DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me! If you are J. K. Rowling, please call me, I would love to meet you! Where was I? Oh yes, Harry Potter and the affilated characters belong to J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishings, and Warner Bros. Entertainment. If you are someones lawyer reading this disclaimer, you'll never take me alive!

By popular demand (more speccifically Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa) the long awaited next chapter you guys are tired of waiting for.

Dedication: This ones for Skye, Mel, Torra, Linny, Celste, Sonya, Prism, and, of course, Tin. My angels.

Harry Potter and the Darkness Within
by Mackenzie Thea

Chapter 3
The Invitation

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Harry's heart again pounded rapidly. He looked around franticly, no-one was there. At least, he couldn't see anyone. A thousand questions pounded their path into Harry's mind at the same instant. Who is this from? Are they with Dumbledore or Voldemort? Is it a warning or a trap? Should I listen to them? What will happen if I don't?

Harry went with his gut instinct and ran for the Dursleys house. Probably because of the voice he heard in his head, saying over and over again "In his realtions care", "In his realtions care." But would he be safe there? Is there anywhere safe anymore?

Harry ran up number four, sliding on something as he went up the drive way, and ran to the side of the house. He entered through the kitchen, slamming the door behind him and did not stop running until he reached his room. He locked the door and pushed his bed against it. He didn't know what else to do, so he lie down on his bed. He was shaking all over, he heard voices down stairs. They were that of his Aunt and Uncle, or were they? Could Voldemort mock voices? He heard Dudley's sarcastic sneer, he knew Voldemort couldn't reproduce that menacing annoyance, he wondered if Draco Malfoy could be that powerfully annoying. Harry heard a tapping on his window, he srung forward from his bed. It was Hedwig, hovering outside his window, a note in her beak.

Harry raced to the window, unlocked it but then hesitated. Why was he? Wasn't this ruteen by now? Hedwig would come to the window, Harry would open it, and Hedwig would fly in and give him his mail. But now it was diffrent, it was suspicius, Hedwig coming in the daytime to deliver a letter. Harry looked around on the ground level, no-one was there. Harry slowly undid the lock, Hedwig looking at him like he was insane-army-dude, and opened the window, just enough for Hedwig to fly through, and then shut and locked it quickly when she had.

"Sorry old girl, be we cant be too careful now-a-days..." He said stoking her head. She chirped as if to say he was forgiven and droped his note into his hand. Harry looked down at the note, the handwriting, it was from his best friend Ron Weasley!

Harry tore open the letter and read it, much of his sadness depleating.

"Harry,

How you you? Those muggles aren't treating you too bad? Have you heard about what happened in Godric's Hollow? It scared me a lot, we have relatives there, but they weren't there when it happened. Hermione said she was going to mail you an article about it, seeing as how you don't get the Daily Prophet. No matter what said that was the work of You-Know-Who! You know that don't you? But, as weird as this sounds, what with the Massacre and all, he hasn't done anything devastating yet. I know, you probably think I'm crazy, but from what dad used to tell us he used to do muggle-born killings like this twice a day. And why is he still hiding? He hasn't shown himself aside from his killings, it doesn't make sense. Well, I'm ranting, please mail me back Harry, I want to know that you are alright.

Ron

P.S. Mum says she has Dumbledore permission and that you can come to stay with us for the rest of the summer. Please send me a reply soon."

Harry sighed, all the things Ron had said were good points, but he didn't know if he wanted to visit Ron this summer. He wanted to, but he wanted to be here where Sirius was looking after him. He didn't want to leave Sirius, the thought of it gave him a strange aphrehensive feeling he didn't understand.
I'll wait to reply to this, thought Harry looking down at the letter, and I'll ask Sirius what he thinks I should do. Harry re-read through the letter quickly again and shook his head, he couldn't wait, Ron had told him to write back imediatly. If he didn't Ron would worry about his well-being. Harry put the note down on his desk and reached for a clean sheet of parchment, he was writing Sirius.
No, he thought to himself with a smile, I'm writing Snuffles.
The draft he sent went something like this.

"Snuffles,

Something has come up, Ron invited me to his house to stay until school starts, he says Mrs. Weasley got permission from Dumbledore. What should I do? Should I stay here where you can keep an eye on me or should I go to Ron's house? What do you think Sirius, what should I do?

Harry"

He didn't read through the letter, he waited until night and he gave the Hedwig to take to Sirius. He opened the window again, this time without a trace of apprehension, and watched her soar away into the night sky.

A sudden re-laspe of memory stuck Harry as he watched her fly away, he remember in his dream a phoenix. Larger than Fawkes, black and gold flying away into the night. Harry sat dazed in the pale moonlight, his one memory overtaking him. He got a strange feeling from the sight of the phoenix in flight, a feeling he couldn't put into words. A feeling of safety, and security, but also of wonder and mystery. It could be likened, crudly, to the paradoxical feeling of knowing someone all you life and still seeing something in their eyes that was not aloud for you to know.

But what Harry didn't know was that feeling, as close as anything felt to him now, was going to be his saving grace. But he didn't know, how could he when he had yet to remember that part of his dream?

Harry tried for a short while to remember anything else of his dream, he thought that perhaps since that one image had presented itself others would follow. He realized soon that he was wrong and, moreso, he was tired.

He walked over to his bed, undressing for the night, but shot one more glance out the window. He smiled as he noticed it was a full moon, his smile became more solemn as he thought of his teacher and friend Remus Lupin. He wondered how Lupin was, and silently prayed for him. He was, after all, all alone.
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Note from the author:
This chapter was short because everyone was demanding another of me and because I seem to be suffering from the rounding epidemic of writers block. The next chapter will be longer and from Lupin's POV.
And allow me to thank all of the kind people who review, it means a lot to me. *hint hint*