Chapter Four: Dreams and Reality
He stood alone, but knew someone else was there in the darkness with him, a swift turn brought a familiar face into view. A smile crept to his face that ceased when something flickered in the corner of his eye. Turning back again he saw the shadows shifting, felt a shudder wrack his body. A grating of steel made him whirl again as a swish and flick cut the air around him.
'There comes a time Harry when our Enemy's power will mean retreat is your only option. Retreat Harry. Draw him away from those you seek to protect. Only a fool thinks retreat is the coward's option.'
Harry awoke with an almost twitch nervousness after a restless night where his mind had been determined to deceive and trick him. After eventually getting to sleep, and he must have done so because he remembered waking four or five times, Harry recalled he had been troubled.
Dreams.
His haunting dreams were returning once again, sitting in a patch of sunlight he ran his hand through his tousled hair, felt his scar on his forehead, there was no pain emanating as he ran a finger down it. A creak nearby made him jump slightly as Ron sat up, his hair striving to reach every corner of the bedroom at once.
Harry almost told Ron about the sleepless night but found he couldn't recall many details of the dream, unlike the usual ones it was cloudy in his memory, not so vivid. He'd had the impression of steel grating, something cutting through the air around him, and shadows…something in the shadows, or was it the shadows themselves he had seen.
A message?
Blinking the thoughts aside Harry pulled on a shirt and walked downstairs with an equally bleary eyed Ron, making their way to the kitchen and slumping down in the chairs that were by the table. Hermione already sat there munching toast, judging from the other noises that could be heard in the rest of the house the rest of the Weasleys were already up and about as well.
Sitting up Harry managed a weak smile when she slid him a slice of toast across the table, devouring his toast while Ron remained slumped over the table, 'Mornings should be made illegal,' he groaned earning a small frown of disapproval from Hermione before a small grin returned to her face.
'Looking forward to the day out?' she asked Harry as he munched the toast.
'Yeah,' he replied, ' I need a break,' he uttered the words without thinking.
'From what?' Hermione asked while Ron watched the exchange between the two as he began to munch on his toast.
'Um…work?' he said, unsuccessfully hiding the fact he wanted to be elsewhere. 'What?' he asked as Ron looked at him with jam oozing from between his toast, 'I need a break.'
Before Ron could point out the summer holidays were a break, Mrs. Weasley walked in and shooed them upstairs to get dressed, 'We're leaving in ten minutes!' she shouted as Ron complained his way up the stairs with Harry following, a small grin on his face.
Nine minutes later; Harry, Hermione and the six Weasleys were crowded into the kitchen, each holding a small pile of Floo Powder as Mr. Weasley started the fire. One minute later the room was empty with only a wisp of smoke curling out from the fire and snaking up the chimney.
* * *
'You see the target?' the cloaked figure asked as the group emerged into Diagon Alley, a shorter figure beside him nodded once but did not utter a reply. 'Find out what you need, return later, understood?' another silent nod answered his question. Deep in his hood Lucius Malfoy curled a lip in distaste as the other figure crept into the crowd, turning back down the alleyway he vanished as the figure began to stalk the group.
As they entered Gringotts the figure slipped aside and crouched down by one of the pillars supporting the bank, withdrawing into the shadows. At least someone glancing would assume this, looking more closely they would notice it had shrunk into the shadows, it was now half of the normal size it had assumed earlier. Waiting inside its black shroud, the figure didn't stir until the group emerged once more from the bank, its hooded feature immediately focusing on Harry.
Standing again the figure emerged at Harry's height, following him as he split from the group with Hermione, Ron and Ginny. It was with a sense of satisfaction the figure noted the subconscious coupling within the group as it let the blade slide from the shroud's sleeve into its hand.
Walking more quickly the figure approached the group among the bustle of the crowd, cutting to the edge as they moved aside to look into a nearby shop window. Now was the time. Changing the grip so the blade projected from the bottom of the figure's fist, it moved with a blur towards the group. Harry's forehead burst into sudden agony and he leant forwards with a gasp against the window, beside him Ginny leant over into the path of the descending blade.
There was a clash of steel as man erupted from the crowd in a blur of motion, a thin blade parrying the figure's blade and wrestling it aside into an alleyway before anyone could notice. Kicking the figure back he whipped back his cloak, making to grasp a sword's handle, instead he snapped his hand upwards and head sideways to pull the speeding blade from the air. Sunlight flashed off the blade into his eyes and when it cleared the figure had gone, seconds later Ron emerged in the alleyway, but the man had also disappeared.
Back in the street, Harry felt the pain lessen and allowed Ginny and Hermione to pull him upright, none of them had seen the blade and Ron had only been vaguely aware of the two figures who ran into the alley. Treading carefully on the cobbled streets the group resumed their walk down the alley, heading for the shops to get their school supplies from.
From the rooftops the figure stood watching, a new blade clutch in a blackened fist, standing their it began to shift away into the shadows until a small flurry of the cloth like shroud was the only sign of it's presence, then that too whipped away into the shadows.
'Well?'
'He has protection…difficult.'
'How is it difficult?' but silence was the only response, 'Can you take him?'
'Yes…protection or not he has weaknesses.'
'What?'
'He cares…and others care for him…I will take what he cares for…I will take him.'
'And the protection?'
'It will be dealt with, or I will be dealt with.'
'If you fail…'
'If I fail I am dead, don't try to threaten me. What can be worse then death.'
'If you fail you'll find out.'
