Ack…

Ack….I am SOOOO sooo sooo soo soooooooooo unbelievably sorry for the delay…hopefully the length of this part will make up for it, (well, lengthy by MY below-sea-level standards) and I hope you all enjoy…

Pleiadies: No! RH! You couldn't tell, could you? But he's dead…bwohahaha.

Rufus: Sorry I took so long!

Quillow: YOU SHADY BUM! LMAO. I beat you to the posting, I beat you to the posting…nannynannybooboo…long distance calling! Lol. My mom would probably never let me….

Chris: Welcome to my fandom! You're coming soon, I promise! Oh, by the way, I was mad because they'd checked out the Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers on CD…I took out All Quiet on the Western Front on CD because we're reading it in English and the other 2 are on hold so I can burn them (hopefully) during Spring Break! Jeez, that diary site takes forever to load…trying to read…did you mention you had stuff about me? J

Dunno: Thank you for the wonderful review…you made me smile! J Do post the next part of Book Of Oaths soon!

Sakura: Whatever did happen to the A Last Look alternate one? Please send that…If you're even reading this…you may have forgotten about my fic…THAT AUTHOR SUCKED!!! They emailed me telling me to stuff my head down a toilet but to be careful because it might barf poop on me! Hahahaa!! That actually made me laugh…so I told them to flame my own stuff. Also, you were right about a lot of the stuff you wrote, I'm intending to edit the first part really thoroughly and cut out some of the stuff…i.e. edit conversations….there were some REALLY poorly written sections and I have to fix those and still end up where I'm heading…

PART 7 (at long last!)

"Harry."

"Mph." Harry rolled over, attempting to block out the persistent voice.

"Harry," it said, a bit more insistently. "Listen to me. LISTEN!"

He felt a sharp sting on his right cheek. "Ouch! What was that for?" he snarled. He wasn't very good about being woken up too early.

"So you'd get up!"

Harry blinked and sat up. He reached through the hangings around his bed and groped for his glasses. He found them and pulled them on. Nicholas Flamel was sitting next to him. He let out a strangled yell, but quickly silenced it. "What's the big idea!" he asked softly, not wanting to wake the others.

"Relax! I needed to talk to you. You're seeing Dumbledore tomorrow, right?"

"Why do you care? Go away."

"Oh, on the defensive, are we?"

"No. It's 3am. I don't know why the hell you're in my dorm. It's 3am. Get lost."

"This is too important."

"Fine! If I listen to you will you **expletive** off?"

"If that's what you want when I'm finished, absolutely."

"Good. Now spit it out."

"Tell Albus that you aren't going to be forcibly possessed just yet. No one's had time to find out about you yet in my world. You have to find the exorcist before you try anything else. If Albus has any questions, you talk to me for him. Understood?"

"As well as I can get anything at 3am. Why don't you write it down?"

"I'm not solid."

"Oh. Can they see you?"

"No."

"Find exorcist, no risk of possession yet?"

"Exactly."

"Good night." Harry turned on his stomach and put the pillow on top of his head.

Nick smiled. The boy had character. He felt the shadowy substance that he had managed to assume after much effort beginning to fade away. It was very taxing on Harry to come to the world of the dead. Since Nick had been a Necromancer during his lifetime, it was possible for him to assume a very weak physical form, enough for Harry to see him. He could have sent Harry a dream, but it would have taken much longer and the boy would probably doubt its validity or not remember it when he woke up. Nick happily slipped into the world where he had no form…He felt much more at home here, after those three years, he had never really wanted to leave again.

Harry looked up. The room was strangely cold. It had been since he had woken up, but finding a dead person's….ghost? sitting on his bed had been a shock, and he hadn't noticed the drop in temperature. Or was it cold everywhere he went? He shivered and buried himself under the covers.

His body told him to fall asleep, but his mind wouldn't cooperate.

You just saw a dead person. No one else can see them, apparently.

What if they try to hurt me?

He won't. Flamel just wants to help you.

But he's just one of many.

He said the others didn't know.

What if they've found out?

He kept on thinking of things that could go wrong, and tried to convince himself otherwise, but wasn't successful. He was still freezing. He undressed quietly and pulled on his school robes, they were much warmer. Grabbing a blanket, he crept to the common room and sat in the armchair nearest the fire.

One question kept nagging at him: What did an exorcist have to do with him? The Exorcist. That was a horror movie, wasn't it? He'd seen it; it hadn't remotely scared him. Movies didn't, normally. Dudley, on the other hand, had been very unsettled and screamed every time someone said "hello" to him for about a year afterwards. This wasn't a movie, though. This was life. His life. An exorcist forced spirits out of the living. Was that in case he was forcibly possessed? What would that feel like?

He finally fell asleep, these and many other questions running through his head.

The chatter of his classmates woke him some time later.

"Hey Harry, where'd you go last night?"

"Yeah, you weren't there when we woke up, we were going to tell Professor McGonagall if you didn't show up…"

"I couldn't sleep," said Harry truthfully. He went up the stairs to the dorms and glanced at his schedule. Defense. He grabbed his books and raced downstairs, following them out of the portrait hole.

