A.N. Thank you to everyone who reviewed!!! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out!!! We'll try and get the next out faster, but we all have kinda different schedules… In the meantime, please remember to review!!!
Luv yas!

Tadariada, Malena, and SEEKER-2000 (In case you didn't know, ff.net no longer allows underscores, so SEEKER had to change her name from SEEKER_2000 to SEEKER-2000)

Early that morning Molly explained to everyone what happened in the dream. Fred and Ron were silent, but Hermione sat sniffing in her chair.

"I still can't believe you did that," George said.

"You know what sucks big time? We didn't learn anything new," Ron said.

Hermione wiped some tears out of her eyes, "What do you mean?"

Ron sighed. "What good did any of that information do? All we know now is that Harry is reliving horrors in his past. How in the world are we going to be able to help him with that information."

The room was silent. No one knew the answer to that question.

~*~

Harry walked into the kitchen the next morning, yawning and stretching. The quiet chatter that had been

going on as he was arriving stopped immediately. Harry, who wasn't the noisiest boy in the world took no notice and sat down.

Hermione was looking at him funny as he buttered his toast.

"Got something on my face, have I Hermione?" Harry said after a few moments.

She burst out into tears. Harry's eyebrows furrowed.

"Did I say something wrong?" He said. "It was only a joke."

"I-I-" She sobbed. "Just have something in my eye. Excuse me." She pushed her chair out from the

table and left the room with remarkable speed for somebody wearing slippers and a huge robe.

"Well that was odd, eh Ron?" Harry said, elbowing his friend. "Ron?" Ron took his spoon full of his

porridge and let the contents drip slowly back into his bowl. Harry looked around. It seemed as if nobody

wanted to look him in the eye. "What is it? What have I missed? Did the doctor call and say I have three

hours to live?" He joked. Nobody laughed. "Well, if that's not it what is it then?"

Ron looked over at his mother, who nodded. "Well- er- last night you were going- crazy in your sleep.

You know muttering and screaming and shaking and...." He trailed off.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Harry asked, blushing slightly. "That's nothing-er- serious."

"Oh." Hermione moaned, walking back into the room with a box of tissues. "That's not even the worst of it."

Harry looked around wildly. Still nobody met his eyes. "What's the worst of it?"

"We- wanted to help you." Hermione said. "So we- we-

"You what?" Harry said slowly, dreading the answer.

"Dream hopped." Ron and Hermione said together, quietly.

There was a very pregnant pause.

"You. Did. What?" Harry said slowly, in a deadly tone.

"Dream hopping." Hermione squeaked. "When you go into another persons-"

"I know what it is, Hermione." Harry said. "Helping me? Helping me by doing what? Prying into my personal life?"

"Don't get mad at her," Ron said. "It was my idea. But we wouldn't have if you hadn't been acting so mysterious!"

"Maybe I have reasons for the way I act. Maybe I don't want you knowing everything that goes on in my mind." Harry said, shaking slightly. "Wait... we?"

"Harry, dear we-" Mrs. Weasley began.

"How many of you went." Harry said suddenly. "How many?"

Slowly, very slowly the guilty members rose their hands. Harry took a long breath in and stared at them all with the coldest, saddest look they had ever seen.

Hermione couldn't take it any longer. She ran over to Harry and reached out for his shoulder. "Oh Harry I'm so-" She cried in a frantic voice. Harry jerked away from Hermione and just stared at all of them.

"I thought it was for the best." Ron said. "I really did."

"Well you thought wrong." Harry hissed. He stormed out of the room, slamming the front door behind him.

~* ~* ~* ~*

It was late in the night now, and Harry still hadn't come back home. It had started to rain. Everybody was nervous. Molly was sitting by the kitchen window, staring into the front garden. Hermione was positioned at the window by the back door. Ron was pacing and Fred and George weren't saying anything at all. Arthur and Percy

were playing a very slow game of chess and Ginny was sitting on a couch, pretending to read a book. The

air in the house was tense and nobody was talking except for an occasional grunt from the two playing chess.

Ron stopped pacing. "I've had enough." He said. "I'm off to go look for him." He grabbed his cloak and walked out the front door.

