This part dedicated to the memory of my stuffed teddy Goon's nose, which was tragically shredded by the evil Shitzu…Die…::burns an effigy, Calvin and Hobbes, HAHAHAA!!!::

PART 3: 5th year fic

Harry sat up, his scar burning. Ron…

Fighting the overwhelming urge to be sick, he took a few deep breaths, his stomach turning with each.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He got out of bed, and eased open the door, walked to the bathroom, lifted the toilet's lid, and bent down over it…

[A/N: Didn't want to make it too nasty. Use your imagination.]

He knelt there for about 5 minutes, as he choked up all the food his system hadn't digested yet. Then he stood up, his knees nearly giving way beneath him. He shakily made his way back to his bedroom, where he collapsed on the bed.

His lack of sleep was catching up to him. He couldn't stay awake another minute, no matter how much he didn't want to sleep. His eyes shut unwillingly, and almost instantly, he was transported back to the dimly lit room.

The man with the serpentine eyes was still on his thrown, but Draco Malfoy was prostrating himself before him.

"Very well, young Draco," hissed Voldemort. "Stand."

Draco stood.

"Which shall we kill first?" Voldemort questioned.

"I would think Rubeus Hagrid," said Draco timidly, his usual self-possessed air gone.

"Why?" It wasn't a question. The way Voldemort said it; it was more of a demand.

"Well, he'll probably confide more in Granger now that Weasley is out of the way. And if you kill Hagrid, it will bring them closer still. And the closer they are…" Draco trailed off.

"The more painful the separation. You have the right mindset, Draco. Keep it that way. You have earned your reward." Voldemort beckoned him to come closer. Draco stepped forward. Voldemort stood up and seized Draco's left arm. Rolling up Draco's sleeve, he produced his wand and tapped Draco's forearm.

The pain was unbearable. Draco looked down. A black skull was rising on his forearm…a black skull with a snake peeking out of its mouth…The Dark Mark. His arm was on fire. No, his whole body. Pain…culminating in his head, his forehead…

Harry sat up again, his scar aching nearly beyond endurance. Malfoy, a Death Eater. Voldemort, plotting to kill the people he cared about. Hermione…Hagrid. More pain in his scar. He felt as though his head was splitting in two. He lay back down, hardly able to think straight. Two visions in one night. He had better get used to them. They would more than likely come more frequently than ever. "More visions, less sleep," thought Harry.

Habitually he reached for the Gregory the Smarmy paper and switched on the bedside lamp, the pain in his scar subsiding a bit. Looking at the parchment, he realized with a start that the essay was completed. "Well, you're absentminded, Potter. Fancy that. Not knowing when your homework's finished…"

He grinned, imagining what Hermione would say. Then unpleasant thoughts drifted unbidden into his head. The Death Eaters were going to kill her too. Would she end up eaten like Ron? Harry's stomach protested loudly at the thought. He felt nauseous. He lay back down again slowly. He'd make Draco think that they weren't friends. Then they wouldn't kill her. Perhaps that would work. Perhaps…Harry slipped off again as sleep's relentless grasp pulled him deep into its current, and this time, at least, his dreams weren't troubled ones of Death Eaters.

Now it was Sirius' turn to awaken with at start. He had had a terrible dream. Harry was near him, alone, looking traumatized. Every time Sirius tried to reach him, he couldn't. It was as if there were invisible barriers around Harry. And he could not penetrate them. High laughter. Green light.

He awoke, shaking. "Damn," he chided himself. "If you're so worried, go see him!" Checking his watch, he saw it was 5am. "Maybe I'd better clear it with Remus first…" He got up and went to the study. "Lumos," he said, holding out his wand.

Remus sat up and blinked. "What-who-oh. Sirius. What is it?" he said groggily.

"I'm worried about Harry."

"Ah. Aren't we all? Go to sleep."

"I was, I had a nightmare about him. I want to see him."

"You'll see him tonight. Don't go too much, he'll get tired of you and end up thinking you're an overprotective, overbearing monster," said Remus sagely.