He sat at the end of the table and ate fairly quickly. Glancing at the high table, he noticed that both Lupin and Dumbledore were missing. What was the password again? Fizzing whizbee? No, that wasn't it, it was something Muggle…Everlasting Gobstopper, that's what it was. He got up to leave, but felt two pairs of hands grab his elbows.

"Where're you going, Harry?" asked Neville. "You tend to get into accidents when you wander off by yourself."

What the hell are you, some sort of stalker? Honestly…'You tend to get into accidents'? I've never heard Neville talk like that.

"That's right, Neville. Sit and talk to us, Harry," said Seamus.

LEAVE ME ALONE! "Er, I left some books in the dorm…" began Harry.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot my Defense text!" interjected Dean, smacking his forehead theatrically. "I'll come with you!"

"That's really okay," said Harry quickly. "I can get it myself…"

"Well, still. You might go off and do something…"

What the hell is wrong with you people? Go away. "I'm just going to get a book," Harry said very slowly, placing emphasis on each word. He left before they could object further.

He all but ran to Dumbledore's office, in case they were following. He gave the password to the gargoyle, and walked quietly up the stairs, as he could hear snippets of conversation.

"Albus, we have to tell him! He's worried enough about Harry as it is, and he deserves to know what's going on. This could affect Harry, and he'll notice, whether or not you want him to," said a voice calmly, which Harry recognized instantly as Lupin's.

"There's no use in worrying him further, I'll tell him if something happens."

"No. I know for a fact he hates that, you need to let him know NOW what the risks are. I'll have no part in this unless he's informed."

They must be talking about Sirius…

"Fine. Where is he, anyway?"

"Harry? I don't know…maybe something held him up? He wasn't ever late when I taught him…"

If I go in now, they'll think I'm eavesdropping.

Dumbledore laughed. "Knowing him, he's probably outside listening to us. Harry, you can come in if you're out there."

I could turn the other way and go in in a few minutes, couldn't I? No, there's no point, they'd know, somehow or other. He pushed open the heavy door and stepped in hesitantly.

"Did you have any dreams then?"

"I was awake, so I'm not sure whether or not to classify it as that."

"So Nicholas can assume a physical form? That's interesting."

"He wasn't very solid."

"Was he like the ghosts we have here at school?"

"Exactly, but I don't think he could stay that way for very long."

"What did he say?"

"To find the exorcist-"

"Albus-"

Dumbledore motioned him to be quiet. "Go on."

"Outside London…" Harry's voice was becoming quieter, and he didn't know what he was saying, the words just came. "Christopher…Lawrence. Age: twenty-" He hesitated. "Twenty-seven."

"Wizard or Muggle?"

"Muggle-born. High magical aptitude. Theology. Priest. Member of Catholic brotherhood."

"You know what he looks like?"

"Yes."

"Is this normal?" interrupted Remus.

"Quiet, Lupin. Ask questions later."

"But-"

"SILENCE!"

Remus was stunned. He had never known Albus to raise his voice.

Harry was inwardly surprised, but was very calm on the outside.

"They will know before October. He must be found by then, or all shall perish."

"Does he know of the part he is to play?"

"He knows he was meant for bigger things."

"Is there anything else?"

"Not that you need to know."

"But you know all you need?"

"I don't know how to get there."

"We are to teach you?"

"Yes."

"That is all?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. My apologies, Remus, but that was pertinent."

"In what sense?"

"Well, you see, Harry knows more than we do, and unless we can tap into that specifically, it's all lost."

"And you knew that…"

"Because Nicholas told me immediately after he lost his powers. We both knew that we would be responsible for whatever we needed to train the next one. If I hadn't prompted him, we never would have been able to access that knowledge."

"There's a procedure?"

"Not a formal one, but in a manner of speaking, yes."

"Er-Professor?" said Harry hesitantly.

Dumbledore looked at him.

"Is there anyway that you could tell me what exactly this all means?"

"I'm not quite sure. Would you please contact Nick for me?"

Harry blinked, uncomprehending.

"In other words, do what you did on the train," said Lupin.

"Oh…" Harry closed his eyes, and felt a shiver go up his spine as the mist engulfed him.

Voices. Rasping. It's been so long. We've been waiting. He's here. GET HIM!!!!!!! Harry's eyes darted around, trying to find the source. Those weren't Flamel.

Movements in the mist drew his gaze towards them. A procession of dark figures clad in robes was walking slowly towards him. He could tell they weren't there for a pleasant chat. The closed in and formed a tight circle. He span around, searching for a way out.

"You are the Necromancer…" one whispered.

"And so soon?"

"There must be some mistake."

"I thought it was every thousand years?"

"He would be if it hadn't been for that imbecilic Flamel."

"But he is just a boy."

"All the weaker."

"He's mine!"

"No, MINE!"

