Harry lay on his bed looking up at the ceiling. The Dursleys were not nearly as bad as they had been the previous summer and he was relaxing as it was a hot day. Harry looked out of the window to see whether Hedwig had returned. He had sent her a letter just two days ago and he was going to have to write another one tomorrow. Most people would find sending mail by way of owl very odd. But Harry was not like most people. Harry was, in every aspect of the word, a wizard. Harry lived in a completely different world than that of muggles, or non-magic wielding people. It was because of Harry's wizarding talents that the Dursley's were usually very mean to him; they didn't want the neighbors to know that they were harboring one of "his kind" inside their house. This summer, however, was much better than the last. Harry's fellow wizards from the Order of the Phoenix had threatened the Dursley's with visitation if they mistreated him in any way or banned him from writing back to any of "his kind". Normally a response would arrive within a day, but not even Hedwig came back. He was beginning to worry. The Ministry of Magic had already stopped intercepting mail after the incident in his forth year as he had proven Voldemorts existence with the help of his friends. The Dursely's noticed the lack of owls and took advantage of it immediately. It was pretty bold of them to assign chores for him so quickly, but his worry had kept him occupied more.

And so the Dursleys had contented themselves with locking Harry in his room, which suited him perfectly, as it meant he could get on with his homework in peace. It was one in the morning, and Harry had just finished a sixteen-inch essay for Professor Snape, when Hedwig returned with a letter in an official-looking envelope. Harry's heart pounded as he looked at it. He remembered what he had heard the previous month... his OWL results would be sent to him in July... He gingerly took the letter, held it in front of him for a silent minute, staring at it, and then slit it open. But before he could read the results of his O.W.L, Uncle Vernon had barged into the room, looking drowsy yet angry and annoyed. Harry was sitting in a chair, still holding the letter.

"What in the ruddy hell is this?" Uncle Vernon barked, rubbing his eyes.

"Uh..." Harry struggled to find words, "...reading letters?" He smiled weakly.

"Go to sleep, boy!" Vernon growled, shutting the door behind him. Harry sighed, acknowledging the fact that it could've been worse (And it would've been worse, weren't it for Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody threatening the Dudleys). Instead of continuing reading the letter, however, he just sunk himself into bed, and fell asleep. It seemed like he had just fallen asleep when he woke up with a start. Harry checked his bedside clock. Two A.M. His stomach sank. He was covered in a cold sweat, and his scar was stinging like mad. He tried to think about what had caused him to wake up at such a wee hour in the morning, and it suddenly hit him: He remembered a dream that he had. Was it really a dream? It seemed so real.... It began....

He was walking down the halls of Hogwarts, muttering something he could not understand. He was walking along a corridor, jaunt fashion. A grin spreading across his face. As he reached for a luminous looking door at the end of the hall, a sleek hand shoved the door open. And when Harry looked up, the person was gone, and he was awake. He tried to fall asleep again, but sleep would not carry him off. Wondering what this was, a lump formed in his throat. Sweat pounding down his face, he tried to think. What should he do. He attempted a weak form of Occlumency, then letting sleep take him again, dropped down on his covers again. He awoke hours later, yet there was a grin on his face this time. He had a dream... it was about Sirius, it was trying to tell him something. His heart drummed fast. Maybe, just maybe, his godfather wasn't dead after all.

Harry sat upright in his bed. Was it possible Sirius wasn't dead? He had not come from behind the veil, he had not turned into a ghost, and Harry could not contact him through that two-sided mirror Sirius had given him... was it possible that there was a way for Sirius to still be alive?

Harry sunk back onto his bed. The professional looking letter caught his eye, sitting innocently on his bedside table. Harry was by this time wide awake, and probably would not fall back asleep for a while anyway, so he carefully picked up the Hogwarts stamp-sealed letter and once again took out the contents. Unfolding the tan slip of parchment, he anxiously began to read:

"Dear Harry Potter,

This letter, as you probably know, contains the results of your O.W.L. tests that you took last June in your fifth year of attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your grades are-"

/b Harry bolted out of his bed and instinctively ran to the window to find the source of the noise. It sounded much like the crack he had heard last summer when he was hiding in the flower bed, but who could have possibly apparated here, now, again? But the shuffling of feet in the hallway alerted him to a much greater problem: the noise had awoken the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon slammed the door wide open.

"What in ruddy hell do you think your doing boy!" He yelled.

"I-t was-n't me, I swear." Harry said, forcing out the words slowly. Uncle Vernon grunted and left the room, once again slamming the door shut. Harry looked out the window, immediately happy he did. It was Lupin. He smiled and waved. Harry looked around, then opened his window. Lupin, apparated again and appeared in Harry's room. Harry locked the door and shut the window clumsily. Lupin looked around then spoke.

"So Harry, I just had to ask..." Harry took a notice of what Lupin was wearing. He had on sleep pants with wands floating in randomly placed spots. He had a big t-shirt on that said: "Got Wands?" in milky white handwriting. Lupin continued. "Did you have that dream, the one about Sirius just now?" He asked.

"Yes, yes," Harry said excitedly. "What did it mean?"

Lupin's reply came darkly "I don't know."

Footsteps were heard on the stairs, Harry quickly nodded towards Lupin and the wizard disapparated, leaving behind no trace. Harry looked down at his letter as Uncle Vernon entered. Harry quickly dove into his bed and pretended to be asleep as his overlarge uncle Vernon came stumbling down the hall. He opened Harry's door and peered through and saw what appeared to be a sleeping Harry. He stumbled off mumbling something about "stupid neighbors" and then Harry heard the door close. He sat bolt-upright and quickly peered through the window where he saw nothing. He wondered who it could have been as he lay back down hoping to see someone soon that had any better contacts with the wizarding world other than the Daily Prophet.

The moment Uncle Vernon was out of the room, Harry immediately turned on the light. He pulled out the letter, anxious to see his grades. They were better than he had ever imagined:

Astonomy: Acceptable

Care of Magical Creatures: Exceeds Expectations

Charms: Exceeds Expectations

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding

Divination: Dreadful

History of Magic: Poor

Potions: Outstanding

Transfiguration: Exceeds Expectations

Harry had done it. He had managed the grades that would allow him to take NEWT level potions, and he would be able to keep trying to become an auror.