.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea, getting in a fight with Potter when he had that whole family to back him up. Not just the four attending Hogwarts, the entire family was there.

"Draco Malfoy, isn't it?" Arthur Weasley frowned. "I didn't know Lucius let his son run around alone in London."

"Yes, what are you doing?" Molly prodded. "Why aren't you on the train, yet?"

"Bet he's scared he can't make it through the wall," one of the twins snickered, and the younger kids and chuckled at this.

Draco blushed angrily, clenching his fists. "Congratulations on your promotion, Mr. Weasley," he stated, shocking the family into silence. "It's about time. You wouldn't have done the Ministry no good, starving to death just to keep that playground you call a home."

"Why you little-"

"Ron!" Molly shirked, grabbing her son before his fist could connect with Draco's face. Her husband didn't look any better.

Draco made a flourish of the hand. "Trying to hit me? That's not a very good move, considering…"

"Considering you're probably off at Voldemort's side every night, begging for scraps," Ron shouted.

Draco flushed. "Watch what you're saying, Weasley."

"Ron," and Potter intervened, sending his friend a warning look. The mudblood Granger looked like she was shaking in fury, but she must've read enough about the Dark Lord to know when to keep her mouth shut. The rest of the family was stone-stiff, watching the interchange with barely checked rage.

Without another word, Potter strolled by, keeping his eyes straight ahead, and walked through the barrier. His friends followed, the last being Ginny. When he was left alone with just the older siblings and the parents, Draco began to edge to the barrier himself.

They watched him all the way.

Thanks again! Wolf of Solitude (I didn't mean to bug you, honest!)