Two fell to squabbling, and the rest looked at them in disgust before turning to Harry, surveying him as a lion does its prey. The circle closed, and before Harry knew what was happening, they were atop him, grasping arms, ripping him limb from limb…The stench of death and decay was overpowering as their long fingernails dug into his arms, and their wild, unkempt hair provided ill covering for the emaciated skulls that were their faces. Blood from various wounds…on heads, on legs, on arms…saturated his robes and coursed slowly down his body, although whether the blood was his own or theirs, he wasn't sure. He opened his mouth to scream, but blood rushed in…he spat it out, and something connected with his stomach, forcing his meager breakfast up, along with more blood…he closed his eyes as a fist hit one of them…He had to get out…Vainly, he tried to open them, but they were already swelling shut…

Dumbledore gripped his desk, unable to move, powerless to do anything as bruises and blood suddenly started appearing on a very pale Harry, who was shivering wildly, in danger of falling out of the chair he was sitting in. "Oh my God…" he whispered. For once in his life, he didn't know what to do.

"We're in over our heads, aren't we Albus?"

"I should say so. Damn it, if we had taught him how to Apparate first, then he could've found Lawrence, he'd might know what to do…"

"So what DO we do?"

"I don't know! How did you get him out on the train?"

"I don't remember, for God's sake! You told him to, you get him out!"

"Well you did it the first time?"

The two looked at each other. "Breathe," they both said together. Bickering wasn't getting them anywhere. They were panicking and they knew it. They couldn't tell anyone, for the risk of the Dark forces finding out about Harry's abilities and Voldemort finding a way to use them…

"Harry?" said Lupin tentatively. "Please…"

His only response was a low moan from Harry as more blood appeared on him.

"Harry, remember! You must get out of there!"

Harry heard Lupin calling, and struggled, only to be hit 'round the head once more. "I'm here…" he whispered, blackness closing in on the edge of his vision.

"STAY!" shouted one. "You will be one of us…"

"Get off of him," said a voice from the darkness, low and commanding.

Shrieks pierced the cold air, and they obeyed, stepping back.

"He will be mine, and you will not interfere. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly."

"Crystal."

"Yessir."

"Excellent." Turning to Harry, he spoke once more. "So, Dumbledore has found yet another Necromancer. That pathetic Flamel was nothing, I could not use him. But you seem much more powerful." Although he could not see the man's face, Harry, from where he lay, crumpled, at his feet, he was sure that he was smiling. "But you, on the other hand, may prove to be a valuable tool. My apprentice is waiting. Adieu, Potter. We will speak again, and see how I can best employ your talents for my gain…"

"Never!"

*****

Lupin and Dumbledore both stared, speechless, at Harry's battered form, which was still sitting upright, but leaning against the back of the chair. As he spoke the word aloud, the two looked at each other with worry.

"So what do we do?" asked Lupin desperately.

"We wait."

*****

"You will learn, Potter. Crucio."

Harry saw a long, thin finger pointed at him before the all-consuming pain set in. It took all of his resolve not to scream.

"Consider that a mere warning. You will cooperate."

"No…" he stated weakly.

"Yes. Now leave." Mist…then blackness.

*****

Harry's form gave a sudden jerk.

"I think he's back," observed Dumbledore.

"What's the good of that if he's unconscious? He could still be there, couldn't he?"

"It's possible. Now-do you think Sirius would rather you or I broke the news to him?"

"Probably me."

"Very well, then. Find him and tell him."

"'Your godson is channeling with spirits at Albus's discretion'? Right."

"You don't have to use those exact words."

"I'll be back as soon as I can." With those words, he departed.

"Damn. I'd better get you fixed up before Sirius comes in…He'll kill me."

"Yeah," agreed Harry, too drained to form a complete sentence.

"Ah, you're back among the living. Hold still, I need to heal some of these bruises.

"As if there's any danger of me moving," said Harry, eyes closed.

"Tired?"

"Exhausted."

"That's to be expected. Reptus sangre extremus…" Dumbledore murmured.

A warm, tingling sensation moved throughout Harry's body, and he felt the wounds close beneath the wand, which wasn't quite touching his skin. Dumbledore continued the incantation, but they were lost before reaching Harry's ears. His breathing became deep and regular, and he felt the stickiness of the blood disappearing. It was rather relaxing…He was completely immersed in the healing warmth that he quite forgot where he was…

"Dormeins," whispered Dumbledore. "Sleep well, Harry. Hopefully this'll stop any dreams."

But Harry was fast asleep.

Thank you once again to my wonderful betas:

Rufus

Metal Mouth (Whatever happened to Ginny? I'm still waiting to beta the Xerox part, lol)

Quillow

TO EVERYONE WONDERING WHEN THE NEXT PART WILL BE:

I actually has no idea on this one. I was grounded for AGES…that was part of the reason this was so delayed! If it's not up by April 20th (that's my birthday!) then expect a very LONG wait. If all goes well I'll get some time to work on it during vacation! Too short…only two weeks?

I confess, I haven't been focusing exclusively on this story…I have a storyline set for my 6th year sequel, too! Aren't you proud of me? Dark wizard's spirits lying in wait for Harry, falling library shelves…ooh, is this turning into a teaser? 'Fraid you'll have to wait…

~_^ Coqui the Mighty Frog

PS: Don't forget to review! Luv ya all…buhbyes!!!