~* ~* ~* ~*

Ron was far away from the house when he decided to take a rest. Patches of trees were springing up every so often and Ron leaned against one of them now, anger building in his chest. Leaves rustled in the tree next to him and he jumped.

Ron looked around wildly, expecting to see some awful creature ready to pounce on him. There was nothing of that sort- but what he did see was a leg, dangling down from a thick branch.

"Who's up there?" He called.

"Go away." Came a muffled voice.

"Harry?" Ron said.

"What."

"Why are you in a tree?"

"Piss off Ron, didn't I tell you to go away?" Harry said.

"Get down from there." Ron said crossing his arms.

"No." Was the pert reply.

"Get down from there or I'll- I'll-"

"You'll what Ron?" Harry said sarcastically, his face appearing through some leaves. "Go through my dreams again? Listen, the next time you want to find out something about me, just go and check out a book. There's bound to be one out anytime about all of my problems."

"Oh step off your soap box." Ron said. "And get down here. I want to punch you."

"Well that is a sure fire way to get me down there." Harry mumbled, but he did come out of his tree.

"You're an ass, Harry." Ron said. "I can't believe you ran away. You had everybody really scared." He socked Harry squarely in the stomach.

Harry fell to the ground, taken by surprise. He got up, clutching his belly. "I suppose I deserved that." He croaked. "Seeing as I am the one that did an illegal potion to eavesdrop on your dreams." He swung a

blow at Ron's face, but he darted aside and grabbed Harry's fist. Instinctively Harry brought the fist

towards his own chest, enabling Ron to move his right arm. Harry took his other arm and placed it under

Ron's elbow and began lifting it up.

Ron yelled in horror and yanked his hand away before Harry broke his arm.

"Where did you learn that?" Ron said, Harry and him slowly circling.

Harry jumped forward and punched Ron in the lower stomach.

"I live with my cousin, remember?" Harry said. Ron composed himself.

"Right." He said. They continued to circle. He aimed a blow at Harry, who darted out of the way. Harry

tried and missed.

"You're pretty bad at this." Ron taunted. Harry glared at him. And then he remembered something. When

Hermione had met Sirius, she had high kicked him. It had nearly knocked the wind out of him. And Sirius

was a full grown man.

Harry grinned and lashed a leg out at Ron.

But Ron had five older brothers. He knew how to fight. He grabbed Harry's foot and yanked it. Harry fell to the ground.

"There. I win," Ron panted. Harry gave a short nod, panting. And then he swung his foot around and knocked Ron on his back.

"I don't think so," Harry replied, smirking.

Ron gave a short laugh.

"So, if you aren't going to come back to the Burrow, where are you going to stay?" Ron asked. Both of them were still lying on the ground.

"Here. I've already befriended someone, and he said I could stay with him. Bob."

""Bob? What's a bob?"

"My new BEST FRIEND. He's small, furry and fits into most overhead storage bins." Harry said, looking completely serious. "He's a squirrel."

"Oh," Ron said, pretending to be sad. He gave a loud sniff. "I see how it is. You-you'd rather be with, with this BOB than with me... okay... I can see how squirrel life is so much better than being with ME!"

"Yes, Bob is much better company then YOU!" Harry agreed jokingly. Ron punched him in the shoulder. Harry started laughing. Ron joined in a moment later.

~*~

The rest of the Weasley family were still sitting around the kitchen and living room, nervously waiting for Ron to return with Harry. Hermione was biting her fingernails and Ginny was pacing the room.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Ron came in.

"Do you know where the tent is?" Ron asked.

"Ron! What?" Arthur said, jumping up.

"Did you find Harry?"

"Yes," Ron said shortly, still searching for the tent.

"Well…"

"We're going to go live with Bob."

"And just who is Bob?" Molly asked.

"A squirrel friend. Harry introduced him to me. G'night Mum!" Ron kissed his mother on the cheek, and went back outside. Mrs. Weasley stared at her son as he disappeared into the night.

She turned back to her husband.

"I don't know whether to kiss them for being okay, or to send them to St. Mungos," she said in a bewildered voice.