"No! I need to know he's all right!"

"Sirius! Be reasonable! You just saw him a few hours ago! He's alive, he can cope!"

"Yes, but I have to see for myself!" exclaimed Sirius.

Remus sighed. "My advice is to trust him to be able to deal with it for a few more hours, all right? Harry's a very capable young man, he's been through a lot, he'll be through more, and no doubt need guidance, but at least give him some time to himself to get himself together!"

"I need to see him!"

"Then go! But if he tells you to shove off, don't come crying to me! Apparently, I can't stop you!"

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Remus pulled the covers over his head and Sirius Dissapparated.

Sirius felt a rush of air and found himself in the Dursley's backyard a few moments later. He tried the handle of the back door, but found it locked. "Alohomora," he said, tapping it. He eased it open, and stole upstairs quietly. He noticed light coming from under a door. Assuming it was Harry's door, he opened it softly. He peeked inside, and saw Harry lying on his back on the bed, his eyes shut, a piece of parchment on his chest rising and falling as he breathed. Sirius smiled and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

As he did so, Harry's eyes flew open and his every muscle tensed, but when he saw who it was, he relaxed. "I thought you weren't coming back until tonight?"

"I was worried," said Sirius simply.

"Oh."

"How're you coping?"

"Okay, I guess," Harry said vaguely.

"Sleep all right?"

"No better than usual."

"You haven't been sleeping, have you," Sirius stated.

Harry sat up and moved over on the bed to make room for Sirius, who sat down. "No, not really," he replied.

"Why not?"

"I don't particularly care to relive the events of the Triwizard Tournament."

"Any other reasons?"

Harry sighed. "Two visions since you left."

"When your scar hurt?" Upon seeing Harry nod, he continued, "Tell me about them."

"He was eating-" Harry paused and swallowed. "He was eating Ron. Am I right in assuming they didn't find the body?" His stomach turned unpleasantly, tears pricking at the back of his eyes.

Sirius shook his head. "Partially. I didn't want to tell you…"

"Tell me what?" Harry was beginning to realize how irritating it was to be told half the truth.

"They only found part of his body. An arm or something. Dumbledore wasn't very specific. But they knew he was dead because the Dark Mark was above the bed. And the second one?"

"Draco was giving Voldemort suggestions on who to kill first. Hagrid or Hermione."

"I see. Well. This does thicken the plot, doesn't it?"

"Why, Sirius," begged Harry urgently. "Why does he want to kill everyone I care about?"

"Harry, he just wants to get back at you. He was in pain when he couldn't kill you…"

"So why doesn't he kill me now?"

"He wants to make you suffer. I told you already."

"But why did he want to kill me in the first place?"

Sirius sighed. "I honestly can't tell you that. Even if I knew, I don't think I could. Dumbledore knows, and your parents knew. They wouldn't even tell me. If I'm not mistaken, that's what Remus is looking up with all those runes and ancient languages and stuff. Did you know he's fluent in Ancient Samarian?"

"No. Sirius, if he had the chance, would he kill me?"

"I'm not sure," replied Sirius. "All I know is I want you alive and that I seriously hope this'll all blow over soon."

"I don't think it'll be over for a while yet," said Harry forlornly.

"You're probably right, but it'll be all right eventually."

Harry was suddenly aware of a tear coursing down his face. He wiped it away. "Thank you, Sirius," he said hoarsely.

Sirius grasped Harry's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "No problem. I'm here if you need me, don't ever forget that."

Harry nodded. "Thanks." Sirius hugged Harry again.

Sirius felt tears in his eyes now. He knew Harry wasn't as all right as he said. He felt immense admiration for Harry's composure and ability to control his emotions. He was sure now that while Harry still wanted his guidance, that he could handle just about anything on his own. His reluctance to leave Harry was less crippling now. The guilt he had felt was gone. Harry could be without him. Not permanently, but yes, he could survive for intervals without Sirius' intervention. This realization hit Sirius smack in the face. He saw in a flash how overprotective he had been becoming. He had to learn to let go. He couldn't protect or be with Harry every second of every minute. Sirius began to cry. "I'm sorry Harry," he said through torrents of tears.

Harry was startled for a moment, then hugged Sirius more tightly. "Er, whatever it is, it's okay," he said, in a desperate attempt to comfort his godfather.

"No, really, I've been being to overprotective, and I'm going to try not to be."

"Oh, please don't…"

"Don't what?"

"Leave me!"

"I'm not going to leave you Harry. It's just that I'm trying to plunge into your life, and I'm realizing that I can't do that," said Sirius in a rush.

"That's all right, I really appreciate it," Harry said quietly.

"You do?"

"Yes. No one's ever cared about me before. I think it's a nice change."

"But I don't want to intrude-"

"I'll never think of you as an intruder."

"But you need some space-"

"Which you give me plenty of. I think you're great."

"Really?"

"Really."

Sirius grinned, and after a moment, so did Harry. "Well, it's almost 6. I'd better get going. Do you still want me to come back tonight?"

"Whenever you can."

"I'm not so sure you want that. I'd be here all the time."

"Restrain yourself, then," suggested Harry.

"All right. See you tonight, then." Sirius squeezed his hand and left the room very quietly. "Can't do Apparition inside. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Harry said as Sirius closed the door. He yawned and stretched, then lay back down. "Maybe I'll have less nightmares during the day," he thought, and closed his eyes.

HA! Betcha thought I'd never be done! Bwohaha! Hoped you like it. Meanwhile…the author's note!

Palmer: Go away. Buzz off. STOP FLAMING ME. YOU ARE NOT A HARRY POTTER DEVOTEE, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE BEAUTY OF GREAT LITERATURE, YOU AND YOUR STUPID BOOK OF KAHN. Hmph. 4 followers. I have one…well, maybe 2 or three. George Weasley's REAL Girlfriend reads me, Metal Mouth (thank you SO much for your reviews and for convincing me to repost Hard Days Night, thanks for emailing me and being one of my best buddies on ff.n, thanks for all your help, I hope to read something of yours soon, and great job sticking it out on Part 2. De volgenfanger ben ich ja…doo doo doo doo doo…and thanks for allowing me to sing the Magic Flute to you through AIM. You rock! Evil Shitzu…) Madd Spammer, thank you too for being a cool person to IM, you rock too, I'll send you this before I post, Rufus, your fic RULES, I'll be sending you this too, thanks for offering to beta me, you're cool, PLEASE GET AIM because it is da bomb (US slang for "tight" or "cool" or "nifty" or "neat" or "absolutely necessary because otherwise we have to rely on email." Well, maybe not that one. In other words, AIM is cool. So get it, and if you have it, I need your screen name. Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, nothing, zippo, it all belongs to JKR/Warner Bros. Use of characters is not authorized, and the scenarios are figments of my imagination. Sorry about the grossness and morbidness in Part 2.

PEZ, if you are reading this, thanks for coming to read my fic through my reviews of yours, which I happened to like very much. And if Adelina reads this, thanks to you too, I like yours. Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this.

In the next installment: FIND OUT WHAT LUPIN WAS TRANSLATING (actually, it's important to the fic, but CAN I MAKE IT RHYME…hmmm…this might take a while. Author Alert would be good, if you could.) IN PART 2, if you remember. I know PEZ does. And if you don't remember the brief reference, go back to the very gross part 2 and find it. (And while you're at it, review if you haven't already. Heck, review again if you have already. Xing fills up my inbox. No one ever emails me but a computer program ::sniff, sniff: ) And don't forget to review this! I got 8 on the last part, c'mon, make it 10!!! Please? (Come back and review again if you read and there's not 10 people, because otherwise I won't write. Or put me on Author Alert and I'll count it as 5 reviews…what can I say, this is my life…^_~) Now, to the History assignment…~_~ zzz…boring…love ya! Please review!!!